Russula Newsletter No. 11 by Russula

April

2015

RUSSULA NEWSLETTER SPOTLIGHT

Russula opens oﬃce in Yaroslavl Russia

FURNACES

Successful EAF upgrade at Votorantim

MILL PROJECTS

Three consecutive upgrade projects at Gerdau Cartersville

WATER TREATMENT

Gerdau Sayreville NJ awards Russula water treatment plant

Bar Mill Starts Operations at Silat

SERVICE

Russula builds technical service team in US

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

SPOTLIGHT

Russula opens office in Yaroslavl

Russula is pleased to announce the opening of its 6th international office in Yaroslavl, Russian Federation. The opening of the new office will boost Russula´s presence within the Russian market.

from the region making it a very ecofriendly process.” says General manager Ruslan Shulegin of LLC Russula Engineering in Russia.

Over the past two years, Russula has provided the engineering, mechanical and electrical equipment supply, construction supervision, testing and commissioning of a complete water treatment plant for Severstal´s new 1 Mtpy state-of-the-art steel plant, located in the Balakovo, Saratov region in Russia.

“Overall we believe that Russia has great potential for new projects such as the modernization and renovation of existing metallurgical facilities. Using process control to improve product quality has become a key topic recently among Russian rolling mills. Electrical revamps are Russula´s core competence with over 240 projects successfully completed worldwide.” affirms Ruslan Shulegin.

In 2011-2012, Russula provided the design, equipment supply and construction supervision of a water treatment plant for the JSC Severstal Long Product Mill Balakovo located in the Saratov region. During the course of the project Russula settled permanently in Russia, opening an office in Yaroslavl, which is responsible for serving the entire country.

“Russula´s water treatment plant technology is unique in that it is designed specifically for the steel industry. The closed loop circuit reutilizes rain and melted snow

Yaroslavl was selected as the new office location due to its convenient location and availability of qualified technical staff. The city is located 260 km from the Russian capital Moscow; its close proximity to airports and transportation hubs allows easy travel mobility around Russia. At the same time Yaroslavl is a developed industrial city with a high level of education to ensure the selection of qualified technical staff.

RUSSULA NEWS

Steel Conferences 2015 May

AISTech 2015

May 4-7, 2015 Cleveland, OH USA www.aist.org/conference-expositions/aistech

Russula will be serving beer and tapas at booth #2159 located in Aisle 2100 at AISTech 2015.

10:30 am

Russula North America´s own Director of Sales Eric Thorstenson will present ”Modern Rolling for Long Products — Upgrading the Electrics” in the Rod & Bar Rolling Innovations session. 2 pm

Russula´s Rolling Mill Product Manager, Miguel Arredondo will present ”SILAT's New 600,000 tpy Rod and Bar Mill in Brazil” Rod and Bar Rolling Session.

June

METEC 2015

June 16-20, 2015 Düsseldorf, Germany www.metec-tradefair.com

Come visit Russula´s booth at the METEC exhibition located in hall 04, stand #4F17.

November Russula will be presenting two topics in the technical conference proceedings at AISTech. May 5th, 2015 Rod & Bar Rolling Session Rm 9

ALACERO-56 (ILAFA) November 9-11, 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina www.alacero.org

Russula will be located at booths # 23, 25 and 27 during EXPO ALACERO-55.

Russula´s Sales Director presents at Arab Steel Congress

Daniel Sanchez, the Global Sales Director for Russula, presented at the annual Arab Steel Summit last fall. The Summit was organized by the Arab Iron and Steel Union (AISU) from 26-28 October 2014 at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, UAE. Concurrently with the AISU mission to create a venue for companies to present their latest technological solutions which help develop the productivity of the iron and steel industry, Daniel Sanchez presented ''How to Use Automation to Improve Productivity and Quality in Your Rolling Mill.'' Over one hundred participants attended the presentation on October 28th, 2014. 3

RUSSULA NEWS

Safety first! OSHAS certifies Russula Headquarters

Russula seeks to protect the health and safety of its employees, because we know our employees are our greatest assets. In April 2014, Russula Headquarters is pleased to receive the certification of compliance with OHSAS 18001: 2007 by the Occupational Health and Safety Management System. Using this management system, accident prevention is integrated even more throughout the company.

• Coordinate with customer safety and health organizations to develop a strategy for protecting employees against on-site risks.

