Quality control for bloom casting of YQ450NQR1 steel

To reduce surface depression of a bloom, the primary cooling intensity was decreased, and the water distribution of mold wide and narrow faces was optimized. The length of secondary cooling zones and the specific water flow were increased, and the water flow distribution among the secondary cooling zones was adjusted to eliminate central defects, such as center looseness, central segregation, and center line cracks. The operation showed that the proportion of surface depression decreased from 37.22% to 2.87%, whereas the proportion of center looseness for ≤1.0 increased from 79.71% to 90.70%, the proportion of central segregation for <0.5 increased from 1.45% to 44.19%, and the proportion of center line cracks that are free increased from 39.13% to 62.79%. The qualified blooms are delivered to produce 310 Z-beam, whose yield strength is greater than 450 MPa.