Search Documents

By Rainer Fackert

3D-Measurements for slabs and heavy plate are now available and close the gap in the production chain. The measuring systems described in this presentation must be seen as high-tech solutions in the field of casting and rolling technology. The measuring systems were developed taking into consideration the harsh casting and rolling mill environment in which they are to be used, with the aim of achieving high operational reliability and eliminating disturbances. Interconnected quality management systems enable optimization across the complete production process. New limits are being defined constantly for all these developments. What is technically feasible today becomes normal practice tomorrow, and will probably be replaced by completely new technologies the day after.

Aug 16, 2017

By Jean François Stumper

This paper presents the TMT “3D TopScan” profilemeter, which is a Radar-based profilemeter that measures the total burden surface within a few seconds and on a continuous basis. This equipment is based on an electronically steered solid-state radar scanner, such that a very large amount of surface data is collected within short time intervals. These new electronically steered antenna systems are the key to meet the demands for both accuracy and speed. The TMT probe is installed at a fixed location at the top cone, such that it does not interfere with the charging, enabling a continuous measurement and a compact design.Blast furnace charging optimization can be achieved based on its measurement data. The burden surface is continuously measured every few seconds, enabling the blast furnace operator to detect any details including asymmetries or irregularities in the surface pattern. A variety of process analysis tools are available. Due to the continuous and fast measurement, the burden descent speed can be supervised without process interruption on an ongoing basis. More accurate process models (layer models) than ever are obtained which fully consider the unsymmetries.This technology, developed by TMT Tapping Measuring Technology, is successfully in operation at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH at their blast furnace B. The probe and the data evaluation tools combine today’s technological capabilities in measurement technology with the practical requirements of blast furnace operation.

Aug 16, 2017

By Michel Rodrigo Luiz, Glaucio Augusto Polini, Leonardo de Souza Melo, Giovani Rodrigues, Giardini F. Lazzarin

ArcelorMittal's pickling and cold rolling line has been demanded to increase production since the installation of equipment in 2015. In addition to improving productivity related to these new equipment, several additional jobs were planned and executed on equipment already installed has been carried out in order to improve the efficiency of the line. The present work exposes what was done in the scale breaker (tension leveler) to improve the availability results of the section and consequently of the line.

Oct 1, 2019

By Edgar Ivan Castro Cedeño

En la producción de aceros limpios el control inclusionario es crítico para la obtención de un producto que cumpla con los requerimientos de calidad. El análisis de la distribución de tamaño de inclusión mediante modelos estadísticos permite estimar la incidencia de inclusiones en el producto solidificado a partir de mediciones tomadas en muestras relativamente pequeñas. En seis coladas de acero bajo carbono desoxidado con aluminio se tomaron muestras de acero a lo largo del procesamiento en horno olla y colada continua. Las muestras se prepararon para estimar mediante análisis metalográfico los tamaños de inclusión. Los datos de tamaño de inclusión se analizaron mediante modelos estadísticos de valores extremos, se hace una comparativa entre la distribución Gumbel (que forma parte de la norma ASTM E-2283) y la distribución Generalizada de Valores Extremos (GEV). Mediante una prueba de hipótesis con el estadístico Anderson-Darling, análisis de cuantiles y con la función de supervivencia se demuestra que la población inclusionaria se describe de una mejor manera con la distribución GEV. Finalmente se da un estimado de la incidencia probable de inclusiones en el producto solidificado.

Aug 16, 2017

By Jean-Paul Simoes

The development of the blast furnace over the last years lead to a substantial increase in production capacity and productivity. This development triggered an evolution of the cooling systems in order to cope with the raising heat loads. The excellent protection of the shell by copper staves allowed blast furnace operators to achieve campaign lifetimes of more than 20 years. However in recent years some blast furnaces have experienced severe wear of the copper staves due to abrasion. The influences of the blast furnace design as well as of the operation conditions on this premature wear have been analysed and the mechanisms leading to the wear will be explained. New developments in the copper stave technology are part of the solution for avoiding premature wear during periods with less favourable conditions. The protection mechanisms made available by the new design extend the inherent protection mechanisms of copper staves to these periods. BFXpert® system is the ideal tool for the monitoring of the process data, the process models and the recommendations given by Sachem® support the operator in choosing efficient operation points. The charging with a Bell Less Top® (BLT) allows an accurate controlling of the blast furnace with regard to the optimization of the gas distribution. High performance operation together with long campaign lifetimes are thus made possible.

Aug 1, 2018

By Chad B. Donovan

There is a strong need in North America and other major steel producing markets where major capital investment in new equipment has been minimal over the past several years to make improvements to existing casting machines. In many cases, very cost effective improvements can be made to existing equipment in order to maximize the efficiency and production of an older designed continuous caster, a classic caster. SMS Group and its predecessor companies have been maintaining continuous casting molds for over forty years. This experience has allowed SMS Group to intimately understand the advantages and disadvantages of each design. The most vital component of the continuous caster is the mold copper design, as it has the most influence over the ability to cast a quality product. Updating to a modern copper design is less complicated than most steel producers think and the benefits are significant. Premium mold coatings such as UniGuard® and NanoGuard® allow casters to guard against exposed copper and wear while producing quality products for record campaign lengths.