KEY PRINCIPLES • Safety is inherent to each and every one of the work planning tasks. • Risk identification and preventive measures. • Train employees with the latest safety procedures • Establish working groups to ensure staff participation. • Control working conditions. • Monitor compliance with established objectives. • Foster a safe and healthy workplace. • Company accident reduction.

RECENT PROJECTS

Gerdau Sayreville NJ awarded Russula contract for

Last December, Gerdau awarded Russula the contract to supply the Contact Cooling Water Treatment Plant for their 800,000 tpy capacity rebar mill, in Sayreville, NJ, USA.

The rolling mill currently produces rebar at average/maximum rates of 78/150 short tons/h (71/136 metric tons/h) rolling 115mm square billets. The mill scale generated by the rolling process at these production rates are 1,376/2,645 Lb/h (624/1,200 kg/h), with a mill scale density of 325 Lb/ft3 (5,200 kg/m3).

The project will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the new water plant will treat a total flow of 4000 GPM from the rolling mill and reheat furnace, and the second phase will include the quenching system, which requires an additional water flow of 3500 GPM.

For the 4000 GPM treatment, the plant design will follow the Russula "Four Stage Process" for contact water circuits. Water from the rolling mill will be treated first in the scale pit to remove coarse parti-

cles that have a size greater than or equal to 200 microns. The density difference between the water and the scale, causes the larger, heavier scale particles to be deposited on the bottom of the pit, and subsequently extracted by a clamshell bucket.

After passing through the scale pit, the water will continue to the decanting process, where by longitudinal drag small scale particles, oils and grease are removed. Coarse particles that gather at the bottom of

The 4000 GPM contact cooling water will go through a four stage treatment process consisting of a scale pit, decanting process, ring ﬁltration and cooling towers. The water treatment plant ﬂow diagram is illustrated on the left.

new contact cooling water treatment plant

the decanters will be pumped to the sludge area and oil floating on the surface will be taken off by the top of the bridge scraper and removed by the oil skimmer. The decanted water will then pass to the ring filtration system.

In the ring filters those particles that have a higher density than water and that have gotten through the previous process stages will be removed. Finally, the filtered water is pumped through the cooling towers then circulates back to cool the

rolling mill equipment.

The electrical and mechanical scope of supply includes: - Basic and detailed electrical engineering - Basic and detailed mechanical engineering - Cooling towers - Bridge scrapers - Oil skimmer - Sludge centrifuge - Clam shell bucket and hoist - Instrumentation and valves - MCCs - PLC and remote I/O

RECENT PROJECTS

- HMI - Installation supervision - Start-up - Training

Rebar made at the Gerdau Sayreville mill is typically sold in the northeast and Canada. The rebar runs the gamut from no. 3 rebar, which is 3/8 of an inch in diameter, to number 18 rebar, which is about 2Âź inches in diameter.

Russula will supply a Contact Cooling Water Treatment plant to Gerdau. The rebar mill is located in Sayreville, NJ. To the left is the water treatment plant layout.

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

RECENT PROJECTS

Three consecutive projects at Gerdau Cartersville

Following the recent modernization of the DC drives of the bar mill, Russula has won a contract for the 4 strand continuous caster and complete bar mill control revamp at Gerdau Cartersville in GA, USA.

The projects will be implemented in two phases during planned shutdowns. In the first phase, one strand of the continuous caster and the bar mill will be commissioned in September 2015. The second phase consists of the revamping of the other three continuous caster strands, scheduled for December 2015. A multi-phase revamp approach allows mills to upgrade obsolete control equipment and minimize mill downtime, which reduces the impact on production. Rolling mill drive upgrade completed in just six days

The first project, implemented in December 2014, consisted of upgrading the main DC drives of the bar mill from ABB DCS600 to DCS800. The entire mill downtime for the uprade was only six days. Even though the upgrade was from the same drive family, due to the various sizes and configurations, it was necessary to propose solutions for each case, seeking the best technological improvement while minimizing the investment. The proposed solution is based on using DCR upgrade

kits, which replace all electronic drive control while keeping intact the power stacks. The kits are highly modular, allowing the upgrade to be accomplished quickly. The main benefits were: - Gerdau Cartersville mill obtained the high performance offered by ABB DCS800 drives without having to change the power stacks, thus optimizing the economic investment. - Replaced obsolete equipment and software, which was expensive to maintain due to the high price of spare parts replacement for discontinued equipment. - Established a standard and transparent communication path between the PLCs and standard drives, expanding the communication capabilities of these systems with other external control systems.

