Recent advances in steel cleanliness

At Klöckner Edelstahl in Georgsmarienhütte improvements in steel cleanliness mentioned in this report were concentrated on the tundish and pouring channel. Sealing of the tundish with inert gas curbed reoxidation so that total oxygen after about 1 minute of casting was around 10 ppm, whereas this value was reached only after 25 minutes of casting in the case without inert gas sealing. Reoxidation in the pouring channel may be a danger because of the high pressure drops recorded. Therefore, stringent measures must be observed to prevent reoxidation in the tundish and the pouring channel.