Methods of billet casting are provided herein. The methods may include the steps of assembling a billet caster with a shroud extending from a tundish to above a mold such that the shroud does not reach molten metal in the mold, delivering molten metal from a ladle into the tundish, delivering molten metal from the tundish through the shroud to the mold, the shroud inhibiting contact between the molten metal and air, casting the molten metal into billets in the mold and cooling the billets below the mold with a coolant spray, and delivering the cooled billet to a runout table to be cut to length.

Disclosed is a casting furnace featuring submerged, mechanical control of liquid level, which relates to continuous casting and solves the problem of low billet productivity. The casting furnace featuring submerged, mechanical control of liquid level includes a melting furnace, a holding furnace, and a crystallizer, the crystallizer including a chamber for accommodating metal liquid, the holding furnace communicating with the melting furnace and the chamber, respectively, a traction head being provided on the crystallizer, the chamber maintaining communication with the holding furnace, the holding furnace including a liftable immersion device, the immersion device being submerged in the metal liquid to elevate liquid level height in the chamber; the crystallizer having a liquid level detecting device, lift height of the immersion device being adjusted based on a detection signal of the liquid level detecting device such that the liquid level in the chamber is maintained at a preset height.

Disclosed is a casting furnace featuring submerged, mechanical control of liquid level, which relates to continuous casting and solves the problem of low billet productivity. The casting furnace featuring submerged, mechanical control of liquid level includes a melting furnace, a holding furnace, and a crystallizer, the crystallizer including a chamber for accommodating metal liquid, the holding furnace communicating with the melting furnace and the chamber, respectively, a traction head being provided on the crystallizer, the chamber maintaining communication with the holding furnace, the holding furnace including a liftable immersion device, the immersion device being submerged in the metal liquid to elevate liquid level height in the chamber; the crystallizer having a liquid level detecting device, lift height of the immersion device being adjusted based on a detection signal of the liquid level detecting device such that the liquid level in the chamber is maintained at a preset height.

Provided herein is a system, apparatus, and method for continuous casting of metal, and more particularly, to a mechanism for controlling the shape of a direct chill casting mold to dynamically control a profile of an ingot cast from the mold during the casting process. Embodiments may provide an apparatus for casting material including: first and second opposing side walls; first and second end walls extending between the first and second side walls, where the first and second opposing side walls and the first and second opposing end walls form a generally rectangular shaped mold cavity. At least one of the first and second opposing side walls may include two or more contact regions, where each of the two or more contact regions may be configured to be displaced relative to a straight line along the side wall.

Provided herein is a system, apparatus, and method for continuous casting of metal, and more particularly, to a mechanism for controlling the shape of a direct chill casting mold to dynamically control a profile of an ingot cast from the mold during the casting process. Embodiments may provide an apparatus for casting material including: first and second opposing side walls; first and second end walls extending between the first and second side walls, where the first and second opposing side walls and the first and second opposing end walls form a generally rectangular shaped mold cavity. At least one of the first and second opposing side walls may include two or more contact regions, where each of the two or more contact regions may be configured to be displaced relative to a straight line along the side wall.

A method of controlling a continuous casting system for producing slabs from a material, the continuous casting system having a number of molds for forming corresponding strands, the method including receiving a plurality of casting orders, determining for each of the casting orders a set of slabs to be cast, sorting the slabs to be cast of the sets of the casting orders to obtain a sorted base sequence, uniformly partitioning the sorted base sequence into a number of subsequences, adjusting slab widths of the slabs to be cast of the subsequence, wherein, due to the adjustment, the width changes between two slabs to be cast immediately one after the other in the subsequence do not exceed a step value, wherein adjusted subsequences are obtained from the adjusted slab widths, transmitting control data to the continuous casting system for producing the slabs to be cast determined in the adjusted subsequences.

Provided herein is a system, apparatus, and method for continuous casting of metal, and more particularly, to a mechanism for controlling the shape of a direct chill casting mold to dynamically control a profile of an ingot cast from the mold during the casting process. Embodiments may provide an apparatus for casting material including: first and second opposing side walls; first and second end walls extending between the first and second side walls, where the first and second opposing side walls and the first and second opposing end walls form a generally rectangular shaped mold cavity. At least one of the first and second opposing side walls may include two or more contact regions, where each of the two or more contact regions may be configured to be displaced relative to a straight line along the side wall.

Provided herein is a system, apparatus, and method for continuous casting of metal, and more particularly, to a mechanism for controlling the shape of a direct chill casting mold to dynamically control a profile of an ingot cast from the mold during the casting process. Embodiments may provide an apparatus for casting material including: first and second opposing side walls; first and second end walls extending between the first and second side walls, where the first and second opposing side walls and the first and second opposing end walls form a generally rectangular shaped mold cavity. At least one of the first and second opposing side walls may include two or more contact regions, where each of the two or more contact regions may be configured to be displaced relative to a straight line along the side wall.

A determination apparatus of a casting state in continuous casting where there are a solidified shell, a mold flux layer, and a mold being respective thermal conductors between a molten steel and cooling water for the mold, the determination apparatus comprising an estimation unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. A computer program for causing a computer to determine a casting state in continuous casting where there are a solidified shell, a mold flux layer, and a mold being respective thermal conductors between a molten steel and cooling water for the mold.

A determination apparatus of a casting state in continuous casting where there are a solidified shell, a mold flux layer, and a mold being respective thermal conductors between a molten steel and cooling water for the mold, the determination apparatus comprising an estimation unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. A computer program for causing a computer to determine a casting state in continuous casting where there are a solidified shell, a mold flux layer, and a mold being respective thermal conductors between a molten steel and cooling water for the mold.