Control system upgrade for bar mill and continuous caster scheduled for September 2015

This second project is currently under development and consists of the upgrade of the existing control system and HMI architecture for the bar mill. The current ABB AC450 PLCs with the ABB AS500 SCADA operator inferface will be replaced with the ABB AC800M series and Wonderware Intouch. Russula mill control will be implemented for the entire line from the first stand to the cooling bed.

New DC drives supplied by Russula for the sideguards and Gerdau Cartersville mill produces a line of angle bars, screwdown of the DUO two high stand revamped in 2011 profiles and flats with diameters from 150 to 300 mm 7

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

RECENT PROJECTS

Gerdau places its confidence in Russula to revamp the rolling mill and continuous caster in Cartersville, GA The control system upgrade for the bar mill includes: - New main control cabinet supply and installation, disconnecting and rewiring local field signals - Replace existing PLC with an ABB PM891 from the AC800M family - New Siemens Simotion shear positioning system - Remote unit modification to communicate by Profibus DP without disconnecting any signal field units - Integration of new control system within the data acquisition IBA network - Development of the full development and implementation of the control system and HMI according Russula quality standards and customer requirements Multi-phase startup for continuous caster

The continuous caster will undergo a multi-phase revamp approach where one strand will be MAIN DATA NO. DESCRIPTION

Project 1 Project 2 Project 3

commissioned this September and the remaining three strands in December of this year.

The existing control and power equipment for the 4 strand continuous caster will be upgraded with Allen Bradley automation systems. This project illustrates the high flexibility Russula offers when faced with different technological solutions and its total independence from electrical equipment manufacturers. To modernize the current AC drives and control system, five PLCs type AB PLC5 (4 for the lines and 1 for the common controls) will be replaced with new AB ControlLogix 1756 L7 processors. The existing Control Technique drives will be replaced with new AB PowerFlex 755 series. The current GE iFix HMI system will be kept in place and readapted to communicate with the new processors.

DC drive upgrade for stands 1-12, shears 6 & 12, and cooling bed New rolling mill control system Control system and AC drive upgrade for continuous caster

START-UP DATE

December 2014 September 2015 September 2015 (1 strand) December 2015 (3 strands)

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

RECENT PROJECTS

Russula to upgrade Isdemir´s two strand wire rod mill in Iskenderun, Turkey Russula is pleased to announce it has been selected by Isdemir to upgrade the automation system and drives of their 2 strand 500,000 tpy wire rod mill. The rolling mill is located in Iskenderun, Turkey.

The goal of the upgrade is to fix a few problem areas in the mill to improve operations. In particular, the Russula automation solution will improve the laying head and pinch roll control of both lines A & B, provide consistent shear head and tail cuts and improve the water cooling box functionality. The combination of these improvements with Russula mill control will increase production rates. Russula will also supply the engineering, valves and instrumentation for revamping the existing water boxes. The existing AC800M PLCs will be reused along with the existing racks and IO hardware. The existing TYRAK-L DC converters with masterfieldbus communication will communicate with the PLCs through a protocol converter by Process Electronic. The Russula control scope includes: - DCS800 drives for a shears and the Lines A & B laying head - DCR800 drives for Line A stands and finishing block - Two AC800M PCLs for Lines A & B mill control - Ethernet communication network between the PLCs and HMI. Profibus Network communication for the new remote I/O, drives and Simotion - 3 HMI operator stations

- IBA high speed data acquisition system - Engineering - Installation advisement - Commissioning - Offsite training - Onsite training

The RUSSULA DCR kits provide an economical solution to upgrade existing DC drives complete with all the features of a modern digital drive. The performance of the drive with the DCR kit is the same as a new drive. Russula will provide the DCR kit as a pre-engineered panel custom designed to retro-fit into the current electrical cabinets. All the control hardware and software including the pulse firing boards will be replaced. New digital field supplies will be supplied complete with thyristors. The main operator pulpit and control desks will be reutilized. New controllers will be mounted in cabinets along with power supplies, communication modules and peripherals. The electrical equipment home test is scheduled for the week of April 27th in Russula´s workshop in A Coruña. The commissioning of the two strand wire rod mill is scheduled for June/July 2015.

