Danieli Wean United, Buttrio, Italy:

Paulon G., Executive Manager, Process Technology, g.paulon@danieli.it
Piemonte C., Executive Vice President

In April 2009, a new single strand slab caster at ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni was successfully started up with the first cast of AISI 304 grade in Terni plant, central Italy. The new caster is designed for a total capacity of approx. 900,000 t/a of stainless steel slabs covering the complete range of stainless grades, including AISI 300 and 400 families (austenitic, ferritic and martensitic grades). This state-of-the-art caster for the production of 215 mm thick slabs replaced an existing thin slab caster installed in the late nineties. This paper resumes the reason of the installation of the new plant and describes the specific technological solution adopted for stainless steel casting, the caster main features as well as the commissioning and production results of this state-of-the-art caster. Design concept and technical solution (including optimized roll geometry and cooling control during slab solidification) and mechanical solution (i.e. mould and its oscillating, width adjusting devices, strand guide system and automation system) are described in details. Stainless steel producers are among the most demanding as regards the quality (namely surface quality) of the slabs they use in their mills. The Danieli concepts for process and mechanical engineering guarantee the ultimate product quality for stainless steel, as well as virtually eliminating all off-line inspections before rolling with this new caster at ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni.