JP7678282B2 - Casting control device, mold width determination method, and mold width determination program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a casting control device having a mold width determination function for determining the width of a continuous casting mold, a mold width determination method, and a mold width determination program.

In a continuous casting machine having a mold with a variable width, a slab width control method is known that can set the optimum mold width corresponding to the width of the slab formed by continuous casting (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the slab width control method described in Patent Document 1, the width and inclination of the end pieces of the mold are determined from the target width of the slab and a coefficient determined by the type of steel to be cast and the casting speed, and the determined width and inclination of the end pieces of the mold are set in the mold. The slab width control method described in Patent Document 1 sets the width and inclination of the end pieces determined using the casting speed in the mold, making it possible to control the slab width with high precision, reducing the amount of slab that undergoes additional treatment such as width cutting, and improving work efficiency and yield.

Patent No. 3425259

However, in order to further improve the operational efficiency and yield of continuous casting, technology is needed that can determine the width of the cast strip with higher accuracy.

The present invention aims to solve these problems and provide a casting control device, a mold width determination method, and a mold width determination program that have a mold width determination function that can determine the width of the cast slab with high precision.

The present invention, which solves the above problems, is summarized as follows: a casting control device, a mold width determination method, and a mold width determination program.
(1) An information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of casting speed information indicating the casting speed of a slab that is continuously cast through a width-variable mold, pressure information indicating the pressure when soft reduction is applied to the continuously cast slab, and aspect ratio information indicating the ratio between the desired plate width and the desired plate thickness of the slab that is continuously cast;
a mold width determination unit that determines a width of the mold based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit and a desired width of the slab to be continuously cast;
A mold width information output unit that outputs mold width information indicating the width of the mold determined by the mold width determination unit;
A casting control device comprising:
(2) The casting control device according to (1), wherein the information acquisition unit acquires casting speed information and pressure information.
(3) The casting control device according to (1), wherein the information acquisition unit acquires casting speed information and aspect ratio information.
(4) The casting control device according to (1), wherein the information acquisition unit acquires casting speed information, pressure information, and aspect ratio information.
(5) The casting control device according to any one of (2) to (4), wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires water injection amount information indicating an amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting.
(6) The mold width determination unit determines the width of the mold using the width W of the continuously cast slab, the casting speed Vc corresponding to the casting speed information, the water injection amount Vw corresponding to the water injection amount information, the pressure P corresponding to the pressure information, and the ratio W/T corresponding to the aspect ratio information, and the following formula (1) represented by coefficients _A0 , _A1 , _A2 , _A3 , and _A4 .
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * VW + A ₃ * P + A ₄ * W/T) (1)
A casting control device as described in (5).
(7) Acquire at least one of casting speed information indicating the casting speed of a slab continuously cast through a width-variable mold, pressure information indicating the pressure when soft reducing the continuously cast slab, and aspect ratio information indicating the ratio between the desired plate width and the desired plate thickness of the slab continuously cast,
determining a width of the mold based on casting speed information, at least one of pressure information and aspect ratio information, and a desired width of a slab to be continuously cast;
outputting mold width information indicating the determined width of the mold;
A method for determining a mold width, comprising:
(8) The mold width determination method according to (7), wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires water injection amount information indicating an amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting.
(9) Acquire at least one of casting speed information indicating the casting speed of a slab continuously cast through a width-variable mold, pressure information indicating the pressure when soft reducing the continuously cast slab, and aspect ratio information indicating the ratio between the desired plate width and the desired plate thickness of the continuously cast slab,
determining a width of the mold based on casting speed information, at least one of pressure information and aspect ratio information, and a desired width of a slab to be continuously cast;
outputting mold width information indicating the determined width of the mold;
A mold width determination program that causes a computer to execute a process.
(10) The mold width determination program according to (9), wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires water injection amount information indicating an amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting.

The casting control device according to one embodiment can determine the width of the cast piece with high precision.

