THE NEW GLOBAL COMPETENCEIN HOT ROLLING

primetals.com

INTRODUCTION
THE GLOBAL COMPETENCEIN HOT ROLLING

Primetals Technologies represents a
new global plant building competencewith a wide portfolio, innovativetechnology and customized
services for the metals industry.
This competence becomes visible
especially in the area of conventional
hot rolling mills.
The demands related to thecapabilities of a conventional hot
rolling mill have changed in the lastyears. In addition to the high level of
output and productivity, the demandfor quality improvement is still growing
up. Safety and energy saving becomea very important aspect. Today there
is a clear trend in developing new steel
grades like AHSS grades (Advanced
High Strength Steel), dual-phaseand multi-phase grades. This trend
challenges the conventional hot milltechnology because it requires newtechnologies which provide more
flexibility in metallurgical treatment
during the rolling process. In parallel,
the high level of productivity andquality has to be maintained.
I In order to follow these trends
Primetals Technologies is continuously
investing in R&D. Highly skilledresearchers cooperate with universities
and other R&D institutes. Beside theapplication of an impressive numberof patents, Primetals Technologies
offers advanced equipment andtechnologies for rolling mills. Examples
are: slab sizing press, PairCross
and SmartCrown® technology forprofile and flatness control, looper
shape meter (LSM) for strip tension
measuring within mill stands or power
coiler for coiling of thick and hardmaterial. In the area of strip coolingtechnology Primetals Technologies
is in the role of a trend setter with its

2Power Cooling technology for hot strip
mills and MULPIC for plate mills which
open the door for many metallurgicaltreatments in a conventional hot
rolling mill such as transfer bar
cooling, interstand cooling, runout
table cooling or in plate production as
well as reduction of expensive alloying
elements.
The number of references (new mills
and modernization projects) proves
the capability of project managementof Primetals Technologies. The
installation of new mills requires
different project management skills
in comparison to modernization
projects where the precise shut downplanning and execution becomes oneof the most critical topics. Primetals
Technologies employs an extremely
experienced team of project managers
and commissioning managers withspecific know-how in rolling mills inorder to provide the best services tothe customer.
The hot rolling technology of Primetals
Technologies comprises a wide
range of advanced equipment andtechnologies together with studies,
services and consultancy in thearea of rolling process and quality
improvement as well as metallurgicalknow-how. Testing facilities to checknew designs are available to secure
the innovative advantage e.g. in rollcooling, work roll lubrication or strip
cooling technology.

3HOT STRIP MILLSNEW INSTALLATIONSNEW HOT STRIP MILLSREFERENCES
CUSTOMERCOUNTRY

Primetals Technologies supplied seventeen (17) new
conventional hot strip mills in the last 15 years. This
number of mills corresponds to a yearly production of hotrolled coils of approximately 55 million tons.
The table on the next page gives an overview of these
installations. The mills are located all over the world,from USA and Brazil over Turkey, Europe, India, Korea,
Taiwan, Vietnam to Japan which proves the high andworldwide acceptance of Primetals Technologies hot rolling
technology and the trust of our customers into Primetals
Technologies capabilities in engineering and project
management.
The individual mills feature a wide range of dimensions andsteel grades. Whereas the hot strip mills for JSL (India)
and Fujian-Fuxin Special Steel (China) are dedicated forthe production of stainless steel, the hot mill for Allegheny
Ludlum (USA) is capable of rolling Titanium and Zirconium
ingots and slabs in addition to carbon steels. The thickness
range varies from 1.2 mm to 25.4 mm and the width range
is from 700 mm to 2100 mm.
The process layout of some of the mills allows productionof more than 5 million tons per year; an example is themill for Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (Vietnam) or the hot strip
mill for Tata Steel Kalinganagar (India). Many layouts havealready the provision for future extension of production andproduct mix.

4

START UPSTEELGRADESPRODUCTION[Mt/y]STRIP
THICKNESS
[mm]

STRIP
WIDTH
[mm]

Undisclosed Company
Mexico2020

Undisclosed Company
Mexico2020

JSW Dolvi
India

2020

CS, API, DP

5.0

1.5 – 16.0

900 – 1650

SAIL RSP
India

2019

CS, API, DP

3.0

1.2 –25,4

725 – 2150

FORMOSA Ha Tinh Steel
Vietnam

2015

CS, API, DP

5.3

1.2 – 25.4

900 – 1880

TATA Kalinganagar
India

2015

CS, API, DP

5.5

1.2 – 25.0

800 – 2050

Allegeheny Ludlum
USA

2014

SS. CS. API, DP,
Si, Ni-alloys,
Ti-alloys

3.0(4.0 future)

1.78 – 25.4

660 – 2083

The different requirements of production and product mix
require individual planning of the process layout and theselection of the related rolling mill equipment. The portfolioof Primetals Technologies hot strip mill technology covers
all these demands.

Fujian-Fuxin Special Steel
China

2013

SS,
CS, API

2.5

1.2 – 18

830 – 1630

USIMINAS Cubatao No 2
HSM Brazil

2012

CS, API, DP

2.3(4.8 future)

1.5 – 20

750 – 2050

The hot strip mill for ArcelorMittal in Krakow (Poland) andthe hot strip mill for SAIL RSP in Rourkela (India) are two
examples of full turn-key projects. In these projects thescope of Primetals Technologies includes civil works, bays,
steel structures and cranes, water treatment plant, rollshop, slab and coil yards. The hot strip mill for ArcelorMittal
Poland was installed within 24 months from contract
signature to first coil. Currently the construction andcommissioning of 4 new hot strip mill projects is ongoing.

