Siemens Metals Technologies received an order from the Taiwanese steelmaking company Formosa Heavy Industries Co to supply four continuous casting lines as part of the new construction of a Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation,steelmaking plant at Vung Ang in Vietnam.
The order is specifically for two slab casters, one billet caster and one bloom caster with a total installed capacity of roughly 8.4 million tonnes per year. Siemens is supplying two double strand continuous slab casters, an eight strand billet caster and a six strand bloom caster for the new steelmaking plant. The slab casters are designed for an annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes each.
The value of the order lies in the upper double digit million Euro range.
The casters are scheduled to go into operation in mid 2015.
Slabs can be cast in thicknesses of 210 to 270 millimeters and in widths ranging between 900 and 1880 millimeters.
The bow type casters with straight mold and segmented strand containment have a radius of ten meters. They are equipped with SmartMold and Dynaflex mold oscillation device. In optimizing the casting process and ensuring high internal and external slab quality, Siemens has installed a series of technology packages, including the LevCon mold level control system, the MoldExpert breakout detection system, DynaWidth for adjustment of the slab width and Smart Segments for rapid changes in slab thicknesses. A combination of the Dynacs 3D cooling model, the DynaJet spray cooling system and internally cooled I-Star rolls provide maximum flexibility in secondary cooling, which is an essential prerequisite to the high slab surface quality. The use of DynaGap Soft Reduction makes it possible to precisely determine the point of final strand solidification. This permits precise regulation of the roll gap and results in high internal slab quality. The project also includes the entire basic and process automation systems of both slab casters.
The billet caster has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of billets with square cross sections ranging between 130 x 130 and 180 x 180 millimeters and lengths of up to twelve meters. The billet caster is designed to cast a wide variety of different steel grades. Emphasis has been placed on low- and medium-carbon as well as on alloyed steel grades. The bow type caster has a radius of 9 meters and is equipped with a Diamold tube mold, a Dynaflex hydraulic oscillating device, a mold and a final electromagnetic stirrer.
The bloom caster has an installed annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons of blooms with dimensions of 260 x 300 and 360 x 450 millimeters. A number of different carbon and alloy steels can be cast as spring, forging, wire, tire cord and bearing steel. The bow type caster has a radius of 14 m and is equipped with a plate mold, a Dynaflex hydraulic oscillating device, an electromagnetic mold stirrer and fully dynamic DynaGap Soft Reduction technology.
The strand guide and straightening zones in the billet and bloom casters are equipped with internally cooled rollers. Secondary cooling is by means water and air nozzles. The Siemens scope of supply encompasses the engineering and supply including the basic and process automation systems as well as the advisory service for installation and start up.
Formosa Heavy Industries is currently constructing a new integrated steel plant in the central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh. It is currently the largest Greenfield project in the steelmaking industry worldwide. Beginning in mid 2015, approximately five million tons of steel per year will be produced in the first construction stage. Production capacity will then be expanded to 10 million tons, and finally to 22 million tons in the final stage.