Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.3
2.5
Journals
Metals
Special Issues
Advances in Continuous Casting and Refining of Steel
share announcement

Advances in Continuous Casting and Refining of Steel

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2026 | Viewed by 1971

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Heng Cui

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Collaborative Innovation Center of Steel Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: continuous casting; secondary refining; non-metallic inclusion; casting defects; physical and numerical modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Continuous casting and refining play a crucial role in steel production. Continuous casting enables the efficient solidification of molten steel into semi-finished products, enhancing productivity. Refining processes, such as LF and RH, precisely control chemical compositions and remove inclusions. Their combined application ensures the production of high-quality steel with enhanced mechanical properties and reduced defects, meeting the stringent demands of modern industries. Consequently, with the increasing demand for high-quality products, the improvement of equipment, and the advancement of automation and digitalization, metallurgical researchers have developed novel technologies, processes, and mechanisms for continuous casting and refining.

This Special issue aims to present new technologies, processes, and trends regarding the application of continuous casting and refining. Original research articles and reviews from academia and industry are welcome. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: innovative casting techniques, the optimization of the refining process, clean steel technologies, improvements in the quality of cast products, digital and intelligent applications, and the impact of novel refractory materials. I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Heng Cui
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • continuous casting
  • secondary refining
  • non-metallic inclusion
  • clean steel
  • casting defects
  • solidification
  • physical modeling
  • numerical modeling
  • big data
  • machine learning

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 4291 KiB  
Article
The Research on Carbon Deoxygenation of Molten Steel and Its Application in the Converter Steelmaking Process
by Fang Gao and Yanping Bao
Metals 2025, 15(6), 648; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15060648 - 10 Jun 2025
Viewed by 575
Abstract
At the steelmaking temperature, carbon has a strong deoxidation ability. Under the vacuum condition, its deoxidation ability can be further improved, and it can become a stronger deoxidation element than aluminum. The product of carbon deoxygenation is CO, which floats up and detaches [...] Read more.
At the steelmaking temperature, carbon has a strong deoxidation ability. Under the vacuum condition, its deoxidation ability can be further improved, and it can become a stronger deoxidation element than aluminum. The product of carbon deoxygenation is CO, which floats up and detaches from the molten steel in the form of bubbles and does not produce oxide inclusions. Under normal pressure, replacing aluminum with carbon to complete partial deoxidation tasks can not only reduce the generation of inclusions and alleviate the pressure of removing inclusions, but also reduce the consumption of aluminum and save deoxidation costs. In this study, the carbon deoxidation process after the converter was investigated. Firstly, the timing of carbon addition was determined through thermodynamic calculations, and it was found that, in oxygen-enriched molten steel, the priority of the reaction of the deoxidation element was [Al] > [Si] > [C] > [Mn]. Through the carbon and oxygen balance calculation, it is known that the carbon deoxidation effect is greatly affected by the carbon content of the molten steel; for low-carbon steel, carbon can be used for pre-deoxygenation, whereas for medium-carbon and high-carbon steel, carbon can complete most of the deoxidation tasks. Finally, with 45 steel as the research object, the carbon deoxidation process was designed and tested in industry. The results showed that, compared with the aluminum deoxidation process, the number of inclusions in the billet casting of the carbon deoxidation process was reduced by 68.8%, and the carbon deoxidation process had fewer large-sized inclusions in the billet casting. In addition, the carbon deoxidation process uses carbon powder instead of the aluminum block for deoxidation during steel tapping from the converter. The deoxidant cost is reduced by CNY 15.47/ton of steel. From a comprehensive point of view, the application of carbon deoxidation after the converter can reduce aluminum consumption and improve the cleanliness of steel, which is an important way for enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Continuous Casting and Refining of Steel)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 13253 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of Effects of Mold Cavity and Submerged Entry Nozzle on Flow, Heat Transfer and Solidification in Funnel-Type Molds for Thin Slab Casting
by Zhaoyang Li, Yao Lu, Rudong Wang, Gengyang Li and Heng Cui
Metals 2025, 15(2), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15020183 - 11 Feb 2025
Viewed by 900
Abstract
As the third generation of thin slab continuous casting and rolling technology, endless strip production (ESP) has been widely used in the steelmaking industry. The key equipment in this process, the funnel-type mold, is prone to accidents such as slag entrainment, surface cracks [...] Read more.
As the third generation of thin slab continuous casting and rolling technology, endless strip production (ESP) has been widely used in the steelmaking industry. The key equipment in this process, the funnel-type mold, is prone to accidents such as slag entrainment, surface cracks and steel leakage under high casting speed conditions. To reduce the incidence of the above accidents, the numerical model of flow, heat transfer and solidification in the funnel-type mold is established by using the k-ε model, enthalpy–porosity method and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and the influence mechanism of the mold cavity and submerged entry nozzle (SEN) on the molten steel is studied, providing a new solution for optimizing the ESP process. The results show that compared with the type-I mold, the influence of the geometric disturbance of the top cavity on the flow state of the middle and lower body is localized, while the type-II funnel mold increases the thickness of the solidified shell at the outlet of mold; the marked enhancement in solidified shell thickness and uniformity at the mold exit achieved through the type-II SEN due to the distribution of temperature and velocity are more reasonable, reducing the risk of surface cracks and steel leakage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Continuous Casting and Refining of Steel)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop