Steel Times International Jan Feb 2017

INNOVATIONS

SPECIAL & STAINLESS STEELS

TRANSPORT & HANDLING

PERSPECTIVES

Product news surrounding handling and testing & analysis equipment

How molybdenum-containing steels protect against corrosion

Rear-eject vehicles and enhancing safety at steel plants

Dudley Boden, CEO of Magnetic Analysis Corporation

www.steeltimesint.com January/February 2017 - Vol.41 No1

STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – January/February 2017 – Vol.41 No.1

DEFECT DETECTION AT VOESTALPINE SCHIENEN STI Cover jan feb.indd 1

18/01/2017 10:20:53

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communications@sms-group.com

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Big River Steel_A4_e.indd 1

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CONTENTS - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017

1

Picture courtesy of: CMI Groupe

INNOVATIONS

SPECIAL & STAINLESS STEELS

TRANSPORT & HANDLING

PERSPECTIVES

Product news surrounding handling and testing & analysis equipment

How molybdenum-containing steels protect against corrosion

Rear-eject vehicles and enhancing safety at steel plants

Dudley Boden, CEO of Magnetic Analysis Corporation

25

www.steeltimesint.com January/February 2017 - Vol.41 No1

STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – January/February 2017 – Vol.41 No.1

DEFECT DETECTION AT VOESTALPINE SCHIENEN STI Cover jan feb.indd 1

18/01/2017 10:20:53

EDITORIAL Editor Matthew Moggridge Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855151 matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com Consultant Editor Dr. Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM Production Editor Annie Baker Advertisement Production Martin Lawrence SALES International Sales Manager Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855116 Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117 Managing Director Steve Diprose stevediprose@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164

2 Leader Come to Future Steel Forum 2017

28 Special steels Preventing plant corrosion

4 News The latest steel industry news.

33 Testing & analysis Minimising zinc overcoating

10 The hour before dawn The future of the steel industry.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Michael SUBSCRIPTION Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £173.00 Other countries: £247.00 2 years subscription: UK £311.00 Other countries: £445.00 ) Single copy (inc postage): £39.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com Published by:

12 Innovations The latest new products.

48 Perspectives: Magnetic Analysis Corporation There’s optimism in the air

17 USA update An aggressive posture against imports.

52 History Railway mania!

Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England.

Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com

Handling 37 The case for rear-eject bodies 40 Handle with care

22 India update Production outpaces consumption

40

Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly except Feb, May, July, Dec by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER send address changes to Steel Times International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

Printed in England by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent NP12 2YA, UK

25 Testing & analysis Defect detection while hot

©Quartz Business Media Ltd 2017

ISSN0143-7798

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Contents.indd 1

January/February 2017

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2

LEADER

You can’t afford to miss Future Steel Forum 2017

Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com

January/February 2017

Leader.indd 1

Steel Times International’s Future Steel Forum 2017 will take place in Warsaw, Poland (14-15 June) and is promising to be a memorable event for those with an interest in digital manufacturing and the concept of Industry 4.0.

At the time of writing, I can tell you that we have now attracted a considerable wealth of what I would call ‘top-end’ speakers, mostly with close ties to the global steel industry and strong views on the digitalisation of the steel making process.

Two key speakers are Voestalpine’s Global Chief Digital Officer, Dr. Michael Eder, who plans to discuss the digitalisation of steel making processes taking place within Voestalpine’s Special Steel Division.

This leading Austrian steelmaker has long been at the forefront of cutting edge production technology, and Dr Eder’s presentation will be an unmissable event for delegates.

Equally key to the event will be a paper from ArcelorMittal’s Pinakin Chaubal, the largest steelmaker in the world’s General Manager of R&D, who will be taking a global perspective on the subject of Industry 4.0 and explaining how the

company is approaching what many call the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.

Digital manufacturing will affect everybody involved in the production of steel and in addition to bringing greater efficiencies to steel plants around the world, will also make them safer places to work. While blast furnaces, EAFs and continuous casting machinery will still form the backbone of the process, control and monitoring of these crucial pieces and equipment – and, indeed, the entire process – will be vastly improved. With this in mind, Future Steel Forum’s delegates will also hear from the world’s leading providers of steel production technology – Primetals Technologies, SMS group, Fives and Danieli – and in addition to these stalwarts of the modern steel industry there will be further input from cutting edge companies like PSI and Quinlogic, businesses with their fingers on the pulse of process control and computing power.

In short, Future Steel Forum 2017 promises to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for anybody who needs to know more about Industry 4.0 and how it will affect global steel production. Don’t miss it.

Log on to: www.futuresteelforum.com

www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 11:29:14

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4 NEWS IN BRIEF

INDUSTRY NEWS

US steel production falls Steel production in the USA fell 0.5% during 2016.

Steelmakers in the USA, it is claimed, produced 87.9Mt of steel in 2016 compared with 88.4Mt in 2015, claims the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Steelmakers used about 70.8% of their steelmaking capacity in 2016, up from 70.1% in 2015.

Indian steel exports rise Steel exports from India rose 92% in December 2016. The country shipped out 4.9Mt between April and December last year, up 57.8% when compared to the same period in 2015.

Imports of total finished steel during the first nine months of the current fiscal year declined 37.4% to 5.4Mt when compared with the same period last year. Imports in December 2016 were 761kt, down 23.2% over December 2015.

Consumption of total finished steel in India reached 61.5kt, a growth of 3.3% between AprilDecember 2016-17. In December, consumption was up 5.2% at 7.2Mt and by 17.1% over November’s figure.

Trump twitter threats won’t stop JFE Steel The fact that US President Donald Trump is firing off threatening tweets regarding heavy taxation on companies, like Toyota, who set up factories in Mexico, JFE Steel Corp does not intend to change its plans to build an automotive sheet factory in Mexico.

Koji Kakigi, president of JFE Steel, said operations will commence in 2019 as planned, although he expressed concern over Trump’s intention to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if it means that companies running businesses in Mexico are forced to relocate to the USA.

US Steel to re-open Keewatin steelworks US Steel has announced that it will re-open an idled steel plant in Keewatin, Minnesota, and that 202 workers who lost their jobs will be reinstated.

Media reports from the USA claim that there is a considerable amount of optimism surrounding the US steel industry based largely around President Donald Trump’s pro-steel stance.

January/February 2017

Industry news.indd 1

China demands MES consultation The Chinese government has requested consultations with the United States at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regarding the use of ‘non-market economy’ (NME) methodology in anti-dumping investigations.

China’s request is based on the 11 December 2016 expiration of Paragraph 15(a)(ii) of its Protocol of Accession. The Chinese claim that this provision was the sole legal basis for the application of the NME methodology, and that its expiration means WTO members may no longer use the methodology to determine dumping margins.

Opponents of China’s arguments – including the US government – argue that language remaining in the Protocol after the expiration of Paragraph 15(a) (ii) continues to provide clear legal authority for WTO members to apply the NME methodology in accordance with domestic law.

“China’s claim is misplaced,” said Alan H. Price, chair of law

firm Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice. He said that while provision (a)(ii) had expired, the remainder of Section 15 remains in full force and continues to provide sufficient authority to treat China as an NME. Treating China as a market economy, he argued, would have significant negative ramifications.

Price represents numerous domestic steel producers in anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. He also advises the US industry and the US Trade Representative in connection with WTO disputes regarding China’s raw material export restrictions.

US law provides six factors to determine whether, as a substantive matter, a country qualifies as a market economy for the purpose of US anti-dumping investigations. If an analysis of those factors demonstrates that prices and costs in the country are not set by market forces, the US Department of Commerce will use ‘surrogate values,’ or prices and costs in a

third country at a similar level of economic development, to calculate dumping margins.

According to Wiley Rein, the Chinese government continues to intervene extensively in its domestic economy to support domestic firms in international competition.

Because economic outcomes are not determined by market forces, standard anti-dumping methodologies do not reflect true margins of dumping and result in incomplete relief for US industries against dumped Chinese imports.’

In February 2016, Price testified before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) on this topic, concluding that whether you look at criteria in United States, European Union, or Canadian law—and each government’s approach to China as a major trading partner—China is not a market economy.

Price has co-authored a report: The Treatment of China as a Non-Market Economy Country After 2016.

Big names for Future Steel Forum Future Steel Forum, a major steel conference taking place in Warsaw, Poland, in June 2017 and organised with the sole purpose of discussing digital manufacturing, is attracting some big names from the global steel industry as well as leading players from the world of steel production technology, research and development and academia.

From the world of primary steel production, Dr. Michael Eder, global chief digital officer for the world-leading Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine AG, and Pinakin Chaubal, general manager of ArcelorMittalGlobal R&D, have both agreed to present papers, while leading manufacturers of steel production technology, including Danieli Automation, Fives Group, Primetals Technologies and SMS group, will also be represented.

Industry 4.0 – or 'smart manu-

facturing' as it is known in the USA – is a ground-breaking industrial philosophy often described as the 'fourth industrial revolution'. It embraces many different aspects of digitalisation, which form a digital manufacturing platform offering steelmakers greater control and greater efficiencies.

The steel industry – more so than any other manufacturing sector – is poised to capitalise on the key facets of Industry 4.0 (big data, the Internet of Things, cyber physical systems and cyber security) and transform the way steel is produced, stored and distributed.

Other key speakers scheduled to appear in Warsaw (14-15 June 2017) include Jane Zavalishina, CEO of Yandex Data Factory, who will explain how Industry 4.0 can save steelmakers money, and Dr.

Dirk Shaefer, associate professor of design engineering at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, who will take an holistic approach and examine cloud-based design and manufacturing and the growing role of 'servitisation' in Industry 4.0.

Leading representatives from the German VDEh-Betriebsforschungsintitut GmbH, led by Professor Harald Peters, will present papers on everything from the importance of semantics for every Industry 4.0 application to how digital manufacturing will change the steel industry.

KPMG AG, McKinsey & Co and CETIC (the research centre on IT) will also be speaking along with many other experts in the field.

For further information on Future Steel Forum 2017, log on to http://www.futuresteelforum.com To present a paper, email Matthew Moggridge, STI’s editor. www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 12:05:25

INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF

5

Fire closes plate factory

Senators want Euro collaboration US Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown have written to the President of the European Parliament and expressed their concerns over possible changes to the way Chinese imports are treated by the European Commission under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, and how those modifications could limit the United States’ ability to pursue effective trade remedies.

The senators requested that the Parliament consults with the US Congress and collaborates on the most effective response to China’s trade practices.

The Committee to Support US Trade Laws (CSUSTL) commends Portman and Brown for their bi-partisan effort to ensure that there is a unified treatment of China as a non-market economy for trade purposes.

Portman and Brown’s letter states, “China’s economy remains state-controlled, state-owned, and state-influenced. This state control has contributed to many global market distortions.”

Thomas M. Sneeringer, president of CSUSTL commented, “It is important for the United States and the European Union to co-or-

dinate on our efforts against China’s unfair trade practices.”

The CSUSTL is an organisation dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of US trade laws.

Its members span all major industrial sectors, including manufacturing, technology, agriculture, and mining (companies, associations, and worker representatives) and depend on strong trade laws to ensure that they can compete on an equal footing with foreign competitors who dump to gain advantage in the US market, or benefit from government subsidies.

November crude steel production up 5%

www.steeltimesint.com

Industry news.indd 2

Productivity boost EWR/K-Welding technology from the Italian steel production technology company Danieli has improved billet-rolling performance at Hoa Phat’s Hai Duong mill in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Hoa Phat Steel operates four Danieli mills at Hai Duong and recently upgraded its number four mill, adding an EWR/ K-Welding unit in order to perform endless rolling.

MMK signs strategic iron ore agreement

Compania Siderurgica Huachipato SA (CAP ACERO) has awarded Primetals Technologies with the contract to replace the LD BOF converter no. 2 at its Talcahuano works in Chile.

The new converter will have a tapping weight of 100 metric tonnes and a larger reaction volume, which will improve the metallurgical process, claims Primetals Technologies.

The current converter has reached the end of its service life after 40 years.

Its replacement will be operational by November of this year.

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 132.4Mt in November 2016, up 5% on November 2015.

China’s crude steel production for November 2016 was 66.3 Mt, an increase of 5% compared to the previous year. Japan produced 8.6Mt, down 1.4% compared to November 2015.

In the European Union, Germany produced 3.3Mt of crude steel in November 2016, down 4.2%, while Italy produced 2.1Mt, up 11.2%. France produced 1.3 Mt of crude steel, up by 11.8% yearon-year.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation has closed a heavy plate plant in Oita, Japan, following a fire on site.

The fire started in an electrical plant room and took 35 hours to extinguish, according to news reports.

How much damage was caused and when the plant will re-open could not be determined, according to Nippon Steel, although some of Oita’s production might be shifted to other plants.

In Turkey, crude steel production for November 2016 was 2.9Mt, an increase of 10.4% on November 2015.

The Russians produced 6Mt of crude steel, up 5% on November 2015. Ukraine produced 2Mt of crude steel, up 3.1% compared to the same month in 2015.

In the USA 6.2Mt of crude steel was produced in November 2016, an increase of 6.8% compared to November 2015.

Brazil’s crude steel production for November 2016 was down 4.8% at 2.4 Mt. The November 2016 crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the

66 countries reporting to worldsteel was 69.6%. It was 67.1% in November 2015. The November 2016 capacity utilisation ratio is 0.1 percentage points lower than the October 2016 ratio.

Russian steelmaker OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a natural resources producer, have signed a strategic iron ore supply agreement.

The deal provides for the supply of more than 30Mt of iron ore, including pellets and concentrate, through to 2020 and represents the largest agreement of its kind in recent years.

The ore, pellets and concentrate will come from the SokolovskoSarbayskaya mine owned by JSC SSGPO, part of ERG.

US shipments up 0.9% US steel mills shipped 6.8Mt (net tons) of steel in October 2016, a rise of 0.9% on September 2016 but a decrease of 7.3% when compared with October 2015 (7.3Mt).

According to the American Iron and Steel Insitute (AISI) year-todate shipments for 2016 were 72.6Mt (net tons), a 1.2% decrease from the 73.5Mt registered for the first 10 months of 2015.

For more steel industry news and features, visit www.steeltimesint.com

January/February 2017

18/01/2017 12:05:29

6 DIARY OF EVENTS February 2017 22-23 China Iron Ore 2017, Shangri-La Hotel, Dalian, China Bringing together local and regional iron ore professionals to explore developments and target key issues. The event is organised

by Metal Bulletin Events and will address trading and investment strategies.

For further information, log on to www.metalbulletinevents.com

March 2017 13-14 13th Steel Markets North America, Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile, USA If you’re looking for an insight into the North American market then this Platts event might be for you. Learn about economics, pricing, markets, export trends, logistics, supply chain and other issues.

For further information, log on to www.platts.com/events/

April 2017 20-22 India Steel 2017, Mumbai Exhibition Centre, India A joint initiative taken by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

For further information, log on to www.indiasteelexpo.in 26-27 5th World DRI and Pellet Congress, Park Hyatt, Dubai, UAE The streamlining of sustainable steelmaking, procurement and burdening – all subjects up for discussion at this Metal Bulletin event.

For further information, log on to www.metalbulletin.com/events/

May 2017 8-11 AISTech 2017, Nashville, USA The best way to describe this event is ‘a major global steel event with an American flavour’.

Not only is there are healthy and comprehensive conference programme, but also major forums attended by the great and the good of the American steel industry. Don’t miss it!

For further information, log on to www.aist.org

INDUSTRY NEWS

voestalpine boosts ‘technologically challenging’ aerospace sector Austrian steelmaker voestalpine plans to invest EUR 40 million on a high-speed forging line at Böhler Edelstahl GmbH, a group company based in Kapfenberg, Austria.

The investment will ‘give additional thrust’ to group revenue in what is regarded as a technologically challenging customer segment.

Currently, revenues hover around EUR300 million, but voestalpine hopes to boost that figure to EUR500 million through investment at Böhler.

According to voestalpine, the ‘state-of-the-art’ facility planned for Kapfenburg is scheduled to go into operation in 2018 and will be used primarily to manufacture forgings as pre-materials for extremely high load-bearing aircraft components, such as engine parts.

The company estimates that global demand for new aircraft over the next 15 years will almost reach 40,000 units.

Wolfgang Eder, chairman of the management board of voestalpine AG, said that the aerospace industry was one of the key drivers in the company’s international growth strategy in what he called ‘the future market of mobility’.

“All of the most important aircraft manufacturers already rely

Engine Mount Tail Pylon Wing

Landing gear Engine disk

Fuselage

on technologies and products from voestalpine. By intensifying our innovation and investment activities we aim to further expand our position as a leading provider in this sophisticated customer segment,” Eder said.

Voestalpine Group’s special steel division is a leading global supplier of high performance materials and special forgings for the aerospace industry. The company manufactures highly stress-resistant products including structural parts, engine components and mounts, landing gear parts and door segments that are used by Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer.

Franz Rotter, a member of the management board of voestalpine AG and head of the special steel

division, said that the new forging line at Böhler will play a key role in increasing volumes in the aerospace business and will set new standards in product quality, process automation and digitalisation.

According to Rotter, investment in a new special steel plant is planned as a way of opening up a new dimension in materials production.

The new facility will produce forged components capable of withstanding extreme conditions in the challenging field of oil and gas exploration. The forging line will process the material with a pressing force of 4,400 tonnes and a speed of up to 120 strokes per minute (two strokes per second).

Challenging times, says Basson Dr. Edwin Basson, director-general of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) says that steel will not be without its challenges in 2017.

In his New Year Message, Dr. Basson said that the global steel industry enters the new year 'with a good deal of optimism', but added that geopolitical uncertainties and weak levels of investment around the world continue to stifle a strong steel demand recovery.

“We expect to see steel demand grow by 0.5% in 2017 to reach 1,510 million tonnes (1.5 billion tonnes). This follows on from a contraction of 3% in 2015, but growth in 2016, which suggests that global steel demand is through the bottom of its current cycle,” Basson said.

“Excess capacity in the industry

remains a global problem that requires global solutions. worldsteel members have agreed on a number of principles that we hope will guide restructuring activities in 2017, namely that policies must be followed that ensure market forces play a decisive role in determining the future of the industry, but not without developing safety nets that mitigate its consequences. Open and frank discussion in the coming year will help to ensure that a level playing field is promoted and preserved,” he added.

According to Basson, environmental challenges persist. He said that the steel industry will persevere in being the foundation of a sustainable society-wide circular economy 'in which the burden on the natural world is alleviated by

ensuring that inputs are reduced, reused, remanufactured and recycled’.

“Tireless innovation in production processes and new grades of steel show not only the commitment of the industry to these challenges, but the demonstrable progress that we have been making in meeting them and will continue to make in the new year,” he concluded.

January/February 2017

Industry news.indd 3

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Best-in-class application engineering and the ability to simplify our customers’ service processes helps our customers to reach their goals at any time. They can count on us for robust vacuum solutions that set standards for best performance and return on investment. Additionally, the world’s largest vacuum technology service network with a variety of aftersale services ensures process stability.

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15.12.16 15:14

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Vacuum Expertise for more than 166 years

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For the newest vacuum systems that are ideal for VD, VOD, RH and other steel degassing processes, depend on Leybold.

Our state-of-the-art mechanical vacuum solutions are extremely robust, compact and highly efficient, giving you superior process control and highest uptime.

Leybold provides ATEX certified systems for steel degassing applications handling explosive gasmixtures.

If you want to increase productivity and process safety while decreasing energy use and space requirements, please contact us.

Leybold’s technological leadership is based on a company culture, which highly values both sustainable developments and close partnerships with its customers.

Leybold offers a broad range of advanced vacuum solutions for use in heat treatment and steel degassing processes, for coating, process manufacturing, photovoltaics, analytics, as well as for research purposes. The company’s core capabilities center on the development of application- and customer-specific systems for the creation of vacuums and extraction of processing gases.

Our product range is built on a real-world experience and on our competence in re-shaping and combining proven technology with future market demands and stateof-the art manufacturing precision.

Ambitious vacuum applications necessitate a variety of highly reliable and maintenance friendly vacuum components and systems, such as turbomolecular pumps, rotary vane pumps, screw technology pumps, scroll-, diffusion- and cryo pumps, as well as pressure measurement accessories and leak detectors.

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Anz_LV_SteelDegassing_Doppelseite_EN_210x297.indd 2-3

15.12.16 15:14

10

THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN

The future of the steel industry The global steel industry has never known times as tough as these. If you’re a steelmaker, then you’re fighting for business survival. For most if not all steelmakers, investment in new plant is out of the question, so if there’s anyone in your circle you definitely don’t need to hear from right now, it’s surely the plant builders. By Mike Steeper* That logic has prevailed for as long as any of us have been in the business. Plant builders answer enquiries for new or upgraded plant. Steelmakers put out those enquiries if and when some deficiency in their existing plant reveals itself, and they do so provided that favourable business conditions make it affordable to correct it. But right now and for the foreseeable future, business conditions are unfavourable in the extreme, so there won’t be any enquiries – or any welcome for visiting plant builders.

Extreme business pressures are drivers of change, however. Metallurgical process research has not come to a standstill just because the steelmakers, and by extension all their suppliers, are in trouble. Both the steelmakers and the plant builders employ, and indeed rely on, process technologists. Does anyone care right now what those process technologists think?

Could it conceivably matter anyway, in this disastrous global business climate for steel? * Chair of the Iron and Steel Society (steel division)

The Hour Before Dawn Throughout 2017, Steel Times International will publish a series of essays on the current state and future prospects of the global steel industry. The idea is to develop a debate among STI’s readership, and so the schedule has some flexibility for reader contributions and for the development of themes that turn out to be of particular interest to our community. The principal contributor will be Mick Steeper, chair of the Iron and Steel Society (steel division) of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, but here writing from a personal perspective.

Mick’s lifelong involvement with the steel industry began with a Scunthorpe childhood and January/February 2017

Hour before dawn.indd 1

a British Steel sponsorship through university.

He joined Davy in Sheffield at the end of the 1970s and has worked in the technology supply industry, specialising in rolling mills, ever since.

His early career was in engineering, designing and commissioning both control systems and mechanical equipment. Then followed a period of technical project management and most recently a research specialism, broadening into work with the professional institutions, the research councils and a raft of education sector bodies.

Mick’s introductory essay to the series (which we are calling “The Hour Before the Dawn”)

follows. Your comments, contributions and suggestions for its direction are sought. Note in particular that the future of the industry is very dependent on the availability of technology that can complement the evolving strategies, and so technical contributions that build on the ideas presented will be especially welcome. As you’ll see, our series begins with a plea for more co-operation between steelmakers and steel processing technologists.

For now, you can contribute to the Hour Before the Dawn by contacting STI though the usual channels. Links to social media will be announced in later issues as they are developed. www.steeltimesint.com

17/01/2017 10:02:21

THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN

11

It probably does matter, because at the end of this darkest of nights, there will still be a steel industry. The world needs steel and demand for it is still growing – because population is increasing and so are living standards. The present mess will resolve itself and money will be made in the steel industry once again. The only questions are where and how, and which of the current manufacturers and indeed plant builders will survive to take advantage. Not everyone can survive, of course. The immediate core problem is overcapacity, and there will have to be exits right through the supply chain to cure that.

So when the dawn does break, it’s going to illuminate a new landscape. Perhaps the experience of the process technologists could be worth pooling, and listening to, after all. And that’s what this series of essays will be about, the foreseeable future technology of the global steel industry, as foretold by its process practitioners.

The series is currently planned to consist of eight essays, not including this introductory one. The forward programme is flexible and will reflect the interest of the readership, but for now it looks as follows. Before we get to the future technology, the early essays consider the nature of, and the reasons for, the crisis in steel. Before considering the solutions, there is of course a need to define the problems.

The first essay will describe the paradox of steel: how come it’s so hard to make money out of manufacturing the most useful material known to man? This will be followed by one considering how innovation is approached by the various players in steel, contrasting the research objectives of the established steelmakers with those of disruptors, and highlighting how process “sea-changes” have historically refreshed the industry.

In the third essay, differences in the global industry’s product focus are reviewed, analysing the reasons for, and the consequences of, dominant investment in strip processing and especially on its automotive applications.

The fourth will consider climate change as a core driver for technology change, and whether the apparently-inevitable trend towards increased recycling can be expected to create new competencies and competition.

By this point in the series, we hope and expect that the direction and content of the essays will be significantly reflecting readership interest, but for now we anticipate a continuation which is mainly on technology development, probably emphasising issues such as: improving yield and realising process compression, changes in economic volume and business models (including the potential for a US-like mini mill proliferation in the rest of the world) and a highlevel view of the desirable and foreseeable technical developments themselves.

The final essay will be a summary with an aim of projecting the future landscape of the global steel industry as a reflection of the core ideas developed throughout the series. These are the ideas that will determine which existing business models and technologies might endure and which new ones are likely to develop alongside them.

We hope you enjoy The Hour Before the Dawn throughout the year and we eagerly await your feedback. �

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17/01/2017 10:02:23

12

INNOVATIONS - TRANSPORT AND HANDLING

OPTIMA cabin ergonomics another win for Konecranes Throughout 2016 Swedish rolled aluminium products manufacturer Gränges has taken delivery of no less than nine brand-new Konecranes forklift trucks; seven SMV 10-1200 C and two SMV 16-1200 C models.

The trucks were all equipped with the company’s OPTIMA cabin and TRUCONNECT remote monitoring.

At Gränges there is a need for lift trucks with special roll-lifting attachments that are required to transport the rolls from the manufacturing plant to the delivery facility where they are loaded, ready for shipment. On an average day the seven 10 tonnes Konecranes forklifts at Gränges carry approximately 821 tons and make about 130 lifts each.

According to Konecranes, operators need to be aware, at all times, of what is around them.

They need to be able to respond swiftly and safely since the lift trucks operate in high traffic areas, as well as in a constricted space. To fit the narrow space, Gränges requested a 2,800mm wheelbase on the SMV 10-1200 C forklifts, rather than the usual 3,250mm, with a lifting capacity of 10 tonnes remaining.

January/February 2017

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Gränges Mobile Equipment manager Rolf Andersen, says, “The Konecranes Optima cabin impressed our team of operators. The window placement literally gives 360-degree visibility, and the placement of the instrumentation and pedals was the most comfortable and intuitive of all the trucks we tested.

As ergonomics was an area of focus, so was safety. The forklifts are equipped with speed lim-

its –10km/hr and 20km/hr – depending on inside or outside driving. All nine of the Gränges trucks are equipped with red warning lights for outside driving, as well as clad in the same bright yellow as Swedish ambulances, as per Gränges’ specifications. All nine machines were sold through the Swedish lift truck distributor Brubakken AB. www.konecranes.com

www.steeltimesint.com

19/01/2017 11:06:22

13 Industrial laser-based sensor applications specialist LASE is assisting Lech-Stahlwerke GmbH (LSW) measure scrap volumes at its plant in Meitingen, Germany.

LSW produces high quality steel products from recycled raw materials and belongs to the Steel & Production division of the Max Aicher Group.

LASE provides LSW with an accurate steel scrap measurement system in two different operational areas of the plant.

Its laser measurement systems determine the volumes of different steel scrap materials both in the storage area and in the scrap ferries. This means that dosing of recycled steel scrap can be improved and the quantity of each material sort in the storage area can be determined.

Scrap storage measurement Scrap materials stocked in the storage area by category are actuated by two crane systems. Two 2D laser scanners from the LASE 2000D-11x-Series mounted on the main crane girder measure the scrap area. Their scan planes are vertically downwards as well as parallel to the crane and deliver so-called 2D profile data. Each single profile shows a cross section of the scrap pile, which is located under the laser scanner. To measure scrap volume a measuring drive is initiated by telegram from the PLC control. A further evaluation unit from LASE (LCU – LASE Control Unit) collects incoming 2D profiles and converts their values together with crane position data into a 3D volume

The accurate measurement of steel scrap

model. Separating walls for the segmentation of the storage area are filtered out by the measuring software and are excluded from the volume determination.

Additional crane position measurement enables the storage management system to identify from which of the 32 parcels any material has been removed. By knowing the exact volume for each single scrap material type, LSW can manage the storage area and plan the disposition appropriately.

Scrap ferry measurement After the scrap has been loaded from the storage area into a scrap bucket by crane, it is transported by ferry to an electric arc furnace. The measurement starts when an empty scrap ferry drives through the scan plane of the ceiling-mounted 2D laser scanner. The measuring procedure is triggered automatically just as the software

detects the ferry in a pre-defined height. Specific algorithms in the LASE-Software filter profile data from the ferry, so that associated parts of the ferry are not calculated mistakenly.

Bucket edge detection function With the help of a specially developed bucket edge detection function, the bucket can be extracted precisely. The process is divided into an empty profile (reference measurement with zero volume) and a full profile measurement, where the fully loaded bucket is moving through the measurement system. The volume of scrap is determined by the difference between the empty and full profile.

Both installed laser measurement systems help LSW optimise its storage and production processes by determining the exact quantities of steel scrap on site. www.lase.de

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14

INNOVATIONS - TRANSPORT AND HANDLING

The heavy weight of the steel industry The volatility of the global steel industry has fuelled demand for highly efficient and flexible handling equipment. Botros Hanna from Hyster Europe answers some of the key handling challenges faced by the steel industry today, and how the company is making light work of the heaviest loads.

What are the main materials handling challenges that steel customers face?

A consistent and efficient handling process is more important than ever to ensure that there are no delays in the supply chain. Reliable handling equipment that can do the job effectively is therefore critical, particularly due to the heavy, awkward loads and challenging environments.

Most steel customers use trucks over eight tonnes lift capacity with some sort of front end attachment, a combination that requires robust trucks that are easy to drive and position loads.

Steel operators need a complete handling solution which is why Hyster has a dedicated steel industry solutions team that has significant experience to overcome their specific challenges and optimise steel handling applications.

What has Hyster done to ensure reliability in steel applications?

Hyster has become increasingly industry focused, paying particular attention to understanding the challenges and needs of different industries, including the steel industry. This has ensured that we can offer intelligently designed solutions that suit the many different applications that exist throughout the steel industry.

In addition, all Hyster lift trucks up to 52 tonnes are built for the toughest jobs, but there are some important additions used in steel operations. For example, where dust is an issue, Hyster has introduced an extended pre-cleaner air intake to help avoid engine failure, on-demand cooling to reduce fan-induced dust and automatic greasing to force dirt out of critical wear areas.

Heat is also a factor that can seriously affect the reliability of a truck when semi-finished products in the form

January/February 2017

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of slabs, blooms, ingots or bars exit the manufacturing process at approximately 900C. Hyster trucks overcome temperature problems by fitting heat-resistant hoses to prevent them from drying out and leaking, and a heat shield for hydraulic cylinder protection. An extended front fender will also prevent tyres from softening and a chainless monomast eliminates the need for a chain which could otherwise dry out.

In fact, Hyster has one of the toughest heat protection packages in the world for foundry environments to ensure that the forklift maintains a low cost of operation and reliability throughout its life time.

What do you mean by a low cost of operation?

To get the best value and performance from a lift truck, buyers must look at lifetime costs over a five-year period, sometimes more for larger trucks, in relation to their specific operation.

Hours, ramps, continuous lifting at capacity, heat, dust and many other factors all affect the cost of ownership.

Our job is to provide the right truck to give the best performance, value, productivity and reliability in all applications.

One of our most significant technical developments over the last few years has led to significant operational cost savings for steel businesses and improved their environmental performance.

How are Hyster trucks saving steel customers money and helping them to improve their green credentials?

Hyster has developed some of the most fuel efficient heavy duty forklifts on the market, helping steel customers significantly reduce their monthly fuel bills by as much as 25% in some cases. This adds up to a lot of money when you consider the size of the machines and fleets.

These savings were a by-product of the company’s approach to meeting the Stage IV / Tier 4 final (T4f) emissions legislation, which all Hyster trucks above eight tonne lift capacity now adhere to. Most steel applications use trucks over eight tonnes lift capacity.

Steel comes in many shapes, sizes and weights. How can Hyster trucks adapt?

Whether an application is handling steel band coils, wire coils, pipes, tubes, structural steel or hot semi-finished products, Hyster has highly refined and tested solutions.

We have multi-purpose (integral or hooktype) side-shift, fork positioning carriages with a range of different ‘quick disconnect’ fork and front-end attachments available. This includes rounded forks, grab clamps, coil manipulators, C-hooks, pipe stabilisers, hydraulic pipe clamps, coil rams (with up to 13 picks), twin rams, long rams, magnets and more.

We are finding some customers want to invest in fewer machines to do more varied work.

One customer, for example, needed to use the same Reach Stacker to handle containers, trailers and steel coils. A unique tool changer allows easy exchange of attachments, in that case a standard container spreader, an intermodal spreader and a C-hook attachment, offering maximum flexibility with minimal fuss.

How does Hyster support such a global industry?

Hyster is a global business with operations across the world and a global dealer network which offers rapid response locally. In addition, we have separate industry managers for different regions which help to further ensure that customers are supported and have their specific needs met. www.hyster.com

www.steeltimesint.com

19/01/2017 11:06:28

15

INNOVATIONS - TESTING & ANALYSIS

Market-driven measurement systems maximise hot mill performance Precision measurement and control solutions specialist NDC Technologies reports that the current steel industry climate is driving producers to look at new, cost-effective ways to implement high-performance measurement systems. The company is meeting this demand with market-driven solutions for high-value hot mills. These system solutions include the Rometer Optical Flatness Gauge and the new W200 Optical Width Gauge that are designed to help hot mills produce higher quality products, increase productivity and realise significant manufacturing savings.

Mike Ramsey, director of NDC’s Metals business, commented: “Today, these IRM products are now part of the NDC Technologies solutions portfolio and integrated with NDC’s most ad-

vanced and intelligent measurement technology.

These expanded measurement capabilities provide hot mills with best-in-class gauging systems.

Best of all, now hot mills can take advantage of this world-class performance at exceptional prices.”

NDC claims that its metals gauging systems have a long heritage in the steel industry, serving the world’s leading manufacturers for over 60 years.

The Rometer Optical Flatness Gauge provides the highest flatness measurement capability available, says NDC, and represents the standard for the latest high-quality hot mills worldwide.

Rometer models provide configuration flexibility for the most demanding applications such as hot strip mills, Steckel mills and plate mills regardless

of mill size, configuration or age. The single, compact sensor cabinet and small measurement area makes it ideal for existing mills, either as a new gauge or upgrade of an older gauge. The measurement capability and system features are claimed to provide the fastest and most accurate flatness measurement, but when combined with a flatness control system they improve product yield and quality.

The new W200 Optical Width Gauge uses advanced stereoscopic measurement technology to ‘accurately and consistently’ measure product width across a range of process conditions. This system is designed to be installed above the roller table in hot strip and plate mills, and provides high-resolution true width measurement from an ultra-stable optical bench with long-life lasers.

Advantages of the W200 include flexible scalability to meet unique application requirements, the highest measurement performance driven by the most advanced technology, and the lowest cost of ownership.

The W200 system can be equipped with NDC’s Beta LaserMike LaserSpeed length and speed gauge for crop shear optimisation, marking and cutting control, discrete coil and plate length, elongation and differential speed applications.

The Rometer and the W200 systems are based on NDC’s proprietary Total Distributed Intelligence (TDi) architecture which, it is claimed, creates a more powerful, yet simpler system -providing industry leading measurement performance, better uptime, easier maintainability and low cost of ownership. This architecture has been proven across thousands of different processes and applications since its introduction in 2006.

For further information, log on to www.ndc.com/metals.

VISION BECOMES REALIT Y Slag Pot Transporters in a platform or U-Frame design, Slab and Coil Transporters, Industrial Lift Transporters with cabin on top or under platform – the TII Group offers an extensive range of transporters to meet the requirements of the metallurgy industry. tii-group.com

www.steeltimesint.com

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January/February 2017

19/01/2017 11:06:29

USA UPDATE

17

An aggressive posture against imports US President Donald Trump is busy putting together a trade transition team drawing on veterans from the US steel industry with experience in dealing with China. By Manik Mehta* INITIAL details of the team’s composition suggest that Trump will aggressively pursue the US steel industry’s complaints about unfair Chinese trade practices reflected in extending subsidies to boost its exports and creating barriers against imports.

Trump’s trade transition team will be led

by Wilbur Ross, a billionaire steel investor who has been nominated by Trump for the post of commerce secretary; Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steelmaker Nucor Corporation, and three other veteran steel trade lawyers. While the team is expected to focus on enforcing actions designed to reduce the nation’s chronic trade deficit, the choice of team members suggests that there will be greater emphasis on curbing rising steel imports and challenging China’s trade practices at the World Trade Organisation. The team members are expected to reintroduce new anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against a wider range of Chinese products.

DiMicco has been fighting for his company Nucor and also the industry against what some call the ‘destructive oversupply of cheap steel’ by foreign competitors in trade cases. DiMicco advocated the imposition of tariffs of up to 500% on Chinese steel products.

Although DiMicco’s current role is in an advisory capacity, some experts believe his battle against cheap imports from China, Brazil and other countries, could make him a likely candidate to head the United States Trade Representation (USTR). As of writing this update, no confirmation or indication is available, though some steel industry voices tip him to become the next USTR. In general, the industry’s mood is characterised by optimism since Trump’s unexpected election victory, contrasting with the near depression mood of the

earlier two years, when China’s slowdown prompted its suppliers to export its overcapacity to the US and other markets, thus putting pressure on prices.

