Wire Bulletin - Jan 10

VOLUME I | ISSUE I | JANUARY 2010

Rs. 125

WIRE BULLETIN India’s Quarterly Bulletin Dedicated to the Wire and Cable Industry

ASK THE EXPERT Q: What are the common methods used to test wire springs?

See answer on p. 11

Q: How are the correct dimensions

determined in the production of extension springs?

See answer on p. 11

NEWS BITES • China-Asean treaty threatens Indian exporters

Tata Communications launches Gulf cable project Tata Communications, as part of its strategic intent to participate and assist in the rapid development of the Middle East region, has signed strategic partnership agreements with several of the major telecommunications operators in the Middle East to construct a new cable system into the Gulf. The new cable will connect the region directly to the world’s major business hubs and city centres via Tata’s Global Network (TGN).

The partners, Bahrain Internet Exchange in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Nawras of Oman, Qatar Telecom of Qatar, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates will each be the exclusive landing party for the TGN Gulf Cable System in their respective geography. The cable and the

relationships with the landing parties will be further developed to provide an extended portfolio of value-added services for local and global enterprise customers who are active in this rapidly expanding emerging market.

Commenting on the development, Vinod Kumar, President and COO of Tata Communications, said: “This partnership with the top operators in the Middle East to build the TGN Gulf Cable System underscores our aspirations to be a key player in the emerging markets space.

Each of these partnerships will create mutual benefits that will multiply steadily as companies in the Middle East expand out to the rest of the world and as global MNCs seek connectivity to expand their operations to this fast growing region.” continued on p. 3

• Going green: Tata’s new mantra • GM drives in ‘Beat’ at Rs 3.34 lakh • Marico acquires Colgate-Palmolive’s ‘Code 10’ brand

ABB wins order for Namma Metro in Bangalore

• Ranjitsinji’s cricket bat stolen from ancestral palace

ABB has won an order worth Rs 506 crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited to provide power solutions for a metro network in Bangalore, India’s leading technology hub. The first phase of the Bangalore mass rapid transport system comprises two main lines covering 42 kilometres, about one-fifth of it underground and serving 41 stations. ABB will design, supply, install and commission four substations that receive and distribute electricity, each rated at 66/33 kilovolts, as well as the auxiliary and traction sub-stations.

Products to be supplied include transformers, capacitors, relays and the associated cables and switchgear as well as an integrated network management or SCADA system to monitor and control the installations. Equipment will be supplied from ABB’s Vadodara, Nashik, and Bangalore units. “Transformers and switch gear, which are critically important com-

• Diamond Cables raised Rs 30 crore from Tata Capital as a long-term working capital loan.

QUOTEABLE QUOTES is an immutable law in business “thatIt words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises but only performance is reality.” ~ Harold Geneen waste time learning the “tricks “of Don’t the trade.” Instead, learn the trade.” ~ James Charlton

ponents, will be manufactured and supplied from Makarpura, which is our largest facility in India,” a company official said.

Bangalore’s population has grown significantly in recent years, to about 7 million, as the economy and businesses have expanded and created new jobs. The urban population is expected to rise to more than 8.5 million by 2011.|WB

KEC International expands its wings

IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial .............................. 2 World Calendar ................... 3 Industry News ..................... 4 People ................................ 6 Featured Concepts .............. 7

KEC International, engaged in the business of power transmission engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), recently announced winning six international contracts totaling Rs 550 crore. The orders include five in Algeria for Rs 474 crore and one in Abu Dhabi for Rs 76 crore. The last also happened to be the second big international order for the company in the December quarter, after the Rs 470 crore order it won in October.

Production Tips ................. 10 Products, Media, & Technology..................... 11 Technical Papers ............... 12 Classified & Ad Showcase.......................... 16

The Algerian orders are for laying transmission lines, the company’s core business, whereas the Abu Dhabi order is for modification and reallocation of existing lines, the first such order for the company

internationally. These orders take the total orders received during this quarter to more than Rs 1,300 crore, or about a fourth of its order backlog as of the end September 2009. While they are marginally lower compared to the orders received during the September 2009 quarter, the pattern is more distributed considering geographies and the scope of the work.

“In Algeria, for CEEG Spa, KEC will undertake five turnkey projects of 400 KV, 200 KV and 60 KV, covering both single and double circuit transmission lines worth Rs 474 crore. The total length of these five projects is 858 km and the completion period ranges from 12 to 18 months. In Abu Dhabi, KEC will execute a project of modification and reallocation on existing lines with design and supply of emergency line restoration system (ERS) in Ruwais and Shuweihat for Abu continued on p. 3

Ramsarup Industries seeks to double its steel wire capacity

Kolkata-based Ramsarup Industries plans to invest Rs 500 crore to double its steel wire making capacity in West Bengal over the next three to four years, a top company executive said. The expansion will be funded through a mix of internal accruals, debt and fresh issue of shares. The company that clocked revenues of Rs 2,000 crore for the year ended March 2009, had recently announced plans to raise Rs 100-125 crore through issue of new shares to institutional investors to meet its expansion plans.

Currently, the company operates two steel wire plants in Kalyani and Durgapur with production capacities of 0.22 million tonnes and 0.07 million tonnes, respectively.

“We intend to add another 0.3 million tonnes to our Durgapur plant in a phased manner by 2013,” said Ashish Jhunjhunwala, Managing Director, Ramsarup Industries.

As part of a backward integration strategy, the company is also setting up a 0.7 million tonne steel plant in Kharagpur that is for production of steel billets.

Meanwhile, Ramsarup Industries has signed an agreement with the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) to supply surplus electricity generated by its waste heat, gas-based 22 MW power plant at Kharagpur. The plant was set up using technology from Outokumpu, a German firm. “This is likely to generate additional revenue of Rs 60 crore every year,” Jhunjhunwala said. The company will set up another 50 MW power plant at the same location in the next 18-20 months, which would generate power from char produced in the steel plant.

Involved in the manufacture of steel wires and TMT bars, the company commenced production of its 500 tonnes per day (TPD) direct reduced iron (DRI) plant in June 2009.|WB

A D V E R T I S M E N T

JANUARY 2010

EDITORIAL

I

f, by industry estimates, the steel wire rope and cable industry in India is slated to grow at an impressive gallop of 6-7 per cent in the years to come, there surely is a need to bring it under the limelight.

According to a study, with the increase in global demands of wire, there has been a shift in the manufacturing locations of wire business in the world. The developed nations have been reducing their output and providing an opportunity to the developing nations to absorb and acquire this share of wire production. “This,” as Mahesh Poddar, the former chairman of the Steel Wire Manufacturers Association of India (SWMAI), once said, “is what makes it necessary to take the bull by its horns.”

We, at Wire Bulletin, intend to do so. In India, there has been no publication devoted exclusively to the wire and cable sectors and therefore the one thing that has been sorely lacking is the availability of comprehensive information. Wire Bulletin will now fill that gap to enable those engaged in this industry to meet the challenges in the domestic and the world markets by being properly informed at all times. This domain of knowledge dissemination will provide our readers with updated coverage of news pertaining to wire and cable, production tips, technical articles, a focus on people in the news, information about new products, a calendar showcasing exhibitions and conferences scheduled to take place over the next few months, and so on.

Moreover, Wire Bulletin will keep you in touch with changes in government policies as also the various initiatives and innovations that will put the wind into the sails of the wire and cable industry. There is also an urgent need to highlight the various issues facing these sectors such as the lack of a suitable export promotion policy and the shortage of domestic raw materials at internationally competitive prices. In short, Wire Bulletin will serve as a platform for all the players to come together and share their experiences, concerns and achievements.

It goes without saying that your support is what will turn this plan into a reality. So let’s walk that extra mile together. Are you ready?

Huned Contractor Editor

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WIRE BULLETIN Publisher | Steven J. Fetteroll Editor | Huned Contractor Contributing Writer | Mark Marselli Director of Marketing Services | Janice E. Swindells Graphic Artist | Adrienne E. Simpson WIRE BULLETIN is published quarterly by WAI Wire and Cable Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wire Association International, (WAI) Inc. ©2010 by WAI Wire and Cable Services Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document or related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, photocopying or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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CALENDAR & FRONT PAGE NEWS India steel the ‘driver’ for new 2CV

WORLD CALENDAR February 9-11, 2010: Middle East Electricity Exhibition 2010 Dubai, India. Supported, by the UAE Ministry of Energy, the 35th Middle East Electricity exhibition will run from February 9-11, 2010, at Dubai International Exhibition Centre. All sectors of the energy industry will be comprehensively covered, with focus on water, lighting, new and renewable and nuclear energy, and bringing essential expertise to the region.

