Liuzhou Iron & Steel Corp., China, has successfully commissioned a single-strand continuous slab caster supplied by SMS Demag AG, Germany.

With an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes, the caster produces slabs in the dimensional range of 1000- to 1650-mm width and thicknesses of 180, 200, 220 and 250 mm.

SMS Demag supplied the mold with resonance oscillation, the strand guide system, and the electrical and automation systems (including the process models). Erection, commissioning and supervision were also part of SMS Demag’s scope of responsibilities.

The spring-guided, hydraulically powered mold is equipped with remote adjustment for the narrow faces. The oscillation, with variable frequency, stroke length and curve shape, guarantees a continuously good quality of the slab surface.

The continuous slab caster also features SMS Demag’s patented Dynamic Soft Reduction^® (DSR) technology. The hydraulic segment adjustment serves to minimize center segregations and to prevent central porosities from occurring. The caster also incorporates Dynamic Solidification Control to monitor and regulate the strand solidification. It allows a uniform temperature profile to be attained for the cast strand and reduces the crack sensitivity.

Integration tests carried out on the automation systems during the erection phase enabled the caster to be incorporated directly into the day-to-day production. After as little as four weeks, the first uninterrupted sequence of over 70 heats was cast. The entire hot commissioning lasted only three months.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2005 some 9,250 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.33 billion.