1 is a cross-sectional view that shows a schematic diagram of a continuous casting machine according to an embodiment. 2A is a perspective view of the mold shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the casting control device shown in FIG. 1 . 2 is a flowchart of a mold width determination process executed by the casting control device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the relationship between the casting speed and the width of the slab cast by the continuous casting machine; FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the relationship between the specific water amount in the secondary cooling zone of the continuous casting machine and the width of the slab cast by the continuous casting machine; and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing the relationship between the slab reduction force in a slab reduction device and the width of the slab cast by the continuous casting machine. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the correlation between the slab width determined by equation (1) shown in Patent Document 1 and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab; FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the correlation between the slab width determined by equation (1) used by the mold width determination unit and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab; and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing the degree of agreement between the slab width determined by an equation obtained by changing the variables adopted among the variables included in equation (1) used by the mold width determination unit and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a cast strip width estimation device according to an embodiment. 8 is a flowchart of a slab width estimation process executed by the slab width determination device 2 shown in FIG. 7 .

The following describes a casting control device having a mold width determination function for determining the width of a continuous casting mold according to the present invention, a mold width determination method, and a mold width determination program with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

(Configuration and Function of Casting Control Apparatus According to the Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view that shows a schematic diagram of a continuous casting machine having a casting control device according to an embodiment.

The continuous casting machine 100 has a ladle 101, a tundish 102, a submerged nozzle 103, a mold 104, a secondary cooling zone 105, a slab reduction device 106, a slab cutting device 107, a table roll 108, a casting speed sensor 109, and a casting control device 1.

The ladle 101 is a movable container for supplying the molten steel 200 to the tundish 102. It moves above the tundish 102 and supplies the molten steel 200 filled in the ladle 101 to the tundish 102. The tundish 102 is disposed above the mold 104, and stores the molten steel 200 supplied from the ladle 101 and removes inclusions contained in the molten steel 200. The submerged nozzle 103 is a cylindrical member that extends downward from the lower end of the tundish 102 toward the mold 104. The tip of the submerged nozzle 103 is immersed in the molten steel 200 contained inside the mold 104. The submerged nozzle 103 continuously supplies the molten steel 200 from which inclusions have been removed in the tundish 102 to the mold 104.

Figure 2(a) is a perspective view of the mold 104, and Figure 2(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2(a).

The mold 104 has a pair of long side mold plates 141, a pair of short side mold plates 142, and a mold plate drive unit 143. Each of the pair of long side mold plates 141 and the pair of short side mold plates 142 is, for example, a water-cooled copper plate provided with a water channel through which cooling water flows, and has a rectangular cylindrical shape. The pair of short side mold plates 142 have a taper formed on the inner wall to optimally hold the cast piece 201.

Each of the pair of short side mold plates 142 can move in the width direction of the pair of long side mold plates 141 as indicated by arrows B and C. Each of the pair of short side mold plates 142 is moved in the width direction of the pair of long side mold plates 141 by the mold plate drive unit 143.

In the mold 104, the molten steel 200 is cooled to form a slab 201. As the slab 201 moves downward in the mold 104, the solidification of the molten part 202 inside the slab 201 progresses, and the thickness of the solidified shell 203 on the outer surface gradually increases. The slab 201, including the molten part 202 and the solidified shell 203, is pulled out from the bottom end of the mold 104.

The mold plate drive unit 143 has a drive device such as a motor, and in response to mold width information input from the casting control device 1, moves a pair of narrow side mold plates 142 to change the width of the mold 104 so that the width of the mold 104 corresponds to the mold width information.

The secondary cooling zone 105 has multiple pairs of support rolls 151 and multiple cooling water nozzles 152, and is formed below the mold 104, where it transports and cools the cast piece 201 that is pulled out from the lower end of the mold 104.

Each of the multiple pairs of support rolls 151 is arranged on both sides of the thickness direction of the slab 201, and supports and transports the slab 201. The multiple pairs of support rolls 151 include a support roll, a pinch roll, and a segment roll. The support roll is a non-driven roll arranged in the vertical section directly below the mold 104. The pinch roll is a driven roll that rotates by a driving means such as a motor, and is arranged in appropriate positions in the vertical section, curved section, and horizontal section of the secondary cooling zone 105 to pull the slab 201 out of the mold 104. The segment roll is a non-driven roll arranged in the curved section and horizontal section of the secondary cooling zone 105, and supports and guides the slab 201.

