Cleanness of Molten Steel—Active and Reactive, Exchangeable Filter Systems for the Continuous Casting of Steel

The filtrationFiltration of steel melts in the continuous castingContinuous casting of steel is of special interest in order to meet the ever-increasing purity requirements regarding the metal’s purity. Due to the high mass flow and the high casting duration, the application of in-built filters in the tundish system is rather challenging, especially regarding the filter capacity. In the framework of this contribution, a new concept involving the immersion of filters into the steel melt from above the tundish was investigated. This approach allows for the flexible exchange of used filters without interruption of the underlying process. At the Institute of Ceramics, Refractories and Composite Materials, carbon-bonded aluminaCarbon-bonded alumina filters on the basis of established slurry compositions and modified replication techniques were scaled up for the industrial application in continuous castingContinuous casting of steel. The best property profile was observed for a triple coating approach based on centrifugation, dip coating and spray coating. In the tundish of a steel casting simulator, a lab-scale casting test was conducted in order to check the thermos-mechanical behavior of the filter in contact with molten steel. After the successful evaluation in lab scale, the filters were tested in industrial trials in cooperation with the company thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG. A ladle casting with immersed filter lasted approximately 45 min with a static casting speed of 8 to 10 t/min and a melt temperature of above 1550 °C. The filters were analyzed for inclusions and potential damage at the Institute of Ceramics, Refractories and Composite Materials. Dense clogging layers on the filter surface were identified as in-situ layers as usually observed in lab-scale steel casting simulator tests in consequence of reactive filtrationFiltration effects. Furthermore, inclusion clusters which were removed at the filter bottom due to the direct inflow in consequence of the buoyancy were observed as signs of active filtration. A further alternative to foam filtersFoam filters is presented by gel-cast spaghetti filter structures with mechanically robust full-strut structure. In the subproject T01K, the gel castingGel casting process was optimized in order to realize the necessary upscaling of the components. With the aid of alginate-based gel casting, spaghetti filter with organized lattice structures were manufactured and tested. Steel casting simulator trials showed favorable behavior in contact with the melt.