MPT International 1/2014 (Feb)

Page 1

Metallurgical Plant and Technology G 25074

ISSN 0935-7254

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February 2014

10 years PQFÂŽ technology: international symposium on tube and pipe production technology

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EDITORIAL

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Challenges ahead “To optimize efficiency, flexibility and operational costs” – this is how the authors of Badische Stahl Engineering summarize their article on scrap yard layouts published in this issue of MPT International. At the same time, these few words characterize a task which is both fundamental and pressing and which the steel industry is tackling with strong determination. Last October, the World Steel Association had forecast a continued recovery in global steel demand for 2014. This cautious optimism goes hand in hand with a strong hope for a growing economic recovery in the key economic regions. Therefore, it is not surprising that the other articles in this issue also deal with the topics of efficiency, flexibility and operational costs. Siemens reports about a new converter technology ready for the market. The “Jet Process” shall make it possible to significantly increase scrap and pig iron rates in the converter. This shall enable operators of meltshops to respond to changing raw material supply and exploit short-term price fluctuations for scrap, DRI and hot metal. Siemens has developed a converter with bottom blowing equipment that supplies additional chemical energy necessary to maintain the temperature of the steel bath. This new technology has been successfully in operation at an Asian steel works since the middle of last year.

Dipl.-Ing. Arnt Hannewald

We also feature an article about the upgraded meltshop of the Italian steelmaker Ferriere Nord (Pittini group). Last year in October, a group of journalists had the opportunity to visit the plant and get a hands-on impression of its performance capability. It is really breathtaking to see at what high speed and perfection this 150 t EAF performs the charging, melting and tapping operations. The fact alone that this plant achieves 32 heats per day on average promises optimized efficiency and operational costs. While such impressive developments are taking place in the industry, I’d like to briefly add that we have also given our journal an overhaul. In the last few years, we initiated various activities in the field of online publishing to be up to date with the social-media era. MPT International has an iPad app, and our state-of-the-art e-paper version can be read on all mobile platforms and desktop devices; MPT is on Twitter. We thought that now the time was ripe to also give the print version an update. Despite the enhanced look and feel of the new layout introduced with this issue, the journal maintains its familiar proven structure. Enjoy reading the news and articles provided in a new design.

MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› CONTENTS

Editorial 3

Challenges ahead To optimize efficiency, flexibility and operational cost is one task wich the steel industry is tackling this year

Events 24

Symposium on tube and pipe production technology Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the PQFÂŽ technology, SMS Meer hosted an international symposium in MĂśnchengladbach, Germany, in September 2013

Cover photo: 16� PQFŽ seamless tube plant at 85$ 8CNNQWTGE 5WOKVQOQ $TC\KN Contact: www.sms-meer.com E-mail: serviceline24@sms-meer.com

Material flow logistics 26

Analysis of scrap yard layouts to optimize GHĆ‚EKGPE[ ĆƒGZKDKNKV[ CPF QRGTCVKQPCN EQUV Production figures and operational costs of minimills highly depend on the scrap storage policy

Innovation

Steelmaking

34

36

Jet process converters to be operated even without hot metal charge Siemens has developed a bottom-blowing converter that makes it possible to blow in oxygen, lime and coal through bottom tuyeres

Lifting systems for RH-type vacuum degassing plants For dipping the snorkels into the heat, various types of lifting equipment have been developed to match the request for short cycle times and highly efficient vacuum treatment

Modernization 48

Successful start-up of the new EAF at (GTTKGTG 0QTF +VCN[ In order to improve the melting process and optimize maintenance operations, the Italian steelmaker has replaced the existing EAF within only 38 days

Professional development 56

TECademy provides professional trainings for plant operators SMS Siemag has founded an international seminar and training academy for the global metallurgical and rolling mill industry

MPT International 1/ 2014

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ThyssenKrupp restarts hot strip mill No. 1 after major upgrade Following more than two years of work and 240 million euros investment, the upgraded plant is now back in full operation

36

48

54

56

Columns 8

International industry news

68

Literature service

58

Technical innovations

70

In the next issue

67

Cartoon

70

Imprint

Advertisers’ index ABB AB 66 Association for Iron & Steel Technology 14 Aumund Fördertechnik GmbH 59 Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH 39 C.M.P. Officine Meccaniche Srl 63 CIEC China International Exhibition Corporation 55 Danieli Automation Spa 23 Danieli S.P.A. 4, 5 Fives DMS 25 Edwards 12 Evertz Hydrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG 55 Fabris InC. 51 FC Technik AG 10

G.P.S. Engineering Srl O.B.C. Guild International Inc. 47 KOCH H&K Industrieanlagen GmbH 22 HEITRONICS Infrarot Messtechnik GmbH 17 hpl-Neugnadenfelder Maschinenfabrik GmbH 64 Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co. KG 9 Maschinenfabrik Köppern GmbH & Co.KG 56 LAP GmbH 11 Lechler GmbH 57 Loesche GmbH 31 LOI Thermprocess GmbH 27 Messe Düsseldorf GmbH 21, 33, 58 , 60, 65

Metal Expo, JSC Morgardshammar AB Pert srl Plakoma GmbH Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH

71 53 29 45 43

Siempelkamp Maschinen -und Anlagenbau GmbH & Co.KG SMS Meer GmbH

35 I.F.C.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions GmbH TMEIC - Toshiba Mitsubishi PAUL WURTH S.A. Z & J Technologies GmbH Zumbach Electronic AG

41 13 19, 20 61, 62 15

MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS News in brief

The Americas

GTS Industries, France, has officially been trading as Dillinger France since the beginning of this year. This name change underlines the successful integration of GTS Industries into the Dillinger Hütte group.

Brazil

Nucor, USA, successfully started up production at its DRI facility in St. James Parish, Louisiana. JSW Steel, India, brought on stream the new single-strand slab caster at its Toranagallu steelworks. The caster was supplied by Siemens Metals Technologies. It has an annual production capacity of 1.4 million t. ArcelorMittal Ostrava, Czech Republic, has commissioned its continuous casting facility following modernization. The caster can now make up to 400-mmdia. round billets, compared to max. 210 mm before the upgrade. Dongbei Special Steel, China, has successfully commissioned an 80/100-MN open-die forging press, supplied by SMS Meer, at its works in Dalian. Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel, China, has started up a Shapeline Flex flatness measurement system at the new production line for quenched and tempered heavy steel plates. Taiyuan Heavy Industry Railway Transit Equipment, China, has brought on stream a wheel rolling line supplied by SMS Meer. The line is designed to produce 350,000 railway wheels per year. JSC Vyksa, Russia, has successfully commissioned a new gap-closing press from SMS Meer, as part of a modernization of its large-diameter pipe production line.

MPT International 1/ 2014

Gerdau to expand operations. Jointly with the government of Minas Gerais, Gerdau is to make major investments in expanding its iron ore mining operations. With these investments, Gerdau will expand its annual iron ore processing capacity to 24 million t by 2020. The investments involve the expansion of the second ore treatment unit, which should be completed by the end of 2016, and the construction of a new unit in this segment that should begin operating by the end of 2020. Gerdau will also build a unit to produce and distribute flat steel, a segment in which it began production this year with the start-up of the rolling mill to produce hot rolled coil at Ouro Branco mill.

Brazil CSS has ordered rolling mill equipment. Posco E&C was awarded the contract worth US$ 600 million to build the rolling mill complex on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) basis for the Companhia Siderúrgica Suape (CSS) project. The US$ 860 million investment will be erected at the Suape Industrial and Port Complex in the Recife area (PE), north-east of Brazil. The rolling mills will be designed for an annual output of 0.8 million t of flat steel products (hot rolled strip and cold rolled strip). Posco E&C will supply the equipment for the hot strip mill and the cold rolling mill, including auxiliary equipment, and provide installation and construction work.

USA Cold rolling mill for Alcoa Tennessee. SMS Siemag will supply an X-Roll® cold rolling mill for the Alcoa Tennessee plant outside Knoxville. The new rolling mill is to satisfy the increasing demand for quality grade aluminium sheet in the automotive

market. Alcoa has assigned SMS Siemag as key equipment supplier for the Tennessee expansion. In addition to the mechanical equipment complete with media systems, the new cold mill will be equipped with the SMS Siemag X-Pact® electrical and automation systems, including the associated actuating and control systems. SMS Siemag will supply comprehensive environmental technology for the purification of air and fluids, i.e. a Multi-Plate® filter for rolling oil cleaning and an Airwash™ system for exhaust air purification.

USA Tenaris orders seamless tube plant. SMS Meer will supply a PQF® plant for the Bay City site in Texas. The BCO-type plant will produce tubes in the size range of up to dia. 9 5/8”. Its annual capacity will be 600,000 t. With this new plant, Tenaris will be able to meet the increased demand for precise, high-strength OCTG tubes among others for shale-gas extraction. Commissioning is scheduled for 2016.

USA Auxiliary equipment for Benteler’s Louisiana site. Benteler Steel/Tube is building a new hot-rolling seamless steel tube mill in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The facility will be built in two phases. The first phase is a hot-rolling tube mill, along with several finishing lines, for the production of seamless tubes. (Phase 2 includes building an electric arc furnace for producing high-quality steel on-site.) A quench and temper line for the tube mill will be supplied by SMS Elotherm. It will consist of inductive austenitizing and equalizing sections, the quenching station and the associated transport roller tables and cooling beds. The line will be designed to treat pipes with different wall thicknesses at a throughput of up to 15 t/h. Just three flexible multi-zone converters with a total installed power of around 10 MW individually control the eight zones of the austenitizing and annealing section. The line is scheduled to go into operation in the second half of 2015.

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››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

For non-destructive testing the hot rolled tubes, Benteler will use systems from Dr. Foerster. These systems will include a Circoson WT ultrasonic measurement system with rotating probe and all associated mechanical and automation equipment. Foerster will perform the software integration of all test instruments into the Benteler finishing lines.

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ArcelorMittal to reopen longproduct finishing facility. ArcelorMittal will reopen ArcelorMittal Harriman, a long-product finishing facility located in Harriman, Tennessee. ArcelorMittal expects the equipment to be fully operational by April 2014. The facility, which closed in 2011 due to poor market conditions, receives billets from ArcelorMittal LaPlace, Louisiana, reheats them and rolls them into light structural shapes and merchant bars for the construction market. The reopening will enhance ArcelorMittal’s long product portfolio.

USA International Crankshaft to build new forging press line. International Crankshaft Inc. (ICI), a jointventure subsidiary of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation, decided to build a new forging press line for its crankshaft production. ICI currently runs three forging press lines at full capacity. With the fourth line, ICI’s annual capacity will grow from currently 2.7 million crankshafts to 4 million.

Asia China C. D. Wälzholz to upgrade site in Shanghai. C. D. Wälzholz is extending its present service centre in Taicang (Shanghai) to become a fullfledged cold rolling mill. In the first step, the hall space of Waelzholz New MPT International 1/ 2014

Material Co., Ltd. will be extended to 10,000 m2 offering jobs for 200 employees. Until now the location was used to store steel strip delivered from Europe, to cut it and to supply the customers with the material. With the extension of the location, C. D. Wälzholz enters a new development phase. A four-high rolling stand as well as several high-convection batch annealing units will start production in 2014 together with the slitting and cut-to-length lines already used at the plant. After completion, the company will be able to supply the Asian market with a sales volume of up to 70,000 t/year.

Vietnam Formosa Ha Tinh to install billet inspection line. SMS Logistiksysteme will supply a billet inspection line for the new fully integrated steelworks of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation. The order was placed by Taiwanese Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, a company of the Formosa Plastics Group. The line is scheduled to be put on stream in October 2015. This investment is the customer’s response to growing quality requirements in the sectors of bar steel and wire. In a fully automatic process, the line will inspect rolled billets for inside as well as outside defects which will subsequently be remedied by grinding with pinpoint precision.

Australia BHP Billiton to install new shiploaders. BHP Billiton will replace two shiploaders at the Nelson Point port operations in Port Hedland to increase the reliability of the inner harbour port facilities. Each shiploader has a loading capacity of 12,500 t/h. The existing shiploaders, which are more than 40 years old, currently load iron ore at a rate of approximately 10,000 t/h. This investment will also create additional port capacity that can be utilized as a series of debottlenecking initiatives. Commissioning of the two replacement shiploaders is scheduled for the second half of 2014.

INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

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11 BOOTH B13/7A

Europe

troduced to improve productivity and the data processing and telecommunications infrastructure will be modernized.

Austria Voestalpine Austria Draht to build new rolling mill. Voestalpine Austria Draht has ordered a 500,000 t/ year rolling mill for special steel wire rod and bar-in-coil from the Danieli Morgårdshammar Bar & Wire Division. Based on a 150 t/h capacity reheating furnace, the H3 Danieli Morgårdshammar plant will be capable of rolling 150 mm x 150 mm x 18,000 mm billets for the production of wire rod from 5 to 25 mm dia., with the option of 4.5 mm, and coiled rounds from 18 to 60 mm dia. in various special steel grades. The supply will include an induction furnace supplied by Danieli Automation and a second water-pressure descaler for secondary scale removal ahead of the intermediate mill entry. A bar-incoil line will be installed for the production of up to 60 mm dia. products. Sund-Birsta will supply the complete handling systems for both the wire rod and the bar-in-coil lines. Danieli Automation will install the level 1 system and integrate level 2 automation. First trials are expected to take place in the first quarter of 2016.

Croatia ABS Sisak to upgrade meltshop. ABS Sisak is a steel plant located in Sisak, 50 km to the south of Zagreb. The plant, owned by the Danieli group, produces steel blooms on scrap basis via the EAF and continuous casting route. The meltshop upgrade started in June 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The aim of the project is to improve the organization of production, including storage and handling, increase the metallurgical quality of the steel and expand the number of product sizes. The modernization will specifically involve the installation of a new secondary-metallurgy station employing vacuum degassing, revamping of the continuous casting machine, installation of a new evacuation crane and upgrading of the fume treatment plant for the ladle furnace. An automatic process will be in-

Germany ArcelorMittal to install top-gas pressure recovery turbine. Blast furnace 5A of ArcelorMittal Eisenhüttenstadt will receive a top-gas pressure recovery turbine (TRT) and auxiliary systems to convert pressure and sensible heat in the top gas into electrical energy. The associated equipment will be installed by Siemens Metals Technologies. The order was placed by VEO (Vulkan Energiewirtschaft Oderbrücke GmbH), which operates the industrial power plant in Eisenhüttenstadt. The TRT system will be designed to generate an average power of 7 MW. Commissioning is scheduled for the middle of 2015. The top gas pressure recovery turbine system will be installed between the demister of blast furnace 5A and the low-pressure network. Until now, the top gas has been allowed to expand in the gas washer without its energy being recovered. Siemens’ scope of supply comprises the top gas piping system and the supporting structure, process valves, the top gas pressure recovery turbine, the synchronous generator, the hydraulic and lubricating systems, as well as the associated electrical and automation equipment. Siemens will also be responsible for the basic and detailed engineering, and supervising the installation and commissioning of the system.