JSL
India

2011

SS, CS

1.6 SS(3.2 incl. CS
future)1.5 – 12.7

1000 – 1650

Hyundai C-HSM
Korea

2010

CS, API, DP

5.5

1.2 – 25.4

800 – 2000

Dragon Steel
Taiwan

2010

SS, CS, API,DP, Si3.8

1.2 – 25.4

700 – 1880

JSW Vijayanagar
India

2010

CS, API, DP

5.0

1.2 – 25.4

900 – 2150

Tokyo Steel Tahara
Japan

2009

CS

2.4

1.2 – 22740 – 1600

Isdemir
Turkey2008

CS, HSLA, API,DP

3.5
(4.5 future)

1.2 – 22

700 – 2050

ArcelorMittal
Poland2007

CS, API, DP, Si

2.4(4.5 future)

1.2 – 25.4

750 – 2100

Bao Steel No 3 HSM
China

2007

CS, API, DP, Si

3.7

1.2 – 19

700 – 1730

LEGEND

CS
SS		
HSLA
DP
API
Si		

Carbon SteelStainless SteelHigh Strength Low Alloyed
Dual Phase
Pipe Grades
Silicon Steel5

PLATE AND STECKEL MILLSNEW INSTALLATIONSNEW PLATE AND STECKEL MILLSREFERENCES
CUSTOMERCOUNTRY

Plate-Steckel mill at AHMSA, Monclova, Mexico

Primetals Technologies supplied twelve (12) new Plateand Steckel mills in the last 15 years. This number of mills
corresponds to a yearly production of approximately13.6
million tons flat rolled plate and 1.15 million tonshot rolledcoils.
The table on the next page gives an overview of these
installations. The mills are located all over the world, from
Brazil to Mexico, over India, China, Korea and Indonesia
which proves the high regard and worldwide acceptance ofPrimetals Technologies hot rolling technology and the trustof our customers into Primetals Technologies capabilities inengineering and project management.
Nearly all the plate mills are dedicated for the production ofcarbon steels of varying parameters used in the oil and gas,
bridge, pressure vessels, yellow goods, construction andshipbuilding industries and thickness varies from 4.5mm to
150 mm thick plate rolled from Ingots at 360mm.
The process layout of these mills allows production ofaround 1.5 to 2 million tons per year, an example is the millfor Xiangtan Iron & Steel (China). Many layouts alreadyhave the provision for future extension of production andprodct mix.

The different requirements of production and product mix
require individual planning of the process layout and theselection of the related rolling mill equipment. The portfolioof Primetals Technologies hot mill technology covers allthese demands.

TYPE

START
UP

MILL
STAND
[mm]

STEEL
GRADESPRODUCTION[Mt/y]

Carpenter Technology
USA

Steckel Mill

2020

625

Super alloy, SS

0.056 coil

1.9-7.6 x
483

Gerdau Acominas
SA/BR Brazil

Plate Mill

2015

3800

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.1 plate

4,5-150 x
900-3600

Gerdau Acominas
SA/BR Brazil

Steckel Mill

2013

2200

L-CS, M-CS,
API

0.83 coil

2-20 x 9002100

PT Krakatau
Indonesia

Plate Mill

2013

4700

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.5 plate

6-120 x 12004650

AHMSA
MexicoPlate/
Steckel

2012

3300

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

0.75 plate,
0.25 coil

4.5-50 x 15003200

Jindal Steel & Power
India

Plate Mill

2011

5000

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.2 plate

5-50 x 9004800

Jinan I&S Group
China

Plate Mill

2010

4300

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.8 plate

6-120 x 15004100

Jiangsu
Shagang Group Co. Ltd.
China

Plate Mill

2009

5000

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.5 plate

5-50 x 9004800

Dongkuk Iron & Steel
Korea

Plate Mill

2009

5000

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.5 plate

4.5-150 x 9004800

Xiangtan Iron & Steel
China

Plate Mill

2008

5000

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

2.0 plate

5-150 x 9004800

WUHAN IRON & STEEL
China

Plate Mill

2008

4300

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS, API

1.2 plate

5-150 x 10504100

Tokyo Steel Kyusyu
Japan

Plate Mill

2007

2650

L-CS, M-CS,
H-CS

1.0 plate

9-60 x 15002500

LEGEND

L-CS
M-CS
H-CS
API
SS		

THICKNESS
x WIDTH[mm]

Low Carbon Steel
Middle Carbon SteelHigh Carbon SteelPipe Grades
Stainless SteelThe concept of Plate/Steckel mills provides a middle
ground in plate rolling by producing discreet plate (upto 50mm) and coil plate (4.5 to 25mm) in one line. Pure
Steckel Mills are also beginning to emerge as major
contenders where a low cost start in the market is sort by
an investor. These produces both carbon steel, stainlesssteel and special steels
6

7

UNIQUE ON THE PLANET
THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL
HOT-ROLLING MILLPROCESS ROUTES

Ingot to Coil
RailàSPàRMàFMàCYàRail

Ingot to SlabRailàIYàCBFàRMàIY …
RailàSPàRMàIY …

Slab to Coil (incl. Slab to Plate)
Slab to Coil; RailàSLDàWBFàRMàFMàCY
Slab to Plate; RailàSLDàWBFàRMàPC
View of ATI’s hot-rolling processing facility, Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Basically three main process routes are in place based on a product master plan

Primetals Technologies supplied the new fully integrated
hot rolling and processing facility on a turnkey basis
at the Brackenridge facility of Allegheny Technologies
Incorporated (ATI) in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The mill iscapable to roll up to 3.5 million tons per year of a broad
range of highly diversified stainless and carbon steels,
specialty metals and electrical steel grades. The material isapplied to the aerospace, automotive, defense, petroleum,chemical, construction, mining and power industries,
as well as in various medical, food-equipment, machineand cutting-tool applications. The rolling forces are
the highest ever to be applied in a hot rolling mill. The
project scope included engineering, supply, installationand commissioning of mechanical equipment as well

HOT-ROLLING AND PROCESSING FACILITY EQUIPMENT

as electrical and automation systems. Leading-edge
technologies are built into the mill to ensure top-classperformance and to control key parameters such as
thickness, cooling and coiling temperatures throughthe use of built-in process models and the associatedautomation-controlled actuators. This project represents
an outstanding example of a successful cooperation
between a market-leading supplier of specialty metals anda metallurgical plant builder. The installed power, size andadvanced technology of the mill, combined with decades ofoperational expertise, allow ATI to utilize this unparalleledcapability to fully meet the most demanding customer
requirements in a highly efficient and productive manner.

