A Report On

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING
Undergone By
A. NIKHIL CHAITANYA
Bearing PIN 1210813401
Of
Department Of Mechanical Engineering,
GITAM University, Visakhapatnam
During May 2016
At
VIZAG STEEL PLANT
In Visakhapatnam

1
 Table of Contents

Acknowledgement 3

Chapter 1 Introduction---- 4-10

Vision 5
Mission 6
Core Values 6
Location 7
Layout 8
Flow Chart of complete steel making 9
Major Units 10
Main Products of VSP 10

Chapter 2 About the Major Units 11-15

1. Raw Material Handling Plant 11
2. Coke Ovens & Coal Chemicals Plant 13
3. Sinter Plant 13
4. Blast Furnaces 14
5. Steel Melting Shop 14
6. Continuous Casting Department 15
7. Rolling Mills 15

Chapter 3 Rolling Mills 16-30

Rolling Mills Material Balance 17
Light and Medium Merchant Mill 18
Wire Rod Mill 23
Medium Merchant and Structural Mill 27

References 32

2
 Acknowledgement

I wish to express utmost thanks to my training guide Mr. A.V.S.N.Murthy, Sr.Manager

(Mechanical), LMMM, RINL, Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) for explaining every aspect of the
production units. I would also like to thank the following for their support in making this
Industrial Training a great success.

Mr. Ch. Chandrasekhar, Senior Manager, LMMM, RINL, VSP

Mr. P. Anuraag, Senior Manager, LMMM, RINL, VSP
Dr. M.R.S. Satyanarayana, Prof-HOD, Dept. of Mechanical Engg, GITAM University
Dr. V. Srinivas, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg, GITAM University

3
 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the first coastal based SteelPlant of India is located, 16 KM South
West of city of Destiny i.e.Visakhapatnam. Bestowed with modern technologies, VSP has a
installed capacity of 6.3 Million Tonnes per annum of Liquid Steel and 5 Million tonnes of
saleable steel. At VSP there is emphasis on total automation, seamless integration and efficient
upgradation, which result in wide range of long and structural products to meet stringent
demands of discerning customers within India and abroad. VSP products meet exalting
International Quality Standards such as JIS, DIN, BIS, BS etc.

VSP has become the first integrated Steel Plant in the country to be certified to all the four
international standards for Quality (ISO-9001), for Environment Management (ISO-14001),
Information Security Management System (ISO-27001) and for Occupational Health & Safety
(OHSAS-18001). The certificate covers quality systems of all operational, maintenance, service
units besides Purchase systems, Training and Marketing functions spreading over 4 Regional
Marketing Offices, 20 branch offices and 22 stock yards located all over the country.

VSP by successfully installing & operating efficiently Rs. 460 crores worth of Pollution Control
and Environment Control Equipments and converting the barren landscape by planting more than
3 million plants has made the Steel Plant, Steel Township and surrounding areas into a heaven of
lush greenery. This has made Steel Township a greener, cleaner and cooler place, which can
boast of 3to 40C lesser temperature even in the peak summer compared to Visakhapatnam City.

VSP exports Quality Pig Iron & Steel products to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Middle East,
USA & South east Asia (Pig iron). RINL-VSP was awarded "Star Performer" status for the
second time in succession for 2013-14. Having established a fairly dependable export market,
VSP plans to make a continuous presence in the export market.

Having a total manpower of about 60,000 VSP has envisaged a labour productivity of 265
Tonnes per man year of Liquid Steel which is the best in the country and comparable with the
international levels.

4
VISION

To be continuously growing world class company, we shall:-

 Harness our growth potential and sustain profitable growth

 Deliver high quality and cost competitive products and be the first choice of customers
 Create an inspiring work environment to unleash the creative energy of People
 Achieve excellence in enterprise management
 Be a respected corporate citizen, ensure clean and green Environment and develop
vibrant communities around us

VISION 2025

To be the most efficient steel maker having the largest single location shore based steel plant in
the country.

2032-33
2025-26 20 MT
16 MT
2020-21
11.7 MT
2016-17
7.5 MT

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MISSION

To attain 10 millon ton liquid steel capacity through technological up-gradation, operational
efficiency and expansion, to produce steel at international standards of cost and quality, and to
meet the aspirations of the stakeholders.

