A continuous casting line, which has a mold for the output of a strand and a strand guide connected to the mold having a plurality of rollers arranged in pairs for transporting the strand in a conveying direction. One or more of the rollers can be engaged so that a thickness reduction of the strand occurs in the strand guide.

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 steel casting method includes producing a strand. The producing of the strand includes pouring molten steel into a mold of a continuous casting machine and withdrawing a solidified shell from the mold, the solidified shell being a solidified portion of the molten steel. The method includes applying a static magnetic field to at least a portion of a region of the strand, the strand being in the continuous casting machine, the region being a region where a solid fraction fs at a thickness-wise middle position of the strand is in a given range, the static magnetic field having a magnetic field strength of greater than or equal to 0.15 T and being in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the strand is withdrawn, the static magnetic field being applied at an application time ratio of greater than or equal to 10%.

A method to determine the crater end location of a cast metal product during its casting, the crater end location being the location at which the cast metal product becomes fully solidified. A continuous casting method and a continuous casting machine are also provided.

Provided is a continuous casting method of steel that prevents a solidification completion position from being changed even when a drawing speed V of a cast slab is changed. The method includes drawing a cast slab by setting a drawing speed V0 while spraying cooling water to the cast slab at a cooling water spray amount W0 [kg/ton-cast slab]. Then, changing the drawing speed to the speed V1 while spraying cooling water to the cast slab at a cooling water spray amount W1 [kg/ton-cast slab]. The method further includes spraying cooling water to the cast slab at a cooling water spray amount Wt [kg/ton-cast slab] during a period of time t that is obtained by dividing a target length Lt by the drawing speed V0. The water spray amount Wt satisfying either formula (1): Wt<W1 under a condition of V1<V0, or formula (2): Wt>W1 under a condition of V1>V0.

A continuous caster to cast a metal product has a plurality of upper and lower segment frames bearing rolls, the upper and lower segment frames being located respectively above and below the cast metal product. At least one bending measurer is located on at least one of the upper segment frames and able to emit a bending measurement signal indicative of a bending of the at least one of the upper segment frames. A processor is disposed to receive the bending measurement signal and to calculate a location Pmes of the crater end based on the measured bending signal, the crater end location being the location

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 heat transfer coefficient between a solidified shell (2) and a mold (4) sandwiching a mold flux layer (3), and a heat transfer coefficient between a molten steel (1) and the solidified shell (2) are found by solving an inverse problem by using data from thermocouples (6), and a solidified shell thickness and a solidified shell temperature are estimated (solidified state in mold estimation amounts), and further, solidified state in mold evaluation amounts are obtained. It is determined whether a normal casting state or an abnormal casting state by comparing at least one or more kinds of amounts contained in the solidified state in mold estimation amounts and the solidified state in mold evaluation amounts with allowable limit values which are found based on at least one or more kinds of amounts contained in the solidified state in mold estimation amounts and the solidified state in mold evaluation amounts when the abnormal casting occurred in a past and stored in a data storage part.

A monitoring and control system is for a strand guide roll assembly of a continuous casting machine which includes a plurality of rolls spaced apart generally along a path of travel of a strand from an input end located adjacent to a mold to an output end. The system includes a plurality of sensors each coupled with a separate one of the rolls so as to be spaced apart generally along the travel path, each sensor senses magnitude of a load on the coupled roll. A logic circuit is coupled with each sensor so as to receive input from the sensors corresponding to load magnitude. The logic circuit is configured to determine from the sensor input a general position on the travel path at which the strand substantially solidifies, preferably by calculating a difference between loads on adjacent rolls and determining when the difference is less than a predetermined value.

A continuous caster to cast a metal product has a plurality of upper and lower segment frames bearing rolls, the upper and lower segment frames being located respectively above and below the cast metal product. At least one bending measurer is located on at least one of the upper segment frames and able to emit a bending measurement signal indicative of a bending of the at least one of the upper segment frames. A processor is disposed to receive the bending measurement signal and to calculate a location Pmes of the crater end based on the measured bending signal, the crater end location being the location.