The cooling water nozzles 152 are arranged in the gaps between pairs of support rolls 151 that are arranged adjacent to the casting direction in the curved and horizontal parts of the secondary cooling zone 105, and inject cooling water 153 into the slab 201. The amount of cooling water 153 injected into the slab 201 from the cooling water nozzles 152 is controlled by the casting control device 1.

The casting control device 1 controls at least one of the opening degree of each of the multiple cooling water nozzles 152 and the water pressure of the cooling water 153 supplied to each of the multiple cooling water nozzles 152 to control the amount of cooling water 153 injected into the cast piece 201.

The slab reduction device 106 has multiple soft reduction rolls 161 and is positioned downstream of the horizontal section of the secondary cooling zone 105 to softly reduce the slab 201 cooled by the secondary cooling zone 105. The slab reduction device 106 is controlled by the casting control device 1 so as to reduce the central region of the slab 201 in the thickness direction of the slab 201 with a predetermined pressure.

The slab cutting device 107 is located downstream of the slab reduction device 106, and cuts the slab 201 transported through the secondary cooling zone 105 and the slab reduction device 106 to a predetermined length to form a thick slab 204.

The table roll 108 is a driven roll that is rotated by a driving means such as a motor, and is positioned downstream of the casting cutting device 107 to transport the thick casting 204 to the equipment for the next process.

The casting speed sensor 109 is an electromagnetic or photoelectric rotation detection sensor that detects the rotation speed of the support roll 151 placed in the horizontal portion of the secondary cooling zone 105 and outputs rotation speed information indicating the detected rotation speed to the casting control device 1.

(Configuration and Function of Casting Control Apparatus According to the Embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the casting control device 1.

The casting control device 1 has a communication unit 11, a memory unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, and a processing unit 20. The communication unit 11, the memory unit 12, the input unit 13, the output unit 14, and the processing unit 20 are connected to each other via a bus 15. The casting control device 1 executes a casting control process for controlling the continuous casting machine 100, such as determining the width of the mold 104, using information related to continuous casting, including casting speed information input from the casting speed sensor 109. The casting control device 1 may be, for example, a personal computer, or a monitoring control device that monitors and controls the continuous casting machine 100.

The communication unit 11 has a wired communication interface circuit such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The communication unit 11 communicates with the mold 104, the secondary cooling zone 105, the slab reduction device 106, the slab cutting device 107, etc. via the control wiring 110.

The storage unit 12 includes at least one of a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic tape device, a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device. The storage unit 12 stores an operating system program, a driver program, an application program, data, and the like used in processing by the processing unit 20. For example, the storage unit 12 stores a mold width determination program and the like for causing the processing unit 20 to execute a mold width determination process for determining the width of the mold 104 using information related to continuous casting, including casting speed information input from the casting speed sensor 109. The mold width determination program may be installed in the storage unit 12 using a known setup program or the like from a computer-readable portable recording medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The storage unit 12 also stores various data used in the mold width determination process.

For example, the memory unit 12 stores a casting speed table 121 that indicates the correlation between the rotational speed detected by the casting speed sensor 109 and the casting speed of the slab 201. The casting speed table 121 stores a plurality of rotational speeds [rpm] in association with a rotational speed [m/s].

The memory unit 12 also stores water injection amount information 122, pressure information 123, and aspect ratio information 124. The water injection amount information 122 indicates an indicated water amount, which is the amount of cooling water 153 injected per unit length, such as 1 m, in the casting direction of the slab 201 per unit time, such as 1 minute. The pressure information 123 indicates the pressure when softly reducing the continuously cast slab, and indicates, for example, the pressure that is the rolling force of the delivery roll that starts the soft reduction zone. The aspect ratio information 124 indicates the ratio between the desired plate width and the desired plate thickness of the continuously cast slab 201. The aspect ratio information 124 is input by an operator via the input unit 13.

The input unit 13 may be any device capable of inputting data, such as a touch panel or a keyboard. An operator can use the input unit 13 to input letters, numbers, symbols, etc. When operated by the operator, the input unit 13 generates a signal corresponding to the operation. The generated signal is then supplied to the processing unit 20 as an instruction from the operator.

