Increasing of Long Products Rolling Efficiency: Modernization of Stelmor Air Cooling Line to Obtain Sorbitized Wire Rod

Abstract

Most national companies are seeking to reduce costs, improve technological processes and increase profitability. The steel industry is no exception - an example of cost reduction is a technology of sorbitized wire rod production. This technology can improve the performance characteristics of wore rod and reduce the number of patenting stages during metalware production. The developed technology has been tested in the CIS countries Stelmor lines, and its task is to eliminate the significant disadvantages of these lines: the absence of differential cooling on the conveyor width, insufficient cooling rate of air cooling sections, the lack of frequency regulated speed control for electric motors. Eliminating these disadvantages and developing new cooling modes using the software, based on the original mathematical model, allows for the production of sorbitized wire rod with high performance characteristics, provided with increased level of pearlite dispersion (1-2 points for at least 85% of area). Each intense and retarded cooling section has to be fitted with adjustable flaps controlled by electric motors, ensuring the alignment rod temperature at the roller conveyor width. Before the start of the reconstruction of the cooling line a detailed technical and technological audit is required to identify and eliminate the causes that lead to uncontrolled temperature deviations or wire rod laying deviations on the cooling conveyor.

Experience of putting into practice and development prospects of digital twins in section rolling technological systems

“…-DT for the part of technological process is created as a model [9], which has formalized system (description of mathematical models and experimental results is presented in the work [10]) as well as input and output signals (data flows) with the following sources: level 0 of ACSTP (operative information about the process state); information from the previous technological stage about billet, state of equipment and internal systems (for example, accounting system for rolling rolls); additional network of measuring remedies (industrial internet of things IIoT) [11. 12];…”

“…The mathematical model, which was used as the base for this digital twin, was adapted to the technological conditions and is characterized by wide area of application [14][15][16][17]. This DT was successfully tested, the results of its operation were put into practice as modified cooling procedures and introduced in the technological specification of the rolling mill, while DT itself was put into operation [9,10,13]. Interaction structure in this DT (it operates Offline in advising conditions) and screenshots of its interfaces are presented on the Fig.…”

Force Analysis and Curve Design for Laying Pipe in Loop Laying Head of Wire Rod Mills

“…Thus, the speed of linear wire rods pass through the laying head is very fast while the laying head is rotating. The hot wire rods are formed into loops out of the laying head and continuously laid on a Stelmor conveyor to send to the next processes [4,5]. Figure 2 shows the procedure of hot wire rods laying out and carrying on the Stelmor conveyor in the form of coils for air cooling.…”

“…A guide pipe (3) is located at entrance of laying head device to guide the wire rod into the laying pipe (7). A pair of bevel gears (2 and 4) is assembled on the input shaft and output shaft (5). The output shaft (5) is connected with laying pipe holder (6).…”

“…The output shaft (5) is connected with laying pipe holder (6). There are two bears located at point A and B and supporting the output shaft (5), point B to C is the cantilever part of the laying pipe holder (6). In which, laying pipe (see in Figure 4) is the most important part for this laying head device.…”