Ladle Shrouds for Continuous Casting

A ladle shroud is a long ceramic tube that connects the ladle slide-gate to the tundish, protecting the falling steel stream from atmospheric oxygen. Without a shroud, oxygen pickup creates non-metallic inclusions that damage downstream casting quality. Modern continuous casting cannot run safely without shrouds.

The body is typically alumina-graphite (Al₂O₃-C), with 25–35% graphite for thermal shock resistance and slag non-wetting. The slag line is reinforced with zirconia-graphite (ZrO₂-C) for higher slag corrosion resistance. The bore is sometimes lined with a denser, lower-carbon insert to resist erosion from steel flow.

Shroud life depends on steel grade, sequence length, slag chemistry and preheat practice, so there is no single figure. Zirconia-graphite reinforcement at the slag line extends life compared with a plain alumina-graphite body. Life is limited by slag-line corrosion, thermal cycling and erosion at the bore inlet. Tell us your casting practice and we will recommend the shroud type.

In open-stream teeming the steel falls from the ladle nozzle into the tundish through air, picking up oxygen and nitrogen. A ladle shroud encloses that stream and is immersed below the tundish slag, preventing splashing and reoxidation. Shrouding gives cleaner steel but needs a shroud manipulator and a sealed, usually argon-purged, joint at the collector nozzle.

No, shrouds are single-campaign items. After a heat sequence, the shroud is discarded and a new one is fitted. Attempting to reuse a shroud risks cold-start cracking, slag spalling, and contaminated steel. The shroud-and-tundish-nozzle pair are matched assemblies designed for one continuous operating window.

We supply alumina-graphite ladle shrouds with bore diameters 60–110 mm and lengths 800–1800 mm to match standard caster geometries. Both straight and bell-mouth designs available. TRL Krosaki is our primary supply partner. Custom dimensions are made to drawing on 4–6 weeks lead time.