Arvedi ESP – technology and

plant design
The new Arvedi ESP® (Endless Strip Production) technology, a direct evolution from ISP (In-line
Strip Production), is the first to apply a completely endless concept that connects casting and
rolling without interruption, thus allowing a very thin transfer bar to enter the rolling mill to
produce thin gauge quality steel in a very compact line (180m long) and with significantly lower
energy consumption than a traditional cast slab hot strip mill route. Following commissioning
in June 2009 the plant produced 400,000t that year. Since the start of 2010 production has
averaged 300t/hr. The minimum gauge so far obtained is 1.2mm, while development down to
0.8mm gauge is expected by June 2010.

Authors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Federico Mazzolari, Bernd Linzer and Andreas Jungbauer
Siemens VAI and Arvedi

A rvedi ISP ESP®technology was developed to exploit

the thermal energy of liquid steel to produce, in an
effective and compact line, quality hot rolled thin gauge
steel to replace cold rolled products.
The idea (patented worldwide as ISP®) was applied at
the Acciaieria Arvedi steelworks in Cremona in 1992 as
Europe’s first and the world’s second mini-mill for flat rolled
steel based on thin slab casting. Implemented through the
cast-rolling concept which, for the first time, connected
casting and rolling without interruption, allowing a very
thin transfer bar to enter the rolling mill, it consequently
produced thin gauge quality steel in a very compact line
(180m long) with significantly lower energy consumption
than a traditional cast slab hot strip mill route.
The new Arvedi ESP® technology, a direct evolution from
ISP, is the first to apply a completely endless concept. A
series of innovations (covered worldwide by 420 Arvedi-
owned patents) relating to the mould system (the shape
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
and materials used in the mould and SEN), the bow-type
caster and the induction heater are the basis for this
technology, making it:
` The first industrial-scale plant using a new and unique
mould system with liquid core reduction
` The first plant based on cast-rolling (the direct
connection of the casting phase, achieved in a bow-
type continuous caster, with the rolling phase in the
special high reduction mill)
` The first application of a continuous induction heater
(IH) for steel strip
` 15 years of excellent results confirm the validity of the
idea, with average earnings (EBITDA) of 15%, 60% of
the production mix in high added value special steels
(high strength, low alloy HSLA, DP dual phase, etc),
and more than 50% of production in quality thin
gauges (1mm at full table width)

