Vesuvius plc products

When steel is poured into the ingot mould, progressive solidification starts from the walls and the base of the mould, moving inwards towards the thermal centre or axis. The liquid steel decreases in volume during and after solidification and there is insufficient solid metal to fill the shell first formed. The result is a body of steel with cavitation or in the region of the last metal to solidify. This is not the case with rimming steel where the shrinkage is compensated for by the formation of gas blowholes.