Electromagnetic Brake System And Method Of Controlling Molten Metal Flow In A Metal-Making Process

Abstract

A method of controlling molten metal flow and an electromagnetic brake system for a metal-making process, including: a first magnetic core arrangement having a first and second long sides with N.sub.c teeth, and arranged to be mounted to opposite longitudinal sides of an upper portion of a mould, a first set of coils, each being wound around a respective tooth of the first magnetic core arrangement, and N.sub.p power converters, with N.sub.p being an integer that is at least two and N.sub.c is an integer that is at least four and evenly divisible with N.sub.p, wherein each power converter is configured to feed a DC current to its respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.p series-connected coils.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic brake system for a metal-making process, wherein the electromagnetic brake system comprises: a first magnetic core arrangement having a first long side and a second long side, which first long side has N.sub.c teeth and which second long side has N.sub.c teeth, wherein the first long side and the second long side are arranged to be mounted to opposite longitudinal sides of an upper portion of a mould, a first set of coils, wherein the first set of coils comprises 2N.sub.c coils, each coil being wound around a respective tooth of the first magnetic core arrangement, and N.sub.p power converters with N.sub.p being an integer that is at least two and N.sub.c is an integer that is at least four and evenly divisible with N.sub.p, wherein each power converter is connected to a respective group of 2Nc/N.sub.p series-connected coils of the first set of coils, and wherein each of the N.sub.p power converters is configured to feed a DC current to its respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.p series-connected coils.

2. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each power converter is individually controllable thereby enabling a controllable homogeneous or inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution along the first long side and the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

3. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two coils of each group are wound around teeth of either the first long side or the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

4. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, wherein between any of two subsequently arranged coils of a group of coils, along either the first long side or the second long side, is a coil of another group of coils.

5. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the N.sub.p power converters is configured to provide an AC current to its respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.p series-connected coils to thereby enable electromagnetic stirring.

6. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each power converter is a drive.

7. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 1, comprising: a second magnetic core arrangement having a first long side and a second long side, which first long side and the second long side comprises a plurality of teeth, and a second set of coils, each coil of the second set of coils being wound around a respective tooth, wherein the first long side and the second long side are arranged to be mounted to opposite longitudinal sides of a lower portion of the mould.

8. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 7, comprising a power converter configured to provide DC current to the second set of coils.

9. A method of controlling molten metal flow in a metal-making process, by means of an electromagnetic brake system comprising a first magnetic core arrangement having a first long side and a second long side which first long side has N.sub.c teeth and which second long side has N.sub.c teeth, wherein the first long side and the second long side are mounted to opposite longitudinal sides of an upper portion of a mould, in level with a submerged entry nozzle, SEN, a first set of coils, wherein the first set of coils comprises 2N.sub.c coils, each coil being wound around a respective tooth of the first magnetic core arrangement, and N.sub.p power converters, with N.sub.p being an integer that is at least two and N.sub.c is an integer that is at least four and evenly divisible with N.sub.p, wherein each power converter is connected to a respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.p series-connected coils of the first set of coils, and wherein each of the N.sub.p power converters is arranged to feed a DC current to its respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.p series-connected coils, wherein the method comprises controlling the N.sub.p power converters to obtain braking of the molten metal in the upper portion of the mould.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising controlling each power converter individually to obtain either a homogeneous or an inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution along the first long side and the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least two coils of each group are wound around teeth of either the first long side or the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein between any of two subsequently arranged coils of a group of coils, along either the first long side or the second long side, is a coil of another group of coils.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the N.sub.p power converters is configured to provide an AC current to its respective group of 2N/N.sub.p series-connected coils to thereby enable electromagnetic stirring.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein each power converter is a drive.

15. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the electromagnetic brake comprises a second magnetic core arrangement having a first long side and a second long side, which first long side and the second long side comprises a plurality of teeth, and a second set of coils, each coil of the second set of coils being wound around a respective tooth, wherein the first long side and the second long side are arranged to be mounted to opposite longitudinal sides of a lower portion of the mould.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, comprising a power converter configured to provide DC current to the second set of coils, wherein the method further comprises controlling the power converter.

17. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein at least two coils of each group are wound around teeth of either the first long side or the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

18. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein each power converter is a drive.

19. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least two coils of each group are wound around teeth of either the first long side or the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement.