r Fig 1 Layout of the Arvedi ESP line

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r Fig 2 Caster main features and technical data
THE ARVEDI ESP LINE – CREMONA PLANT 2
The new cast-rolling line is made up of four main sections
(see Figure 1).
The first section consists of a thin-slab caster followed
by rolling in a linked 3-stand, 4-high reduction mill (HRM)
at the exit of the continuous caster. An important factor
in the internal quality of the cast slabs is that liquid steel
core reduction is carried out with Smart® caster segments
prior to the HRM.
The HRM rolls the slab with a special thermal thickness
distribution (TTD), which is an inverse thermal profile,
ie, the core is hotter than the subsurface, which in turn
is hotter than the surface. The low specific resistance
to deformation in the core leads to improved material
structure, excellent isotropic material properties, reduced
energy consumption and a significantly improved crown.
After the HRM the transfer bar is 8–20mm thick and
already has a flatness and thickness profile as well as
quality parameters that fully satisfy the standards of hot-
rolled coil and plate.
In the second section, the temperature of the intermediate
strip is adjusted to the requirements of finishing rolling in
an induction heater. The temperature of the strip is the key
to good process performance in a fully continuous cast-
rolling line. Induction heating allows highly flexible and
precise control of the temperature and can also provide a
high energy input within a very short space. More details
are given later.
The third section comprises a high-pressure descaler to
accurately remove scale and minimise temperature loss,
and a 5-stand finishing mill equipped with the Siemens
VAI SmartCrown technology package. It is designed to
FORMING PROCESSES
enable the rolling of strip to thicknesses between 12 and
0.8mm (and even thinner) at strip widths up to 1,570mm.
The installation of an advanced cooling system at the
exit of the finishing mill is an important pillar for the
production of a wide range of steel grades including HSLA
and multi-phase steels.
The fourth section consists of a high-speed dividing
shear and downcoilers where the strip is coiled in weights
up to 32t.
For ESP, the integration of technological automation
systems and packages developed by Siemens VAI is a
decisive factor for achieving excellent production and
product quality parameters.
The core components of the plant have already been
described in detail in various papers1–11, and can be
summarised, from a technological point of view, as follows:
mould and caster, directly connected 3-stand HRM,
intermediate area with pusher piler and sample cutting,
induction heater and descaler unit, 5-stand finishing train
and laminar cooling and high speed cutting units, all of
which are essential to the success of ESP technology.
In order to create a highly profitable plant that produces
high quality hot rolled coil with minimum energy
consumption, and thus minimum conversion costs, the
following components are of the utmost importance.
PLANT COMPONENTS
Thin slab caster The desired mass flow arises from a
combination of the slab thickness (about 100mm) and
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
casting speed and this determines the caster design. In
our case only a low head bow-type caster with vertical
mould and appropriate slab support system with a long a
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r Fig 3 Mould, EMBR, bender and bow segment
metallurgical length fulfils the requirements for ESP
operation. Moreover, casting speed must be taken into
consideration as it directly determines the entry speed and
temperature to the HRM. The process parameters dictated
by the ultra-high casting speed, thin slab thickness and
reduction obtained through liquid core reduction (LCR)
determine the design features of the caster and demand
highly reliable and flexible machine components. The main
process figures and characteristics are as follows:
` High steel flow rate up to 5.9t/min
` Casting speeds above 6.5m/min, depending on slab
thickness
` Flexible strand thickness – mould exit 90-110mm and
strand guide exit 70-90mm
Figure 2 shows the longitudinal section of the caster area
including the main features and technical data. The low
head caster has a metallurgical length of 17m and a bow
radius of 5m. Important features of the thin slab caster
ensuring high speed casting are:
` Funnel mould with high precision hydraulic oscillator
and electromagnetic brake (EMBR)
` Slab guide segments with small roll diameters and
roller pitches, including optimised secondary cooling
` Well-defined metallurgical length closely connected to
the HRM
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
Funnel mould The mould, as the heart of caster, initiates
the solidification process and is therefore crucial to thin
slab casting with high mass flow. Collaboration between
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Arvedi and Siemens VAI on plant design and technology
resulted in the design and construction of the mould
system. Key features are:
` Proven and well-established funnel-shaped copper
plates patented by Arvedi
` Fast mould cooling with heat removal of up to 4MW/m2²
` Hydraulic narrow face adjustment for online taper and
width corrections
` Advanced mould level control by fast eddy current system
` Instantaneous process feedback by Mould Expert
` Hydraulic oscillator for up to 450 cycles/min and
possibility of online stroke, frequency and wave shape
changes
` EMBR controls the liquid steel flow into the mould
An EMBR operates with a high mass flow and thus is very
effective for influencing and controlling the liquid steel
flow in the mould, achieving more stable conditions at the
meniscus. It consists of four coils which, together with the
core and yoke, generate the magnetic field. The coils with
the iron core are retractable in order to have free access to
the strand guide equipment below (see Figure 3).
Strand guide segments The first segment below the
mould is the bender, which has some special features in
order to fulfil several functions (see Figure 3):
` Tong-type segment with a mechanical joint on its top
and a hydraulic clamping device on its bottom
` LCR with thickness reduction typically of up to 20mm,
improving the material properties by less macro
segregation and finer grains
` Bending of the strand through a continuous bending
curve
` Application of powerful cooling equipment
` Remote and dynamic adjustment of the roll gap profile
enables dynamic soft reduction (DSR) and gap closing/
opening procedures for LCR
Spray cooling A maximum cooling rate of up to 3.5l/kg
was designed and by applying a powerful cooling system
and Siemens VAI’s dynamic cooling model, Dynacs®,
extremely robust casting and high internal enthalpy at the
end of the strand guide are achieved. The cooling system
is split into two parts. High pressure water cooling at high
flow rates in the bender and bow segments ensures high
cooling efficiency to strengthen the initial strand shell. In
the lower part of the machine, from the straightener to the
last segment, air-mist cooling at normal pressure and flow
rates enables a wide range of operation, predominantly to
provide a strand of high and adjusted internal enthalpy to
the first HRM stand. Depending on the casting width, the
 FORMING PROCESSES

