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.

A continuously casting method including arranging temperature measuring elements according to specified conditions, selecting as evaluation targets for temperatures of copper plates on a wide face of mold values measured by the temperature measuring elements arranged closer to a center in a width direction of a cast slab than short sides of the cast slab under continuous casting at levels of 50 mm or more lower in a slab withdrawal direction than a meniscus of a molten steel in a mold, and adjusting a casting condition such that a standard deviation of the values measured over the width direction of the copper plates on the wide face of mold at a same level in the slab withdrawal direction is 20° C. or lower.

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.

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.

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 casting of metal strip by continuous casting in a twin roll caster is provied. In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair of counter-rotated horizontal casting rolls that are cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving roll surfaces. The twin roll caster is capable of continuously producing cast strip from molten steel through a sequence of ladles positioned on a turret. In casting thin strip by twin roll caster, the crown of the casting surfaces of the casting rolls varies during a casting campaign. The crown of the casting surfaces of the casting rolls in turn determines the strip thickness profile.

A casting of metal strip by continuous casting in a twin roll caster is provied. In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair of counter-rotated horizontal casting rolls that are cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving roll surfaces. The twin roll caster is capable of continuously producing cast strip from molten steel through a sequence of ladles positioned on a turret. In casting thin strip by twin roll caster, the crown of the casting surfaces of the casting rolls varies during a casting campaign. The crown of the casting surfaces of the casting rolls in turn determines the strip thickness profile.

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.