The blunt-talking DiMicco’s advocacy for penalising Chinese steel imports has generally been well received in the steel industry, reflected also during his past addresses at the annual Steel Success Strategies’ conferences in New York where delegates applauded him.

Mario Longhi

DiMicco has stated in the past that China engages in currency manipulation and unfair subsidies to boost its steel exports.

But many experts tend to disagree with DiMicco, arguing that China is no longer keeping its currency artificially undervalued to make its exports cheap; they point out that China had spent hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves to bolster the value of its currency this year.

Some experts nurse doubts about the extent to which Trump’s team will push China to make it change its trade practices without provoking a mutually destructive trade war which, frankly, both sides fear.

As Trump gets busy taking over the reins of government, remarks by US Steel’s chief executive Mario Longhi caught the attention of some experts when he told CNBC that

steel workers would be re-hired during the term of the Trump administration.

In the CNBC interview, Longhi had said that as many as 10,000 workers could be re-hired following the expected changes in the regulatory climate and trade policy after years of layoffs and idling of steel plants.

But, later, US Steel clarified the issue in a statement released after Longhi’s remarks: “Mr. Longhi’s comments about potentially recalling some 10,000 workers

Donald Trump

was referring to the American steel industry overall, not just to employees of United States Steel Corporation.

The domestic steel industry has been forced to lay off more than 16,000 people [per the US Bureau of Labour Statistics] since January 2015 due to steel products illegally dumped on US shores. Layoffs at United States Steel have contributed to the total of 16,000.”

The US steel industry’s increasingly upbeat mood also seems to be vindicated by predictions made by Moody’s which revised the outlook for the US steel industry from negative to stable, and expected capacity utilisation to range between 70% and 74% in 2017. Moody’s expects US steelmakers to benefit from declining steel imports.

* USA correspondent www.steeltimesint.com

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20/01/2017 11:31:04

18

USA UPDATE

Meanwhile, President Trump’s comments on reviving the industry are being closely watched by the Ohio Valley steel industry.

Trump’s election win coincided with the announcement that part of the former RG Steel plant in Mingo Junction was sold by its owner Frontier Group to ACERO Junction, a group of steel companies that reportedly wants to resume steel production in Mingo Junction.

Clouds of gloom Although details of the plan are vague, as of writing this update, there are – unconfirmed – reports that the plant would employ as many as 300 workers. The clouds of gloom that hovered over some Ohio Valley families seem to have brightened, with local governments hoping to improve their revenue, which had been lost after the plants closed down in the past two decades.

The timing of the announcement could not have been more propitious for Trump who had promised during the campaign to secure jobs for American workers against unfair Chinese competition. That was also the reason why he won Ohio.

But the problem of low steel prices persists in the industry. Imports accounted

for a record 29% of market share in 2015, resulting in the idling of mills and retrenchment of over 19,000 steelworkers countrywide.

Two big employers in Northwest Indiana, ArcelorMittal USA and US Steel, have referred seven trade cases to the International Trade Commission calling for tariffs against dumped and subsidised metal in 2016.

They also succeeded in getting tough new trade laws passed to stem the flood of foreign steel into the US market at prices, they said, were lower than the production costs, with the foreign steelmakers striving to increase market share and put US producers out of business.

But imports have declined by 20% in the first three quarters of 2016, and now account for only a quarter of the market share, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Auto sales, a major factor in driving steel demand, have flattened at an annualised rate of about 17 million vehicles per annum after years of growth. And aluminum has been cutting into steel’s automotive market share, with a 45% to 50% increase in sales of automotive aluminium sheet annually.

US steelmakers are facing competition against the rising supply of aluminium and other alternative metals, which automakers are eyeing because of tough new federal emissions standards. �

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22

INDIA UPDATE

Production outpaces consumption Primary steel producers in India ramped up their production capacity in 2016 in anticipation of massive infrastructure spending by the federal government. By Dilip Jha*

ANTICIPATING huge demand primary steel mills, led by the government-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), reported an accumulative production growth of 16.3% to 32.1Mt between April and October this year compared to 27.53Mt in the corresponding period last year. While SAIL reported the highest production growth of 23.4% to 6.74Mt, Tata Steel followed suit and posted an 11.7% jump in its output at 6.02Mt for the period between April and October 2016. Data compiled by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Ministry of Steel showed India’s overall (both primary and secondary) steel output at 57.51Mt for the April – October 2016 period, a rise of 10.4% from 52.08Mt the previous year.

Secondary producers feel the heat Secondary steel producers contribute nearly half of India’s annual steel output, but failed to keep pace with their primary counterparts due to strict scrap import norms. Stringent environmental regulations forced many secondary producers to operate at lower than their rated capacity.

Thus, secondary steel producers reported a marginal 3.87% growth in production during the April – October 2016 period.

Meanwhile, the Indian government’s demonetisation of higher denomination bank notes is expected to affect secondary producers hard because they deal largely in cash for raw material procurement and transportation of goods.

Primary producers, however, feel that difficulties for secondary producers would bring opportunities for them as consumers would shift to primary producers with cashless transactions for transparent business deals. Tata Steel India and South East Asia managing director TV Narendran said in an investor call, “Since

secondary steel producers deal largely in cash and contribute 60-70% of long products business in India, the surprise demonetisation would have a significant positive impact on long products business for integrated or bigger players.”

India’s steel consumption contracted again in October after registering 12% growth in September. According to Steel Ministry data, consumption contracted by 1.4% to 7.11Mt in October this year from 7.21Mt in the corresponding month last year. Analysts believe that lower prices in July and August helped consumers and traders to restock, which supported volume growth. Plant level adjustments could be one of the reasons for volume growth.

Despite an encouraging infrastructure plan, fund clearances remained slow in October and paucity of funds slowed growth in infrastructure projects resulting in weak steel consumption. India’s overall steel consumption, therefore, slowed to record a marginal 2.8% growth at 48.09Mt between April and October 2016 from 46.77Mt the previous year.

Particulars

While India’s steel exports jumped by a staggering 42% to 3.57Mt, imports declined by over 40% to 4.14Mt, thanks to various protectionist measures announced by the government to protect local producers. Steel mills currently have 9.42Mt of surplus inventory for the period between April and October 2016.

Outlook turns around After two successive years of drought resulted into a slowdown in rural demand, steel producers were expecting a robust demand during the peak construction season between December 2016 and May 2017. Normal rainfalls during the 2016 monsoon season raised hopes for a sharp increase in agricultural output, but the scenario turned around in October with the government’s demonetisation move.

Steel production in India continues to outpace consumption and steel mills that have added production capacity in the last few years, are now faced with huge unsold inventory, posing the threat of production cuts in the near future. �

April - October 2015

April - October 2016

Variations (%)

Production

52.08

57.51 10.4

Consumption

46.77

48.09 2.8

Export

2.51

3.56 42.1

Import

6.92

4.14 (-)40.2

Table 1: Finished steel dynamics (million tons). Source : Joint Plant Committee Particulars

April - October 2015

April - October 2016

Variations (%)

Steel Authority of India

5.46

6.74

23.4

Tata Steel

5.39

6.02

11.7

Vizag Steel

1.52

1.68

10.9

Essar + JSW Steel + Jindal Steel and Power

15.17

17.58

15.9

Total

27.53

32.01 16.3

Secondary producers

24.55

25.5

3.87

Table 2: Steel production by primary producers (million tons). Source : Joint Plant Committee

* India correspondent January/February 2017

INDIA.indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

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25

TESTING & ANALYSIS

Defect detection while hot Increased rail track performance at reduced life cycle costs can only be achieved with outstanding quality control throughout the entire production process. Austria’s voestalpine Schienen not only sets high standards on the global stage with its high-quality products, but also excels in complex measurement and inspection tasks. NEXTSENSE’s high-precision surface inspection and flatness measurement systems have become an indispensable part of the steelmaker’s rolling mill in Leoben where its latest innovation enables the detection of defects on surfaces while they are still hot.

BASED in Leoben-Donawitz in Austria, voestalpine Schienen is the European market leader in the production of long rails. It’s new and innovative rolling mill sets the global industry benchmark and produces long rails of up to 120m. 24/7 production shifts mean an annual volume of 600,000 rails. The high standards demanded of the rails call for 100% surface error detection and dimensional accuracy testing. Due to increased demand for high-speed tracks, production is particularly affected by the tremendous increase in quality standards. With this in mind, a constant and professional supervision along with technological advances made to inspection systems are of utmost importance. At voestalpine Schienen’s testing facility in Leoben, Andreas Gerold takes care of these continual improvements.

NEXTSENSE is an important player in the world of inspection technology. The Austrian company established itself as an innovation leader and an important long-term partner of voestalpine at the steelmaker’s rolling mill in Donawitz.

“Our co-operation with NEXTSENSE dates back to the year 2001. At that time, the corporation was still a research project of Joanneum Research. Yet, since then four more systems were developed – and the fifth is currently ordered”, says Gerold.

NEXTSENSE develops, produces and sells stationary surface inspection and profile measurement systems, known as SURFILES. Detection of surface defects In 2001 the worldwide unique offer of ultra-long 120-metre rails set new challenges for inspection and measurement www.steeltimesint.com

Testing analysis NEXTSENSE VOEST.indd 1

Andreas Gerold next to the surface inspection system in the testing centre

systems because simple visual inspection by the human eye no longer met efficiency or precision requirements.

“Due to a fact that rails of this length cannot be easily rotated, it was no longer possible to identify all defects with the naked eye simply by walking around the rails and assessing the faults”, says Gerold.

At voestalpine Schienen the need for automatic systems capable of detecting surface defects on long rails became paramount. So voestalpine got in touch with the founders of NEXTSENSE, who at that time worked as researchers for Joanneum Research at the Institute of Digital Image Processing.

“At that time there was no such system on the market, so we turned to a research association,” said Gerold. Co-operation between voestalpine and the founders of NEXTSENSE led to the development of

the world´s first optical surface inspection system for cold-rolled material. It was installed and implemented at voestalpine Schienen and so started a long-lasting and successful partnership.

Gradual integration NEXTSENSE´s first surface inspection system was based on the “Shape from Shading” measurement method where 3D surface structure is calculated on the basis of light distribution in images.

Fifteen years ago, this method was seen as a huge quantum leap in measurement technology. For the first time ever, it was possible to detect surface defects on rolled material fully automatically. The system has been in operation for more than 15 years and has been regularly updated to meet the individual needs of voestalpine.

For example, a new LED lightening system January/February 2017

19/01/2017 11:07:48

26

TESTING & ANALYSIS

Flatness measurement system from NEXTSENSE for rail ends

containing more than 1,100 blue and red radiant LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) was implemented to make even the smallest defects on the surface of rails visible.

Extensive system integration in the rolling mill is another case in point – the results are no longer used only in the testing centre, but are also integrated in the subsequent process of straightening in the final inspection station. Furthermore, the straightening process control system has been coupled with the error positions.

“We cannot imagine our production without it. The inspection system is so well integrated into our production process and the material flow system that it would be impossible to replace it”, says Gerold.

Expansion to hot surfaces In the spring of 2016 voestalpine acquired its second surface inspection system from NEXTSENSE, but this time to detect defects while the rail was still in the hot state – directly after the rolling process.

“The clear advantage of this system is that surface quality can be ensured already in the early phase of production, which makes it easier to prevent defective production and reduce rejects”, says Gerold about the new DIRIS 3D HOT system. It is now no longer necessary to wait until the rolled workpiece cools down to detect defects like scabs, reefs, roll-ons, or scales to intervene and take appropriate measures. “The great advantage is that error-handling procedures can be carried out promptly after the production, which results in increased output“, explains Gerold.

The previously prevailing visual inspection January/February 2017

Testing analysis NEXTSENSE VOEST.indd 2

process with bare eye turned out to be very complex and difficult. The optical measurement technique of the new system, however, enables 100% coverage and simple control. “The system represents a tremendous support for inspectors as they can examine every defect in high-resolution on their screens”, says Gerold.

Contactless technology The main difference between the DIRIS 3D HOT system and the cold surface inspection system lies in the applied laser light section technology. The former enables glowing surfaces to be examined with extreme accuracy. Several laser lines are projected onto the rolled material and multiple highend cameras capture the surface profile in 3D. In addition to defect size detection, the system can determine the depth of the defect. Sensors are arranged annularly around the measured rail passing through the centre of the system. The rail structure is subsequently scanned with the resolution of less than 1/10mm and is digitally processed.