Russula has a long standing cooperation with Isdemir, beginning with the revamp of a 110 ton/hr pusher reheat furnace in 2003. This is the fourth revamp project Russula will implement at the Isdemir, Iskenderun site.

Russula will upgrade the automation system and drives of This is the fourth revamp project Russula will execute for their 2 strand 500,000 tpy wire rod mill Isdemir in Turkey

RECENT PROJECTS

Once again, ArcelorMittal Acindar chooses Russula for their new 450,000 tpy bar mill in Argentina

Russula supplied the electrical equipment and installation for ArcelorMittal Acindar´s bar and wire rod mill in 2007 In 2007, Russula supplied the electrical equipment and installation for Acindar´s new 500,000 tpy bar and wire rod mill. Now, eight years later, Russula is proud to receive an order for the complete control system software for Acindar´s new 450,000 tpy bar mill. The new mill is currently under construction on the site of the Old Mill 1, in Villa Contitución, Santa Fe, Argentina. Commissioning is planned for 2015.

The heart of the order is to engineer and implement Russula Mill Control in the new bar mill. Part of the original electrical equipment from Old Mill 1 will be reused. Two PLC´s will be reutilized for the reheating furnace and 4 PLCs for the continuous mill. Existing remote IO´s, local panels, power supply and communications will be reused.

Russula will supply a new PLC, IO hardware and MCCs for the water treatment plant control. In addition, Russula will supply MCCs for the reheat furnace, a new main operator control desk for the mill, servers, installation supervision, commissioning support and training necessary to ensure an efficient start-up and a productive rolling mill.

- High speed flying shears and rotating channels for lines A & B - Water treatment plant - Cooling bed and cold shear - Bundling area - Fluid systems

The new software implemented in the PLCs uses the Russula Control Framework. All libraries and code blocks are reusable and documented. Using an open source distributed system simplifies maintenance and improves system scalability. The HMI provides the mill with an integrated management of each area of the plant using just one platform, from the reheating furnace all the way to the handling of the finished product.

This new mill, specialized in producing bars for the construction market, will increase Acindar´s total capacity by 30%. Russula is very pleased to be working again with Acindar on this important project. Acindar is part of the ArcelorMittal Group.

The control scope for the new bar mill includes: - 80 tph reheat furnace, combustion and movements - Mill control for 18 stand in line mill

RECENT PROJECTS

Successful startup of Gerdau Corsa´s section mill drive and controls upgrade Russula upgraded the automation system and drives for Gerdau Corsa´s section mill. The mill was successfully started up at the end of October, early November 2014. Gerdua Corsa´s 150,000 tpy section mill is located in Tlalnepantla, Mexico.

As an independent provider, Russula has the flexibility to integrate the ideal combination of hardware and software, mutually agreed upon with the customer for their particular mill. For this project, Russula integrated the control system and drive hardware from four different suppliers. The Russula Automation and Service solution for this mill includes: - Siemens S7-400 PLCs - DC Drive Rebuilds - ABB DCS800 - New DC drives - ABB DCS800 - New AC Drives - ABB ACS800 - HMI - Wonderware - Electrical, Software and HMI Engineering - Main operator control station - 3 Simotion controllers for the shears - Iba high speed data acquisition system

Russula was responsible for the installation supervision, commissioning, operator/maintenance training and three months of production assistance.

The Russula Mill Control Scope: - Rolling mill configuration and mill tuning - Cascade mill control - Inter-Stand manual control - Mill speed references and management of start and stop of each section - Tension control - Tracking and cobble detection - Shear cut control - Rest cut removal - Cooling bed entry and exit sequencing - Phantom billet - Alarm and Interlocking

Even after many years of operation, DC motors are often in an excellent shape. Since the technology for power stacks and power circuits does not change rapidly, upgrading the drive electronics will often give the same result as replacing the entire drive. This is an attractive upgrade path for mills as the installation is quicker and the equipment less expensive than buying complete new drives.

This is the fourth project Russula has implemented for Gerdau Corsa in Mexico in the past two years. With the successful startup of the section mill, Russula strengthens its relationship with Gerdau Corsa.