1 Walking-beam furnaces
2 Roughing mill with vertical edger
3 Encopancels
4 Descaler
5 Finishing mill
6 Cooling line

7 Power coilers

Following reheating and descaling, the slabs or ingots are
initially rolled in the roughing mill which is equipped withan edger and state of the art twin drives each with a motor
power of 9.5 MW (maximum load of 60MN) each.
The roughing mill stand is capable of exerting a maximum
load of 60 MN. This immense power gives the hot rollingand processing facility the capability and versatility toprocess and roll the broadest ranges of specialty metals in
the industry.
FINISHING MILL
The finishing mill is designed with seven 4-high mill stands,
each equipped with 10 MW drives and a mill-stand load ofup to 55 MN. All stands feature dynamic work-roll cooling.
Additional systems include interstand cooling, workroll lubrication, a fume-suppression system, strip crosssprays, entry-guide cooling as well as looper cooling as
the basis for optimum process parameters and equipment
conditions.
SmartCrown® rolls are installed in the finishing stands,
which operate in conjunction with L-type bending blocks
and the work-roll shifting system as the decisive factor forassuring excellent strip profile and flatness.

8 Inspection station

LAMINAR COOLING SECTION

9The laminar cooling section comprises 54 top headers and162 bottom headers that allow a maximum water-flow rateof 20,000 m³/h. The cooling headers are flow-controlledon the basis of calculations from a microstructure targetcooling model. Laminar cooling is split into a fast cooling

Coil-conveying system

10 Coil yard
11 Water-treatment plant

8

ROUGHING MILL

and a normal cooling zone. Each top header with theassociated group of bottom headers is separately regulated
by a flow-control valve.
DOWNCOILER SECTION
Two power coilers are installed in the coiling section,
which are dimensioned that they are capable of coiling API
X100 pipe-grade material at a thickness of 21.2 mm and awidth of 1,956 mm, or API X80 pipe-grade material with athickness of 25.4mm and a width of 2,083 mm. The power
coilers are equipped with servohydraulically controlled side
guides, pinch-roll units and four wrapper arms. They arealso outfitted with pinch-roll polishers and quick-exchange
pinch-roll units.
AUTOMATION AND LOGISTICS
A complete suite of Level 1 automation systems andsophisticated Level 2 process-optimization systems withintegrated tailored process models ensure that nothingis left to chance. Level 2 rolling systems include models
for the precise control of rolling parameters; profile andflatness control, roll bending, roll thermal crown and rollwear, material flow, roll flattening and roll shifting. The
cooling section control includes models for parameters;cooling section model includes temperature monitoring andcontrol, heat-transfer and phase transformations. The coiltransport is carried out with the newly developed Modular
Coil Shuttle system (MCS).

9NEW HOT STRIP MILLFORMOSA HA TINH STEELCORPORATION (HA TINH, VIETNAM)

NO. 2 HOT STRIP MILLUSIMINAS(CUBATAO, BRAZIL)

FM area at Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, Vietnam

FM area at USIMINAS Cubatao No.2 HSM, Brazil

The 2,050mm semi-continuous hot strip mill supplied byPrimetals Technologies in Vietnam started up in 2015.
Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a member of the
Formosa Plastic Group, is one of the largest integrated steel
manufacturer in Southeast Asia. Primetals Technologies
provided the hot strip mill for production of strip up to
1,880mm wide utilizing state of the art technologies.
Primetals Technologies was responsible for the design,
engineering and supply of the mechanical equipment andalso supervised the erection and commissioning of theplant, and conducted the staff training.

PRODUCTION DATA
Production capacity
Steel grade

Slab thickness

5.3 million tons/year
Carbon steel, Pipe steel
DP Steel, TRIP steel
HSLA, etc.
230 mm to 250 mm

Slab width

950 mm to 1,880 mm

Slab length

max. 11 m

Strip thickness

1.2 mm to 25.4 mm

Strip width

900 mm to 1,880 mm

Coil weightmax. 40,000 kg

PRIMETALS HAS SUPPLIED THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT• Slab sizing press• Vertical edger (E1) with automatic width control (AWC)• 2-high roughing mill (R1)
• Vertical edger (E2) with automatic width control (AWC)• 4-high roughing mill (R2) with quick roll changing device• Heat retention cover• Drum-type crop shear

The No. 2 hot strip mill at USIMINAS Cubatao started
operation in 2012. To cover the wide range in production
sizes and steel grades, many modern technologies wereapplied. Primetals Technologies was involved in this project
as a mechanical equipment supplier for the following
equipment:• Furnace entry and delivery tables• Vertical edger (F1E) attached to F1 with automatic
width control (AWC)• Coil conveyor- Mill stabilizing device (F1-F4)- Work roll shift (F5-F7)- Work roll bending (F1-F7)- Hydraulic automatic gauge control (AGC)- Hydraulic looper- Quick roll changing- Work roll lubrication- Interstand cooling• Three down coilers with:- Hydraulic automatic jumping control (AJC)

Production
capacity

2.3 million tons/year(4.8 million tonns/year in future)

Steel grade

Carbon steel, Pipe steel,
HSLA,
DP steel, TRIP steel,Electrical steel, etc.

• Finishing mill
• Down coiler- Pair cross (F1-F4)

PRODUCTION DATA

• Roughing mill

• Descaling facilities• Seven 4-high finishing stands with:

LINE SPECIFICATION

In addition to the above main line equipment, Primetals
Technologies also supplied foundation design, auxiliary
equipment such as roll shop equipment, water treatment
system, compressed air plant, cranes, ventilation air
condition system, fire detection and extinguishing system,
etc.

Slab thickness

210–260 mm

Slab width

750–2,050 mm

Slab length

max. 11,500 mm

Strip thickness

1.5–20 mm(1.2–20 mm in future)

Strip width

750–2,050 mm

Coil weightmax 35,000 kg

The production capacity of the mill is 2.3 million tons per
year in the initial phase, with a maximum of 4.8 million tons
per year in future expansion. The product mix includes low,
middle and high carbon steel, API pipe steel (up to X80),
DP, TRIP, HSLA, IF steel and electrical steel. The hot run
tests and performance tests were successfully completed
within 6 months after hot run start. During these tests,
low carbon steel of 1.5mm thickness, API X70 of 6 mm to
19 mm thickness, HSLA of 2.0 mm thickness with a tensile
strength of 590 MPa, DP, IF, as well as electrical steel were
all produced successfully.

