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Vol. 1984/0 222 
  
 
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européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
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In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C O M (84) 568 fin a l 
Brussels, 23 October 1984
on the implementation and execution of a  steel pilot/demonstration 
project programme with a  view to obtaining financial aid under 
A rticle 55(2)(c) of the E C S C  Treaty
 (submitted to the Council by the Commission)
C O M (84) 568 fin a lM E M O R A N D U M

MEMORANDUM
on the implementation and execution o f a s te e l pi lot/dem onstration  
p ro je c t programme w ith a view to  obtaining fin a n c ia l aid under A rtic le
55 (2 )(c ) o f the ECSC Treaty
I .  INTRODUCTION
This m em orandum  consists of seven projects that w ill form the E C S C  
programme of p ilo t and demonstration projects in the iron and steel 
industry for 1984 for which aid under A rticle 55,2(c) of the E C S C  
Treaty is requested.
After the detailed examination of a  total of 24 proposals by the 
services of the Commission in collaboration with the Iron and Steel 
Technical Development Committee, they have been selected as fir s t 
p rio rity  for inclusion in this second year of a  projected five year 
programme (*).
In the evaluation of the proposals, p rio rity  has been given to those 
that satisfy the following conditions:
- relate to p ilo t industrial installations or demonstration 
instal lations;
- exploit techniques or processes which are innovating in themselves 
or in their application;
- reasonable prospects of technical and economic success;
- must be of value to the Community.
The technical scope of the programme covers three main fields which 
are listed below along with their respective level of funding:
- steelmaking (P P  027, P P  053) 44.18 %
- ro lling  m ills and mechanical working 53.06 %
(P P  029/2, P P  031/2, P P  042, P P  055)
- Product treatment (P P  043) 2.76 %
With the aim of stimulating intracommunity collaboration and taking 
into account the additional costs involved, it  is proposed again this 
year to award financial aid of 5 0 %  of total costs for jo in t projects
(*) O fficia l Journal C81, vol. 26 of 24 March 1983

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in vo lvin g  co lla bo ra tio n  between organisations coming from two or more 
Member States; the aid proposed fo r other projects is 40%  of to ta l 
costs.
Subject to funding, the fin a n c ia l aid fo r the 7 proposals outlined 
below w ill amount to a to ta l of 6.372.100 ECU.
II. THE PILOT/DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
PP.027 H orizontal continuous casting with o s c illa tin g  mould fo r 
h ig h -a llo y steels and superalloys
This project submitted by Krupp Stahl A G  was selected as a  
pi lot/dem onstration p ro ject fo r 1983 (*) with fin a n c ia l aid amounting 
to 40%  of the to ta l cost. At that time i t  was not clear that there 
would be intra-Community cooperation on th is  p ro je c t. This is now 
ce rtain  since Im perial Metals Industry Refiners Ltd at W allsall 
(United Kingdom) w ill be a sub-contractor in the p ro ject as well as 
Krupp Ind u strie tech n i k  G m bH . In th is  case the E C S C  aid can be 
increased to 50%  of the to ta l budget, the a d d itio n a l 10%  being charged 
to the 1984 programme.
Applicants : Krupp Stahl AG, Essen
Krupp Ind u strie te ch n ik G m b H  
IMI Refiners, W a llsa ll (GB)
Total budget : 6.419.000 E C U  
Probable duration: 4 years
PP.053 H orizontal continuous casting of stainless steel and special 
steel b ille t s
The development of v e rtic a l continuous casting machines started in the 
1950's. They now meet steelm aker's requirements in terms of both 
product q u a lity  and p ro d u c tiv ity .
More recently some h o rizo n ta l continuous casting processes have been 
designed with varying success: many technological problems s t i l l  have 
to be overcome to obtain equivalent performances to v e rtic a l 
continuous casting machines in a f ie ld  accessible to them: lim ite d  
production capacities and very special steels and a llo y s .
The purpose of p ro je ct P P  053 is to demonstrate the p o te n tia l of the 
Horicast process developed by Davy McKeen fo r the casting of special 
s te e ls , e specially sta in le ss ste e ls.
Although th is  company has put in  su b sta n tia l e ffo r t, the work must be 
continued in Europe. As Davy McKeen has no steelworks of its  own, a 
demonstration plant has to be developed preferably in a company 
operating in a fie ld  in  which there has not yet been any development.
The plant to be developed in P P  053 w ill operate as part of the normal 
a c tiv itie s  of C3F-0ndaine: the production of h ig h -a llo y and stainless 
s te e ls . I t  is also planned to produce a wide range of sem i-finished 
products.
(*) C0M(83)705 fin a l of 2 December 1983

