Steel producer JSW Steel Ltd has ordered a new continuous slab caster from Siemens VAI Metals Technologies for its steel works in Toranagallu, Karnataka State, India.

The continuous slab caster will have an annual production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes and is to be commissioned in the middle of 2013.

The new continuous slab caster (caster no 4, in steelworks no 1) for the JSW Steel Works in Toranagallu will be able to cast slabs with thicknesses between 220mm and 260mm and widths between 800mm and 1,600mm. It will produce carbon steel, micro and low alloy, as well as HSLA steels, which will be further processed into sheets, strips and pipes.

The new continuous slab caster will be equipped with DynaGap Soft Reduction, like caster no 3 which was supplied by Siemens and then modernized in 2009. This solution enables the taper and thickness to be controlled automatically at every point of the strand guiding system to create the basic conditions for high internal slab quality. This will enable the casting of slabs from high quality, API grades and other micro alloyed steels.

The design and equipment of the new continuous slab caster are similar to those of caster no 3, thus simplifying operation, maintenance and spare part stocking. Smart Segments are used to contain the strand. A number of technology packages ensure an optimal casting process, which produces slabs with both high surface and internal quality. The packages include the Mold Expert breakout detection system, the LevCon mold level control, the DynaFlex mold oscillator and the VAI-Q inline quality assurance system.

JSW Steel is currently operating three continuous slab casters in steel works no 1 in Toranagallu. Casters nos 1 and 2 have been in production since 1999 and Siemens recently retrofitted them with mold level control and breakout prediction systems. Caster no 3 has been equipped with the latest equipment since it went into operation at the end of 2006, and since modernization in 2009 was the first plant in India to be equipped with DynaGap Soft Reduction.

The new continuous slab caster will increase the casting capacity of steel works 1 in Toranagallu to around 4.2 million tons of slabs per annum. The construction of the fourth casting plant is part of JSW Steel’s broad range expansion project.