- Non-step expanding mandrel
10• Coil conveyor

11

COMBINED STECKEL / PLATE MILLGERDAU ACOMINAS(MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL)

Steckel mill stand at Gerdau Acominas, Brazil

Plate mill stand at Gerdau Acominas, Brazil

Steckel mill stand at Gerdau Acominas, Brazil

COIL PRODUCTION PROCESSThe new fully integrated hot rolling facility supplied byPrimetals Technologies on a process turnkey basis started
up at the Gerdau Acominas’, Ouro Branco facility, in Minas
Gerais, Brazil in 2013 and 2015.

• Future crop shear

PLATE PRODUCTION PROCESS• Double side trim shear

PLATE MILL STAND• Divide shear

The mill complex is capable of rolling up to 1.9 million tons
per year in a broad range of highly diversified carbon steels
grades of both discreet plate and coiled products thatfind use in the local industries of Brazil and its surrounding
countries. This project represents an entry into the flat
products market by a key player in the long products
sector. The installed power, size and advanced technologyof the mill, combined with expertise of Primetals
Technologies, allowed Gerdau Acominas to enter a mature
market with products that could compete both on a quality
and commercial basis, both as discreet plate and rolled coil.

• Transfer and inspection beds

Following reheating and descaling, the slab is rolled in
the plate mill which is equipped with state-of-the-art twin
drives each with a motor power of 8.5 MW. The mill stand iscapable of exerting a maximum load of 84 MN.

COMMON FACILITIES FOR PLATE AND COIL
PRODUCTION• Steckel furnaces• Transfer and handling equipment for slabs• 		 Heating/reheating furnaces• Cold leveller• Inspection and transfer equipment

Thickness

STECKEL MILL STAND

4.5 ~ 150 mm

COIL PRODUCTION PROCESS

Width

900 ~ 3,600 mm• Primary descaler

Length3,000 ~ 18,000 mm• (Provision for future roughing mill stand)• Rotary crop shear• 4-high roughing and finishing stand• (Provision for a future 3 stand finishing train)

MULPIC COOLING SECTION
The cooling section comprises a MULPIC machine designed
to produce a phase transformation in the metal after rolling
and this is where the final microstructure of the plate iscontrolled for final mechanical properties
SHEAR LINE SECTION• 1 Down coiler (with provision for a second)

The plant line has provision for a future crop shear which isused to increase productivity, a double side trim shear used
to trim as rolled plate to final width, and a divide shear
used to cut mother plates into final plate lengths.

• (Provision for future roughing stand)• Walking beam coil handling

AUTOMATION AND LOGISTICS• 4-high reversing plate mill stand pre-leveller(Plate mill in the first phase)• Integrated sampling, inspection, marking and strapping
machines

The entire facility is controlled from strategically positioned
control pulpits, designed to meet today’s exacting
standards whilst keeping labour costs to a minimum.
A complete suite of Level 1 automation systems andsophisticated Level 2 process-optimization systems withintegrated tailored process models ensure that nothing isleft to chance.

PLATE PRODUCTION PROCESS• Primary descaler• MULPIC cooling machine• Hot leveller• Cooling bed
12• Laminar strip cooling section

Following reheating and descaling, the slab is rolled in the
4-high Steckel mill (roughing and finishing stand) which isequipped with state of the art twin drives each with amotor power of 7.0 MW. The mill stand is capable ofexerting a maximum load of 54 MN.
Thickness

2 ~ 20 mm

Width

900 ~ 2,100 mm

WeightMax. 45 ton

LAMINAR COOLING SECTION
The laminar cooling section comprises 32 top headers and96 bottom headers that allow a maximum water-flow rateof 11,500 m³/h. Laminar cooling is split into a fast coolingzone and a normal cooling zone.
DOWN COILER SECTION
The down coiler is installed in the coiling section at the endof the line and is dimensioned capable of coiling 20mm,
X70 material at full width.

13

HOT STRIP MILLTECHNOLOGIESSlab sizing press at POSCO, Pohang No.1 HSM, South Korea

Heavy edger at ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. Kraków, Poland

Roughing mill at USIMINAS, Cubatao No.2 HSM, Brazil

SLAB SIZING PRESSROUGHING MILL

TRANSFER BAR COOLING

Primetals Technologies is the pioneer developer of the slab
sizing press, and the first slab sizing press in the world was
supplied to JFE Steel Kurashiki in 1988. The slab sizingpress has shown excellent performance, and Primetals
Technologies has been continuously improving thetechnology. Because the slab sizing press can reduce thekind of casting slab width for the HSM, the productivity of
the caster can be increased. It can achieve the large
economical advantage for total production of the steel
plant. Because of the large width reduction achieved by theslab sizing press, the ratio of hot charged slabs can beincreased which contributes to significant energy savings.

Primetals Technologies has supplied many roughing mills
with the following functions:

The Primetals Technologies Power Cooling technology isespecially designed reach the highest cooling rates. This
technology can be implemented as intensive coolingbetween the roughing and the finishing mill area. This leads
to improved strip temperature control to increase
productivity. Furthermore transfer bar cooling enables
advanced “in-line” metallurgical treatment of the strips.

HEAVY EDGER• Excellent thickness accuracy including top and tailends of the transfer bar

Fully hydraulic vertical edgers feature long-stroke cylinders
with integrated system control, a position transducer for
abso-lute width measurement as well as advanced
automatic width-control functions. Heavy edging with highwidth reduction capability introduces the benefit ofadjusting to various rolled strip widths from standard slab
sizes.
AUTOMATIC WIDTH CONTROL (AWC)
The automatic width control comprises roll gap adjustment
during rolling to compensate width and temperaturedeviations. Furthermore, the short stroke functionality
enables compensation of narrow head and fish tail effect.
This concept is especially beneficial for upgrades due tolimited additional investment cost and low extra
maintenance requirements.
14• Electrical screw down for high speed gap adjustment• Hydraulic gap adjusting cylinder• Twin drive for top and bottom work rolls.
The hydraulic gap adjusting cylinder features the following
functions:• Fine levelling and zeroing calibration with higher zeroing
and levelling force (compared with only electrical screw
down)

The hydraulic gap adjusting cylinders are located under thebottom backup roll chocks or above the top of the backup
roll chocks.
In the case where the hydraulic gap adjusting cylinders are
installed at the bottom side, the cylinder can also enable
the proper pass-line adjustment functions.
By means of the pass-line adjustment, the bottom
hydraulic cylinder can also be used to reduce the turn-up
and turn-down of the ends of the transfer bar especially forhard materials such as stainless steel along withindependent speed control between top and bottom workrolls.

