The search for modern casting plant concepts today focuses more and more on the harmonisation and optimisation of overall concept lines to obtain a continuous quality control and reduce the cost of production (Figure 1). As far as continuous casting plant concepts are concerned, this specifically requires an optimal adaptation and flexible operation when converting liquid steel into a directly processable product without any in-between treatment. Continuous casters need to fully satisfy the requirements of both the upstream steelmaking facilities as well as the downstream rolling facilities. Downstream process units increasingly expect the continuous caster to supply a product which to reach its final quality and final dimensions just needs to be subjected to few more treatment steps. As far as the continuous caster concept is concerned, this means a specific effort to produce near-net-shape dimensions and a constant quality level - one of the basic requirements in hot or direct charging of slabs in the rolling mill. The prime target of this compact concept is to save the cost of capital outlay and energy.
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