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Posco and Danieli to Co-Develop Compact, In-Line Minimill

11/26/2007 - Posco and Danieli reach agreement for joint development of a new generation of plant for the in-line production of flat products, to be installed at Posco's Gwangyang Works in Korea.

Posco and Danieli recently reached agreement for joint development of a new generation of plant for the production of flat products, to be installed at Posco's Gwangyang Works in Korea.
 
The new plant will replace an existing ISP (in-line strip production) minimill, a decision that Posco based on more than 10 years of operating experience and research capability the company acquired since installing the ISP minimill at Gwangyang in 1996. Posco and Danieli will completely revamp the existing casting and rolling facilities, to overcome the limitations of the original plant while also developing a revolutionary technology and layout. The new facility will directly connect the casting and rolling facilities.
 
Posco’s original ISP plant comprised two single-strand thin slab casters connected to two roughing stands for each line, which were originally supplied by DEMAG. After the roughing stands, 2 strand slabs were coiled and then conveyed to a single finishing mill line. With the upgrade, the plant layout will be completely changed in order to improve on the original plant’s technological limitations.
 
The new plant’s main casting and rolling equipment will be designed as an overall “in-line connected” process. A single new-generation high-speed Danieli thin-slab caster, which replaces the original plant’s two thin-slab casters, will be installed in line with the rolling facilities. It will be designed to cast 80-mm thick slabs, at casting speeds of up to 8 meters/minute.
 
The caster will be directly connected to a 3-stand roughing mill where the slab thickness will be reduced. After the roughing mill, the transfer bar will be convoyed to the existing in-line finishing mill for final rolling. The final target of the new plant, following the revamp, is to produce 1.8 million tonnes/year of quality coils.
 
Danieli's scope of supply comprises complete renovation of the existing plant, including the new casting facilities, complete revamping of the roughing mill, and the connection with the existing finishing mill facilities.
 
With Posco's operating and research power, the new high-speed thin slab caster, designed to cast at an unprecedented speed of 8 meters/minute, will represent an evolution of Danieli’s fTSC (flexible Thin Slab Caster). Danieli Automation will be in charge of the development of the control architecture for the new plant, including the direct process integration between casting and roughing process.
 
Danieli says the new plant, which Posco is calling CEM (Compact Endless Cast Rolling Mill), marks the birth of a new generation of minimills for flat products, as it advances the vertical integration of separate steel production processes.