Siemens VAI Metals Technologies recently started up and commissioned a new vertical slab caster at Baosteel's Special Steel Branch in Shanghai, China. The single-strand caster is capable of producing up to approximately 270,000 metric tons annually of a wide range of high- and ultra-high-alloyed carbon, special and stainless steel grades.
The new slab caster enables Baosteel to continuously cast a wide range of highly critical steel grades that could not otherwise have been produced in a conventional bow-type caster. This is the first vertical slab caster commissioned by Siemens VAI.
The caster has a vertical height of 40 meters and a metallurgical length of 13.6 meters. Slabs are cast in thicknesses of 150 and 200 mm and at widths of 600 to 1300 mm. Depending on the steel grade and the slab thickness to be cast, the casting speed varies between 0.7 and 1.3 meters/minute.