OUTLOOK FOR PROCESS-DEVELOPMENT AND PLANT MODERNIZATION IN HOT WIDE STRIP MILLS

An examination is made of the different variants considered for reconstruction of the 1680 hot wide strip mill at the Zaporozh'e Iron and Steel Combine in the light of the introduction of combined casting and rolling of continuously cast slabs. Modern trends in the development of sheet and plate production are considered. A technical and economic analysis has shown that it would be expedient to build a new 1700 wide strip mill in a block with an oxygen converter shop and to implement measures on the existing 1680 mill for converting it to continuously cast feedstock. The possibility of building a combined unit, including a machine for casting slabs of 50-70 mm thickness and a lighter compact 1700 wide strip mill, is analysed. Minicompact hot sheet and plate mills are increasingly being used abroad, and this might be an effective reconstruction option at steelworks. For the Zaporozh'e Combine, the use of combined casting and rolling units will reduce the weight of the equipment installed, cut building costs, increase labour productivity, and reduce power, fuel, and water consumption.