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A Review of Rhomboidity Problem in Billet

Casting

Conference Paper · May 2012

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 A Review of the Rhomboidity Problem in Billet Casting
Jorge Madias
Metallon
432, 9 de Julio street, B2900HGJ
San Nicolas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Phone/Fax: 011 54 3461 421318

Key words: continuous casting, billets, quality, rhomboidity, mold

INTRODUCTION

Despite rhomboidity is known from the first times of billet and bloom casting, during the last decade in the start-up of modern casters
this shape defect has frequently occurred, calling for continuous improvement work to overcome it.
In this paper, the literature on rhomboidity in billets and blooms is reviewed. Evaluation methods, as well as the consequences
regarding billet/bloom quality and rolling operation are analyzed. A discussion is made about the mechanisms proposed for its
formation. Recent industrial experiences are summarized.

DISCUSSION

Rhomboidity assessment
A first evaluation can be carried out by observation through the peepholes of the secondary cooling chamber. The obtuse corner
should be colder than the acute corner. Then, the billet shape after oxygen cutting may be looked at. As an example, a paper classifies
different occurrences of rhomboidity according to the strand features when exiting the mold [1]:
 Rhomboidity in all strands, with dark and bright spots in the faces
 Rhomboidity in all strands, but uniform at mold exit
 Strong rhomboidity in one or two strands, with variable orientation
 Strong rhomboidity in one or two strands, with fixed orientation
Sometimes twisting of billet with off-squareness has been observed in the cooling bed, revealing changes in the rhomboidity behavior
[2].
Rhomboidity is determined by the difference n=between the two diagonals (d1 e d2), expressed in mm or percentage:
Rhomboidity (%) = ((d2 - d1)/((d2 + d1)/2)) x 100
It is measured directly on the billet by means of a compass and rule or on a transverse cut with a caliper.
Rhomboidity may vary significantly along the billet [2]. For instance, in figure 1 the variation in difference between diagonals is
presented for six 6 m long billets of 0.32% C Boron steel and along one particular billet.

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 Figure 1. a) Range of rhomboidity measured along six billet of 0.32% C steel, microalloyed with B and Ti. b) Rhomboidity
measurement along one of the billets [2].

Consequences on billet quality and rolling operations

Rhomboidal billets usually present off-corner cracks in the obtuse corners. Depending on the magnitude of rhomboidity, the off-corner
cracks may continue through the diagonal, following the path where the columnar grains meet. This fact suggests a link between the
formation mechanisms of rhomboidity and off-corner cracks [3]. Those cracks may propagate to the billet center, giving place to a full
diagonal crack, when off-squareness is large (figure 2).

Figure 2. Diverse degrees of rhomboidity, with different progress of cracks joining both obtuse angles. Left: 120 x 120 mm billet
presenting rhomboidity, but without diagonal cracks [4]. Center: 130 x 130 mm billet with uncompleted diagonal crack [4]. Right: 120
x 120 mm billet with full diagonal crack [5].

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As occurs with other inner cracks, there exist the possibility of welding during rolling, but it must be remembered that these high
temperature cracks are usually refilled with highly segregated interdendritic liquid. So they remain as a weak point in the structure.
During reheating, offsquareness may bring about problems in billet movement, particularly in push furnaces. The well-known graph
on pushing difficulties (figure 3) may change; billets may jump in the furnace entrance, causing pile formation.

Figure 3. Difficulties for pushing as a function of billet section and length of the reheating furnace [6].

