Refractories and Industrial Ceramics Vol. 51, No.

5, January, 2011

NEW DESIGNS FOR STOPPER-FREE STEEL CASTING:

SLIDE GATES, REFRACTORIES, TECHNOLOGY1

A. G. Golovko,2 E. I. Gordeev,2 V. I. Zolotukhin,2 and D. A. Provotorov2

Translated from Novye Ogneupory, No. 10, pp. 3 6, October, 2010.

Original article submitted July 27, 2010.

New developments for continuous pouring of steel are considered, including slide gates, refractories, promis-
ing technologies, etc. A comparative analysis of the designs of domestic and foreign manufacturers is given
and the basic operating characteristics and criteria for the selection of refractory slabs for slide gates are pre-
sented. The latest developments from NPP Vulkan-TM related to the creation of equipment for continuous
casting of steel are considered.
Keywords: refractories for slide gates, import substitution, slide gates, slide casting, systems for quick re-
placement of nonswirl nozzles, vibroformed refractory articles

The widespread application of the method of continu-

ous-continuous casting and highly durable refractory materi-
als has greatly increased the requirements imposed on the
rate of turn-over of teeming ladles and for reduced service
times and has entailed the use of modern slide casting sys-
tems to enable increases in the level of automation of the
processes involving in casting of metal and reductions in the
unit costs for these processes. To solve this problem it is nec-
essary to select an efficient design of a slide valve system
and arrive at an optimal choice of the consumable refractory
set. From an analysis of the evolution of the development of
slide valve systems it becomes possible to formulate the re-
quirements that have to be imposed on the new generation of
slide valve systems to achieve highly productive multi-
ple-strand continuous seal casting:
multipoint spring-actuated mechanism for uniform
compression of refractory slabs;
elevated lifetime of components and parts of the system;
the presence of a system for clamping of the refractory
slabs;
minimization of the human factor in operation of the
system;
rapidity and ease of replacement of refractory materials.
The use of modern designs enables us to achieve a high
degree of uniformity in the application of a clamping force to
refractory slabs, ensure their automatic adjustment, compen-
sate for cyclic thermal expansions and wear of the refractory
Fig. 1. Models of slide gates from foreign manufacturers corre-
1 sponding to modern requirements: a) cartridge-type gate with inde-
From the proceedings of the International Conference of Metal-
lurgists and Refractory Workers (April 22 23, 2010, Moscow). pendent sliders from the firm of Vesuvius (Austria); b) car-
2 tridge-type equalizing-type gate from NPO Doniks (Ukraine).
OOO Vulkan-TM, Tula, Russia.

318
1083-4877/11/5105-0318 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
New Designs for Stopper-Free Steel Casting
Fig. 2. Models of slide gates produced by the Russian firm of OOO
NPP Vulkan-TM corresponding to contemporary requirements:
a) VTM-1 system, equalizing version; b) VTM-2 system, beam-
equalizing version.
and metallic parts of the gate, and ease the requirements im-
posed on the precision with which parts and components are
manufactured. It has been determined that a number of con-
temporary models from foreign manufacturers (Fig. 1) as
well as the VTM series gates manufactured by the Russian
firm of NPP Vulkan-TM (Tula) (Fig. 2) conform to the re-
quirements imposed on the previous generation of slide
valve systems. A standard size series of uniform two-slab
slide gates (VTM series) and sets of refractory articles for
use in metallic shells and sleeves has been developed by
OOO NPP Vulkan-TM for the purpose of optimizing costs
and serial delivery to more than 15 firms in the Russian Fed-
eration and other countries of the Commonwealth of Inde-
pendent States has been achieved.
OOO NPP Vulkan-TM has now developed a design of a
universal slide gate (VT system) adapted for use with refrac-
tory materials of the different standard sizes produced by dif-
ferent manufacturers.
The slide gates manufactured by the leading Western
firms undoubtedly possess a host of advantages, including
those associated with ease of operation and level of mainte-
nance, but the cost of modern Western gates and of the re-
fractory materials needed for these gates significantly ex-
ceeds the cost of domestic analogs. At the same time, no es-
sential structural designs that differ from the domestic
analogs are available.
It should be noted that the weight of quick-change con-
sumable refractory materials for VTM series gates is signifi-
cantly less than the corresponding ceramic of the slide gates
produced by foreign firms. This serves to ensure better ergo-
319
Fig. 3. Quick-change system: a) UBS-30 calibrated nonswirl noz-
zles; b) UBS-70 submersible nozzles.
nomic indicators and markedly reduces the costs for the re-
fractory supplies. Relative cost-benefit calculations and ex-
perience with VTM series slide gates that has been accumu-
lated in the course of 12 years has demonstrated that the level
of design employed in these gates is in conformity with the
requirements of contemporary steel-smelting firms and
makes it possible to reduce the cost for slide gates and the
consumable refractory materials needed for the gates
1.5 2-fold by comparison with those offered by the leading
foreign firms.
OOO NPP Vulkan-TM is continuing developments in at-
tempts at creating competitive import-replacement designs.
The latest development of the firm are the UBS-30 quick-
change calibrated nonswirl nozzle and the UBS-70 submers-
ible nozzle (Fig. 3), both of which are integrated with domes-
tically produced components and refractory materials and are
oriented for use by the leading Russian manufacturers of re-
fractory articles. The systems are in no way inferior to for-
eign analogs in terms of functional capacity. The principal
advantages of the designs are as follows:
fully mechanized replacement of nozzle;
time to replace a nozzle less than 1 sec;
either hydro-, electro-, or pneumatic drives may be used;
uniformity of distribution of load on the moving noz-
zle throughout its entire operating period;
lengthier period of scheduled preventive replacement
of elastic elements due to the use of heat-resistant Belleville
springs;
320 A. G. Golovko et al.