The output unit 14 may be any device capable of displaying video, images, etc., such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 14 displays video corresponding to video data supplied from the processing unit 20, images corresponding to image data, etc. The output unit 14 may also be an output device that prints video, images, text, etc. on a display medium such as paper.

The processing unit 20 has one or more processors and their peripheral circuits. The processing unit 20 centrally controls the overall operation of the casting control device 1, and is, for example, a CPU. The processing unit 20 executes processing based on programs (driver programs, operating system programs, application programs, etc.) stored in the memory unit 12. The processing unit 20 can also execute multiple programs (application programs, etc.) in parallel.

The processing unit 20 has a water volume control unit 21, a reduction control unit 22, an information acquisition unit 23, a mold width determination unit 24, and a mold width information output unit 25. Each of these units is a functional module realized by a program executed by a processor provided in the processing unit 20. Alternatively, each of these units may be implemented in the casting control device 1 as firmware.

The water volume control unit 21 controls the amount of cooling water 153 injected from the multiple cooling water nozzles 152 into the slab 201 in response to a water volume instruction input by an operator via the input unit 13. The water volume instruction includes an instruction water volume, which is the amount of cooling water 153 injected per unit time per unit length in the casting direction of the slab 201. In response to the input of the water volume instruction, the water volume control unit 21 controls the opening degree of the cooling water nozzles 152 and the water pressure of the cooling water 153 so that the instruction water volume is injected into the slab 201. The water volume control unit 21 stores in the memory unit 12 water injection volume information 122 indicating the instruction water volume, which is the amount of cooling water 153 injected per unit time per unit length in the casting direction of the slab 201.

The reduction control unit 22 controls the pressure when the slab reduction device 106 reduces the slab 201 in response to a reduction instruction input by the operator via the input unit 13. The reduction instruction includes a pressure when lightly reducing the continuously cast slab. In response to the input of the reduction instruction, the reduction control unit 22 controls the slab reduction device 106 so that a predetermined pressure is applied to the slab 201. The reduction control unit 22 stores pressure information 123 indicating the pressure when lightly reducing the continuously cast slab in the memory unit 12.

(Mold width determination process by the casting control device according to the embodiment)
Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a mold width determination process executed by the casting control device 1. The mold width determination process shown in Fig. 4 is executed in response to a change in the width of the strand 201 to be produced while the continuous casting process is being performed in the continuous casting machine 100. The mold width determination process shown in Fig. 4 is executed mainly by the processing unit 20 in cooperation with each element of the casting control device 1, based on a program previously stored in the storage unit 12.

First, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires casting speed information indicating the casting speed of the cast piece 201 that is continuously cast through the mold 104 (S101). The information acquisition unit 23 acquires rotational speed information indicating the rotational speed detected by the casting speed sensor 109. The information acquisition unit 23 refers to the casting speed table 121 to acquire casting speed information indicating the casting speed associated with the rotational speed corresponding to the rotational speed information acquired from the casting speed sensor 109.

Next, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires water injection amount information indicating the amount of cooling water 153 injected into the slab 201 during continuous casting (S102). The information acquisition unit 23 acquires the water injection amount information 122 stored in the memory unit 12 as water injection amount information indicating the amount of cooling water 153 injected into the slab 201 during continuous casting.

Next, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires pressure information indicating the pressure at which the continuously cast slab 201 is reduced (S103). The information acquisition unit 23 acquires the pressure information 123 stored in the memory unit 12 as pressure information indicating the pressure at which the continuously cast slab 201 is reduced.

Next, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires aspect ratio information indicating the ratio between the desired width and the desired thickness of the continuously cast slab 201 (S104). The information acquisition unit 23 acquires the aspect ratio information 124 stored in the memory unit 12 as aspect ratio information indicating the ratio between the desired width and the desired thickness of the continuously cast slab 201.

