Stollberg: New Flux Feeder adds casting fluxes automatically

Stand-alone solution without special requirements on pneumatic air supply in continuous casting plants.

Oberhausen, Germany, July 11, 2011. At the Metec trade fair, Stollberg has introduced its new, extremely compact type ST2P-3 Flux Feeder for automatic flux feeding during continuous casting. Being designed as a stand-alone solution, it still provides the same dosing accuracy as electronically controlled systems.

With its latest Flux Feeder, the ST2P-3 model, Stollberg has rounded off its range of automatic flux feeding solutions with an easy-to-use system that needs no special pneumatic air supply in the steel works.

Stollberg now offers a complete line of systems for continuous casting plants, ranging from compact pneumatic Flux Feeder units through to electronically controlled systems that can be integrated into the process control system of the continuous casting plant and used to implement a control loop for automatic flux feeding. The new system operates pneumatically. Pressure control devices ensure that the volumetric flow is precisely adjusted.

The center piece of Flux Feeder ST2P-3 is a compact, mobile unit only 50 cm high. This unit can be easily positioned under a flux container.The feeding hoses can be flexibly arranged according to the specific situation on the casting platform. They may run horizontally, over distances of several meters.

Stollberg’s automatic Flux Feeder systems convey the flux material to the mould in precisely dosed quantities and distribute the flux evenly on the steel bath surface.Flux Feeders reduce the occurrence of surface and internal defects in the solidified steel by 10 to 30 percent.At the same time, they can reduce flux consumption by 5 to 10 percent versus manual feeding.

Flux Feeders lead to significant improvements in the strand quality, because - unlike flux material added manually and in large batches - the individual granules trickling down onto the slag have only very little impact. This affords the advantage that the granulated flux rests on top of the bath surface and cannot mix with the liquid steel. Consequently, the steel remains free from inclusions.

Flux Feeders also improve the working conditions on the casting platform. Safety at work is enhanced, as the need for the operators to stay within the immediate danger zone of the mould is markedly reduced.

The stand-alone unit does not differ from its “big brother”, the type ST2P-2 Flux Feeder, in that its storage containers are also filled out of big bags.This prevents dust from being released to the ambient air and reduces the amount of packaging material to be disposed of.Big bags also save considerable amounts of flux material.In the past, when the material was packed in sacks, some five percent of the material remained inside the sacks. With big bags, this loss is reduced to virtually zero.

On the way to no-man-casting

Flux Feeder ST2P-2, which is also manufactured by MBL-Europe exclusively for Stollberg, features electronic controls and a number of control displays. Optionally, values such as filling levels and material flow rates can be displayed graphically.The system can also be linked with the process control system of the continuous casting plant, enabling the transmission of data to higher process levels. Thus automatic flux feeding becomes an important step towards no-man-casting.The system extracts the flux material from several storage containers, as required, and feeds it into up to six feeding lines at individually regulated rates.When there is a product change, the system can be quickly switched to different flux types.The flux material is stored in quantities of up to 2.5 t in several conical, dust-tight silos.

Background

Granulated casting fluxes allow trouble-free, efficient and environmentally friendly casting. These features have led to a growing use of granulated fluxes during the last few years, increasingly substituting pulverized material.The still customary practice of feeding fluxes manually has a number of drawbacks.Manual feeding frequently leads to varying flux film thicknesses, causing non-uniform temperature distribution on the surface of the steel bath in the mould.If large amounts of pulverized or granulated fluxes are added, turbulences may lead to subsurface inclusions in the cast strand. In downstream processing, these inclusions may cause shells or other surface defects. 4,500 characters including blanks and introduction.

About Stollberg of the S&B Group

The Continuous Casting Fluxes Division, part of the S&B Group, provides, through its Stollberg products, full support to the steel industry with a range of products and services covering all aspects of liquid steel casting. It is present around the globe with seven manufacturing facilities and competence centers in Europe, USA, Brazil, India, Korea and China and offers the international steelmaking industry high value added solutions, from process optimization to efficiency improvement during the daily production routine.Pursuing a holistic approach for the entire process, from tundish and ladle metallurgy via casting of liquid steel in all kinds of techniques all the way through to the cast sections, Stollberg solutions range from high-grade products to complex service and consulting, offering each individual customer a special product or service tailor-made to his particular needs. Through continuous product development the Stollberg product and service portfolio enhances its position as the leading supplier of casting fluxes, metallurgical slags and covering compounds worldwide. Long-standing cooperation with reputable Universities and Institutes all over Europe, North and South America, and Asia allows Stollberg to stay abreast of industry developments.Amongst its long-lasting customers: the Arcelor-Mittal-Group, POSCO, TATA-Corus-Group, ThyssenKrupp Steel, Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann, Salzgitter Stahl and voestalpine Stahl. For more information please visit www.sandb.de.S&B is an international Group of companies with extensive mining, processing and distribution operations and around 2,000 employees in more than 20 countries worldwide and well known products brands like Stollberg, IKO, Otavi, IBECO. S&B develops and transforms natural resources into value-creating industrial solutions for a wide range of applications, i.e. for foundries, the iron and steel industry, construction and civil engineering, environmental applications.For more information please visit www.sandb.com

Stollberg Press Office