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By Armando Vazquez

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) and Tenova Goodfellow Inc. (TGI) have successfully commissioned the first hybrid extractive/laser system for continuous and full spectrum analysis (CO, CO2, O2, H2 and H2O vapor) on two twin shell furnaces at Butler, Indiana. NextGen® technology using off-gas analysis as a main tool for EAF practice optimization is a proven effective method for improving plant productivity. Significant benefits attributed to the NextGen® system are operational cost reductions through the use of real-time dynamic control of chemical energy and improved environmental conditions through reduced GHG emissions. Additionally, the implementation of Tenova’s Water Leak Detection Technology® has shown results as an effective tool for operators to identify in real-time the presence of water during both reducing and oxidizing conditions. This paper will include project details, trials and results and will also outline the latest hardware developments and multipoint capabilities

Oct 30, 2017

By Bart de Graaff, Victor van Straaten, Edo Engel

The hot blast system is key ancillary plant equipment with respect to safe and stable operations during a long blast furnace campaign. Hot blast stove designs have been optimized to such an extent that in some cases, their lifetimes have surpassed the campaign lengths of the associated blast furnaces by a substantial margin, with the exception of the burner and a few critical areas. This article presents recent developments with respect to designing, building new and operating existing hot blast systems for a long lifetime and at optimized performance. These developments include fundamental improvements such as dome combustion designs as well as increasingly comprehensive packages for inspection, assessment and maintenance techniques. Examples of such techniques are burner replacement with the hot blast system at operating temperature, improved double shell approaches and TOFD measurement applications.

Oct 1, 2019

By Alexander Fleischanderl

Steel market has become somehow unpredictable and requires quick adjustment in production conditions to survive in the harsh market environment. Steel production is not anymore driven by output records, but by efficient cost reduction measures to remain competitive under strongly varying production conditions. Energy efficient production and flexible raw material scenarios have become decisive factors to succeed and survive in our industry. Such scenarios have to be carefully investigated to be well prepared to adopt production steps continuously. The paper analyses various process opportunities to optimize energy and raw material consumption in the production route. Off-gas treatment systems have still a huge untapped potential to recover energy from the hot waste gases. This is valid for the EAF mini mills as well as for the integrated route. Various examples for waste heat recovery systems including resulting benefits are discussed for the EAF, agglomeration, blast furnace, direct reduction and BOF. New innovative bag-filter systems feature extremely low emission levels at lowest pressure loss and sound emission conditions. Also improved control and automation solutions support the operators to minimize the operation and maintenance costs of their off-gas system. Steelmaking by-products shall not be considered as residues, but as a valuable and cheap raw material source. The paper presents some show cases how to valorize slags as well as utilizing coke and iron oxide fines to increase productivity and minimize raw material cost. A new process for highly flexible converter steelmaking allowing for extraordinary high HBI and scrap rates above 50% and improved yield is discussed and evaluated

Oct 30, 2017

By Adriana Amaro Diacenco

This work presents the finite element modeling of Euler-Bernoulli beams constituted of a metallic material, discussing theoretical and numerical aspects. The numerical analysis uses Hermitian interpolation functions and finite elements with two degrees of freedom per node. A numerical simulation will be done for uniform loading considering two kinds beams (steel and aluminum). The paper is organized as follows: introductory comments and numerical simulations to evaluate the static and dynamical behavior of the metallic beams.

Aug 7, 2018

By Jan Lampke

Increasingly pelletizing discs are used for the recycling of dust and sludge. The applied pellet feed is highly variable, for example in terms of chemical composition, grain size distribution and raw density. These raw materials related factors lead to a destabilized pelletizing process, which initially must be homogenized through special mixtures, as well as the use of binders or additives. There are many possibilities to reach stringent restriction of material related target factors. On the one hand it is helpful to be flexible by changing the process parameters of the pelletizing disc. On the other hand, it is necessary to use a material-binder-formulation, which leads to a highly stable pelletizing process. The paper deals with an example of the use of agglomerating device, pelletizing disc, to prepare different dusts and sludges for material recycling. These dusts und sludges are mostly generated in metallurgical processes, e.g. sinterplant, blast furnace and steelworks.