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Slovenia Štore Steel orders billet caster. Štore Steel has ordered a new twostrand continuous caster for billets from SMS Concast. It will allow the casting of high-alloy steel and spring steel grades. The new continuous caster will produce SBQ billets measuring 180 mm x 180 mm and increase Štore Steel’s production capacity from 150,000 to 300,000 t/year. Commissioning is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2014. MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Turkey

United Kingdom

Cengiz to upgrade operations. Aluminium and copper producer Cengiz group plans to expand its production capacity, lengthen the lifetime of its mine and improve the environmental and safety performance of its Mazidagi and Samsun operations. For this project, Cengiz placed an order with Outotec, covering the supply of a roasting plant for pyrite concentrates, calcine leaching and solvent extraction plants, copper smelter modernization, as well as gas cleaning and sulphuric acid plants. Outotec will provide technologies, engineering, proprietary equipment, a process control system as well as advisory services for installation, commissioning and start-up of the plants. The solutions include advanced heat recovery systems as well as the new modular VSF®X solvent extraction plant concept developed by Outotec. The deliveries will take place from late 2014 until 2016.

Tata Steel makes new electrical steel products. Tata Steel subsidiary Cogent Power has unveiled a range of sophisticated new electrical steel products which reduce electricity losses by 20 to 30% compared with conventional grain-oriented grades. The new products are being made at Cogent Power’s Orb works in Newport, South Wales. Orb produces cold rolled grain-oriented electrical steel for the manufacture of modern electricity transformers that are used to build and renew the world’s major power networks. The launch of the new grades follows the integration in 2011 of Tata Steel’s electrical steels production route. The Orb plant now receives hot rolled coil made in a patented process at the company’s steelworks at IJmuiden in the Netherlands. In addition, Cogent Power has invested in a new 1-m-wide transformer core cutting line at its Canadian manufac-

MPT International 1/ 2014

turing facility in Burlington, Ontario, to meet the needs of large power transformer manufacturers in North America. Cogent Power Inc slits and cuts to length grain-oriented electrical steel coils made at Orb.

United Kingdom Tata Steel to install vacuum induction melting facility. Tata Steel will build a vacuum induction melting (VIM) furnace at its Stocksbridge site in South Yorkshire together with SMS Mevac. Commissioning of the equipment is scheduled for early 2015. The VIM X-eed furnace will allow Tata Steel’s Speciality Steels business, which already supplies steel to aircraft engine and airframe makers, to expand its product portfolio. While the company currently supplies small quantities of VIM-derived steel using ingots sourced from third parties, the new fa-

INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS cility will greatly increase the scope for VIM sales. The ingots produced in the new facility will be refined further by processing through a vacuum arc remelting (VAR) unit before being rolled or forged into products such as engine and landing gear components for the aerospace market.

Companies Wuppermann expands sales activities in Turkey. The Wuppermann group has taken over a share of 35% in Galva Metal A.S., an international steel distributor and a steel service centre located in Kocaeli, near Istanbul, Turkey. Galva Metal is specialized in coated flat steel products such as galvanized, aluzinc or prepainted steel. The investment in Galva Metal gives Wuppermann direct access to the growing Turkish market.

Salzgitter establishes new group management board. As part of the current reorganization project, the Salzgitter group has established a new group organization structure. The executive board consists of Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann (CEO), Burkhard Becker (CFO) and Michael Kieckbusch (HR/ IR). The executive board together with the heads of the five business units of strip steel, plate/sections, trading, energy and technology form the new group management board.

New agreements between ArcelorMittal and Bekaert. ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Americas will extend its partnership in Latin America with the Bekaert group, which is specialized in steel wire transformation and coatings. ArcelorMittal and Bekaert have decided to extend their partnership to Costa Rica and Ecuador. Both partners will invest in ArcelorMittal’s

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existing steel wire plant in Costa Rica and build a new Dramix® steel fibre manufacturing plant on the Orotina industrial site in Costa Rica. In Brazil, the agreement involves transferring the cable business of Cimaf Cabos in Osasco (Sao Paulo) to the Bekaert Group. Cimaf Cabos, which produces steel cables for infrastructure, mining, oil and gas projects, will no longer be part of Belgo Bekaert Arames (BBA). However, BBA will continue supplying rope wire for cables to Cimaf Cabos, which will be renamed Bekaert Cimaf Cabos.

SMS group expects decrease in profit. As in 2012, the order intake by the SMS group fell below target for 2013, with a net result well short of the previous year. According to Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, spokesman of SMS Holding GmbH, low utilization of capacities and continuing high raw materials prices are making sales dif-

MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

News in brief Anhui Tianda, China, has expanded and re-commissioned its existing PQF® plant supplied by SMS Meer. The plant can now produce seamless tubes with outside diameters up to 13 3/8” - previously 10 3/4”. TMK, Russia, successfully commissioned an electric steelmaking plant, supplied by SMS Siemag, at its Taganrog Metallurgical Works. The plant is rated for a production of 1 million t/year. General Steel, China, has commenced a trial production run of a newly constructed 1.2 million t/ year advanced continuous-rebarrolling production line at its principal manufacturing facility, Shaanxi Longmen Iron and Steel Co.

ficult for the customers of the group. So once again, there might be some under-utilization of capacity in some areas in 2014. To ensure high quality, SMS remains committed to producing the most complex components of its machinery and plants in Germany. The company has invested heavily over recent years in upgrading its facilities in Hilchenbach and Mönchengladbach. Yet, parallel to these measures, it also expanded its production capacity in China. The focus here is on the provision of better customer services locally and the construction of machines specifically designed for the Chinese market. It is a similar picture on the Indian market, where another workshop is currently under construction and scheduled to start operations in 2014. The SMS group has identified a surge in demand for green technology solutions, meanwhile also a big issue on the Chinese market. The same goes for small revamps with short returnon-investment periods.

Broner and JSoft to create partnership. Broner Metals Solutions has signed a MoU with JSoft Solutions to deliver a comprehensive product portfolio of advanced planning and scheduling and MES (manufacturing execution systems) solutions to the Indian steel and aluminium market. JSoft Solutions, which is part of the JSW Group, is an IT solution and service provider, operating across a broad spectrum of IT and ITES services. Broner Metals Solutions recently implemented, in partnership with JSoft, the installation of Broner’s MES functionality at JSW Steel’s new cold rolling mill at the Vijayanagar plant, Karnataka, India.

Changes to organizational structure at ArcelorMittal. With the aim of simplifying its organization, ArcelorMittal has decided to manage the business according to region, while also maintaining the product speciali-

INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS zation within those regions. This will enable the businesses to continue to have their own dedicated strategy and focus, while capturing all the synergies within the region. Re-organization will among others result in Flat Carbon Europe, Long Carbon Europe and distribution solutions reporting to Aditya Mittal as CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe; Flat Carbon Americas, Long Carbon Americas reporting to Lou Schorsch as CEO of ArcelorMittal Americas. Separately, Michel Wurth has notified his intention to retire from the company in April 2014. He will retain his links with the company as chairman of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and, subject to approval at the annual general meeting, as a member of the ArcelorMittal board of directors.

Outotec completes employee cooperation negotiations in Finland. The employee cooperation negotiations concerning Outotec’s

operations in Finland have been completed. The negotiations were part of Outotec’s global efficiency improvement programme. As a result, Outotec will cut a total of 101 jobs in Finland, approximately half of which through redundancies and the other half through retirements and discontinuing temporary employments. In addition to personnel reduction, temporary lay-offs will take place to achieve the targeted savings, depending on the development of the market environment and Outotec’s order intake.

ThyssenKrupp and Deutsche Bahn reach agreement in principle on rail cartel. At the end of 2012, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn filed claims against ThyssenKrupp and other companies in connection with the so-called rail cartel. In this connection, discussions have been ongoing with Deutsche Bahn

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News in brief Republic Steel, USA, has initiated hot commissioning of its new EAF in Lorain. The EAF will feed bloom and billet casters for the production of high-grade SBQ bar and coil. Abinsk Electric Steel Works, Russia, has successfully completed the expansion of its highspeed rebar rolling mill supplied by SMS Meer. The two new roughing stands will allow Abinsk to roll larger square billets. ASCE Group OJSC, Armenia, has brought on stream the new billet caster supplied by Siemens Metals Technologies. The twostrand caster is designed for an annual production of 200,000 t of 120 x 120 mm carbon steel billets.

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››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

News in brief Gerdau Jacksonville, USA, has installed an off-gas analysis system from MORE at its EAF. The laserbased system performs real-time measurements of off-gas emissions. ArcelorMittal Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has reached an important milestone in its ongoing environmental programme with the start of operations of a new filter system for the blast furnace. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Germany, successfully commissioned the upgraded 400 t converter in Duisburg-Bruckhausen. The upgrade, performed by SMS Siemag, has enabled the internal volume of the vessel to be increased by 24%. JSW, USA, has installed a new car bottom furnace for plate heat treatment from Tenova Core at its Baytown, Texas plant. The furnace was installed as part of a plant expansion project. EVRAZ ZSMK, Russia, commissioned and issued the FAC for the new rail finishing line at its works in Novokuznetsk, West Siberia. The line was designed and supplied by Koch H&K Industrieanlagen. It can handle rails more than 100 m long. Ruukki, USA, has opened a sales office in Pittsburgh to serve its special steel customers in the North America. Buderus Edelstahl, Germany, successfully commissioned the new material handling system for its secondary-metallurgy plant. The project was handled by Inteco. In addition to supplying and installing the new alloying plant, Inteco also replaced the control and visualization system of the existing material handling system, integrating the entire new complex into the steel plant’s level 2 system.

MPT International 1/ 2014

for some time concerning damages and a settlement. ThyssenKrupp and Deutsche Bahn have now reached an agreement in principle. For both parties the settlement is subject to approval by the responsible bodies. However, ThyssenKrupp assumes that there will be no further costs on top of the provisions already recognized.

Outokumpu sells electricity distribution network at Tornio. Outokumpu sells the electricity distribution network at the Tornio site in Finland to InfraVia European Fund II, an investment fund managed by OFI InfraVia, an independent investment company based in France and specialized in the infrastructure sector. The transaction is part of Outokumpu’s efforts to strengthen the company’s financial position and liquidity.

Outokumpu’s chief medical officer publishes long-term study. The British Medical Journal has published an article by Outokumpu’s chief medical officer Markku Huvinen. The article is based on his 30-year study and reports its findings on cancer incidence among ferrochrome and stainless steel production workers in Kemi and Tornio, Finland. Markku Huvinen initiated systematic measurements on the exposure to chromium and other compounds connected with stainless steel production. The study assesses the risk of cancer, especially cancers of the lung and nose, since the start of the production in 1967 until 2011. It shows that there is no added risk of cancer to individuals working in steel mills and living nearby.

Chemetall acquires André Coatings. With the acquisition of the business activities of André Coatings, surface treatment specialist Chemetall adds innovative coating technologies to its portfolio. Chemetall offers cleaning and pretreatment technologies for steel and aluminium coil finishing.

Majestic Steel USA acquires Flatrolled Steel. Steel service centre Majestic Steel USA has completed the acquisition of the business and assets of Flatrolled Steel, Inc. Majestic Steel will operate the Houston/Dallasbased business under the Majestic Steel name. Majestic’s current product offerings include prime, flat-rolled steel sheets and coils from multiple producers and focuses largely on galvanized, galvannealed, galvalume, aluminized, cold-rolled and phosphatized/bonderized steel.

Novelis to expand global automotive aluminium capacity. To further expand its global manufacturing operations, Novelis will build new finishing lines at its plants in Oswego, N.Y., USA, and Nachterstedt, Germany, dedicated to the production of aluminium automotive sheet. The two new lines will each have a capacity of 120,000 t/year. When the new lines will be commissioned in late 2015, Novelis’ global automotive sheet capacity will reach approximately 900,000 t/year, a threefold increase from just a year ago. Recently, the company commissioned two new finishing lines at its Oswego, N.Y. plant, and a new plant is under construction in Changzhou, China, which is expected to commence production in mid-2014.

Outotec and MMX enter into legal dispute. Outotec (Filters) Oy and the Brazilian mining company MMX Sudeste Mineração S.A. (MMX) have started separate arbitration processes against each other at the International Court of Arbitration in a dispute regarding a filter delivery. In 2012, Outotec had agreed with MMX on the supply of 17 Outotec Larox® CC 144 capillary action disc filters for filtering pelletizing feed slurries in iron ore processing. Outotec requested arbitration against MMX for MMX’s illegal termination of the agreement and receiving compensation due to the termination, while MMX requested arbitration against Outotec for MMX’s right to terminate the agreement and receiving back the paid money.

INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Personalities Changes in SGL board of management. As of 1 January 2014, after serving as CEO of SGL Carbon SE for over twenty years, Robert Koehler handed over his position to his col-

17

programme. In the context of the generation change entailed by the transition in the top management and the measures to streamline the group’s organizational structures, the board of management of SGL Carbon SE was reduced from five to three members. It now consists of Dr. Jßrgen KÜhler (CEO), Jßrgen Muth (CFO) and Dr. Gerd Wingefeld.

the Carl Lueg Commemorative Medal to Prof. Martin Stratmann, director of the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in DĂźsseldorf. This award recognizes excellence in steel technology. Prof. Stratmann received the award for his research achievements in the fields of electrochemistry and corrosion. As of June 2014, Prof. Stratmann will become president of the Max Planck Society.

Prof. Martin Stratmann receives Carl Lueg Award. In November 2013, Steel Institute VDEh awarded

Tube City IMS names new general manager. Tube City IMS, LLC has named Dai Moriya as sales and general manager, Latin American Division. He will be working with the company’s raw material and optimization group to generate new business opportunities.

Dr. JĂźrgen KĂśhler

league on the board of management Dr. JĂźrgen KĂśhler. Dr. KĂśhler has been working for the SGL group in various management positions. The new CEO is already coordinating the implementation of the “SGL2015â€? cost savings

‚‚‚

Prof. Martin Stratmann

Essar Steel Algoma appoints new general counsel. Essar Steel Algoma Inc. has appointed J. Robert

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Infrared Radiation Pyrometer for Metal Applications Accurate Non-Contact Temperature Measurements with Long Term Stability HEITRONICS Infrarot Messtechnik GmbH D-65205 Wiesbaden, Kreuzberger Ring 40 Tel.: +49 (0) 611 973 93 0 ¡ Fax: +49 (0) 611 973 93 26 E-Mail: info@heitronics.com ¡ Web: http://www.heitronics.com

Visit us at 1th ESTAD, Paris – 07.+08. April 2014, stand 13, Leruste & Cie/Representant France

MPT International 1/ 2014

5th International Exhibition & Conference on Metallurgical Technology, Processes, Material Handling and Services

2014 28 – 30 October Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre Goregaon (East), Mumbai, India

18

››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Sandoval as general counsel and corporate secretary. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he has practiced law in the USA and managed legal affairs in Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East since 1987.