Core Values of VSP

 Commitment
 Customer Satisfaction
 Continuous Improvement
 Concern for Environment
 Creativity & Innovation

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LOCATION

Visakhapatnam steel plant is located at Latitude 17037’ N and Longitude 83012’ E. It is 30 km

southwest from Visakhapatnam City. It has convenient access to Gangavaram and
Visakhapatnam Ports via railway and road.

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8
9
MAJOR UNITS

1. Raw Material Handling Plant (RMHP)

2. Coke Ovens and Coal Chemicals Plant (CO & CCP)
3. Sinter Plant
4. Blast Furnaces (1, 2 &3)
5. Steel Melt Shop (SMS)
6. Continuous Casting Department (CCD)
7. Rolling Mills:
a. Light and Medium Merchant Mill
b. Wire Rod Mill (1 & 2)
c. Medium Merchant and Structural Mill
d. Special Bar Mill

MAIN PRODUCTS OF VSP

Steel By-Products
Products
Angles Nut Coke Granulated Slag

Beams Coke Dust Lime Fines

Billets Coal Tar Ammonium Sulphate

Channels Anthracene Oil

Squares HP Napthalence
Flats Benzene
Rounds Toulene
Re-bars Zylene
Wire Rods Wash Oil

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 Chapter 2

ABOUT THE MAJOR UNITS

1. RAW MATERIAL HANDLING PLANT

The Raw Material Handling Plant (RMHP) receives the basic raw materials required for the steel
making process from various sources through railway wagons and by road. These are stacked by
stackers and reclaimed by reclaimers and distributed to various departments of VSP through
conveyor system. The Iron Ore Fines, Iron Ore Lump, Sized Iron Ore, Limestone (BF&SMS
grades), Dolomite (BF & SMS grades), Sand, Quartzite and Manganese lumps are stacked at Ore
& Flux Yard. The Imported Coking Coal (ICC), Medium Coking Coal (MCC) , Boiler Coal (BC)
are stacked in Coal Yard. Coke is sent directly to Blast Furnace after tippling from ore and flux
wagon tipplers.

These raw materials are sent to various departments as indicated below:

Sinter Plant: Iron Ore Fines, Lime stone (BF), Dolomite, Sand and LD slag.
Blast Furnace: Sized Iron Ore, Limestone (BF)/ LD slag, Manganese Lump, Quartzite and Coke.
SMS: Dolomite (SMS), Sized Iron Ore, Dolo chips.
CRMP: Limestone (SMS), Dolomite (SMS), Dolo chips.
TPP: Crushed Boiler Coal.
COCCP: Imported coking coal (ICC), Medium coking coal (MCC).
The Raw Material Handling Plant is divided into two sections Coal Handling Plant (CHP) and
Ore Handling Plant (OHP).

The facilities available in two sections are as follows:

COAL HANDLING PLANT ORE HANDLING PLANT

* 2 Wagon Tipplers * 3 Wagon Tipplers

* 5 Ground & 10 Track Hoppers * 10 Ground and 10 Track Hoppers

* Stock Yards ( 10 Beds) * Stock Yards (12 Beds)

* Boiler Coal Crushing Plant * Lump Ore Crushing Plant

* Stackers, Reclaimers * Lump Ore Screening Plant

and Stacker cum Reclaimer
* Stackers and Reclaimers.

* Reclaiming Conveyors * Reclaiming Conveyors

* Stacking Conveyors * Stacking Conveyors

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SALIENT FEATURES OF RMHP

• Peripheral unloading system for railway wagons coming directly up to pushers.

• Blender Reclaimers for blending of ores and flux in which the bucker wheel has a lateral
motion across the bed.
• Wheel on Boom Reclaimers for reclaiming different materials from same bed in Ore & Flux
yard and same type coals in CHP.
• 2 Ring Granulators for crushing of Boiler Coal.
• 3 Blender Reclaimers for blending of Iron ore fines and flux.
• PLC control of all systems.
• Drier for drying SMS Sized Ore.
• Preparation of Sized iron Ore for use in BF to enable close size range of raw materials.
• Dust Extraction system is provided at various locations of RMHP to absorb the dust generated
during the process.

The iron- bearing burden materials are Iron Ore fines supplied from Bailadilla mines and
manganese ore from the deposite in Vizianagaram district.