20. The electromagnetic brake system as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the N.sub.p power converters is configured to provide an AC current to its respective group of 2Nc/N.sub.p series-connected coils to thereby enable electromagnetic stirring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The specific embodiments of the inventive concept will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 schematically shows a side view of an electromagnetic brake system mounted to a mould;

[0029] FIG. 2 schematically shows a top view of an electromagnetic brake system;

[0030] FIG. 3 shows a first example of connections between coils and power converters of an electromagnetic brake system;

[0031] FIG. 4 shows an example of a static magnetic field distribution;

[0032] FIGS. 5-6 show two additional examples of connections between coils and power converters of an electromagnetic brake system;

[0033] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a method of controlling molten metal flow in a metal-making process; and

[0034] FIG. 8 shows various static magnetic field distributions obtainable by means of an electromagnetic brake system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The inventive concept will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplifying embodiments are shown. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0036] The electromagnetic braker systems presented herein may be utilised in metal-making, more specifically in casting. Examples of metal-making processes are steelmaking and aluminium-making. The electromagnetic braker system may beneficially be utilised in for example a continuous casting process.

[0037] An example of an electromagnetic braker system 1 is depicted in FIG. 1. In this example, the electromagnetic braker system 1 is mounted to a mould 3. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the understanding of approximately where the electromagnetic brakes system 1 may be mounted to the mould 3, an SEN 5 extending into the mould 3 is shown.

[0038] The electromagnetic braker system 1 comprises a first magnetic core arrangement 7 and a first set of coils comprising a plurality of coils 9. Each coil 9 is arranged around a respective tooth of the first magnetic core arrangement 7. The coils 9 are arranged in groups of coils. The coils in each group are series-connected. The electromagnetic braker system/comprises at least two power converters 11-1 to 11-2 configured to feed DC current to the coils 9 of the groups of coils. Each group of coils is fed by a respective power converter 11-1, 11-2.

[0039] The first magnetic core arrangement 7 is arranged to be mounted to an upper portion of the mould 3. In particular, the first magnetic core arrangement 7 is arranged to be mounted in level with a SEN that is arranged in the mould 3.

[0040] The power converters 11-1, 11-2 may according to one variation additionally be configured to feed an AC current to the coils 9. The electromagnetic braker system 1 may thereby also act as an electromagnetic stirrer.

[0041] The present disclosure primarily concerns the configuration of the first magnetic core arrangement 7, its associated coils 9, and the power converters 11a, 11b that are configured to feed a DC current to the respective groups of coils.

[0042] Optionally, the electromagnetic braker system 1 may further comprise a second magnetic core arrangement 13 and a second set of coils comprising a plurality of coils 15. Each 15 is arranged around a respective tooth of the second magnetic core arrangement 13. The electromagnetic braker system 1 may in this case comprise an additional power converter 17 arranged to feed a DC current to the coils 15 of the second set of coils.

[0043] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first magnetic core arrangement 7 and the second magnetic core arrangement 13 are integrated. Alternatively, the first magnetic core arrangement and the second magnetic core arrangement may be separate structures.

[0044] The electromagnetic braker system 1 will now be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2. The first magnetic core arrangement 7 has a first long side 7a and a second long side 7b. The first long side 7a and the second long side 7b may be separate structures, as exemplified in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the first long side and the second long side may be integrated.

[0045] The first long side 7a has N.sub.c teeth 7c, where N.sub.c is an integer that is at least four. The second long side 7b has a N.sub.c teeth 7c, where N.sub.c is an integer that is at least four. The first set of coils comprises 2N.sub.c coils 9-1N.sub.c, . . . ,9-2N.sub.c. Each coil 9-1, . . . , 9-2N.sub.c is arranged around a respective tooth 7c of the first magnetic core arrangement 7.

[0046] The electromagnetic brake system 1 comprises N.sub.p power converters 11-1, . . . , 11-N.sub.p, N.sub.p being an integer that is at least two and N.sub.c being an integer that is at least four and evenly divisible with N.sub.p. Each power converter 11-1, . . . , 11-N.sub.p is individually controllable, thereby enabling a controllable homogeneous or inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution along the first long side 7a and the second long side 7b of the first magnetic core 7. Each power converter is a current source, for example a drive, such as ABB's DCS 600 MultiDrive.

[0047] Molten metal flow in a metal-making process is controllable by means of the electromagnetic brake system 1 by controlling the power converters to obtain braking, or flow control, of the molten metal, as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 7.

[0048] As previously mentioned, the coils 9 are arranged in groups of coils. All the coils in each group of coils are series-connected. Each group of coils comprises 2N.sub.c/N.sub.pseries-connected coils 9. This is not shown in FIG. 2; examples are shown in FIGS. 4-6, and will be described with reference to these figures. Each group of coils is further connected to a respective power converter 11-1, . . . ,11-N.sub.p. Each power converter is arranged to feed a DC current to a respective group of coils of the first set of coils.