Aug 16, 2017

By Beatriz Pereda, Ana Clara Fonseca da Silva, Tiago Seixas Bittencourt

Reinforcing steel bars are usually specified based on mechanical properties with flexibility in chemical composition and processing. Most developments, in these steels, are normally focused on alloy and process design to reach minimum cost and conformity to specification. Processing routes using quenching and self-tempering (QST) and accelerated cooling are the most common. Microalloying with V and Nb have been used in rebar. When acicular constituents must be avoided, a combination of Nb microalloying with judicious control of cooling is one of the preferred options. Niobium can contribute to improvement in tensile properties through austenitic grain size control during hot working, precipitation hardening due to carbonitrides or clusters, and hardenability increase. In the present work the alloy design and development processes of a Nb microalloyed steel for rebars are presented. The designed steel has fulfilled the required specification and is under regular production. Austenitic grain size refining – when comparing with the “basic composition” normally used was observed, even without any change in the thermomechanical processing cycle. There are indications that precipitation hardening may also occur. Results indicate that Nb is a good alternative as a microalloying element in rebars.

Oct 1, 2019

By Mohammad Masoumi

In the present study, API 5L X70 pipeline steel samples were deformed by hot-rolling cooled in air or quenched in water and subsequently tempered at different temperatures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique were used to analyze the texture evolution from the initiate state to rolling and tempering state at mid-thickness and near surface plane of all samples. The results showed that the mid-thickness region is richer in {100}//ND oriented grains known as more susceptible to crack formation and growth through. Hot deformed specimen showed dynamic recrystallization grains while quench tempered sample at 700°C evidenced recovery and grain growth.

Aug 16, 2017

By Martin Chabicovsky, Milan Hnizdil

Emulsions are frequently used for the cooling and lubrication of working rolls during the cold rolling. The fact that the lubrication and cooling are not separable makes the optimization of both functionalities difficult. The higher emulsion temperature decreases the cooling efficiency compared to cold water. Heat transfer and fluid flow laboratory (Czech Republic), CRM (Belgium), Tata steel (Netherlands) and Henkel (Germany) cooperated on the increasing of a cooling efficiency during cold rolling. Part of this research was focused on an influence of the emulsion composition on a cooling intensity. The cooling efficiency was laboratory investigated. The stainless steel sample with thermocouple was heated and then it was cooled by a nozzle. Tests were performed with various emulsions and pure water. The heat transfer coefficient was computed from measured temperatures. The cooling intensity (heat transfer coefficient) of all tested emulsions was similar but an increase of the cooling intensity was found with water. Further various emulsions concentrations were tested. Results showed decreasing cooling intensity with increasing oil concentration. Adding additives therefore is thought to cause a noticeable decrease of the cooling intensity.

Oct 1, 2019

By Masahiro Shimura, Yoshiki Takahama, Toshiyuki Shiraishi, Daisuke Kasai

When advanced high strength steel (AHSS) is rolled at a high reduction ratio, the forward slip ratio in cold rolling tends to be lower than that of the other softer strips such as low-carbon steels, and the work roll sometimes skids the strip. To identify why forward slip ratio of AHSS at a high reduction ratio becomes smaller than that of low-carbon steel, the relationship between the reduction ratio and forward slip ratio was investigated by a rolling experiment. For this trial, a 4Hi laboratory cold mill was used. AHSS and low-carbon steel coils were rolled by two different rolls that were set to 0.3 and 0.6 μmRa to create two types of friction conditions. Furthermore, the rolling conditions were numerically analyzed to determine the influence of friction coefficient and flow stress on the relationship between forward slip ratio and reduction ratio. The experimental investigation and numerical analysis revealed that the forward slip ratio reduced with increasing rolling reduction ratio in a low friction state; contrarily, it increased with increasing rolling reduction ratio in a high friction state. This feature was clearly visible when harder materials were rolled.

