Spiral roller bearings on sectors of continuous casting machines

Mar 06, 2024

The continuous casting machine is an important piece of equipment in steel production. It continuously casts liquid metal into a solid billet. During the machine's operation, the sector section plays a vital role, and the spiral roller bearing is one of the key components of the sector section.

1. Overview of continuous casting machine sectors and spiral roller bearings

The sector section of the continuous casting machine is the support and guide device under the mold of the continuous casting machine. It supports and guides the billet shell to solidify and gradually move downward in the mold. The spiral roller bearing is an important component of the sector section. It is mainly responsible for supporting and rolling the billet shell to reduce frictional resistance and ensure the smooth progress of the continuous casting process.

2. Structural characteristics of spiral roller bearings

The structural design of spiral roller bearings fully considers its working environment and stress characteristics during the continuous casting process. It mainly consists of inner and outer rings, rolling elements (rollers), and cages. The inner and outer rings are installed on the sector section and the billet shell. The rolling elements are evenly spaced between the inner and outer rings through the cage. This structure enables spiral roller bearings to withstand large radial and axial loads while having good rolling performance and long service life.

Its structural features are as follows:

Unique spiral design: The raceway of spiral roller bearings is spiral-shaped. This design can effectively disperse and withstand composite loads from radial and axial directions. The spiral design provides better load-carrying capacity and longer service life than traditional bearings.

Close fit between rollers and raceways: Spiral roller bearings adopt a tight fit between rollers and raceways, which ensures low friction resistance and high transmission efficiency when running at high speeds. This tight fit can also prevent the rollers from falling off or dislocating during operation.

Application of high-strength materials: To withstand harsh working environments such as continuous casting machine sectors, spiral roller bearings are usually made of high-strength, high-wear-resistant materials. These materials have excellent mechanical properties and wear resistance, ensuring the bearings can maintain stable performance under long-term, high-load working conditions.

Optimized lubrication structure: Spiral roller bearings are usually designed with special lubrication structures, such as oil grooves, oil holes, etc. so that each part can be fully and evenly lubricated when the bearing is running. It can reduce frictional resistance and wear and improve the smooth operation and reliability of the bearing.

Functions of spiral roller bearings

Spiral roller bearings mainly play the following roles in the continuous casting process:

1. Supporting function: Spiral roller bearings can withstand the weight of the billet shell and various stresses generated during the continuous casting process, ensuring the stable movement of the billet shell in the mold.

2. Rolling effect: Through the rolling of rolling elements, spiral roller bearings can reduce the frictional resistance between the billet shell and the sector segment, reducing energy consumption and wear.

3. Guidance function: Spiral roller bearings can guide the shell to move downward along the center line of the crystallizer to avoid defects such as deflection or distortion of the shell.

4. Maintenance of spiral roller bearings

Timely maintenance is required to ensure the normal operation of spiral roller bearings during the continuous casting process and to extend their service life. Specific measures include:

1. Regular inspection: Regularly inspect the spiral roller bearing to see whether its appearance is intact and whether there are any cracks, peeling, and other damages; check whether the rotation of the rolling elements is flexible and whether there is any sticking phenomenon; check whether the cage is intact and whether there is any Deformation or breakage, etc.

2. Lubrication and maintenance: Lubricate and maintain spiral roller bearings regularly, and choose appropriate lubricants and methods to ensure good bearing lubrication. At the same time, pay attention to the lubricant replacement cycle and cleanliness requirements to avoid bearing damage caused by lubricant deterioration or contamination.

3. Abnormal situation handling: During the continuous casting process, if any abnormality is found in the spiral roller bearing, such as excessive temperature, excessive vibration, abnormal noise, etc., the machine should be stopped immediately for inspection and processing. Avoid abnormal situations causing greater damage to bearings and continuous casting machines.

The detailed introduction to the spiral roller bearing on the sector section of the continuous casting machine shows its important role and unique structural characteristics in the continuous casting process. To ensure the smooth progress of the continuous casting process and extend the service life of the equipment, we need to perform regular maintenance on spiral roller bearings. At the same time, with the fast development of science and technology and the continuous development of continuous casting technology, more advanced and efficient spiral roller bearings will be available in the future, bringing greater convenience and benefits to steel production.