Contact: IIR Middle East | ww2.iirme.com

February 11-13, 2010: Global Steel 2010 Goa, India. To be presented by Gujarat NRE and the Economic Times, Global Steel 2010 will be the fifth international conference of its kind that will aim to answer questions such as: How will India’s burgeoning steel demand influence the global steel dynamics? How will China’s influence on global raw material and finished steel markets evolve? How will Vision 2020 and the great Indian steel dream of becoming the largest producer of steel in the world be woven together to shape the future of the nation? An exclusive mining mission to be led by Ian Macdonald, Minister for State and Regional Development and Minister for Mineral and Forest Resources and Central Coast NSW, Australia will also participate to strengthen ties between India and Australia.

Contact: www.globalsteel.in.

April 12-16, 2010: wire Düsseldorf 2010 Düsseldorf, Germany. The world’s largest wire and cable trade show, wire Düsseldorf, will be held April 12-16 at the Messe Fairgrounds. The biennial event, organized by Messe Düsseldorf, featured more than 1,100 wire exhibitors in 2008. Attendance topped 40,700 visitors from 72 countries, with more than half from outside Germany.

Contact: Messe Düsseldorf India Pvt. Ltd. | Commercial Complex, 2nd Floor, Pocket H & J, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi – 110076, India, Tel.: 91 (0)11 2697-1745, -1056, -1066, Fax: +91 (0)11 2697-1746, messeduesseldorf@md-india.com

May 12-13, 2010: Wire Expo 2010 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. To be held at the Midwest Airlines Center, this event includes the WAI’s 80th Annual Convention, trade show and technical program. Wire Expo will be preceded by the AWPA’s Long Products Supply Chain Symposium and co-located with The National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo.

Contact: WAI | Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, www.wirenet.org

Honda Motor Co. plans to use Indian steel sheet for the first time when it starts making small cars in India next year. A wire report said that the Japanese car maker plans to get most of the steel for the 2CV, a new subcompact for emerging markets, from multiple suppliers, including Tata Steel. The company reported that the steel cost 20% to 30% less than similar steel made in Japan.|WB

infrastructure investment for BIX and will cater for the high-speed and broadband international connectivity requirements for enterprises based in the Kingdom of Bahrain. By providing an additional cable system through the TGN-Gulf, BIX will enable much-needed capacity growth to maintain the unprecedented expansion in data, internet, and media traffic usage as well as improving physical diversity and overall connectivity out of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”|WB

KEC International continued from p. 1

Tata Communications continued from p. 1 The TGN-Gulf Cable System and its associated worldwide reach is expected to provide new dimensions to the infrastructure and unique service capabilities for each of the partners. Using their own cable station, each party will have access to a new high-speed route to the globe and bring in much-needed resilience and diversity to the infrastructure in each country. This capacity will enable the expansion in broadband penetration, internet usage and enterprise applications in each market. The Tata Global Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 400 PoPs, and nearly 1 million sq feet of data center and collocation space worldwide.

Mohamed Al-Thawadi, Executive Director of Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX), said, “BIX has been providing services to the internet service providers (ISPs) since 2005 with the objectives of ensuring high speed at low costs. This new submarine cable system represents a significant telecommunications

Dhabi Transport Authority/Ghantoot Transport. This project is to be completed within 12 months. The value of this order is Rs 76 crore,” informed Ramesh Chandak, MD & CEO, KEC International Ltd. An important feature of these orders this time is that they are to be executed within a smaller period of 12-18 months, unlike other orders where execution extends up to 30 months.

The rural electrification order is from the Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Ltd. (MPMKVVCL) under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) programme in the district of Morena in Madhya Pradesh state.

The scope covers electrification in seven blocks, providing connections to approximately 22,000 ‘below poverty line’ families. The value of the order is Rs 74 crore.

The sub-station order in Ghana is from the Volta River Authority for construction of a 161 KV sub-station. The value of the order is Rs 40 crore.|WB

September 2010: wire China 2010 Shanghai, China.

Contact: Messe Düsseldorf | Tel.: 86-23-6232 8000, www.wirechina.net

November 7-10, 2010: 59th IWCS Conference™ Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Contact: IWCS | Tel.: (001) 732-389-0990, phudak@iwcs.org, www.iwcs.org

November 18-20, 2010: Wire & Cable India 2010 Mumbai, India. This event, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, will be held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon.

Contact: Confederation of Indian Industry | Tel.: 91-22-24931790, www.cii.in/

May 3-5, 2011: Interwire 2011 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center for the trade show and the Wire Association’s 81st Annual Convention. Interwire is an international trade event that includes exhibiting companies, speakers, and attendees from more than 50 countries around the world. Interwire is the largest and longestrunning wire and cable marketplace in the Americas where buyers, sellers, and researchers connect with new contacts and colleagues. Details about speaking opportunities and exhibit space purchase are available through The Wire Association International, the event organizer.

Contact: WAI | Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, www.wirenet.org

June 19-23, 2011: JI Cable Versailles, France. This international conference on insulated power cables, which has multiple organizers and was last held in 2007, will present a comprehensive forum about power cables as well as exhibits.

Contact: J1 Cable 11 | www.jicable.org

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Please wirenet.o @ in t e ll u wireb JANUARY 2010 | 3

INDUSTRY NEWS DPI receives cable order for 300 kms Gujarat-based Diamond Power Infrastructure has announced the receipt of its biggest order yet of supplying 300 kms of 33 KV class power cables. The company had set up a high-voltage cable plant with a capacity to make 2,800 kms per annum up to 132 KV voltage class at Savli, Vadodara in June 2008. The company also has invested in its subsidiary, Diamond Power Transformers Ltd., to manufacture power transformers and has received an order for 14 numbers of 220 KV class power transformers. With the receipt of these orders the company’s order

book position stands at Rs 1,050 crore. Formerly known as Diamond Cables Limited, Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd. was founded in 1970. The company began its operations with a small aluminium conductors steel reinforced (ACSR) manufacturing facility. Over the years, it has emerged as one of India’s integrated manufacturers of power transmission equipment and turnkey service providers.

AT&T’s undersea cable capacity grows AT&T has announced a significant expansion of its network capacity in the AsiaPacific region through its participation in

the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) consortium. The consortium, focused on building an undersea cable system connecting Southeast Asia and the United States, recently announced the completed testing of its 20,000 kilometre-long AAG submarine cable network. This milestone now enables AAG to begin carrying commercial traffic.

The AAG submarine cable, a two-terabits-per-second fiber optic submarine cable network, is the first cable system to directly link Southeast Asia and the United States. The system provides much-needed diversity from traditional cable routes between Southeast Asia, Hawaii and mainland U.S. The cable’s more southerly routing will also provide more protection from the effects of natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis that have previously damaged submarine cable systems, resulting in disruptions to international internet links.

The AAG cable connects at AT&T landing stations in Guam, Hawaii and Southern California and is designed to provide more direct connectivity to emerging markets in Asia via landing stations in the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The cable, according to the company’s media release, also provides seamless connectivity to Australia and India via common landing points along its route.

“As an initial party and the only U.S. carrier involved in the AAG consortium, we are excited at the opportunity to offer our customers more capacity and route diversity in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Mary Anne Hicks, Vice President, International Networking Engineering, AT&T. “AT&T carries more than 18 petabytes of IP and data traffic on an average business day, and this traffic continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Our participation in cable networks

such as the AAG submarine cable network helps us to continually expand capacity for our customers’ growing global communications needs,” she added.

AT&T owns or leases capacity on more than 80 submarine cable systems, which span more than 4,78,000 fiber-route miles around the globe, including several submarine cable routes that AT&T uses to carry traffic between the Asia-Pacific region and North America. In 2009 AT&T announced plans to invest USD 1 billion to continue expanding its industry-leading network of solutions for multinational companies.

India’s first HTSC transformer uses bismuth-based wire Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced the indigenous development of the country’s first high temperature superconducting (HTSC) transformer. The 1.0 MVA, three-phase 33/6.6 kV HTSC transformer has been developed, manufactured and tested entirely with in-house know-how and uses bismuth-based HTSC wire instead of the conventional copper. A bismuth-based conductor can carry 100 times more current than equivalent size copper conductor. The availability of bismuth-based HTSC wire commercially has opened new opportunities for manufacturers of power system equipment the world over.