New CFO at Aperam. Following the resignation of Julien Onillon, Sandeep Jalan has been appointed as new chief financial officer of Aperam. Sandeep Jalan will become a member of Aperam’s management committee.

Management changes at Ovako. Ovako has appointed Mathias Tillman as the new president of the business area Ovako bright bar in Hällefors and as a member of the group management. He succeeds Anders Henström, who has become the new president of the business area Ovako bar Hofors-Hällefors. Sten Lyckström, formerly president of the business area bar Hofors-Hällefors, has assumed the role of group senior advisor and will support the group in major strategic projects. He continues to report to the CEO.

Changes in board of BlueScope Steel. Tan Yam Pin, non-executive director of the board of BlueScope Steel has retired. His retirement is a further step in the board’s renewal programme which commenced with the appointments of Ken Dean in 2009 and Penny Bingham-Hall in 2011. In 2013, Diane Grady and Kevin McCann retired as directors, and Ewen Crouch and Lloyd Jones joined the board.

New vice president global customer care at NDC. NDC Infrared Engineering has appointed Terry Patterson as vice president of global customer care for its sensors, systems and metals divisions. The metals product line includes X-ray and optical thickness gauges, laser-based flatness and width gauges and a range of XRF sensors to measure coating thickness.

www.metallurgy-india.com Held in conjunction with:

Supported by:

WELDING CUTTING

&

CEO leaves Schmolz + Bickenbach. CEO Johannes Nonn left Schmolz + Bickenbach as of 31 December 2013, based on his contractual rights under the change-of-control clause. The board of directors has unanimously appointed CFO Hans-Jürgen Wiecha as CEO ad interim. At the same time, Jürgen Wiecha and the company have reached an agreement by which Mr. Wiecha waived his rights under the change-of-control clause.

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Phone +49/2 11/45 60-77 62 _ Fax +49/2 11/45 60-77 40 SchreiberG@messe-duesseldorf.de

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

MPT International 1/ 2014

As the blast furnace consumes 60% of all the energy required in an integrated steel plant, the optimised consumption of energy and raw materials is naturally a key issue at the primary stage of integrated steelmaking and has always been central to Paul Wurth’s technologies and projects.

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Today, the integration with all the other members of the SMS group allows us to provide global energy concepts along the entire iron and steel production chain aiming at highest energy efďŹ ciency, major energy savings/recuperation, and thus, increased proďŹ ts for the operator. „ Energy Audit & Consulting „ Energy Optimisation „ Energy Recovery

Vorderseite

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ISO 9001 ISO 14001

BUREAU VERITAS Certification

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INTEGRATED ENERGY EFFICIENCY SOLUTIONS

Blast Furnace Plants engineering & construction of complete blast furnace plants, modernisations, rebuilds and relines.

BF Technology & Equipment cooling & lining concepts and systems, automation, top charging technology, special equipment.

*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…]ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ Âœ}Âœ]ĂŠ*, 1-]ĂŠ,i` Ă€ÂœÂ˜ĂŠ>˜`ĂŠ,i`-“iÂ?ĂŒĂŠ>Ă€iĂŠĂŒĂ€>`i“>Ă€ÂŽĂƒĂŠÂœvĂŠ*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ-° °ĂŠ>˜`ʓ>ÞÊLiĂŠĂ€i}ÂˆĂƒĂŒiĂ€i`ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠĂžÂœĂ•Ă€ĂŠÂ?Ă•Ă€ÂˆĂƒ`ˆVĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜°

Auxiliary Plants sintering plants, hot blast stoves, stockhouse, pulverized coal injection, slag granulation and dewatering.

Coke Making Plants complete plants and batteries, coke oven gas by-products recovery systems and auxiliary plants, centralised supervision and process control.

Recycling Technologies multiple hearth based technology: PRIMUSŽ, rotary hearth based technology: RedIron™, RedSmelt™.

Environmental Protection BF top gas cleaning, aspiration systems, hot blast stove heat recovery, coke oven gas treatment, sinterplant off-gas cleaning.

PAUL WURTH – LEADING IN IRONMAKING TECHNOLOGY VCA**

ISO 9001 ISO 14001

BUREAU VERITAS Certification

RĂźckseite

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INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS

‹‹‹

21

Executive retirement at AK Steel. John F. Kaloski, executive vice president and operating officer of AK Steel, has retired from the company. His responsibilities will be assumed by Kirk W. Reich, vice president, procurement and supply chain management, Keith J. Howell, vice president, operations, and Maurice A. Reed, vice president, engineering, raw materials and energy. All three will assume the new responsibilities in addition to their existing functions.

6th All Indian Exhibition & Conference for the Tube and Pipe Industries

2014 28 – 30 October Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre Goregaon (East), Mumbai, India

Executive management changes at United States Steel. A series of executive management changes are taking place at United States Steel Corp. John J. Quaid will assume the newly created role of vice president – iron ore. Larry T. Brockway, who currently serves as senior vice president and chief risk officer, has been named senior vice president, chief risk officer and treasurer. Sharon K. Owen, vice president – supply chain and customer service, has elected to retire following a 37-years career with the company. The company does not plan to name a successor but will allocate responsibilities internally for logistics, business planning and customer service.

Change in Outotec’s executive board. Jari Rosendal, executive vice president and president of Outotec’s Americas region, will leave Outotec to become the president and CEO of Kemira Oyj. Kimmo Kontola, currently executive vice president, president of APAC region at Outotec, has been elected to lead the Americas region business as Jari Rosendal’s successor. Stuart Sneyd, currently the head of the SEAP market area at Outotec, has been appointed as executive vice president, president of the APAC region as well as a new member of Outotec’s executive board.

Events ›

13 – 14 March 2014 Kolkata, India Organizers: Steel & Metallurgy www.steelmetallurgy.com

www.tube-india.com Held in conjunction with:

Indian Steel Industry – Technology, Market and Applications. This conference will cover a wide gamut of themes, including resources for iron and steelmaking, beneficiation of low-grade ores, DRI vs. scrap, induction melting and continuous casting, blast furnaces and EAFs, steel trading, transport and logistics, etc.

Supported by:

WELDING CUTTING

&

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany

MPT International 1/ 2014

Phone +49/2 11/45 60-77 62 _ Fax +49/2 11/45 60-77 40 SchreiberG@messe-duesseldorf.de

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

22

›

››› INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS 16 – 18 April 2014 Tokyo, Japan Organizers: Reed Exhibitions Japan www.metal-japan.jp/en/

1st Metal Japan. This international exhibition & conference specializes in highly functional materials. Areas covered by the first edition of this event will include highly functional alloys; light, noble and rare metals; high-purity metals and metal powder; rolling, pressing and die-casting equipment; surface treatment; testing and analysis equipment; metal recycling, etc.

3 – 6 June 2014 Moscow, Russia Organizers: Messe Düsseldorf www.metallurgy-tube-russia.com

›

23 – 26 June 2014 Graz, Austria Organizers: Asmet www.eccc2014.org

8th eccc. The 8th European Continuous Casting Conference is a forum for the European continuous casting community to exchange views on the status and future development of CC technology. This year’s event will see the first presen-

tation of the Young Scientist Award dedicated to authors of academic theses on subjects related to continuous casting.

›

31 August – 4 September 2014 Aachen, Germany Organizers: Max Planck Institute for Iron Research (Düsseldorf) and University of Aachen www.hmns2014.de

High-manganese steels. This international conference will cover aspects of high-manganese steels, with a focus on austenitic high-manganese steels and medium-manganese steels with martensitic/austenitic microstructures.

www.vip-kommunikation.de

›

Metallurgy Litmash, Tube Russia, Aluminium/Non-Ferrous 2014. Being a key event for the metallurgical and tube sectors in Russia and its neighbouring states, this trade fair trio will once again serve as an important trade and contact platform for international exhibitors and visitors.

KOCH H&K Industrieanlagen – Hightech & Know-how for planning, engineering, manufacturing and installation

Our mill stands for hot rolling of standard and special sections feature innovative technology that works. www.koch-hk.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

Your profile matters to us

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24

››› EVENTS

Symposium on tube and pipe production technology Held at the SMS Meer headquarters in Mönchengladbach, Germany, in September 2013, the International Tube and Pipe Symposium provided presentations on the latest breakthrough technologies in industrial operation. 250 participants from 23 countries met to discuss and take a look beyond the horizons of their own products. 250 tube experts from 23 countries attended the International Tube and Pipe Symposium at SMS Meer, Germany

“Efficient and ecological solutions” was the motto of the first Tube & Pipe Symposium held by SMS Meer in Mönchengladbach in September 2013. Papers presented by representatives from the industry, associations and federations and by SMS Meer staff on topics as diverse as the international tube and pipe markets and the latest technological developments and trends were followed with great interest by the 250 participants from 23 countries. The guests also had the opportunity to take a first-hand look at some of the new technologies, machines and plants in the SMS Meer workshop. Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, chairman of the board of SMS Meer, welcomed the participants and thanked the customers for their many years of loyalty. He particularly mentioned the Chinese

SMS Meer GmbH, Mönchengladbach, Germany Contact: www.sms-meer.com E-mail: serviceline24@sms-meer.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

company Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corporation for pioneering the PQF® tube forming technology ten years ago. Norbert Theelen and Frank Lüth, heads of the tube and pipe plants business unit at SMS Meer, opened the plenary session by giving an overview on the international tube and pipe market. In the following presentations, the tube and pipe experts from SMS Meer introduced machine and plant solutions enabling tube and pipe producers to reconcile economy and ecology. The new plant types are designed to help save valuable resources at every step of the tube production chain.

10 years PQF® technology – a success story The symposium was staged to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PQF® technology – the “Premium Quality Finishing” method – developed by SMS Meer for seamless tube production. Since, 20 plants have been equipped with this technology worldwide. The reasons for the success of this technology lie in the constantly grow-

ing demands that seamless tubes have to satisfy today. PQF® tubes are used predominantly for exploration of natural gas and crude oil and in the energy sector. As ever deeper deposits are being developed, the pipes have to withstand higher mechanical loads and have to feature improved corrosion resistance properties. PQF® seamless tubes made of high-alloy steels meet these challenges. Dantian Zhang and Quiang Li from Tianjin Pipe (TPCO), China, reported on the more than 10 years of trustful cooperation between their company and SMS Meer: “Together, we have advanced the process.” Whereas the first plant had an annual production capacity of 360,000 t in 2003, the new plant delivered in 2012 is capable of producing 610,000 t/year. During the course of the years, the homogeneity of the wall thickness was steadily improved. In total, TPCO operates seven large seamless tube plants from SMS Meer, four of which having been equipped with the PQF® technology so far. Three million tonnes of high-quality seamless tubes were produced on these lines in 2012. Now the fifth plant is ready for delivery. During the symposium, the new machine was handed over to Tianjin Pipe. This plant will be installed at the TPCO America Project in Texas, USA. It is the first machine implementing the so-called bilateral change-over. “Once again, we have improved the process. The pipe tolerances are even closer, the change-over times are shorter. Thus, plant efficiency has been further increased,” said Norbert Theelen.

Introducing its newest 20Hi cold rolling mill, which became operational in TISCO, China. Fives sets a new world record for a bright annealing product, reaching the speed of 1,200 meters per minute, without compromising the quality of the coil’s surface or flatness. In Steel, Fives has developed the most reliable & innovative technologies and offers a range of expert service, from the layout of a facility to revamping services, including the design, manufacture and retrofit of mechanical, thermal, tube & pipe mills & finishing equipment and the supply of surface treatment technologies.

www.fivesgroup.com

Driving progress

26

››› MATERIAL FLOW LOGISTICS

Scrap yard at the electric steel plant of Badische Stahlwerke in Kehl, Germany

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Stephanie Feger, Klaus Zehnle, Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH, Kehl, Germany; Andreas Volkert, Badische Stahlwerke GmbH, Kehl, Germany Contact: www.bse-kehl.de E-mail: klaus.zehnle@bse-kehl.de

MPT International 1/ 2014

These days, in mini-mill operations much attention is paid to the raw material costs, as they represent the largest single cost factor (>50%). Especially in a global economic environment surrounded by uncertainties and risks, e.g. structural imbalances and great volatility of raw material and steel prices,

aspects like considering which types of scrap to use, finding possibilities for substitution of expensive raw material sources and the usage of standardized charging recipes become increasingly decisive. However, raw material costs are not only determined by the actual raw ma-

28

››› MATERIAL FLOW LOGISTICS

terial prices. Often neglected but equally important are the costs associated with the purchase of the scrap, the inventory management as well as scrap yard logistics and operations, i.e. material storage and material handling. The way a mini-mill’s scrap yard is designed, organized and operated depends on many different criteria such as: means of scrap delivery, i.e. railway, truck, barge, steel quality produced, e.g. number and amount of different scrap types, plant capacity and planned annual output, available space which has a major impact on scrap handling and storage design, plant design and material flow, e.g. the bucket transfer to the melt shop and the number of EAFs, raw material purchasing strategy and availability on the market, environmental issues and governmental regulations, e.g. noise limitations and radioactivity measuring obligations. As a result, almost every scrap storage facility around the world is unique. This is also proved by a statistical evaluation of 100 scrap storage facilities around the world conducted by BSE in February 2013. Amongst others, the following topics were covered in the statistical evaluation: means of transport used for scrap supply, storage facility, type of bucket loading crane, scrap bucket transfer. Regarding the means of transport used for scrap supply, the recent survey reveals a major change compared to previous evaluations. Whereas in the past scrap used to be predominantly supplied by train, today, trucks are the most preferred means of transportation, followed by train and barge on the second and third rank respectively. (Remark: Many plants use a combination of different means of transportation leading to the possibility of multiple indications.) 61% of the surveyed plants use trucks for scrap supply, thereof 48% exclusively (100%) trucks. 30% use railroad, with only one plant using exclusively trains. The remainder use trains only in combination with other means of transportation. 9% use barges. In BSE’s sample size, there is no plant which uses 100% barges. Barges MPT International 1/ 2014

are always used in combination with other means of transportation. As to the storage facility for bucket loading, 76% use scrap bays, 50% thereof are roof covered. 21% of the plants have a scrap yard and 3% have a combination of both for scrap bucket loading. In addition to the internal scrap storage facilities, 21% actively use an additional external scrap yard to supply their limited-capacity internal scrap storage facility. Another 22% use an external yard mainly strategically, i.e. not for bucket loading, but for buffering in times of high raw materi-

Means of transport used for scrap supply

like e.g. caterpillars, and no cranes at all. As to the scrap bucket transfer between the storage facility and the melt shop, 75% of the plants handle the bucket transfer by rail, 16% by road and 9% without any moving scrap car. In the latter case, the transportation of the scrap bucket is directly handled by the charging crane, i.e. the scrap bucket is fixed at a certain place of the melting bay, charged by a truck (which has beforehand been charged by a crane) and then moved to the EAF by means of the charging crane. Thus no transfer on road or

Storage facility Both 3%

Barge 9% Scrap yard 21%

Rail road 30% Truck 61%

Scrap bay 76%

Type of bucket loading crane Gantry crane 7%

Balance crane 3%

Others, e.g. caterpillar 1%

Scrap bucket transfer Directly by charging crane 9%

Transfer on road 16%

Mobile crane 15% Overhead crane 74%

Transfer on rail 75%

Comment: Sample size: 100, data collected by BSE between 1993 and 2013

Statistics of a survey of 100 steel works worldwide about their scrap storage facilities

al prices, limited availability of special raw material types, etc. For the analysis as to which types of bucket loading cranes are used, multiple nominations were possible, because some plants have a combination of overhead and mobile cranes. 74% of the plants have overhead cranes in place, 6% thereof mobile cranes in addition to overhead cranes. Another 15% of the plants are equipped with mobile cranes, 7% with gantry cranes, 3% with a balance crane and only 1% of all plants of the sample use vehicles,

rail by a scrap car is necessary. However, the regional distribution may look very different. While in the USA numerous plants handle their bucket loading without a moving scrap car, this situation is rarely found in other parts of the world. Of course, the layout of any steel plant around the world is influenced by the above stated side conditions. However, one outcome of the statistical evaluation is that most of the scrap storage facilities can be grouped into one of the three typical layouts described in the following.

