Introduction

Annealing of a Stainless steel is in order to

improve machinability, refine grain size, to
remove internal stresses develops during
the forming etc.
Whereas pickling is an aggressive
chemical removal of oxides scale that
develops during heat treatment and/or
surface contaminants

Line Specification
Material to be Processed
Strip Thickness
Strip Width
Coil ID; (In & Out)
Coil OD; (In & Out)
Coil Weight
Hand of Line
Product Mix

AISI 200,300, 400

0.3 mm 3 mm
600mm 1300 mm
610 mm
1800 mm (Max.)
28 MT (Max.)
Right to Left
AISI 200 60%,
AISI 300-30%, AISI 400-10%

Line Specification
Total length of line

320 meters

Height of equipment from

(app.)
+ 0 mill floors level

10.36 meters

Depth of cellar from

(app.)
+ 0 mill floors level
(app.)

5 m (exit lopper)

Crane hook height

10.935 m

7.5 m (sump pit)

Line specification
Product Width

1030mm 25%
1270 MM-75%
Reference strip
1.2 x 1150 mm
TV Value of Furnace
80 mm.mpm
Max. Line Speeds
Entry 120/160 MPM
Process 80/120 MPM
Exit 135/200 MPM
Production at Ref Strip 40.88 Ton / Hr
Annual Production
2,50,000 MTPA
Furnace having Flox Burner by LPG
Pickling by Electrolytic Na2SO4,
Electrolytic HNO3,Mix Acid

Accumulators
(i) Entry: - Strip storage capacity Looper car travel
meters (app.)

600 meters (app.)

100

(ii) Exit: - Strip storage capacity Looper car travel

-

565 meters (app.)

142 meters (app.)

(iii) Creep: - Strip storage capacity Looper car travel

-

60 meters (app.)
30 meters (app.)

Line Specification
2 Hi Skin Pass Mill with Max. 1.5% Reduction
On Line Tension leveller and provision for side
trimmer
Line Bay 30mx350m with adjacent Coil Storage
bay of 24mx350m

Line Consists Of
Entry Equipments with Looper
Welding machine from Guild,USA
Degreasing Unit
Annealing furnace
Pickling section
Skin pass mill with Creep looper
On-line Tension leveller and provision for side trimmer.
Exit equipments with looper
All Auxiliaries which includes Acid Storage, ETP, WT,
DM water plant Etc.

PROCESS
Uncoiling of CRFH
Coil at uncoiler

Welding

Cooling section

Annealing
in furnace

Degreasing

Entry looper

Pickling

Exit looper

Skin pass mill

Recoiling of
CRAP coil
at exit

Creep looper

Tension leveller

Entry Equipment

2 Uncoiler with CPC unit

Paper winder with tension feedback unit
Pinchrolls,5 roll flatteners,Up cut shears,belt conveyors
Flat leader end handling system by vacuum stacker;Bottom
side shiftable
Bridles;deflector,steering rolls;PU coated roll dia 1000
mmx1600 mm
Automatic seam welding machine from Guild USA; Welding
time #4 min..
Coil car, coil centering system

WELDING SECTION
Type -Guild Model QMM 125-54, Quick lap Seam Welder
Material
200,300,400 CRSS
Max. Strip Width
1300mm
Min. Strip Width
600 mm
Max. Strip Thickness
3.0mm
Min. Strip Thickness
0.3mm
Electrics
415/3/50
Weld Process
Continuous Seam

Degreasing section
(i) First degreasing stage Spray degreasing machine
(ii) Second degreasing stage Chemical scrub brush
(iii) Rinsing section 3 Stage cascade rinsing
(iv) Length of degreasing section
18.15 meters (approx)

ANNEALING
Annealing is done to:
1. To regain grain structure
2. To increase malleability and ductility.
3. To attain mechanical properties.
ANNEALING STAGES
1. Recovery
2. Recrystallization
3. Grain growth

Furnace section
Length of Section is 135 m
10 Air Jet Cooling Chamber
2nd & 9th Jet Cooling chamber is having Mist
cooling also to assist avoiding carbide
precipitation..
Length of Cooling Section 52.5 m
Burners 92 Nos with Turndown ratio 10:1
6 burner control Zone

Furnace section
3 Radiation Pyrometer at Exit of each Chamber.
4 Optical Pyrometer at Jet Cooling Section
Radar Type Furnace sensor.
Burner Flame sensor, Ionization Type
Furnace Pressure Sensor.
Fuel Consumption 22 kg/Ton.
Temperature of Strip
AISI 200 950 C
AISI 300 1020-1140 C
AISI 400 740-870 C
Recuperator; Air out temp will be ~ 600 C.
Air Curtains at Exit of Furnace
Threading System
Roll removal Rig
Retraction Cooling Section.

Furnace section
a) TV valve (m/min, mm) for 304 annealing
80
b) TV valve (m/min, mm) for 430 annealing
60
c) Max furnace operating temp
1250c
d) Setting range of air/gas ratio
1.1 1.6
(i) Total length of the furnace
73,900 m
(ii) Total length of the cooling section
52,500 m
(iii) Length of unfired preheating section
21,000 m
(iv) Height of strip pass line above support floor
2500mm
(v) Furnace chamber
04 chambers
1st chamber: unfired preheating section
2nd chamber: unfired + 1st fired zone
3rd chamber: 02 fired zones
4th chamber: 03 fired zones
(vi) No. of burner's
92 (26/36/30)
Burner input / chamber 22.6 MW (7.6 / 9.2 / 6.1MW)

Flox burners
Stable combustion without a flame and
defined recirculation of hot combustion
products

Flox and flame temperature field

PICKLING
The function of pickling is to dissolve/
remove/ peel off oxide layer on surface of
strip. Such oxide layers are formed during
hot rolling and in case of cold rolled strip
during annealing operation.