According to a BHEL press release, ‘This development will catapult the company into a new era of applying superconductivity in the area of transformer development, hitherto the domain of very few countries. The development of HTSC transformer will open up new vistas in the area of efficient transmission and distribution of power. It will contribute to large-scale reduction in the loss of energy and also usher in an era of safe and environment-friendly technologies.’

The significant advantages of HTSC transformers over conventional transformers are: higher efficiency; smaller size; weight and volume; capability to withstand twice the capacity overload without insulation damage or loss of useful life; and better voltage regulation capability than regular transformers. In addition, they do not require cooling oil like conventional transformers, thereby eliminating the possibility of oil fires and related environmental hazards. Also, they provide more power per unit volume in existing sub-stations.

It was a spate of large-scale power blackouts in the U.S. and Europe and Japan’s power shortage in 2003 that directed worldwide focus on high temperature superconductivity. Bismuth-based superconducting wire, discovered in Japan and first produced

by Sumitomo Electric, has been considered a major candidate for commercial applications. Bismuth-based superconducting material is made of bismuth-strontiumcalcium-copper-oxygen. The bismuth based wire developed by a ‘controlled over pressure’ (CT-OP) method improves critical current and increases mechanical strength by up to 50 per cent.

Jayaswal Neco Industries commissions wire rod plant In its bid to become a full integrated steel production company, Nagpur-based Jayaswal Neco Industries announced the commissioning of a wire rod plant. “The basic reason is that we wanted to have complete steel plant facilities. We have about a million tonnes per annum of iron making facility and now with the commissioning of our bar mill and wire rod mill we will be in the fully finished alloy steel market. This expansion plan will entail

4 | WIRE BULLETIN

an investment of Rs 900 crore and includes the implementation of a 300 MW power plant into a subsidiary company, to be named as Raigad Energy,” informed Ramesh Jaiswal, Joint Managing Director. The wire rod mill will have a capacity of 4,50,000 TPA. Jayaswal Neco Industries Ltd (JNIL) is a flagship company of Neco Group of Industries, which was promoted by Basant Lall Shaw in 1976. It originated from a grey iron foundry established at Nagpur. The company has two strategic business groups viz., steel plant division and foundry division.

The former produces iron and steel products to cater to the demand of the automobile and auto component manufacturers, transmission line tower manufacturers, seamless tube manufacturers and flange manufacturers. The product range includes HR and CR sheets, coils, bars and rods apart from carbon and alloy steel. The plant has an installed capacity for producing 6,00,000 TPA of pig iron, 4,80,000 TPA of sinter and 3,00,000 TPA of steel billets.

Pacnet to connect India and Asia

Pacnet, a telecom and internet provider, announced that it will be making its largest investment into growing its presence in India by building West Asia Crossing (WAC), a new submarine cable network that will provide direct connectivity between India and Asia, and address the country’s growing requirements for international bandwidth. “An ongoing concern for customers and service providers in India is the current cost of international bandwidth, which despite recent cost reductions in the market, still remains high by international standards,” said Bill Barney, Chief Executive Officer of Pacnet.

“To address this and help reduce the cost of connectivity for companies and individuals in India, Pacnet plans to build WAC, a cable system that will connect our existing pan-Asian EAC-C2C cable system to India,” he added. “TeleGeography expects the demand of international bandwidth in India to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 83 per cent between 2009 and 2015.

In addition to the phenomenal growth of domestic demand within India, the country is also a major hub for international submarine cables, linking Europe and the Middle East with Asia,” said TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin.

“While four new cables will soon be installed between the west coast of India and the Middle East, Pacnet’s new India-Singapore cable will be the first system deployed between the east coast of India and Singapore since 2005,” Mauldin added. WAC will be built based on the ‘joint build’ approach, where each member of the partnership is able to operate independently while benefiting from the economies of scale of the project. “While we are already in talks with potential partners for WAC, we are also considering fully funding the entire project,” Barney said.

The planned WAC cable system will have a design capacity of 6 Tbps to 8 Tbps. It will connect India, through a landing station in Chennai, to both Malaysia and Singapore.

By offering dual landing points in South East Asia, this will provide added protection from cable failure. WAC is also designed to offer the flexibility of extending connectivity into Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through

INDUSTRY NEWS separate branching units, as well as the possibility of a second cable landing point in Mumbai to offer additional capacity to cables landing off the west coast of India.

“WAC will enable Pacnet to guarantee lowest cost, lowest latency connections between India, Asia and the U.S., in addition to significantly improving connectivity and costs between Asia and the Middle East and Europe,” said Chris Wilson, Pacnet’s Senior Vice President of Business Development.

The new WAC cable is expected to cost an estimated USD 150 million and will take around two years to construct, with a readyfor-service (RFS) date targeted around early 2012. Pacnet is currently in discussion with submarine cable suppliers and expects to announce the award of the supply contract in early 2010.

Pacnet said its latest initiative comes on the back of its successful application for National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licenses in India.

The company recently received ‘Letters of Intent’ from the Department of Telecommunications for its NLD and ILD license application and is in the process of completing the required formalities. Pacnet expects to receive the licenses by the end of 2009.

Hike in steel cord and wire to impact auto industry Indian tyre companies are likely to face a dent in their margins in the coming quarters due to the unabated rise in the prices of such raw materials as steel tyre cord, bead wire, nylon tyre cord and carbon black. There has been a steep increase in the prices since September 2009 and this, according to an industry spokesperson, has pushed the prices of tyres by 40 per cent. An additional burden has been imposed by the rise in prices of rubber and therefore the stock price of major players such as Apollo Tyres, JK Tyre, Ceat and MRF have dropped 3-5 per cent in the past one month even though the benchmark Sensex has gained 5 per cent.

The main raw materials for the industry are natural rubber, petro-based products and steel-based materials. Of these, natural rubber constitutes 42-44 per cent of the total value. Petro-based products like PBR, SBR, nylon tyre cord, carbon black and rubber chemicals account for 55-56 per cent, and steel-based products like bead wire and steel cord make up the remaining 5-6 per cent. “There has been a disruption in raw material supply from major units in Western Europe where plants are being shut down to reduce losses. With Olympics round the corner, even China has seen the closure of a large number of small and medium enterprises on environmental issues. Though this is a temporary disruption, in the short term, it will impact tyre production in India and might lead to a further price hike,” said Rajiv Budhraje, Director-General, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association.

The prices of bead wire and steel cord have risen by 45-50 per cent at Rs 70-72 per kg and Rs 115-120 per kg. The bead is that part of the tyre which contacts the rim on the wheel. The bead is typically reinforced

with steel wire and compounded of high strength, low flexibility rubber. The bead seats tightly against the two rims on the wheel to ensure that a tubeless tyre holds air without leakage. The bead fit is tight to ensure the tyre does not shift circumferentially as the wheel rotates.

Africa wants to bypass India in cable connectivity Taking into account the fact that various intercontinental cables have been laid to India and the Middle East, African service providers are now clamouring for such cable links too, turning their attention to the quality of internet links to Europe and hoping to boost the quality of connectivity and traffic. Africa’s undersea cables, including the Teams cable, first carry traffic from the region to India or the United Arab Emirates before switching it on to other cables for onward connectivity to Europe. The routing causes internet traffic delays and poor voice quality.

However, increasing competition may put pressure on the telecom players to solve these problems. With the anticipated battle in the African data market due to the entry of big telecom operators including MTN, Zain, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya, assurance of quality of service to customers has turned into a factor of prime importance. As such, service providers are now looking to establish direct connection with Europe, which are expected to improve the region’s access to the worldwide web and lower the high cost of communications.

For example, Zamnet Communication System, Realtime Zambia and the Copperbelt Energy Corp have set up direct connectivity from Zambia to Europe using fiber links that connect the South Atlantic West Africa Submarine (SAT3) that runs under the Indian Ocean on the west coast of Africa to Europe.

According to Zambian Minister of Communications and Transport Geoffrey Lungwangwa, connectivity with Europe will accelerate commerce, banking, learning, agriculture, health and agriculture in the ‘e’ domain. “By connecting direct with Europe, Zambia is better placed in joining the rest of the world in the development of electronic communication solutions,” Lungwangwa was quoted as saying in Lusaka.