Huge amounts of data, which can reach to several gigabytes of image data per rail, can be evaluated within seconds in a computing cluster. Rolling defects can be detected quickly and reliably. Automatic defect recognition allows for the classification of defects and the categorisation of surface structures. All the information is stored as a SQL database on a server, from which complete quality and defect lists can be later directly exported.

In order to detect difficult to reach areas, such as the transition between the web and head of standard rails, or between web and grooves of grooved rails, the construction

of the measurement system is designed so that it can be tilted. Moreover, the DIRIS 3D HOT system is not rigidly pre-programmed, but can be adapted to individual defect specifications during the system’s lifespan.

“The system was adapted to our specific production requirements and plays a pioneering role in the industry. Nothing comparable exists in the entire market“, says Gerold.

Process integrated inspection systems Other NEXTSENSE systems can be found in the next production step of the rail production process – the straightening process. Two high-precision flatness measurement systems (FMGs) are used to optimise rail flatness and simultaneously present the unique possibility to determine the flatness of the ends of the rail.

“The problem with conventional systems is that they cannot measure the last five metres and thus the ends cannot be assessed. You should either cut this part or measure it manually with rulers. This, of course, is very time-consuming and demanding work, which is now carried out

by FMGs”, explains Gerold.

NEXTSENSE´s laser light section technique and its complex mathematical algorithms mean that manual inspections are a thing of the past. In addition to horizontal flatness, the vertical flatness of rail ends can also be determined. Flatness graphs with digital classification rulers and detailed valley depth displays are used for data evaluation and visualisation. A colour code according to set testing standards displays the results neatly arranged.

“The crucial point as to why we opted for NEXTSENSE as a partner for flatness measurement systems as well, is on the one hand a favourable price-performance ratio and on the other the great experience we gained with the company through our preprojects“, explains Gerold.

Prosperous future Voestalpine Schienen strives to further develop and improve its products. For this reason, the company strives hard to continue to be the global benchmark and the innovation leader in measurement and inspection tasks – entirely in line with the motto ‘one step ahead’. Nevertheless, voestalpine Schienen is not the only Austrian company with plenty in store for the future. NEXTSENSE has great plans too and its innovations are set to attract attention going forward. � www.steeltimesint.com

19/01/2017 11:07:49

95 Years in Steel Industry Rugged

Reliable

Long Life

World Leader in Pneumatic Safety www.rosscontrols.com

28

SPECIAL STEELS

Preventing plant corrosion Modern desalination plants use molybdenum-containing stainless steels to protect these strategic assets from the inherent problem of corrosion, which would otherwise render them uneconomic due to the frequency and prohibitive cost of repair and replacement.

FRESH, clean water is essential for life – on average we drink four litres per day in one form or another – yet less than 1% of the earth’s accessible water is suitable for human consumption. Global water supplies are under pressure from population growth and may be unable to sustain total demand by 2025. Desalination provides reliable supplies of fresh water, offering a partial solution.

Currently some three billion people – about 40% of the global population – live in water-scarce regions, with more than three quarters of a billion people without access to safe water. According to the United Nations, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed conditions by 2025.

January/February 2017

Moly desalination stainless .indd 1

Desalination is an established technology for delivering fresh water. In use for many decades, it has grown rapidly in response to population growth and higher living standards. Some 17,000 desalination plants around the world now supply 81 million cubic metres of fresh water every day. More than half of this global capacity is located in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, supplying more than 70% of its urban requirements.

Desalination plants operate using thermal distillation or reverse osmosis. In thermal distillation plants, salt water is heated and evaporated to produce fresh water. The most common methods are multi-stage flash and multiple effect distillation. Reverse osmosis systems use high pressure pumps to force saltwater through a membrane

which allows water molecules to pass through, but blocks dissolved solids such as salts. Most reverse osmosis plants operate at very high pressures, some up to 8000 kPa. The high temperatures and high salinity in desalination plants produce extremely corrosive operating environments. Early thermal distillation plants were constructed with mild steel, but corrosion was a significant problem. Later evaporators were built using carbon steel clad with molybdenum-containing stainless steel such as Type 316L. The molybdenum content of around 2% greatly improves the corrosion resistance of stainless steel in chloridecontaining environments.

More modern thermal desalination plants are constructed using duplex stainless steel, typically grades 2205 and 2304. These www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 11:53:51

29

SPECIAL STEELS

Intermediate grades of stainless steel such as 317L, 904L and 2205 duplex were trialed but plants continued to report pitting and crevice corrosion. To achieve the necessary degree of corrosion resistance, 6% molybdenum stainless steel has been specified for many seawater reverse osmosis plants, including some of the biggest facilities in the world, such as Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The difference in corrosion resistance between Type 316L and 6% molybdenum stainless steel is shown in Fig. 1 below.

More recently, super duplex stainless steels have become the materials of choice for this application, such as the 2507 grade specified in the construction of the Ashkelon desalination plant in Israel, completed in 2005 (pictured in Fig. 2). This grade has very similar corrosion resistance to the 6% molybdenum grades and has the additional benefit of higher strength and improved fatigue resistance.

Desalination is a reliable, mature technology that uses abundant salt or brackish water to provide a sustainable supply of fresh, clean drinking water.

Molybdenum-alloyed steels resist the highly corrosive environment inside desalination plants, extending their operating life by several orders of magnitude compared with non-alloyed steel, making them economically viable and thus more available to populations where the need is greatest. ďż˝

Fig 2. The Ashkelon reverse osmosis plant in Israel ŠIDE Technologies

6% Mo stainless steel S31254

steels both contain molybdenum and have emerged as the optimal grades for thermal desalination because of their high corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. The strength of duplex stainless steel means that the thickness and weight of the evaporator vessel can be reduced by as much as 30%, requiring less steel and welding than alternative corrosion-resistant materials.

In reverse osmosis plants, the combination of high pressure and seawater requires exceptional strength and corrosion resistance.

Early plants in Saudi Arabia and Malta used Type 316L stainless steel for high pressure pipe components, but even with this enhanced corrosion resistance, parts of the plant suffered extensive crevice corrosion and required replacement after as little as two years. www.steeltimesint.com

Moly desalination stainless .indd 2

Crevice corrosion

316L stainless steel S31603

Fig 1. High pressure couplings from a 40,000 m3 reverse osmosis plant in the Mediterranean basin. The 6% molybdenum coupling was in service for seven years compared to only six months for the 316L coupling. ŠPiedmont Pacific Corp.

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B

EINSCHALTUNG 297x420.qxp_Layout 1 09.01.17 15:44 Seite 1

BRAUN Innovations for Steel Cutting-edge technology for cutting and grinding

office@braun-steel.com

• High-performance abrasive cut-off machines • Combined abrasive cut-off and sawing machines • Multi-functional high-pressure grinding machines • Deburring grinding machines • Flexible solutions for automated turn-key facilities • Technical consulting and life-time service support

INNOVATIONS FOR STEEL

• BRAUN Maschinenfabrik GmbH Vöcklabruck, Austria • BRAUN Machine Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Beijing, PR China • BRAUN Machine Technologies, LLC Vienna, Ohio, USA

www.braun-steel.com

B

EINSCHALTUNG 297x420.qxp_Layout 1 09.01.17 15:44 Seite 1

BRAUN Innovations for Steel Cutting-edge technology for cutting and grinding

office@braun-steel.com

• High-performance abrasive cut-off machines • Combined abrasive cut-off and sawing machines • Multi-functional high-pressure grinding machines • Deburring grinding machines • Flexible solutions for automated turn-key facilities • Technical consulting and life-time service support

INNOVATIONS FOR STEEL

• BRAUN Maschinenfabrik GmbH Vöcklabruck, Austria • BRAUN Machine Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Beijing, PR China • BRAUN Machine Technologies, LLC Vienna, Ohio, USA

www.braun-steel.com

AM6196_Steel Times Int 08/12/2016 16:22 Page 1

Instructed by the Directors of Reiner Brach GmbH following retirement

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TESTING & ANALYSIS

33

Minimising zinc over-coating WARM

When considering the rising price of zinc, hot dip galvanising line owners and managers rely upon online coating weight gauges and auto-control algorithms to minimise zinc over-coating when transitioning products. By Christopher Burnett*

CONTINUOUS hot-dip galvanising is an efficient method of coating large amounts of steel strip with a zinc layer. The process begins by heating up the steel and passing it through a bath of molten liquid zinc or zinc alloy (see Fig. 1). Depending on the sheet width, production volume, and coating type, a typical HDGL can consume over USD$25 million per year.

The most profitable products are those which are homogenously coated and produced in a cost-effective way. To achieve this, producers of hot dip galvanised strip strive to optimise their production with regard to quality and costs. The final quality of galvanised strip depends on various aspects such as material surface, zinc adhesion, and uniform coating weight. Proper substrate cleaning and strip temperature control govern the first two parameters, but the third, coating weight, is often measured too late in the process to correct.

The highest quality products are those with a uniform coating weight and no undercoated strip segments. Since coated coils are purchased based on a target coating weight, coils with any undercoated segments, even a few grams per square metre, are treated as defective goods. They cannot be sold as specified and result in economic losses.

The most direct method of reducing material costs associated with coating is to apply the minimum amount of zinc to meet the product specification. Considering quality and potential downgrading costs as mentioned earlier, the target is to tighten the production tolerances for *Technical product manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific www.steeltimesint.com

Testing analysis THERMO.indd 1

minimised zinc consumption, as HOT close as possible to the lower COLD specification.

Fig. 1 Hot dip The standard still used by galvanising (HDG) many to verify hot dip zinc line with cold gauge, coating weight is based on the warm and hot gauge Weigh-Strip-Weigh (W-S-W) measurements Molten zinc bath process described in ASTM A90 or ISO 1460. While this method is governed by ASTM A754 / A754M allows direct traceability to certified “Standard Test Method for Coating Weight international labs, it can only be performed (Mass) of Metallic Coatings on Steel by after the coil exits the mill. At this point, if X-ray Fluorescence“, which reviews the the results are not acceptable the entire coil minimum parameters associated with must be downgraded or scrapped. In the online XRF coating weight measurement. event where the testing is made on the first However, technology is available that coil of a new campaign, any adjustments extends beyond these measurement to the process are often made well after requirements and optimises HDGL the second coil has started, further increasing the amount of scrapped product. operations. This Standard describes a method to determine the coating weight Galvanised products with asymmetrical of pure metal coatings on steel by means coatings require additional care and time in the W-S-W operation, causing even more of of excitation of the characteristic X-ray fluorescence radiation caused by the photoa delay in applying any correction. electric effect. This well-known state-ofthe-art method is also used as the basis Online measurement for various other types of measurement, Online measurement of the zinc coating such as evaluating the intensity of several

by X-ray Fluorescence-based coating material-characteristic fluorescence weight gauges is quite common on the radiation energies. modern HDGL, and the use of these gauges

Orbital electrons K-shell

Nucleus

L-shell K-shell vacancy eIncident photon

Photoelectron from K-shell

Kalpha

XRF radiation (used for measurement)

Fig. 2 Generation of x-ray fluorescence radiation by photoelectric effect

January/February 2017

18/01/2017 12:12:05

34

TESTING & ANALYSIS

Zn fluorescence radiation 8.6keV

Primary radiation

Zn fluorescence radiation 6.4keV

Zinc coating

Steel

Zn Atoms Fe Atoms

Fig 3. Zinc coating gauge, emission of fluorescence radiation

Each element has characteristic fluorescence energies (K-alpha and L-alpha), and associated absorption-edges (Kab, Lab) at slightly higher energies. In practice, only the K series are normally used in coating weight gauges. The primary radiation beam must have some component energies which are higher than the Kab absorption-edge energy of the element required to fluoresce at its corresponding K-alpha energy. (Fig. 2) For measurement of thin metallic coatings applied to steel strips, this X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) principle is used: The coated steel strip is exposed to a primary beam of photon radiation. This photon radiation can be gamma rays or X-rays, having sufficiently high energy to stimulate excitation and emission (fluorescence) of X-rays. The excitation of iron atoms in a steel strip leads to emission of fluorescence radiation with an energy of 6.4 keV (1 kilo electronvolt = 1.6 . 10-16 J). (Fig. 3) Measurement positions Cold and warm coating weight sensors The first online XRF sensors were positioned after the cooling tower on mechanical frames that allowed the sensor to traverse across the strip providing feedback on the coating weight profile. This ‘cold’ location provided line operators an indication of coating uniformity across the strip while minimising the environmental stresses on the XRF sensor head components (Fig 4).

