Patent ID: 8191610

Claim:
Apparatus for continuously casting metal strip comprising: (a) a pair of counter-rotatable casting rolls laterally positioned to form a nip there between through which thin strip can be cast; (b) a pair of confining side dams adjacent the ends of the casting rolls capable of confining a casting pool of molten metal supported on the casting rolls and formed on casting surfaces above the nip, (c) each side dam having a surface capable of contacting the molten metal of the casting pool during casting, with an unraised portion and a raised portion, with the raised portion configured to form a trough between the raised portion of the side dam and the casting surfaces of the casting rolls to guide the flow of molten metal adjacent the casting surfaces of the casting rolls, where the unraised portion of the side dam forms a base of the trough; and (d) a metal delivery system disposed above the nip and capable of discharging molten metal to form the casting pool supported on the casting rolls.