In a walking beam-type, furnace skid marks caused by skid buttons should be minimized, thus stabilizing slab quality and reheating performance. Not strong enough at high temperatures, the conventional cobaltbase resistance alloy develops compressive deformation after a short period of operation, entailig a gradual increase in skid marks.
In reconstructing the slab reheating furnace at the Mizushima hot strip mill from pusher-type with hot skids to walking beam-type, newly-developed 200 mm tall-profiled and 50 mm wide skid buttons of ceramic composite metal were put into service in March, 1986. These skid buttons contribute to improving slab quality by reducing skid marks, and minimizing troublesome deformation and other such damage.