The West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) is also setting up direct connectivity into IP teleports in Europe through the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSY) project, according to James Wekesa, Chief Commercial Officer at the WIOCC. The WIOCC is a telecommunications carrier funded by 12 telecom operators in east, central and southern Africa including Zamtel, Vodacom, Comoros Telecom and Djibouti Telecom to develop the EASSY project. It is also the largest single shareholder in the EASSY project, which will connect more than 20 countries in east and southern Africa.

U.S. ITC review finding: PC strand duties will continue for six countries

File photo.

For this, Usha Martin has joined hands with Pearson, a global education and media company, for instructional support, including curriculum and content, assessment, teacher training and enterprising and learning management systems. By March 2010, UMSEL proposes to cover at least 15 select schools in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar with its end-to-end solutions and school management services. The target is to cover 200 schools in these states in the next seven years.

“The market survey suggests that there is no way the parents in non-metros can hope to provide high quality English medium education to their children even if they want to,” according a spokesman of UMESL. “The approach being child-centric, the curriculum has been designed keeping in mind varying intelligence levels of children and the focus will be on building on what a child can do rather on what he or she cannot do,” it was observed.

UMESL-enabled schools, it was pointed out, would bring forth transparency by strictly following the principle of no hidden or ‘capitation’ fees and the school network would charge fee ranging from Rs 750 to Rs 1,250 a month, depending on the location of the school and the class the child would attend.

A cyclical “sunset” review by the U.S. International Trade Commission found that existing antidumping orders on PC strand imports from Brazil, Korea, India, Japan, Mexico and Thailand, and a countervailing duty order on imports of PC strand from India, will remain in effect for another five years.

The panel found that revoking the orders “would likely lead to continued or recurrent material injury to domestic producers of PC strand.” It reported that the duties are as follows: Brazil, 118.75%; India, 83.65 to 102.07%; Korea, 35.64 to 54.19%; Mexico, 62.78 to 77.20%; Thailand, 12.91%; and Japan, 0 to 15.8%. It also will continue a countervailing duty of 62.92% for India.

The five-year “sunset” review was initiated in December 2008 to review trade orders issued against five of the countries in 2004 and a trade finding issued against Japan in 1978, the ITC noted. At an earlier stage of the sunset review proceeding, the Commerce Department found that dumping by all countries is likely to recur if the orders were revoked, it said.

“Per information submitted by the domestic industry, the volume of imports from the six countries was projected to increase significantly if the orders were removed based on large and increased capacity to produce PC strand in the foreign countries, high levels of unused capacity, and the export-orientation of the foreign producers,” the report said. Underselling by subject imports was also projected, as were adverse effects on the “highly vulnerable” domestic PC strand industry, it said.|WB

Usha Martin to provide educational solutions The Rs 4,700-crore Usha Martin Group, having interests in wire ropes, steel, communication software, value-added mobile service, infrastructure development and media, through its education arm, Usha Martin Education & Solutions Ltd (UMSEL), proposes to provide standardised end-to-end solutions and school management services to create a national network of high-quality English medium schools in non-metro towns and cities, according to a company release.

JANUARY 2010 | 5

PEOPLE

Bajaj

People on the move Steel Authority of India Limited has appointed Punkaj Kumar Bajaj as the new managing director of SAIL’s Durgapur steel plant with effect from November 1, 2009.

Bajaj took over charge from the outgoing MD V Shyamsundar in a ceremony held at Ispat Bhawan, Durgapur on October 31.

Before taking over as MD of SAIL DSP, Bajaj was Executive Director (Operations) and in charge of special steels at SAIL’s corporate office.

Atul Chaturvedi, a 1974 Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has taken over as the Secretary in the Ministry of Steel. Chaturvedi succeeded P.K. Rastogi, who superannuated on October 31, 2009. He was earlier the Secretary, Department of Fertilisers in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had approved the appointment on October 21, a statement said.

Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2009 India, organised by Enterprise Asia in December. The honour was in recognition of Agarwal’s vision of ‘connecting every home on the planet’ and driving the company towards attaining this goal. Under his stewardship, Sterlite Technologies has undergone an impressive financial turnaround, with over 600 per cent growth in net revenues since FY05.

Sterlite Technologies earned about USD 0.5 billion in net revenues in FY09. “We embarked on a strategic four-point programme: Improve margins by drastic reduction in cost of production, maintain market leadership, diversify our client base into growth geographies and develop solutions in synergy with existing business lines,” said Agarwal. Sterlite Technologies has a global client footprint that extends to over 70 countries and lays claims to growing market shares in Europe, China, Africa and the Middle East.

Agarwal honoured with entrepreneurship award Pravin Agarwal, Director of Sterlite Technologies Limited, a global provider of transmission solutions for telecom and power industries, was awarded the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award’ at the

6 | WIRE BULLETIN

Pravin Agarwal, Director of Sterlite Technologies Limited.

OBITUARY

Balasubramanian Renowned metallurgist Dr. R. Balasubramanian, a professor at the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, succumbed to cancer at the age of 48 on December 9, 2009. He had completed his B Tech in Metallurgy from IT BHU in 1984 with a gold medal and later earned Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY in the U.S. in 1990. Dr. Balasubramanian was an avid musician also.

Said Agarwal, “We are scaling manufacturing capacities to achieve a top position for power conductors and be in the third place for optical fibers and cables by FY12.

The step-up in our market shares is a huge challenge, but I believe that we have a winning team and strategy in place.”

The Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) recognises and honours business leaders who have shown outstanding performance, tenacity and perseverance to

Fondly known as Corrosion Guru, he had unraveled the mystery of the 1,600 yearold iron pillar of Kutub Minar, which has not corroded since it was built.

Prof Balasubramaniam’s research interests included material-hydrogen systems, environmental degradation of materials, structure-property correlation in advanced materials and Indian archaeometallurgy. He was a prolific researcher and had published more than 250 research papers in journals of repute.

He was also the author of ten books. One of his most recent research projects was his work on corrosion prevention of rails under the Technology Mission on Railway Safety. He was also an editorial member of a number of international journals in the area of corrosion and archeometallurgy. He was one of the finest teachers and had recently received the inaugural Distinguished Educator Award (2009) from Indian Institute of Metals (IIM).|WB

continue innovating and develop successful businesses under adverse situations and environments. The objective of the awards is to enhance the awareness and importance of entrepreneurship and stimulate the growth of local and regional brands/enterprises both locally and regionally. The country APEA awards are held annually for business leaders in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and India.|WB

FEATURED CONCEPTS Opposition, challenges and a growing GDP n this land of contrasts, the announcement of almost every new industrial project is immediately followed by news reports about revolts, protests and accusations. This is evident enough from what is happening with Posco’s project in Orissa. Interestingly though, none of all this is stopping India’s industrial progress.

I

An interesting letter now doing the rounds of email boxes of activists, journalists, bureaucrats and industrialists is one written by the National Center for Advocacy Studies in Pune and addressed to the Posco TJ Park Prize Committee Members of South Korea.

This is what it states: “We, the people from India and different parts of the world concerned with the protection of human and environmental rights, have learned from http://www.postf.org/eng/prize/overview.jsp that from 2006 onwards the Posco TJ Park Prize has been awarding an individual or organisation its Community Development & Philanthropy Prize. This gives us reason to believe that as an organisation, Posco is concerned about community development and has respect for human rights and social justice initiatives.

Seashore in Orissa: The locals fear that the steel projects will contaminate the water. Photo courtesy of the National Center for Advocacy Studies.

“We therefore find it ironic that Posco is simultaneously perpetrating severe human rights violations and threatening people’s livelihoods specifically in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa where the livelihoods of more than 20,000 people are at risk due to Posco’s USD 12 billion (around Rs 52,000 crore) plan to build a 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant, captive port and mines. This plant will require 4,004 acres of land, in addition to land for a railway, road expansion and mine development. The land earmarked for this purpose has been used for generations by dalits (untouchables), agriculturalists, workers and small businesses. These people will lose their homes and livelihoods as a result of this project.

Activists stage a ‘rasta roko’ in Orissa against Posco.