Next, the mold width determination unit 24 determines the width of the mold 104 from the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 23 and the desired width of the slab 201 to be produced by continuous casting (S105). The width of the mold 104 determined by the mold width determination unit 24 is, for example, the width of the outlet side of the mold 104. The mold width determination unit 24 determines the width of the mold 104 using the following formula (1).
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * V _W + A ₃ * P + A ₄ * W/T) (1)

In formula (1), the width W is the desired width of the slab 201 to be produced by continuous casting, the casting speed Vc is the casting speed corresponding to the casting speed information acquired in the process of S101, the amount of injected water Vw is the amount of water corresponding to the amount of injected water information acquired in the process of S102, the pressure P is the pressure corresponding to the pressure information acquired in the process of S103, the ratio W/T is the ratio corresponding to the aspect ratio information acquired in the process of S104, and the coefficients _A0 , _A1 , _A2 , _A3 , and _A4 are given constants.

Then, the mold width information output unit 25 outputs mold width information indicating the width of the mold 104 determined by the mold width determination unit 24 in the processing of S105 to the mold plate drive unit 143 of the mold 104 (S106). In response to the input of the mold width information, the mold plate drive unit 143 moves the pair of short side mold plates 142 so that the width of the mold 104 becomes the width corresponding to the mold width information.

(Modification of the casting control device according to the embodiment)
In the casting control device 1, the mold width determination unit 24 determines the width of the mold from the casting speed information determined from the casting speed table 121, and the water injection amount information 122, the pressure information 123, and the aspect ratio information 124 stored in the memory unit 12. However, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information determined from the casting speed table 121, and at least one of the water injection amount information 122, the pressure information 123, and the aspect ratio information 124.

For example, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information and water injection amount information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information and water injection amount information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information and pressure information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information and pressure information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information and aspect ratio information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information and aspect ratio information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device of the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information, water injection amount information, and pressure information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information, water injection amount information, and pressure information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device of the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information, water injection amount information, and aspect ratio information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information, water injection amount information, and aspect ratio information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information, pressure information, and aspect ratio information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the casting speed information, pressure information, and aspect ratio information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

In addition, in the casting control device according to the embodiment, the information acquisition unit may acquire casting speed information, water injection amount information, pressure information, and aspect ratio information, and the mold width determination unit may determine the width of the mold from the four pieces of information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

The casting control device 1 also determines the width of the mold, but the casting control device according to the embodiment may determine parameters related to the taper in addition to the width of the mold, as in Patent Document 1, and control the mold 104 according to the determined parameters.

(Functions and Effects of the Casting Control Device According to the Embodiment)
The casting control device of the embodiment determines the width of the mold based on the casting speed as well as the amount of cooling water injected, the pressure during soft reduction, and the ratio of the width and thickness of the strand to be produced, so that it can determine the width of the strand with higher accuracy than conventional techniques that determine the width of the mold based only on the casting speed.

5(a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the casting speed and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100, and FIG. 5(b) is a diagram showing the relationship between the specific water amount in the secondary cooling zone 105 of the continuous casting machine 100 and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100. FIG. 5(c) is a diagram showing the relationship between the slab reduction force in the slab reduction device 106 and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100. In FIG. 5(a), the horizontal axis shows the casting speed, in FIG. 5(b), the horizontal axis shows the specific water amount in the secondary cooling of the continuous casting machine 100, and in FIG. 5(c), the horizontal axis shows the slab reduction force in the slab reduction device 106. In addition, in FIG. 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c), the vertical axis shows the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), there is a correlation between the casting speed and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100, in that the faster the casting speed, the thicker the width of the slab 201. As shown in FIG. 5(b), there is a correlation between the specific water amount in the secondary cooling and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100, in that the larger the specific water amount, the thicker the width of the slab 201, just like between the casting speed and the width of the slab 201. As shown in FIG. 5(c), there is a correlation between the slab reduction force and the width of the slab 201 cast by the continuous casting machine 100, in that the larger the slab reduction force, the thicker the width of the slab 201, just like between the casting speed and the width of the slab 201.

The casting control device according to the embodiment can control the width of the cast slab with high precision based on the knowledge that the width of the cast slab 201 can be estimated from the width of the mold based on the specific water amount, the casting reduction force, and the ratio of the width and thickness of the cast slab 201, as well as the casting speed.