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+PVGTPCN UETCR DC[ YKVJ ƂZGF scrap car In a traditional layout, the scrap bay is located inside the melt shop as a single bay with a fixed scrap car. This layout is very common worldwide in steel industry. Typically, the scrap bay is located in front of the melt shop bay, e.g. with a vertical arrangement of the single bays. The bay is housed and covered by a roof. Scrap supply takes place predominantly via railroad. For smaller amounts of scrap, also delivery by truck is possible. But in that case, it has to be taken into consideration that the scrap bay is accessible by truck only at the front sides. This limits the possible number of trucks either for reasons of parking place or storage place due to the fact that the scrap cranes have to carry the scrap to the correct boxes in addition to loading the scrap buckets and unloading the waggons. The bucket is loaded either directly from waggons or from the storage area by two overhead cranes. The fixed scrap bucket turns out to be a major disadvantage of this layout leading to long crane cycle times and thus long bucket loading times. What is more, the larger the bay, the longer the cycle times. In addition, the cranes often interfere with one another. Moreover, the scrap storage capacity is limited by the size of the bays. Therefore, plants often build scrap bunkers. But these bunkers provide other problems like: further increase of the cycle time, dirt accumulating at the bottom of the bunker, which is difficult to clean, the use of magnets compresses the scrap in the bunkers.

EAF and charging crane Waggon

Truck

Scrap car with bucket

Scrap crane

Scrap storage place

Traditional layout of a scrap bay inside the melt shop

Bag house

Activated carbon injection system

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Scrap storage place

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The fixed scrap bucket is moved by a rail-bound scrap car to the melt shop bay and afterwards lifted by crane for charging the scrap into the EAF. This traditional layout generally implies double handling: The scrap cranes first have to load the scrap buckets out of the waggons. Very often, each wag-

gon carries a different type of scrap. Then the waggons are unloaded according to the bucket charging recipe. As a consequence, the waggons are usually not unloaded all at the same time. This may lead to the situation that waggons carrying scrap types that are not so often used will leave the scrap

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Melt shop

Scrap car with bucket

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Scrap yard layout with movable rail-bound scrap bucket MPT International 1/ 2014

Waggon

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32

››› MATERIAL FLOW LOGISTICS

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bay only partly unloaded because other scrap types may be missing and the scrap crane may not have the time to unload the remaining scrap in the waggon into the scrap storage place. This causes many problems, delays and double handling.

Scrap yard with movable railbound scrap bucket Uncovered scrap yards with movable rail-bound scrap bucket are usually located in front of the melt shop bay. The material flow from the scrap yard to the melting area is thus organized in a horizontal way. The storage place is not only easily accessible by rail, but also by truck. Thus, this layout successfully combines scrap supply by rail and truck. In the scrap bay, the both railroads for the scrap bucket transfer car are set closely together (but are still two separate railroads). Thus, one scrap bucket can be charged at the scrap yard whereas the other one is unloaded in the melt shop. This measure saves space and thus increases the yard’s storage capacity. Scrap cranes, transfer cars and scrap buckets are movable: The scrap bucket can be moved by a scrap car to the individual scrap storage places. The scrap car including the scrap bucket is remote-controlled by the crane driver and moves between railroads and storage boxes. As a result, the crane driver can easily move the scrap bucket to the scrap quality he needs. A major advantage of this scrap yard layout is that the cycle time of the crane and thus the loading time of the bucket decrease. However, the scrap storage capacity is still limited due to the limited overhead MPT International 1/ 2014

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crane width (standard for this kind of scrap bays is 31 m, maximum 35.5 m). It can be extended by way of scrap bunkers, two opposed bays or a lengthened scrap bay, leading to longer scrap bucket loading times. The fully loaded scrap bucket is transferred to the melting bay on rails by the scrap car.

(NGZKDNG UETCR [CTF Nowadays, more and more scrap yards are operated by mobile cranes only. The layout shows a scrap yard operated exclusively by mobile equipment. The scrap yard is positioned in front of the melt shop. The material flow from the scrap yard to the melt shop is organized horizontally. The scrap supply can be by truck or rail. Thanks to its mobile equipment, the scrap yard is characterized by a high level of flexibility. Not only the cranes are movable, but also the scrap buckets are transferable to any storage place or

to the melt shop by towing vehicles or pallet carriers. A disadvantage of this mobility is the high wear of roadways. Generally speaking, railroads are more suitable for heavy loads. In addition, it is not possible to have remote-controlled scrap cars on road. Therefore, a higher manning level is required. Besides, usually more mobile cranes than overhead or gantry cranes are needed for operating such a scrap bay, resulting in a further increase of the manning level. Furthermore, a high degree of coordination between the crane drivers and the drivers of the towing vehicles or pallet carriers is needed, which may lead to delays. The operation costs are usually slightly higher due to the short lifetime of mobile cranes (about 3 years), the higher diesel consumption and the higher wear and tear. Also certain environmental issues have to be taken into account. For instance, em-

MATERIAL FLOW LOGISTICS

‹‹‹

33

join the best

ployees have to cope with the high noise level caused by the mobile equipment. Obviously, this layout also has a number of advantages. First of all, the performance of the mobile cranes is quite satisfactory, especially when they can stay at one scrap storage box for a longer time and do not have to move from one box to another. A lot of moving implies loss of crane performance due to the low driving speed of the cranes and the considerable amount of time needed to make them ready for operation, i.e. stabilization. However, the investment costs of mobile cranes are quite low compared to those of gantry or even overhead cranes. Besides, scrap yards operated by mobile equipment are very favourable for being outsourced, because this guarantees high flexibility, low investment and short set-up times. To summarize, this scrap yard type is characterized by a high degree of flexibility: flexible cranes, flexible scrap cars, flexible scrap buckets and good access via rail and truck. Experience shows that in the last few years, more and more overhead cranes have been replaced by mobile cranes. At the same time, plant operators also decided to outsource their yards. This shows that mobile cranes and outsourcing are closely linked together.

Conclusion When looking for the optimal layout of a scrap storage facility or when comparing different layouts, various criteria have to be considered: capital and operational expenditure, logistics and infrastructure, such as storage capacity, ways of scrap delivery, crane performance and methods of bucket transfer, reliability of equipment such as scrap cranes and transport vehicles, others, such as required manpower, environmental issues and the flexibility to adapt to a changing environment. Eventually, every steel plant has its particularities. These have to be taken into consideration when evaluating a layout and its ability to serve a highly productive steel plant. Actually, the perfect scrap storage facility will be difficult to find. Either the premises and the on-site conditions do not allow implementing the optimal solution, or too little attention was paid to this topic when the plant was built. Experience shows that mistakes occurring in the planning phase of a scrap storage facility very often lead to technical bottlenecks and higher operating costs. It is often impossible to eliminate the drawbacks at a late stage. Thus it really makes sense to spend a good deal of time during the planning phase on the issue of the material flow in order to avoid delay times during later operation of the plant. In addition, it is always worth analysing the scrap yard logistics and operation methods in place. Such analysis is very likely to bring to light neglected potential for improvement and possibilities for cost savings at virtually every steel plant around the world. In other words: The success of every steel plant starts at the scrap yard.

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1/ 2014

34

››› INNOVATION

Converters to be operated even without hot metal charge With the so-called “Jet Process”, Siemens Metals Technologies offers a solution for operating converters with up to 100 percent scrap and sponge iron. This enables operators of melt shops to respond to raw material supply bottlenecks and exploit VKRUW WHUP SULFH ƃXFWXDWLRQV 7KH VROXWLRQ FRQVLVWV RI D ERWWRP EORZLQJ FRQYHUWHU WKDW makes it possible to blow in oxygen, lime and coal through bottom tuyeres and of a hot blast top lance for feeding additional energy into the steel bath. The Jet Process FDQ HLWKHU EH LPSOHPHQWHG DV D QHZ LQVWDOODWLRQ RU UHWURƂWWHG LQ H[LVWLQJ SODQWV LQ D modular fashion. Falling prices for scrap and direct reduced iron (sponge iron) as well as pressure from public authorities to reduce CO2 emissions offer stimuli for operators of integrated steelworks to increase the share of scrap and sponge iron in the converter steel plant. A higher share of scrap or sponge iron calls for a supply of additional energy to maintain the temperature of the steel bath. To fulfil these requirements, Siemens has developed a converter with bottom-blowing equipment and a hot blast lance. Oxygen, lime or coal can be fed into the steel bath with the aid of bottom tuyeres jets. Additionally, a top lance is used to blow a hot blast enriched to up to 40% of oxygen and of a temperature of around 1,300°C onto the bath. As a result of the high temperature, the speed of sound and the volume of the hot blast are high. This leads to excellent mixing, almost complete combustion of CO from the bath and optimum transfer of the heat generated in post-combustion to the steel bath. A pebble heater with an energy efficiency of more than 95% is used to create the hot blast. Furthermore, the converter is equipped with a cooling stack to fully exploit the remaining thermal energy of the exhaust gas. The bottom-blowing converter offers even more advantages. The oxy-

Siemens AG, Industry Sector, Metals Technologies, Linz, Austria Contact: www.siemens.com/metals E-mail: rainer.schulze@siemens.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

Coal, oxygen and lime are blown in through bottom tuyeres and a top lance blows a hot jet onto the bath resulting in excellent mixing

gen bottom jets act as cutting torches, for example, enabling even large pieces of scrap to be melted with greater ease than in a conventional converter. Blowing in lime powder accelerates slag formation and desulphurization, thus improving process control. Bottom blowing also ensures a lower share of iron and iron oxide in the slag and lower slag volume in total, reducing evaporation of iron and crucially increasing the converter’s yield and thus its profitability. The injected volume of coal can be varied within a wide scope. This permits easy and fast adjustment

of the raw material composition to current market prices. The Jet Process is particularly suitable for use in regions where scrap or sponge iron are relatively cheap compared to hot metal. It can also be used to circumvent bottlenecks in the availability of hot metal, either due to a planned production expansion, temporary unavailability of a blast furnace or because of production restrictions resulting from emission constraints imposed by authorities. The Jet Process has been successfully in operation at an Asian steel works since mid-2013.

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RH plant with 320-t ladle

Lifting systems for RH-type vacuum degassing plants In ladle metallurgy, the RH technology has become established as one of the dominant means for mass production of high-quality vacuum-treated steel. For dipping the snorkels into the heat, various types of lifting equipment have been developed. StateRI WKH DUW FRQƂJXUDWLRQV PDWFK WKH UHTXHVW IRU VKRUW F\FOH WLPHV DQG KLJKO\ HIƂFLHQW vacuum treatment. This article explains different vessel lifts and ladle lifts, putting forward the pros and cons of the respective solutions. Due to the individual requirements RI WKH UHVSHFWLYH VLWH GLIIHUHQW FRQFHSWV PD\ EH IHDVLEOH RU HYHQ MXVWLƂDEOH The RH-type vacuum degassing plant mainly consists of a refractory lined reaction vessel and two so-called snorkels – two large steel pipes attached to the bottom of this vessel. Both snorkels are completely refractory lined on the inside, but only the lower parts are refractory coated on the outside. The inlet snorkel is equipped with a number of gas injection pipes arranged in the lower section in one or two levels. MPT International 1/ 2014

The degassing process starts after both snorkels have been sufficiently immersed into the melt. Having achieved the required immersion depth, the reaction vessel is evacuated by means of a vacuum pump.

Plant concepts Various configuration concepts for RH plants have been developed to meet

different customer demands. A single plant comprises the treatment station with a vacuum vessel and a vacuum pump, which gives it a certain degree of flexibility as regards the lifting concepts. The treatment and the snorkel maintenance are performed in the treatment position. For refractory relining, the vacuum vessels have to be conveyed into the repair station by crane. Downtimes for snorkel main-

STEELMAKING tenance, vessel exchange and vessel heating are factors which determine the availability of this plant concept. A duplex plant consists of two treatment stations, each with one vacuum vessel. Both units are equipped with an alloy addition system, and treatment is carried out in both vessels by switching over to the vacuum pump via a movable bend. Snorkel maintenance takes place at one vacuum vessel while the second vessel is undergoing treatment. During the vessel exchange, the plant can continue to be operated temporarily as a single plant. These possibilities lead to high plant availability. However, they also cause initial limitations to the lifting systems. These are explained individually in the description of the lifting systems. A fast-vessel exchange plant possesses a treatment station and two preheating positions. After a number of treatments, the vessel can be conveyed into the stand-by position by means of a vessel transfer car. In this position, the snorkel maintenance takes place, with the vessel being kept hot, or the vessel can be removed and taken to the repair station. Compared with the other two types of plants, the fast-vessel exchange plant offers an extremely high degree of flexibility. As the vessel is positioned in the exchange car, only the ladle lift is required for the work.

