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    Upgrade of ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor #2 Galvanizing Line Making 2CGL Great Again

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    The #2CGL at the Indiana Harbor was built in 1964 by Youngstown Sheet and Tube. The line is a 72” wide horizontal furnace line capable of running heavy and light gauge products. The line has undergone several upgrades over the years to improve capacity, quality and reliability.

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    Upgrade of ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor #2 Galvanizing Line Making 2CGL Great Again

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    JJ
    63 views12 pages
    The #2CGL at the Indiana Harbor was built in 1964 by Youngstown Sheet and Tube. The line is a 72” wide horizontal furnace line capable of running heavy and light gauge products. The line has undergone several upgrades over the years to improve capacity, quality and reliability.

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    The #2CGL at the Indiana Harbor was built in 1964 by Youngstown Sheet and Tube. The line is a 72” wide horizontal furnace line capable of running heavy and light gauge products. The line has undergone several upgrades over the years to improve capacity, quality and reliability.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    63 views12 pages

    Upgrade of ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor #2 Galvanizing Line Making 2CGL Great Again

    Uploaded by

    JJ
    The #2CGL at the Indiana Harbor was built in 1964 by Youngstown Sheet and Tube. The line is a 72” wide horizontal furnace line capable of running heavy and light gauge products. The line has undergone several upgrades over the years to improve capacity, quality and reliability.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 12

    AISTech 2019 — Proceedings of the Iron & Steel Technology Conference

    6–9 May 2019, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA


    DOI 10.1000.377.190

    Upgrade of ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor #2 Galvanizing Line


    Making 2CGL Great Again

    John T Seaman1, David Parker2, Robert Vanderzee3

    1
    ArcelorMittal
    3300 Dickey Road
    East Chicago, IN 46312
    Tel.: +1 219-399-3519
    E-mail: [email protected]
    2
    Superior Engineering, LLC
    2345 – 167th St.
    Hammond, IN 46323
    Tel: + 219-399-7085
    E-mail: [email protected]
    3
    ArcelorMittal
    3210 Watling St.
    East Chicago, IN 46312
    Tel.: +1 219-399-1499
    [email protected]

    INTRODUCTION
    The #2CGL at the Indiana Harbor was built in 1964 by Youngstown Sheet and Tube. The line is a 72” wide horizontal
    furnace line capable of running heavy and light gauge products. The line has undergone several upgrades over the years to
    improve capacity, quality and reliability. These upgrades included:
    • 1988 – 25% productivity increase which included tower and furnace improvements
    • 1992 – Shape improvements which included in-line temper mill and tension leveler
    • 1994-97 – Several electrical upgrades to various parts of the line to improve the reliability.
    2CGL is a line with demonstrated capacity of 585,000 tons per year depending on the product mix placed on the line. In the
    past the line produced a large amount of automotive product as well as non-automotive sheet. The amount of automotive
    production has decreased over the years as newer galvanizing lines have been commissioned.
    The relevant specifications of the line are contained in Table 1 below.

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1861


    Table 1 – 2CGL Specifications
    GENERAL INFORMATION
    Startup Date 1964
    Mechanical & Electrical Equipment Suppliers Aetna Standard & GE
    Furnace Orientation & Supplier Horizontal – Electric Furnace Co.
    Pot Ajax
    Gauge Range, in. (mm) 0.014 to 0.188 in.
    Width Range, in. (mm) 24-72 in.
    PRODUCTS
    Steel Grades – Capability EDDS, DDS, FS, CS, BH, HSLA, DP, SS, Full Hard
    Max Product Tensile Strength, MPa (ksi) 140-552(20-100)
    Coating Mass Capability, Galvanized (GI), g/m2 55-155
    2
    Coating Mass Capability, Galvanneal (GA), g/m 37-73

    PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND OBJECTIVE


    ArcelorMittal USA has a strong focus on providing innovative products and solutions to our customers. A study determined
    that 2CGL was not well positioned in the market for galvanized steel sheet. There were numerous equipment issues which
    impacted the quality, reliability, and efficiency of the line.
    The objective of the project was to upgrade 2CGL to enable the line to competitively and safely produce 548,000 short tons
    annually of high-quality galvanized product. The expanded product mix included light gauge, heavy gauge, heavy coating
    weight, and chem-treated sheets.
    The project scope, cost, and schedule were developed by the project team in late 2016 and project funding was approved in
    March 2017. There were a dozen different areas of the line that were upgraded by this project.
    The scope involved several areas of the line as shown in the pictorial arrangement below.

    1862 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.


