As part of Corus’ previously announced £130 million investment at Scunthorpe steelworks, Corus has placed a major contract with Danieli to install a new bloom caster and to develop the Rod Mill to accept direct-cast bloom feedstock.

The new 6-strand, 12-meter radius continuous casting machine will be capable of casting one million tonnes/year of 283x230 mm blooms at a productivity of 230 to 250 tonnes/hour. The machine will be equipped with latest-generation technologies, such as a long tubular mould (equipped with a radioactive mould level control), a mould powder measuring device (MPMD) and a mould EMS (external type). Danieli will also supply hydraulic oscillating tables, extensive below-mould support, an air-mist secondary cooling system and a dynamic soft reduction system with 6 modules per strand.

The caster will operate with protected stream technology using a 300-tonne liftable ladle turret, liftable tundish cars and an electromechanical stopper rod. A flexible dummy bar system will be used, with the dummy bar parked on transport roller tables. An oxy-based cutting system, complete with sample cutting system, will cut the blooms into lengths from 5 to 9.4 meters. Danieli will also supply a mechanical deburring system, a marking system that hard-stamps blooms with a bar code, a lateral lifting system, walking beam cooling beds, and a collecting table for normal and slow cooling.

The conticaster has been designed for high levels of casting speeds and productivity. In addition, the low internal strain during straightening and the control of the liquid and mushy zones for soft reduction will result in consistently high quality products.

Danieli will also upgrade the Scunthorpe facility’s existing 4-strand wire rod mill with new reheat facilities, a single-strand compact breakdown mill and a heated roller table for connection to the existing mill. This will allow the mill to increase its billet size to 283x230 mm or 180x180 mm conticast blooms, weighing up to 4.5 tonnes. The new 200 tonne/hour Danieli Centro Combustion walking-beam reheat furnace with feeding, delivery and descaling facilities, is designed for granting high productivity, minimized fuel consumption, and low decarburization and scale losses.

The Scunthorpe facility’s new single-strand, high-speed, twist-free breakdown mill will be made up of seven heavy-duty SHS housingless stands arranged in V and H positions. A Danieli Centro Combustion heated roller table will be provided for temperature equalization and the proper delivery of the feeding section to the existing 4-strand rolling mill. A crank shear, located at new breakdown mill’s exit, will facilitate cropping of 283x230 mm, 4.5-tonne blooms in order to cope with mill’s present coil weight dimensioning (up to 2.2-tonne coils).

Danieli Centro Combustion will also be responsible for relocation of an existing Reheat Furnace to Scunthorpe’s Medium Section Mill. The relocation will include the upgrade of some furnace components (e.g. burners, combustion and process control system). The relocated furnace will process up to 355x305 mm blooms at output rates of up to 160 tonnes/hour.

Danieli will carry out Scunthorpe Steelworks’ upgrade program on a turn-key basis, which will include electric and automation systems from Danieli Automation as well as various plant auxiliary systems. Civil works and buildings modification for the new CCM will also be part of the supply.

Corus says the total investment will extend the scope of the whole Scunthorpe operation, significantly improving the medium section mill’s rolling capability by enabling the introduction of rail manufacture in addition to structural sections and provision of a world class supply chain for wire rod manufacture.

Corus Group Plc is one of the world’s largest metal producers, with major operating facilities in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway, Belgium and Canada. Corus’ four divisions — Strip Products, Long Products, Aluminum and Distribution & Building Systems — provide innovative solutions to the construction, automotive, rail, general engineering and packaging markets worldwide. Corus has over 48,000 employees in over 40 countries and sales offices and service centers worldwide.

Danieli is one of the three major suppliers of equipment and plants to the metals industry, worldwide. Over 3,400 people operate in the 17 product lines that cover the whole spectrum of ironmaking and steelmaking plants, from ore to finished products. Main Group companies are located in Italy, Sweden, Germany, USA, U.K., Spain, France and The Netherlands.