r Fig 4 Main equipment of the ESP line

r Table 1 ESP design highlights

centre and margin nozzles have different water deliveries

so as to equalise the temperature over the width and keep
the edge temperature high.

ESP rolling mill area The layout of the equipment is

shown in Figure 4. Table 1 shows the design highlights.

High reduction mill (see Figure 5) This is located

immediately downstream of the continuous casting
machine and consists of three 4-high rolling stands,
equipped with 3,000kW and 5,500kW motors. The main
emphasis of the design is on reliability and trouble-free r Fig 5 High reduction mill
operation to allow up to 12 hours’ continuous operation.
Work roll material and roll cooling were the main
challenges for the designers as the equipment is not
only in operation for long periods of time but also has
to withstand a rapid temperature rise at the start of
operation. The wiper design was specifically engineered to
ensure good sealing of the roll cooling water.
To control the profile of the strip a positive and negative
work roll bending system was implemented to make use
of the advantageous possibilities offered by the inverse
temperature profile unique to this process, leading to
particularly low deformation energy consumption.
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010

Tiltable heat conservation covers These are mounted

between the pendulum shear and the rotary shear in highly r Fig 6 Induction heater and high pressure descaler a

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r Fig 7 Actuator/measurement systems
r Fig 8 Laminar cooling
Normalised energy consumption
r Fig 10 Normalised energy consumption for S235JR
depending on casting speed and strip thickness
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
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Parameter Value
Thickness range down coilers 0.8–12mm
Thickness range flying shear 0.8–4mm
Max strip speed 17m/s
Coil outside diameter 1,980mm
Strip temperature range 185–800°C
Max coil weight 32t (45t emergency)
r Table 2 High speed shear and
downcoiler parameters
r Fig 9 ESP finished coils
reflective, robust, low heat capacity refractory material
which very quickly rise to high surface temperatures. Thus,
heat losses are minimised in this area, except for the start
and end of the cast-rolling process. The pendulum shear is
used to disconnect the dummy bar from the cast strand and
to cut the transfer bar into plates discharged by means of
the pusher/piler equipment, if chosen. The design allows a
wide range of cutting thicknesses (10mm to 110mm).
Induction heater (IH) and descaler The IH units are
located closely upstream of the highly efficient low heat
loss descaler which, in turn, is followed by the finishing
mill (see Figure 6). Both units allow the automation system
to adjust the temperature of the transfer bar to the right
values for finishing rolling operations.
The heating equipment comprises 10 induction coils of
modular sealed-box design. Each module has an installed
power of 3MW and can raise the temperature of the
transfer bar substantially. The descaler consists of four
high pressure descaler nozzle bars operating at up to 400
bar, delivered by a series of piston pumps.
Finishing mill (FM) The FM gives the product its final
reduction and defines its geometric quality (thickness,
profile and flatness).
To meet this requirement the machine is equipped
with modern hydraulic actuators (long stroke cylinders,
max 35MN), work-roll bending (T-block design, positive