During rolling, billet twisting may happen in the first roughing stand. In ArcelorMittal Piracicaba (120 x 120 mm billet) this occurred
when the difference between diagonals was larger than 9 mm [5]. Twisting causes axial displacement of the billet, forcing one of the
diagonals to penetrate into the roll gap, forming a longitudinal fillet along the billet.
At the same rolling mill, while passing stand 2 to stand 7, the defect remained in the rolled bar and finally it was threaded in the power
slitter generating scrap. In some cases, the defect was detected in stand 1 and there was enough time to scrap the billet in the shear
after stand 7, before then major damage could happen.
The formation of other defects and the opening of bar ends have been attributed to rhomboidity, too [5, 7].
Offsquareness is considered severe when it reaches 6 – 8 mm or 4 - 5%. In case of new casters, equipment suppliers usually guarantee
1 or 2%, depending on the case. In one particular case, less than 9 mm was defined as acceptable, while billets with 10-13 mm were
rolled with a particular pass design to avoid trouble [5].
Classic box-box pass asks for longer channels to accommodate rhomboidity. The extreme case would be flat rolls [6].

Influence of steel grade

It is an established fact that medium carbon steels are more sensitive to offsquareness than low carbon or high carbon steels. In figure
3, data from three different casters are shown.

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Figure 3. Influence of carbon content on rhomboidity, according to data of three companies a) QIT-Fer & Titane, Canada [8]; b) DDS,
Denmark [9]; c) Gerdau Açominas, Brazil [7].

Medium carbon steel has a particular solidification path, starting with δ ferrite up to arriving to the peritectic temperature, where the
already solidified δ ferrite, together with liquid in the peritectic proportion, transforms into austenite (figure 4). Then, remaining liquid
solidifies gradually into austenite with cooling. In these steels, as a difference with the so called “peritectic” steels (carbon 0.10 to
0.18%), δ ferrite and austenite do not coexist below the peritectic temperature, and some liquid still remains below that temperature.
Medium carbon steel pass only through the first stage of peritectic reaction, but it does not suffer the second stage, according to the
definition by Fredriksson [10].

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 1539
Temperatura (oC)

1495

1401

Figure 4. Upper left corner of the iron-carbon diagram, highlighting in red the region of steels sensitive to rhomboidity in billet
casting.

The proclivity of these steels to rhomboidity has been attributed to the fact that, in comparison with lower carbon steels, that display
low heat transfer in the mold, they have usually higher heat transfer. In comparison, for high carbon steels the solidification range is
narrower [2].
For instance, it was calculated by numerical modeling that if mold heat transfer decreases 25% in a given location, and increases 25%
in another location, the difference in shell thickness 25 mm below meniscus is 1 mm for a 0,32% C steel; 0.4 mm for 0.84% C steel
and just 0.2 mm for a 0.12% C steel [2]. So, the impact of uneven cooling in generating non uniform shell is larger for medium carbon
steel. For this steel, heat extraction in mold is important (4500 kW/m2) and at the same time the solidification range is narrow (50 oC).
This combination is different for low carbon steel (low mold heat transfer, 2500 kW/m2) and for high carbon steel (wide solidification
range, 100 oC).
High alloyed steels are susceptible to offsquareness, too [11].

Formation mechanism
One of the first proposed formation mechanisms was that the mold shape could distort into a rhomboid, thus giving place to a
rhomboidal strand (figure 5 left) [12].
Another mechanism proposed later by the same authors suppose the formation of a thin shell in the mold in two opposite corners, and
a thick shell in the other two. Then during first stage of secondary cooling, the section is brought to a off-square shape, due to the
faster temperature decrease where the shell is thicker (due to enhanced heat transfer) and contraction is not uniform, giving place to an
acute angle in the colder corners and obtuse angle in the hotter corners (figure 5 right) [13].

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 Upper
sprays

Off-square billet
containing off-
corner internal
cracks

Figure 5. Proposed mechanisms for rhomboidity. Top left: normal mold and strand; bottom: mold with rhomboidity, and enlarged
rhomboidity in the strand [12]. Right: Square billet with variable shell thickness exiting the mold and transforming to a rhomboid
section under differential contraction during cooling [13].