Coil box at Baosteel Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China

ENCOPANELS® AND HEAT HOLDING COVER
The Encopanel heat-retention system or Heat holding coveris installed after the roughing mill to conserve the heat of
the transfer bars as well as to enable a more accurate
control of the strip temperature, especially for thin-gauge
strip. As a special feature of Encopanel, bottom scaleclearing panels discharge scale from the system to ensure ascale-free Encopanel surface for the transfer bar.
COILBOXThe coilbox design is characterized by modern design
features such as coil transfer without the use of a mandrel.
Advantages of this equipment include reduced power
rating and lower energy consumption in the mill train, as
well as a shorter distance between the roughing mill andthe finishing mill in a new plant. It is capable of handling awide range of transfer bar dimensions (20 – 55 mm transfer
bar thickness and up to 2,050 mm width as in reference
plants) and can be used with carbon and stainless steel
grades.

Transfer bar cooling unit installed at TATA Steel, Port Talbot

15

HOT STRIP MILLTECHNOLOGIES

Crop shear and Primary descaler at ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. Kraków,
PolandPair Cross finishing stand at USIMINAS, Cubatao No.2 HSM, Brazil

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DESCALER

The mill stabilizing device is installed on the entry side
housing and eliminates the clearance between the chocks
and housing during operation, which reduce the task ofmaintaining the entry-side housing liner to approximately
one-third of a conventional mill.

Primetals Technologies descalers feature low-maintenancedesign and optional height adjustment and are designed
for minimum water and energy consumption.
CROP SHEARS

The main features of the advanced PC mill are as follows:

In order to meet the requirements of high-strength steels,
Primetals Technologies has developed several shear types
for different applications.

• Stable operation with the elimination of clearance
between roll chocks and housing and symmetrical rollcrown control to reduce camber and pinching problems

The differential speed rotary crop shear is a uniqueportfolio of Primetals Technologies. Sharp cutting
performance is assured, and the knife change interval canbe extended because the strict management of knife gap
clearance is not necessary. An innovative switchable gear
design minimizes motor power demand. The full integrationof the crop optimization system into the overall automation
system ensures minimal crop-losses.

• Powerful strip crown and flatness control with the simple
principle of axial roll crossing

ADVANCED PAIR CROSS MILL
The Pair Cross (PC) mill was developed in the 1980's andhas contributed to the achievement of high accuracy andquality of the strip crown and flatness through its superior
strip crown and flatness control. Primetals Technologies hasenhanced the PC mill and is now supplying a 3rd generation
PC mill with a mill stabilizing device, the so-called advanced
PC mill.
The number of the mechanical component required for rollcrossing in the advanced PC mill is reduced to less than aquarter of those of the 1st generation PC mill.

16• Higher reduction rolling without mill vibration throughthe combination of PC mill and mill stabilizing device
even in severe rolling condition such as thinner andharder products, because mill stabilizing device increase
the dynamic rigidity of the mill stands

SmartCrown finishing stand at ArcelorMittal Poland S.A., Kraków, Poland

Looper Shape Meter at Tata Steel Europe, IJmuiden BV,
Direct Sheet Plant, IJmuiden, Netherlands

SMARTCROWN®

LOOPER SHAPE METER (LSM)

SmartCrown enables significantly enhanced profile andflatness control by means of the combination of curved rollcontours and roll shifting.

The measurement of strip shape between mill stands ona hot strip mill has previously been rather difficult andunreliable. Primetals Technologies has developed a looper
shape meter (LSM) to continuously and accurately measureinterstand shape.

SmartCrown work rolls feature a modified, sine-shaped
contour. By selecting the correct contour coefficients andshifting the work rolls by the same amount in opposite
directions, the resultant unloaded roll gap is always cosineshaped, regardless of the actual shifting position of therolls.
By means of optimum work roll contours of theSmartCrown rolls, a wider range of roll gap profile
adjustment, especially in the high order range such as
fourth-order, can be achieved. SmartCrown also enables
strip flatness control of high-order to avoid e.g. quarterbuckles defects.
SmartCrown is suitable for new installations as well as forrevamping of existing mills.
THICKNESS CONTROL
Gap adjustment is actuated by hydraulic automatic gauge
control (HAGC) systems consisting of hydraulic gap control
cylinders with integrated system control and the adjacenthydraulics. Integrated load cells in the mill housingsguarantee correct set-values. This system enables precise
control of strip thickness and provides faster roll change
times and increased flexibility in setting up the mill.

LSM measures the tension distribution across the strip
width through individually detected contact loads on
segmented rolls, and then converts the distribution oftension into the strip shape.
LSM features the following advantages:• The load on the segment roll is measured by a torquemeter without any influences of hysteresis of themechanism, unlike a load cell. Measuring by torquemeter enables higher accuracy and increased measuring
reliability without any influences caused by changing
mechanical condition.
• Easily interchangeable with existing loopers and LSM
because the moment of inertia is small• Easy replacement of segment roll for maintenance17

HOT STRIP MILLTECHNOLOGIES

Online roll profiler

Interstand Equipment

Strip Cooling Line

Coil Inspection

WORK ROLL LUBRICATION (WRL)

INTERSTAND COOLING AND DYNAMIC WORK ROLL
COOLING

COILING TECHNOLOGY

without cutting the sheet of the coil and recoiling it after
inspection for minimized scrap. High strength steels withthickness of up to 25.4 mm strip thickness (e.g. X80) canbe handled by Primetals Technologies heavy gauge plasma
cutting unit.

The work roll lubrication system is designed with patented
mixing nozzle units that apply the water oil emulsion
directly on the entry side of the work roll. A lower
coefficient of friction between the work rolls and the strip
is achieved, which leads to a significant reduction in rolling
force and improvement of the work roll surface quality,
and thus to better strip quality. Due to the position of
the nozzles the normal work roll cooling can be kept inoperation during strip lubrication. Special wiper material isinstalled to keep the strip surface dry and ensure optimal
lubrication. Quick couplings for faster maintenance of the
newly developed nozzle beam are installed in the mostrecent WRL references.

