A new method for determination of the theoretical reduction amount for wide-thick slab during the mechanical reduction process

Mechanical soft reduction (MSR) is an effective method for elimination of the centerline segregation and porosity of the continuous casting steel slab, and the reduction amount is a key parameter that determines whether the MSR could be applied successfully. In the present work, a 2D heat transfer model was developed for predicting the non-uniform solidification of the wide-thick slab. The measured shell thickness by nail shooting experiment and the measured slab surface temperature by infrared camera were applied to validate the 2D heat transfer model. A new calculation method of theoretical reduction amount that could consider the influence of non-uniform solidification of the wide-thick slab was then derived. Based on the predicted temperature field by the 2D heat transfer model and the newly-proposed calculation method, the required theoretical reduction amount and reduction gradient/rate for the wide-thick slab were calculated and discussed. The difference between the newly-proposed method and the previous method, the influence of the casting speed and slab thickness on the required theoretical reduction amount and reduction gradient/rate were also investigated.