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Arvedi ESP Line Starts Endless Strip Production

08/13/2009 - Arvedi ESP commences endless production of hot-rolled coils in a thin-slab casting/rolling plant directly from liquid steel using Arvedi technology implemented by Siemens VAI Metals Technologies.

Arvedi ESP, the world's most compact line for the production of hot-rolled strip, commenced endless operation earlier this summer at its location in Cremona, Italy. For the first time ever, hot-rolled coils can now be commercially produced in a thin-slab casting/rolling plant directly from liquid steel in a continuous and uninterrupted manufacturing process.
 
The plant uses Arvedi technology, which takes advantage of liquid steel’s thermal energy to produce thin-gauge strip with better quality at lower costs compared to alternative processes. The technology was implemented by Siemens VAI Metals Technologies.
 
The new production facility can produce strip in widths of up to 1600 millimeters and at thicknesses down to 0.8 mm. The thin and ultrathin gauges can be used immediately in numerous downstream applications. With a nominal capacity exceeding two million tons of hot-rolled coils per year, the new line has an overall length of only 190 meters — less than one-half of the length of a typical hot-strip mill without casting and storage facilities. It is capable of rolling all standard carbon-steel grades, in addition to HSLA and multi-phase steel grades. Products from the Arvedi ESP line will be suitable for use in the automotive, appliance and building industries, as well as for the production of tubes, profiles, machinery and mechanical equipment.
 
The line’s new endless strip-production mode has helped the company eliminate repeated threading into individual rolling stands, allowing the production of ultra-thin gauges in ESP lines. Rolled strip fully meets all tolerance values along its entire length while also exhibiting high surface quality and a homogeneous structure. In endless mode, the strip is under continuous tension, eliminating the danger of cobbling due to high speeds and insufficient strip-head stability, and elimination of the need to crop head and tail ends helps to maximize overall yield. Strip cutting is carried out just before the downcoilers.
 
Online energy measurements on the new line have shown a 45% reduction in the energy consumption as compared to conventional casting and rolling processes. The reduction in energy consumption also yields a major reduction in CO2 emissions.
 
The Arvedi ESP line is equipped with a broad range of advanced technological features and systems such as as liquid-core reduction and DynaGap SoftReduction to ensure high internal strand quality. The caster is directly connected to a 3-stand high-reduction mill, equipped with AGC (automatic gauge control) and profile control. Based on individual control setpoints, the transfer strip is thermally equalized in the induction heater with flexible heating up to temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1200°C.
 
To ensure a high degree of strip flatness, three of the finishing-mill stands are equipped with SmartCrown rolls, and all mill stands incorporate AGC and other control features. After exiting the final rolling stand, the strip is cooled by a laminar-cooling system that allows the strip’s mechanical properties to be adjusted as required. After the strip is cut by a high-speed shear, it is coiled into individual coils weighing up to 32 tonnes in one of three downcoiler units.
 
The entire line is controlled by completely integrated Level 1 and Level 2 automation systems, that fully regulate all casting and rolling operations. The automation systems are complemented by a plant-wide quality-control system that assures that required quality standards are met.
 
The Siemens Industry Sector, Erlangen, Germany, is a leading international supplier of production, transportation, building and lighting technologies. The Sector comprises six Divisions: Building Technologies, Drive Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility and Osram. With around 222,000 employees worldwide Siemens Industry posted in fiscal year 2008 a profit of EUR3.86 billion with revenues totaling EUR38 billion.
 
With the business activities of Siemens VAI Metal Technologies (Linz, Austria), Siemens Water Technologies (Warrendale, Pa.), and Industrial Technologies (Erlangen, Germany), the Siemens Industry Solutions Division (Erlangen, Germany) is one of the world's leading solution and service providers for industrial and infrastructure facilities. Using its own products, systems and process technologies, Industry Solutions develops and builds plants for end customers, commissions them and provides support during their entire life cycle. With around 31,000 employees worldwide Siemens Industry Solutions achieved an order intake of EUR 8.415 billon in fiscal year 2008.