Abstract
Nb-containing austenitic stainless steel is widely used as exhaust frame and diffuser assembly in power plant. However, this steel is known to be difficult to produce by the continuous casting process due to the surface cracks. Therefore, the continuous casting technology was developed for the prevention of the surface cracks on CC slabs. Precipitates and the analysis of heat trasfer in a slab were investigated in order to find out the formation mechanism of surface cracks on cc slabs It was found that surface cracks are occurred due to the NbC precipitates, which are formed along the grain boundaries around $800^{\circ}C$. The secondary cooling pattern has been developed to produce the defect free CC slabs of Nb-containing austenitic stainless steel.