Strip temperature during the rolling process strongly
influences the steel properties. Thus, to increase productivity and still meet target temperatures and properties, itis necessary to employ interstand cooling. In combination
with model predictive control, interstand cooling ensuresincreased throughput with constantly high steel quality.
Dynamic work roll cooling provides control of thermalcrown through the combination of three different spraypatterns. The system is integrated into the level 1 and 2 automation systems. The work roll cooling spray headers are
separately actuated by valves.

Perfect coiling is an important requirement for strip
producers. Primetals Technologies standard coiler design
has three wrapper rolls and is applied for soft grades aswell as high-strength steel from 1.2 up to 25.4 mm thick.
A special down coiler design is applied for endless strip
mills (Arvedi ESP) to coil the thin strips from 0.8 up to
thicker gauge. For high-strength steel strip up to 25.4 mm
thickness, the heavy duty coiler design can be used.
COIL TRANSPORTONLINE ROLL PROFILER (ORP)

STRIP COOLING

The online roll profiler (ORP) is a ki compact roll grinder
which is installed in the mill stands and used to grind workrolls during rolling to maintain the work roll surface quality.
The disc-type grinding wheel is composed of a cubic boron
nitride material mounted on higher damping mechanism.
The design has improved service life highly damped
greater grinding capacity and more reliable operation.
The driving components to rotate the grinding wheel, topress the grinding heads onto the roll and for oscillation
along the roll axis are mounted in a compact box thatkeeps the components clean for higher reliability and lower
maintenance.

The solution includes mechanical components such as
cooling headers for a wide range of applications as well as
an online cooling model. In addition to standard laminarcooling headers, Primetals Technologies supplies turbo laminar headers with higher cooling rates and Power Coolingsystems that enable the dissipation of more heat. The combination of high cooling rates and a wide adjustment range
enables the production of high quality steel grades even in
hot rolling mills with short cooling sections.

The most important requirements of coil transport system
are safe and gentle coil handling, high reliability, maximum
coil collection frequency and minimum maintenance costs.
For this purpose Primetals Technologies offers numerous
different coil transport systems. The latest solution is
the modular coil shuttle (MCS) car system. The shuttlecars are driving autonomously on the rail system fromthe down coiler to the coil storage area. They are fed
by current collectors via conductor rails and controlled
by an industrial wireless LAN system. Implementing themodular components such as shifting, turning or lifting, thecoil transport route can be designed highly flexible. The
transport capacity can be easily adapted by varying thenumber of shuttle cars in operation.

The cooling rates of each systems are as follows:

COIL INSPECTION AND SAMPLING• Standard headers : up to 1.5 MW/m2

The work roll changing interval can be extended by a factorof 2 – 3 times compared with conventional mill (withoutwork roll shifting).

• Turbo laminar headers : up to 2 MW/m2

The ratio of sampled coils is increasing especially for highstrength steel grades. Primetals Technologies offers in line
sampling and inspection directly implemented in the coiltransport line as well as offline stations. Surface inspection
typically for strips up to 6 mm thick can also be done18

• Power cooling system: more than 4.5 MW/m2

Coil shuttle car

19

PLATE AND STECKEL MILLTECHNOLOGIESMECHATRONIC SOLUTION
MAXIMISING MILL PERFORMANCE AND
CAPABILITY

Plate Steckel mill at AHMSA, Monclova, Mexico

Plate leveler at Dongkuk Steel, Dangjin, South Korea

Divide shear at Dongkuk Steel, Dangjin, South Korea

Double side trim shear at Dongkuk Steel, Dangjin, South Korea

PLATE STECKEL MILLACCELERATED COOLING SYSTEM

CROP AND DIVIDE SHEARS FOR PLATE MILL

Our plate Steckel mills combine the asset utilization of the
strip rolling process with the grade and width range of thereversing plate mill, allowing to deliver a broad range ofsteel products at low cost. Primetals Technologies’ longexperience and innovative engineering assures industrybenchmark levels of dimensional control performanceand yield. High productivity comes with the concept,
but Primetals Technologies’ standards of metallurgicalprecision, maintainability and reliability are designed into
this exceptional product as well.

Accurate strip and plate cooling is accomplished byPrimetals Technologies’ solution from MULPIC®.

Primetals Technologies’ Crop and Divide Shears have arolling blade action, with a small blade vertical overlap,
so minimising any plate distortion caused by the cutting
action.

DOUBLE SIDE TRIM SHEARSLITTING SHEAR FOR PLATE MILLMILL STAND
The rolling stand is capable of flexible rolling of coil andplate products. Intermediate products can be Steckel
rolled to increase productivity, using the Steckel Furnaces.
The mill stand is equipped with SmartCrown® Work Roll
Shifting and Heavy Work Roll Bending to ensure optimal
flatness and crown performance. A vertical Edger can beincorporated while maintaining a compact layout.
STECKEL FURNACES
Our references feature patented Steckel furnaces
technology including the two-part flap system for guiding
and closing the furnace. Our installed Steckel Furnaces cancoil products up to 3,250 mm wide with a weight of up to
67 tonnes.
ROTARY CROP SHEAR
A rotary crop shear is installed after the mill stand to divide
long-rolled lengths into shorter discrete plate length.

20

DOWNCOILER AND UPCOILER
A coiler allows for the fast coiling of strip product,
generating accurate coils.
LEVELLERS FOR PLATE MILL

Prior to dividing the plate is pushed to a set of vertical
datum rollers, in the entry roller table. This ensures that thedivide cut is perpendicular to the plate edge.

Flatness becoming a more challenging target as products
are evolving towards harder materials along with increasing
thickness ranges.

The Divide Shear incorporates a scrap pusher therefore canalso cut over length material into manageable pieces to bedisposed of along the scrap conveyor.

This evolution is also driven by new metallurgical routes
such as inline direct quench downstream of the mill standusing MULPIC® traditional offline heat treatment, whichleads to significant changes within operations. Primetals
Technologies Heavy Plate Levellers are designed for highstrength products. Our levelling control ensures the best
possible roll gap at all periods of the process based on
torques and speed measurements. Using the actual torques
and speeds, an intelligent algorithm generates commands
for the entry and exit gaps and for each motor individually.

