Operational Results and Ramp-up of the Ultrawide VAI Slab Caster at Ipsco Mobile, Ala.

摘要

Ipsco Inc. began operation in 1956, converting purchased coils into pipe. The company began steel production in 1960. Today, the company has a steelmaking capacity of 3.5 million tons per year at three plants: 1.0 million tons at Regina, Sask., Canada; 1.25 million tons at Montpelier, Iowa; and 1.25 million tons at Mobile, Ala. Start-up of the VAI caster at Ipsco Steel in Mobile took place in Jan. 2001. It is the most advanced example of a new generation of casters, directly feeding 123-inch ultrawide, 6-inch medium thickness slabs to a combined plate and Steckel rolling mill for the production of either discrete plates or hot rolled coils. This process, pioneered by Ipsco Steel, is economical and allows the production of heavy plates in an EAF (scrap) based minimill. The challenges for the caster are manifold, requiring new technological developments and state-of-the-art automation models combined with reliable and rigid machine design.