Drive-through or dead-end EQPƂIWTCVKQP In the so-called drive-through solution, the ladle transfer car can be driven through underneath the plant and can thus, if required, supply the transfer position in another bay without further intermediate transport. This solution may also allow for the changing of the ladle transfer car during the treatment, though this is not possible with all lifting concepts. Sometimes, the changing of the ladle transfer car in the treatment position is possible. This enhances the flexibility of the plant and, through the saving of travel time and

Rainer Beermann, Rüdiger Ralf Eggert, SMS Mevac GmbH, Essen, Germany Contact: www.sms-mevac.com E-mail: rainer.beermann@sms-mevac.com ruediger.eggert@sms-mevac.com

‹‹‹

37

Vacuum chamber Recirculating steel

Barometric overheight

Lift gas - used snorkel length Height of recirculation Lift gas Barometric height (1.45 m) Lift gas injection above steel level Ladle Upstream

Downstream

Scheme of the reaction area of the RH unit

turret loading time, also increases the availability of the plant. In contrast, when using the so-called dead-end solution, the ladle transfer car can only be driven into the treatment position from one side. In single and duplex RH plants, the snorkel maintenance takes place on the treatment track and, in fast-exchange plants, in the respective parking position of the vessel. However, there are no limitations as to the lifting systems.

work of the plant and also the connection to the alloy addition system. Here, the connection must be designed with vacuum-tight swivel joints between the gas cooler and the connecting piping to booster No. 1. The connection between the alloying chute and the alloying nozzle at the vessel must be made with a pressed-on expansion joint component. These elements are potential leakage points and require regular maintenance.

Vessel lifting cage with winch Vessel lift vs. ladle lift technology Over the years, SMS Mevac and its predecessor firms Vacmetal and Messo have designed a very wide range of lifting concepts, which had to be very flexible in view of the developments in vacuum process technology. The various lifting concepts are subdivided into those with vessel lift, i.e. the RH vessel is immersed in the steelworks ladle, and concepts with ladle lift, where the ladle is lifted into a position below the stationary vessel. A further differentiation is made according to the lifting method. Vessels can be lifted up by using a winch, hydraulics or rocker arm units. Ladles can be lifted by a bottom-ram cylinder or by various types of frames using hydraulic cylinders, winches or ladle rockers. The different lifting systems must also be in harmony with the plant concepts, such as the single plant, the duplex plant and the fast-exchange plant. Limitations affecting the vessel lift are the movement of the vacuum vessel in relation to the vacuum pump components mounted on the structural steel-

In this system the vessel is raised and lowered in a lifting cage by means of a winch lifting system. A major challenge is the design of the winch system, and also the guidance of the loads and stresses in the structural steelwork. The lifting load of the winch is designed for the RH vessel, gas cooler, vacuum alloying system, etc. The suction line is to be attached with an articulated threejoint system in order to connect the exhaust line to the vacuum pump on the “stationary” part. This is achieved by means of vacuum-tight pivot bearings. For a safe lift, and also for the general safety of the plant, the system is equipped with various safety devices, such as overload limiters and slackrope limiters in conformity with crane standards. The system must also undergo regular and intensive maintenance, the ropes must be checked regularly and be changed at stipulated intervals.

Vessel lifting frame with hydraulic cylinder A modified version of this system is the solution involving one or two hyMPT International 1/ 2014

38

››› STEELMAKING

draulic cylinders. Here also, the vessel is raised and lowered with a lifting frame, though in this case the movement is performed with two hydraulic cylinders. The distribution of the loads in the system is comparable, though the movement of the lifting frame by hydraulic cylinders represents a considerable simplification of the system and, since the forces are only applied at the ends of the hydraulic cylinders, the diversion of the loads through the structural steelwork is no longer necessary, i.e. the structural steel masses are smaller now. Likewise, the elaborate rope monitoring and regular inspection are no longer necessary. However, monitoring systems for misalignment and positioning are indispensable also for this version. As before, the exhaust line is equipped with pivot bearings. A separate snorkel maintenance car must be provided for snorkel maintenance. These systems can also only be used for the single and duplex versions.

Rocker arm unit for vacuum vessel For the rocker arm units, technology from the “DH” process has been transferred to the “RH” technology. The vacuum vessel is moved by means of a rocker arm system which essentially consists of a lifting platform, lock platform, rocker arms, torsion tube, paral-

lel guide, rocker box with rocker, structural steelwork and bearing support. The vacuum vessel and the gas cooler are installed on the lifting platform. The vacuum vessel can be lifted out in upwards or downwards direction with the crane. The gas cooler is connected with the vacuum pump via an exhaust line and three swivel joints. The upper platform is supported on the lifting platform and serves as a means of support for the hot exhaust line during vessel exchange and also for the vacuum lock and the pertaining conveyor belt. The two platforms are kept in a horizontal position by a parallel guide. This guide is designed as a bar with bearings at the ends, so as to absorb the horizontal forces from the tilting moments of the lifting platform. The purpose of the main platform is to accommodate the necessary equipment items for plant operation, such as lance system, control systems, etc. The conveyor belt to the vacuum lock must be mounted in an articulated manner on the lock platform so as to allow it to follow the lifting and deflecting movements of the lifting platform. The rocker arm unit can be operated with one or two hydraulic cylinders. The cylinders are designed such that lifting and lowering can also be performed with one cylinder, though at reduced power. In the case of the twocylinder solution, the cylinders are designed correspondingly smaller.

A counterweight is installed in order to lift the vacuum vessel out of the ladle should the hydraulic system fail. The counterweight comprises specially trimmed slab parts and is installed at the time of erection. It is heavier than the lifting platform with all its equipment during the treatment and with the steel taken from the ladle. If an energy supply failure occurs, the vacuum vessel can be lifted out of the ladle with the aid of the heavier rocker, after first releasing the pressure from the hydraulic cylinder manually. A separate snorkel maintenance car must be provided for snorkel maintenance.

Vessel lifting – pros and cons The vessel lifting systems basically need the movement of large masses and also the movable connection with the vacuum system and with the alloy addition systems. These requirements alone lead to a great number of technical solutions and maintenance needs. What all systems have in common is the so-called “drive-through solution”, in which the ladle transfer car can be driven through underneath the plant and can thus, if required, supply the transfer position in another bay without further intermediate transport. Here it is not possible to change the transfer car during the treatment. For snorkel maintenance, it is necessary to provide a separate snorkel maintenance car. This has to be arranged at the side for the drive-through solutions and on the track system of the ladle transfer car for the dead-end solutions.

Ladle lifting cradle with bottom-ram cylinder

Vessel lifting cage with winch MPT International 1/ 2014

A successful ladle lifting system is the “single cylinder lifting system”. In this system, a hydraulic cylinder and a guide frame are used for lifting the ladle together with the ladle transfer car. The system using the lift cylinder has been utilized successfully in several combinations, such as for lifting the ladle and the ladle transfer car, lifting with the ladle and the lifting trough, supply via a ladle turret with lifting of the ladle and the lifting trough, etc. The concept is highly versatile and can be utilized in all plant concepts. However, the ladle transfer car cannot be changed during treatment.

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››› STEELMAKING

The lifting unit can also be used without problems for snorkel maintenance, i.e. the skull cutter can be driven into the treatment position by means of a snorkel maintenance car and then pressed underneath the vessel with the aid of the lifting unit. For this purpose, the lifting load is reduced by the control system in relation to the load required for ladle lifting. The hydraulic cylinders, and also the pipes, are protected against ladle break-through by protective hoods.

Ladle lifting with lateral hydraulic cylinders (vertical) A ladle lifting system developed by SMS Mevac [3] uses hydraulic cylinders installed vertically at the sides. This system is capable of lifting the ladle together with the lifting cradle on which it is placed. The guide frames are arranged next to the ladle transfer car and are integrated into a stable and robust side guard. The lateral guide frames perform a pressing movement under the lifting cradle. The guide frame, the hydraulic cylinders, and also the pipes, are protected against ladle break-through by protective hoods. For maintenance of the guide frames below floor level, means of access to the roller guides have been provided. It is not possible here to change the ladle transfer car during the treatment because the lifting cradle needs to travel together with the transfer car.

Ladle lifting with lateral hydraulic cylinders (suspended) A ladle lifting system with hydraulic cylinders suspended at the sides has also been developed by SMS Mevac. This system is capable of lifting the ladle out of the ladle transfer car by means of a lifting beam with laminated hooks. The lifting beam with the two laminated hooks is suspended from the four hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic cylinders are in turn suspended in an articulated manner in the top part of the structural steelwork. The guide frames are arranged laterally next to the ladle transfer car and are integrated into a stable and robust

Vessel lifting with rocker arm unit MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› STEELMAKING

side guard. The hydraulic cylinders are designed such as to allow lowering in an emergency even if a cylinder fails. The guide frame, the hydraulic cylinders, and also the pipes, are protected against ladle break-through by protective hoods. It is possible here to change the transfer car during the treatment.

Ladle lift on the transfer car A further concept solution is the ladle lift by means of hydraulic cylinders on the ladle transfer car. This solution was developed by SMS Mevac to take account of the fact that in some RH plant projects sufficient space was not available for the customary lifting concepts. The lifting and travelling movements have been combined. This provides a high degree of flexibility in the plant concepts, with single, duplex and fast-exchange plants being possible here. Since the transfer car is occupied by the ladle, no car changing can take place and, for the snorkel maintenance, a separate car with lifting hydraulics needs to be provided.

Ladle lift with winch A highly reliable, yet at the same time complex ladle lifting system is the solution involving a crane winch. Rope drums and reevings are used to create a pulley block system for enabling the effective lifting load at the winch to be reduced. The ladle is lifted out of the ladle transfer car by means of laminated hooks, each of which is attached to its own lifting beam. It is important here not to underestimate the need for an elaborate control system and also for safety shutdown facilities. Since this winch is comparable with a crane installation, the design criteria and the maintenance and servicing work are likewise comparable. For a safe lift, and also for the general plant safety, the system is equipped with various safety devices, such as overload limiters and slack-rope limiters in conformity with crane standards. The system must also undergo regular and intensive maintenance, the ropes must be checked regularly and be changed at stipulated intervals. The transfer car can be changed during the treatment.

Ladle lifting frame with hydraulic cylinders aside MPT International 1/ 2014

Ladle lifting frame with bottom-ram cylinder

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44

››› STEELMAKING

Ladle lift installed on the transfer car

Ladle lifting frame with suspended hydraulic cylinders

Ladle rocker On the basis of comprehensive experience, SMS Mevac has developed a new lifting system, known as the “ladle rocker” [4]. It brings together the advantages of the well-known systems and retains the flexibility. The following parameters were considered to be essential for the development: reliable protection against ladle break-through, hydraulics to be simple and operationally reliable, no synchronization control, safe lowering of the ladle in the event of power failure, suitable for dead-end and drivethrough solutions, vessel exchange is possible in upward and downward directions, narrow type of construction for compact duplex plants, utilization as single, duplex and fastexchange plants, accessibility of T+P systems, simple connection to the vacuum and alloying system, snorkel maintenance. The technology used in the rocker arm units has been reworked for the ladle rocker plants. The ladle is moved by means of a rocker arm system which consists essentially of the lateral arms, the connecting tube (torsion tube), the bearings with bearing support and the rocker box with rocker. The vacuum vessel and the gas cooler are situated on the permanent structural steelwork of the plant, thus removing the need MPT International 1/ 2014

for a swivel joint solution as used in the rocker arm units. This means that the possibility of leakages is no longer present and that maintenance tasks are reduced. The vacuum vessel is able to be removed in upward direction by the crane. Likewise, as opposed to the rocker arm unit, the vacuum locks and also any microalloy bins that might be present are situated on the permanent structural steelwork, thus considerably reducing the masses to be moved. Furthermore, the transition of the conveyor belts does not need to have an articulated design. The ladle rockers can be operated with one or two hydraulic cylinders. In the drive-through solution, the ladle transfer car can be driven through underneath the plant and can thus, if required, supply the transfer position in another bay without further intermediate transport. It is not possible here to change the transfer car during the treatment. The cylinders are designed such that lifting and lowering can also be performed with one cylinder. The cylinder operation is assisted by a rocker. In order to lower the ladle in the event of hydraulics failure, the rocker is designed such that excess weight is present on the ladle side. The rocker comprises specially trimmed slab parts and is installed at the time of erection. Controlled lowering is possible by means of a throttle valve in the hydraulic system. For snorkel maintenance, it is necessary to provide a separate snorkel maintenance car. This has to be arranged at the side for the drive-through solutions and on the track system of the ladle transfer car for the dead-end solutions. As regards technology, the ladle rocker solution can replace all custom-

ary lifting systems and even improves the safety and availability of the plant.

Ladle lifting – pros and cons The ladle lifting systems utilize the movement of molten masses, although the most important part of the plant is installed on permanent structural steelwork. The connections to the vacuum pump and to the alloy addition system are therefore static and, consequently, are not prone to leakages. The maintenance expenditure is thus reduced and the availability is enhanced. In comparison with the vessel lifting system, the hydraulic systems for ladle movement are also smaller and of simpler design. What all systems have in common is the so-called “drive-through solution”, in which the ladle transfer car can be driven through underneath the plant and can, if required, thus supply the transfer position in another bay without further intermediate transport. It is only possible here to a limited extent to change the transfer car during the treatment. For snorkel maintenance, it is necessary to provide a separate snorkel maintenance car, which can be arranged on the track system of the ladle transfer car.

Conclusion The decision as to which system to use for which plant concept is still strongly dependent on the customer’s wishes as regards the tap-to-tap times of the units installed upstream and on the continuous casters situated downstream and, of course, on the conditions prevailing in the steelworks. The vessel lifting systems described can be

From concept to design – we manufacture steel and rolling mill technology: Superb design consists not only of a bold plan but also of simple and reliable solutions. We offer the possibility of realizing your conceptions by developing and implementing individual and flexible solutions. A great idea!

GmbH · Hütten- und Walzwerktechnik Bahnhofstraße 101 · D-66809 Nalbach-Körprich Fon +49 6838 8608-02 · Fax +49 6838 8608-61 info@plakoma.de · www.plakoma.de

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Individual solutions – without limits

46

››› STEELMAKING

Ladle lift with winch

implemented with single and duplex plants and, to some extent, with fastexchange plants, and a ladle turret can also be utilized conditionally. Changing of the ladle transfer car during treatment is basically possible, and while a vessel lifting system is severely limited in bays with a low height, the potential offered by the ladle lifting system can be exploited here. In the event of a treatment abort, it is always necessary to lift the vacuum vessel out of the steel bath when vessel lifting systems are being used, i.e. energy must always be available, whether electrical or hydraulic. With the ladle lifting system, the ladle can also be lowered without energy, and it is possible to do this manually via a throttle valve. It is still the case that due to the requirements imposed by the plant locations, for new plants or installation in an existing steelworks, a large number of concepts are possible and, moreover, continue to be justifiable. Thanks to the further development of ladle lifting concepts, it is possible to use a modularized basic plant which functions by disconnecting the static plant components from the vessel. As and when required, a variable range of ladle lifting systems can still be utilized here. References [1] Tembergen, D.; Teworte, R.; Robey, R.: Vacuum ladle treatment using RH metallurgy. MPT International 3/2007

Ladle rocker

[2] Beermann, R.; Teworte, Dr. R.; Priday, C.: Design and components of tailored RH vacuum treatment facilities. MPT International 3/2007 [3] Krutschke, E.; Opitz, A.; Tembergen, D.; Teworte, Dr. R.: Modernisation of Eko Stahl´s secondary metallurgy. Stahl und Eisen 122 (2002) Nr. 9 [4] López, R.; Aguirre, M.; Lemken, D.; Teworte, Dr. R.: Ladle rocker for the new RH at Ternium Siderar. 18ª Conferencia de Acería | 18th Steelmaking Conference, IAS, 2011, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Errata In the article “High performance hydraulic oils” which appeared in the “Technical innovations” section of MPT International, 2013, 6 (December issue), page 56, the value for the low-temperature pumpability properties (low temperature performance) was incorrectly given. The correct sentence is: “At -40°C Mobil SHC 500 is four times thinner than similar viscosity index conventional mineral hydraulic oils (based MPT International 1/ 2014

on comparative -40°C Brookfield, ASTM D2893 test results, between Mobil SHC 525 and Mobil Univis N 46), allowing it to circulate around the hydraulic system faster at start up, ensuring the lubricant is in place to protect machine components.” The editorial staff of MPT International is grateful to ExxonMobil and some attentive readers for drawing their attention to this quotation of incorrect data in the article.