FEATURES

Primetals Technologies’ Shear has a rolling blade action,requiring the plate to be stationary during the cut. The
plate is fed during the time the blades are open, by pinchrolls.
The integral Scrap Shear cuts the scrap into manageable
lengths to fall onto a scrap conveyor, which transports the
scrap to bins. Prior to trimming the plate is aligned to laserlines, set to the trimmed width.
FEATURES
Three Crank Rolling Cur Mechnical Shear.

Two Crank Rolling Cur Mechanical Shear.

We provide a complete levelling solution throughout plateproduction - Pre-Leveller, Hot Leveller, Warm Leveller, Cold
Leveller.
FEATURES
Single cassette changeable between 7 and 11 rolls
configurations.
21

MILL STABILIZING DEVICE FOR PC MILLSHIGHER REDUCTION AND STABLEOPERATION IN HOT STRIP MILLSMULPIC®
FOR RAPID COOLING OF PLATEPRODUCTS

Top backup roll
Housing post
Cylinder for rollbending
MSD cylinder

Bottombackup rollCummulative number of Mill Stabilizing Devices installed since 2000

3D CAD view of the Mill Stabilizing Device

MULPIC at Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel, Zhanjiang, China

MULPIC at Xiangtan Iron & Steel, Xiangtan, China

MILL STABILIZING DEVICEAPPLICATION OF THE MSD LEADS TO THE
FOLLOWING BENEFITSMULPIC®
MULTI PURPOSE INTERRUPTED COOLING

MULPIC® FEATURES• Reduced mill vibrations even in severe rolling
condition, which allow greater strip reduction
during rolling

The majority of the phase transformation occurs duringin-line cooling after rolling and this is where the final
microstructure of the plate is controlled. To achieve therequired microstructure and mechanical properties, thecooling rates and cooling stop temperatures must be
precisely controlled. Primetal Tehcnilogies MULPIC is themost advanced and matured inline cooling machine that isproven to achieve required cooling accuracy.

Primetals Technologies Mill Stabilizing Device (MSD) cansatisfy the today’s market demands for superior strip
quality and high-strength steels rolled to thinner gauges.
The MSD can increase the dynamic rigidity of mill standand reduce the mill vibration which happens at upstream
stands under very severe rolling condition such as thinnerand harder products of faster speed. It enables to make thebest out of the rolling performance of the mill stand.
The MSD eliminate the clearance between roll chocks andhousings, which maintains better alignment between the
backup and work rolls. Thus, the thrust force in the axial
roll direction is reduced, which decreases the differential
rolling force between the drive side and work side. As aresult, an improvement of strip steering stability can also be
achieved.

• Increased operating stability of the mill during
rolling• Stabilized strip steering during threading andtailing out• Lower impact forces during threading of the
strip front end into the mill stands and thus
reduced wear and maintenance costs• Easily installed in various mill types, also as a
retrofit in existing mills

A standard MULPIC comprised of 24 top and 24 bottom
headers with individual flow control and zone separation
spray in between group of headers. The precise flow
control along with speed control enables accurate
temperature accuracy and uniformity across the length.

• Flexible Cooling Modes – DQ, ACC, Oscillation, Soft
Cooling, Intermediate Cooling, Interrupted Cooling:
4 to 100 °C/sec• Cooling Accuracy – better than 15°C
• Uniform Cooling
CUSTOMER BENEFIT• Increased product range - added value products• Reduced alloying, improved weldability - cost saving• Uniform mechanical properties• Process Compression – minimise heat treatment
processes
HYBRID COOLING
Primetals Technologies has introduced the concept ofhybrid cooling for existing Plate Mills that combines anexisting cooling machine with new MULPIC® headers.

The MSD can easily be installed as a retrofit as well as in
new mills. As the results, the MSD has been utilized bymany customers (over 30) in all over the word for various
type of mill such as

FEATURES• Advanced PC mill

• MULPIC® only mode – standard features• WR shift mill

• Hybrid mode – MULPIC® + Laminar integrated• Conventional mill
Acceleration of work roll chock with MSD & without MSD

CUSTOMER BENEFIT• A flexible upgrade path
• Utilisation of existing assets• Increased product range

22

23

POWER COOLING
FOR RAPID COOLING OF COIL
PRODUTSBENEFITSCONVENTIONAL INCREASE
OF TENSIL STRENGTH (Rm)

Rm

Conventionalcooling
Conventionalcooling

INCREASE OF Rm BY"ALLOYING WITH
WATER"

Primetals Power Cooling is an advanced strip
cooling technology

Rm• Providing extreme flexibility with an
adjustment range from 10% to 100%Additional
expensivealloysReplacingalloys bycooling rate

Alloying elements [%]Extreme high cooling rates
with Power Cooling
Conventionalcooling

Effect ofhighestcooling rates

Alloying elements [%]• Providing extreme high cooling rates(up to 40K/s @ 25.4mm)• Used for the complete product mix byoperating in 2 modes, laminar and Power
Cooling.
• Installed in running mills and new mills in
combination with laminar cooling or astransfer bar cooling or as interstand cooling• Perfect solution for 2 step cooling patterns
e.g. needed for DP-grades• Perfect for de-bottlenecking of short coolinglines

Power Cooling Unit

Alloying with water = saving money

POWER COOLING
Hot strip mills often reach their limits in terms of power andflexibility for production of advanced high strength steel
grades (AHSS) like API X80/X100, dual-phase, martensitic
and complex-phase grades.
For cooling and advanced “in-line” metallurgical treatmentof new materials, Primetals Technologies developed “Power
Cooling” technologies. This combines the advantages ofnormal laminar cooling or “low pressure cooling” and “highpower cooling” with the highest cooling rates for flexible
operation.

IMPLEMENTATION INTO NEW OR EXISTING PLANTS
The Power Cooling unit can be retrofitted into existing
plants using the existing water treatment plant, tank andpiping infrastructure. The Power Cooling units are suppliedwith water via a booster pump generating the required
operation pressure. Alternatively the pump can be bypassed to supply the Power Cooling headers directly fromthe overhead tank for operation in laminar cooling mode.
Thus, the full operation spectrum which requires laminarcooling on the total cooling length can be kept after
installation of Power Cooling.

