U.S. patent application number 09/888076 was filed with the patent office on 2002-02-14 for start-up billet head for a continuous casting machine for metal, in particular, steel.
Invention is credited to Fest, Thomas.
Application Number | 20020017373 09/888076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7646952 |
Filed Date | 2002-02-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020017373 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fest, Thomas |
February 14, 2002 |
Start-up billet head for a continuous casting machine for metal, in
particular, steel
Abstract
A start-up billet head for a continuous casting machine for
metal closes off an outlet of the casting die before start-up of
the casting process. The start-up billet head has a coupling part
facing an interior of the casting die and forms together with a
billet cast in the casting die a positive-locking, hook-shaped
connection. The connection can be decoupled after leaving the
casting die by performing a tilting movement of the start-up billet
head about a joint of the start-up billet. The coupling part has a
recess with a first side active in a billet removal direction and a
second side facing the first side. The first and second sides have
oppositely oriented arc shapes. The coupling part has the shape of
a preliminary billet profile with at least one undercut located in
the area of at least one flange or angled joint of the preliminary
billet profile.
Inventors: |
Fest, Thomas; (Moers,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FRIEDRICH KUEFFNER
Suite 1921
342 MADISON AVENUE
NEW YORK
NY
10173
US
|
Family ID: |
7646952 |
Appl. No.: |
09/888076 |
Filed: |
June 22, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
164/445 ;
164/425 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B22D 11/083
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
164/445 ;
164/425 |
International
Class: |
B22D 011/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 27, 2000 |
DE |
100 31 248.9 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A start-up billet head for a continuous casting machine for
metal, wherein the start-up billet head is configured to close off
an outlet of a continuous casting die before start-up of the
casting process; the start-up billet head comprising: a coupling
part facing an interior of the casting die configured to form
together with a billet, that is cast in the casting die, a
positive-locking, hook-shaped connection, wherein the connection is
configured to be decoupled after leaving the casting die by
performing a tilting movement of the start-up billet head about a
joint of the start-up billet; the hook-shaped coupling part having
a recess with a first side active in a billet removal direction and
a second side facing the first side; the first side of the
hook-shaped coupling part having an arc shape and the second side
having an arc shape oriented opposite to the arc-shape of the first
side; the coupling part having a shape of a preliminary billet
profile and comprising at least one undercut configured to be
located in the area of at least one flange or at least one angled
joint of the preliminary billet profile.
2. A start-up billet head according to claim 1, wherein the
preliminary billet profile is a double-T profile having two flanges
and a stay connecting the flanges, wherein the two flanges of the
billet profile are provided with one of the undercuts,
respectively, and wherein the undercuts are symmetrically
arranged.
3. A start-up billet head according to claim 1, wherein the at
least one undercut begins parallel to a stay of the preliminary
billet profile and then follows a transition between the stay and
the flange of the preliminary billet profile end extends within the
flange with a certain proportion of the thickness of the
flange.
4. A start-up billet head according to claim 1, wherein on the
active side of the hook-shaped coupling part a flange wall is
formed whose wall surface extends into the area of the
undercut.
5. A start-up billet head according to claim 4, wherein the flange
wall has a thickness which corresponds approximately to half the
thickness of the flange.
6. A start-up billet head according to claim 1, wherein the
preliminary billet profile has a stay connected to the flange and
wherein, with decreasing thickness of the stay of the billet
profile, the at least one undercut is limited to the at least one
flange or angled joint of the preliminary billet profile.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a start-up billet head for a
continuous casting machine for casting metal, in particular, steel.
The start-up billet head closes off the outlet of the continuous
casting die before starting up the casting process. The start-up
billet head comprises a coupling part facing the interior of the
casting die which together with the cast billet forms a
positive-locking, hook-shaped connection which, after leaving the
continuous casting die, can be decoupled by a tilting movement of
the start-up billet head about a joint of the start-up billet
wherein the hook-shaped coupling part on the side that is active
(i.e., acts on the billet to be removed) in the billet removal
direction is undercut with an arc shape and on the opposite side
has an arc shape that is oriented opposite to the arc shape of the
undercut.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Such a start-up billet head is known from DE 38 10 304 C1.
Such start-up billet heads serve to convey at the beginning of the
casting process the steel solidified within the continuous casting
die in the area of the coupling part by means of a start-up billet
and a driving device. The start-up billet head forms thus a
detachable coupling between the leading end of the cast billet and
the start-up billet. As soon as the start-up billet head has passed
through the driving device, the driving device can thus transmit
the removal forces onto the cast billet itself and the start-up
billet must be decoupled via the start-up billet head. The phase of
transmission of the removal forces onto the start-up billet head
and from it onto the casting strand depends on to which degree the
coupling can already receive forces. The take-up of the removal
forces depends on the configuration of the start-up billet head.
