A device is disclosed for coupling a coolant supply and/or coolant drainage to a roll, especially in a continuous casting installation, wherein the roll includes a journal, which is mounted rotatably in a bearing block, and a lateral recess, extending in the axial direction, and at least one roll cooling channel, through which a coolant can pass. The device includes at least one coolant channel, which can be brought into fluidic connection with the roll cooling channel on the journal side; and a sealing unit for sealing the fluidic connection between the coolant channel and the roll cooling channel, including an inner module and an outer module. The inner module includes a hollow cylindrical element, which can be inserted into the lateral recess of the journal, and which, when viewed in the axial direction, has no flange on the outer side of the journal.

A device is disclosed for coupling a coolant supply and/or coolant drainage to a roll, especially in a continuous casting installation, wherein the roll includes a journal, which is mounted rotatably in a bearing block, and a lateral recess, extending in the axial direction, and at least one roll cooling channel, through which a coolant can pass. The device includes at least one coolant channel, which can be brought into fluidic connection with the roll cooling channel on the journal side; and a sealing unit for sealing the fluidic connection between the coolant channel and the roll cooling channel, including an inner module and an outer module. The inner module includes a hollow cylindrical element, which can be inserted into the lateral recess of the journal, and which, when viewed in the axial direction, has no flange on the outer side of the journal.

A horizontal continuous casting apparatus includes a fluid supply pipe for supplying a lubricating fluid to the hollow portion of the mold, which is arranged on one end side of the mold; and, a cooling water cavity for accommodating cooling water cooling an inner peripheral surface of the hollow portion of the mold, which is formed outside the inner peripheral surface, wherein the inner peripheral surface and the inner bottom surface of the cooling water cavity facing the inner peripheral surface form parallel surfaces with each other, and a cooling wall of the mold between the inner peripheral surface and the inner bottom surface is formed so that the heat flux value per unit area from the molten aluminum alloy to the cooling water is 10×10.sup.5 W/m.sup.2 or more.

Secondary cooling apparatus in a machine for continuous casting of metal products, such that each metal product is cast, contained and guided along an axis of movement. The secondary cooling apparatus includes a plurality of cooling assemblies disposed in sequence one to the other along the continuous casting machine. Each assembly includes a plurality of cooling units each provided with one or more nozzles disposed along the axis of movement. The cooling units of each assembly are adjacent to each other to cover a width at least equal to the maximum width of the metal product which can be cast in the continuous casting machine.

Method to control a secondary cooling apparatus in a machine for continuous casting of metal products. The secondary cooling apparatus includes a plurality of cooling units equipped with nozzles, each nozzle is provided with delivery orifices from which a refrigerant fluid is delivered, on each occasion according to the punctual cooling needs, toward a metal product.

A method of manufacturing a round steel billet by continuous casting includes a local cooling step where inhomogeneous forced cooling is applied to a cast product during the continuous casting, and a rolling reduction step where rolling reduction is applied to the cast product in the opposite directions of the polar opposites by reduction rolls in the course from the completion of solidification to the completion of the recuperation of the cast product so that rolling reduction r which is a reduction ratio of a distance between middle points of the polar opposites is set to a value exceeding 0% and 5% or less.

A method of manufacturing a round steel billet by continuous casting includes a local cooling step where inhomogeneous forced cooling is applied to a cast product during the continuous casting, and a rolling reduction step where rolling reduction is applied to the cast product in the opposite directions of the polar opposites by reduction rolls in the course from the completion of solidification to the completion of the recuperation of the cast product so that rolling reduction r which is a reduction ratio of a distance between middle points of the polar opposites is set to a value exceeding 0% and 5% or less.

The present disclosure shows a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate that has excellent properties for superplastic-forming, such as blow forming, and that has excellent surface properties after forming. Shown is a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate and a production method therefor, the superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate being characterized by comprising an aluminum alloy which contains 2.0 to 6.0 mass % Mg, 0.5 to 1.8 mass % Mn and 0.40 mass % or less Cr and in which the balance consists of Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein the unavoidable impurities are restricted to have 0.20 mass % or less Fe and 0.20 mass % or less Si, the 0.2% proof stress is 340 MPa or more, and the density of intermetallic compounds having an equivalent circular diameter of 5 to 15 μm at the RD-TD plane which extends along the center of the plate cross-section is 50 to 400 pieces/mm.sup.2.

The present disclosure shows a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate that has excellent properties for superplastic-forming, such as blow forming, and that has excellent surface properties after forming. Shown is a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate and a production method therefor, the superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate being characterized by comprising an aluminum alloy which contains 2.0 to 6.0 mass % Mg, 0.5 to 1.8 mass % Mn and 0.40 mass % or less Cr and in which the balance consists of Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein the unavoidable impurities are restricted to have 0.20 mass % or less Fe and 0.20 mass % or less Si, the 0.2% proof stress is 340 MPa or more, and the density of intermetallic compounds having an equivalent circular diameter of 5 to 15 μm at the RD-TD plane which extends along the center of the plate cross-section is 50 to 400 pieces/mm.sup.2.

Provided are lean duplex stainless steel having a dual-phase structure of an austenite phase and a ferrite phase, and a method for producing the lean duplex stainless steel. The lean duplex stainless steel, as a ferrite-austenite stainless steel, has the preferred stacking fault energy (SFE) value of the austenite phase, expressed by the formula 2 below, of 19-37 and critical strain value range, within which the strain-induced martensite phases occurs, of 0.1−0.25. Formula 2: SFE=25.7+1.59×Ni/[K(Ni)−K(Ni)×V(γ)+V(γ)]+0.795×Cu/[K(Cu)−K(Cu)×V(γ)+V(γ)]−0.85×Cr/[K(Cr)−K(Cr)×V(γ)+V(γ)]+0.001×(Cr/[K(Cr)−K(Cr)×V(γ)+V(γ)]).sup.2+38.2×(N/[K(N)−K(N)×V(γ)+V(γ)]).sup.0.5−2.8×Si/[K(Si)−K(Si)×V(γ)+V(γ)]−1.34×Mn/[K(Mn)−K(Mn)×V(γ)+V(γ)]+0.06×(Mn/[K(Mn)−K(Mn)×V(γ)+V(γ)]).sup.2. Ni, Cu, Cr, N, Si and Mn indicate the overall content (wt. %) of the respective constituent element, and K(x) is the distribution index of respective constituent element (x) and is expressed by the formula 3 below, and V(γ) is the component ratio of austenite (in the 0.45-0.75 range). Formula 3: K(x)=[amount of element x in ferrite phase]/[amount of element x in austenite phase]