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››› MODERNIZATION

Successful start-up of the new EAF at Ferriere Nord, Italy In order to improve the melting process and optimize maintenance operations, Ferriere Nord decided to replace the existing electric arc furnace. The Pittini group ordered a new DanArc EAF. Only 38 days were needed for disassembly of the existing equipment, LQVWDOODWLRQ RI WKH QHZ HTXLSPHQW DQG VWDUW XS 7KH Ć‚UVW KHDW WRRN SODFH RQ -DQXDU\ $OUHDG\ RQ WKH WK SURGXFWLRQ GD\ KHDWV ZKHUH SURGXFHG DW QRPLQDO GHVLJQ FDSDFLW\ DQG GD\V DIWHU VWDUW XS W RI OLTXLG VWHHO KDG DOUHDG\ EHHQ SURGXFHG Ferriere Nord, the parent company of the Pittini group, is located in Osoppo in Italy, in the northeastern Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The EAF-based steel plant produces long steel products to feed two rolling mills, one for wire rod and one for rebar. In order to improve the melting process and optimize maintenance operations, Ferriere Nord decided to replace the existing electric arc furnace. The associated contract between Ferriere Nord and Danieli Centro Met was signed in September 2011. This was a very challenging project. The meltshop was already performing well, but some elements needed improvement (reduction in the number of charging buckets, making the highest possible use of chemical energy, optimization of the existing transformer power, new dropout box and water-cooled duct, hydraulic system for EAF, and a new scrap bucket design for the new EAF with existing loading and transport system, upgrading of the automation system), taking into account the limitations of the existing plant (limited space, building and crane lifting capacity) and providing the solutions needed to speed up shell and roof changes. Ferriere Nord stated its mandatory cost and quality objectives for the revamp, needing to improve both the operational and maintenance parameters. It was very clear for Danieli that right from the beginning a comprehensive team approach would be re-

Uwe Wilhelm, Maurizio Fabbro, Danieli Centro Met, Buttrio, Italy Contact: www.danieli.com E-mail: info@danieli.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

Ferriere Nord steel works in Osoppo, northeastern Italy

quired to fulfil the professional requirements of this project. The scope of the project can be summarized as follows: new EAF, 150 t capacity, 6,800 mm diameter, new EAF hydraulic system, new buckets and transfer car modification, upgrade of existing injection technology to fulfil the new requirements, new dropout box and water-cooled duct with hot water cooling, new 3Q automation concept, new HiReg electrode regulation, new EAF foundations including tapping pit, new furnace floor and slag pit. Several joint meetings were held in the proposal and engineering phases between the Ferriere Nord and Danieli teams in order to find the best solution. Thanks to the expertise of both teams, the chosen solutions have proven to be the right ones, and this became clear once the EAF was started up. After the engineering phase, both teams worked closely together, monitoring the overall project progress and the quality of each component. Most of the manufacturing was done in the same area, which helped to make this a feasible and affordable project in terms

of time and costs. The equipment was manufactured and preassembled as much as possible, with all major parts supplied “ready to install�. All the engineering was done using a comprehensive 3D model, and all the movements were virtually simulated for speed and synchronization, for a precise understanding of machine operation prior to manufacture. This meant less fine-tuning during commissioning and start-up and a nearly instantaneous ramp-up. A 3D model was also used for the on-board and field piping included in the scope of supply, with a large part of the piping pre-assembled during manufacture, which reduced the number of on-site operations to a minimum. Both Ferriere Nord and Danieli project managers worked very hard to stay on top of all the activities and to anticipate any possible changes in the project development. Excellent, prompt communication between the two teams ensured on-time manufacture and procurement. As soon as the time came for the shutdown, both project teams intensified their on-site activities to ensure that all operations would be completed on time according to schedule: disassembly of the old furnace, removal of the old foundations, pouring of

MODERNIZATION the new foundations and installation of the new furnace and dropout box. The milestones during the shutdown were: start of EAF disassembly: 17 Dec 2012 new foundations ready for EAF erection: 26 Dec 2012 mezzanine (for installation of the dropout box) ready: 3 Jan 2013 end of erection, start of cold testing: 15 Jan 2013 end of cold testing: 21 Jan 2013 first heat: 24 Jan 2013.

Main technical characteristics As mentioned above, the 6,800-mmdia. EAF comprises a total liquid steel capacity of 150 t. The furnace is powered by a 100/120 MVA transformer and fuelled by an ultra-high power chemical energy package. The electrodes are dia. 28” (711 mm). The roof (self-supporting frame design) is equipped with an extended stroke, single-point lifting system.

The quick shell/roof changing technology provides for off-line maintenance. Quick exchange of the dropout box is realized with transfer car. The new EAF is a full-platform furnace of the latest generation. This solution was chosen primarily because it fits into the limited space in terms of width and height, and provides high shell design, ultra-fast movements and good visibility and safe access for operation and maintenance. Specific attention was paid to: electrode and roof lifting and the rotation unit, electrode arm/column design, secondary system with power cable, shell design, dropout box design. Electrode and roof unit. Due to the limited space and the need for ultra-fast movements, a non-standard solution was selected for the whole unit. However, some improvements were made to the operation and reliability of the equipment as well as its main-

‹‹‹

49

tenance, i.e. higher bucket clearance with lower risk of damage due to mechanical and thermal reasons. Because of the kinematics of the unit, the cables can be shorter; this reduces total reactance and increases the power input. Furthermore, cable sway and twist are reduced providing longer cable life. The rotation unit is designed as a high-capacity roller bearing for ultra-fast speed with simplified maintenance and replacement. Electrode arms. The electrode arms are in a coplanar arrangement, which offers various advantages. All cable connections are on the same plane, and can be accessed via the service platform on the transformer side. Maintenance people can now safely reach the cable terminals at any time, from both sides of the arms and the transformer secondary system. Due to the existing crane rail being above the tail end of the electrode arm, the possibility of a triangulated arrangement for phase II was not pos-

EAF, view of current slag door side MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› MODERNIZATION

tween the melting bay and the parallel auxiliary bay. In order to perform maintenance on the dropout box using the bay overhead crane, it was decided to install the dropout box on a transfer car. This was done to significantly shorten maintenance activities. Due to the gas flow and the position of the inlet and outlet ducts, fluid dynamics simulations were performed for maximum efficiency in dust suction and gas cooling. The bottom of the dropout box has fixed cones and a discharge system to avoid extensive shutdowns for cleaning. A further advantage: continuous discharging is combined with recycling of dust and slag, which can also be partially re-utilized in the EAF process.

Engineering, procurement and installation

Panels, cage frame and EBT lower shell of the EAF

sible. With this configuration, all three phases reach the highest possible level in the raised position. This is enabled by making the shell as high as geometrically possible. The columns are located as close as possible to the furnace, reducing the cantilever effect and related electrode vibration; the roller arrangement for the mast guides is prismatic with easy-to-adjust eccentric shafts. The masts are made of Hardox steel for extended service life. Secondary system. Due to the overall reactance balance created by the coplanar arrangement of the electrode arms, the secondary system had to be specifically designed for phaseII reactance compensation. This was done by applying an innovative solution that still included a coplanar busbar arrangement outside the transformer room, especially as there is a crane rail girder limiting access options. The selected solution created a perfect balance in the system, resulting in an even distribution of the hotspots inside the furnace. Shell design. The shell is designed for full shell change, starting with the MPT International 1/ 2014

roof and the upper shell with panels and cage frame, followed by the EBT lower shell. All the panels are designed for reliable configuration, easy changing and some specific innovations, such as the shell campaign, which is never interrupted due to panel failure. Any repair or maintenance is done offline during refractory relining. Because of these requirements and in order to use the cooling water supply from the existing water treatment plant, a unique distribution concept was selected. All the injectors and burners installed on the lower part of the upper shell are housed in full copper pipe panels, while the upper portion of the shell is made of steel pipe panels. Danieli’s tap hole device is designed for safe closing and opening during operation, also allowing mechanical tap hole cleaning right after tapping. Dropout box. The EAF primary off-gases are collected in a floor-based dropout box with a movable inlet duct. Due to the characteristics of the EAF process at Ferriere Nord, the energy inside the off-gas fumes required the installation of a large chamber be-

Engineering of the project began in November 2011 and was completed in spring/summer of 2012. Joint review meetings ensured that all was within the projected scope and according to specifications. This involved very close cooperation between the Ferriere Nord operation/maintenance teams and the Danieli engineering offices, resulting in specific solutions for fast/efficient operation, easy installation, reliability during operation and quick access/exchange in case of failure. The entire project was developed in 3D to check and solve all possible interferences with the existing infrastructure, to have the right piping route for fast pipe laying preparation, with benefits in terms of shorter erection time. Project engineering was done jointly by Danieli’s divisions and the project team of Ferriere Nord. All parts were 3D modeled to greatly improve equipment dimensioning, virtual movements and set-up, piping engineering and collision prediction. All the main furnace parts were manufactured in the local region, which meant that the entire process, including workshop assembly and testing, was closely monitored. Workshop acceptance tests were carried out by Ferriere Nord and Danieli and then the parts were shipped to the site in Osoppo before the plant shutdown. As an example, the hydraulic system was completely preassembled and erected inside the workshop in an arti-

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Timing and performance. The project was concluded with remarkable highlights. Only 38 days after disassembling the existing equipment the first heat was tapped from the new furnace on 24 January. Two days later, on 26 January 2013, the plant was for the first time operated in continuous production for 24 hours. Already on the 6th production day, 32 heats were produced reaching the nominal design capacity. MPT International 1/ 2014

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Electrics and automation. The automation package replaced the existing hardware and software systems to provide a working environment with state-of-the-art interfaces, ergonomics and layout. Also a completely new 3Q system developed by Danieli Automation was supplied and the entire automation system was factory tested by both Danieli Automation and Ferriere Nord in Danieli Automation workshops before the equipment was shipped to the site.

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ficial hydraulic room of the same size as the real one, together with all the inlet/ outlet manifolds for a fast, precise erection on site.

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Conclusion Ferriere Nord and Danieli Centro Met signed a contract for the EAF revamp project in September 2011. Engineering, procurement and manufacturing went on through 2012. Installation and commissioning took place in January 2013. The total project time was 16 months. The overall results have proven to be in line with the commitments made by both sides in terms of technology, execution time and quality. Thirty-eight days was the total time required to completely replace the EAF, including the foundations and field piping. It was a challenging experience made possible by close cooperation and teamwork.

Furthermore, this project has shown that, even though there was little time for testing during outage, the equipment has proven to be reliable since the beginning; other factors that contributed to the success of the project were the engineering commitments and the high degree of workshop assembly and testing of mechanical, hydraulic and automation equipment. Efficiency of operation, based on the experience of the Pittini personnel, excellent cooperation with the Danieli team and optimum furnace performance in terms of reliability and efficiency of the technological solutions adopted, has been confirmed by the extremely short power-off time between consecutive heats.

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We are strong in know-how, engineering and service of long product rolling mills and guide systems.

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P.O. Box 101552 D-47715 KREFELD, Germany Phone: +49 2151 81290 Fax: +49 2151 611795 E-mail: office@mh-guides.de

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Morgårdshammar AB SE-777 82 SMEDJEBACKEN, Sweden

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Besides new drives, the automation system for the entire mill train was replaced

ThyssenKrupp restarts hot strip mill No. 1 after major upgrade Modernization of the hot strip mill No. 1 in Duisburg-Bruckhausen, Germany was completed following more than two years of work and 240 million euros investment. The upgraded plant is now back in full operation. The roughly 3 million tons per year capacity of hot strip mill No. 1 remains unchanged after the upgrade. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG has extensively modernized its hot strip mill No. 1 in Duisburg-Bruckhausen, Germany. “The upgrade has significantly improved our hot strip production processes and thus the quality of our products,� says Andy Rohe, head of the Rolling and Coating division at ThyssenKrupp in Duisburg. “As well optimizing technical aspects, we have also made the mill more ecological by greatly enhancing its energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.� The new technological capabilities and improved product quality are key prerequisites for the successful implementation of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe’s differentiation initiatives. Hot-rolled strip is the basis for all ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe’s flat steel products. The material is either sold to customers directly or further processed at other ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe sites. The upgraded hot strip mill 1 mainly produces starting material for 6J[UUGP-TWRR 5VGGN 'WTQRG #) &WKUDWTI )GTOCP[ %QPVCEV YYY VJ[UUGPMTWRR UVGGN GWTQRG EQO ' OCKN GTKM YCNPGT"VJ[UUGPMTWRR EQO

MPT International 1/ 2014

packaging steel specialist ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein in Andernach, Germany, where it is processed into tinplate for high-quality packaging solutions such as food, beverage and aerosol cans.

5KIPKĆ‚ECPV KORTQXGOGPVU VQ RTQEGUUGU GPGTI[ GHĆ‚EKGPE[ CPF RTQFWEV SWCNKV[ The hot strip mill No. 1 also produces starting material for electrical steel as well as sheet and extremely thin and flat special grades. For these steel grades, customers are increasingly demanding high dimensional accuracy and consistent, precisely controlled properties along the full length of the strip. In this respect in particular, “the upgraded mill has made a quantum leap,â€? says Rohe. For example, hot strip mill 1 has been equipped with profile, contour and flatness control systems to ensure highly consistent and precise dimensions over the full length and width of the hot strip. Strip cooling is a very important step in the process. Key properties of the steel microstructure are controlled by the different cooling strategies. “Our new cooling line will open up possibilities for innovative process developments,â€? says Heinz-

Josef Engelskirchen, superintendent of the hot strip mill 1. The new cooling line enables the hot strip mill to control the material microstructure to extremely close tolerances. At the same time energy consumption is minimized thanks to the technical concept employed. The reheating furnaces (used to heat the slabs to rolling temperature) have been equipped in part with new burners, which reduce heating times and require less energy. The upgrade programme also included various new drives, electrical equipment and a new automation system for the entire mill train. Most of the conversion work was carried out while production continued. Among other things, scheduled repair periods were used so as to restrict shutdown times for the work to just a few weeks. In addition to the major modernization of the hot strip mill No. 1 at the Bruckhausen site, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe also made investments to other hot strip plants in recent years, i.e. the hot strip mill No. 2 in DuisburgBeeckerwerth and also the hot strip mill No. 3 in Bochum. In total, the company spent more than 300 million euros on its strategy to optimize quality of hot rolled strip.