[0049] At least two coils of each group of coils are wound around teeth of either the first long side or the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement. Between any of two subsequently arranged coils of a group of coils, along either the first long side or the second long side, is a coil of another group of coils. The coils of the groups of coils are hence arranged in an alternating manner.

[0050] According to one variation, each of the N.sub.p power converters is configured to provide an AC current to its respective group of 2N.sub.c/N.sub.pseries-connected coils to thereby enable electromagnetic stirring of molten metal in a mould. This AC current may either be provided on its own, or superimposed onto the DC current. Thus, in addition to braking, electromagnetic stirring by means of a traveling magnetic field, or a combination of stirring and braking may thereby be provided.

[0051] There are a number of ways to connect the coils 9-1, . . . ,9-2N.sub.c to the power converters 11-1, . . . , 11-N.sub.p. In the following, a number of methods of connecting the coils 9-1, . . . ,9-2N.sub.c to power converters will be described. For this purpose, the following nomenclature will be utilised.

[0052] Np=Number of power converters;

[0053] Nc=Number of coils per side.

[0054] Furthermore, in the description of these methods both the first long side 7a and the second long side 7b are numbered from 1to N.sub.c.

[0055] For 2-3 power converters:

[0056] A.

[0057] According to variation A of the method, power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould, i.e. the second long side in FIG. 2): k+Np*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/Np and to coil (side F of the mould, i.e. the first long side in FIG. 2): k+Np*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , Nc/Np

[0058] For More than 3 Power converters there are several configuration alternatives, namely A, B, C and D:

[0059] B.

[0060] According to variation B, power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1 ), i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0061] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0062] if k≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is even.

[0063] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0064] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . ,Nc/(Np/2)

[0065] if k>Np/2 and Nc/2 is even.

[0066] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0067] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2/Np/2)

[0068] if k is odd and≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0069] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_L−1), i_=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0070] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i.sub.13 F−1) i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/(Np/2)

[0071] if k is odd and>Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0072] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . ,(Nc−2)/Np/2)

[0073] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/Np/2

[0074] if k is even and≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0075] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i.sub.—L−1), i=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/(Np/2)

[0076] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0077] if k is even and >Np/2and Nc/2is odd.

[0078] C.

[0079] According to variation C, power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i.sub.13 −1), i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0080] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0081] if k≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is even.

[0082] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+k+Np*(i_L−1)i_L=1,2, . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0083] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np*(i_F−1), . . . , Nc/(Np/2)

[0084] if k>Np/2 and Nc/2 is even.

[0085] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1), i.sub.13 L=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0086] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/(Np/2)

[0087] if k is odd and≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0088] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+k+Np*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0089] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/Np/2)

[0090] if k is odd>Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0091] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1), i.sub.13 L=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/(Np/2)

[0092] and to coil (side F of the mould): Nc/2+(k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i.sub.13 F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . ,(Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0093] if k is even and≦Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0094] Power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): Nc/2+k+Np*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , (Nc−2)/(Np/2)

[0095] and to coil (side F of the mould): k+Np*(i_F−1), i_F=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0096] if k is even>Np/2 and Nc/2 is odd.

[0097] D.

[0098] According to variation D, power converter k is connected to coil (side L of the mould): k+Np/2*(i_L−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , (Nc+2)/(Np/2)

[0099] if k≦Np/2.

[0100] Power converter k is connected to coil (side F of the mould): (k−Np/2)+Np/2*(i_F−1), i_L=1,2, . . . , (Nc/Np)*2

[0101] if k>Np/2.

[0102] FIG. 3 shows a first example of an electromagnetic brake system 1 with connections between the coils and the power converters, in particular the first set of coils arranged around the teeth of the first magnetic core arrangement. According to the example depicted in FIG. 3, the electromagnetic brake system 1 comprises two power converters and 11-2 and the first set of coils comprises eight coils 9-1 to 9-8, four arranged around teeth of the first long side and four are arranged around teeth of the second long side. The first magnetic core arrangement is not shown for reasons of clarity.

[0103] The coils 9-1 to 9-8 and power converters and 11-2 are connected according to the method of variation A. In the example, coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-6 and 9-8 are series-connected and thus form a group of coils. Coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-6 and 9-8 are connected to power converter 11-2. Furthermore, coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-5 and 9-7 are series-connected and thus form another group of coils. Coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-5 and 9-7 are connected to power converter 11-1. This particular example comprises 8 coils 9-1 to 9-8 and two power converters 11-1 and 11-b, resulting in 8/2=4 series-connected coils in each group of coils, and thus in two groups of series-connected coils.