The mechanism proposed initially explains well the fact known from the observation of macroetched transverse slices like those of
figure 2, that the obtuse corners show a thinner shell compared with the acute angles, due to the larger gap between mold and strand,
decreasing heat transfer. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to explain a large rhomboidity based on this mechanism, as mold distortion
never is so large.
Regarding the causes for non-uniform solidification in the mold, a number of reasons have been proposed. First papers emphasized
oscillation marks, deeper in the obtuse corners; mold distortion due to asynchronous boiling; lack of alignment between mold and
water jacket; formation of deposits due to poor water quality; secondary cooling [3].
Afterwards, issues like meniscus level variations and oil behavior influence on heat transfer are taken into account.
Some of the aforementioned problems are not common in modern well-maintained casters. Others are more complex to solve and they
may explain that still today rhomboidity is an issue in the start–up of casters, particularly when rebar is the dominant product in the
mix.

The argumentation in relation to the influence of variations in mold level is as follows [2]:
Oil changes of state with temperature (liquid-boiling-vapor), and this change brings about a large variation in the maximum heat
transfer. For instance, in figure 6 maximum heat transfer in the mold versus mold hot face temperature is shown for several casters,
taking into account the oil state [2].

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 Figure 6. Maximum mold heat transfer versus peak hot face temperature, according to measurement in five casters [2].

If mold were hot, the zone close to the meniscus would be “dry”. If the meniscus travels up, the maximum mold temperature will
follow it, from a zone without oil to other zone with liquid oil. When this happens, oil vaporizes and heat transfer increase by 20%. O
the other hand, if the meniscus travels down, the maximum mold temperature moves to a zone with little oil. In this case there is no
heat transfer increase (unless that in some spot the strand would tend to stick to the mold, due to friction).
So, when metal level goes up in one location and goes down in another, this level variation will imply a difference in shell thickness
between both parts. This is ratified by the fact that billets with large rhomboidity display large mold variations during casting (figure
7).

Figure 7. Effect of variations in steel level in the mold on rhomboidity [2]. 208 x 208 mm blooms.

One more argument in favor of the relevance of heat transfer and level control is given by the fact that billet cast with submerged
nozzle and mold flux do not display significant rhomboidity (see comparison in figure 8) [14]. For instance, in a particular study it was
verified that maximum heat transfer at meniscus level was of 2500 kW m- 2, almost half of the heat transfer recorded with oil as
lubricant.

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 Figure 8. Occurrence of rhomboidal billets for open casting with oil lubrication and submerged casting with casting powder
lubrication [14].

In general it looks like some more research is needed to improve knowledge on the formation mechanism and avoid rhomboidity even
in the start-up of new casters.

Industrial experiences
In the literature of the 80’s, the solution proposed to this problem was related to mold taper (still parallel ore single taper molds were
common); mold-water jacket alignment; water speed and pressure in primary cooling; changes in secondary cooling concentrating
cooling at mold exit, etc. [8, 9, 15]. Conditions at that time were of low casting speed, short molds, small single taper, and low water
speed.
Currently, modern casters have longer molds, boiling is not a problem, mold-water jacket alignment is easier to ensure, but
rhomboidity still occurs. It must be taken into account that casing speed are Double now than before, for the same section, which
could be one of the reasons for the problem to remain.
As mentioned in the introduction, in the latest decade several cases have been reported of offsquareness in relatively new casters.
For instance, Gerdau Açominas, Ouro Branco, Brazil, started-up a five strands caster in 1999. This caster produced 1 Mt by 2001,
35% medium carbon steel. Around 20% of the billet rejections that year was due to offsquareness [7]. A successful improvement plan
included a number of action items, making difficult a deduction of the most important factors [7]:
 To reduce 35% the sulphur aim
 To take care with the assembly of nozzles in the tundish
 Superheat in tundish between 25 and 30º C
 Casting speed limited to 3.6 m/min maximum
 To start campaign with new molds; to inspect the molds after 60 heats; IF in good shape, to continue up to 120 heats;
then, if still in good shape, they go to stock for use for other steel grades
 To decrease steel level in the mold from 70% to 55%
 All molds with foot rolls and double stage in all strands, with negative gap (1st roll –0.1 mm; 2nd roll -0.2 mm
 Team formed to take care of alignment, sprays obstruction and replacement of sprays in secondary cooling
 10% decrease of withdrawal pressure
Similar situation was reported by ArcelorMittal Monlevade, João Monlevade, Brazil. Due to an increase in billet scrapping because of
offsquareness in 1999, a task force carried out a troubleshooting program. They found that rhomboidity occurred in just some strands;
that a decrease in casting speed usually improved results; that the most serious cases occurred with mold with a long life, and that
some of the occurrences could not be explained by any the mentioned parameters [17].
The actions to improve the rejection index included [17]:
 Solution to electromechanical problems
 General alignment of the caster
 Review of the secondary cooling system
 Decrease in steel superheat in tundish
 Quality improvement and monitoring of cooling water
After that, with the start-up of a new blast furnace, operating conditions changed: higher casting speeds, less time for maintenance,
variations in superheat, equipment with overload. At that time, experimental design testing was carried out for medium and high
carbon steels. Steel level in the mold, casting speed and mold life were simultaneously changed. Results were applied succesfully [17].
Another Brazilian plant, ArcelorMittal Piracicaba, had an important occurrence of rhomboidity at the start-up of a new billet caster in
2001. In December, they had up to 11% of heats with offsquareness on the total of heats produced [5]. A six-sigma based action plan
was designed:

