*An Introduction to Horizontal Single Belt Casting (HSBC) Process*

The horizontal single belt casting (HSBC) process, independently conceived by Herbertson, Guthrie, Reichelt, and Schwerdtfeger, et al., emerged from a joint effort of BHP (Australia), McGill University (Canada), and the Hazelett Strip Casting Corporation (USA) as discussed above. This process is like the Pilkington float glass technology, in which the molten glass is continuously poured over a bath of molten tin where it solidifies into a continuous glass sheet [5].

The HSBC process avoids the multi-hot rolling-deformation steps required for direct chill (DC) cast material, together with its intermediate annealing steps, while producing the same desired final thicknesses of sheet products. As such, a large amount of energy can be saved. This is essentially true for all NNSC processes discussed above. The HSBC process features a compact design and provides for the better economic production of both ferrous and non-ferrous metallic products. The production of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) strips, 16 mm thick, via the HSBC process at Salzgitter Group Steelworks, Germany, is an example that makes use of the advantages that the HSBC process offers, vs. conventional strip manufacturing processes. To date various ferrous/nonferrous alloys strips, up to a thickness of 16 mm, were successfully produced. For further reading, please refer to the available literature [11,12].

Simplistically, the HSBC process involves feeding molten metal on to an intensively cooled, moving belt, which acts as the mold. Depending on the metal head in the launder, the velocity of the molten metal issuing from the slot nozzle can be easily adjusted. However, the force of gravity is also equally responsible in further accelerating the molten metal before it contacts the moving belt, on which it solidifies [13–15]. The material produced via the HSBC process can then be processed downstream, by hot rolling, followed by cold rolling, as shown in Figure 1.

**Figure 1.** (**a**) A photograph of the HSBC pilot-scale system, and (**b**) A schematic of the HSBC pilot-scale machine located at MetSim Inc,'s High Temperature, Melting and Casting Laboratory, Quebec, Canada.