[0104] By means of the above configuration, a homogeneous or an inhomogeneous static magnetic field distribution may be obtained along the width of the first long side 7a and the second long side 7b, and thus along the long side of a mould to which the electromagnetic brake system 1 is mounted. The static magnetic field distribution is in particular obtainable by controlling the power converters, namely by controlling the polarity and amplitude of the DC current provided by the power converters.

[0105] FIG. 4 shows an example of a static magnetic field distribution of the absolute value |B| of a magnetic field B along the first long side and the second long side. It can be seen that inhomogeneous static magnetic field distributions are obtainable.

[0106] FIG. 5 shows a second example of an electromagnetic brake system 1, with connections between the coils and the power converters, in particular the first set of coils arranged around the teeth of the first magnetic core arrangement. According to the example depicted in FIG. 5, the electromagnetic brake system 1 comprises sixteen coils 9-1 to 9-16 and four power converters 11-1 to 11-4. Eight of the coils are arranged around teeth of the first long side and eight coils are arranged around teeth of the second long side. Again, the first magnetic core arrangement is not shown in FIG. 5 for reasons of clarity.

[0107] The coils 9-1 to 9-16 and power converters 11-1 to 11-4 are connected by means of the method of variation B. In the example, coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-9 and 9-11 are series-connected and thus form a group of coils. Coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-9 and 9-11 are connected to power converter 11-1. Furthermore, coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-10 arid 9-12 are series-connected and thus form another group of coils. Coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-10 and 9-12 are connected to power converter 11-2. Coils 9-5, 9-7, 9-13, 9-13 are series-connected and form yet another group of coils. Coils 9-5, 9-7, 9-13, 9-13 are connected to power converter 11-3. Finally, coils 9-6, 9-8, 9-14, 9-16 are series-connected form a fourth group of coils. Coils 9-6, 9-8, 9-14, 9-16 are connected to power converter 11-4. Thus, four groups of coils are obtained, each being individually controllable by a respective power converter 11-1 to 11-4.

[0108] The second example comprises sixteen coils 9-1 to 9-16 and four power converters 11-1 to 11-4, resulting in 16/4=4 series-connected coils in each group of coils, and thus in four groups of series-connected coils.

[0109] FIG. 6 shows a third example of an electromagnetic brake system 1, with connections between the coils and the power converters, in particular the first set of coils arranged around the teeth of the first magnetic core arrangement. According to the example depicted in FIG. 6, the electromagnetic brake system 1 comprises sixteen coils 9-1 to 9-16 and four power converters 11-1 to 11-4. Eight of the coils are arranged around teeth of the first long side and eight coils are arranged around teeth of the second long side. Again, the first magnetic core arrangement is not shown in FIG. 6 for reasons of clarity.

[0110] The coils 9-1 to 9-16 and power converters 11-1 to 11-4 are connected by means of the method of variation D. In the example, coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-7 and 9-9 are series-connected and thus form a group of coils. Coils 9-1, 9-3, 9-5 and 9-9 are connected to power converter 11-1. Furthermore, coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 and 9-8 are series-connected and thus form another group of coils. Coils 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 and 9-8 are connected to power converter 11-2. Coils 9-9, 9-11, 9-13, 9-15 are series-connected arid form yet another group of coils. Coils 9-10, 9-11, 9-13, 9-15 are connected to power converter 11-3. Finally, coils 9-10, 9-12, 9-14 9-16 are series-connected form a fourth group of coils. Coils 9-10, 9-12, 9-14 9-16 are connected to power converter 11-4. Thus, four groups of coils are obtained, each being individually controllable by a respective power converter 11-1 to 11-4.

[0111] The third example comprises sixteen coils 9-1 to 9-16 and four power converters 11-1 to 11-4, resulting in 16/4=4 series-connected coils in each group of coils, and thus in four groups of series-connected coils. Furthermore, according to the third example, each power converter 11-1 to 11-4 is only connected to coils along one of the first long side and the second long side.

[0112] FIG. 8 shows different examples of asymmetric and symmetric inhomogeneous static magnetic field distributions along the length of the first long side and the second long side of the first magnetic core arrangement 7. This static magnetic field distribution may hence be obtained in molten metal, in the proximity of the meniscus, when the electromagnetic brake system 1 is mounted to an upper portion of a mould.

[0113] The inventive concept has mainly been described above with reference to a few examples. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the inventive concept, as defined by the appended claims.