“The proposed steel plant is predicted to have devastating impacts on the environment and ecology in the area. Posco has ap-

plied for prospecting licenses and direct leases for mining. The license would allow the company to mine on 2,500 hectares in

Production of Tata’s Nano car was shifted from the proposed plant at West Bengal to Gujarat. iron ore rich Khandadhar in Sundergarh district. These areas are currently covered with dense forest, which is home to a wide variety of wildlife and flora. The indigenous communities living there are totally dependent on these forests for fuel, fodder, fruits and medicinal plants. The water springs that exist there provide water for drinking as well as irrigation. Furthermore, the mining will affect the Khandadhar waterfall—a famed tourist destination in the state.

“In keeping with the points outlined above, we strongly urge that you, as independent committee members, immediately look into the matter with an open mind and urge Posco to withdraw from the proposed project in order to respect and protect the rights and livelihood of the indigenous people and save the rich environment and biodiversity in the state of Orissa.” According to Prashant Paikray, Spokesperson, Posco Prathirodh Sangram Samiti (Anti-Posco People’s Movement), the letter is being circulated to build up a signature campaign across the country. “Signed copies of this letter will be sent to Seung-Sam Yu, Committee Chief, Social Enterprise Support Network, Seoul,” Paikray told the Wire Bulletin.

Posco’s problems On June 22, 2005, Pohang Steel Company (Posco), a large South Korean corporation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Orissa in eastern India. This understanding outlined Posco’s proposal to invest in the mining industry and build a steel plant, capture power station and port in the Erasama block of Jagatatsinghpur district. For the last four years, people living in the villages at the proposed site have been vehemently protesting against the land acquisition process on the basis that it would destroy their livelihoods and the surrounding environment.

Ever since then, Posco has found itself on a see-saw, shifting its stance time and again.

One of the latest reports in the media states that the company has sought more time from the central government for implementing the SEZ project. “Due to certain issues in the acquisition of large land for a multi-product SEZ, Posco India has not been able to meet the minimum land re-

quirement for the SEZ,” an official in the Ministry of Commerce stated. The company, which is also facing regulatory hurdles in leasing iron ore mines, has already been given an extension twice since October 2006 which is when it received in-principle approval for its 12 million tonne project.

Meanwhile, Posco India has conveyed to the Ministry of Commerce that it is “committed to the project” despite the problems of land acquisition. Prior to this fresh development, Mines Minister B K Handique had said, “Faced with problems in acquiring land at the site, Posco will slightly alter its location.” Later, the minister’s office said that Posco would not move out of Orissa but may shift to a nearby location.

When contacted, Posco India Vice-President Vikas Sharan said, “There were never any plans to move from the site area in the past nor there are any such plans now. We are committed to the Orissa project.”

The company required 4,004 acres of land, of which 3,566 acres belongs to the state government while 438 acres is privately owned. Of the government patch, 2,958.79 acres were categorised as forest land for which the Supreme Court last year had allowed diversion on condition of fulfillment of some statutory requirements.

According to a Posco official, instead of thinking about changing the site of the project, the company, with the support of the district administration, is now engaged in negotiation with the affected villagers on issues like compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation.

A tourist’s view of Orissa.

The company has a plan for alternative engagement to the landless people of the area. There are about 3,500 people in the age group of 18 to 40 in the project-affected villages, of which about 1,500 are landless labourers, mostly living by working on betel vines and prawn gheries (farms) on encroached government land. These landless labourers form the core of the opposition to the project. To win them over, the company plans to provide alternative employment even before the project comes up.

For the purpose, it proposes to construct a 10 km long marine road from Dhikia in the project site up to Paradeep. Apart from saving the local people from a tidal wave, the proposed road will provide jobs to hundreds of people and work as an important communication link for transportation of raw materials for implementation of the steel plant.

Posco, the parent company, operates two of the world’s premier steelworks at Pohang and Gwangyang, having a combined production capacity of 31 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The Pohang steelworks produces 13.5 million tonnes of crude steel and specialises in the production of small lots in a broad range of products, including hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled sheets, plates, wire rods, electrical steel and stainless steel. The Gwangyang works focuses on mass production of limited high-demand products such as hot- and cold-rolled sheets, and produces 17.5 million tonnes of crude steel. Posco’s products are shipped to more than 60 countries around the globe.

A temple in Chhattisgarh.

Brothers in arms Posco is not the only one to face local heat. The increasing dominance of Maoists in Chhatisgarh’s iron ore-rich pockets have led to the halt of several key industrial projects in the region and scared off potential investors. The state’s Bastar region, spread over about 40,000 square kms, has almost 20 per cent of India’s finest quality iron ore reserves. But industrialists are apprehensive about investing in the restive region, a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).

“The investors who have signed deals for setting up steel projects in the region are not getting their projects moved because of Maoists’ meddling,” said Ashok Surana, who heads the Mini Steel Plant Association which is a forum of 175 steel units based in central India. “The Maoist dominance is growing in the iron ore-rich pockets of Chhattisgarh. It would be risky to invest in projects in this region. Even mega projects of Tata Steel and Essar Steel have been held up,” he added. Both Tata Steel and Essar Steel had signed separate deals in June 2005 with the state government for setting up integrated steel units in Chhattisgarh.

Tata proposed to set up a 5.5 million tonne plant, while Essar had plans to build a 3.2 million tonne plant. However, the projects got stuck as Maoists offered direct support for those families whose land was to be taken over for the plants. In a recent development, it has been reported that land for the Tata Steel project has been identified and the government has started disbursing compensation to the villagers whose land is being sought. According to Raman Singh, Chief Minister, Chhatisgarh, “The steel plant will be set up in two phases at a cost of Rs 19,000 crore and 80 per cent of the disbursements have already been made.”

A file photo of steel production.

The worst-hit has been the state-run National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC), the country’s largest iron ore producer and exporter, whose slated mining project was pushed to the back burner due to the insurgency. NMDC produces roughly 80 per cent of its 27 million tonne annual iron ore output from Bailadila reserves in the Moist-infested Dantewada of Chhattisgarh. The Maoist insurgency began in 1967 as a peasant rebellion, but has now spread to large parts of central and eastern states. They have a strong presence in the states of Jharkhand, continued on p. 8

JANUARY 2010 | 7

FEATURED CONCEPTS Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

In fact, the issue is so serious that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in October this year that Maoism was the “greatest internal security threat.”

Map of Orissa.

There have been other similar cases.

After the land acquisition row faced by Tata Motors for its Nano project in West Bengal, global steel major Arcelor Mittal in Jharkhand had to face the heat for the same reason when it announced its greenfield steel project. Arcelor Mittal had selected an area in Khuti district of Jharkhand for their plant. The project needs around 11,000 acres of land, of which 8,800 acres was required to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant and 2,400 acres for establishing a township. The steel major was also allocated iron ore mines and coal blocks.

Analysing the issue Taking a bird’s eye view about this issue, Salil Tripathi, a London-based writer who specialises in Asian and international eco-

8 | WIRE BULLETIN

nomic affairs, has stated in an essay (copyright: Yale Center for the Study of Globalization), “Securing consensus in a billion-strong country where everyone has an opinion cannot be quick. As a democracy, India cannot impose pass laws, as in South Africa’s apartheid regime, or restrict rural-to-urban migration, as China attempts.

It must manage the transition in a humane way. The state can take some simple steps, such as getting out of the business of acquiring land for private purposes, so that companies negotiate directly with the people, with the state restricting its role to regulator and enforcer of the law.

“Change in India takes time, but deliberated upon, the result of a struggle, debate and compromise, the effects are longer lasting. That’s perhaps the only way to govern a multi-everything entity like India. The drama in West Bengal (over the Nano project) was not a step away from globalisation, but rather a reflection of a nation making up its mind on how to engage with the world.”

Indeed, West Bengal’s Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said as much in early November: “Globalisation is a must.

Any country that chooses not to be part of globalisation is bound to be doomed.”

Engaging the community The solution lies in establishing a twoway channel that takes into account overall development of the region and its people along with the company. An example is that of Tata Steel which will invest Rs 2,000 crore on environment conservation at its Rs 19,500 crore plant coming up in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district. “Tata Steel officials made a presentation at a public hearing for environmental clearance and committed to invest Rs 2,000 crore on environment con-

servation. Now, 2,044 hectares of land would be handed over to Tata Steel,” said Bastar District Collector M S Paraste, who presided over the meeting.