Figure 6(a) is a diagram showing the correlation between the width of the slab determined by formula (1) shown in Patent Document 1 and the actual measured width of the cast slab. Figure 6(b) is a diagram showing the correlation between the width of the slab determined by formula (1) used by the mold width determination unit 24 and the actual measured width of the cast slab. Figure 6(c) is a diagram showing the degree of agreement between the width of the slab determined by a formula in which the variables adopted among the variables included in formula (1) used by the mold width determination unit 24 are changed and the actual measured width of the cast slab. In Figures 6(a) and 6(b), the horizontal axis shows the predicted width determined by the formula, and the vertical axis shows the actual measured width of the slab cast with the corresponding mold width.

6(c), each of bars 601 to 608 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of a slab determined by an equation in which the variables adopted among the variables included in equation (1) are changed, and the actual measured width of a cast slab. Bar 601 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of a slab determined by the following equation (2) in which only the casting speed Vc is adopted as a variable among the variables defined in equation (1), and the actual measured width of a cast slab.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc) (2)

Bar 602 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of the slab determined by the following formula (3), which employs the casting speed Vc and the amount of water injected Vw as variables among the variables defined in formula (1), and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * V _W ) (3)

Bar 603 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of the slab determined by the following equation (4) using the casting speed Vc and pressure P as variables among the variables defined in equation (1) and the actual measured width of the cast slab.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₃ * P) (4)

Bar 604 shows the degree of agreement between the width of the strand determined by the following equation (5), which employs the casting speed Vc and the ratio W/T as variables among the variables defined in equation (1), and the actual measured width of the cast strand.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₄ * W/T) (5)

Bar 605 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of the slab determined by the following formula (6) which employs the casting speed Vc, the amount of water injected Vw, and the pressure P as variables among the variables defined in formula (1), and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * V _W + A ₃ * P) (6)

Bar 606 indicates the degree of agreement between the width of the slab determined by the following equation (3), which employs the casting speed Vc, the amount of water injection Vw, and the ratio W/T as variables among the variables defined in equation (1), and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * V _W + A ₄ * W/T) (7)

Bar 607 shows the degree of agreement between the width of the strand determined by the following equation (8), which employs the casting speed Vc, pressure P and ratio W/T as variables among the variables defined in equation (1), and the actual measured width of the cast strand.
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₃ * P + A ₄ * W/T) (8)

Bar 608 shows the agreement between the strip width determined using equation (1) and the actual measured strip width as cast.

As shown in bar 601, the degree of agreement between the slab width predicted using formula (2) with only the casting speed Vc as a variable and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab is 83.6%. On the other hand, as shown in bar 608, the degree of agreement between the slab width predicted using formula (1) with only the casting speed Vc as a variable by the casting control device 1 and the actual measured value of the width of the cast slab is 93.4%. The mold width determination process performed by the casting control device 1 can produce approximately 10% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 602, the degree of agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using formula (3) with the casting speed Vc and water injection amount Vw as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 86.2%. The mold width determination process performed using formula (3) can produce approximately 3% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 603, the agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using equation (4) with the casting speed Vc and pressure P as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 85.1%. The mold width determination process performed using equation (4) can produce approximately 1.5% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 604, the agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using equation (5) with the casting speed Vc and the ratio W/T as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 90.1%. The mold width determination process performed using equation (5) can produce approximately 6.5% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 605, the agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using formula (6) with the casting speed Vc, water injection amount Vw, and pressure P as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 88.2%. The mold width determination process performed using formula (6) can produce approximately 4.5% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 606, the agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using equation (7) with the casting speed Vc, water injection amount Vw, and ratio W/T as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 89.9%. The mold width determination process performed using equation (7) can produce approximately 6.5% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

As shown in bar 607, the agreement between the width of the slab predicted by the casting control device 1 using equation (8) with the casting speed Vc, pressure P, and ratio W/T as variables and the actual measured width of the cast slab is 89.9%. The mold width determination process performed using equation (8) can produce approximately 6.5% more slabs with a width error within the range of ±10 mm than the conventional mold width determination process.

The above describes a casting control device that determines the width of the mold based on the casting speed Vc, etc. and the desired width of the strand to be produced, but the present invention may also be a slab width estimation device that estimates the width of the strand based on the casting speed Vc, etc. and the width of the mold.

(Configuration and Function of Cast Plate Width Estimation Device According to the Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a cast strip width estimation device according to an embodiment.