The alignment of the air knives could be confirmed with a quick view of cross profile measurements.

By adding thermal insulation and additional water cooling, the same scanning type gauge could be positioned in a ‘warm’ location at the top of the cooling tower.

Measurement feedback delay was reduced allowing engineers to tune their closed loop January/February 2017

Testing analysis THERMO.indd 2

Fig 4. Thermo Scientific RM 315 EC – online coating gauge mounted in the ‘cold’ location

control with less waste due to transport delay.

Typically, a coating weight auto-control system is based on the coating weight measurement with scanning cross profile gauges at the 'cold' end of the hot dip galvanising line.

The position of the 'cold' end measuring system is about 120m behind the actuator (air knife). At a line speed of, say, 100 m/min (330 ft/min) the dead time is approximately 72 seconds. During this time, no feedback control actions can be carried out. (see Fig. 5). If a line changes product targets just one time per day, this adds up to over 40,000 metres of coil each year.

Therefore, effects like off-centre displacement of the strip between the air knives or change in roughness of the strip's surface will be recognised too late.

A closed loop auto-control using the 'hot' coating weight measurement system overcomes these disadvantages. For comparison: the position of the 'hot' end measuring system is only 2 metres behind the actuator, with a dead time of around one second. The auto-control performance increases significantly due to the very short response time of feedback control.

If the measuring equipment consists of both a 'cold' and a 'hot' gauge, the autocontrol can run in cascaded mode. In this case, the 'cold' gauge provides the reference input value for the coating weight set points of the 'hot' gauge.

The coating weight controller (CWC) in a HDGL controls the coating weight of top side, bottom side, or both sides together through the physical and mechanical settings of the air knife. This control is based on production parameters received from the Level-2 computer (set points), the measurement values of both coating weight gauges, the line speed, and the air knife

parameters (actual air pressure, positions, etc.). Output parameters of the controller are air pressure at top and bottom side, and air knife position. Algorithms within the controller continuously calculate the air pressure set points and the air knife position set points based on the production and process parameters. These calculated values are continuously passed on to the air knife PLC, which, together with the entire air knife system, forms the underlying pressure control loop for the CWC. Performance of the CWC is assured by short response time and high reproducibility of the underlying pressure control loop. Ideally, the set points of the CWC lead directly to a change at the air knife without delay, overshooting, undershooting or hysteresis, but not in practice.

The air knife parameters (air pressure, position) must be accurately measured, since they are important inputs for the adaptation of the controller and its ability to ultimately optimise production. These parameters are continuously sent from the air knife PLC to the CWC. By receiving the current readings from the air knife, the CWC monitors the actual air knife status versus the assigned pressure and position set points. The communication between CWC and air knife PLC is not restricted to a special link and can be carried out by using various interface types. The most appropriate are Ethernet TCP/IP or Profibus DP. Control features and control loops The CWC is based on an adaptive non-linear process model (adaptive auto control, AAC), which uses the results of the measurement systems for feed-back control. Changes of the material speed and the air knife to strip distance lead to a feed-forward control step based on a process model which can www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 12:12:07

Optimized production, maximized savings Your process. Our priority.

Thermo Scientific™ coating weight sensors have a 65 year history of accurate, reliable measurements of zinc, tin and other metal coatings in production lines around the world. The sensor design delivers measurements that provide the opportunity for maximum savings from automatic control of the coating weight.

There are also proven solutions for hot dipped galvanization lines that allow installation above the air knives to provide the fastest measurement feedback possible. Experience counts and here it counts your savings.

Find out more at thermofisher.com/metals Š 2017 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified.

CD5085_Thermo_Coating_Advert_A4_AW_f_r.indd 1

11/01/2017 11:16

36

TESTING & ANALYSIS

Autocontrol based upon ‘cold’ gauges

Fig. 5 Reduction of dead

that all stored data sets are good and that line conditions changed over time. The most recent data sets better reflect the most current line condition and should be kept. Automatic maintenance avoids unlimited database growth.

time for autocontrol by using ‘hot’ gauges

Autocontrol based upon ‘hot’ gauges • shorter dead time until first correction of the autocontrol system • performance of the autocontrol increases significantly

be obtained from the data automatically learned in the presetting system. To improve the base AAC algorithm of the coating weight controller the following control features are available to control the air pressure of the air knives: • Cascade control Both gauge systems are used for coating weight control in a combined control algorithm (intermeshed control). New coating weight set points for the hot gauges are calculated by evaluating the average value of the cross profile considering the three spot values. Since the results of the cold gauges are used for the quality reports, the cold gauges are the “master” in the cascade control.

In addition to getting the set points from the cold gauge, the controller continues to perform the primary control cycles based on hot gauge measurement values in order to control fast product variations (either using feed-back or feed-forward steps).

• Target optimisation control (TOC) The measurements taken by the gauges are used for a dynamic optimisation of the coating target to keep the zinc consumption as low as possible. Through evaluation of the statistical distribution (sigma value) of the coating in machine and cross direction (by a cold scanning gauge), the control set point is adjusted, considering the given tolerance limits and the actual production variance. Production of the coated product will be as close as possible to the allowed minimum coating weight set point (Fig 6).

• Sum coating control (SCC) With this control feature, the arithmetic average of the top and bottom target pressures is applied to the air knife system.

January/February 2017

Testing analysis THERMO.indd 3

With both sides of the air knife then operating with the same pressure, 'blowing away' of the strip is avoided. Using this control feature, the sum coating weight is on target, but the top and bottom coating weights may be different. In this case, the air knife distance can then be adjusted Product variation with

Summary For a HDG line, online coating weight measurement systems that include a hot coating weight gauge lead to homogenous and cost-effective production. Autocontrol is present in some form on most modern lines and clearly improves the product quality and minimises zinc consumption. When dealing with varying line conditions, a hot gauge is in the best position to quickly measure the impact and communicate the true situation to an adaptive coating weight controller. Zinc consumption can be significantly reduced and the savings, while dependent on line condition and number of product changes per day, can be significant. Considering estimated zinc costs of USD $25 million, a 4% saving amounts to USD$1 million.

Material savings

CW control and set point shifted towards

Product variation with CW control

lower tolerance limit

Lower tolerance limit Product variation without CW control

Optimisation

Set point without

set point

optimisation

Coating weight [g/m2]

Fig. 6 Production without CWC, with CWC, and with TOC

either by the operator or automatically

by Automatic Balance Control (ABC) as a supplemental feature for the sum coating control. To work completely, the ‘same spot scanning’ function of the top and bottom cold gauge is required for systems with two single beam scanners in the cold location.

Database maintenance Another way to adapt the coating weight controller is to maintain the database of the APS and eliminate obsolete data sets. If the database keeps only data sets reflected by current line conditions, searching for the best matching data is restricted to these sets. This can either be done manually, by using MS-Access, or automatically by the APS software. This function looks for similar data sets (configurable) and keeps the youngest data sets only (number is configurable). By this method, it is assumed

Summary The financial savings associated with a complete coating weight measurement and integrated control architecture will depend on product mix and number of product changes per day. But even for consistent production, this architecture enables homogenous production in case of base material thickness changes, manual changes at the roll system of the zinc pot, and other non-measurable production disturbances. Estimates of raw coating material are presented along with techniques to optimise mill utilisation through automatically tightening production tolerances by changes in target coating weight. These adjustments virtually eliminate scrap between product changeover.

The ability to measure the zinc coating directly above the pot allows for dramatic improvements in hot dipped galvanising line performance. The feedback time for air knife control with this architecture is almost instantaneous.

When coupled with intelligent and adaptive control software in a complete coating weight control system, a ‘hot’ coating weight gauge reduces overcoating to save raw materials, optimise production during product changes and increase overall mill yield. � www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 12:12:08

37

HANDLING Charge bucket sizes differ from one mini-mill to the next, which is why a custom truck body can increase productivity. Some manufacturers, such

as Philippi-Hagenbuch, design truck bodies sized specifically

for individual mini-mills’ charge buckets.

This minimises trips to the

scrapyard and increases efficiency.

The case for rear-eject bodies How does a business thrive in hard times? That’s the question on mini-mill operators’ minds as they experience a decline in demand for recycled scrap, argues Josh Swank* THE answer is with a rich return on investment (ROI). One key ingredient in achieving ROI is the equipment fleet mills operate, and perhaps the most impactful area on efficiency is the haulage of scrap to the charge bucket. The equipment options for haulage vary from railcars to standard dump bodies, or even custom, high-volume body designs, with the most recent player in the market utilising rear eject technology. Because the rear eject design eliminates the need to raise the truck body while discharging material, operators can safely and efficiently dump materials indoors without concern for potential obstacles overhead. This makes them a safe and effective option for scrap recycling operations.

Shopping for scrap Picture the variety of foods in a grocery store. Similar to this, scrap yards present mini-mill operators with a wealth of ingredients for making steel depending on the different varieties, sizes and densities

of scrap. Operators see each piece as an ingredient, and the more kinds of scrap they have access to leads to greater flexibility in the types of steel they may produce for customers.

Unfortunately, the hauling equipment selected often limits flexibility. Because of overhead height restrictions in some older mills, the traditional solution for hauling scrap was to use a rail car. While this overcomes height restrictions, it also reduces the type of scrap to the number of rail cars able to fit within the melt shop, with one material in each car. This is where the strengths of off-highway trucks and rear eject bodies come into the picture.

Operators gain more control over the amount of scrap, or ‘ingredients,’ they collect thanks to the added mobility. They have the option to use as much as 35-50 different types of scrap in a load, providing extreme flexibility in the steel recipes they create. This expands offerings for the steel mill customers — and, in turn, the operation’s profits — because the operation

has the ability to produce different grades of steel. This also enhances safety because the truck maintains a low centre of gravity.

In comparison, raised dump beds have a dynamic centre of gravity, which changes as the body raises and the material flows into the charge bucket. Not only is this technology a great way to increase business, but it also increases efficiency through the process since the truck can move seamlessly from collecting the scrap to unloading it into the charge bucket, minimising backups within the melt shop with overhead cranes.

It’s all about chemistry A recipe is more than ingredients; it’s a process or set of instructions on how to prepare and mix those ingredients. The same is true with scrap recycling. Recycling professionals know that the right process and mix of materials results in a faster melt into molten steel, which allows them to make more heats in a day.

Ensuring proper melt-in chemistry when

* Vice president, marketing, Philippi-Hagenbuch Inc www.steeltimesint.com

handling Phil.indd 1

January/February 2017

18/01/2017 12:13:54

38

HANDLING Rear eject technology helps preserve the layering technique some mini-mill operators use to reduce tap-to-tap time. With this rear eject from Philippi-Hagenbuch, scrap is ejected with the lowest densities surrounding the highest to ensure proper melt-in chemistry.

unloading scrap into the charge bucket cuts down on cycle time. Rear-eject truck bodies allow operators to use an effective layering technique, which speeds up the melting process. The layering technique is based on the order different scrap densities are loaded into the truck body.

For example, operators place light material in the front, the densest materials in the middle and additional light material in the back. When the ejector body empties into the charge bucket, the material maintains that ideal order for melting. The charge bucket empties the scrap into an electric arc furnace where the light material melts quickly and forms a liquid pool of melted steel surrounding the dense material, helping to break it down faster. Traditional dump bodies empty scrap all at once, reducing the opportunity for optimal melting mixes and practically eliminating layering techniques as the material churns as it empties from the body. Ejector bodies also allow operators to control the speed at which the material is released into the charging bucket, protecting the bucket from damage caused by scrap entering too fast.

With the layering technique that rear eject technology allows, an operation can reduce its overall tap-to-tap time, or electric arc furnace operating cycle. While most operations aim for a tap-to-tap cycle time of 60 minutes, some layering techniques have reduced the cycle time to 51 minutes or better. This means the operation has the potential to produce roughly four more taps in a 24-hour day, increasing productivity and profits by 15% without increasing labour or equipment expenses.

Once the body is empty, a truck with a rear eject body can quickly return to the scrap yard without the one- or two-minute January/February 2017

handling Phil.indd 2

delay of waiting for the truck bed to lower.

The ejector blade and tailgate return to the load-ready position as the truck drives away. In addition to convenience, rear-eject technology offers enhanced safety. If a rushed operator fails to wait for the truck bed to completely lower, there is increased potential of harm to the driver, the truck and the structure of the mill should the raised body hit an overhead obstacle, such as a door or other piece of equipment.

The right measurements No two operations are the same, especially when it comes to the charge bucket placement, dimensions or volumetric size.

As the charge bucket’s size is determined by the capacity and optimal tap-to-tap times of the furnace, pairing the right number of haul trucks to the operation is critical.