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  To improve water jackets alignment
 To reduce mold campaign to 670 hours maximum
 To standardize and control all pressure and flow rate measurement equipment
 To position foot rolls in order to interfere with the billet faces (negative tolerance)
 To reduce primary cooling rate
 To define criteria for cleaning and changing spray nozzles; segments alignment and system checking to verify the work
carried out
Villares Metals, a Brazilian branch of Böhler Uddeholm group, reported in 2005 a problem of offsquareness (and off-corner cracks) in
casting of SAE HNV3 martensitic valve steel billets (C 0.45%, Si 3.15%, Cr 8.2%). The observation of macroetched transverse
showed that the off-corner cracks became more severe when difference between diagonals achieved 10 mm [11]. They found in
metallographic samples that chromium carbides were present in those cracks, same as they have found before in regions with defects
in some valves.
Measures taken to solve the problem were as follows:
 Adjustment of foot rolls: alignment of the two sets of rolls; maximum gap 0.25 mm (1 mm before)
 Secondary cooling: several modifications to make sure that water rate was uniform Oscillation table: leveling
 Mold cooling: modification to increase water rate 150 l/min and to achieve a water speed of 8
 m/s; introduction of demineralizing equipment and flow rate measurement
Recently, a Chinese company, Xianjiang Bayi Iron & Steel Corporation, reported rhomboidity in caster No. 2 of meltshop No. 1.
Solutions in this case were an increase in specific secondary cooling water consumption from 1.73 l/kg to 1.83 l/kg and a shortening of
the side tube of secondary cooling from 172 to 127 mm [18].
In other recent cases, acting on only one factor has given immediate results. For instance, in one South American meltshop the
decisive factor was to use negative gap for foot rolls, and in other, to improve alignment of water jacket/mold [19].
These cases suggest that not always the solutions adopted in one caster are applicable to others, because of the specific situations
regarding casting speed, mold design, operating practice, use or nor use of foot rolls, configuration of first secondary cooling zone, all
variables that may have an influence on the development of rhomboidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Rhomboidity is an old problem of billet casting, particularly for open-cast medium carbon steel. But steel occurrence of this shape
defect is reported, even for new casters.
Originated in the mold, probably in the first centimeters solidified, and linked to steel solidification features and mold heat transfer,
the problem has been generally attributed to non-uniform cooling in the mold.
Strategies to overcome the problem vary from plant to plant and even in the same caster under different operational situations.
From the research point of view, still a full comprehension of the formation mechanism is lacking; the mechanisms proposed in the
literature give partial explanation to the offsquareness occurrence.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Dr. Carlos Alberto Pinheiro, SABIC, Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and to Mr. Bruno Hoppe, AboutFurnaces, Porto Alegre, Brazil, for
their review of the paper and useful comments.

REFERENCES

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