NEW DEVELOPMENTS CERAMIC MATERIAL
The performance of billet casters is dependent on manifold factors: the type of alloy, the way of manufacturing - either horizontal or vertical -, the type of casting unit - traditionally with spouts and floats or hot top technology -, the overall maintenance state, the impurities and oil in the pit water and last but not least the type of refractory materials which are in direct contact with the molten metal.
A new material will be described. It is a composite of Calcium Silicate and Graphite. This composite unifies favorite properties of both materials, when used in contact with liquid aluminium. Especially when used as transition plate in up to date casting units significant advantages are obvious in comparison to the presently used standard material, a calcium silicate containing a small volume of carbon fibres. The oil absorption is very low, there is no need to retorqued the t-plate after the drop, no boron nitride coating is necessary and the surface tension between the liquid metal and the surface of the transition plate is increased. The field reports life times of the transition plate exceeding 1000 tons of casted alloys and excellent surfaces of the billet even for hard alloys.
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