9th ECCC European Continuous Casting Conference – ECCC 2017

The core of CONSAFE is a safe and performant mould level sensor for open stream casting. The patented sensor array includes four thermocouples which are easily integrated into the wall of the copper mould tube. A state-of-the-art controller (ms-cycle) runs the CONSAFE algorithm. It evaluates the dynamic transients of the monitored temperatures and reliably converts the sensor readings into the actual steel level in the mould. The system is embedded into any field bus environment. It would directly drive the withdrawal speed in order to maintain the set-point of the steel level. Each strand controller communicates with the same single monitor station PC. The significant trends and parameters can be configured and checked for all strands on the comfortable HMI interface. One year of production data is stored. The sensor principle allows detecting the presence of rising steel level in the mould before the level reaches the controllable range of the sensor array. This allows to start casting in automatic mode on a regular basis, especially also for small casting section sizes. The most obvious user advantage however is the ability to control the steel level free of radiometric equipment. The extensive range of related OPEX cost (such as special procedures for procurement, handling, disposal of radiometric items or routine health monitoring for operators) can be cut with immediate effect. This paper will explain the CONSAFE product setup and will show impressive operational results from its application in the field.