The various raw materials handled in the OHP are as follows:

Sl.No. RAW MATERIALS

1. Iron Ore Fines.
2. Iron Ore Lump.
3. Sized Iron Ore.
4. Limestone (BF grade).
5. Limestone (SMS grade).
6. Dolomite (BF grade).
7. Dolomite (SMS grade).
8. Sand.
9. Manganese Lump.
10. Quartzite Lump.
11. Sponge Iron.
12. Pellets.
13. LD Slag.
14. Coke.
The various raw materials handled in the CHP are as follows:

Sl.No. RAW MATERIALS

1. Imported Coking Coal.
2. Imported Soft Coking Coal
3. Medium Coking Coal.
4. Prime Coking Coal.
5. Boiler Coal.

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These Raw Materials are sent in different proportion to various customer departments as
indicated below:
CUSTOMERS RAW MATERIALS
1. COKE OVENS Imported coking coal, Medium coking coal and Primary
coking coal.
2. THERMAL POWER PLANT Boiler coal.
3. SINTER PLANT Iron ore fines, Limestone (BF grade), Dolomite (Bf grade),
Sand and LD Slag.
4. BLAST FURNACE Sized iron ore, Limestone (BF grade), Manganese lump,
Quartzite lump, Coke, Sponge iron, Pellets and LD Slag.
5. STEEL MELT SHOP Sized iron ore and Dolomite (SMS grade).
6. CRMP Limestone (SMS grade) and Dolomite (SMS grade).

2. COKE OVENS & COAL CHEMICAL PLANT (CO&CCP)

Blast Furnaces, the mother units of any Steel plant require huge quantities of strong, hard and
porous solid fuel in the form of hard metallurgical coke for supplying necessary heat for carrying
out the reduction and refining reactions besides acting as a reducing agent.

Coke is manufactured by heating of crushed coking coal (below 3 mm) in absence of air at
temperature of 10000 C and above for about 16 to 18 hours. A Coke Oven comprise of two
hollow chambers namely coal chamber and Heating Chamber. In the heating chamber a gaseous
fuel such as Blast Furnace Gas, Coke Oven Gas etc. is burnt. The heat so generated is conducted
through the common wall to heat & carbonize the Coking Coal placed in the adjacent coal
chamber. Number of ovens built in series one after the other form a Coke Oven Battery.

3. SINTER PLANT (SP)

Sinter is a hard & porous ferrous material obtained by agglomeration of Iron Ore fines, Coke
breeze, Lime Stone fines, Metallurgical wastes viz. Flue dust, mill scale, LD slag etc. Sinter is a
better feed material to Blast Furnace in comparison to Iron Ore lumps and its usage in Blast
furnaces help in increasing productivity, decreasing the coke rate & improving the quality of Hot
Metal produced. Sintering is done in 2 nos. Of 312 sq.metre, Sinter Machines of Dwight Lloyd
type by heating the prepared feed on a continuous metallic belt made of pallets at 1200-13000 C.
Hot Sinter discharged from Sintering machine is crushed to +5mm - 50 mm size and cooled
before dispatching to Blast Furnaces. The dust laden air from the machines are cleaned in
scrubbers & electrostatic precipitators to reduce the dust content to 100 mg/ m3 level before
allowing to escape into the atmosphere and thus helping in maintaining a clean & dust free
environment.

13
4. BLAST FURNACES (BF)

Hot Metal is produced in Blast Furnaces, which are tall vertical furnaces. The furnace is named
as Blast Furnace as it is run with blast at high pressure & temperature. Raw Materials such as
sinter/ Iron Ore Lumps, Fluxes (Limestone/Dolomite) and Coke are charged from the top and hot
blast at 11000-13000C and 5.75 KSCG pressure is blown almost from the bottom. The furnaces
are designed for 80% Sinter in the burden. VSP has three blast furnaces of 3,200 m3 useful
volume, each capable of producing 1.7 MT of hot metal per year while operating for 350 days.
Provision exists for granulation of 100% liquid slag at blast furnace cast house and utilization of
blast furnace gas top pressure (1.5-2.0 atmospheric pressure) to generate 12 MW of power.

5. STEEL MELTING SHOP (SMS)

Steel is an alloy of Iron with carbon upto 1.8%. Hot Metal produced in Blast Furnaces contains
impurities such as Carbon (3.5-4.25%) Silicon (0.4 - 0.5%), Manganese (0.3-0.4%), Sulphur
(0.04% max) and Phosphorous (0.14% max) is not suitable as a common Engineering Material.
To improve the quality the impurities are to be eliminated or decreased by oxidation process.

