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ArcelorMittal Ostrava Casts Unique Format of Round Billets for Tube Production
02/12/2015 - ArcelorMittal Ostrava has begun production of continuous cast billets with a unique small diameter of 130 mm.
The development of this new product that is used as a semi-finished product for tube production has been made possible thanks to the closed casting technology. Thanks to this technology the mill does not have to additionally roll the billets cast with a larger diameter of 180 mm, which was the situation until now, but it will cast directly round billets with a diameter of 130 mm. This brings savings which at the time of commencement of the production were enumerated at approximately 6 million crowns per year. The project for production of unique rounds has been developed by the R&D and Investment departments of ArcelorMittal Ostrava.
“Production of 130mm round billets using the closed casting technology was a big challenge for us. We are not aware of the existence of any similar high performance steel continuous caster in the world that would be able to cast this format of round billets. And even though the task seemed impossible at first, the new product came into being after 7 months,” said Ladislav Válek, the project manager in the R&D department at ArcelorMittal Ostrava.
The project was successfully completed mainly thanks to the cooperation between the R&D department and the Investment department. Other departments participating on the project included the casting department, metallurgy department, and the laboratory team cooperating in the initial stage with ArcelorMittal Hamburg and with other external partners including the Technical University of Ostrava.
“Closed casting will allow us to cast round billets with a diameter of 130 mm and to directly roll them to the final product at the ArcelorMittal tube mill in Ostrava. Previously it was necessary to cast round billets with a diameter of 180 mm, then roll them at the heavy section mill to a diameter of 130 mm and only then they could be rolled in the tube mill,” explained Roland Hinterreiter, the project manager in Investment department at ArcelorMittal Ostrava.
The implementation of the modifications of continuous caster No. 3 for the closed casting technology required approximately seven months. Besides time saving and costs saving, the closed casting technology also allows the mill to use the full capacity of the heavy section mill which can now focus on production of value-added products. The company plans to produce 55,000 metric tons of round billets with a diameter of 130 mm per year. The results show that the project is viable and beneficial for the company.
ArcelorMittal Ostrava a.s. is the largest steelmaker in the Czech Republic and part of the world’s largest steel and mining group ArcelorMittal. It has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of steel. Besides the Czech market, the company sells its products to more than 40 countries around the world. ArcelorMittal Ostrava and its subsidiaries employ more than 7500 people. Average income of its employees amounted to CZK 34,352 in 2013. ArcelorMittal Ostrava produces iron and steel in compliance with all environmental legislation. It conforms to the EU best available techniques (BAT) emission limits that will come into force in 2016. The sole shareholder is ArcelorMittal Holdings A.G.
“Production of 130mm round billets using the closed casting technology was a big challenge for us. We are not aware of the existence of any similar high performance steel continuous caster in the world that would be able to cast this format of round billets. And even though the task seemed impossible at first, the new product came into being after 7 months,” said Ladislav Válek, the project manager in the R&D department at ArcelorMittal Ostrava.
The project was successfully completed mainly thanks to the cooperation between the R&D department and the Investment department. Other departments participating on the project included the casting department, metallurgy department, and the laboratory team cooperating in the initial stage with ArcelorMittal Hamburg and with other external partners including the Technical University of Ostrava.
“Closed casting will allow us to cast round billets with a diameter of 130 mm and to directly roll them to the final product at the ArcelorMittal tube mill in Ostrava. Previously it was necessary to cast round billets with a diameter of 180 mm, then roll them at the heavy section mill to a diameter of 130 mm and only then they could be rolled in the tube mill,” explained Roland Hinterreiter, the project manager in Investment department at ArcelorMittal Ostrava.
The implementation of the modifications of continuous caster No. 3 for the closed casting technology required approximately seven months. Besides time saving and costs saving, the closed casting technology also allows the mill to use the full capacity of the heavy section mill which can now focus on production of value-added products. The company plans to produce 55,000 metric tons of round billets with a diameter of 130 mm per year. The results show that the project is viable and beneficial for the company.
ArcelorMittal Ostrava a.s. is the largest steelmaker in the Czech Republic and part of the world’s largest steel and mining group ArcelorMittal. It has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of steel. Besides the Czech market, the company sells its products to more than 40 countries around the world. ArcelorMittal Ostrava and its subsidiaries employ more than 7500 people. Average income of its employees amounted to CZK 34,352 in 2013. ArcelorMittal Ostrava produces iron and steel in compliance with all environmental legislation. It conforms to the EU best available techniques (BAT) emission limits that will come into force in 2016. The sole shareholder is ArcelorMittal Holdings A.G.
