core sector communique

Siemens upgrades 5 meter plate mill at Xiangtan Iron & Steel – high-performance edger and pre-leveler help widen the product range

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Hunan Valin Xiangtan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., a Chinese steelmaker, to supply equipment for a PowerEdger and a pre-leveler. The volume of the contract is in the two-digit million euro range. These new plant components will be installed in the 5 meter plate mill, located in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, which is also being equipped by Siemens. The new plant is scheduled to start producing high-quality plates for shipbuilding and pipeline construction by the end of 2010. The new edger and preleveler are expected to come into operation by the middle of 2011, and will enable the range of products to be widened even further.
Siemens VAI will engineer and supply the main components of the PowerEdger mill stand and a pre-leveler in the Xiangtan plate mill. The new PowerEdger provides about 50 percent more torque and 80 percent more compressive force than conventional solutions. The main drives of the edger stand will be fitted with high torque synchronous motors, which will be powered by Sinamics S120 DC link converters. . The PowerEdger has been designed to meet foreseeable future heavy plate requirements – such as greater final thicknesses. This will not only expand the range of products, but also increase the output of the rolling line. The pre-leveler is fully hydraulic and ensures optimal plate flatness. It will be installed directly upstream of the Mulpic cooling system. This ensures uniform cooling and thus a highly uniform end product.
The scope of supply also includes the instrumentation and the adaption and integration of the additions into the plate mill automation system, including the adaption of the process models. The overall solution for the rolling line is based on the integrated Siroll PM concept for plate mills.
Siemens will also be responsible for supervising the installation work and commissioning.

The Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group produces some nine million tons of crude steel and eight million tonnes of steel products per annum. These products include tubes and pipes, bars and wire rods, steel sections and hot-rolled plates. In order to add wide heavy plate for shipbuilding and pipeline construction to its range of products, the corporation is currently constructing a 5 meter plate mill in the plant of its subsidiary, Xiangtan Iron & Steel Co., in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, Central China. One of the main reasons Siemens won this order was the good working relationship that developed between Siemens and Xiangtan during the construction of plate rolling mills nos. 2 and 3.