초록 ▼

A melt drag metal strip casting system of the type wherein molten metal is delivered from a supply of the molten metal into contact with a grooved chill surface at a casting station and the chill surface is driven for movement in a path past the casting station at a predetermined linear rate to quen

A melt drag metal strip casting system of the type wherein molten metal is delivered from a supply of the molten metal into contact with a grooved chill surface at a casting station and the chill surface is driven for movement in a path past the casting station at a predetermined linear rate to quench and withdraw a continuous strip of metal from the molten metal supply, the grooves in the chill surface being gradually parallel and spaced from one another to provide land regions between adjacent grooves and the strip having a bottom surface adhering to the land regions of the chill surface and an unsolidified top surface as it is withdrawn from the molten metal supply, including a top roll adjustable mounted above the chill surface and spaced therefrom by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the strip desired with the top roll in contact only with the unsolidified top surface of the strip, with the temperature of the top roll surface in contact with the unsolidified top surface of the strip being maintained at a level which will not solidify the top surface of the metal being cast.

대표청구항 ▼

In a melt drag metal strip casting apparatus wherein molten metal is delivered from a supply of the molten metal into contact with a chill surface at a casting station and the chill surface is driven for movement in a path past the casting station at a predetermined linear rate to quench and withdra

In a melt drag metal strip casting apparatus wherein molten metal is delivered from a supply of the molten metal into contact with a chill surface at a casting station and the chill surface is driven for movement in a path past the casting station at a predetermined linear rate to quench and withdraw a continuous strip of metal from the molten metal supply, the strip having a bottom surface adhering to the chill surface and an unsolidified top surface as it is withdrawn from the molten metal supply, the improvement comprising, a plurality of generally parallel grooves formed in said chill surface, said grooves being spaced from one another to provide a finite, substantially smooth land region between each adjacent pair of said grooves, said grooves having a density of at least about 12 grooves per centimeter and having a width sufficiently small so that molten metal being cast forms a meniscus spanning each groove, a top roll, mounting means supporting the top roll for rotation about a horizontal axis above the chill surface with the top roll surface spaced from the chill surface by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the strip desired and in position to contact only the unsolidified top surface of the strip whereby a strip being formed is not forced into said grooves, means independent of the metal being cast for applying heat to the top roll, means driving the top roll for rotation about its horizontal axis, and means withdrawing the solidified layer as a continuous metal strip. The method of casting commercial quality metal sheet directly from molten metal in a melt pool in a tundish, comprising grooving the outer cylindrical surface of a chill wheel with axially spaced substantially circumferentially extending grooves to produce a casting surface with a uniform groove density within the range of from about 12 to about 35 grooves per centimeter and having smooth substantially cylindrical land regions between adjacent grooves with the substantially flat land regions intersecting the sides of adjacent grooves along generally circumferentially extending, axially spaced lines, rotating the chill wheel about a first axis and passing the grooved surface through the melt pool to extract a melt layer on the grooved surface, the melt layer directly contacting the land regions and substantially spanning each groove between adjacent land surfaces, providing an uncooled cylindrical top roll adjacent the exit of the melt layer from the pool with the axis of rotation of the top roll substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the chill wheel and having its outer substantially cylindrical surface in spaced relation to the cylindrical surface of the chill wheel to define a gap therebetween corresponding to the thickness of the metal strip to be cast, adjusting the gap so that the top roll contacts only the molten metal above the solidifying strip whereby the strip is not pressed into the grooves on the chill surface, rotating the top roll to smooth the top surface of the strip and provide gauge control for the strip, and withdrawing heat from the melt layer through the grooved surface to progressively solidify the melt layer from the grooved surface to the melt layer top surface.