In its presentation paper, the company said it would take special measures to abate pollution, solid waste, water pollution and noise. “The plant is going to implement state-of-the-art pollution control equipment like electrostatic precipitators, bag filters, dust suppression systems such as water sprinklers, dry fog system etc.,” the paper stated. As per the presentation, “Estimated annual earnings from taxes and levies would be about Rs 2,400 crore for the government from the Tata Steel Chhattisgarh unit, while the infrastructure development would to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore per annum.”

Bastar is a place of natural beauty.

But, growth continues Interestingly, despite all such stumbling blocks, the Indian industry’s growth story, and particularly of steel, has been through dramatic upward spirals. The Indian steel industry entered into a new development stage from 2005-06, riding high on the resurgent economy and rising demand for

steel. Rapid rise in production has resulted in India becoming the fifth largest producer of steel. It has been estimated by certain major investment houses, such as Credit Suisse, that India’s steel consumption will continue to grow at nearly 16 per cent until 2012, fuelled by demand for construction projects worth USD 1 trillion. The scope for raising the total consumption of steel is huge, given that per capita steel consumption is only 40 kgs, compared to 150 kgs across the world and 250 kgs in China.

The National Steel Policy has envisaged steel production to reach 110 million tonnes by 2019-20. However, based on the assessment of the current ongoing projects, both in greenfield and brownfield, the Ministry of Steel has projected that the steel capacity in the country is likely to be 124.06 million tonnes by 2011-12. Further, based on the status of MOUs signed by the private producers with the various state governments, it is expected that India’s steel capacity would be nearly 293 million tonnes by 2020. As such, revolts and protests, as industry analyst Nikhil Khanna puts it, are certainly not going to make Indian industry halt in its tracks. The latest, for example, is that Hindalco is raising Rs 4,500 crore in debt to fund a new 1.5 million tonne per year alumina refinery in Orissa. That’s how the cookie crumbles.|WB

Do you have a concept to be presented in a future feature article? Please submit by e-mail to: wirebulletin@wirenet.org and include high-resolution digital photographs.

In India please contact: Source Smart Namdeo Ranjane 206 Stanford Plaza, B65 New Link Road Andheri(W), Mumbai 400053 Telephone: 22-2673-4850 Fax: 22-2673-4851 Email: sourcesmart@gmail.com

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JANUARY 2010 | 9

PRODUCTION TIPS Excerpt from: Forming and Bending The Ferrous Wire Handbook, Chapter 34

Slide forming process Most parts commonly known as wire forms are produced on slide forming machines. A universal production machine, also referred to as a “multiple-slide” machine, is designed to form wire or narrow strip metal automatically by the combined action of four cam-actuated slides positioned 90 degrees to one another and operated in the same plane. By changing the forming tools mounted on these slides together with related tooling, a wide variety of forms can be produced in the same slide machine. Most slide machines operate on a horizontal axis and feed from left to right, but newer machines are configured vertically, and some feed from the right.

and pulled into the forming machine. At the end of the feed cycle, the stock check unit grips the wire to hold it in place while the feed carriage moves back to the starting position. The wire is clamped and cutoff immediately at the end of the feed cycle and is then formed by the front slide against (or around) the center form or arbor. The forming cycle continues by sequenced motion of the two side slides and the back slide. If required, vertical motions and additional horizontal motions can be incorporated using standard modular attachments. Production rates range from 15 to more than 500 parts per minute depending on the length of the blank, complexity of forming operations, and the size of machine and material.

Vertical slide machines Vertical slide machines come in many sizes and wire capacities. Their forming flexibility far exceeds the early horizontal slide machines in that the vertical design allows long complex parts to be made easily. Bending motions completely surround the part and can form from the top, bottom, right, left, front, and rear in vertical slide machines.

Fig. 1. Various wire shapes produced on a slide-forming machine.

Slide machine operation

Forming machine selection

The feed mechanism pulls wire or strip from coils through the roll straightener to a length established by the adjustment of the feed eccentric. Some slides use a numerical control feed using four rollers with a closed loop encoder system for accuracy. Wire to be formed is gripped by the feed carriage

Maximum wire diameter (in basic steel) and maximum length of feed are principal specifications determining suitability of a machine for a given application. Length of strokes available on the forming slides and type of wire material to be formed are other important factors.

10 | WIRE BULLETIN

There are a number of slide machines available with unique machine specifications.

Horizontal and vertical slide machines can be used to form parts made from flat wire or strip stock by substituting flat stock rollers in the two-plane straightener, and by modifying the primary cutoff and stock check unit. The cross-sectional area of the strip that can be successfully handled is equivalent to the cross-sectional area of round wire for which a given machine is rated.

For blanking, piercing, or trimming operations within limited tonnage pressures, a modular press attachment (often with progressive dies) can be mounted in the space usually occupied by the primary cutoff.

This attachment performs progressive stamping operations and cuts the stock. A press attachment can be used to form “ears,” notches, or flattened portions on wire where the required pressures are within its capacity. When greater pressures are needed for flattening, coining, or embossing operations on wire or strip, consideration must be given to slide machine models incorporating a crank press or toggle press as an integral part of their design or as bed-mounted or standard floor units.

These combination press and slide machines are available with a fixed, wide press section, or with bed space to accept as many as three narrower modular press heads, which can be moved laterally in the available space to permit indexing with the progression of the stamping. Also, on horizontal slides, the press module can be reversed to operate from the back shaft if required. Press capacities range from 5 to 100 tonnes and to 21.75 in. (55.25 cm) in the length of die space in a single press unit.|WB

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Steel wire rope for brakes

ASK THE EXPERT

Centrifugal oil cleaning system for wire drawing oil Pune-based Autowin Systems has developed an innovative oil cleaning system without any consumable/replaceable filter element which can separate particles down to one micron and below from lubricants.

This system has proved to be a solution to the problem of accumulation of metallic particles in drawing lubricant during the wire drawing process. Accumulation of particles causes thickening of oil, eventually requiring replacement of the entire drawing oil with new. It also leads to wear and tear of dies and reduction of their life. Contaminated oil also causes scratch marks on the wire being drawn thereby affecting quality of the finished product.

Increased oil viscosity results in increased power consumption and excessive oil losses, as more oil sticks to the wire surface and is carried with the wire. Metallic particles cause choking of oil passageways, oil cooler tubes etc, thus affecting the oil flow and causing excessive heating of oil. A new oil cleaning system based on the principle of centrifugal separation is now available.

This system is completely reusable. It does not have any filter element and hence there is no consumable/replacement cost involved in its usage.

The unit consists of a centrifuge, electric motor and pump, pressure gauge, electrical switch gear, hour meter, timer etc.

continued from p. 1

Q: What are the common methods used to test wire springs?

Wellworth Wire Ropes has announced a range of wire ropes for application in all kinds of automobiles. According to the company, each wire rope is checked for its compliance with international manufacturing standards on the basis of the following parameters: nominal rope diameter, construction of rope, DIN or work-norm, tensile grade of wire, bright or galvanised, regular lay or long lay, right or left lay, steel wire rope lubricant or dry length, and breaking load.

For further details contact Wellworth Wire Ropes, 4045, Ajmeri Gate, New Delhi – 100 006. Tel.: 011-23212012. Email: sales@wellworthwireropes.com.

Thermocouple extension compensating cables Udey Instruments offers a wide range of LT PVC and XLPE insulated instrumentation, control cables with copper conductors.

It also offers on request special purpose FRLS compound for inner and as well as outer sheath. The standard constructional features of thermocouple extension compensating cables are as per IS:1554 (part I) and generally manufactured for all types of conductors and sizes conforming to IS:8784, BS:4937, IEC:584, ANSI: MC: 96.1, DIN and JIS. These can be used to extend thermocouple circuits from the censor to the reference unit.

For further details contact: Udey Instruments, G-21, Apollo Industrial Estate, Off Mahakali Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai – 400 093. Tel.: 022-26879555. Email: udeyinstruments@rediffmail.com.

Fig. 1. Wire spring.

A: Several tests are used to test the structure and durability of spring wire. They include: Wrap Test. A wire sample is coiled in a closely spaced helix around a mandrel of specified diameter. After wrapping, the specimen is examined for cracks. The sample is considered to have failed if any cracks occur in the wire after the first complete turn.

Coiling Test. The test is used to determine if imperfections are present to the extent that they may cause cracking or splitting during spring coiling and spring extension. A coil of specified length is close-wound on an arbor of a specified diameter. The closed coil is then stretched to a specified permanent increase in length and examined for uniformity of pitch with no splits or fractures.

