Wear of refractory ceramics against nickel

In the thin strip steel casting process, molten steel is retained between two rotating rolls and two fixed refractory side dams. The shape and size of the plates obtained are determined by the roll diameter and the depth of molten steel in the tundish. The fixed side dams sliding against the rolls are subjected to high stresses due to localised temperature differences. The plate temperature varies from steel melting temperatures of 1500–1600°C to roll contact and back side dam temperatures of 200–400°C. The purpose of this paper is to show the possibility, in this case of dry friction, of identifying the governing parameters of refractory wearing from the third body point of view. The refractory wearing on nickel is governed by both contact pressure and temperature around the contact. At temperature lower than a threshold value, the wear can be controlled through applied load. At higher temperature, the control of wear decreases significantly. The influence of high temperature can be reduced by optimising the refractory (composition and microstructure). This study was very helpful to develop refractory materials meeting the requirements of thin strip casting process.