Empowering the High-End Transformation of the Steel Industry Through Technological Innovation

On February 9, 2026, Hebei Guoliang New Materials Co., Ltd. independently developed three key technologies: converter slide plate and slag stopping, carbon-free ladle and carbon-free tundish. The technology helped a major domestic steel-making plant successfully achieving the industrialized and stable trial production of high-end DW01 silicon steel. The achievement not only proves strong capabilities of Guoliang company in providing refractories system solutions for ultra-pure steel smelting but also marks a milestone breakthrough for the steel-making plant in the high-end silicon steel field.

At present, the demand for high-grade non-oriented silicon steel in fields such as new energy vehicles and high-end variable frequency appliances continues to rise. The core challenge of smelting high-end silicon steel lies in achieving extreme control over ultra-low carbon content and ultra-low inclusion levels in molten steel. To this end, a major domestic steel-making plant has made the research and production of DW01 silicon steel as a key strategic project, in 2025, a specialized cooperation was established with Guoliang company to overcome the bottleneck of molten steel purity control through refractory technology innovation.

Based on the actual production conditions of steel-making plants, Guoliang company’s project team conducted in-depth research and made system solutions for precisely converter slag control during tapping and decarburization of ladle or tundish, ensuring ultra-pure steel smelting requirements from the source:

1. High-precision sliding gate plate and slag stopping system, significantly improving the purity of molten steel

Based on the advantages of our self-developed impregnation and carbonization equipment, we have uniquely developed multi-stage composite structures and medium-temperature fired impregnation sliding gate plates. The plates have the performance with excellent high-temperature strength, corrosion resistance and anti-slag adhesion. At the final stage of steel tapping from the converter, precise slag stopping effectively reduces the amount of residual slag, minimizes large inclusions and enhances the purity and quality of the molten steel.

2. Carbon-free steel ladle and tundish lining to completely eliminate the risk of carbon increase

Fully used specially made carbon-free steel brick and carbon-free magnesia tundish coating mix by Guoliang company, replacing traditional carbon-containing refractories. It completely eliminates the possibility of refractories increasing the carbon content in molten steel and lays the core foundation for the production of low-carbon and ultra-low-carbon silicon steel.

3. Optimization of the tundish flow field, enabling the efficient and stable of the process

Cooperated with carbon-free work lining to complete the optimization of the tundish structure, improved the uniformity of molten steel temperature, reduced 'dead zones' in the molten pool, while also lowered energy consumption and refractories usage, providing a solid process platform for the development of DW01 silicon steel.

Throughout the trial production, Guoliang company closely collaborated with the technical team of steel-making plant and tracked the entire process. From converter smelting to RH refining and continuous casting, Guoliang company’s carbon-free refractories system demonstrated good thermal stability and uniform erosion. The slide gate mechanism operated precisely and slag stopping applied effectively. The thermal loss control of the tundish molten steel meets the standards and all indicators have achieved the expected targets.

The trial production of DW01 silicon steel is a successful practice of Guoliang company. It shows the Guoliang concept of 'deep integration of material research and application technology' . The company provides a systematic service of 'core refractories and full-process application solutions', precisely addressing the core pain points in the production of high-end steel grades for steel enterprises and empowering partners' development through technology.

Looking to the future, Guoliang company will closely follow the trend of high-quality and green transformation of the steel industry, continue to deeply engage in advanced fields such as ultra-pure steel smelting and deepen the R & D and application technology accumulation of functional refractories. With more advanced and reliable system solutions, Guoliang company helps partners enhance their core competitiveness and jointly promote the high-quality development of China's high-end steel materials!