Upgrades to OneSteel Wire Rod Mill Pass Muster
12/15/2015 - Australia’s OneSteel Market Mills has issued a final acceptance certificate for upgrades to its Laverton wire rod mill, according to the contractor on the project.
The contractor, Primetals Technologies, said the project entailed upgrades to the water cooling line and laying head. The improvements have allowed for higher finishing speeds on small-diameter products, it said.
Speeds increased from 90 m/second to 102 m/second on 5.5-mm rod and from 90 m/second to 100 m/second on 6.0-mm rod, Primetals said.
The water cooling line was upgraded with a Morgan Water Box system, which includes three traversing boxes with split water box nozzles and a header design that ensures alignment of the pass line.
A set of skid-mounted valves for each water box incorporated high-speed divert valves to minimize uncooled rings. An Enhanced Temperature Control System (ETCS) with recipes and closed-loop temperature control was installed to control the cooling process.
Provisions were made in the layout of the water cooling line for an additional cooling box to meet future needs. The laying head was upgraded with a new design pipe support that incorporates the SR Series laying head pipe technology, according to Primetals.
“More efficient water box cooling has resulted in lower laying head temperatures which improved scale conditions on finished rod, decreasing downstream scale losses by 35 percent on average. Nozzle replacement cycles went from four sizes to two. The ETCS has improved overall yield by reducing uncooled front ends and providing consistent temperature throughout the coil,” Primetals said in a statement.
Speeds increased from 90 m/second to 102 m/second on 5.5-mm rod and from 90 m/second to 100 m/second on 6.0-mm rod, Primetals said.
The water cooling line was upgraded with a Morgan Water Box system, which includes three traversing boxes with split water box nozzles and a header design that ensures alignment of the pass line.
A set of skid-mounted valves for each water box incorporated high-speed divert valves to minimize uncooled rings. An Enhanced Temperature Control System (ETCS) with recipes and closed-loop temperature control was installed to control the cooling process.
Provisions were made in the layout of the water cooling line for an additional cooling box to meet future needs. The laying head was upgraded with a new design pipe support that incorporates the SR Series laying head pipe technology, according to Primetals.
“More efficient water box cooling has resulted in lower laying head temperatures which improved scale conditions on finished rod, decreasing downstream scale losses by 35 percent on average. Nozzle replacement cycles went from four sizes to two. The ETCS has improved overall yield by reducing uncooled front ends and providing consistent temperature throughout the coil,” Primetals said in a statement.
