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 method of removing a crack in a metallic material during a metal making process. The method including: determining the presence of a crack and its crack depth during the metal making process by a crack detecting unit utilizing inductive measurement, sending a crack detection signal and crack depth to a crack removal unit arranged on known distance from the crack detecting unit, the crack removal unit including an ejector configured to eject a carving means, and to vary the intensity of the ejected carving means, removing the detected crack by activating the ejector based on the crack detection signal with an intensity of the ejected carving means based at least on the crack depth.

Disclosed are an electromagnetic stirring device and a method for a secondary cooling zone during slab continuous casting. The device comprises an electromagnetic stirring device main body comprising a protection housing (3), a phase sequence control assembly, an iron core (4) and an electromagnetic coil (5) for carrying out variable-direction electromagnetic stirring on molten steel by means of three-phase current phase sequence transformation; an opening adjustment assembly comprising an air cylinder (7), a fixed base (8), a movable joint shaft (12) and a silicon steel sheet group insert (13) for adjusting online the opening degree of the closed annular iron core by means of a movable joint structure; and the secondary cooling assembly comprising a cooling water inlet (9) and a cooling water nozzle (10) for cooling the electromagnetic coil and spraying cooling water to a surface of a cast slab (1).

An arrangement for controlling flow speed in a mold for continuous casting of metal includes: at least two first front cores with associated first magnetic coils arranged on one side of the mold; at least two second front cores with associated second magnetic coils arranged on an opposite side of the mold in substantial alignment with the first front cores; an external magnetic loop connecting the second front cores to the first front cores, to allow a one-directional magnetic flux to pass through the mold from the first front cores to the second front cores or vice versa; and a control interface enabling independent control of two subsets of the first magnetic coils.

An electromagnetic stirring device and a method for a secondary cooling zone during slab continuous casting. The device has a main body, an opening adjustment assembly, and a secondary cooling assembly. The main body has a protection housing (3), a phase sequence control assembly, an iron core (4) and an electromagnetic coil (5) for carrying out variable-direction electromagnetic stirring on a molten steel by a three-phase current phase sequence transformation. The opening adjustment assembly has an air cylinder (7), a fixed base (8), a movable joint shaft (12) and a silicon steel sheet group insert (13) for adjusting online opening degree of the closed annular iron core by a movable joint structure. The secondary cooling assembly has a cooling water inlet (9) and a cooling water nozzle (10) for cooling the electromagnetic coil and spraying cooling water to a surface of a cast slab (1).

This mold equipment is mold equipment provided with a mold, an electromagnetic brake device, and a control device. An immersion nozzle is provided with a pair of discharge holes of molten metal, the electromagnetic brake device is provided with an iron core including a pair of teeth and coils wound around the respective teeth, the coils on one side are connected in series in a first circuit, the coils on the other side are connected in series in a second circuit, and the control device is able to independently control voltage and current applied to each of the first and second circuits for each circuit, detects a drift of a discharge flow between the pair of discharge holes on the basis of the voltage applied to the coils in the first circuit and the voltage applied to the coils in the second circuit, and controls the current flowing through the first circuit and the current flowing through the second circuit on the basis of a detection result.

A continuous casting facility used for thin slab casting has a mold for casting molten steel, an immersion nozzle that supplies the molten steel into the mold, and an electromagnetic stirring device capable of providing a swirl flow at a molten steel surface in the mold, and a thickness D.sub.Cu (mm) of a copper plate of a long side wall, a thickness T (mm) of a steel piece, a frequency f (Hz) of the electromagnetic stirring device, electric conductivity σ (S/m) of the molten steel, and electric conductivity σ.sub.Cu (S/m) of the copper plate of the long side wall are adjusted to satisfy the following formulae (1)-a and (1)-b:
D.sub.Cu<√(2/σ.sub.Cuωμ)  (1)-a
√(1/2σωμ)<T  (1)-b, where ω=2πf: angular velocity (rad/sec), and μ=4π×10.sup.−7: magnetic permeability in vacuum (N/A.sup.2).

A method for containing a slab during continuous casting, including casting a slab along a casting axis, said slab having a predefined width, wherein the method provides a containment of the slab with a plurality of rolls, said rolls being disposed in pairs facing to each other, and defining a passage along the casting axis for the cast slab, wherein the plurality of rolls includes electromagnetic rolls provided with an electromagnetic stirrer which stirs the liquid contained in the slab.

A method for casting a metal alloy in an ingot mold extending along a vertical axis, the horizontal section of the ingot mold being parallelepiped in shape. During casting, a travelling alternating magnetic field is applied to a liquid phase of the alloy, the magnetic field having a maximum amplitude propagating along an axis of propagation. Under the effect of the magnetic field, a Lorentz force is applied to the liquid phase of the alloy, such that a Lorentz force of maximum intensity propagates along the axis of propagation. The method includes modulating the maximum intensity of the Lorentz force propagating along the axis of propagation. This modulation is obtained by varying, over time, one or more parameters, referred to as force parameters, governing the Lorentz force. An ingot obtained by the method is also described.

A continuous casting facility used for thin slab casting has a mold for casting molten steel, an immersion nozzle that supplies the molten steel into the mold, and an electromagnetic stirring device capable of providing a swirl flow at a molten steel surface in the mold, and a thickness D.sub.Cu (mm) of a copper plate of a long side wall, a thickness T (mm) of a steel piece, a frequency f (Hz) of the electromagnetic stirring device, electric conductivity σ (S/m) of the molten steel, and electric conductivity σ.sub.Cu (S/m) of the copper plate of the long side wall are adjusted to satisfy the following formulae (1)-a and (1)-b:

D.sub.Cu<√(2/σ.sub.Cuωμ)  (1)-a

√(1/2σωμ)<T  (1)-b, where ω=2πf: angular velocity (rad/sec), and μ=4π×10.sup.−7: magnetic permeability in vacuum (N/A.sup.2).