The casting control device 1 differs in that the casting width estimation device 2 has a processing unit 30 instead of the processing unit 20. The processing unit 30 differs from the processing unit 20 in that the processing unit 30 has a casting width estimation unit 34 and a casting width information output unit 35 instead of the mold width determination unit 24 and the mold width information output unit 25. The configurations and functions of the components of the casting control device 2 other than the casting width estimation unit 34 and the casting width information output unit 35 are the same as the configurations and functions of the components of the casting control device 1 with the same reference numerals, so detailed explanations are omitted here.

(Branch width determination process by the slab width estimation device according to the embodiment)
Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a process for estimating the width of a cast piece executed by the apparatus for estimating the width of a cast piece 2. The process for estimating the width of a cast piece shown in Fig. 8 is executed mainly by the processing unit 30 in cooperation with each element of the apparatus for estimating the width of a cast piece 2, based on a program stored in advance in the storage unit 12.

The processing of S201 to S204 is similar to that of S101 to S104, so detailed description will be omitted here. When processing of S204 is completed, the slab width estimation unit 34 estimates the width of the slab 201 produced by continuous casting from the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 23 and the width of the mold 104 (S205). The slab width estimation unit 34 estimates the width of the slab 201 using the above-mentioned formula (1). Then, the slab width information output unit 35 outputs slab width information indicating the width of the slab 201 determined by the slab width estimation unit 34 in processing of S205 (S206).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Casting control device 2 Strand width estimation device 20, 30 Processing unit 21 Water volume control unit 22 Reduction control unit 23 Information acquisition unit 24 Mold width determination unit 25 Mold width information output unit 34 Strand width estimation unit 35 Strand width information output unit 100 Continuous casting machine 104 Mold 105 Secondary cooling zone 106 Strand reduction device 109 Casting speed sensor

Claims (8)

an information acquisition unit that acquires casting speed information indicating a casting speed of a slab that is continuously cast through a mold whose width is variable, and aspect ratio information indicating a ratio between a desired plate width and a desired plate thickness of the slab that is continuously cast;
a mold width determination unit that determines a width of the mold based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit and a desired width of a cast strip to be continuously cast;
A mold width information output unit that outputs mold width information indicating the width of the mold determined by the mold width determination unit;
A casting control device comprising: The casting control device according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires pressure information indicating the pressure when soft reduction of the continuously cast slab is performed. The casting control device according to claim 2 , wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires water injection amount information indicating an amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting. The mold width determination unit determines the width of the mold using the width W of the continuously cast slab, the casting speed Vc corresponding to the casting speed information, the water injection amount Vw corresponding to the water injection amount information, the pressure P corresponding to the pressure information, and the ratio W/T corresponding to the aspect ratio information, and the following formula (1) represented by coefficients _A0 , _A1 , _A2 , _A3 , and _A4 .
W _mold = W * (A ₀ + A ₁ * Vc + A ₂ * V _W + A ₃ * P + A ₄ * W/T) (1)
The casting control device according to claim 3 . Obtaining casting speed information indicating a casting speed of a slab continuously cast through a mold having a variable width, and aspect ratio information indicating a ratio between a desired width and a desired thickness of the slab continuously cast;
determining a width of the mold based on the casting speed information, the aspect ratio information, and a desired width of the slab to be continuously cast;
outputting mold width information indicating the determined width of the mold;
A method for determining a mold width, comprising: Further acquiring water injection amount information indicating the amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting;
6. The mold width determination method according to claim 5, wherein the mold width is determined based on casting speed information, the aspect ratio information, the water injection amount information, and the desired plate width. Obtaining casting speed information indicating a casting speed of a slab continuously cast through a mold having a variable width, and aspect ratio information indicating a ratio between a desired width and a desired thickness of the slab continuously cast;
determining a width of the mold based on the casting speed information, the aspect ratio information, and a desired width of the slab to be continuously cast;
outputting mold width information indicating the determined mold width;
A mold width determination program that causes a computer to execute a process. Further acquiring water injection amount information indicating the amount of cooling water injected into the slab during continuous casting;
8. The mold width determination program according to claim 7, wherein the width of the mold is determined based on casting speed information, the aspect ratio information, the water injection amount information, and the desired plate width.

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