Oct 30, 2017

By Yuechang Wang

A new method of manufacturing the wavy-tilt-dam(WTD) mechanical seal has been mentioned. In this method, the special equipment is designed to provide a predetermined force to external and inner circular surface of the ring. After milling the end face of the seal by grinding miller and releasing the preload, the wavy-tilt-dam can be done on the seal surface. In this paper, a prediction model is built up to investigate the relationship between the predetermined force and the deformation on the surface of the ring by using ANSYS software. A WTD ring is manufactured by this method which approves that the prediction model is in accord with the real process and this manufacturing method of the WTD mechanical seal is a proper choice.

Jul 31, 2018

By Chad Byron Donovan

There is a strong need in North America and other major steel producing markets where major capital investment in new equipment has been minimal over the past several years to make improvements to existing casting machines. In many cases, very cost effective improvements can be made to existing equipment in order to maximize the efficiency and production of an older designed continuous caster, a classic caster. SMS Group and its predecessor companies have been maintaining continuous casting molds for over forty years. This experience has allowed SMS Group to intimately understand the advantages and disadvantages of each design. The most vital component of the continuous caster is the mold copper design, as it has the most influence over the ability to cast a quality product. Updating to a modern copper design is less complicated than most steel producers think and the benefits are significant. Premium mold coatings such as UniGuard® and NanoGuard® allow casters to guard against exposed copper and wear while producing quality products for record campaign lengths.

Aug 16, 2017

By Jan Lückhoff

The introduction of the EAF Quantum furnace by Primetals Technologies represents an important milestone in the field of electric steelmaking during the last 15 years. In this process the latent and chemical heat of the off-gas generated during a melting process in an EAF is used to pre-heat scrap in an integrated shaft prior the melting of the scrap in the vessel. Combining proven own technologies, Primetals EAF Quantum enables nearly continuous process, cutting down idle times and enhancing availability for production. The essential benefits will be shown in this Paper.

Aug 16, 2017

By Ron Webber

With the difficult economic challenges currently facing the steel industry, it is essential to perform a complete analysis when determining which rolls to purchase. A properly designed “Total Cost of Ownership” model can result in significant savings. This paper will review the costs associated with rolls in both Hot Strip and Cold Strip Mills. The multitude of factors that must be considered in performing a complete analysis for the roll purchasing process will be discussed. Models for both Hot Strip and Cold Mills will be presented. Examples where traditional analysis can lead to expensive, incorrect decisions will be presented.

Oct 30, 2017

By Dong Maolin

A great amount of high temperature off-gas, whose maximum temperature is up to 2100?, is generated during the smelting process of electric arc furnace (EAF). The dust content, which is mainly iron oxide, of the off-gas is high and worthy of industrial recovery. The heat carried by the high temperature off-gas with dust is about 11% of the total energy input of EAF, and some even is as high as 20%. The high-temperature off-gas not only takes away a lot of heat but also places a huge burden to de-dusting system of EAF. It not only reduces the iron oxide dust recovery ratio, but also causes serious pollution problems. With the development of the iron and steel industry, the proportion of molten iron for EAF gradually increases, and even more than 30% in some cases. The increase of molten iron causes increases in the amount of EAF off-gas and heat waste. As a result the problem of dust removal is worsening [1-2]. How to sufficiently recover the sensible heat of the high temperature off-gas, create conditions for efficient dust removal, thus reduce operating costs of dust removal system and the production costs is a problem which EAF steel making companies must pay attention to.

Oct 30, 2017

By Hiroshi Ichikawa

In 2013, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as NSENGI), Tenova HYL and Danieli have entered into an agreement to combine ENERGION DR technology into blast furnace technology and/or with syngas technologies. This new alliance will allow the three companies to combine research and development activities with their respective expertise in ENERGIRON DR technology, Blast Furnace technology and Syngas (by-pro gas and coal gasification) technology, with the ultimate objective to develop breakthrough iron making technologies and create such EPC projects. This paper introduces the concepts and the features of our breakthrough technologies of combining of ENERGIRON DR technology, Blast Furnace technology and Syngas technology.

Aug 16, 2017

By Luca Tommasi

Danieli complemented its wide range of production plants for the iron and steel industry with a further step upstream into iron ore pelletizing and beneficiation. Danieli has engineered and constructed a state of the art and fully automated pilot plant facility – pot grate and sinter box – at Altos Hornos de Mexico S.A. (AHMSA) Pelletizing Plant, Monclova, Mexico. Installation and commissioning were completed in October 2009. Key features of the pot grate include the avoidance of the need for operator intervention during the test, automatic system preheat, absence of dead time, heat recuperation system with an air/air heat exchanger, oxygen control in preheating and firing with zirconia oxygen analyzer, possibility to test deep beds up to 625 mm. A series of projects have been accomplished by AHMSA availing of the pot grate facility with the aim to enhance pellet plant productivity and to reduce operating costs. The results obtained by use of Danieli pot grate combined with the experience and skill of plant operators has shown significant technical and economical benefits thus fully justifying the initial investment made by AHMSA and confirming the importance of having an in-house testing facility in order to optimize industrial plant operations.