VSP produces steel employing three numbers of top blown Oxygen Convertors called LD
Convertors (L & D stand for Linz & Donawitz - two towns in Austria where this process was
first adopted) or Basic Oxygen Furnaces/Convertors. Each convertor is having 133 cu. Metre
volume capable of producing 3 Million Tonnes of Liquid Steel annually. Besides Hot Metal,
Steel Scrap, Fluxes such as calcined lime or Dolomite form part of the charge to the Convertors.

99.5 % pure Oxygen at 15-16 KSCG pressure is blown in the Convertor through oxygen lance
having convergent Divergent copper nozzles at the blowing end. Oxygen oxidises the impurities
present in the Hot metal, which are fixed as slag with basic fluxes such as lime. During the
process heat is generated by exothermic reactions of oxidation of metalloids viz Si, Mn., P and
Carbon and temperature rises to 17000 C enabling refining & slag formation.

Different grades of steel of Superior quality can be made by this process by controlling the
Oxygen blow or addition of various ferro alloys or special additives such as Fesi, FeMn, Si- Mn,
Coke Breeze, Aluminum etc. in required quantities while liquid steel is being tapped from the
convertor into a steel ladle. Convertor/LD Gas produced as by product is used as a secondary
fuel.

Characteristics of VSP Convertors :

Capacity - 150 Tones per heat/blow
Volume - 133 Cu. Metre
Convertor Sp. Volume - 0.886 Metre Cube per tonne
Tap to Tap Time - 45 mts - 60 mts
14
Height to Diameter ratio - 1.36

Lining i) Working - Tar Dolomite Bricks

ii) Permanent - Crome Magnesite Bricks
Average Lining Life - 2445 heats

Liquid Steel produced in LD Convertors is solidified in the form of blooms in continuous Bloom
Casters. However, to homogenise the steel and to raise its temperature, if needed, steel is first
routed through, Argon rinsing station, IRUT (Injection Refining & Up temperature) / Ladle
Furnaces.

6. CONTINUOUS CASTING DEPARTMENT (CCD)

Continuous casting may be defined as teaming of liquid steel in a mould with a false bottom
through which partially solidified ingot/bar (Similar to the shape & cross section of the mould) is
continuously withdrawn at the same rate at which liquid steel is teamed in the mould.

Facilities at a continuous casting machine include a lift and Turn table for ladles, Copper mould,
oscillating system tundish, Primary & Secondary Cooling arrangement to cool the steel bloom.
Gas cutting machines for cutting the blooms in required lengths (Av. 6 metres long)

At VSP we have six-4 strand continuous casting machines capable of producing 5.2 Million
Tonnes/year Blooms of size 250 x 250 mm and 250 x 320 mm. Entire quantity of molten steel
produced (100%) is continuously cast in radial bloom casters which help in energy conservation
as well as production of superior quality products.

7. ROLLING MILLS
Blooms produced in SMS-CCD do not find much applications as such and are required to be
shaped into products such as Billets, rounds, squares, angles (equal & unequal), Channels, I-PE
Beams, HE Beams, Wire rods and reinforcements bars by rolling them in, three sophisticated
high capacity, high speed, fully automated rolling mills, namely
1. Light & Medium Merchant Mills (LMMM),
2. Wire Rod Mills (WRM-I & II),
3. Medium Merchant and Structural Mill (MMSM), and
4. Special Bar Mill (SBM-in commissioning stage)

15
 Chapter 3

ROLLING MILLS

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17
LIGHT AND MEDIUM MERCHANT MILL
INTRODUCTION:
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has three sophisticated Rolling mills, designed to produce 2.656
million tones per annum of finished products from continuously cast blooms with a wide range
of product mix.
The mills are :
a. Light & Medium Merchant Mill (LMMM)
b. Medium Merchant & structural Mill (MMSM)
c. Wire Rod mill (WRM)
Some of the Salient features of the mill are :
a. High capacity and high speed.
b. Automatic minimum tension control in stands
c. Double sided cooling beds of walking beam type.
d. High capacity and high productive sawing lines.
e. Automatic bundling machines.
f. Computerization at the sequential process control and meterial tracking
g. Adoption of closed circuit TV at furnaces.
h. evaporative cooling system and waste heat recovery.
BLOOM STORAGE AND INSPECTION :
The SMS supplies continuous cast blooms in killed and semiskilled quality of ordinary grade,
high carbon and low alloy steels . The bloom storage is at right angles and common to all mills.
Bloom inspection and storage, if necessary, is carried out in the common storage.
Light and Medium Merchant Mill :
Keeping in view the latest developments the light and medium merchant will is designed with
the operation floor on a second storie elevation, namely +5.0 mts. This arrangement has many
advantages. It provides better drainages for both lubricants and water and mill scale. The oil
cellars can be placed at slightly below the ground level with out deep excavations but ensuring
adequate drainage. The oil and water pipes and cable trenches are readily accessible. Blooms for
LMMM are placed on charging grids (3 nos) of 150 tonnes per hour capacity each by 16 tonnes
claw cranes (2 nos). The blooms are then delivered to the furnace approach roller table (+5.8mts)