Billet exiting the reheat furnace at Gerda Corsa section mill The small section mill produces 150,000 tons per year of 1-6 in Tlalnepantla, Mexico inch steel strip, squares, rounds and channels 11

RECENT PROJECTS

Excellent results after drive and control revamp at Gerdau Sidenor Reinosa In August 2014, Russula successfully started-up the Gerdau Sidenor Reinosa DUO blooming mill after implementing a drives and control upgrade. Russula was also responsible for the engineering, installation supervision and commissioning. The Russula automation and control scope includes: - Blooming control for 6 and 8 ton blooms - Stand 2 and 3 control - Tilting device control 1 and 2 - Sideguides 1, 2, 3 and 4 control - Upper cylinder control stand 1 - Engineering - Installation support - Commissioning

The Russula Control System was constructed using a selection of hardware chosen specifically for this project, including a Siemens PLC 414-3DP, new Sinamics DCM 220V (3 phase) drives, 5 remote I/Os and WinCC

HMI. All drives were delivered already mounted on panels and then installed in the existing electrical cabinets. The communication between the drives, operator desks PLC and remote IOs was with profibus, while ethernet was used to communicate the new HMI to the PLC.

As part of the software development, a new recipe system was put into operation. The operators found the recipes easy to modify and store for fast changes of product dimensions, grades and shapes. Without doubt, the revamp improved the overall productivity and product quality of the DUO blooming mill. Located in the municipality of Cantabria, Spain, the Gerdau plant is dedicated to fabricating specialty steels as well as forging and casting large turbine shafts for shipbuilding.

HMI screen for the Duo blooming mill at Gerda, located in Reinosa, Spain. Russula successfully commissioned the mill in August 2014. Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

RUSSULA good, honest, rolling mills 13

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

20mm first bar produced at Silat

On March 24th, 2015 Silat rolled its first billet 15

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

25 mm bar produced on March 29, 2015 at the rebar and wire rod mill of Silat

Successful startup for Silat´s rebar and wire rod mill On Tuesday, March 24th, the first billet was rolled on the bar and wire rod mill of Silat (Siderúrgica Latinoamericana), located in Fortaleza, Brazil. During the day, many billets measuring 130 mm x 130 mm x 12,000 mm were rolled and the 20mm bars were discharged onto the cooling bed. Hot testing progressed quickly in the following weeks with 25mm, 16 mm two slitting and 10mm bars, using the 4 slitting scheme. The rolling mill is fed by a 90 tph walking hearth reheating furnace. The plant layout includes a 20-stand continuous mill with two outlets, one for straight bar and the other for wire rod in coil. The rod outlet includes a one 10-stand, high-speed twist free finishing block fed from the bar mill finishing stands. The smaller bar sizes are produced on four strands, to take advantage of the mill´s capacity for the entire product range. Russula Turnkey Supply

Russula was the main engineering contractor and mechanical equipment supplier for Silat´s rebar and wire rod mill. The complete turnkey supply included the full gamut of equipment and services from technical consultancy to develop the initial mill concept to rolling mill equipment supply. • Plant layout

• Basic and detailed engineering for civil works, mechanical and electrical installation • Roll pass design • Electrical and fully integrated automation systems • Rolling mill equipment: - 20 housingless stands - Crop and divide shears - Uploopers - Powered slitter - Cooling bed - Cold shear - Bar counting table - Wire tying machines - High speed finishing mill - Water boxes - Pinch roll and laying head - Roller coiling conveyer - Coil forming station - Vertical pallet/C- hook conveyor - Coil compactor • Turnkey water treatment plant • Installation supervision • Start-up support • Training • Production optimization

AT RUSSULA WE HIT TH Russula Customer Service

We know all steel plants don´t have the same operational diﬃculties. We have the technical know-how to propose what solution will work for each unique customer and application. When it comes to service, we help our customers solve their problems quickly and easily.

HE GROUND RUNNING

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Russula builds technical service team in the US dedicated to mill production assistance

Russula has built a technical team with a 100% focus on delivering operational support and improvements to long product rolling mills. Based in Sturbridge, MA, USA, this multi-disciplinary service team consists of operations, mechanical and electrical experts.

Different from other suppliers, which fold customer service into the area of revamping existing plant equipment, this team is solely dedicated to making mills run better. ”At times, equipment suppliers base their standardized solutions on offering equipment, equipment and more equipment. Here at Russula we are interested in solving the problems at our customer´s mills so they run more efficiently.” says Keith Fiorucci, Head of Research and Development for Russula.

