Stopinc AG / Interstop (Hünenberg, Switzerland):

Heinrich B., Mag. Eng., Head of Research & Development, e-mail: beat.heinrich@rhi-ag.com

RHI AG Technology Center (Leoben, Austria):

Hackl G., Senior Manager
Marschall H. U., Mag. Eng., Dr., Projest Manager

The company Interstop has developed the new type of sliding gates (S series) for steel pouring ladles with understanding three main problems formulated by the customers. These three aspects are cutting the production expenses; improvement of technological equipment and system in order to rise quality level of products; providing of reliable and safe operating conditions. The paper observes used techniques of analytical investigations and analyzed the obtained results based on construction modifications to meet individual requirements. As demonstrated in practical tests, the newly developed plate geometry and plate clamping concept provides very good results in terms of crack behaviour and plate life even with a reduced volume of the refractory material. In addition to that, the newly developed slide gate shows improved operational, handling and maintenance characteristics. These achievements represent a significant improvement of the operational safety and overall costs for the steel plants. Moreover, the CFD simulations predict a 22% increase in steel flow through the optimized casting channel in comparison to the standard channel geometry. During the developments it is also became apparent, thet the use of the state-ofthe-art analysis techniques such as CFD and FEA are essential to meet today’s customer requirements.

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4. Marschall, H. U.: Finite element simulation of refractories the challenge, RHI Bulletin (2012), No2, p. 41/44.