Henan Jiyuan Iron and Steel modernises continuous casting plant

The Chinese company Henan Jiyuan Iron and Steel has commissioned SMS Concast to modernise its eight-strand continuous casting line CCM#2 at its Jiyuan Plant No. 2. The line was originally supplied by a local manufacturer.

According to SMS, the modernisation project aims to improve product quality and productivity whilst increasing flexibility in processing different steel grades, with a view to achieving an annual production capacity of more than 1 million tonnes. The eight-strand casting line, with a nominal radius of ten metres, is designed to cast three cross-sectional sizes: 150 square millimetres, 160 square millimetres and 180 square millimetres. High-carbon grades, such as bearing and spring steels, as well as a wide range of steel grades for the automotive industry, will account for over 90 per cent of the product range.
SMS is undertaking the complete modernisation, including a comprehensive redesign of CCM#2, which will thus rank among the world’s most modern facilities. The plant’s equipment includes the DMSR (Dynamic Mechanical Soft Reduction) system, which is designed to optimise billet quality through precise control of core porosity and segregation.
In addition to the DMSR system – the implementation of which, according to SMS, poses a major challenge given the narrow strand spacing of just 1,200 millimetres – the modernisation includes further outstanding technological solutions. These include, for example, the so-called Conflow Stopper Technology for the precise control of the steel flow to the mould, the compact Condrive oscillation system, in which oscillation parameters can be selected via an electromechanical system; the dual-medium spray cooling unit; and, finally, our tried-and-tested deburring technology. In addition, a number of existing systems are being carefully integrated into the new caster design.
Quality assurance for the billets is carried out via a Level 2 quality control system. It offers ‘layer-by-layer’ identification, a computer-aided billet tracking system, a heat extraction mode, an optimised residual length calculation model and monitoring of equipment service life.
Commissioning of the modernised casting plant is scheduled for June 2026.
Source: SMS group