Standardized solutions become a one-size-fits-all compromise that affects many steel mills. However not all steel plants have the same operational difficulties. Custom solutions require a holistic knowledge of the long product rolling process. It is not enough to understand just how the electrical configuration 19

affects production, but how the process impacts everything.

”When a rolling mill asks me to visit, 85% of the time is spent diagnosing the short-comings in the mill. The other 15% is proposing the best way to fix them. Depending on the root cause of these reoccurring issues, revamping equipment may or may not be necessary. Many times the problems can be fixed without huge CAPEX investments.” adds Keith Fiorucci.

This mill production assistance team will also assist in Russula´s ongoing Greenfield and revamp projects during hot commissioning. Their operational input will help expedite start-ups and ensure the mill returns to sustained production. The primary scope of work includes: • Roll Pass Design and Consulting • Process Optimization • Modern Methods of Process Analysis • Custom Equipment Design – small/medium scale projects • Small and Medium sized upgrades

• Customized Solutions • Internal Training • Operational Training - Process Reviews – On Site - Hands on Courses Mill floor, directly with operators - Production Assistance - Troubleshooting

Customer satisfaction requires having continual close customer contact. These teams will purposefully be kept small to give a more personalized service that engages the customer. ”Throwing more people at a problem does not make the solution better. You need to gather the right mix of people depending on the issue at hand.” commented Keith Fiorucci. The technical service team will provide production assistance for steel mills globally. Office Address and contact info: Russula Corporation 559 Main Street, Unit 202 Sturbridge, MA 01518 T: +1 774 452 4411 E: keith.fiorucci@russula.com

RECENT PROJECTS

Successful EAF upgrade at Votorantim Siderúrgia in Barra Mansa, Brazil

Russula simpliﬁed the control conﬁguration to one platform during the EAF No. 1 upgrade at Votorantim Siderúrgia. The EAF was successfully commissioned in January of this year.

Votorantim Siderurgia contracted Russula to upgrade the existing electric arc furnace No. 1. at its Barra Mansa plant located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In early January of this year, the control system modernization was successfully completed. The EAF has a capacity of 51 ton/tap-to-tap cycle.

In this project, the existing control configuration, previously provided by multiple equipment suppliers, was replaced with one single platform. This simplified maintenance and spare parts inventory. In particular, the old MCC panel, Siemens Step 5, Rockwell SLC 500 PLCs were replaced with a new MCC panel and a new Siemens Step 7 PLC. The Step 7 PLC is widely used in the steel sector, to ensure spare parts availability and minimize electrical failure downtime.

EAF No. 1 Control Scope

The control funcionality of the EAF No. 1 included: - Energizing electrodes - Steel melting process initiation - Electrode and furnace movement to the liquid steel casting operation - Interface with the electrode regulation system - EBT ladle car and retractable platform movement - Furnace tilting platform and roof removal mechanism

The existing MCC panel, containing logic performed by contactors and relays, was responsible for the control of the medium voltage unit, the hydraulic unit, the electrode regulation system and the furnace movement system. The medium voltage unit consisted of a motorized drive

disconnect and a main circuit breaker to energize the electrodes and start the steel melting process. The hydraulic unit controlled the electrode movements and furnace movement to the liquid steel casting operation. For the electrode regulation system, the MCC interfaced with an auxiliary PLC AMI-GE, responsible for the regulation. Lastly the furnace movements system consisted of the logic of locking movements, gate valve, furnace tilting, roof lifting, roof removal mechanism and opening of the slag door.

The existing PLC Siemens Step 5 contained the logic responsible for the control and drive of the ladle car EBT and retractable platform. The PLC interfaced with an auxiliary controller Tiefenbach, which was responsible for triggering the proportional valve for the furnace

RECENT PROJECTS

The new control system layout for EAF 1 atVotorantim Siderúrgia

tilting and roof removal mechanism The existing Rockwell SLC 500 PLC contained the logic responsible for controlling and monitoring the furnace instrumentation: temperatures for inlet water for the shell and roof, chilled panels and furnace floor; pressure switches for chilled arms, structure, wall plate, moving elbow and burners; pressure transducers for inlet and outlet water for housing and EAF roof. This PLC also interfaced with the SIA melt shop system, which interfaced with the burners PLC and dedusting PLC. As stated previously, the revamp simplified the existing control configuration to one single platform. Russula supplied a new MCC, responsible for the medium tension electrical distribution to: the PLC panel +K2, remote panel +K1, central control desk +P1, panel of hydraulic changes (existing), panel 21

