Siemens VAI has put four continuous slab casters into operation at Chinese steel producer Zhangjiagang Rong Sheng (ZRS).
The slab casters comprise of seven strands and were installed within four weeks. The CCM4, CCM5 and CCM6 two-strand casters and the CCM7 single-strand, thick-slab caster are equipped with technological packages to enable ZRS to cast slabs for several industrial applications.
Siemens provided engineering for the mechanical, electrical and media equipment and systems for the three identical two-strand casters and the CCM7 thick-slab caster.
The supply also included mould oscillators, automatic breakout-prediction based on strand-shell friction monitoring and online slab-width adjustments. The project also covered Level 1 and Level 2 automation. Advisory services for plant installation and commissioning rounded off the project scope.
The CCM4, CCM5 and CCM6 casters have a casting radius of 8m and a metallurgical length of 30m. Each machine is capable of casting 1.9Mt/y of slab with a thickness of 170 or 200mm and in widths from 850 to 1600mm. Micro-alloyed, peritectic, high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) steels, line-pipe grades and silicon steels can also be cast.
Siemens received the four caster orders in July 2007. Siemens had previously supplied the continuous casters Nos. 1, 2 and 3. A total of 12 strands, including those of the new casting facilities, were installed by Siemens in Zhangjiagang and these have a casting capacity of 9Mt/y of steel. ZRS produces 23Mt/y of steel.