18
by an inclined elevator from bloom storage roller table (+0.8mts). The approach roller table is
provided with a weighing scale, a tilter and disappearing stops.
The blooms are positioned in front of the furnaces and then pushed by hydraulic pushers on to
the charging skids of the furnaces. There are two nos. of walking beam type furnaces of 200 T/hr
capacity with double row charging. The blooms also can be discharged from the charging side of
the furnaces in case of emeragency. Heated blooms are placed piece by piece by discharging
devices on to the furnce delivery roller table. The blooms are descaled by high pressure de-
scaler.

The continuous Break-Down group (non-reversing) consists of 7 stand -2 Horizontal

(850x1200mm) and 5 alternating vertical and horizontal (730X1000mm and 630X1000mm). In 5
Box passes and one each of diamond and square passes, the blooms are reduced to 125mm
square in the 7 stands.The finishing speed will be 1.3 to 1.6 mts/sec. A four crank shear installed
behind the mill stands is designed to crop both ends and to cut billet lengths as per requirement
of WRM & Sales as per reqirement to achieve optimum yield in cutting. Billets feeding the
LMMM are cropped at the front and back ends. Normally one Bloom is rolled for LMMM and
the next one for the WRM altenetely, Billets are also sold. The billets for WRM and for sale are
cooled on 2 turn over - type cooling beds to a maximum discharge temperature of 4000 C. These
billets are picked up by magnet cranes of 16 T capacity in the intermediate billet storage and
transferred to the transfer grids in the shipping area or dispatched for sale.

Billets after cropping by the 4 crank shear and having a length of about 32 mts are transported to
the inline 2 strand roller hearth furnace of 200 T/h Capacity. Billets normally arrive at the
furnace with a surface temperature of 11000 C. Billets are heated and soaked to a discharging
temperature of 11500 C to 11300 C. The continuous multi-line mill comprises 8 stand double
strand roughing train, 2 Nos, 4 Stand Single strand finishing trains. Loopers are provided in
between the finishing stands for tension free rolling in order to obtain good surface quality and
tolerances. Housings are of closed top type. Roll necks are mounted in anti friction bearings.
Shears for cropping and emergency cutting are arranged ahead of the first of roughing mill stand
and upstream of intermediate mills. Snap shears for emergency cuts only are ahead of finishing
mill. The rotating shears after the finising mills crop the materials leaving at rolling speed. and
cut into multiples of specified sales lengths. The finished bar now enters the cooling stretches.
19
There are two cooling stretches each installed just downstream the last stand of the finishing
mill. The purpose of the cooling stretches is to cool down the rebars to such an extent so as to
produce desired mechanical properties. It also serves to control the scale formation.

TEMP-CORE PROCESS FOR HARDENING RIBBED BARS

The bar leaving the last stand of the finishing mill passes through a cooling stretch. The cooling
efficiency of this installation is such that a surface layer of the bar is quenched into martensite,
the core remaining austenite. The quenching treatment is stopped when a determined thickness of
martensite has been formed under the skin when the rebar leaves the cooling stretch, a
temperature gradient is established in the cross-sections of the bar causing heat to flow from
center to the surface, which results in self-tempering of the martensite Finally during slow
cooling of the rebar on the cooling bed, the austenitic core transforms into ferrite and pearlite. To
achieve the required mechanical properties, it is sufficient to maintain the tempering temperature
within a predetermined range.

The obvious control variables are the length of the quenching line and the cooling water flow late
at suitable number of cooling pipes whose diameter, are chosen as a function of product
diameter. Air Strippers are fitted at the end of cooling pipes to make sure that the material leaves
the stretch in dry condition. The pinch roll units; downstream the cooling stretch guarantees the
correct bar speed during the cooling process. These pinch rolls are speed synchronized with the
exit stands of finishing mill 1 & II so that bar speed remains same when the bar tail has left exit
stand of finishing mill. They also serve to enter the material into the rotary shear.