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THE

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EVERTZ GROUP

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››› PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Participants work systematically through a broad range of applied know-how

TECademy provides professional trainings for plant operators SMS Siemag has founded “TECademy” – an international seminar and training academy for the global metallurgical and rolling mill industry. Effective training packages are offered to professionals at steel plants and rolling mills. Engineers, plant technicians and other specialists have a unique opportunity to gain expert support so they can identify and unlock the full potential of their plants. This QR code links to the video introducing TECademy at SMS Siemag http://tecademy.smssiemag.com/start.html

Karsten Weiß, SMS Siemag AG, Hilchenbach, Germany Contact: www.tecademy.sms-siemag.com E-mail: tecademy@sms-siemag.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

German plant builder SMS Siemag has set up an own international seminar and training academy – TECademy – for the global metallurgical and rolling mill industry. The idea was to help steel makers and rolling mill operators benefit from SMS Siemag’s expertise through effective training packages. The result is an ideal opportunity for engineers, plant technicians and other specialists to gain expert support so they can identify and unlock the full potential of their plants. Karsten Weiß, general manager of the TECademy training center explains: “At TECademy, we

consolidate all our know-how to a large knowledge base aimed at training engineers, plant technicians and specialists in the field of metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology.”

First-hand lessons taught by experts Attending training and seminar courses boosts the motivation of employees and optimizes their operational efficiency. The training courses are tailored to the practical demands of plant operators. The attendees may

choose subjects ranging from basic principles to in-depth specialist fields. Basically, TECademy is built on three pillars: manufacturing (process chain) – maintenance and servicing – plant technology. Manufacturing. The detailed insight into technologies and the interactions along the process chain translate into a deep relational understanding of production – from steelmaking downstream to strip processing. At the end, competences grow by understanding the potentials and capabilities of the onsite installations. There are courses for different manufacturing areas: From steelmaking to the finished product Expert training for hot strip and heavy plate Expert training for cold strip Basic workshop for strip processing. Maintenance and service. Knowing in detail about the major parameters of plants and components enables plant designers and operators to systematically ensure a uniformly high product quality. A central objective in this area is to learn how to prevent or quickly remedy malfunctions. Plant technology. Operators taking part in these training courses intensify their know-how, gaining a solid understanding of the interconnected aspects of control technology. This supports a responsible use of resources and provides knowledge as to how plants and components may quickly reach optimal efficiency and operate profitably and reliably even in intense continuous use. Experts explain how to implement the solutions devised in concrete measures for the plants on site. Within this area, SMS Siemag is offering a worldwide unique course under the title “Safety strategies – Learning with a model�, which is a modelbased course that offers the participants the ideal way to find out more about the theory and practice of machine safety.

Three ways to study at TECademy There are three ways to attend the course. First, it is available as an interactive, web-based e-learning system.

Second, in the form of classroom training courses at the modern SMS Siemag seminar centre in Hilchenbach, Germany, with a direct link to the workshops of SMS Siemag. Or third, as inhouse seminars where instructions are provided directly at the steel works site – with customized training modules. The home of TECademy is located at the SMS Siemag headquarters in Hilchenbach, Germany. Here, the seminar centre was established for motivated learning. Associated practical work is provided at the “LernWERK� training workshop, flanking the main workshops, which are among the world’s leading sites for large-scale plant construction. There is also the “virtual reality� digital workshop, where participants can take VR tours through simulated plants. The online web-based e-learning system is available worldwide. Latest webucation instruments have been implemented, from interactive learning packages to online forums. Participants log in to modules, work on them, and send feedback whenever and wherever they wish. Individual courses. Customized training courses can be organized according to specific needs. The training modules can be flexibly arranged as to subjects and training periods. Such customized trainings can be staged at specific locations (i.e. at training rooms of iron and steel companies) or at SMS Siemag’s subsidiaries worldwide. This concept has been confirmed by the participants stating that the courses had been a great experience for them. “We met the engineers and experts of SMS who had designed and commissioned our plants. Class-room and hands-on relevance was perfectly synchronized, and we gained the maximum benefit from our time in Germany.�

Conclusion TECademy links basic knowledge with intensive follow-on courses. Participants work systematically through a broad range of applied know-how from development, manufacturing through to modernization of metallurgical and rolling mill plant and technology. The system draws on many years of experience at SMS Siemag as a global player in the field of plant engineering.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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MPT International 1/ 2014

58

››› TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

Ex-proof stainless steel valves SPECIAL EQUIPMENT Stainless steel electrohydraulic valves are manufactured with selected inoxidizable materials both for external and internal parts in order to withstand extreme and corrosive environmental conditions and to ensure full compatibility with wa-

We agglomerate your valuable dusts and fines

In the metallurgical industry we briquette e. g. steel mill residues, sponge iron (hot and cold), chrome ore, nickel

Valves made of stainless steel

ter-based fluids and pure water as well. For hazardous and corrosive environments, Atos now offers its proven ex-proof valves also in stainless steel. The valves are available in various designs: free leakage poppet-style or spool-type, direct or pilot operated, on-off or proportional solenoids with standard manual override or optional manual reset, with standard 10 W or low consumption 3.5 W power supply. Explosion proof stainless steel solenoids are ATEX 94/9/CE certified according to Ex II 2GD Exd IIC T6 Ex tD A21 IP67 protection mode, CULUS LISTED according to UL1002 & CSA22.2 n° 139 Group I Class C&D and certified according to the IECEx scheme.

powder, copper concentrate, and other ďŹ nes.

Contact: www.atos.com Briquettes are used for feeding shaft furnaces, BOFs, RHFs, EAFs, and other reduction or melting units. KÜppern – Quality made in Germany.

Four-way forklifts

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www.koeppern.de

MPT International 1/ 2014

MATERIAL HANDLING Designed for safe and spacesaving handling and storage of the large and bulky loads typically handled in the tube and pipe sector, the specialist forklifts manufactured by Combilift work as counterbalance, sideloader and narrow-aisle forklifts, and enable the maximum use of all available storage space. With fully synchronized four-way steering guaranteeing excellent manoeuvrability and

W E flexibility of use, these vehicles can be deployed from the initial stages of offloading raw materials, during the manufacturing process, through to the handling, storage and dispatch of finished product. The customized handling solutions range from capacities 1.5 to over 30 t.

C O N V E Y

Q U A L I T Y

Hot Solutions for the Iron and Steel Industry

AUMUND Solutions for s (OT MATERIAL TRANSPORT AND COOLING Forklift in operation

Combilift’s original core C series includes, for example, a 5 t C5000 XL model with high ground clearance and very roomy cab and a larger heavier-duty model, C8000, for 8 t. These robust trucks are highly suitable for companies dealing with long tube product. Their ability to work inside and out and on uneven terrain in all weathers makes them robust and reliable workhorses for universal applications in the yard and warehouse. Four-way capability enables space-saving sideways travel with loads resting on the platform for greater stability and safer manoeuvering in confined spaces. The compact counterbalance four-way CombiCB completes the line-up. It was designed for operations that need to handle a mix of palletized and long loads and is now available with load capacities of up to 4 t. Contact: www.combilift.com

s (ORIZONTAL AND INCLINED TRANSPORT s 7ET OR DRY COOLING s 4RANSPORT 5P TO ²# 5P TO T H 0AN WIDTH UP TO MM

Sinter. Pellets. DRI. HBI. HCI.

AUMUND Foerdertechnik GmbH 3AALHOFFER 3TR s 2HEINBERG s 'ERMANY 4EL q &AX E MAIL METALLURGY AUMUND DE q WWW AUMUND COM

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››› TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

International Trade Fair for Metallurgy, Machinery, Plant Technology and Products

The International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair in Russia

Lime/dololime injection system STEELMAKING The Gerdau Midlothian steel mill in Texas, USA, produces over 2 million t/year of bar and structural steel via two electric arc furnaces with continuous casters, a bar mill, a structural mill and a large-beam mill. In 2012, the company placed an order with MORE for the supply of the complete chemical injection system (oxygen, carbon and lime injection) for both EAFs. As a first step of the project, the pneumatic lime/ dololime injection system was recently started up. The system includes four dispensers, each with a capacity of 3,000 l, for the pneumatic injection of lime and dololime from the storage silos to the EAFs, two Limejet units for each EAF shell (one for lime and one for dololime) as well as oxygen and natural gas valves stands. The Limejet is a combined 4 MW burner/lime injector with innovative mixed-swirl flame technology for highefficiency scrap melting and lime injection. MORE also supplied innovative slag optimization software for calculating the quantity of fluxes that should be added to the current melting process in order to keep the slag within targets of basicity, FeO, MnO and MgO saturation. Before the installation of the MORE lime/dololime pneumatic injection system, the material was charged via conveyor belts through the fifth hole. With the new pneumatic lime injection system in operation, electrical energy consumption has decreased by 3% and power-on time by 7%. Thanks to the precise air flow control system, the material can be transferred over more than 90 m from the main silos to the Limejet injectors. Contact: www.more-oxy.com

International Trade Fair for Aluminium and Non-Ferrous Metals, Materials, Technologies and Products

3 – 6 June 2014 Krasnaya Presnya Moscow, Russia

www.metallurgy-tube-russia.com

Bonus discount for pump purchasers SPECIAL EQUIPMENT Users of dry screw pumps can now benefit from a bonus discount on a range of accessories and instruments when they buy a new GXS dry screw pump from Edwards. When customers order an Edwards’ GXS dry screw pump they can receive a bonus discount on a range of accessories and instruments, including inlet and exhaust accessories, which have been especially designed so they are sized perfectly to match the pumping capacities of the GXS range and optimize performance. Examples include foreline spool adaptors, silencers and filters. There is also a range of control and monitoring accessories available, designed specifically for the GXS range to enable complete integration into customers’ control systems, including control and monitoring interface modules, cooling water flow sensors and purge gas flow switches. The compact GXS dry vacuum pump features cutting-edge screw technology, enabling users to optimize their processes with a low cost of ownership and a reduced footprint. It features advanced temperature control and is robust and reliable even in harsh applications.

In co-operation with Messe Düsseldorf GmbH Postfach 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Tel. +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 93 _ Fax +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 40 RyfischD@messe-duesseldorf.de

MPT International 1/ 2014

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

Contact: www.edwardsvacuum.com/gxs

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

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63

TSNL@SHB ×TW EDDCHMF CONTINUOUS CASTING OMK in the Russian region of Nizhni Novgorod has successfully commissioned an automatic flux feeding unit from the S&B Industrial Minerals group at its thin-slab casting plant. The Stollberg ST2P-3 model flux feeder is an easy-touse system that has no special requirements on the media supply system in the steel works. Automatic flux feeding ensures that the mould flux trickles down onto the meniscus in a uniform manner, forming a homogeneous and uninterrupted flux film between the strand and the mould plates. The flux feeder of the ST2P-3 type is a compact, only 50 cm high mobile unit, which can be easily positioned under the flux containers. It does not require any sophisticated media supply system. All it needs is dried pneumatic air or nitrogen. It operates fully pneumatically and independently of any power supply. This makes it an extremely lowmaintenance device. The equipment in use at OMK comprises three storage containers for different flux grades, each with a filling volume of 2.5 m3, the mobile flux feeder, the feeding lines for conveying the flux material to the mould as well as the distributors which spread the flux material onto the meniscus. For switching between the flux types, the flux feeder is simply moved under the corresponding container and fixed in place. All this is done by hand. Moving the flux feeder from one container to another, takes just

Machinery Construction and Engineering for steel industries. A broad range of tecnologically advanced and reliable products and services.

Ladle inert gas coupling device - I.G.C.

'CU[ UYKVEJKPI QH VJG ƃWZ HGGFKPI FGXKEG between the containers

a few minutes. The feeding hoses can be flexibly arranged according to the specific situation on the casting platform. They may run horizontally, over distances of several meters. With the Stollberg ST2P-3 flux feeder, S&B now also offers a compact, pneumatically operated system, in addition to the electronically controlled systems ST2P-1 and ST2P-2, which can be integrated into the process control of continuous casters. Contact: www.sandb.com

International sustainability award ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION The “Fray International Sustainability Award”, an American prize for outstanding achievements in sustainability, was recently conferred on Oschatz for the company’s long-time work in the fields of energy recovery and resource efficiency. For more than 160 years, the Germany-based company has designed and built plants for the productive use of waste gases, residues and waste heat. The plants use the waste

E.A.F. scrap pusher and slag door cleaning car

heat arising from different production or combustion processes to produce industrially utilizable steam. The steam can be used as process steam in the respective company, fed into the local district heating system or used to produce electrical power via steam turbines. This way Oschatz plants make a significant contribution to sustainable energy use and therefore to a cleaner environment.

Rolling mill equipment

C.M.P. Officine Meccaniche S.r.l. Via dell’Industria, 55 33030 Coseano (UD) - Italy Tel. +39 0432 861164 Fax: +39 0432 861239 info@cmpofficinemeccaniche.it www.cmpofficinemeccaniche.it

Contact: www.oschatz.com MPT International 1/ 2014

IT – 75.13.8600 UNI EN ISO 3834-2 11/2006

64

››› TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

Continuous caster achieves slab thicknesses of up to 300 millimeters CONTINUOUS CASTING A singlestrand continuous caster capable of casting stainless steel slabs with thicknesses of up to 300 mm has been in operation at Pohang Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (Posco) in Pohang, South Korea, since July 2013. Siemens Metals Tech-

Continuous stainless-steel slab caster at Posco

nologies built the machine in Posco´s stainless steel plant SSCP 4. It is designed to produce 700,000 t/year of austenitic and ferritic steel slabs. The new continuous casting plant expands Posco’s capacity for producing high-quality stainless steels. The bowtype caster is equipped with a straight Smart Mold. It has a machine radius of 11 m and a metallurgical length of 26.9 m. Slabs are cast with thicknesses of 250 and 300 mm in widths ranging from 800 to 1,650 mm. The casting speed can reach 1.1 m/min. Siemens was responsible for the engineering, the supply of key components and technology packages, including the LevCon mould level control, the DynaFlex mould oscillator and DynaWidth for setting the slab width. The strand is guided by Smart

Segments. Thanks to DynaGap Soft Reduction 3D, it is possible to determine the position of the final solidification of the strand with high precision. This enables the roll gap to be controlled precisely and high internal slab quality to be obtained. A combination of the Dynacs 3D cooling module, DynaJet spray cooling and internally cooled IStar rollers ensures efficient secondary cooling, an important prerequisite for achieving slabs with a high-quality surface. The scope of supplies and services from Siemens also included the complete basic (level 1) and process automation (level 2) of the casting plant as well as advisory services for construction and commissioning. Contact: www.siemens.com

New burner solution reduces NOx emissions ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION A drastic reduction in thermal NOx formation in on/off-controlled high-speed burners is provided by a new solution developed by Elster KromschrĂśder. The patented low-NOx solution menoxÂŽ consists of the new burner type BIC...M, which can function in two operating modes using special control equipment: in the traditional flame mode at low furnace temperatures and in the menoxÂŽ low-NOx mode with flameless combustion at higher furnace temperatures. With the latter, NOx values can be reduced to below 150 mg/mÂł (reference value of 5% O2) even at a furnace temperature of 1,200°C and hot air at 450°C – without expensive additional piping.

