Method for continuous casting of steel and electromagnetic stirrer to be used therefor

1. An electromagnetic stirrer of molten steel disposed at a distance of less than 9 m upstream, in the casting direction, of a reduction rolling position of a slab with a liquid core to stir molten steel of the liquid core in a width-wise direction of the slab, comprising:

an iron core disposed with its length-wise axis along a width-wise direction of slab; and

a plurality of exciting coils that are wound around the outer circumference of and about a length-wise axis of the iron core, in which

two-phase or three-phase alternating current is passed through the exciting coils, and

when imparting a stirring flow which causes molten steel to flow from both minor sides of slab toward the width-wise center, of slab so as to collide with each other in the vicinity of the width-wise center of slab, the phases of current in the exciting coils are distributed symmetrically, with respect to the iron core length-wise center position corresponding to the width-wise center of slab, along a length-wise direction of the iron core,

when imparting a stirring flow which causes molten steel to flow from one minor side of the slab toward the other minor side thereof while reversing the flowing direction at a predetermined time interval, the phases of current in exciting coils are distributed in such a manner that the phase of current of exciting coils at one width-wise end portion of iron core increases or decreases by 90 or 60° sequentially from that at the other width-wise end portion, and

the stirring flow is selectively imparted.