Optimization Design of Key Mold Components for Slab Quality Improvement: Clamping Mechanism and Narrow Copper Plate

TL;DR

This paper presents an optimized mold design for steel slabs that reduces defects and improves production efficiency through improved clamping and copper plate design.

Contribution

A novel integrated mold design combining a disc spring-hydraulic clamp and a chamfered narrow copper plate to enhance slab quality and mold longevity.

Findings

The disc spring-hydraulic clamp ensures robust casting under high-load conditions.

The external chamfer on the narrow-face copper plate reduces corner defects and extends mold life by 20%.

The optimized design improves slab surface quality and production yield by 0.1%.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Integrated mold optimization proposed. Disc spring-hydraulic clamp ensures robust casting.Narrow-face copper plate outer chamfer designed based on solidification principles.External chamfer reduces corner defects, extends life 20%, improves yield 0.1%.

Integrated mold optimization proposed. Disc spring-hydraulic clamp ensures robust casting.

Narrow-face copper plate outer chamfer designed based on solidification principles.

External chamfer reduces corner defects, extends life 20%, improves yield 0.1%.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Extends narrow-face life by 20%, reducing maintenance and replacement costs.Reduces corner defects and improves yield, enhancing product quality and competitiveness.Provides a technical approach for future caster mold design and engineering practice.

Extends narrow-face life by 20%, reducing maintenance and replacement costs.

Reduces corner defects and improves yield, enhancing product quality and competitiveness.

Provides a technical approach for future caster mold design and engineering practice.

The surface quality and production efficiency of continuous-casting steel slabs are predominantly determined by the performance of the mold. To address slab corner defects and enhance operational stability, this study systematically optimized two key components: the broad-face clamping mechanism and the narrow-face copper plate. A disk spring–hydraulic composite clamping mechanism was designed and subjected to mechanical analysis to ensure sufficient and reliable clamping force under high-load casting conditions. Meanwhile, based on the principle of solidification shrinkage, an external chamfer structure for the narrow-face copper plate was proposed to improve heat transfer uniformity at the slab corner. Engineering design calculations and practical application in an export-oriented wide-and-heavy slab continuous-casting project (specification: 250 mm × 2500 mm) demonstrated that the optimized clamping mechanism provides enhanced structural rigidity, while the new narrow-face copper plate effectively mitigates corner cracks and reduces wear. This integrated design approach significantly improves slab surface quality and extends component service life, yielding substantial economic benefits.

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