Method of manufacturing thin metal sheet directly from molten metal and apparatus for manufacturing same

An apparatus for manufacturing a wide thin metal sheet directly from molten metal comprising:

• a nozzle installed vertically at the bottom of a molten metal vessel;
• an inclined generally planar plate in contact with the lower end of said nozzle;
• a pair of rollers of internally water cooled type and having axes of rotation extending substantially parallel to and below the lower level end of said inclined plate;
• a pair of dams provided at the opposite ends of said pair of rollers and slidable in a direction at right angles to the direction of said axes of rotation of said pair of rollers;
• the peripheral wall of the lower end of said nozzle being formed with a notch facing the lower level end of said inclined plate, with the notch being directed generally perpendicular to said axes of rotation of the rollers;
• the distance between a position of contact between the lower end of said nozzle and said inclined surface and said lower level end of said inclined plate being determined by the angularity of said inclined plate to provide a constant fanshape laminar flow having a uniform flow rate distribution on said inclined surface as it flows down said inclined surface;
• the lower level end of said inclined plate being positioned downstream of the notch above a molten metal pool defined between the rollers and said dams so that the molten metal falling from said lower level end of said inclined plate will not cause any disturbance on the surface of or the inside of said molten metal pool;
• and
• said molten metal being solidified in the narrower gap portion between said pair of rollers to be discharged from saide open-at-the-bottom space between said pair of rollers.

An apparatus for manufacturing a wide thin metal sheet directly from molten metal comprising:

• a nozzle installed vertically at the bottom of a molten metal vessel;
• an inclined generally planar plate in contact with the lower end of said nozzle;
• a pair of rollers of internally water cooled type and having axes of rotation extending substantially parallel to and below the lower level end of said inclined plate, said axes of rotation being at different levels;
• a pair of dams provided at the opposite ends of said pair of rollers and slidable in a direction at right angles to the direction of said axes of rotation of said pair of rollers;
• a dam provided in the neighborhood of the highest level portion of the rotating surface of one of said pair of rollers with the axes of rotation at the lower level, said dam extending parallel to the direction of said axes of rotation and having opposite ends in contact with said opposite end dams;
• the peripheral wall of the lower end of said nozzle being formed with a notch facing the lower level end of said inclined plate, with the notch being directly generally perpendicular to said axes of rotation of the rollers;
• the distance between a position of contact between the lower end of said nozzle and said inclined surface and said lower level end of said inclined plate being determined by the angularity of said inclined plate to provide a constant shape laminar flow having a uniform flow rate distribution on said inclined surface as it flows down said inclined surface;
• an outlet end of said inclined plate being positioned downstream of the notch above a molten pool defined between the rollers and said dams so that the molten metal falling from said outlet end of said inclined plate into the molten pool below will not cause any disturbance on the surface of or the inside of said molten metal pool;
• and
• said molten metal being solidified in the narrowest gap portion between said pair of rollers to be discharged from said open-at-the-bottom space between said pair of rollers.