Chinese steelmaker Yukun Iron and Steel Group has successfully produced 145-mm-thick slabs at its new Danieli QSP-DUE plant in Yuxi, Yunnan province. This achievement marks an unprecedented slab thickness for a direct casting and rolling plant. The milestone was accomplished using a 152-mm funnel mould, confirming the Danieli-patented DySen caster as a benchmark in slab-casting technology.
The increased slab thickness leads to improved overall strip quality due to a higher reduction ratio in the mill, opening new possibilities for the production of quality hot-rolled coils. The achievement was made possible by the sturdiness and flexibility of Danieli equipment and automation, as well as the skill of the Yukun team.
The Danieli QSP-DUE plant is designed to produce low- and medium-carbon, HSLA, and medium-carbon high-alloyed grades in ultralight gauges down to 0.8 mm in endless mode and very thick gauges up to 25.4 mm in coil-to-coil mode. Featuring two casting strands and endless casting-rolling on one, the plant boasts a production capacity exceeding 4.5 million tons per year of hot-rolled strip, making it the highest performing direct casting-rolling plant in the world.