Oct 1, 2019

By Frank Schrama

The Steel Plant Model (SPM) is an advanced logistic simulation model for steel plants. With the SPM, bottlenecks can be solved and logistics can be optimized. Both existing plants and greenfield designs can be simulated. All movements and actions simulated, from hot metal to cast products. Not only all major equipment and their relevant components (like a sublance) are simulated, but also ladles, scrap boxes, transfer cars and cranes. The whole plant is simulated in 3D and actual distances and speeds determine transport times. The SPM includes process time deviations and equipment downtimes for maintenance or unexpected breakdowns. This ensures more realistic and reliable results. Logistic optimization is based on comparison of different scenarios. For a new scenario, equipment and practices, etc. can easily be modified, added or removed. At the same time the SPM produces all relevant data for every new scenario, which can be presented conveniently. This makes the SPM the ultimate tool to find bottlenecks or optimize plant logistics. The SPM is validated for several plants world-wide, with different characteristics and layouts. The SPM not only realistically simulates existing plants with all utilizations, crane movements and waiting times, but also to accurately predicts the influence of plant modifications or unexpected events like breakdowns. Given the flexibility of the SPM, any (new) steel plant can be simulated quickly when a layout and the requested data are provided.

Aug 16, 2017

By Horacio Destaillat

Desde hace aproximadamente 15 años se encontró por experiencia empírica que se puede “neutralizar” el efecto del plomo sobre la maleabilidad en caliente de cobre proveniente de la refinación térmica de chatarras mediante control de la composición química. Este hallazgo ha resultado de aplicación industrial. Si bien el contenido porcentual de plomo se reduce por refinación convencional y con cierta facilidad hasta 0,02 – 0,03 %, este valor es elevado [1] para laminar en caliente. Bajar el nivel de plomo hasta los valores exigibles por normas, requiere procedimientos especiales y costosos. La técnica cuyo mecanismo aquí se investiga, consiste en ajustar el contenido de plomo y estaño dentro de ciertas proporciones, ya que el balance de estos elementos, permite proceder sin problemas de fisuraciones a la colada y laminación en línea del cobre. Con el control de la composición química del sistema se logra que el plomo y el estaño se adhieran [2] sobre las partículas de eutéctico Cu-Cu2O. Esta disposición micro estructural en borde de grano explica la acción favorable del estaño en la maleabilidad. El procedimiento que aquí se describe no es aplicable a cualquier caso pues no funciona en materiales con contenido elevado de oxígeno (“Tough pitch”) ni en cobres desoxidados. Solamente lo hace en formas de baja sección que hayan sufrido enfriamiento rápido.

Aug 7, 2018

By Norbert Asamer

At various stages during the hot rolling process, the different rolled products – blooms, billets, bars, respectively sections, but also slabs or plates – need to be cut. While the cross sections of these products are being reduced during each rolling pass, the lengths are being increased accordingly. Thus, it becomes necessary to cut the products to shorter lengths suitable for the next steps of production by state-of-the-art designed dry abrasive cut-off machines.

Jul 30, 2018

By Martin Dirks

Nowadays the sinter cooler often becomes the bottleneck of the sinter production, with outdated equipment leading to low productivity and high operation and maintenance costs. Furthermore valuable energy is simply destroyed in the cooler, which is not compatible anymore with a cost efficient and environmentally friendly sinter production. Paul Wurth has developed and improved two types of coolers, the annular cooler and the shaft cooler which offer flexible solutions to the specific situation of each client. The classic design of the annular cooler was completely revised and is now composed of a rigid ringframe construction as opposed to the traditional design with individual sintering cars, avoiding the typical problems of centering. Additional features of the PW annular cooler are the low air leakage rate and the increased effective cooling surface due to the removal of dead areas. This leads, in addition to the lower weight, to lower operating costs and a smaller space requirement. The shaft cooler stands out with an even smaller space requirement and a lower sinter outlet temperature because of a very long residence time of the sinter inside the shaft. Its development into a pure counter flow cooler aims at maximizing its energy efficiency, as it is designed as a system with a very low demand for cooling air, high air discharge temperatures and highly reduced dust emissions. For both cooler types flexible heat recovery solutions can be offered. These solutions include the supply of hot combustion air to the ignition hood burners and the sinter strand, the production of steam for the clients steam grid or the production of electric energy.

Aug 16, 2017

By Ivan César Lopes Diniz, César Romero Afonso Goulart Júnior

Mandrels are tools applied to manufacturing seamless tubes. In VSB plants (Vallourec Soluções Tubulares do Brasil), it is used in two mills. Mandrel and PQF Mills. This is an expensive tool due its alloy (hot work tool steel – AISI H13) and lengh (between 12 meters and 22,5 meters). An opportunity to apply mandrels from PQF in Mandrel Mill has been identified. However, mechanical properties of PQF mandrels must be improved. This work presents the heat treatment process of Quenching and Tempering developed internally at VSB to improve PQF mandrel properties aiming to achieve Mandrel Mill requirements. Hardness and metallography tests were performed before and after some steps of the heat treatment to characterize and validate the process.