Since all charge bucket sizes are unique between mills, it makes sense to have a custom-sized truck body feeding it. This helps an operation reduce the number of trips to the scrap yard because the body size is designed to fill the charge bucket in as few loads as possible. When a manufacturer is willing to work on-site with a mini-mill operator or scrap handling contractor, custom designs go a long way in maximising efficiency. Factors like the charge bucket size, placement and whether the charge bucket sits on a dolly and moves to a hoisting position or raises directly from its pit all play a role in the truck body design. It is important to consider height and width restrictions within the mill, door dimensions and the trucks’ path for moving in and out of the mill.

Some mills incorporate funnels at the top of the charge buckets to help prevent scrap from overshooting the bucket. Scrap that misses the charge bucket often builds

up in a pit around the bucket and requires additional labour to clean up, or can lead to thousands of dollars in damages and repair costs. To combat this issue, some manufacturers custom-design truck body tailgates to incorporate funnels, minimising the risk of equipment damage and further customising the solution to the mill’s requirements.

Ditch the downtime Every second counts in an operation in terms of profitability. That’s why downtime isn’t an option when making steel. Purchasing equipment with minimal maintenance requirements makes upkeep simple and reduces costly downtime.

Custom body manufacturers know that fewer moving parts mean minimal breakdowns and maximum uptime. Look for models with low-maintenance hydraulic controls and a mechanical tailgate that opens and closes based on the ejector blade’s location without using additional hydraulics. Also look for a design that has no grease points as well as ejector body technology that doesn’t require ejector blade or tailgate electrical or hydraulic locking mechanisms. Some manufacturers even incorporate ejector guides inside the body, which provide smooth operation and eliminate rollers that frequently break or bind. At a replacement cost of as much as $1,000 per roller or bearing, the potential savings with a roller- and bearing-free design is huge.

When a body is custom-designed for scrap hauling, there’s no guessing game on how long it will last. Every aspect from the floor structure to the ejector system considers the application and maximum load capacities, ensuring longevity so that businesses know they’re investing in a machine designed to work with them for years to come. In fact, some scrap bodies last more than 20 years.

A solid review Urbanspoon, Yelp and others are the go-to resource for some when deciding where to go for dinner. That’s because reviews matter and that isn’t exclusive to the service industry. Check out the manufacturer’s website, industry blogs, articles and social media sites before purchasing custom equipment with rear eject technology to see what its customers are saying.

The right equipment is the secret ingredient leading to increased ROI. � www.steeltimesint.com

18/01/2017 12:13:55

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HANDLING

Handle w

There’s a lot more to materials handling than just moving loads around a facility and companies that delve more deeply into this issue – often with the help and advice of experts – can make substantial improvements to their overall operations when it comes to enhancing safety, making cost savings and using available space in the most efficient way. In the steel sector, where many of the raw materials and finished products can typically be long, unwieldy and potentially dangerous, there is more focus than ever on getting this aspect of the business as watertight as possible.

ONE company that has made a difference to countless steel producers and stockholders around the world is the Irish specialist forklift and straddle carrier manufacturer Combilift. Although a relative newcomer in the materials handling sector, the company made its mark when it launched the world’s first ic engine powered, all-wheel drive multidirectional forklift – the Combilift C4000 – in 1998. It has since gone on to develop a wide range of products and has sold over 35,500 units which are exported to more than 75 countries. A sizeable percentage of Combilift models are working in the steel industry for familiar names such as ArcelorMittal, Tata, Gerdau, and ThyssenKrupp.

Manual handling of heavy loads and the risk that this poses is a practice that is now pretty much confined to the past, but statistics show that there is still an average of 1,500 injury accidents involving fork lift trucks every year. Safer offloading and movement of loads was, therefore, a key issue for Combilift’s developers in the early days – and the ability to travel sideways with very long loads resting safely on the platform of the C 4000 avoids risky

high-level manoeuvres around obstacles for greatly enhanced health and safety practices. Subsequent Combilift models, such as the Straddle Carrier and stand-on forklifts, incorporate design features to ensure maximum safety at any stage of operations.

AJN Steelstock uses a fleet of 55 multidirectional Combilifts across its two sites in East Anglia and Somerset in the UK and safety was a major factor for joint managing director Alan Boyden when he chose the trucks. “We originally changed from counterbalance models to Combilifts to ensure safe as well as space saving manoevering of our long products at the East Anglia site – moving 18m beams with a counterbalance truck is not ideal from many points of view. The Combilifts make a valuable contribution to our aim to establish and maintain the highest standards of health and safety performance within our industry.”

The number of forklift movements also has a direct correlation with the risk of incidents, and structural steel fabricator Frank H. Dale, based in Herefordshire, UK, has tackled this potential hazard by replacing sideloaders with a Combilift

January/February 2017

handling combilift.indd 1

17/01/2017 10:31:22

HANDLING

e with care

41

Straddle Carrier (Combi-SC). Managing Director Paul Read calculates that this has cut the number of forklift movements by thousands a year as the SC can pick up a ready assembled load of steelwork in one lift compared with the multiple individual lifts required with the sideloaders. Further benefits of this system are a reduced environmental impact and a massive boost in productivity: it used to take two operatives a whole shift to rebuild a load onto an HGV with sideloaders – this can now be done in less than an hour.

More effective use of available space can also lead to substantial costs savings – avoiding the need for disruptive relocation, for example, when the volume of stock increases. By replacing old electric trucks with 3t capacity multi-directional Combilifts and making use of Combilift’s free warehouse layout and planning service, ThyssenKrupp Energostal S.A in Poland increased the capacity in its 22,000m² steel tube and pipe storage area by over 40%.

Combilift design engineers provided a sample layout of racking to illustrate optimum use of the space and also advised introducing a guided aisle system, which was not possible when using the previous trucks. Aisle widths between racking for 6m long stillages of tubes and pipes have now been pared down to little more than the width of the truck itself, enabling just over 130 extra storage bays to be incorporated.

“The volume of goods we handle means that we need to exploit every inch of space,” said director Tomasz Groszyk. “With this system we can now carry a maximum of stock and ensure a quick turnaround for our customers.”

Structural steelwork contractors and fabricator Caunton Engineering’s CombiSC has enabled aisle widths between stacked product in the yard to be set at just 1m, compared to the 3.5m previously needed for manoeuvring forklifts. The space this has created makes it much easier for Caunton to deal with any delays in customers’ projects without impacting on their own production schedules. Production director Mark White: “Our ability to store finished products was limited in the past if customers had to put back delivery, but the extra capacity avoids on-site congestion.

The availability of additional storage space also allows us to buy in steel when the price is advantageous and stored for later use.”

January/February 2017

handling combilift.indd 2

17/01/2017 10:31:25

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HANDLING

Paul Read of Frank H. Dale concurs: “We prefer to fabricate and load on a ‘just in time’ basis, but if customers put back a project, which happens quite frequently, steelwork has to be stored outside. We can stack loads closely side-by-side on the ground, and the SC’s ability to traverse aisles of just 1650mm potentially doubles our storage space compared with the side loader system – a major advantage as the 12-acre site is pretty much full to capacity.

We no longer have the headache of where to accommodate the material or of tying up lots of trailers and having to hire additional ones at extra cost.” This has also brought further benefits as Paul Read explains: “To be able to target very large projects you need to have a reserve of processed steel up front and we are now in a great position to be able to do this.”

Moving to new premises does not automatically guarantee an abundance of space, which was the experience of Paul Mahmood, production director of Chesterfield, UK-based TM Steels, a steel stockholder to the gas, oil and engineering sectors. “Even with the 50,000m² on the new site we knew we would quickly near capacity so space saving was high on the agenda when we were sourcing a new truck. We also needed a versatile piece of handling equipment as there is no such thing as a standard-sized product in our range.”

“In fact the warehouse design, racking configuration, layout of the external racking, even the concreting of the yard were all based around the capabilities, dimensions and turning circle of the very bespoke Combilift that we ordered,” adds Paul.

The 12t capacity, diesel powered truck is not only powerful enough to lift 6m

43

long 10t bars to the top racking height of 6.35m, but has also cut the time needed for offloading an HGV from an hour down to just 10 minutes. In spite of its size, its fourway manoeuvrability enables it to access tight spots in and around the premises.

The chassis bed was modified to enable guided aisle operation in one of the warehouses. Guide rollers on a truck of this size are relatively unusual, but enable aisle widths to be set at 2885mm for maximum storage capacity. Other customised features include an integrated fork spreader beam, which is wider than the truck bed to give additional stability when moving the heaviest bars, and a mast travel stop facility which prevents forks over extending to the adjacent racking.

The need to handle ever longer loads in some sectors has also required a rethink of handling procedures for some operations. At Edward Howell Galvanisers in Wednesbury, UK, the move towards galvanising longer lengths had positive effects but also threw up other issues.

Director Malcolm Wright explains. “We can offer a more cost-effective service by increasing the size of the pre-treatment tanks and galvanising kettles, which are now 10.25m long compared to the old 7m kettles. But this means that our finished materials are longer than ever and we needed to find a method of moving them safely around the site and also in and out of

access doorways. Inch-by-inch manoeuvring of long and heavy loads through a relatively narrow side door with counterbalance trucks was not satisfactory and overhead cranes were discounted due to the need for disruptive structural alterations.”

Higher ground clearance The C5000XL diesel model from Combilift’s range was considered to be the best for Edward Howell’s requirements. With a 5t capacity and a 600mm load centre, it copes with the heaviest loads handled and features a large cab and higher ground clearance; it was also supplied with hydraulic fork positioners which make for easy handling of varied load sizes. Combilift also supplied a customised tapered platform, which prevents round bars or similar products from rolling.

Combilift is investing £40 million in a new manufacturing facility and global HQ on a greenfield site in Monaghan, Ireland.

Work is now well under way on the new 46,000m² factory, which will be operational in 2017 and which is more than double the size of both current plants. The multifunction facility will house a dedicated R&D building, purpose-built testing areas as well as administrative offices. This expansion will create a further 200 jobs, mainly for skilled technicians and design engineers. � www.combilift.com

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handling combilift.indd 3

January/February 2017

17/01/2017 10:31:28

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DANIELI CENTRO CRANES SAFE AND RELIABLE HIGH-TECH CRANES FOR THE METALS INDUSTRY

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FUTURE

The Future Steel Forum will look at how innovative technology can be brought together with the sole intention of revolutionising the way steel is made.

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have an impressive line-up of speakers “ You covering a broad range of topics ”

Applying Industry 4.0 to the steel industry

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Key presentations confirmed

What is Industry 4.0 and how can it assist the global steel industry in its quest for greater efficiencies? Two questions, among many others, that will be answered by the experts at the Future Steel Forum in Warsaw in June 2017.

The Future Steel Forum is a live discussion

Speakers from academia, the steel industry

of the issues surrounding Industry 4.0 or

and the world of steel production technology

‘smart manufacturing’ and will endeavour to

will explain the key concepts behind the

cover all bases, including the all-important

digitalisation of steel manufacturing. Myths

subject of cyber security, the role of human

will be exploded, ideas challenged and

beings in the factory of the future, how to

terminology explained.

survive a cyber attack and the all-important process safety and control.

See full details online at www.FutureSteelForum.com

FROM THE PUBLISHER OF STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL Official Media Partner

www.FutureSteelForum.com

FSF_17_DPS_Ad.indd 2-3

Voestalpine’s Special Steel Division – One Step Ahead in Digitising Processes in the Metals Industry, by Dr. Michael Eder, global chief digital officer, Voestalpine.

ArcelorMittal and Digital Manufacturing – A Global Perspective by Pinakin Chaubal, General Manager, ArcelorMittal Global R&D.

• Save £200 when you register by 28th February • Further Discounts available for groups of 5 or more For further conference information and details of early bird delegate discounts, log on to www.futuresteelforum.com

Optimising the Plants of the Future,

by Karine Grosse, Chief Digital Officer, Industry of the Future, Fives.

How Industry 4.0 Can Save Steelmakers Money

by Jane Zavalishina, CEO, Yandex Data Factory Papers and discussion panels will also be presented by SAP, KPMG, Danieli Automation, Primetals Technologies, SMS group, PSI and Quinlogic and more.

Organised by:

Limited sponsorship and exhibition opportunities also still available.

19/01/2017 10:45

FUTURE

The Future Steel Forum will look at how innovative technology can be brought together with the sole intention of revolutionising the way steel is made.

