The prospects for fast replacement of submersible tundish nozzles in a continuous slab casting machine are assessed. It is shown that further improvement is required so as to increase the reliability. The operational forces in the drives of the submersible nozzles are studied experimentally, with different support ing structures in the casting system so as to ensure slipping friction and rolling friction between the supporting surface of the metal housing in the protective refractory component and the clamping elements. When flat sprung elements are replaced by rollers, the total drag on the submersible nozzles during fast replacement may be reduced from 0.6-1.3 to 0.4-1.0. That reduces the load on the hydraulic drive of the tundish casting sys tem by a factor of 1.2-1.3 and also increases its fault free life in long continuous casting runs. The results are used in the design of an improved system for fast replacement of the submersible nozzles.

The prospects for dosed supply of slag forming mixture to the molds of continuous casting machines are considered, and the need for further improvement of such systems is established-in particular, the use of a screw supply system. The parameters of flexible screws with internal diameter 15, 20, and 25 mm for transporting fine grain materials are studied experimentally; these screws are based on a steel helix (exter nal diameter 11, 16, and 18 mm; screw pitch 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm) rotating at 250-500 rpm. The output of the screw depends linearly on its speed of rotation, for the given geometric parameters. The ratio of the pitch S s to its external diameter d ex has considerable influence on screw performance. The dependence of the supply per screw turn on S s /d ex is nonlinear, with a maximum at S s /d ex = 0.9-1.1. The minimum unit energy of the screw system is observed at S s /d ex = 0.5-0.6. These results are used in the design of a new series of sys tems for dosed delivery of slag forming mixture to the molds of continuous casting machines with different cross sections.

The paper shows the historical prerequisites and principles of the formation of the methodology for the training of mechanical engineers-metallurgists at the Department of Mechanical Equipment of Ferrous Metallurgy Plants of the Donetsk National Technical University, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The main events are described, the main directions in the work and achievements of teachers and employees of the department, who made a contribution to the training of mechanical engineers for the metallurgical industry, are presented. The combination of the "theory" and "practice" approaches has proven to be effective in training mechanical engineers in two specializations: design engineers and field engineers. The article presents brief information about the founder of the department – N.S. Shchirenko and his followers – M.Z. Levin, V.Ya. Sedush and G.V. Sopilkin, who determined the activities of the department related to the study of the actual loads acting on the parts of metallurgical machines, physical modeling and design of machines, preparation and carrying out repairs based on technical diagnostics data, failure analysis and determination of the causes of breakdowns, research in the field of management and automation of repair services. Traditionally, for many years, the department has been giving lectures to employees of metallurgical plants and conducting diagnostic schools, seminars, workshops and training courses.

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