Bend Test. A test piece is bent through a specified angle around a specified mandrel. When complete fracture does not occur, the convex side of the sample is examined for cracks.

Torsion Test. A straight length of wire is twisted in a fixture until fracture occurs. The fracture surface should be perpendicular to the axis of the wire and free from cracks or other injurious flaws.

Q: How are the correct dimensions determined in the production of extension springs?

A: The free length of an extension spring is the distance between the inner surfaces of the ends as shown in Fig. 2.

Terminations and joints for medium voltage cables

The centrifuge unit is placed near the wire drawing oil tank. Oil is drawn from the tank and supplied to the centrifuge under pressure. A twin jet rotor of the centrifuge rotates at a speed up to 5,000 rpm and the resultant centrifugal force separates the finest metallic particles up to 1 micron and below from the oil. The separated particles are collected inside the rotor in the form of a cake, which can be easily removed and the unit put back to use. The centrifugal oil cleaning system is available in a standalone unit which is equipped with a motor and pump. It is portable and can be easily moved near the emulsion tank from which the oil is to be cleaned.

For further details contact: Autowin Systems Pvt. Ltd., Plot 2, Vedant Nagari, Karve Nagar, Pune. Tel.: 020-25431052.

Email: autowin@vsnl.com. Website: www.autowinsystems.com

Ele Chem Systems offers heat shrinkable terminations and joints for medium voltage cables. These are available for a complete range of cables i.e XLPE/PILC/PVC and EPR from 6.6 KV up to 36 KV voltage ratings. According to the company, these fit a wide dimensional range and possess high tracking resistance in harsh environmental conditions along with immediate energisation on completion and stress control properties.

Fig. 2 Typical extension spring dimensions.

Three-core end terminations.

For further details, contact Ele Chem Systems, 1007, Sector 46-B, Chandigarh, Punjab – 160 047. Tel.: 0172-5040504.

Email: elesystems@rediffmail.com.|WB

It is equal to the spring body length plus ends, where spring body length is given by Lbody = d(N+1). The gap, which is sometimes referred to as “hook or loop opening,” can be varied by the springmaker. Certain manufacturing processes require a minimum gap. The number of active coils in a spring is approximately equal to the number of coils in its body. For springs with threaded inserts of swivel hooks, the number of active coils is less than the total coils in the body. Hooks and loops add to the number of active coils.

Allowances of 0.1 Na are occasionally made for one-half twist loops. Allowances as large as 0.5 Na can be made for some cross-center, full-twist and extended loops.

The excerpts above have been printed with permission from the Handbook of Spring Design, Copyright © 2002, Spring Manufacturers Institute, Inc. For more information visit: www.smihq.org.

JANUARY 2010 | 11

TECHNICAL ARTICLE Electromagnetic (EM) Non-destructive Evaluation of Steel Wire Ropes: A Preview Non-destructive evaluation cannot test for fatigue but it can improve the reliability of initial identification of locations on a wire rope that has significant degradation.

By Debasish Basak

Assessment of rope condition either by visual examination or drawing a specimen rope length and subjecting it to destructive evaluation seldom speaks about integrity of the entire rope length in the installation.1 Further, ropes that are used on friction winders and aerial ropeway passenger cable car installations cannot be assessed at any cost due to non-availability of rope length for destructive investigation. Under these situations, non-destructive investigation is the only means to study and evaluate its behavior.

Magnetic flaw detectors are used to determine rope wearing.2 The detectors can measure loss of metallic area (LMA) and detect local faults (LF) such as broken wires and other faults. Deterioration of a rope during its lifetime leads to a reduction of the rope safety and to its possible destruction. Electro-magnetic nondestructive testing allows an increase in the safe use of steel ropes due to objective, reliable and documented evaluation of the actual rope condition and by ensuring timely rope replacement.

Available methods and scopes Visual inspection is the most conventional inspection method where experts observe the rope surface and assess its condition empirically. They cannot evaluate inner failure such as corrosion. The visual method can also be an inadequate form of inspection due to its subjectivity. On a practical basis, it is nearly impossible to review thoroughly a rope covered by lubricant. Only surface faults of the rope can be detected and this is insufficient to define its condition correctly.

Visual inspection alone is inadequate to provide a real definition of the rope degradation level, even if the inspection is fulfilled conscientiously. Using the electromagnetic method, a rope expert is better able to estimate rope condition. Electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation of wire ropes has been in regular use in a number of countries for inspection of hoisting ropes in deep mines and inspection of aerial ropes. The principle of operation for electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation of wire rope systems employ:3 measurements of fringe fields near the surface of the rope to detect local defects such as broken wires, corrosion pitting, local wear; and measurements of changes in magnetic flux passing through a short length of rope to quantify changes in the metallic cross-section.

Fig. 1. Steel wire rope.

Objectives The following are the main objectives for the nondestructive evaluation of steel wire ropes used in mine winders and in aerial ropeways: • study of the condition of ropes over a period of time at regular intervals of three months, six months, and one year depending on the age and condition of the ropes in the installation; • assessment of the suitability of ropes by non-destructive evaluation; and • achievement of the optimum safety, economy and reliability during operation of the ropes in their current installation.

Fig. 2. Winding steel wire rope.

12 | WIRE BULLETIN

Fig. 3. Instrument set up for scanning of drive ropes.

Instrumentation recently used for non-destructive testing of steel wire ropes generally uses the “DC Magnetic Method4” for magnetization of the rope with permanent magnets and detection of the changes of magnetic field around the rope and total magnetic flux. Discontinuity in the rope, such as broken wire or corrosion pit, creates radial magnetic flux leakage and the sensor detects it as the rope passes through the sensing head. Other sensor measures total axial magnetic flux in the rope. It provides information about loss of steel due to missing wire, continuous corrosion or abrasion.

Detectability of rope defects depends mainly on the sensing head employed but readability of its signals and ease of operation depends mainly on the recording/processing instrument. The sensing head brings the running sector of wire rope to a condition close to magnetic saturation and provides signals from its sensors.

Rope rejection criteria can be divided qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative criteria are: various types of deformation; damage as a result of high temperature or of a flash influence; and strand or metallic core break. The qualitative criteria are: diameter change, surface or inner abrasive wear and (or) corrosion of

wires that lead to loss of metallic cross-sectional area (LMA), quantity of breaks of outer and inner wires per definite length (usually per 6d, 30d or 40d, where d in mm is nominal rope diameter). The last criterion involves the rope’s local faults (LF) whereas LMA belongs to the dispersed faults. The LF and LMA signals of the nondestructive evaluation instruments represent the electronic equivalent of the mechanical anomalies present in the wire rope. The saturating magnetic field of the instrument makes the anomalies visible to the magnetic sensors placed around the rope. This process is similar to the nondestructive examination of a human body with X-rays, where density variations of the patient are made visible by greater or lesser absorption of these rays.

Critical rope assessment and evaluation A few case studies5 in mine conveyor systems, mine winders and aerial ropeways have been cited below: Belt Conveyor. Two steel wire ropes each of 51 mm diameter, 6X25 FW construction, fiber main core, in a material handling cable belt conveyor system have been investigated in-situ in four phases for evaluation of the condition over nearly three years. A concentration of flaws (broken wires) in different places on the ropes were apparent in the last phase. Within a few splicing zones, broken wires were observed. The last phase investigation revealed more flaws than the previous one. An increase in fatigue resulting significant raise in broken wires over stipulated length of 2.04 meters (40d) was observed. Immediate replacement of those two ropes was recommended.

Two cage ropes and two skip ropes (each of 28 mm diameter, full locked coil construction, right-hand Lang’s lay, galvanized) used for a multirope friction winder in uranium mines in India were considered over nearly 48 months at regular intervals for non-destructive evaluation. The cage ropes were replaced after 36 months and the skip ropes were replaced the first time after 26 months and then after 24 months from the date of installation. Cage rope 2 showed a higher number of flaws/100 m lengths.

Skip rope 1 registered comparatively more flaws/100 m lengths during the first study after 25 months whereas skip rope 2 showed more flaws/100 m lengths during the second study after 17 months in the installation. Relative losses in the metallic cross-sectional area compared to the healthy portion of cage and skip ropes were

Fig. 4. Arrangement of the instrument for scanning of winder rope (cage) in a coal mine.