STEEL FORUM

DON’T MISS OUT – PUT THE DATES IN YOUR DIARY NOW AND VISIT WWW.FUTURESTEELFORUM.COM TO FIND OUT

2017 14-15 JUNE • SHERATON WARSAW HOTEL • WARSAW

MORE AND REGISTER FOR YOUR DELEGATE PASS.

have an impressive line-up of speakers “ You covering a broad range of topics ”

Applying Industry 4.0 to the steel industry

Dr. Rizwan A Janjua, Head, Technology, World Steel Association

EARLYBIRD BOOKING DISCOUNT

Key presentations confirmed

What is Industry 4.0 and how can it assist the global steel industry in its quest for greater efficiencies? Two questions, among many others, that will be answered by the experts at the Future Steel Forum in Warsaw in June 2017.

The Future Steel Forum is a live discussion

Speakers from academia, the steel industry

of the issues surrounding Industry 4.0 or

and the world of steel production technology

‘smart manufacturing’ and will endeavour to

will explain the key concepts behind the

cover all bases, including the all-important

digitalisation of steel manufacturing. Myths

subject of cyber security, the role of human

will be exploded, ideas challenged and

beings in the factory of the future, how to

terminology explained.

survive a cyber attack and the all-important process safety and control.

See full details online at www.FutureSteelForum.com

FROM THE PUBLISHER OF STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL Official Media Partner

www.FutureSteelForum.com

FSF_17_DPS_Ad.indd 2-3

Voestalpine’s Special Steel Division – One Step Ahead in Digitising Processes in the Metals Industry, by Dr. Michael Eder, global chief digital officer, Voestalpine.

ArcelorMittal and Digital Manufacturing – A Global Perspective by Pinakin Chaubal, General Manager, ArcelorMittal Global R&D.

• Save £200 when you register by 28th February • Further Discounts available for groups of 5 or more For further conference information and details of early bird delegate discounts, log on to www.futuresteelforum.com

Optimising the Plants of the Future,

by Karine Grosse, Chief Digital Officer, Industry of the Future, Fives.

How Industry 4.0 Can Save Steelmakers Money

by Jane Zavalishina, CEO, Yandex Data Factory Papers and discussion panels will also be presented by SAP, KPMG, Danieli Automation, Primetals Technologies, SMS group, PSI and Quinlogic and more.

Organised by:

Limited sponsorship and exhibition opportunities also still available.

19/01/2017 10:45

48

PERSPECTIVES: MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION

There’s optimism in the air Dudley Boden, president and CEO of Magnetic Analysis Corporation, believes the steel industry is at the beginning of a recovery. Activity levels in the OCTG sector are beginning to increase and, despite the obvious challenges presented by the current economic and geopolitical climate, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

1. How are things going at MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION? Is the steel industry keeping you busy?

For Magnetic Analysis there is no question that the combined impact of oil price collapse, Russian sanctions and Chinese steel overcapacity has made the last couple of years challenging.

That said, because MAC provides virtually all segments of the steel industry with test instruments and systems, the strength in automotive and other segments has helped us through this difficult time.

The one benefit that we have gleaned from this slowdown is that we have been able to focus on new technology development, introducing new ultrasonic phased array, AC Flux Leakage, and expanding our rotary eddy current and ultrasonic product lines.

2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry?

From the activity that we are seeing it appears that we are at the beginning of a recovery. Many markets now have in place some level of protection for their local steel industry which has mitigated the effects of Chinese exports and with oil prices firming, activity levels in the OCTG sector are beginning to increase.

3. In which sector of the steel industry does MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION mostly conduct its business?

Our products cut across most major segments including: automotive, aerospace, power, oil and gas and we test product in the form of tube, pipe, bar, wire and parts.

4. Where in the world are you busiest at present?

We have a lot of activity in the US and India in particular although we are seeing indications that other regions may be coming back to life.

Dudley Boden

6. Where do you stand on the aluminium versus steel argument?

As a testing equipment manufacturer, we sell systems to test both aluminium and steel (as well as other metals) so we are largely neutral when it comes to this debate. I think that this can be compared to the ultrasonic phased array versus rotary ultrasonic debate I just referred to. There will be a considerable number of issues to consider in making this choice and each situation will be unique and potentially lead to a different answer at any given time.

7. It is always claimed that aluminium is the ‘greener’ metal when compared to steel. What’s your view?

Again, it is not an issue that my company has a particular stand on. I would only say that this issue has to be looked at in totality, taking into account all sources of pollution from source to use.

5. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are currently working on?

We are currently in the middle of a large project with multiple lines of phased array ultrasonic testers in Italy with Acciaierie Venete. These systems are for testing large round and square bar. The interesting thing is that we are replacing some ultrasonic rotaries with these systems.

MAC is now in a unique position of manufacturing both phased array and rotary UT systems so we can offer whichever technology best fits the needs of the customer.

8. “…any hint of doubt when it comes to predictions of climate doom is evidence of greed, stupidity, moral turpitude or psychological derangement.” This is a quote from

*President and CEO of Magnetic Analysis Corporation January/February 2017

Perspective VERSION 2s.indd 1

18/01/2017 11:28:02

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50

PERSPECTIVES: MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION

Bret Stephens writing in The Wall Street Journal. Do you sympathise with his view?

I would only say that with the abundance of scientific evidence, to deny that man is having a negative impact on the environment is a bit myopic.

9. In fact, talking of ‘green issues’ and emissions control, how is the steel industry performing in this respect?

This is not an area of expertise for me.

10. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? If so, what can you offer them?

Since our products do not go into the actual production cycle we do not get involved in these types of issues.

11. Where does MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION lead the field in terms of steel production technology?

MAC has always focused on providing the most sensitive and appropriate testing technology for the job at hand which gives our customers the quality they require while minimising losses created by over testing to compensate for inconsistent or inadequate testing systems. MAC is one of the only companies that can offer eddy current, flux leakage, traditional ultrasonic and phased array ultrasonic technologies, which ensure that we get our customers the best technology or combination of technologies for the job.

12. What is your view on digital manufacturing and the importance of Industry 4.0 for the steel industry?

The more information companies have about their processes and performance the better their decisions can be, so although there is a long way to go in most cases to get to a totally connected factory, in the long run it is bound to have a major impact on all manufacturing.

13. How do you view MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION’s development over the short-tomedium term in relation to the global steel industry?

MAC is focusing on strengthening its presence in developing markets and filling in our product line to ensure that we do not have any critical gaps. At the same time MAC will stay with its traditional strength of offering flexibility and unparalleled service and support to customers around the world. What has sustained our business since 1928 will continue to be our foundation in the future.

14. In a similar fashion to the aluminium industry, China dominates global crude steel production and is accountable for almost half of total production. How should the industry react to this situation?

Although I am not big on protectionism in general, I think that this is the only means to force capacity reduction in China and prevent the decimation of the steel industry around the world.

15. The Chinese still rely heavily upon Western steel production technology.

What is MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION’s experience of the Chinese steel industry?

Our experience has been that there are really two different Chinese steel markets.

The private companies that sell exclusively within China, who are under great pressure from the government and who have traditionally bought the cheapest, often locally made equipment.

The other side of the coin is the large state-owned companies that, in our experience, buy the latest technology from all over the world and intend to compete with world class providers.

16. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward and what challenges face global producers in the short-to-medium term?

Although we see some indication of stabilisation in the global market there is bound to be continued consolidation for a while before there can be a significant upturn. It will take China quite a while to squeeze capacity out of their industry as they are currently not willing to make aggressive moves in this area.

However, if the US economy continues to strengthen to the point that it can start to pull up other economies around the world we could see a more rapid recovery.

17. What exhibitions and conferences will MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION be attending in 2017?

We’re exhibiting at Fabtech 2017 in Chicago and some regional conference/ shows sponsored by tube and pipe organisations.

18. MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION is based in the USA, but how is the steel industry performing on both sides of the pond?

Relative to Europe and the US, Europe is certainly struggling between Brexit, which in my opinion caused all of Europe to be slow to put any protection for the steel industry in place, and the general state of their economy. The US is one of our better markets although OCTG still has not recovered.

19. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night?

For MAC since we serve all metals markets, it is trying to anticipate which market and what geographies are going to experience growth in the coming years and what ones are going to be slow.

In addition we have to concern ourselves with the quality standards that are used in all of these segments and what changes might occur.

20. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry?

The one thing that I would do if I had the power would be to make China’s overcapacity disappear. �

www.steeltimesint.com

Perspective VERSION 2s.indd 2

18/01/2017 11:28:03

UNCOMPROMISINGLY

DIFFERENT Experience a new chapter in DKD CNC

52

HISTORY

Railway Mania!

After the Rainhill Trials of 1830 the government committed itself to a project of civil engineering on a scale that has never been matched since. By Harry Hodson* THE man chosen to oversee this enormous task was Robert Stephenson (1803 – 1859).

Robert worked alongside his father George at their Newcastle locomotive works as a mechanical engineer – but he was soon to become world renowned as a civil engineer as Great Britain embarked on a programme of ‘railway mania’. There were many others who were eager to join in this grand scheme and Robert Stephenson would have to keep a watchful eye on them. The government could not entirely afford to finance a nationwide network so public subscriptions were called for.

This led to a number of companies setting themselves up as ‘railway agents’ whose sole aim was to raise money from selling shares to the public. Rich and poor alike subscribed to the scheme, which was more or less guaranteed to make a good return on their money. This in turn led to a few individuals setting themselves up as ‘railway contractors’ who were more than willing to provide labour and materials. The leaders among these were Samuel Morton Peto, Thomas Brassey, and George Hudson – better known as the ‘railway king’. Robert Stephenson and Thomas Brassey cooperated with each other when the need arose. On the other hand George Hudson began to tarnish his reputation when he was found to have been involved in the wrongful use of shareholders money.

The road to Ireland Robert Stephenson was now in a position, and backed by the government, to spend money on a grand scale to create a network of railways throughout Great Britain. This was much too great a task for one man to oversee, but he would soon be joined by others. It was the government’s wish to

connect Ireland to the British rail network, which would present Stephenson with the greatest problems of his entire career.

As the west coast main line progressed northwards a connection was made to North Wales from Chester to Llandudno Junction, via Bangor and Conwy. This would give access to the Isle of Anglesey to reach the port of Holyhead. It was exactly the same route that Thomas Telford had chosen when he built the A6 road to Holyhead in 1826. Stephenson’s first great task was to bridge the stretch of water at Conwy. Telford had done this with a chain suspension bridge, but it was only designed for road traffic. Stephenson had previously made a study of a rectangular wrought iron box tube 24 metres in length on a 1/6th scale of what was required to span the River Conwy. The tube was weight loaded and tested for deflection under the direction of mathematician Eaton Hodkinson and engineer William Fairbairn. The tests proved satisfactory and two 70m tubes were constructed to span the River Conwy.

The Britannia Tubes Robert Stephenson spent many sleepless nights after he surveyed the treacherous stretch of water of the Menai Straights.

He spoke to his colleagues “The tubes, the tubes, I go to bed with them and awaken with them”, knowing the enormity of making them and raising them. He took heart from the presence of Thomas Telford’s suspension bridge which had made the crossing in 1826. Two short spans of 70 metres and two long spans of 140 metres, eight tubes being required to accommodate both lines were constructed on site, using a total of 9,000 tons of wrought iron. The tubes were floated

and raised onto their admiralty regulation towers of 100 feet using hydraulic jacks.

The centre spans each weighing 1,500 tons were raised in two days.

A group of eminent engineers witnessed this operation, among them I K Brunel who was there at Stephenson’s request.

Both men were rivals in business, but on friendly terms, and could learn from each other. This particular visit would give Brunel the knowledge and experience for raising his Cornwall Tamar Bridge. The Britannia Tubular Bridge was opened for rail traffic in March 1850, it was the largest construction of bridge building until the Tay and Forth rail bridges 40 years later. The years 18451850 may well have had an effect on Stephenson’s health. Through this period he was also involved with the design and construction of his high level bridge across the River Tyne at Newcastle. This was a difficult undertaking requiring a few years of excavating and piling to establish a firm foundation on the riverbed. Further to this, a failed cast iron bridge causing two fatalities landed him in court on a charge of manslaughter. He later proved that his plans to strengthen the bridge had not been properly carried out.

In these same years there were still a few railway companies not conforming to the standard railway gauge, this was another problem he had to sort out. He managed to do this with the exception of the GWR, which held onto Brunel’s 7 feet gauge until 1892. These two giants of railway building died within weeks of each other in 1859 at the very beginning of the new age of steel. In accordance with his wishes, Robert Stephenson was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside his great mentor Thomas Telford. �

* The author is a former employee of John Grundy Ltd. January/February 2017

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