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The research w ill be carried out at the Ondaine steelworks of the C 3 F  
company.
Applicants :  Compagnie Française de Forge et Fonderies, Puteaux
Davy McKeen, Sheffield 
Irs id , St. Germain-en-Laye 
Total budget :  6.904.000 E C U  
Probable duration: 2,5 years
PP.029/2 Thermomechanical working of steel bars
Methods of thermomechanical treatment during ro lling  (controlled 
rolling) were developed long since to improve the mechanical 
properties of heavy plate and wide s trip . Weldability is also better.
Since 1962 the process has been extended to high-we’dabi lity  steel 
sections produced by the Klöckner-Mannstaedt works. The m axim um  
thickness of the products treated is 10 m m .
Following the encouraging results obtained in preliminary tests, 
Klöckner wishes to extend this technique to round bars (25-44 m m  in 
diameter) and fla ts  (60x8 to 110x25 m m ) rolled at Osnabrück.
It hopes to satisfy the requirements of standards D IN  17100, 17155,
17102 and 17200 by m eans of grain refining. The process can also be of 
benefit for other steels.
The three-year project comprises two research phases:
a) in the laboratory at R W T H  at Aachen
b) in the ro lling  m ill at Klöckner Osnabrück
Applicants : Klöckner Werke, Osnabrück
R W T H , Aachen
Total budget : 2.856.500 E C U  
Probable duration: 3  years
PP.031/2 Development of a  hot-rolled strip  sampling station
Thyssen Stahl operates two wide strip  m ills at Duisburg.
To ensure that c o ils  delivered to customers are of the required 
q u a lity , a  growing number of mechanical tests (e sp ecia lly hardness 
te sts) are carried out on te st pieces taken from the t a i l  end of the 
s tr ip  (outer turns) and to an increasing extent from the fro n t end of 
the s tr ip  (corresponding to the inside turns of the c o ils ) , whatever 
the s tr ip  thickness (up to 20 mm).
In addition som e customers using strip  as a  raw material (tube makers, 
s litte rs , etc.) order coils of a  thickness up to 25 m m  and have to 
rely on s ta tis tic a l results to ascertain ·the probable value of the 
mechanical properties. Coil by coil inspection would be possible with 
the sampling station that is the subject of the research.

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The aim of this project is to construct a  station capable of taking 
samples from both the inside and the outside of hot-rolled coils, 
suitable for coils of any width or thickness and any steel grade, up 
to m axim um  dimensions of 2.000 m m  x  25 m m .
The machine w ill be incorporated in the production line.
A  project of this kind has already been tried but without success.
It is hoped that project 031/2 w ill overcome a ll the existing 
di f f i cu Ities.
In short, the aim is to develop a  sampling machine that can improve 
production quality while reducing cost and risk to the labour force.
The test w ill be carried out on the Beeckerwerth wide strip  m ill.
Applicants :  Thyssen Stahl A G , Duisburg
Blohm&Voss, Hamburg 
Total Budget : 1.544.500 E C U  
Probable duration: 3 years
PP.042 Industrial demonstration testing of removable rolls on two 
finishing stands at TLB  Dunkirk
The widths of finished products rolled from hot coils are more or less 
standardized (e.g. tin  plate, deep-drawing sheet, e tc.). Obviously 
therefore there are preferential widths for hot coils.
The rolling  m ill classifies these widths in a  few standard fam ilies, 
bearing in mind also the width of the slab semis, which in turn 
depends on the width of the conventionally cast ingots or continously 
cast slabs.
The rolling  of coils in the sam e family tends to mark the work rolls 
in the finishing stands of a  wide strip  m ill. Rolling obviously starts 
with the greatest widths and finishes with the narrowest products 
("ro llin g  cone" programming).
The advantage of the system proposed by project P P  042 is that ro ll 
wear can be distributed over a  greater generatrix length so as to 
obtain a  wear p ro file  capable of accepting the successive rolling  of 
different strip  dimensions in any order of width without jeopardizing 
the physical quality (p rofile - flatness) of the strip .
Applied to a ll the stands in the finishing m ill, it  can n u llify  or 
reduce the current constraint of the "ro llin g  cone" which requires 
strip  to be rolled in decreasing order of width and can give strip  
m ills greater fle x ib ility , thus allowing faster metal circulation 
right up to the loading of the coils with the following main effects:
- reduction in stocks of semis
- reduction in energy consumption
- reduction in technical time laps.