A total cooling bed of 130 mts X 12 mts has been provided for cooling down the rolled section at
about 800C maximum for straightening. In the downstream of the cooling beds there are multi
strand straightening machines (maximum 8 straightening strands) The number of straightening
rolls are 8 (top 4 and bottom 4). The bar groups from the straighteners are collected in layers for
the downstream cold shear by cross - transfers. The 2 cold shears have cutting pressure of 500
MPa each. Desired finished lengths normally 12 mts are set by girder type gauge carriages. Tail
lengths less than 6 mts are discharged into cradles near the cold shears. Downstream file cold
shears, rounds, and rebars are transported to bar bundling facility. There are two bundling
facilities. The bar bundling facilities have provision for counting the bars, and strapping the
20
collected bars into bundles of 4500 Kgs and 10000 Kgs. Strapping of bar bundles and packs is by
means of wire and straps. The finished section packs/bundles are finally transported to the
weighers and the loading grid permits the bundles to be picked up by magnetic cranes in the
finished product storage area having lifting magnets of 20 Tonnes capacity.

21
22
WIRE ROD MILLS
The Wire Rod Mill of VSP is high speed 4 strand No-Twist continuous mill designed to produce
8,50,000 T of wire rod coils. The mill is designed to produce plain wire rods from 5.5 mm to
12.7 mm dia and Rebar in 8mm, 10mm and 12mm diameter in coil form. However sizes up to
14mm are being rolled presently. The mill is constructed at an elevated level of +5350mm.

Rolled billets of 125 mm x 125 mm square cross section , length ranging from 9.8 m to 10.4 m
and weighing approx 1250 kgs are used as input material. The mill is designed to roll steel stock
of 0.9% max. Carbon content. The rolled billets received from billet mill are placed on charging
grid I & II at +0.00 level in packet form with the help of electro magnet cranes. The billets are
moved towards Cross transport by means of 4 rope operated pawl transfer. The charging grid I
has AC drive and charging grid-II is operated by DC drive. The cross transport receives the billet
individually from charging grid-II and transfer them to billet elevator. The billet elevator takes
the individual billets to mill floor level at +5.35 M. Using billet transfer device and billet
positioning device, the packet of 4billets are made on approach roller table guoup-1 which are
further carried forward to furnace entry using another 4 groups of roller tables arranged in
tandem. After the billets are positioned in front of walking beam furnace, the walking beam of
furnace collects the billets from roller table and charge them into furnace. The furnace is
combined type walking hearth cum walking beam furnace of 200 T/hr capacity. The walking
beam is operated by 180 bar hydraulic pressure system. The furnace is approx 42M long and
11M wide. The billets are heated to 12000 C gradually in 4 different zone using 60 flat flame
roof burners and 6 long flame burners at bottom soaking zone. The in-house generated mixed gas
(mixture of Coke Oven gas, BF gas & LD gas) of calorific value 2000 ± 15% Kcal/Nm3 is used
as fuel. The mixed gas and combustion air is preheated to 2500 C and 5200úC respectively in
recuperators before combustion at burners. The heating time is approx 71 minutes and each
walking beam cycle is 72 sec in which billet packets are moved by 900 mm. the furnace is
equipped with waste heat recovery systems i.e. gas & air recuperators. The combustion products
are let out into atmosphere through a 45 M high chimney. The complete process control is done
by microprocessor based instrumentation control system. Slight Positive and oxidizing
atmosphere is maintained inside the furnace. The homogenously heated billets are discharged by
hydraulically driven discharging machine called Peel bar into groove of stand 1. A billet

