DIFFERENT

MACROSTRUCTURE
DEFECTS IN CONTINUOUS
CAST STEELS
Introduction to continuous
casting process
Continuous casting of steel is entering a new era of development,
not only with respect to its increasing application in the
production process, but also in its own evolution as a process and
its interaction with other processes in steel manufacture.
Continuous casting output has shown an accelerating growth
curve. More than 50% of current world steel production is
continuously cast, and continuous casting in Japan exceeds 80%.

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 General Description of the Process
The purpose of continuous casting is to bypass conventional ingot casting
and to cast to a form that is directly rollable on finishing mills. The use of
this process should result in improvement in yield, surface condition, and
internal quality of product when compared to ingot-made material.
Continuous casting involves the following sequence of operations:
1. Delivery of liquid metal to the casting strand
2. Flow of metal through a distributor into the casting mold.
3. Formation of the cast section in a water-cooled copper mold.
4. Continuous withdrawal of the casting from the mold.
5. Further heat removal to solidify the liquid core from the casting by
water spraying beyond the mold.
6. Cutting to length and removing the cast sections.

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 Macrostructure defects in casting
The defect can be defined as any deviation from the appearance, form,
size, macrostructure or chemical properties provided in the technical standards
or other normative documents in force.
Defects are detected at the billets reception, by checking their surface
quality on the inspection beds, or by checking the macrostructure of the test
samples.
A defect is not always the result of a single case. Often, the defect is
the result of multiple interacting causes, depending on a variable number of
parameters.
Defects in continuous casting originate from several factors like mould
oscillation, mould flux, segregation coefficient of solute elements; phase
transformation etc.

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 DEFECTS

INTERNAL SURFACE SHAPE

• Midway cracks • Longitudinal mid face • Longitudinal depression

• Triple point cracks cracks • Transverse depression
• Center line cracks • Transverse mid face • Rhomboidity
• Diagonal cracks cracks.
• Centre segregation and • Star cracks
porosity
• Casting flux inclusion
• Blow holes
• Pipes

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Internal defects - Causes
Cracks are originated in the cast product due to mechanical and
thermal stresses
Mechanical stresses are created by friction, ferro static pressure,
roll pressure , bending and straightening operation.
It can be reduced by improving control of powder feed
rate, resonance in mold, more accurate guidance..
Thermal stresses are created by non-uniform cooling in
secondary zone
It can be controlled by Controlling water flux impinging
the surface of the strand and minimizing reheating of
strand, also air & water mist spray provides more uniform
cooling.

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Blowholes are cavities in the outer surface or in the subsurface zone of
the billet , caused by
o Insufficient deoxidation (presence of gases:-hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen);
o Humidity of the casting powder.

Non-metallic inclusions arise because of many physical-chemical effects

that occur in molten and consolidated metal during production.
Segregation refers to non-uniformity of chemical composition. A high
degree of positive segregation in the central region is known as
centreline segregation.
As a result of segregation liquid is not able to flow freely and
compensate for shrinkage, results in porosity
Pipes are shrinkage cavity formed during solidification of fully
deoxidized steel.These are normally open.

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 Blow holes Triple point cracks

Midway Cracks Inclusion Centre segregation

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Surface defects - Causes
The unevenly removal of the heat in the mould and, therefore,
the uneven increase of the strand crust, causing transverse
tensions that lead to the strand cracking if the crust is not strong
enough (uneven primary cooling);
Turbulent flow of metal and a meniscus level variation in the
mould;
Secondary cooling too intense or uneven;
Unequal, advanced wear of the mould that leads to a different
thermal conductivity coefficient;
High casting temperature

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 Transverse cracks Longitudinal cracks

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Shape defects - Causes
Transverse depressions are due to much larger contractions
occurred during solidification.
Longitudinal depressions are due to uneven heat transfer in the
mould which caused due to-
o The steel level fluctuation in the mould.
o The uneven and advanced wear of the mould.

Billet Rhomboidity (difference in opposite diagonals) starts with

non-uniform shell solidification in the mould which is due to
inconsistent mould cooling causing irregular heat transfer.

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 Transverse depression
Longitudinal depression

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Reference
ASM Handbook vol 15
Wikipedia
Defect in steel by Octa Journal
www.aws.org_itrends_2004_07_it0704-33

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