-5-
This principle is applied on the most e fficie n t strip  mills of our 
main Japanese competitors in the form of stands using a  n e w  
technology; this is the six-high stand that is almost impossible to 
substitute for the foui—high stands in existing wide strip  m ills. The 
problem in Europe is rather to adapt existing stands at minimum cost, 
which is the aim of this project:
1) technological development of an electromechanical system capable of 
displacing by 100 m m  along their respective axes the two rolls of a  
four-high finishing stand in a  strip  m ill, symmetrically on either 
side of the ro lling  m ill axis.
2) assessment of the effects on the strip  as regards pro file  and 
flatness by equipping two adjoining highly-stressed stands in the 
finishing m ill and definition of the optimum strategy for the use 
of the system.
The research work w ill be carried out on U sinor's wide s trip  m ill at 
Dunki rk .
Applicants : Usinor, Dunkirk
Clecim, Courbevoie 
Total budget :  2.267.500 E C U  
Probable duration: 2  years
PP.043 Pitot plant for high current density electroplating (zinc on 
alloy, multilayer and composites) on cold-rolled steel strip
In the sam e w ay as tin  plating 20 years ago, galvanizing methods are 
now  being developed from the old hot-dip process towards electrolytic 
techniques with which it is possible to manufacture products 
successfully meeting the increasingly stringent requirements of 
customers, especially the motor industry and the electrical appliance 
industry.
In order to increase the thickness of the zinc layer deposited or 
improve the productivity of ele ctrolytic tines, laboratory research 
(aided by the E E C  in the case of P P  043) has shown that it  is 
s u ffic ie n t:
1. to increase the current density, although this m a y be limited by 
electrolyte temperature and viscosity problems,
2. to reduce the distance between cathode and anode,
3. to create turbulent conditions in the cells.
These n e w  techniques also allow deposition of layers of alloys such as 
Zn-Mn, Co, Cr, the corrosion resistance of which m a y be further 
improved.
For this purpose the p ilo t electrodeposition line installed at the C S M  
in R o m e  w ill be fitte d  with two vertical and horizontal cells of a  n e w  
type, with a  high current density and forced electrolyte circulation.
The research is being conducted in parallel with P P  018. There is 
provision for exchanges of information between P P  018 and P P  043.
Applicant :  C S M , R o m e
Total budget :  440.000 E C U  
Probable duration: 2  years

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pp.055 Improvement of strip  flatness in tandem m ills and skin-pass 
m ill stands by m eans of axially movable ro lls with special 
camber
The most important quality specified for a  cold-rolled sheet is its 
flatness, which is required in addition to its mechanical properties, 
dimensional tolerances and surface appearance. The cold-rolling m ill 
must also be able to adapt to the hot-rolled product in order to 
produce sheets of the best possible flatness. There are already 
various ways of doing this but the results are variable and sometimes 
costly (Japanese six-high stands).
S M S  has developed the C V C  technique which consists of a  fa c ility  for 
displacing axially the work rolls of a  four-high stand, the p ro file  of 
which has been specially designed. The results of the research can be 
applied to a ll European cold rolling  m ills and to skin-pass stands.
The tests w ill be carried out on stands 3 and 4 of the cold tandem 
m ill in the Krupp Stahl works at Bochum.
The results of this project should contribute to a  modernization 
programme scheduled for this ro lling  m ill which must be completed by 
the end of 1985. In order to meet plant delivery dates and not 
overstep this deadline, it  is essential for the work to start around 
mid-1984. It is consequently proposed that 1  August 1984 be accepted 
as the date of the start of the project.
It is proposed to finance this project in two phases; the fir s t 
corresponds to the conception, construction and installation of the 
C V C  system on the cold-rolling m ill at Bochum, the second phase w ill 
be concerned with performance and demonstration tests.
Applicants :  Krupp Stahl, Bochum
S M S , Düsseldorf
Total budget :  1.784.600 E C U  
Probable duration: 1,5 year

S U M M A R Y  T A B L E
A N N E X
No.
Proposal
1
--------------[.TI
TLE O F PROPOSALP roposal subm itted Financial Aid
byduration
(year)B u d g e t E C U  
(29.2.84)Z I A m o u n t E C U  
I (29.2.84)
1lP R O D U C T IO N  O F  S T E E Li
027
i
1Horizontal continuous casting with 
oscillating m o u ld  for high-alloy steels a n d  
superalloysKrupp 4 .0 6.419.000 10 j 641.900
I
I
053 1  
1 
1 
1Horizontal contl. x j o u s  casting of stainless 
steel a n d  special steel billets
M E C H A N IC A L  W O R K I N GC3F
Davy McK  
I rs id2.5 6.904.000 315| 2.173.000
I
I
|
029/2 j  
|T h e rm o m e ch a n ica l working of bar steel Klöckner
RUTH3.0 2.856.500 40 1.142.600
031/2 |
ID e v e lo p m e n t of a  hot-rolled strip sam pling 
stationThyssen  
B lohm  &  Voss3.0 1.544.500 40 | 617.800 
|
042 j
I
jIndustrial demonstration testing of re m o va b le  
rolls o n  tw o finishing stands at T L B  
D unkirkUsinor
Clecim2.0 2.267.500 40 j 907.000
I
055 |
I
I
I
iIm p ro ve m e n t of strip flatness in ta n d e m  mills 
a n d  skin-pass mill stands b y m e a n s  of axially 
m o va b le  rolls with special c a rtn e r
PRODUCT TREATMENTKrupp  
S ta h l.  
SM S1.5 1.784.600 40I
I  713.800
I
I
|
043 |
I
!
■ IPilot plant for hic^i current density electro­
plating (zinc o n  alloy, multilayer a n d  com posites) 
o n  cold-rolled steel strip.Nuova
It a ls id e r2.0 440.000
I40 j 176.000
I
I
TOTAL22.2 16.100 6.372.1ÜU