Steel grade,hot Thickness range mm
DD12 0.80–10.00
S235 JR 0.85–12.00
S315 MC 1.00–12.00
S355 MC 1.20–12.00
S420 MC 1.20–10.00
S700 MC 1.80–8.00
DP 600 1.20–5.00
DP 1000 1.50–5.00
r Table 3 Hot and cold rolled products
r Fig 11 ESP line with pickling and cold rolling
bending), work-roll shifting (Smart Crown®, wear
compensation), dynamic work roll cooling and a roll gap
lubrication system on the early stands (see Figure 7). When
all these systems are combined, highly flexible and reactive
control can be achieved. Siemens VAI’s Hot Planicim® Roll,
a flatness measuring gauge, allows precise closed loop
flatness control during endless operation, since the strip is
continuously under tension.
All these together allow endless strip production in a
wide range of strip thicknesses with close tolerances within
a single casting sequence, even for hard steel grades.
Most important from an energy point of view is the very
short space occupied by the stands (4.5m), optimised work
roll diameters and specifically selected work roll materials.
Laminar cooling, high speed shear and downcoilers
The main energy consideration for this equipment is
related to the overall cooling strategy, in particular the use
of low pressure cooling, large openings and an extra-short
cooling length, as well as low motor power rating for the
high speed shear and limited strip tensions for thin gauge
coiling (see Figure 8 and Table 2).
All the cooling strategies required for various products can
be accommodated (dual-phase, early cooling and standard
cooling). The equipment offers tilting headers designed
to facilitate easy removal of the product in the case of
stoppage. In the unlikely event of speed-up at the tail end
during batch operation, the header design allows active
FORMING PROCESSES
Steel grade,cold Thickness range mm
DD12 0.15–2.00
S235 JR 0.25–2.00
S315 MC 0.30–2.00
S355 MC 0.35–2.00
S420 MC 0.35–2.00
S700 MC 0.60–2.00
DP 600 0.35–2.00
DP 1000 0.45–2.00
headers to be very quickly added and precisely controlled.
A high speed shear is used to determine coil size in endless
operation. Positioned approximately 10m upstream of the
downcoiler, it must be readily available and cut accurately.
The equipment is made up of an entry and exit pinch roll
unit and a rotary-style shear. The shear is of single-blade
design (1 per drum) and works on the principle of an
eccentric drive to activate the cut.
The three downcoilers downstream of the flying shear (2
operational, 1 standby) are designed for ultra-thin gauge
production (4 wrapper rolls, air blow-down system, cradle
roll indexing).
PRODUCTION RESULTS
Following commissioning in June 2009 the plant started
production of strip for sale. For three months it worked
with two shifts. In the 4th quarter of 2009 it moved to
three shifts, taking production at year end to 400,000t. At
the start of 2010 it moved to four shifts with an average
production of 300t/hr. Figure 9 shows finished coils at the
end of the compact plant.
Basic structural and high strength steels, soft steels for
re-rolling and galvanising grades are currently produced in
large quantities, and production tests have been carried
out with HSLA steels with positive results. The minimum
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
gauge so far is 1.2mm with excellent surface quality,
structure and dimensional tolerances. Development
down to 0.8mm is expected by June 2010, and a further a
87
 FORMING PROCESSES
extension of the industrially and commercially produced
steel grades portfolio is expected by the end of the year.
World record in energy saving The ESP plant’s lower
direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse and noxious
gases (NOx and CO2) are strictly linked to low energy
consumption. They amount to 40-50% on normal gauges
and 65-70% on thin gauges. The new concept will achieve
the world’s lowest energy consumption for producing hot
rolled coil from liquid steel. This is in part due to the
reduced demand for deformation energy as the strip is
rolled while still soft in the centre.
Arvedi ESP requires less energy when increasing line
capacity and productivity, unlike other thin slab process
technologies. The slab heat is used for the first reduction
step in the HRM, with the advantages of the inverse
temperature profile. Reheating of the transfer bar is done
by the IH to the minimum required and just in time. During