Aug 16, 2017

By Alain Denis, Marcelo Curtes Martins, Jeferson Rocio de Oliveira

In this work we present a study of optimization of a new inhibitor for turbulence pickling line. The efficiency of inhibition was measured and the weight of loss was evaluated in four different materials to optimize the dosage of the inhibitor. In seven months we had 8.7% of reduction in pickling losses.

Oct 1, 2019

By Claudio Pereira Diogo

A lot of galvalume/aluzinc steel sheet was furnished to a metallic roof manufacturer intended for tile fabrication. But, according with the roof manufacturer, that coils develops a different superficial aspect during processing. The purpose of this work was to provide an explanation for the appearance of the observed surface on one side of the coils. In order to find out the origin of the problem, mechanical and microstructural characterization tests were done at INSPEBRAS with the support of a partner laboratory. The results are described in this paper with their analysis and conclusions.

Aug 16, 2017

By Sébastien Gérardin

Developed for more than 30 years, continuously improved, cored wire is nowadays a reliable solution for the improvement of sustainability, safety, health and doing quality and cost saving. Cored wire allows the addition of ferroalloys and treatment of liquid steel, especially concerning the calcium treatment. Amongst all the processes in secondary metallurgy, calcium treatment is certainly the most critical one before casting. Besides the traditional CaSi and CaFe wires, new types of wire have been designed for becoming the new reference in calcium treatment. PapCal (calcium insulated wire) and HDx (high density calcium wire) are a very versatile range of products. Indeed, according to the steelmaking process parameters (steel grade, treatment temperature, ladle size, calcium content targeted in tundish and even injection conditions), their technical specifications may be adapted in order to optimize the calcium treatment as high as possible.

Aug 16, 2017

By Vitor Orlando Ferreira

The efficiency of an apparatus which uses a forced lubrication system, as well as the useful life of its components, is strongly related to the degree of contamination of lubricating oil. The presence of contaminants and the degradation of the oil itself cause it to release substances that fouling of the wall of the pipes. The cleaning and dialysis of the oil pipes, besides prolonging the life of the lubricant reduces wear of the components. There are several methods of cleaning in pipes, the problem is that some have abrasive characteristics, which could damage some types pipes. Among the non-abrasive methods stand the Flushing and Air scouring. Flushing uses the lubricating oil which circulates in temperatures alternating and high speeds, for generating turbulence to perform washing. The Air scouring method uses oil and filtered compressed air, injected into pipe, to generating higher flow, causing the power supply unit with fluid can work with lower power consumption and higher speeds, removing fouling of the pipe. The objective of this research is to evaluate the Reynolds number to correlate with the efficiency of cleaning the pipe. The method applied was the Air scouring and it was verified that the qualitative effects may occur when compared to Flushing. After testing, it was found that the chosen method brings significant changes in flow, and this flow regime varies considerably increasing the Reynolds number.

Jul 31, 2018

By Mario Andres Albuja Ribadeneira

El presente trabajo pretende encontrar la ruta para incrementar la productividad y reducir el costo de transformación en una acería eléctrica, mediante el uso de la tecnología disponible en el mercado. El método para alcanzar los resultados se enfocan en una drástica reducción de los tiempos de transformador conectado (power-on), los tiempos de transformador apagado (power-off) asi como la reducción en los consumos de las materias primas e insumos para la fabricación de acero por la ruta del horno eléctrico. La experiencia de Adelca arroja resultados que sobrepasan el 100% de productividad y 30% de reducción en el costo de transformación de la palanquilla. Los resultados obtenidos sin duda alguna servirán de una guía probada para quienes buscan un mejor desempeño en el negocio del acero.

Aug 16, 2017

By Marco A. Ramírez-Argáez

A 2D mathematical model was developed for the plasma arc welding process. Computational simulations based on mass and momentum conservation equations as well as Maxwell equations were performed by using the commercial software PHOENICS. The model predicts the electric characteristics of the arc column, flow patterns, temperature contours and electrical potential, by varying the composition of the cover gas, in this case, argon and nitrogen. It was found that an arc of nitrogen with respect to one of argon generates more intense jets, greater voltages, and lower temperatures in the arc column for welding arcs current of 150 A and 10 mm arc length.

Oct 30, 2017

By Stefano Scubla

DANIELI Q-MELT is the latest evolution of EAF concept to automatically control each stage of the melting process, from the electric power planning to the combustion optimization as well as the slag and steel metallurgy management for every operation required in the EAF cycle. The core of the automation system is the Melt-Model that automatically identifies deviations of the process control variables and corrects them to avoid losses or wasting of available energy sources. The real-time online off-gas analysis, via the in-situ laser system, promotes the process tracking and permits further optimization by a viable closed-loop control acting on fuel and oxygen postcombustion. A suite of supplementary stand-alone Technological Packages integrates the Q-MELT to further maximize the productive time and the utilization factor, supporting the operators to limit downtimes, avoiding misoperations and/or mistakes.

Aug 16, 2017