strand casting

Strand casting, also known as continuous casting, is a metallurgical process where liquid steel is continuously fed into a water-cooled copper mold. As the steel solidifies into a shell, it is continuously withdrawn, forming a strand. This method accounts for about 55 percent of the world's liquid steel production.123

Variations of strand casting include thin-slab casters, rotary casters for seamless tubes, and horizontal casters. Different cross-sections can be cast, such as billets, blooms, beam blanks, and large slabs, often using multi-strand casters to match production rates. This process is highly efficient, yielding nearly 100 percent of the steel into acceptable strand product and reducing the need for raw materials and energy compared to older ingot-casting methods. Computer control and advanced systems further enhance metallurgical quality and efficiency.143