The present invention provides a copper billet horizontal continuous casting apparatus with a vertical shaft furnace for smelting and a corresponding process. The copper billet horizontal continuous casting apparatus with a vertical shaft furnace for smelting includes: a vertical shaft, a refining furnace, a mixing furnace, a holding furnace, and a continuous casting furnace; wherein the refining furnace includes a furnace body, and a gas flushing device disposed beneath the furnace body, a gas flushing brick is provided at the chamber bottom wall of the furnace body; a gas inlet device is provided on the vertical shaft furnace; the vertical shaft furnace further includes a detecting device and an adjusting device which are connected with the air inlet device.

A method for producing a strip using a rapid solidification technology is provided. A melt is poured onto a moving outer surface of a rotating casting wheel, the melt is solidified on the outer surface and a strip is formed. A gaseous jet is directed at the moving outer surface and the outer surface of the casting wheel is worked with the jet. The jet comprises CO.sub.2 and at least part of this CO.sub.2 strikes the moving outer surface of the casting wheel in a solid state.

A wire rod of a Cu—Zn—Si based alloy obtained by up-drawing continuous casting is provided; the amount of Cu is within a range of 75.0 mass% or more and 76.9 mass% or less, the amount of Si is within a range of 2.6 mass% or more and 3.1 mass% or less, the amount of Zr is within a range of 0.003 mass% or more and 0.20 mass% or less, the amount of P is within a range of 0.02 mass% or more and 0.15 mass% or less, the balance is composed of Zn and inevitable impurities, and the number density of a Zr—P compound containing Zr and P is within a range of 1500 pieces/mm.sup.2 or more and 7000 pieces/mm.sup.2 or less.

Described herein are formable, high strength aluminum alloy products and methods of preparing and processing the same. The methods of preparing and processing the aluminum alloy products include casting an aluminum alloy and performing tailored rolling and downstream thermal processing steps. The resulting aluminum alloy products possess high strength and formability properties.

This application discloses thin metal strips and methods of making thin metal strip. Particular embodiments of such methods include cooling the thin metal strip to a temperature equal to or less than a bainite or a martensite start transformation temperature B.sub.S or M.sub.S to thereby form bainite and/or martensite, respectively, within the thin metal strip, reheating the thin metal strip to a reheat temperature equal to or greater than transformation temperature Ac.sub.3 and holding the thin metal strip at the reheat temperature for at least 2 seconds and thereby forming austenite within the thin metal strip with at least 75% of austenite grains having a grain size equal to or less than 15 μm, and rapidly recooling the thin metal strip to a temperature equal to or less than the martensite start transformation temperature M.sub.S and thereby providing finer martensite within the thin metal strip from a finer prior austenite.

Amorphous metal foil and method for the production of an amorphous metal foil using a rapid solidification technology is provided. An amorphous metal foil having a width of 2 mm to 300 mm, a thickness of less than 20 μm and a maximum of 50 holes per square metre is also provided.

Systems and associated methods are provided for controlling the shape of an ingot head during formation. At the end of a cast, prior to forming the ingot head, chill bars or other cooling structure may be lowered into an ingot mold and define a reduced casting footprint for forming the ingot head. Supplemental molten metal may be fed into the reduced casting footprint, and the chill bars may be moved laterally towards the center of the ingot, further reducing the casting footprint. As additional molten metal fills the reduced mold footprint, the ingot may be lowered relative to the chill bars to further increase the height of the ingot head. Additional molten metal may be added until the desired shape of the ingot head is formed.

This slab is a slab of high-Al steel containing C: 0.02 mass% to 0.50 mass% and Al: 0.20 mass% to 2.00 mass%, in which, in a case where [Zr], [Al], and [N] each represent a content (mass%) in the slab, a Zr content satisfies a relationship of [Zr] ≥ 4/3 × [Al] × [N].

This slab is a slab of high-Al steel containing C: 0.02 mass% to 0.50 mass% and Al: 0.20 mass% to 2.00 mass%, in which, in a case where [Zr], [Al], and [N] each represent a content (mass%) in the slab, a Zr content satisfies a relationship of [Zr] ≥ 4/3 × [Al] × [N].

A secondary cooling control method for reinforcing surface solidification structure of microalloyed steel continuous casting bloom includes: in situ observing precipitation behavior of secondary phase particles of the microalloyed steel, and determining a concentrated precipitation temperature range; cooling the microalloyed steel at different cooling rates, obtaining a particle size and a volume fraction of the secondary phase particles of the microalloyed steel at different cooling rates; determining an optimal average cooling rate; determining an optimal average cooling rate r; determining an optimal average cooling rate; and determining an optimal average cooling rate range through intersection of the three optimal average cooling rates whereby the continuous casting secondary cooling is optimized. The present invention can enhance the surface solidification structure of continuous casting bloom and reduce surface and subsurface cracks of the microalloyed steel continuous casting bloom.