    Figure 1 – Project Scope Drawing

    Entry End Upgrade: The first scope area to be addressed was the entry end. The entry end coil preparation was a bottleneck
    which decreased line efficiency. Cutting off gauge strip prior to welding was a manual system with inadequate scrap pushing
    equipment that malfunctioned causing delays.
    The project installed an improved scrap pusher unit at the entry end. Also, the feed and cut function was automated.

    Welder: The welder was 54 years old and did not provide thin welds that could be rolled through the temper mill causing
    yield loss. Reliability was poor causing weld breaks which affected working ratio and resulted in product rejects. Welding
    and notching were manual operations which was a safety concern and affected the quality of the weld and weld cycle time.
    The welder was replaced with a new welder and notcher which has planishing to provide thin welds and allow for rolling of
    the welds through the temper mill, leveler, and coater. The new welder is the first of its kind that can handle the wide
    diversity of material at 2CGL. This new welder & notcher is safer, reduces yield loss and improves the reliability of the
    welds leading to an improved working ratio.

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1863


    Figure 2 – Old and New Welders

    Wedge Pyrometer: 2CGL was the only coating line at ArcelorMittal without a wedge pyrometer in the hot bridle. Without
    a wedge pyrometer, temperature measurement at the hot bridle was inaccurate due to background radiation. An inaccurate
    strip temperature caused inefficient process control and strip temperature variation entering the zinc pot. This increased dross
    formation and reduced coatability.
    A wedge pyrometer was installed and has improved temperature measurement at the hot bridle. This reduces strip
    temperature variation and improves pot temperature control leading to less dross formation.

    Pre-Melt Pot: The main zinc pot at 2CGL is relatively small (186 tons) for a 72-inch-wide line. 2CGL did not have a pre-
    melt pot and productivity was greatly limited when producing heavy coatings. Coating weights greater than G145 (1.45
    oz./square foot) were required by customers. The existing pot could not melt zinc fast enough on heavy coating material so
    2CGL was slowed down to keep zinc at an appropriate level. Zinc consumption charts for 50-inch-wide sheets are included
    below to show the magnitude of this issue.

    1864 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.


    Figure 3 – Zinc Melting Rate without Pre-Melt Pot
    A pre-melt pot was installed to provide steady zinc flow into the main pot during heavy coating weight production without
    affecting line speed, pot level, pot temperature, dross formation and line-up duration.

    Figure 4 – Pre-Melt Pot


    Air Knives: The knives used at 2CGL were an in-house re-build of old knives. Due to the design of the inner channels and
    the knife gap, it was difficult to attain an even coating weight distribution across the width of the strip. The flow control
    valve design which carried nitrogen to the knives was also inadequate and resulted in slow reaction times to coating weight
    changes.

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1865


    New air knives, positioners and blowers were installed. This improved both the across the width and down-the-length
    coating performance and provided reduction in zinc consumption on the edges using baffles. Further zinc reduction was
    achieved by eliminating the use of control valves and installing blowers with variable frequency drives to control pressure.
    The new equipment and an improved coating mass control model resulted in increased coating accuracy and reduced zinc
    consumption.

    Figure 5 – New Air Knives


    Post Pot Cooling: The post pot up-leg cooling was not sufficient to cool the strip to less than 6500F on gauges over 0.110
    inch. The increased temperature resulted in pick-up at the up-leg turn-over roll which resulted in rejects. Consequently,
    product was run below predicted speed in order to keep the roll temperature within specification.
    After pot cooling was upgraded with new zone 6 plenums, nozzles, and two new 150 horse power fans which has improved
    cooling and allows higher line speeds while running heavy gauge strip. Preliminary results show a 7% improvement in
    cooling rate.

    Tension Leveler: The 2CGL tension leveler was removed years ago and 2CGL could not provide the flatness required by
    customers. Customer requirements for the expected product mix are a maximum of 5 I-Units of shape (I-Units are found by
    measuring the height of the off flat condition and the interval between each peak). 2CGL struggled to deliver the required
    shape, especially on hot roll direct product. The figure below shows strip cross bow produced on the line without a leveler.

    1866 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.


    Figure 6 – Strip Crossbow
    A new leveler was installed to improve shape on all product.

    Figure 7 – New Tension Leveler

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1867


    Chemical Treat: 2CGL used an inefficient dunk tank and wringer roll system to provide chemical coating that some
    customers require. This system was prone to poor quality and unable to achieve desired line speeds on light gauge materials.
    A new roll coater highly capable in chemical treatment coatings including hexavalent (Cr6) and trivalent (Cr3) chrome and
    acrylic application was installed to provide efficiency and quality improvement. An induction heater to dry the coatings was
    also installed along with a tank farm for the three chemicals.
    The new equipment allows the line to run at required speed across all product ranges and provides improved application of
    chemical coatings to reduce waste, rejects and reprocessing.