In order to heat up the furnace, the burner operates in the traditional flame mode. The ignitable gas/air mixture is ignited using an electrical ignition spark and combusts inside and outside of the ceramic burner tube. An ionization electrode monitors the presence of the flame in compliance with EN 746-2. When the combustion chamber temperature rises above 850°C, the system is switched to menoxŽ low-NOx mode by a safety temperature monitor and a specially modified burner control unit BCU 465..menox. At this point, the burner is initially switched off and then restarted in the new operating mode. The gas valve and the air control valve are opened without triggering the electrical ignition spark. Gas

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We supply: 1/'- -/,!#00'+% )'+#0 7 ,))'+% *')) 1#!&+,),%6 )'11'+% )'+#0 7 #!,')#/0 7 1/'- #"%# 1/'**'+% )'+#0 7 ,') & +")'+% 7 ,')#/ "/2*0 +" &# "0 !( %'+% )'+#0 7 21 1, )#+%1& )'+#0 hpl-Neugnadenfelder Maschinenfabrik GmbH - +%#+ #/%01/ 8# 7

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and air are supplied through the same connections as in the flame mode. However, the mixture is not ignited in the ceramic burner tube but instead the chemical combustion reaction occurs in the furnace. In the menox® mode, the oxidation reactions take place without a visible flame. Compared to the traditional flame mode, the reaction zone is considerably larger and the reaction density considerably lower. This prevents the peak temperatures responsible for high NOx values, thus drastically reducing NOx emissions. Although two operating modes are possible depending on the combustion chamber temperatures, there is only one connection for combustion gas and one for combustion air. As the dimensions are identical to those of the BIC burner, the burner housing can be retained for retrofitting existing installations with the new burners.

Join the Winner

Contact: www.kromschroeder.com

Eco-friendly scale removal SURFACE TREATMENT In July 2013, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co. (Tisco) completed the processing of the first coil through its new eco pickled surface (EPS) production line. It is the first use of this technology in China. The EPS process is an environmentally friendly technology developed by The Material Works (TMW) which can be used as a re-

Three EPS cells of the production line at Tisco

placement for acid pickling of hot rolled steel strip. This patented process removes the layer of oxide (mill scale) from the surface of hot rolled steel, imparting a very clean, uniform surface. Unlike acid pickling, the EPS process uses no hazardous substances to accomplish its ‘pickling’ – just ordinary water and fine steel grit – both of which are recirculated for continuous use. The process also leaves the steel inherently rust-resistant, so it does not require the oil film that is applied to acid pickled steel to prevent rusting. The EPS production line, located in Tisco’s steel processing centre in Taiyuan China, employs three EPS cells in series. This line runs three times faster than is possible with a single EPS cell. Tisco may, at a future date, make the modifications to upgrade these cells to the new version 2.1 design which will significantly increase the line’s maximum operating speed. The line is 53 m in length. Contact: www.thematerialworks.com

24.–27.09.2014 Shanghai New International Expo Centre

www.tubechina.net Concurrent Event:

Organizers:

International Supporter:

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Phone +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 93/-77 07 _ Fax +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 40 RyfischD@messe-duesseldorf.de

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

66

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'HFG SNQPTD R@EDSX BNTOKHMF VHSG GXCQ@TKHB QD DMF@FDLDMS RXRSDL SPECIAL EQUIPMENT The use of an innovative combination of hydraulic and mechanical components has resulted in the development of the SH high-torque safety coupling system with automatic re-engagement. Through the implementation of this new hydraulic system, it is now possible that couplings developed and manufactured by R+W automatical-

ly re-engage upon reversal of the driveline after overload and precisely into the same orientation from which it disengaged. The properties of the base model ST, which safely limits torque from 2,000 to 165,000 Nm, can now be applied in situations where manual re-engagement would be too time-consuming or hazardous. The disengagement feature is based

on the tried and true principle of the safety element torque limiter. Since the implementation of the SH system has no impact on the external dimensions of the standard ST product line, it can be easily incorporated into any existing ST model. Contact: www.rw-kupplungen.de

Stressometer® Systems. Extended actuator teamwork.

The long standing problem with flatness control in multi actuator mills is now solved by ABB. To optimally make all mill actuators work together as a team is a complex task. Different actuator combinations will in these mills give the same flatness effect. The problem is to select the one actuator combination with the minimum actuator movement. The ABB patented method of Extended Singular Value Decomposition (ESVD) will optimally make this selection and make your actuators work together as a genuine team. Stressometer Tools & Services for a better strip. www.abb.com/pressductor

ABB AB Force Measurement Phone: +46 21 32 50 00

MPT International 1/ 2014

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

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67

2DMRNQR ENQ GHFG SDLODQ@STQD DMUHQNMLDMSR MEASURING EQUIPMENT High-temperature environments, such as those found in steel mills and power generation, are what magnetostrictive sensors made by MTS Systems are designed for. MTS sensors have been used for decades to provide precise linear position sensing in steel mills. As the needs of the industry evolve, MTS is addressing the issue of higher heat from different angles. One new solution is to enclose the sensor and the electronics within a hermetically sealed cylinder, similar to how sensors are embedded in hydraulic cylinders in large scale construction equipment designed to operate outdoors. To accomplish this goal, MTS has introduced a new embedded magnetostrictive sensor of the Temposonics® G-series. Embedded into a hydraulic cylinder or other equipment, this model can withstand temperatures up to 85°C and features a dual channel output. The new sensor also features an IECEx zone 2 approval for use in hazardous areas. A second solution is to physically remove the sensitive electronics and locate them far enough away from the equipment to avoid the harsher work conditions found in most mills. The Temposonics R-series model RD4 sensor incorporates a detached electronics design (the sensing element is connected to the electronics via a cable and pipe), allowing manufacturers and operators to place sen-

Examples of sensor equipment developed for high-temperature applications

sitive electronics in areas where interference or damage is less likely. Contact: www.mtssensors.com

© Utz Peter Greis, Düsseldorf

Cartoon

Thanks heaven, fracking means cracking all problems! MPT International 1/ 2014

68

››› LITERATURE SERVICE Refractory solutions for steel production 20 pages, English, German A brochure featuring the range of refractory services and products offered by EKW for steel production equipment. It covers refractory solutions for melting, secondary metallurgy, steel transport and continuous casting, and includes a product list detailing the chemical composition, service properties and application modes. Contact: E-mail:

www.ekw-feuerfest.de ekw@ekw-feuerfest.de

High-tech and know-how for rolling mill technology 32 pages, English, Chinese This brochure provides an overview of the product range of hpl-Neugnadenfelder Maschinenfabrik. It particularly features rolling mill technology for ferrous and nonferrous metals, strip edge trimming lines, strip processing lines, slitting lines and coil packaging lines. Contact: E-mail:

www.hpl-neugnadenfelder.de info@hpl-neugnadenfelder.de

Roll cooling systems

8 pages, English A brochure presenting the SelectosprayÂŽ roll cooling system developed and supplied by Lechler. Information is provided about the design of the selective/non-selective headers, the associated valve family and the control system components interfacing with pneumatic and electric systems. Contact: E-mail:

www.lechler.de info@lechler.de

Gear couplings 28 pages, English A technical brochure providing information on gear couplings manufactured by M.A.T. Malmedie Antriebstechnik. Technical data, functional descriptions and drawings illustrate the various coupling designs and sizes, key connections, shrink-fit connections, gear joint spindles, etc. Contact: E-mail:

www.malmedie.com info@malmedie.de

Gas pressure regulators 4 pages, English, German A product brochure outlining gas pressure regulators developed by Medenus. Different series of gas pressure regulators, safety shut-off valves and safety relieve valves are presented. Photos and key technical data are given of each model. Contact: E-mail:

MPT International 1/ 2014

www.medenus.de info@medenus.de

LITERATURE SERVICE

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69

Forging 8 pages, English, German, French A brochure presenting the activities and services provided by the companies of the Presstrade group in the forging sector: supply of new and second-hand forging machines, development and engineering support, special installations for massive forming, technical consulting and transport and logistics. Contact: E-mail:

www.presstrade.com info@presstrade.com

Cooling systems for industrial furnaces 12 pages, English, German A brochure explaining the principles and fields of application of hot water or evaporative cooling systems manufactured by Reining Heisskühlung. The benefits of evaporative cooling include reduced energy and cooling water consumption, no water-based corrosion and reduced thermal stresses. Contact:

www.rh-gmbh.com

Induction solutions for metallurgy 24 pages, English A comprehensive brochure outlining the portfolio of SMS Elotherm in the area of metallurgical induction solutions. These range from electromagnetic systems in continuous casting plants to induction heating systems in hot and cold rolling mills and strip processing lines. Contact: E-mail:

www.sms-elotherm.com info@sms-elotherm.com

Refractory anchoring systems 90 pages, English, German, French, Spanish A highly comprehensive catalogue of anchoring systems for refractory applications offered by vhi. Detailed descriptions, illustrations and technical data of all anchor series follow an introduction to the company’s anchoring philosophy and general anchor design information. Contact: E-mail:

www.vhi-gmbh.com office@vhi-gmbh.com

Chute transmission gearboxes 6 pages, English This brochure features the G3 chute transmission gearbox developed by Paul Wurth for blast furnace Bell Less Top® charging. The incorporated newly designed pressurized cooling system isolates cooling water from the blast furnace environment. A further key feature of the chute tilting gear is the continuous greasing system. Contact: E-mail:

www.paulwurth.com paulwurth@paulwurth.com

MPT International 1/ 2014

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››› IN THE NEXT ISSUE…

Steelmaking Production of ferritic stainless steel in VOD plants High plant productivity, long continuous casting machine sequences combined with very strict quality requirements in terms of carbon and nitrogen levels are the main objectives of the VOD plant recently started up at Taiyuan Iron & Steel in China. An optimized process allows to achieve carbon and nitrogen levels lower than 150 ppm. The VOD process parameters and the incoming steel conditions are discussed in this article.

New secondary steel treatment options realized at Ternium Siderar, Argentina Ternium Siderar decided to broaden its scope of steel grades and consequently decided to enhance secondary metallurgy treatment capability with a new vacuum steel degasser of the RH TOP type. With the new facility and in line with the 4,000,000 t/year plan, it is planned to venture into more quality demanding markets, i.e. deep drawing grades, interstitial free steels etc.

Continuous casting Design and construction of the new slab caster at Salzgitter Flachstahl, Germany The plant commissioned in 2010 produces sophisticated microalloyed steel grades, heavy-plate grades and sour-gas-resistant pipe and tube grades according to API-5L and HIC standard. The single-strand caster produces slabs in widths ranging from 1,100 to 2,600 mm and in thicknesses of 250 and 350 mm. It is currently Europe's largest continuously cast size on a non-vertical slab caster. The plant is designed as a bow-type machine with a metallurgical length of 34.4 m.

Environmental protection Sound filter solutions applied to metallic dust recycling Efficient and environmentally compatible filter solutions have been developed for flame-cutting in scrap recycling. The off-gas has to be collected and filtered, whereas a sophisticated filter technology retains the dust and filters the fine airborne particles. The cleaned air complies with the applicable regulatory requirements.

This preview may be subject to change.

Published by: Verlag Stahleisen GmbH P.O. Box 10 51 64, 40042 Düsseldorf, Germany

+49 211 69936-200, Fax +49 211 69936 -128 e-mail mpt@stahleisen.de Publisher: Steel Institute VDEh Executive Member of the Management Board: Dr.-Ing. Peter Dahlmann Editorial Staff: P.O. Box 10 51 64, 40042 Düsseldorf, Germany e-mail mpt@stahleisen.de Chief Editor: Dipl.-Ing. Arnt Hannewald

+49 211 69936 -120 Assistant Editor: Edith Mielke

+49 211 69936 -121

MPT International 1/ 2014

Publishing Staff: Managing Director: Dipl.-Ing. Adrian Schommers Advertising Manager: Sigrid Klinge

+49 211 69936-125, Fax +49 211 69936 -129 e-mail sigrid.klinge@stahleisen.de Distribution Dept.: Gabriele Wald

+49 211 69936-260, Fax +49 211 69936-262 e-mail gabriele.wald@stahleisen.de Production Manager: Burkhard Starkulla e-mail burkhard.starkulla@stahleisen.de Production/Layout: Mike Reschke e-mail mike.reschke@stahleisen.de Advertising rate card No. 37 of 01.01.2014 Publication: Every 2 months Annual subscription rate (incl. postage) Home: € 199.– incl. 7% VAT; Member States in the EU: Subscribers with VAT-No. and Third Countries: € 199.–; Subscribers without VATNo.: € 199.– plus 7% VAT; Single copy € 38.– Minimum subscription period 12 months. Termination of subscriptions can only be made from 31st December and notice of termination must be received by the Publishers by 15th November. Otherwise, the subscription is automatically renewed and payable for a further 12 months.

© 2014 Verlag Stahleisen GmbH, Düsseldorf This journal and all articles and illustrations contained in it are protected by copyright. With the exception of statutory allowable cases, utilization without the consent of the publishers is a punishable offence. This is particularly applicable to reproductions, translations, microfilming and storing and processing in electronic systems. Upon acceptance for publication, the author agrees to grant, transfer and assign to the publisher all exclusive rights to publish the work during the lifetime of the copyright. In particular, the publisher will have full authority and power to reproduce the work for commercial purposes in copies of any form (microfilm, photocopy, CD-ROM, or other means) and/or to store the work in electronic or other databases. Certification of circulation by the German Audit Bureau of Circulation (IVW) Permit number: 011-224, ISSN 0935-7254 Printed by: Kraft Druck GmbH Industriestr. 5–9, 76275 Ettlingen, Germany Printed on paper bleached totally chlorinefree (TCF) using heavy metal-free printing ink.

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