Experience accumulated
from the operation of VTM
series slide gates has dem-
onstrated that with the use
of high-quality refractory
materials and with adequate
training of the service per-
sonnel, the use of VT series
slide gates ensures fine con-
trol of the flow when casting
metal by the continuous-
continuous method, makes it
possible to utilize refractory
materials that can undergo a
Fig. 4. Set of refractories for Fig. 5. Forming of refractory required number of smelting
VT series slide gates. articles on a vibrating table. Fig. 6. Vulkan-TM S50 mixer/ cycles, improves the rate of
turnover of the ladle, and in-
creases the cost-benefit effi-
economic efficiency.
ciency of the production process as a whole. Besides slide
OOO NPP Vulkan-TM is conducting research on the in-
valve slabs, the refractory set of VT series slide gates also in-
troduction of these devices at the leading metallurgical firms cludes (Fig. 4) a clustered unit, ladle nozzle, and a nozzle
in Russia and neighboring countries. Results gained from the trap in a metallic shell.
use of refractory materials from different manufacturers are The refractory articles that have been described here are
presented below (Table 1) from an analysis of the contempo- manufactured in the production sector of OOO NPP
rary state of the market for slide valve refractory materials Vulkan-TM by means of casting from low-cement refractory
for the new generation of cartridge-type slide valve systems. bodies with subsequent vibrohardening, drying, and roasting.
Recommendations for the selection of refractory supplies as The material used to manufacture the refractory articles in-
a function of particular casting conditions are also presented clude prefabricated dry refractory bodies produced by for-
here (Table 2), making it possible to achieve optimal eign firms as well as refractory bodies manufactured by
cost-benefit indicators. OOO NPP Vulkan-TM from imported components. The

TABLE 1. Characteristics of Slabs for VTM Series Slide Gates

Composition Manufacturer Type and Size of VTM Series Capacity of Ladle, t Life, Smelting Cycles
Al2O3 + C + ZrO2 Dalmond (Russia, China) 50 130 35
Al2O3 + C + ZrO2 Chusan (Korea, China) 50 130 34
Al2O3 + C + ZrO2 Puyang (China) 30 50 46
Al2O3 + C + ZrO2 Dalmond (Russia, China) 50 50 36
MgO OAO Magnezit Integrated Works 50 50 12
Al2O3 + C + ZrO2 RHI (Austria) 50 50 35
Al2O3 + + ZrO2 India 30 50 23
Al2O3 + + ZrO2 OAO Semiluk Refractory Factory (Russia) 30 30 2
MgO + C The same 30 30 12

TABLE 2. Characteristics of Slabs of Different Compositions for Slide Gates

Content, % Life, Smelting Diameter of
Type of Slab Type of Smelting
Al2O3 MgO ZrO2 C Cycles Channel, mm

Corundum-carbon-zirconium 80 48 7,4 28 90 Multiple-strand continuous seal casting

Corundum-carbon 80 7 13 90 The same
Magnesia-aluminum-spinel 9 80 3 13 60 Ingot molds, multiple-strand continuous seal casting
Periclase-carbon 76 8 13 60 The same
Periclase 95 13 60 The same
New Designs for Stopper-Free Steel Casting
composition of the body depends on the purpose of the par-
ticular article, the required level of quality, and the operating
characteristics. The enterprise may manufacture refractory
articles of any configuration and overall dimensions weigh-
ing up to 200 kg in a metallic shell or without any shell. Be-
cause of the method used to obtain vibroformed refractories,
it is possible to quickly alter the configuration of the
refractories and achieved a required size precision. The shear
strength of the material of the articles reaches 90 MPa with
porosity in the range 12 16%. By agreement with the cus-
tomer, it is possible to deliver vibroformed articles with the
addition of a metallic fibre, magnesian spinel and other addi-
tion elements.
Depending of the size of ladles employed, the standard
size of the refractory articles, the quality of the assembly and
maintenance, the endurance of the produced clustered units
amounts to 20 40 smelting cycles, that of the nozzle trap,
15 smelting cycles, and that of the clustered nozzles,
15 26 smelting cycles.
The process of producing an aqueous solution of a re-
fractory mixture, the quality of which largely governs the
functional characteristics of the particular articles, is one of
the most important operations in the production of refractory
321
articles by means of vibroforming (Fig. 5). OOO NPP
Vulkan-TM has developed the Vulkan-TM S50 mixer to
achieve efficient implementation of this operation (Fig. 6).
The Vulkan-TM S50 is designed to produce an aqueous solu-
tion of a mixture or dry mixture in a hyper-intensive regime.
The technical characteristics of the mixer are as follows:
Unloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bottom
Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 200 liter
Weight of batch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 150 kg
Batch time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 min
Rate of rotation of kneading tool . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 900 rpm
Rate of rotation of cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 30 rpm
The mixer is equipped with a control panel with fre-
quency-controlled electric drive, which makes it possible to
smoothly regulate the rate of rotation of the mixer tool and
the deceleration and start up without any jerks, as well as ap-
ply automatic protection against mechanical and electrical
overloads.
An analysis of the results of tests of the mixer demon-
strated that the newly developed design meets the require-
ments of modern industry. The mixture obtained in the new
design conforms with the quality requirements imposed on
such mixtures. The mixer is characterized by ease of mainte-
nance, and its use helps to substantially reduce manual labor.