    Figure 8 – New Roll Coater and Induction Dryer


    Camera Inspection System: The existing surface inspection system was inadequate for the surface requirements at 2CGL.
    It lacked the resolution to detect small defects and only inspected in one field of view. The system was obsolete and was no
    longer supported by the vendor. Overall system reliability was decreasing, and spare parts were limited.
    The obsolete inspection system was replaced with a state-of-the-art unit that improved inspection capability for critical
    surface requirements. The higher resolution and multiple fields of view provide capability to see smaller defects that would
    otherwise go undetected.

    Stencil System: The existing stencil machines were not capable of printing required by customers and new stencil machines
    were installed along with required production software changes.

    Exit End Upgrade: The exit end scrap cutting system was entirely manual and not capable of cutting enough strip at each
    weld. This resulted in reprocessing of coils. Due to the very manual operation at the delivery end of the line, we experienced
    an unusually high number of line-stops which reduced working ratio as well.
    The slow-down, stopping, spotting and cutting at the weld functions were automated. A scrap handling system capable of
    cutting 2 meters at each weld was installed.

    1868 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.


    Figure 9 – Exit Scrap System
    Electrical & Automation: 2CGL needed an electrical upgrade in order to ensure reliability. Old, unreliable equipment
    negatively affected working ratio and we risked downtime due to obsolete equipment.

    Furnace PLC & I/O Upgrade: The project replaced the annealing furnace PLC system and I/O with a new system
    including Ethernet based I/O which supports the latest National Fire Protection Agency standards for burner management and
    control. This solution provides better heat control for the furnace and the latest safety standards for furnace control required
    by the NFPA reducing safety and reliability risks.

    Furnace motor field supplies replacement: The old Motor Protection Electronics field exciters were obsolete. The system
    was split into 4 sections with one speed feedback per section. The new field supplies give us individual control for every
    motor eliminating the need to stop the line for equipment failure while providing us with better speed control in the furnace
    and enhanced trouble shooting capabilities. We also eliminated risk for downtime with replacement of the old drives and the
    risk of scratches on light gage with the enhancement in speed controls with the new drives.

    Entry, Delivery Automax and GE Rx7i PLC and Genius I/O Block Replacement Upgrade: the Automax and GE Fanuc
    Rx7i PLC processors and the Genius I/O blocks were no longer supported. The project installed new controllers and I/O with
    improved diagnostics and historical trending capabilities.
    The new solution eliminated the risks of unsupported hardware and third party required equipment with new equipment all on
    the same control platform. The new equipment provides improved control of the line with enhanced diagnostic I/O, increased
    troubleshooting tools and expanded historical data analysis capabilities. The new I/O has vibration free connections and all
    the equipment has a 20-year support guarantee.

    Entry, Center and Delivery Drives Upgrade: the old DC2000 drives were not supported by the OEM. We replaced them
    with new drives with better control and diagnostic capabilities and real-time high-speed trending capabilities. The new
    equipment provides better line control and almost eliminates any questions of cause during drive trips. It also reduces the
    risk of down time.

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1869


    RESULTS
    The installation of the new equipment was completed in September 2018, eighteen months after project approval. The
    project was completed on time and on budget.
    Five months after completion the project has shown favorable results. We have seen measurable improvements and realized
    many of the gains that we anticipated from this upgrade. 2CGL now has improved quality, productivity, and efficiency.
    ArcelorMittal can now offer customers more product options. Customers have been notified of the improved capabilities at
    2CGL and commercial trials are on-going.
    The notcher is a safety improvement because operators do not have to manually trim the strip at the welds. Line speeds have
    been increased on some products such as heavy gauge and heavy coating weight. Weld failures and line stops have been
    reduced. 2CGL is now able to produce steel flatness that meets customer requirements. The new roll coater provides the
    desired coating film thickness. Consumption of materials such as zinc, nitrogen, and coating chemicals have been reduced.
    The figures below illustrate some of the improvements.

    Figure 10 – Coating Rejects

    Figure 11 – Overcoating

    1870 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.


    Figure 12 – Zinc Melting Rate with Pre-Melt Pot

    CONCLUSION
    The upgrade project has increased the marketability of innovative products and operational availability of the equipment at
    2CGL. The project also improved safety, reduced costs and provided better control of the process.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    The authors would like to thank our colleagues at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Finishing, 2CGL, Engineering, Sales,
    Quality, Safety, Process Automation and Environmental groups for their efforts on this project.

    © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 1871

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