More than 25 Years of Experience in Thin Slab Casting and Rolling Current State of the Art and Future Developments

Industrial thin slab casting and direct rolling processing started more than 25 years ago with the world's first compact strip production (CSP®). Since that time, CSP® and competing thin slab casting and direct rolling concepts have been developed to a standard process for hot strip production. Typical features of this process are the homogeneous structural and mechanical properties all along the strip. The product range covers low carbon, as well as medium and high carbon steel grades comprising IF, HSLA, API, electrical, and AHSS multiphase steel grades. Hot strip from thin slab can be easily further processed to cold rolled and/or surface treated strip. A special feature is thin hot strip that may substitute cold rolled strip. Today, process and material developments, for example, go for rise in productivity, thinner gauge hot strip, as well as thicker line pipe and 3rd generation AHSS grades combining higher strength and ductility. The quality- and product-related advantages of thin slab casting and direct rolling technology are explained in this contribution at the example of the CSP® process.