Support for Continuously Cast Hot Metal Components

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a support or backup roll for supporting hot metal components, more particularly slabs in a continuous casting plant.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The surfaces of known rolls of this type are usually subjected to very high temperatures through direct contact with the red hot metal which is usually steel. To accomodate the high temperatures, the roll is intensively cooled so that the roll surface directly in contact with the hot metal slab becomes red-hot and is then cooled. The surface of such support rolls are thus subjected to high alternating stresses due to the intensive heating and cooling which produce fissures in the roll surfaces. I have invented a roll for supporting such hot metal components which is of a relatively simple construction and avoids the disadvantages of the prior art while having a greatly increased operating life.

The invention relates to an apparatus for supporting continuously cast hot metal components which comprises a generally cylindrical roll member having at least one member positioned thereabout, said member defining a series of interconnected undulations secured to surface portions of said roll member at positions spaced thereabout and adapted to support said hot metal components. Preferably an elongated member such as a rod or bar is configured to form at least one coil defining a series of undulations. Either a continuous spirular coil or a plurality of individual endless coils may be provided. The rod or rods are corrugated to define a series of undulations spaced from each other and in intermeshing relation to provide extensive shielding of the outer surface of the roll member from direct contact with the radiant heat from the red-hot metal slab. The elongated member or members may form one or more coils which are secured to the outer surface portions of the roll member at positions spaced thereabout so that the elongated member can expand freely between these positions, the expansions being further facilitated by the undulations of the elongated member.

Preferably, the undulations of the elongated member have substantially straight portions which extend at acute angles to one another and are interconnected by substantially circular arcuate portions. In this way, minimum distances may be maintained between the parallel straight portions of the intermeshing undulations.

The elongated member may be advantageously secured to the outer surface of the roll by weld spots in the region of the arcs with at least one freely expandable arc being provided between each pair of adjacent weld spots. This manner of securing the elongated member to the roll is particularly simple and resistant, while, in addition, the intermediate space between individual arcs of intermeshing undulations is used for attaching the undulations to the roll surface.

The coils of the elongated member may be in the form of a plurality of closely spaced rings which encircle the roll. Alternatively, the coils may be formed by winding the elongated member helically about the outer surface of the roll. Either arrangement may be advantageous depending on the method used to manufacture the roll.

In its basic preferred form, the elongated member may have a circular cross-sectional configuration.

In the preferred embodiment, the elongated member may have a cross-section with parallel bearing surfaces for the roll surface and for the metal slab and with side faces having portions which extend beneath the side faces of adjacent undulations of the elongated member. In such an arrangement, the outer surfaces of the intermeshing coils adapted to support the hot metal slabs are relatively smooth while at the same time the roll surface is protected from radiant heat by their overlapping side faces.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein;

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a roll member constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines II--II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the embodiments of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 4 to 6 are cross-sectional views of alternate embodiments of a roll constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a portion of a roll shell or barrel 2 of a support or back-up roll 1 for a continuous casting plant. The roll shell contains a central cavity 3 which, for example, may be filled with water for cooling the roll. Alternatively, the cavity 3 may contain a support beam of a sag-compensating roll having hydrostatic support elements on which the roll shell 2 is rotatably supported. Sag-compensating rolls of this kind are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,044 to Spillmann et al.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer surface of the roll barrel 2 is provided with a layer of corrugated rod or bar material 4 which forms one or more coils defining a series of undulations spaced a distance from each other such that the undulations of adjacent coils or coil portions intermesh. The undulations have straight portions 5 which extend at an acute angle .alpha. from one another and are interconnected by circular arcs 6.

The undulatingly configured rod or bar is secured to the outer surface 12 of the roll shell 2 by weld seams 7 in the region of the arcs 6. The weld seams 7 are preferably spotwelded portions which are spaced about the roll shell so that there is always at least one freely expandable arc 6 disposed between each of two adjacent weld seams.

The coils of the undulating rod or bar material may be in the form of closely spaced individual rings a, b, c, d, and e each encircling the roll 1. In such an arrangement, the rings may be formed from sections of the rod or bar material 4 before they are mounted on and secured to the roll shell 2.

Alternatively, the supporting roll may be constructed by winding the undulating rod or bar material helically about the roll 1, for example from a reel, each turn being pushed against the preceding turn and then welded to the roll shell 2 at points 7.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rod or bar material 4 preferably has a round cross-section. Alternate embodiments of the invention with other possible and advantageous cross-sectional shapes of the rod or bar material are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6. In each of these embodiments, the cross-section of the bar or rod 4', 4", 4'" shown respectively in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, is such that its bearing surfaces, that is the outer surface 11 and the inner surface 10 adjacent the surface 12 of the roll shell 2, are parallel to each other. The lateral surfaces of the rod or bar material contain portions 13 which extend beneath a portion of the lateral surface of an adjacent undulation of the bar or rod material so that a portion of each coil overlaps a portion of an adjacent coil.

The use of the support roll of the invention is not limited to continuous casting plants. The roll may also be advantageously used, for example, in rolling mills for rolling rod or bar stock and similar plants.

Although, for reasons of clarity, only a relatively short section of the roll has been shown in FIG. 1 as being provided with a layer of undulating rod or bar material, in actual practice the layer would usually extend over a much larger axial region of the roll.