23
withdrawing machine is arranged between furnace exit and stand 1. It uses pinch roll to feed or
return billets from or into furnace. The four shiftable position billet switch is provided in front of
withdrawing machine to feed four strands of mill individually. A 4 strand pendulum shear and
high pressure (180 bar) water descaler is arranged between billet switch and stand 1. Presently
these are taken out of operation. The roughing mill comprises of seven continuous 4-strand two
high horizontal stands. The mill stand housings are of closed top design and roll are having
Morgoil oil film neck bearing. The rolls of 610 mm dia x 1000 mm length are used at stand no.1
to 5 placed at 21" housing and rolls of 490 mm dia x 920 mm are used in stand 6 & 7 placed at
16" housing. The primary reducer, secondary reducer and universal spindles are used to connect
DC motor drive and mill stand. The feed stock reduces to 46 mm square after reduction in 7
roughing mill stands and moves at a speed of approx 1 M/sec. The average reduction in each
stand varies from 20-30%. The pass design is oval-round sequence and stand 7 is having square
pass. The ovals are twisted using twist roller guide at oval pass delivery and fed to round pass
through roller entry guide. At all other places static guides are used for guiding the stock to roll
groove. Four rotating crop and cobble shears are provided after stand 7, one for each line. The
cold & split front end of the bar head is cropped automatically before feeding to intermediate
stand. In case of disturbances in forward equipments/areas, the shear chops the complete stock
into small pieces. The intermediate group of stand comprises of 6 two high horizontal stands.
Rolls of 490 mm x 800 mm are used in 16" housing for stand 8 to 10 and rolls of 375 mm x 700
mm are used in 12" housing at stand 11 to 13. Roll material is SG Cast iron. Roll neck bearing is
of Morgoil design. The stock is reduced to approx 23mm round and moves at about 5 m/sec after
stand no.13. The primary reducers and universal shafts are used to connect DC mill drives and
mill stands. The roll pass sequence is oval-square and stand 13 is having round pass. The ovals
are twisted by twist roller guides installed at each oval pass delivery and fed to round pass using
roller entry guides. At all other places, static guides are used for guiding the bar. All the twist
guides and roller entry guide rollers in roughing and intermediate mill are cooled by water &
lubricated by oil-air mixture. Roll passes in mill stands are cooled by water at 3-4 kg/cm2
pressure. Material from stand no 13 is fed to individual finishing lines using rod feed troughs.
The 4-prefinishing blocks, one at each line, are installed ahead of stand 13. The rod feed troughs
guides the stock coming out from stand 13 to prefinishing block via horizontal looper. The
prefinishing block is having one horizontal and one vertical stand enclosed in a closed housing &
driven by a one common drive. The stock size is reduced to approx 19mm round at this stage and
24
speed goes upto as high as 8 M/sec. The tungsten carbide roll rings of 8" diameter are used in
these stands for rolling of stock. These rings are mounted on a tapered shaft at 400 bar hydraulic
pressure. A water cooling stretch named A1 water box is installed ahead of these pre-finishing
block to facilitate partial cooling of stock before final rolling at finishing block. This facility is
used mainly during high carbon & rebar rolling for grain refinement & increased UTS in final
wire rod. Water cooling at 6 bar pressure is available in this box followed by water & air stripper
to deliver water at 12 bar & air at 6 bar pressure for stripping of water droplets from stock
surface. A crop & dividing shear is provided ahead of water cooling stretch to crop cold front
end of bar before feeding to finishing blocks. Also, this gives a dividing cut to bar in the event of
trouble in equipments in forward stream and the bar gets diverted to a chopper located at down
+0.00 level with the help of 3-way diverter switch. There are 2 choppers installed at +0.00 level
which is common for line 1&2 and line 3&4. Horizontal looper is provided before 10 stand No
twist finishing block. The looper ensures tension free rolling. The loop height control is
automatic through computer using field signals from loop scanners provided individually for all
horizontal loopers. The 10-stand no twist finishing block is driven by two 2000 KW motors
arranged in tandem connected through 3 high speed increaser to the common line shaft of block.
The max speed of stock goes upto 76m/sec during rolling of 5.5mm section. The bar speed
gradually comes down as the finished size increases. The stands are arranged at 450 to rolling
line and 900 to each other to facilitate twist free rolling. The tungsten carbide roll rings are
mounted / dismounted on top & bottom tapered shafts of each stand by hydraulic pressure. Initial
2 stands in finishing block are provided with 8" TC roll rings and balance 8 stands are provided
with 6" TC roll rings. The pass sequence is oval-round. The roller entry guides are provided at
entry of each round pass. Oil-air mixture is used for guide roller lubrication and rollers are water
cooled.TC rings are cooled by 6 bar water pressure. All the 25 stands are used for rolling of 5.5
to 6.5 mm size. For rolling 7mm to 8mm, only 23 stands are used and balance are kept as
dummy. Only 21 stands are used for 9mm and 10mm, for 12 & 12.7 mm sizes 19 stands are kept
in operation and for 14mm rolling only 17 stands are used and rest are kept dummy. The rollring
groove life varies from 9000 -10000 T in stand 1 to 600 - 800 T in stand 25. After rolling of
specified tonnage, roll or pass changes are carried out. Snap shears are provided at entry of
prefinishing block and finishing block to stop metal entry inside block in the event of cobbles or
any other trouble with the blocks. After final rolling at finishing block, controlled cooling of wire
rod starts using retarded stelmor cooling system. Three water cooling boxes and in between two
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equalizing zones are provided ahead of finishing block. The wire rods coming out from finishing
block are cooled down to a temperature required for laying depending upon the steel quality. One
pinch roll unit is located ahead of water cooling stretch to carry the product to laying head
positioned at 100 to horizontal. The laying head deposits the wire rod loops onto stelmor roller
conveyor. Tungsten carbide roll rings are mounted on pinch roll for pinching of rod. Each
stelmor conveyor conveys fanned out loops from each line across 10 air cooling zones upto coil
forming chamber located at the end of conveyor. By varying the conveyor speed and fan on/ off
sequence cooling rate can be changed to get desired mechanical properties in finished wire rods.
The vertical coil formed inside the chamber on mandrel is received by downender and loaded
onto C-hook horizontally at downender station. The C-hooks are carried by a power & free hook
conveyor circuit. 180 C-hooks are carried in 5 interconnected hook conveyor circuits divided
into two sectors. Each hook is having a bar code plate which is read by reading units connected
to computer for identification of coil loaded onto hook. Each sector is equipped with inspection
loop, 3 automatic compacting & tying machines and 3 coil unloading stations called turnstiles.
Coils are tied by 6 mm wire rods at 4 places in hydraulic coil compactors. The quality
department personnel take the sample at inspection loop to check size and test mechanical
properties. The appropriate grade is fed to production control computer. The coils are finally
taken out from turnstiles by EOT magnet cranes. The identification labels are attached to coils at
coil labeling area located before coil unloading station. The coil identification details like heat
no, grade and size is available on production control computer mask at these stations. All
hydraulic & water systems are installed in cellars 1 to 7 at +0.00 level for mill & furnace
equipments. The hydraulic systems for coil handling area equipments are at cellars 8 to 10
located below zero level.

