Potential and options of Arvedi Steel Technology (AST) for value added HR fiat steel products

摘要

In 1992 the first European mini-mill, and the second in the world for flat products based on thin slabs, was started up at the Arvedi steel plant in Cremona, Acciaieria Arvedi, a company of the Finarvedi group, unique in its capacity to produce high quality special products. Performance data show average casting sequences of 11 heats, more man 56% of total production in gauges ≤ 2 mm with a consistent rolling of mild steel in gauge 1.0 mm at the full table width of 1250 mm. A wide range of steel grades are manufactured such as low, medium and high carbon (up to 0.75%), HSLA down to gauge 1-1.2 mm, boron grades, weathering, alloyed, peritectic and Dual Phase steels. The new AST line concept has proven very economical production of strip with thicknesses down to 1.0 mm. These thin gauge and special steel products are sold in substitution of cold rolled strip for many applications. The first section of an AST line comprises thin slab casting, liquid core reduction and a linked three-stand hot rolling mill with pendulum shear. The intermediate bar is then reheated in an inductive furnace and coiled in the Cremona box which separates the casting section from the 5-stand finishing mill, cooling line and downcoiler. Arvedi has the total ownership of all the technological patents and is now ready to sell the process know-how, with training, under the name Arvedi Steel Technology, which includes the preparation of liquid steel, strip manufacture and strip finishing. ARVEDI and VAI have established co-operation to jointly market the AST lines on a worldwide basis. In this paper AST line performance at the Cremona works is presented, AST line design is described in detail and the benefits and features compared to other thin slab line (OTS) concepts are discussed.