AMI-GE PLC (existing), graphite machine (existing), transformer and switch oil pumps (existing), pressing machine tubes (existing), main circuit breaker Joslyn (existing), panel of oxygen robot MOX (existing), panel of temperature robot and rotating robot (existing) and blow torcher´s panel; Motors 1 and 2 for water pumps driven by Sirius Soft Starter, drain pump, recirculation pumps 1 and 2, electrode fixing pump, air compressor, oil pressure pump of regulator tank and retractable platform motor via Simocode C; EBT (Eccentric Bottom Tapping) ladle car drive motors 1 and 2, graphite machine motor and furnace disconnect, via Sinamics PM240; power meter of 23kV input network through a Siemens PAC4200 multimeter.

Russula provided a Siemens S7-400 PLC and a remote ET-200M to

control the furnace components, instrumentation and the discrete interface with existing subsystems.

In addition Russula supplied a new cover for the main control desk, a new casting desk and a new hydraulic control desk. All the existing cables were replaced with new cables, existing cable trays were relocated and new trays provided when necessary. The Wonderware Intouch HMI screeens made navigation and viewing easy through the use of two 21" monitors. Operators can now view the fusion states, movements, cooling, hydraulics, power meters, trends, alarms and events. Russula also provided an IBA data acquisition system to assist operations and maintenance for registering the relevant data to the furnace in real time.

RECENT PROJECTS

Votorantim successfully commissioned EAF in the beginning of 2015

EAF supervision HMI screenshot (top) and HMI screenshot of furnace movements (below) Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright ÂŠ by RUSSULA S.A.

RECENT PROJECTS

The giant of Bethlehem roars again in Monclova, Mexico

By Pablo Orvañanos

April 12, 1936 Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point (A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun)

October 8, 1939 Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point (A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun)

October 10, 1951 A worker in the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel Co. In the 1950s, the Sparrows Point plant in Baltimore County was the world's largest steel mill. (Robert F. Kniesche/Baltimore Sun) 23

The story starts in 1889, when steel was first produced by the Pennsylvania Steel Company at Sparrow's Point. By the mid-20th century, the Sparrow's Point plant was the world's largest steel mill, stretching 4 miles (6.4 km) from end to end and employing tens of thousands of workers. Bethlehem Steel purchased the mill in 1916 and due to a superb reputation, its steel ended up as girders in the Golden Gate Bridge, as cables for the George Washington Bridge, and were a vital part of war production during World War I and World War II.

The business was so profitable that Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the Sparrow's Point shipyard in 1917. The Shipyard was one of the most active shipbuilders in the United States, delivering 116 ships in the 7-year period between 1939 and 1946. Changes in the steel industry, including a rise in imports and a move toward the use of simpler oxygen furnaces and the recycling of scrap, led to a decline in the use of the Sparrow's Point complex during the 1970s and 1980s. To combat the crisis, in August of 1991 Bethlehem Steel Corporation invested more than $200 million dollars to modernize the Sparrows Point 68-in hot strip mill. The modernization included two new 300 ton/hr walking beam furnaces, a combination of new and refurbished

roller tables, and a 4-h reversing roughing mill with attached entry side edger.

Unfortunately, the big investment couldn’t stop the downward spiral of events that caused Bethlehem Steel Group to go bankrupt in 2001. Since then, the Sparrows Point plant has passed through the hands of four different owners, including Mittal & Severstal, who couldn’t do anything to save the once biggest facility in the USA. The definite end to the Sparrows Point plant came in January 2013, when all the equipment of the facility was auctioned to different bidders all around the world. Fortunately the 68-inch hot strip mill quickly found a new home on the other side of the border, in the steel city of México, Monclova, where Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is collaborating with the best local and foreign engineers to make the giant roar again. AHMSA plans to utilize the 68 inch hot strip mill to replace their current mill, increasing their production capacity by 10%. The actual capacity of the hot strip mill is 2.8 million ton/year.

The project is currently underway, as the foundations are being prepared to receive the new mill without stopping production in the current mill. AHMSA has contracted Russula to provide engineering services for the first stage of this complex equipment transfer project.

RECENT PROJECTS

AHMSA contracts Russula for the design and supply of a new roller table for the hot strip mill

The new roller table, designed and manufactured by Russula ensures that AHMSA will have a smooth production during the 2.4 million tons/year hot strip mill installation The final site of the new mill will be a couple of meters upstream f r o m the current mill. Russula was responsible for the design, supervision and construction of the new foundations to support the new mill.

