Abstract: A plant and process for the continuous production of hot-rolled steel strips with a minimum thickness of 0.3 mm is disclosed which includes a continuous casting device of thin or medium slabs with a thickness between 40 and 150 mm and a maximum width of at least 2100 mm followed by a roughing mill, a first induction furnace, a water descaler, a second induction furnace, a finishing mill, a cooling station, a cutting station and a winding station. A system for feeding a protective atmosphere containing ?3% vol. oxygen is provided from the inlet of the second induction furnace to at least the third stand of the finishing mill. Between the continuous casting device and the roughing mill, an initial thermal conditioning and descaling section is provided having in sequence an induction edge heater, an induction heater for the rest of the slab surface and a water descaler.

Abstract: A thin slab nozzle contains a central bore extending downstream along longitudinal axis X1 from an inlet orifice at an upstream end. The central bore comprises an upstream bore portion with a height Ha, in communication with a converging bore portion of height He, in communication with a thin bore portion of height Hf ending at the upstream end of a divider, and first and second front ports separated from one another by the divider and coupled to the central bore portion at least partially at the converging bore portion. X2 is a transverse axis, normal to X1, along which the nozzle becomes thinner in a downstream portion. In a section of the thin slab nozzle along a symmetry plane ?1 defined by X1 and by X2, the bore wall of the converging bore portion is curved at all points, and Hf/He?1.

Abstract: A thin slab nozzle comprises: a central bore defined by a bore wall and opening at inlet orifice and extending therefrom along the longitudinal axis X1 until it is closed at an upstream end of a divider, said central bore comprising: an upstream bore portion comprising the inlet orifice and extending over a height, Ha, and, adjacent thereto, forming an upstream boundary with a converging bore portion of height He located in the connecting portion of the thin slab nozzle, and adjacent thereto a thin bore portion of height Hf located in the diffusing portion of the thin slab nozzle and ending at the level of the upstream end of the divider, first and second front ports separated from one another by said divider and coupled to the central bore portion at least partially at the converging bore portion; characterized in that, in a section of the thin slab nozzle along the first symmetry plane ?1 defined by (X1, X2) wherein X2 is normal to X1, the geometry of the wall of the central bore is characterized as

Abstract: A device for supporting and oscillating continuous casting molds in continuous casting plants includes at least one support suitable to support a continuous casting mold, the support including a fixed assembly restrained to a frame of the device and a movable assembly that is slidably restrained to the fixed assembly in a vertical direction and connected to a servomechanism suitable to move it in a reciprocating manner relative to the fixed assembly along the axial direction, the movable assembly including a plurality of channels suitable to allow a flow of a cooling fluid to and from a cooling circuit of the mold, the channels being supplied by supply pipes arranged along the vertical direction.

Abstract: A device for supporting and oscillating continuous casting moulds in continuous casting plants comprises at least one support suitable to support a continuous casting mould, said support comprising a fixed assembly restrained to a frame of the device and a movable assembly that is slidably restrained to said fixed assembly in a vertical direction (A) and connected to a servomechanism suitable to move it in a reciprocating manner relative to the fixed assembly along said axial direction (A), said movable assembly comprising a plurality of channels suitable to allow a flow of a cooling fluid to and from a cooling circuit of said mould, said channels being supplied by supply pipes arranged along the vertical direction (A).