Fundamental Design of Steelmaking Refractories

10 Refractories for Flow Control

10.1 Introduction

Longer retention of molten metal in the ladle is required for more sophisticated ladle secondary metallurgy, resulting in better steel quality. The stopper could no longer survive in this severe environment, and a slide gate was introduced to resolve the problem. While secondary steel processing is a concern, two important vessels demand effective flow control: a) Ladle to tundish during steel processing and b) tundish to subentry shroud (SES) during continuous steel casting. In tradition, the two-plate and three-plate systems are used for ladle and tundish, respectively. However, a reverse arrangement can be used on a tailormade basis. Continuous and interrupted flow management is required for high productivity, and it is an effective operation practice for a target of the highest level of performance. It is concerned with converting liquid steel into a solid casted product as efficiently as possible to maximize the achievement of steel quality.

A simple schematic in Figure 10.1 represents the particular location where slide gate systems are essentially introduced to control the steel flow. Other continuous casting refractories are also highlighted in the schematic. However, their details are discussed in Chapter 11. It is obvious several refractory accessories such as well-block, ladle nozzle, fixed plate, sliding plate, and collector nozzle are required to complete the ladle slide gate system. The tundish slide gate is a ...