Abstract: A continuous casting installation has a curved secondary cooling zone in which a partially solidified, continuously cast strand originally having a generally vertical orientation is turned towards the horizontal while being cooled. Spray nozzles are provided for spraying the upper and lower surfaces of the strand, as well as the sides of the strand, with cooling fluid during passage of the strand through the curved cooling zone. The spray nozzles for cooling the sides of the strand have slot-like openings which curve in the same direction as the curved cooling zone. These spray nozzles thus produce curved spray patterns. This makes it possible to reduce the number of spray nozzles required to cool the strand in the curved cooling zone thereby simplifying spray nozzle alignment problems. Furthermore, by appropriate selection of the radius of curvature of the slot-like openings, the spray nozzles for the sides of the strand may be positioned farther away from the strand than previously.

Abstract: A method of cooling a continuously cast strand, particularly a steel strand, in a secondary cooling zone of a continuous casting plant wherein a spray nozzle disposed at the region of at least two consecutively spaced guiding means produces a spray pattern of liquid coolant, typically water, which impinges the surface of the cast strand with a substantially uniform distribution of the coolant and a substantially uniform impingement force at least over the major portion of the transverse width dimension of such cast strand. The invention further contemplates feeding the liquid coolant into the nozzle so as to flow initially essentially in the axial extent thereof and then to depart therefrom in a direction extending transversely with respect thereto to form such spray pattern of liquid coolant.