Oct 5, 2019

By Jan Bak

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), which is operated by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), was inaugurated in 1959 and was the first Integrated Steel Plant in the public sector in India. In 2013, RSP commissioned their No. 5, 4060 m³ Blast Furnace, India's largest. It was built as a turn-key project by a consortium consisting of Danieli Corus and Tata Projects Ltd. and is entirely based on the technology and know-how of Danieli Corus. The new Blast Furnace is the key element of an expansion program that doubles the plant's production capacity and with much of the existing ironmaking capacity reaching the end of its technical and economic life span, it enables RSP to meet existing as well as growing demand for its products. This article discusses how this greenfield Blast Furnace was built in an existing and operating Integrated Steel Plant. It covers the accommodation of land, planning of the new installation to fit the available plot as well as the updated logistical lay-out of the plant. Technical details of the installation are presented, including their consequences for RSP's environmental performance and new perspectives for campaign planning.

Aug 2, 2018

By Vitor Guarnier Domiciano

The need to adjust the monolithic refractories to increasingly severe and unstable Blast Furnace casthouse operating conditions has been a major challenge for refractory suppliers in order to guarantee the runner’s safety and its availability for operation. This paper presents the properties of a new robust single line Al2O3-SiC-C refractory castable developed to endure the severe operating conditions that main runners are facing in today's Blast Furnace casthouse scenario. Practical results during almost one year of testing revealed a significant lower wear speed of the new refractory lining when compared to a standard product.

Aug 1, 2018

By José Fagundes Junior, Cleudson dos Santos Rego, Bruno Bastos da Silva Murad, Vitor Borlot Borba

Since the startup in 2002, the Hot Strip Mill at ArcelorMittal Tubarão has increased gradually the coil output as the customers demand new and more resistant dimensionally challenging (thinner and/or wider) steel grades. As a critical feature for customer applications, improvements have been carried out aiming a higher thickness performance and reduction of internal losses while still meeting the more restrict tolerances booked by the customers. This paper presents the recent thickness performance evolution since 2017 and the main actions deployed to improve it.

Oct 1, 2019

By Paulo Rodrigues dos Santos Junior, Luciano Passos de Jesus, Vagno Dordenoni Beltrame, Vinicius Antonio Ramos Pin

Faced with an increasingly demanding and selective market, a thorough analysis of each step of the processes is required in order to achieve high levels of performance. In addition to a major factor of importance in the rolling process, due to its high price, the rolls represent one of the main items in the cost of hot coils production. Using the 6 sigma methodology, there were opportunities for improvement in the grinding process, fatigue analysis, improvement in NDT in rolls, as well as means to guarantee operational stability, which allowed the reduction of roll’s consumption and consequently the cost of production.

Oct 11, 2019

By Gabriel Oliveira Glória

Due to growing concern about the ambient impacts, lignocellulosic fibers are been investigated to replace the synthetic ones in polymer composites The giant bamboo fiber, a relatively unknown lignocellulosic fiber with potential for composite reinforcement, still needs to characterize for possible engineer applications. However the giant bamboo fiber has low adhesion with the polymeric matrix. In order to understand the interaction that occurs between the bamboo fiber and the polymer matrix is necessary to evaluate its physical and chemical characteristics. Therefore, the present work analyzed the giant bamboo fiber by means of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The spectrum revealed main absorption bands typical of giant bamboo fiber specific molecular interactions.

Aug 16, 2017

By Alberto Pesamosca

The paper presents the results obtained by the AC EAF supplied by Danieli at Kroman Çelik (Gebze-Turkey) after the planned upgrade to 150 ton. The EAF – 7,4 m diameter, based on the full platform standard design - is able to handle a maximum power of 114 MW and is equipped with the most advanced and reliable technology, including module injection system and the Hireg electrodes regulation system. Excellent results were already obtained with 120 heat size in terms of fast start-up and excellent performance figures. After the upgrade, productivity was increased up to 212 t/h, maintaining high process efficiency (365 kWh/t with 32,1 Nm3/t O2).

Jul 30, 2018