Thin slab casting and direct rolling technology: Current status and prospects

Thin slab casting and direct rolling (TSCR) technology has experienced 30 years of development since the first production line was commissioned in 1989. Owing to consistent and successful exploration and innovation by engineers and researchers, rapid progress in TSCR technology has been witnessed. Under the background of carbon neutrality, the steel industry encounters tremendous pressure for low carbon emissions. As one of the representative near-net-shape steel manufacturing technologies, TSCR technology has attracted extensive attention. This article reviewed the development history and evolution of critical process equipment for the TSCR technology. According to the continuous extent of the manufacturing process, the TSCR technology can be classified into the following three generations, i.e., batch rolling, semiendless rolling, and endless rolling. With the improvement of the continuity of TSCR technology, the production line is greatly shortened, especially the third-generation technology, the endless strip production line. Meanwhile, the increase in continuity substantially increases productivity, production yield, and energy efficiency and expands the thinnest strip thickness down to 0.6 mm. Additionally, the specific characteristics of processing and physical metallurgy of TSCR technology were analyzed. Based on its characteristics of rapid solidification, heavy reduction per rolling pass, and uniform temperature distribution, TSCR technology was suggested to produce special steel, high strength steel, silicon steel, and thin gauge products. New advances on the development of representative products for TSCR technology, e.g., medium- and high-carbon steels, high-strength hot-rolled steels, and silicon steels, and their practical application status were discussed. Finally, this work envisaged the future development directions of TSCR technology and proposed that making the process more concise and continuous, developing product-oriented production lines, and coupling intelligent manufacturing with TSCR technology will be important development directions in the future.