Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works — “EVRAZ NTMK” JSC (Nizhniy Tagil, Russia):

Ekkert P. V., Head of Continuous Casting Bureau, Pavel.Ekkert@evraz.com
Shekhovtsov E. V., Deputy Head of Technical Administration, Head of Metallurgy and Continuous Casting Dept., Evgeny.Shekhovtsov@evraz.com
Chiglintsev A. V., Head of Continuous Casting Section, Aleksej.Chiglintsev@evraz.com

«EVRAZ Tekhnika» (Nizhniy Tagil, Russia):
Bushin K. P., Chief Specialist, Konstantin.Bushin@evraz.com

The specialists of Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works — “EVRAZ NTMK” JSC have developed and tested in 2014 the pilot conditions of soft reduction in or-der to improve quality of macrostructure of continuously cast slabs with 200 mm thickness. The templates with axial area defects having grade more than 2.0 have been investigated during 2012–2014 in static and dynamic conditions and number of defects and rate of their propagation for peritectic steels has been analyzed. Casting of pilot melts testified that usage of the developed soft reduction conditions leads to lowering of total load on continuous caster drives by 50–100 kN (in absolute value). It also helps to improve quality of the axial area of continuously cast slabs as well as to decrease rate of propagation of internal cracks.