CC-EMS for flat products

EMBR, ElectroMagnetic BRake

for thin slab casters

Principal view of EMBR for thin slab casting.

EMBR is a prerequisite when casting thin slabs with higher throughputs and when you are aiming at
the higher quality segment.
•Nearly complete elimination of mold powder entrapments as the result of reduced flow speed and
turbulence.
•Greatly improved coil surface quality.
•Higher casting speed can normally be used.
•Reduction of mold copper wear, especially at higher casting speeds.
•Reduced meniscus swelling resulting in a more even molten mold powder layer.
•Hotter steel at meniscus.
•New market segments will be within reach because of improved product quality.
In summary, EMBR will increase productivity, product quality and lower operating costs.
 EMBR for thin slab casters

Reduced mold powder entrapments

Inclusions coming with the steel remains small and
relatively harmless because of the Ca-treatment of the
steel. Because of this and the high casting speed
normally used for thin slabs, mold powder entrapment
constitutes the major source of detrimental non-
metallic inclusions.
With an EMBR, the lower meniscus flow speed and
turbulence results in that mold powder entrapments
will be nearly eliminated. These data were generated
by an optical surface detection system located after
the last stand in the hot rolling mill. They and show
that more than 90% of the non-metallic inclusions are
eliminated.

No EMBR EMBR
Surface defects on coil.

Surface Defects
Improved coil quality Non-metallic inclusions detected after F7
The higher the casting speed the lower the quality will
be. This is evident from the figure, where non-metallic
inclusions in coils are shown as a function of
throughput and EMBR current. These results come
from an optical surface detection system located after
the final stand in the hot rolling mill. It can clearly be
seen that when using an optimized EMBR the quality
level at higher throughputs is improved. The quality 0
50-150
becomes equal or better to the quality level to that for 150-250
significantly lower casting speeds without EMBR. >3,5
3,0-3,5 >250
2,5-3,0 <2,5
Throughput [t/min] EMBR
Current (A)

Reduced meniscus waving/swelling

The braking of the steel jets exiting the SEN reduces 15
Wave height (mm)

Amps
the meniscus swelling close to the mold narrow sides. 10 0
5 80
The resulting flatter meniscus allows for a more even 160
layer of molten mold powder, thus improving 0 240
330
lubrication and reducing the risks of surface cracks. -5
420
-10 0 100 200 300 400 500
The meniscus profile has been measured by dipping a Narrow Distance narrow face (mm) SEN
side
thin metal sheet into the mold. A typical dip sheet 4.8 m/min, slab dimensions 50 x 1140 mm
holder is shown at the top of the picture .
 EMBR for thin slab casters

EMBR increases mold lifetime.

EMBR dramatically decreases the mold level
fluctuations. Therefore temperature cycling and
thermal fatigue of the copper mold plates
dramatically reduced. Thanks to that more than
twice as long mold lifetime has been reported
from casters using EMBR.

EMBR increases steel temperature at

30
meniscus.
Superheat in mold (º F)

Since the EMBR reduces the turbulence in the

EMBR on (150 -200A)
20
EMBR off
steel, heat transfer from the middle of the mold
10
to the solidification front is reduced.
Additionally, hot steel is not pushed down into
0 the strand but kept higher up in the mold,
-10
resulting in an increase of the steel temperature
at the meniscus, see figure to the right. The
-20 temperature at the meniscus was measured by
20 30 40 50 60 70
Superheat in tundish (º F) dipping down a thermo-element into the steel.
Superheat at meniscus with/without an EMBR system

New markets
Thanks to the dramatic improvements in quality, new markets with improved profitability, such as
the white products sector, will be within reach of many flat product mini-mills. This has already
been proven by several steelmakers with thin slab casters using EMBR.

Productivity improvements
As a consequence of the quality improvements coming from using an EMBR system, the casting
speed can normally be increased resulting in increased productivity. This is especially important to
steel shops with only one thin slab strand feeding a dedicated hot rolling mill.
 CC-EMS for flat products
EMBR for thin slab casters
Part coil
The EMBR consists of two or four part coils, placed at Iron Core
each mold wide side. The part coils are fed with direct
current from a thyristor converter. The generated static
magnetic field brakes the flow speed of the steel jets
from the SEN thereby reducing the turbulence. The
higher the metal flow speed the higher the braking force.
The following two EMBR configurations are available: Yoke

EMBR Ruler. The braking area of the Ruler covers

substantially the entire width of the slab. Two part coils
(shown in red in the figure) with electrical copper
windings together with iron cores and outer iron yoke Iron Core
form a closed magnetic circuit.
EMBR Local Fields. Unlike the Ruler, the braking area
covers the steel outlet from the SEN. Four part coils with
electrical copper windings (shown in red in the figure) Yoke
Part coil
together with cores and outer yokes form a magnetic
circuit. This type of EMBR is especially suited for
rebuilding of existing casters.

The following different methods are used to install

EMBR: Part coil
Window solution for new casters. The part coils are
mounted on the non-oscillating magnetic yoke
surrounding the movable iron cores. In order to minimize
the non-magnetic gap, these iron cores fit in the front
position in “windows” in the mold water jacket, also Movable Iron Core
allowing for mold oscillation. Yoke
Window solution
At mold exchange, the iron cores are retracted and the
mold can then be lifted out of the caster, while the part
coils remain in the caster. This installation method
minimizes the weight on the oscillation table since the
cores and yokes do not oscillate

Integrated solution for existing casters. The part coils

and the magnetic cores and yokes are mounted on the
mold and go in and out of the caster with the mold during
mold exchange. Integrated
solution

ABB Automation Technologies AB ABB Inc.

Metallurgy Department
SE-721 36 Västerås, Sweden
Phone: +46 21 34 00 00
Fax: +46 21 14 83 27
info.metallurgy@se.abb.com
www.abb.com/metals
JME Division
1450 Hopkins St, Suite 203
Whitby, Ontario L1N 2C3, Canada
Phone: +1 905 666 2251
Fax: +1 905 666 2266