Since most of the work will be done with the current mill in operation, safety is one of Russulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main concerns. Therefore Russula has designed, manufactured and installed a new support for the roller table through which production will pass during the excavation and

construction of the foundations.

To ensure the building can support the weight of the new hot strip mill during the equipment transfer operation, Russula conducted a feasibility study of the structure to determine the required modifications and developed the reinforcement engineering. In a couple of months everything will be ready in Monclova to receive the mill, and the giant will write another chapter of his own story.

The large 4-h reversing mill, with 1130

sq in mill posts, utilizes 47 in diameter work rolls and 60 in diameter backup rolls. Main drive power is obtained from

two 6000 HP double armature motors

driving through 30 ft long universal spade and slipper spindles. An entry-side

heavy duty vertical edger is attached to the main mill housing. The two 43.5 in

caliber type work rolls, sized for 3 in./ pass edging on 10 in slabs are driven by

two vertical mounted 2.000 HP motors through large universal spindles.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION

Five Spanish Universities join forces in Industrial Mathematics Program to solve various industry problems

During the last fifteen years, Russula has collaborated with many universities to develop innovative technological solutions that generate knowledge and value to the products offered to our customers. With this idea in mind, Russula´s R& D department, participates another year in the Masters in Industrial Mathematics during 2015.

This master is formed by members of academic committees from 5 different universities in Spain. Three are located in the the Galician region, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña and Vigo; and two in Madrid, specifically Carlos III and Polytechnic University.

The goal of the M2i program is for participating engineers to face real problems in the industry and develop solutions through the use of specific software, theoretical applied analytics and appropriate design tools. Companies from the industry collaborate by proposing a problem and monitoring the progress of the project.

Through this collaboration a two fold objective is achieved: first the engineer is exposed to similar problems that they may encounter in their professional future outside their academic envirnoment; secondly, the companies benefit from receiving a different 25

perspective to the standard solutions that they are accustomed to implementing. In addition the participants in the Masters have at their disposal different analysis tools and software provided by the Universities.

This is the second year Russula has participated in the Industrial Problems Workshop for 2015. In 2014, Russula presented three problems, two of which led to final projects for the master thesis. The three problems presented were: • Project 1 -3D modeling continuous tempering of steel bars in water boxes. • Project 2 - Creating a phenomenological model for convective transport of heat in the combustion chamber of a steel reheating furnace.

• Project 3 - 3D modeling and simulation of the flow of escape gas in the billet reheating furnace combustion chamber.

The results of the three projects were subsequently used for improvement parameterization in the cooling process of bars and modeling the behavior of reheating furnace results. In 2015, Russula paticipated again in the Industrial

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION

Russula R & D collaborates with Industrial Mathematics team on three important projects

Project 1 - Percentage of martensite for steel 1020 in a section with small size corrugation. The blue areas represent a 0% level of martensite and the red areas show where martensite has formed. Project 1 - Real metallographic analysis conducted on the steel

Project 2 - A velocity map section in its x component for a cross section of the combustion chamber. This simulation aims to identify preferred channels with increased exhaust convection heatProject 1 - 3D modeling of rebar. Diﬀerent cross sections were taken to create the grid, previous to the FEM analysis.

Project 2 - Particle stream lines from a burner in the equalization zone of a reheating furnace. The model shows the eﬀect of each burner in the heating of the whole combustion chamber.

Mathematics Workshop, proposing the topic Numerical simulation of transient flows in a billet reheating furnace chamber. Numerical modeling of billet reheating in a reheating furnace clearly depends on an adequate description of convective flows. Previous numerical simulations (stationary

character) have revealed the presence of complex structures in the flow of gases from the furnace, which help to understand the phenomena of heat transfer in the furnace. Direct modeling of the escape gases by a predictive tool can be integrated into the plant control to substantially improve the results in the heat transfer calculations due to convective effect.

Gas fluxes are strongly non-stationary (even when the furnace charging is) because of the furnace´s design. Thus we need to understand how the furnace behavior affects the dynamic structures of gas flow. Including this behavior within the logic of mathematical model logic of the heating furnace (commercially known as "Level 2C") may improve the calculation of the bar temperature. Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A.

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