EQUIPMENT – POWER COOLING TECHNOLOGYAPPLICATION

In addition to applying Power Cooling Technology to theearly stages of cooling it can also be applied between theroughing mill and the finishing mill, between the finishingmill stands and in the late part of the cooling area. This isnecessary to make different production strategies possible
as they are shown in the diagram below.

The working area of Power Cooling is not only dedicatedto thick strips (> 18mm) with high cooling rates. Due tothe extended control of water flow and therefor control ofheat flux it is also used for strips with a critical combinationof thickness-speed ratio and required cooling rates andfor standard steel grades, e.g. using the Power Cooling inlaminar mode.

The combination of Power Cooling with laminar cooling is aperfect solution for cooling lines which offers a wide range
of applications as well as for optimizing the current productmix and future metallurgical requirements.
TYPICAL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER
COOLING• Power Cooling at Severstal Cherepovets,
Russia (2019)• Power Cooling at Undisclosed Company,
Mexico (2020)• Power Cooling at US Steel Gary,
USA (2020)• Significantly increased cooling rates compared tolaminar / turbo laminar cooling• High heat flux rates up to 5 MW/m²• Wide flow-rate control range for maximum
metallurgical flexibility
ALLOYING
Power Cooling opens the door for reduction of alloying
costs by substitution of hardening elements with hardening
effects of higher cooling rates.
REFERENCE INSTALLATIONS• Power Cooling at ThyssenKrupp AG,
Beeckerwerth, Germany (2010)• Power Cooling and transferbar cooling at
ThyssenKrupp AG, Bruckhausen, Germany (2011)• Power Cooling at Wuhan Iron and Steel Co.,
Ltd., China (2013)• Further upgrade Power Cooling at
ThyssenKrupp AG, Beeckerwerth, Germany (2014)

EC
LC

24

Early cooling
Late cooling

TBC Transfer bar cooling
ISC Interstand cooling• Power Cooling for transferbar cooling at TATA
Steel Port Talbot, UK (2017)• Power Cooling at ArcelorMittal Dofasco,
Canada (2019)25

CONTINUOUS MODERNIZATIONCONTINUOUS BENEFITCOMPLEX MODERNIZATIONSAT US GARY, HSM, INDIANA, USA
Plant data
Start up of Hot Strip MillAward of Contract for Modernization
Install new EncoPanels for Heat Retention
Repower Finishing Mill - 1 Stand every
4 months
New Downcoiler Sideguides

Production capacity

6.2 million tpa

Strip thickness

1.8 – 25 mm

Strip width

700– 1980 mm

Coil weight

up to 44 tModernized Downcoilers & New Hydraulic Loopers for API
Upgraded Laminar Cooling with New Power Cooling
New Automation & Models
New Bending & Shifting on all stands
New HAGC on 3 stands

Pre-assembled down coiler

Crop shear

A new hot strip mill has a lifetime of several decades.
During this time, the mill must be able to meet market
demands for a wide range of steel grades especiallyfor high-strength steel and advanced steel grades withsuperior strip quality. Additional important factors in hot
strip rolling are high yield, mill availability and production
throughput. Continuous modernization of the existing
equipment is the most effective way to continuously meetmarket requirements and to achieve the competitive levelof conversion cost during the lifecycle of the mill.

Primetals plant building experience, feedback from installedreferences and application of dimensioning and simulation
tools guarantees that the results of such studies are of thehighest standard of technical elaborations.

Also, when taking a hot strip mill out of operation after anumber of decades, the mill still has the potential of being
employed as a second hand mill and may be refurbishedand relocated for a new “lifecycle”, as examples haveshown.
Primetals Technologies has vast experience in upgrading
and modernizing hot strip mills. Using a systematic
approach, we work closely with our customers to develop
a tailored modernization concept according to theparticular requirements and constraints of the project.
Each solution may be purely mechanical, purely electrical,
purely automation, or a combination of these. Based on theselected concept, the modernization can be carried out inseveral steps or during a single mill shutdown.
Prior to modernization Primetals Technologies may offer
specific investigations (studies) in order to e.g. checktechnical feasibilities, to identify bottlenecks or justify
investment estimations.

26

1908

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Beside high-tech equipment and skilled employees acomprehensive process know-how and metallurgical knowhow is necessary for the successful operation of a hotrolling mill. Primetals Technologies support customers withmetallurgical simulations for further development of steel
grades or introduction of new grades.
TYPICAL MILL STUDY PROCEDURE

Data
Colletion• Definition of goal
• Validation of current situation• Define target situation from aprocess engineering perspective

Analysis &Benchmarking• Analysis of technical feasibility• Bottleneck analysis• Hidden potentials• Specification of measures

Results

Upgrades to the USS Gary HSM to allow the existing assets
to be able to extend the existing product range into
thicker / harder API products as well as wider AHSS
products. In addition the improvement of shape & profile
for the existing products.

• Evaluation of shutdown
planning and cost estimation• Presentation of study• Technology packages

27

Primetals Technologies Japan, Limited
A joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and partners

Hiroshima | 6-22, Kanonshin-machi 4-Chome733-8553 Nishi-ku
Japanprimetals.com
Brochure No.: T04-0-N027-L4-P-V5-EN
Printed in Austria© 2020 Primetals Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved
The information (including, e.g., figures and numbers) provided
in this document contains merely general descriptions or
characteristics of performance based on estimates andassumptions which have not been verified.
It is no representation, does not constitute and/or evidence a
contract or an offer to enter into a contract to any extent and is
not binding upon the parties. Any obligation to provide and/or
demonstrate respective characteristics shall only exist if expressly
agreed in the terms of the contract.
These estimates and assumptions have to be analyzed on acase-to-case basis and might change as a result of further
product development.
Primetals Technologies excludes any liability whatsoever underor in connection with any provided information, estimatesand assumptions. The provided information, estimates andassumptions shall be without prejudice to any possible futureoffer and/or contract.
Any use of information provided by Primetals Technologies
to the recipient shall be subject to applicable confidentiality
obligations and for the own convenience of and of the sole riskof the recipient.
Primetals is a trademark of Primetals Technologies Ltd.