The configuration of the start-up billet head, however, depends
also on the cast billet profile. It is therefore not possible to
employ the known start-up billet head in connection with all cast
cross-sections and all dimensions of the cast billet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
start-up billet head which can be employed in connection with
especially complex billet cross-sections and thus continuous
casting die cross-sections such that at the beginning of the
casting process sufficiently high removal forces can be transmitted
onto the cast billet.
[0006] In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved
in that for a continuous casting die for a preliminary billet
profile the coupling part has at least one undercut in the area of
a flange or an angled joint of a preliminary billet profile. This
makes it possible to engage complex billet cross-sections with weak
stay parts such that a sufficiently high removal force during
start-up can be transmitted onto the billet profile in that the
flange part or the angled joint take on as much as possible of the
removal force.
[0007] The principle of the invention can be applied according to
further features, for example, such that for a double-T billet
profile in both flanges of the preliminary billet profile undercuts
are symmetrically arranged. The cross-sections and dimensional
widths available within the flanges make it possible to transmit
the required magnitude of removal force onto the solidifying cast
billet.
[0008] According to other features, it is provided that the
undercut extends, beginning parallel at the stay of the preliminary
billet profile and then following the transition between the stay
and the flange, with a certain proportion of the thickness of the
flange within the flange. The flange thickness can thus be used in
a beneficial way for the removal force transmission.
[0009] According to another embodiment it is suggested that on the
active side of the hook-shaped coupling part a flange wall is
formed whose wall surface extends to the area of the undercut. The
cast metal fills thus the space at the location of the large
cross-section of the flange so that in the case of preliminary
billet profiles considerably greater removal forces can be
transmitted.
[0010] In this connection, it is advantageous that the flange wall
has a thickness which corresponds approximately to half the
thickness of the flange in the preliminary billet profile. By using
half the thickness it is possible to utilize as much as possible
the cross-section available for the removal force transmission.
[0011] Moreover, it is possible to advantageously use the principle
that with reduced thickness of the stay of the billet profile the
undercut or undercuts are limited to the flange or the flanges of
the preliminary billet profile. In this way, it is thus also
possible to cast preliminary billet profiles with thinner stays
without the removal force transmission suffering thereby.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0012] In the drawing:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of the continuous casting
die with start-up billet head; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is a front view of the start-up billet head viewed in
the removal direction.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] According to FIG. 1, the start-up billet head is to be used
for a continuous casting machine for metal, in particular, steel.
The start-up billet head closes off the outlet 1a of the continuous
casting die 1 before the beginning of the casting process by means
of the coupling part 2 facing the interior 1b of the casting die
which coupling part is arranged so as to seal the die. The coupling
part 2 forms together with the cast liquid metal, which quickly
solidifies, the positive-locking hook-shaped connection 3 which,
after the cast billet has left the die, can be decoupled, i.e.,
released, at a location downstream of a removal device by a tilting
movement of the start-up billet head about a joint 4 of the
start-up billet 5. For this process, the hook-shaped coupling part
2 has a recess with an arc shape at the side 7 which is active in
the billet removal direction 6 (acts on the billet to be removed,
i.e., transmits removal forces). The opposite side 8 of the recess
is provided with an oppositely oriented arc shape.
[0016] For applying this principle on a so-called continuous
casting die for preliminary billet profiles in which preliminary
billet profiles, for example, double-T sections, angled sections or
U-sections are cast, it is advantageous that the coupling part 2
has at least one undercut 9 in the area of a flange 10 or an angled
joint of a billet profile 11 (FIG. 2). In the illustrated double-T
billet profile 11a the two flanges 10 of the billet profile 11 have
undercuts 9 schematically arranged therein (FIG. 2). Accordingly,
higher removal forces can be transmitted at these locations, even
when thinner stays 12 are present.
[0017] The undercut 9 begins at the stay 12 of the billet profile
11 and extends parallel to the stay and then follows the transition
13 between the stay 12 and the flange 10 with a certain preset
proportion 14 of the thickness 10a of the flange 10, respectively.
On the active side 7 of the hook-shaped coupling part 2 a flange
wall 15 is formed whose wall surface 15a continues into the area of
the undercut 9. As an example, it is shown that the flange wall 15
has a thickness 15b which corresponds approximately to half the
thickness 10a of the flange 10 the billet profile 11. In principle,
with decreasing thickness 12a of the stay 12 of any suitable billet
profile, the undercut 9 or the undercuts 9 can be limited to the
flange 10 or the flanges 10 of the preliminary billet profile.
[0018] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown
and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it
will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise
without departing from such principles.
* * * * *