Development experience and prospects of introduction of the system of fast change of the submerged nozzles of a slab continuous casting machine
Background. A comparative analysis of the known designs of manipulators and devices for quick replacement of submerged nozzles of slab CCMs showed that none of the known solutions fully meets the complex of requirements imposed by modern steelmaking production: speed, maintainability, reliability, durability, etc. For these reasons, as well as due to the influence of the subjective factor on the technological operation, the technical and economic indicators of continuous casting of steel decline, namely, the yield of usable steel decreases, operating costs increase, etc. Materials and/or methods. The development of the system based on the fundamental principles of resistance of materials, theoretical mechanics, the theory of mechanisms and machines and carried out using the method of physical modeling. Empirical studies of the positioning accuracy of the gripping devices of the manipulator were carried out by setting experiments with their preliminary planning. When processing the results of experiments, the provisions of the theory of errors and mathematical statistics were used. The methods of economic theory were used to determine the values of economic efficiency indicators. Results. The proposed system allowed increasing the speed of the manipulation system and thus reducing the duration of the operation by 2.4 times. Power values of drives of an industrial sample of the manipulator were determined. The power of the feeding mechanism of the new nozzle was 0.25 kW, of the device for removing the worn nozzle - 0.18 kW, of the mechanism of adjusting of the manipulator base - 0.25 kW, the maximum force overcome by the hydraulic power cylinder when changing the set of refractory nozzles - 50 kN. Conclusion. Application of the system in industrial conditions will provide remote control of the operation of replacement of submerged nozzles, increase an output suitable at the casting of steel on a slab CCM.