IN AP-4 PICKLING IS DONE IN 3 SECTIONS

Neolyte electrolytic pickling section
Nitric electrolytic pickling section
Mixed acid pickling section

Neolyte electrolytic pickling section

Aqueous solution of sodium sulphate is used.
Strip is descaled with help of electric current.
(i) No. of tank 01
(ii) Length of tank
50 metes (approx)
(iii) Rectifier
8 sets(2 x 5500A)
(iv) Electrode
No of sets 24
(8 anode sets, 16, cathode sets)
8 Cells with combination of Cathode-Anode-Cathode.
Tank made of MS lined with Brick & Rubber
Tank covers made of PP
2 Pair of Squeeze roll at Entry & Exit
Support roll arranged such as the strip moves in
a zigzag manner.

Neolyte electrolytic pickling section

Chemical reactions
Equilibrium reactions
H2O = OH- + H+
Na2SO4 = 2Na+ + SO4Anode process
2OH= H2O + 1/2O2 + 2e2H+ + SO4- = H2SO4
Fe2O3
= 2Fe++ + 3/2O2 + 6eFe
= Fe+++ + 3eCr2O3 + 5H2O = 2CrO4- + 10H+ + 6eCr + 4H2O
= CrO4- + 8H+ + 6eCathode Process
2H+ + 2e= H2
2OH- + 2Na
= 2NaOH

Nitric electrolytic pickling section

HORIZONTAL RUTHNER ZIG ZAG DESIGN
(i) No. of tank 01
(ii) Length of tank
14 meters (approx)
(iii) Rectifier
01 sets (2 x 5500A)
(iv) Electrode
No of sets - 06
(02 anode sets, 04 cathode
sets)
Pickling is effected in nitric acid by alternate anodic and
cathodic polarization of strip.
Low current density is used to just remove the passivation
layer from the strip so that the chemical reaction between
HNO3 and strip surface is enabled.
Disadvantage of the NITRIC acid being electrolyte is that
a higher current density NOx is produced.
DeNOx system is used for NOx emissions.

Mixed acid pickling section

RUTHNER SHALLOW TANK DESIGN
Little acid amount but with high acid
circulation.
Mixed acid tanks.
(i) No. of tank 02
(ii) Length of tank
36 meters
approx (18 meters each)
In this section residual scale is removed,
chromium depleted layer is pickled and
brightening of strip surface is achieved.
HF is used because pure nitric acid would form
a passivation layer, thus preventing further
metal dissolution.
Me + 4HNO3
= Me(NO3)2 + NO + 2H2O
Me(NO3)3 + 3HF = MeF3 + 3HNO3
Me + HNO3 + 3HF = MeF3 + NO + 2H2O

COIL AFTER PICKLING

Skin Pass Mill

Skin passing is done to
1. To improve strip shape
2. To impart the desired surface finish to steel from 2D to 2B
3. To produce desired mechanical properties.
4. To eliminate minor surface blemishes.
5. Masking of yield point
2 Hi Mill
Elongation 1.5%
Roll Cleaning system
Bottom Roll having Hydraulic Gap Control
Quick Roll Changing device;
Roll changing time ~ 8 minutes
Roll changing is possible during running
High Pressure Hydraulic system
2 High roll 800mm (max.) /
750mm (min.) x 1500mm barrel length.
Roll force
Max. 10,000 KN

Tension Leveller
The purpose of tension levelling is to bring all the fibres
in the metal to equal length
To achieve Desired strip elongation(0-2%) and strip flatness
Tension leveller consists of Entry bridle, Tension leveller wet
type process, Exit bridles
Type
wet type.
Design
One set of bending roll cartridge
Two sets of anti cross bow roll cartridge
350 KN (max.)

Tension
Roll configuration.
Bending roll module:
Anti cross bow roll module:
Roll sizes.
Bending: - work roll
Intermediate roll Back up roll Anti cross: - work roll
Back up roll -

6 High
3 High
35mm x 1600mm
50mm x 1600mm
60mm x 130mm
150mm x 1600mm
60mm x 130mm

MODULES AND EFFECT OF TENSION LEVELLING

Module

Bending

Anti-Cross Bow

Anti-Cross Bow

Bending

Function

Effect

Tension

Combination of
Bending and Tension

LEVELLER IN MONOBLOC DESIGN

Servo valves

Hydraulic cylinder
with integrated linear
transducer
Monoblo
c Frame

Anti Cross
Bow
cartridge
with support
rolls

Adjustable
upper
cartridge

Adjustable in
and outlet

Passlin
e roll
Dry air
nozzle pipe
Bending
cartridge with
support rolls
protected by
Fully enclosed Scale Breaker frame
purging air

Cartridge clamping
cylinders
Scale removal motor with
auger conveyor (Option)

Exit Equipments
1 Recoiler with EPC Unit
Paper unwinder with Tension feedback unit
Pinch Rolls, Up Cut Shears, Belt Conveyor.
Bridles, Deflector, Steering rolls; PU coated
Roll dia 1000 mm x 1600mm.
Coil car with a provision to travel in other bay
4 Strands Dolly Type Looper; Storage capacity 566 m.
On line Weighing, Manual Strapping
Hydraulics & Pneumatic Systems