Fig. 5. Arrangement of the instrument for scanning of winder rope (skip) in a coal mine. observed as nearly equal in each investigation. Lay lengths of winder ropes range from 6.3 to 6.7 times the nominal diameter. Locked coil ropes have constant cross-sectional area. Comparatively less effect of corrosion was noticed during the study. Steel cross-sectional area for locked coil rope was assumed about 85% of the full (nominal) cross-sectional area.

Cage Winder. Two ropes (each 60 mm nominal diameter, construction 6X49, preformed, right-hand Lang’s lay, galvanized, Independent Wire Rope Core [IWRC]) used in two Koepe cage winders for coal mines have been considered for non-destructive evaluation. The relative loss in metallic cross-sectional area compared to a healthy portion of the rope is negligible in all six observations in both of the cage winder ropes. The steel cross-sectional area for the IWRC rope has been taken about 60% of the full (nominal) cross-sectional area. The trend of occurrence of flaws as observed per 100 meter length of ropes is nearly the same in the ropes in the two cage winders. The lay length values were found within the range of 6d to 8d. The ratio of observed diameter and nominal diameter decreased with time. Presence of corrosion was also apparent. The wire rope length of about 5 m each from both cappel ends are not subjected to non-destructive evaluation due to infrastructural disadvantage. It has been experienced through a destructive study with the 3 m sample of ropes from cappel ends that generally broken wire criteria is not observed throughout this length from cappel ends. Localized flaws in the form of broken wires generally concentrate near the point that crosses and halts in the pulley whenever the cages/skips stop at boarding-deboarding/loading-unloading stations. Typically, they are caused by bending-over-sheave in fatigue cycling.

A haulage rope of approx. length of 4.5 kms in continuous monocable with automatic grips of passenger cable car6 has been considered for non-destructive evaluation.

For calculation of relative loss in cross-sectional area, it has been taken into account that steel cross-sectional area for stranded rope is about 55% of the full (nominal) cross-sectional area. This non-destructive evaluation on the rope has been carried out nearly seven years after its installation. The maximum length of the rope has been found to be heavily corroded. Fifty-two flaws were observed and maximum relative loss continued on p. 14

JANUARY 2010 | 13

TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Fig. 6. Arrangement for magnetic head of Defectograph during study of a haulage rope. in metallic cross-sectional area is more than 6% compared to a healthy sector except splicing. Five splices exist in the total length of rope.

Fig. 7. Arrangement for magnetic head of Defectograph during study of a track rope.

Fig. 8. Arrangement for magnetic head of Defectograph during study of another track rope.

Arial Ropeways. The haulage ropes at six different mono-cable aerial ropeway installations have been studied using a nondestructive evaluation method and the findings have been detailed below: Investigation 1 The first investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 40 mm) for the first time after five months in the installation. The lay-length was 6.7d and the spliced length was 1212.5d where d is the diameter in mm.

No flaw has been observed and the per cent loss in relative cross-sectional area has been negligible.

Investigation 2 The second investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 40 mm) for the first time after eight months in the installation. The lay-length was 6.8d and spliced length was 1075d where d is the diameter in mm. Eight flaws were observed and the relative loss in cross-sectional area was 1.6% in corroded rope.

Investigation 3 A third investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 36 mm) for the first time after nine months in the installation. The lay-length was 6.9d and spliced length was 1167d where d is the diameter in mm. One flaw was observed and maximum per cent loss in relative cross-sectional area was 0.87%.

Investigation 4 A fourth investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 40 mm) for the second time after 72 months in the installation.

There are two splicing zones in the total length of approximately 2150 meters. Fiftysix flaws were observed (48 found after 51 months) and the maximum per cent loss in relative cross-sectional area was 4.07%.

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14 | WIRE BULLETIN

The lay-length and spliced lengths were 7.3d and 1325d, respectively, where d is the diameter in mm.

Investigation 5 A fifth investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 33 mm) after 24 months in the installation. The splicing portion was not acceptable. The number of flaws and maximum per cent loss relative to the crosssectional area and compared to a healthy portion of rope was 7 and 5.4%. The spliced length is 1242d.

Investigation 6 A sixth investigation involved a rope (nominal diameter 36 mm) after 24 months in the installation. The number of flaws and maximum per cent loss relative to the crosssectional area and compared to a healthy portion of rope was 8 and 3.5%, respectively. The spliced length is 1138d.

Wirerope Defectograph MD 120B, with its magnetic head 2-sh suitable for wire ropes varying dia. from 20 to 60 mm of Polish origin has been used for the present investigation.7,8 All the ropes were calibrated first with metallic rod of known cross-sectional area of 80 sq. mm/20 sq. mm before actual scanning of ropes. The rope speed varied from 0.6 to 1.2 meters/ second. The lay-lengths observed were within the range of 6d to 8d. The spliced lengths were from 1000d to 1300d where d is the nominal diameter in mm.

Executive. Offshore Technology Report OTO 2000064. Prepared by The University of Reading.

4. Zawada, K. Magnetic NDT of Steel Wire Ropes, NDT.net, 1999, Vol. 4, No. 8.

5. CMRI Project Reports on Non-destructive Investigation on Steel Wire Ropes.

6. Basak, D. “Comparison of Condition of a Haulage Rope with Non-destructive Evaluation Standards: A Case Study,” Journal of Nondestructive Testing & Evaluation, Volume 4, Issue 2, September 2005, pp 43-46.

7. Zawada NDT www.zawada.z.pl/ 8. MD 120B Wire Rope Defectorgraph.

9. Moriya, T. “A Magnetic Method for Evaluation of Deterioration of Large Diameter Wire Ropes,” 15th World Conference on Non-destructive Testing, Rome, 2000.

10. Weischedel, H.R. and C.R. Chaplin, The Inspection of Offshore Wire Ropes: The State of the Art, 24th Annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Houston, Texas, May 4-7, 1992, paper number OTC 6969, 227-239.

Conclusions

Biographical Information

A complete documentation of gradual rope deterioration throughout a rope’s entire service life by periodic inspection from rope installation would enable the operator to arrive at a decision for preventing premature rope failure under adverse conditions or extensions of rope life in deserving cases.9,10 The study depicts the present condition of ropes only. The measurements are intended to identify rope wear and other deterioration so that a wire is removed from service before it becomes hazardous to use.

Application of non-destructive evaluation procedures makes it possible to improve the reliability of detecting broken wires over the available rope length for evaluation. This non-destructive investigation on winding ropes does not include the aspect of fatigue that may develop in rope over time.

The reliability of electromagnetic inspection has made it a universally accepted method for the inspection of wire ropes in mining, for ski lifts, chair lifts, cable cars, and many other applications.

With this in view, the Electrical Laboratory of the Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), Dhanbad, India, has been performing nondestructive evaluation on steel winding ropes used in mine winders and in aerial ropeways in different parts of the country and abroad for a considerable period of time.

References 1. Basak, D. “Periodic Nondestructive Evaluation of Steel Wire Ropes; Its Importance and Practical Relevance,” NDT.net– The e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing– ISSN: 1435- 4934, June 2006, Issue Vol. 11, No. 6.

2. Basak, D. “Nondestructive Evaluation of Drive Rope: A Case Study, Nondestructive Testing & Evaluation,” Taylor & Francis, U.K., Vol. 20, No. 4, December 2005, 221229.

3. University of Reading, 2000, Wire Rope Non-destructive Testing–Survey of Instrument Manufacturers, UK Health & Safety

Acknowledgments The author is grateful to the Director, CMRI, Dhanbad, India, for his kind permission to publish the paper. The views expressed in the paper are of the author’s and not of the organization he serves.|WB

Basak Debasish Basak received B.E. (Electrical Eng.) in 1986 from National Institute of Technology (formerly Regional Engineering College), Durgapur, India and M.E. (Electrical Eng.) with specialization in System Eng. & Operations Research in 1988 from I.I.T. Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee), India and M.B.A. in Operations Management in 2002 from IGNOU, New Delhi, India. He worked for nearly one year at IIT Kharagpur, India as “Junior Research Engineer” in a project sponsored by ISRO, Bangalore, India. In 1989, he joined Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad, India where he is currently Scientist “EI” and head of Electrical Laboratory. He has published 20 papers in national/international conferences or journals. His research interests include support vector machines, optimization, reliability, and non-destructive study of steel wire ropes.

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