An apparatus for the continuous casting of thin slabs, having a strand guide, which is arranged downstream of a permanent mold in the casting direction and which guides the strand output from the permanent mold along a first direction, having an adjoining bending/straightening region, which a mechanism for driving and bending the strand in a second direction, which differs from the first direction, having a cutting device, which cuts the strand into thin slabs, and having a first furnace, which is provided for temperature compensation in the strand, wherein the first furnace extends in an arched manner at least partially over the bending/straightening region and in part along the second direction.

Method for the continuous casting of a product (P) along a curved casting line (18), provided with a crystallizer (11) having a tubular cavity (12) with a polygonal cross section defined by a determinate number of sides (n). The product (P) exiting from the crystallizer (11) is curved along the casting line (18) by support and curving rollers (19) and without the aid of lateral containing sectors of the cross section of the product (P).

Described herein are techniques for improving the grain structure of a metal product by applying ultrasonic energy to a continuously cast metal product at a position downstream from the casting region and allowing the ultrasonic energy to propagate through the metal product to the solidification region. At the solidification region, the ultrasonic energy can interact with the growing metal grains, such as to deagglomerate and disperse nucleating particles and to disrupt and fragment dendrites as they grow, which can promote additional nucleation and result in smaller grain sizes.

A soft reduction device (1) of a round-section metal product, having liquid or partially liquid core, for reducing the thickness of said metal product coming from a continuous casting machine, the device comprising at least two soft reduction units (2, 3); in which said at least two soft reduction units (2, 3) are arranged in series; in which each soft reduction unit (2, 3) is provided with a group of only three rolls arranged at 120 from one another; and wherein the group of three rolls (7, 8, 9) of one soft reduction unit is offset by a predetermined angle with respect to the group of three rolls (10, 11, 12) of an adjacent soft reduction unit.

A soft reduction device (1) of a round-section metal product, having liquid or partially liquid core, for reducing the thickness of said metal product coming from a continuous casting machine, the device comprising at least two soft reduction units (2, 3); in which said at least two soft reduction units (2, 3) are arranged in series; in which each soft reduction unit (2, 3) is provided with a group of only three rolls arranged at 120 from one another; and wherein the group of three rolls (7, 8, 9) of one soft reduction unit is offset by a predetermined angle with respect to the group of three rolls (10, 11, 12) of an adjacent soft reduction unit.

An R, R, C method and equipment for continuously casting amorphous, ultra-microcrystalline, microcrystalline and the like, metal profiles is provided. A working chamber of an exhaust hood with a powerful exhaust hood, and a working cold source of liquid nitrogen at a temperature of t=190 C. and a pressure of p=1.877 bar are used. The working chamber of exhaust hood is located at the outlet of hot mold, and only air is contained therein in addition to slabs or profiles that are pulled out, without any device or equipment. A traction mechanism pulls metal slabs or profiles out from the outlet of cross section of hot mold. A liquid nitrogen ejector ejects liquid nitrogen to the metal slabs or profiles of different brands and specifications at a liquid nitrogen ejection volume of liquid nitrogen V, an ejection speed of liquid nitrogen K and a thickness of liquid nitrogen ejection layer h.

A guiding unit for slabs comprising at least two rolls (10, 10) connected to each other and adapted to rotate along a same axis X; wherein each roll comprises a first tubular element (12) and a second tubular element (5), which is external and coaxial to axis X and to the first tubular element and removable from said first tubular element; wherein cooling channels (3, 30) are provided in each roll between said first tubular element and said second tubular element for the passage of a coolant liquid; wherein each roll comprises a respective hub at its two ends; and wherein each hub is provided with cavities communicating with the cooling channels of the respective roll so as to define a path for the coolant liquid from a first end to a second end of the guiding unit crossing said at least two rolls.

Conditions for soft reduction are determined in a method of continuous casting in accordance with a method utilizing the thickness of a slab strand to prevent center segregation from occurring in the strand due to an insufficient pressing rate or internal cracks from occurring in the strand due to an excessively high pressing rate.

A continuous-cast slab is provided where central porosity is reduced by surly crushing the slab. A method and apparatus of manufacturing the slab is also provided. The continuous-cast slab having horizontally symmetrical granular equiaxed crystals at least in the center in the thickness direction includes a first reduction dent and a second reduction dent that further dents from the bottom surface of the first reduction dent and is narrower than the first reduction dent at least on one long side surface. Such a configuration can makes it possible to achieve the continuous-cast slab of no more than 2.510.sup.4 cm.sup.3/g in a maximum porosity volume while segregation is reduced.

A method and a device for producing ingots from metal or metal alloy. The method and the device are suitable for producing ingots from nickel, titanium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, zirconium, hafnium, or alloys thereof and alloys of the metals in continuous casting methods. The device has an ingot chamber, which is suitable for receiving multiple cast ingots and for allowing the ingots to cool in the ingot chamber. For this purpose, the ingots are arranged in the ingot chamber in a horizontally movable manner on ingot tube section.