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With two pilot plants in operation, the Direct Strip Casting (DSC) technology has reached a state from which it can be concluded that a DSC production process is feasible. The core of the process consists of a caster in which liquid steel is fed on an intensively cooled revolving belt. After solidification in a protective atmosphere, the yielded strip of about 10 mm in thickness is directly hot rolled without intermediate reheating. Thus, due to the reduced expenditures for hot rolling and reheating, substantial energy savings compared to conventional slab casting can be achieved. Moreover, the production of new high-strength, light-weight steels with an increased content of manganese, aluminium and/or silicon is enabled by the special features of the DSC process. The use of these steels in automotive applications would lead to further energy savings induced by significant weight reductions and an enhanced life cycle of the car body. Furthermore, also a higher share of scrap based strip steel production, requiring less than half of the energy needed for the blast furnace route, becomes conceivable for quality steel grades, as a higher content of tramp elements, e.g. copper and tin, is tolerable without quality losses (surface cracks). Finally, the compact design and the high productivity of the DSC process save capital and processing costs. In the paper, process development steps, material properties and energy saving potentials are outlined. |
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