downtimes (turnover time between production sequences,
maintenance shifts, etc) the IH is turned off.
Measurements have been taken during several production
runs and have been compared to offline simulations for
S235JR steel grade. After tuning of the models, reliable
predictions can be made for different thicknesses and
casting speeds.
Figure 10 shows how thinner gauges result in an
increase in energy consumption of 20% due to the higher
deformation energy required if the final thickness is
halved, whereas higher casting speeds lead to a reduction
in energy consumption of approximately 20% for each
m/min of casting speed increase.
Also promising is the use of thin gauge hot rolled strip
instead of cold rolled strip, saving the energy needed for
cold rolling, annealing and skin passing. The high quality
thin gauges provided by the endless process will bring a
steadily growing acceptance of thin gauge hot rolled coil.
Arvedi ESP offers the advantage, starting from a thin hot
rolled product with excellent precision, dimensional and
flatness characteristics, of 0.2–0.3mm gauges with a limited
number of cold rolling steps, resulting in reduced investment
and processing costs (see Figure 11 and Table 3).
PROSPECTS
Energy savings of more than 60% against conventional
production routes and up to 15% against the best available
technologies (eg, ISP) have already been achieved in the
six month start-up period.
Energy optimisation has just started, since the start-up
curve is not yet finished, and with improved operational
practice and casting speeds, further energy savings will be
obtained. We expect that by optimising roll gap lubrication
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2010
(especially beneficial in endless mode), even higher efficiency
in the induction heater, minor improvements on the heat
conservation panels and reduced water consumption by
88
the descaler, a further energy saving of 10-15% will be
achieved, leading to conversion energy savings of more than
25% with respect to the ecologically and economically best
available technologies. MS
Gerald Hohenbichler is General Manager, ESP
Technology, Bernd Linzer is with Hot Rolling Technology
and Andreas Jungbauer is General Sales Manager ESP,
all at Siemens VAI, Linz, Austria. Federico Mazzolari is
Senior Advisor at Finarvedi, Cremona, Italy.
CONTACT: rainer.schulze@siemens.com
REFERENCES
1 G Arvedi, Finarvedi, Italy, ‘The technological innovation
of flat steel products’, AIM, Milan, 6 April, 2000.
2 A Bianchi, Acciaieria Arvedi, Italy; C Mapelli, AIM,
Italy, ‘Solidification and cooling patterns’, AIM – Thin and
strip casting, Milan, Italy, 27 June, 2001.
3 G Arvedi, Finarvedi, Italy; A Bianchi, A Guindani, L
Manini, Acciaieria Arvedi, Italy, ‘Latest results from Arvedi
ISP Technology’, Stahl und Eisen, 123(3), pp57-65, 2003.
4 J Siegl, G Holleis and A Angerbauer, Siemens VAI,
Austria, ‘The Arvedi Endless Strip Production (ESP) line –
From liquid steel to hot-rolled coil in seven minutes’, METEC
InSteelCon, Düsseldorf, Germany, 11-15 June, 2007.
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Holleis and A Angerbauer, Siemens VAI, Austria, ‘Acciaieria
Arvedi Cremona Works – From ISP to ESP ultimate casting
and direct rolling technology’, Rolling and Processing
Conference, Linz, Austria, 16-17 September, 2008.
6 R Shore, J Watzinger and G Holleis, Siemens VAI,
Austria, ‘Casting technology and machine design solutions
for ESP plants’, Rolling and Processing Conference, Linz,
Austria, 16-17 September, 2008.
7 R Burger and A Gruess, Siemens, Germany, ‘Integrated
process automation – A necessity for successful ESP process
implementation’, Rolling and Processing Conference, Linz,
Austria, 16-17 September, 2008.
8 F Mazzolari, G Arvedi and M Calcinoni, Finarvedi, Italy,
‘ISP and ESP technology in integrated mills and mini mills –
New potentials for steel producers’, Rolling and Processing
Conference, Linz, Austria, 16-17 September, 2008.
9 A Flick, A Jungbauer, G Eckerstorfer and J Watzinger,
‘Technology and Plant design of Arvedi ESP’, Stahl und
Eisen 129(11), ppS91-S101, 2009.
10 D Rosenthal, SMS Demag, Germany, ‘CSP – compact
strip production: 20 years of success of an outstanding
technology’, Proceedings of the 2009 International
Symposium on Thin Slab Casting and Rolling, Nanjing, PR
China, 13-15 May, 2009.
11 D Springorum, VDEh, Stahl und Eisen 115(12),
p49, 1995.