9th ECCC European Continuous Casting Conference – ECCC 2017

Nozzle clogging during steel pouring in the continuous casting process is a long-standing problem for Al-killed steels. During casting the flow rate of liquid steel through the nozzle is reduced due to the nozzle clogging, which leads to serious operational problems. Even though the ladle slide gate is fully open, the molten steel flow rate can hardly meet the demand of the tundish, causing the level in the tundish to drop. To continue the casting sequence the casting speed must be reduced. In some cases casting is terminated if clogging takes place at early stage of ladle opening and the ladle returns with the remaining steel poured in the EAF for reprocessing. Ladle nozzle clogging reduces productivity and impacts the steel quality. This paper investigates the causes of ladle nozzle clogging and proposes counter measures to it.