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MEDIUM MERCHANT AND STRUCTURAL MILL
Medium Merchant and Structural Mill (MMSM) is one of the modern rolling mills of
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. It is the third and last rolling mill as per the rationalized
concept. This is a single strand continuous mill having production capacity of 8,50,000
T/year. The product mix of MMSM is shown in Table-1 and the product mix rolled and
Stabilized in MMSM is shown in Table-2.
TABLE-1 MMSM PRODUCT MIX
PRODUCTS SIZE (mm)
Rounds 40 - 75
Squares 40 - 75
Flats 100 x 10 ñ 20 to 150 x 10 - 20
Equal Angles 75 x 75 x 6 - 10 to 110 x 110 x 6 - 12
Unequal Angles 80 x 60 x 6 - 10 to 100 x 75 x 6 - 12
Channels 100 x 50 to 180 x 90
T ñ Bars 100 x 100
Beams HE type 96 x 100 to 114 x 120
Beams IPE type 100 x 55 to 180 x 91
TABLE – 2 MMSM PRODUCT MIX ROLLED AND STABILISED
PRODUCTS SIZE (mm)
Rounds 40 - 80
Squares 65 - 90
Flats 150 x 10 ñ 12
Equal Angles 75 x 75 x 6 - 8 to 100 x 100 x 8 - 10
Channels 100 x 50 to 150 x 75
Beams HE type 114 x 120
Beams IPE type 180 x 91
Beams ISMB type 125 x 70 to 175 x 85
The important feature of this mill is that Universal beams (both parallel and wide flange) have
been rolled first time in India using Universal stands. Parallel flange beams have advantage over

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conventional beams as per the same weight the section is stronger and stiffer due to greater
moment of inertia and higher radius of gyration.
The steel grades which can be rolled include mild steel, medium carbon steel, chromium steel,
spring steel, forge quality, bright bar quality and various structural steels. The quality and
tolerance of the finished products meet Indian and International standards. The mill is designed
to achieve 50% DIN tolerance.
MAJOR FACILITIES :
In order to meet the production requirements, the following major facilities are available in
MMSM.
CHARGING GRID & FURNACE:
- 3 charging grids.
- 2 x 130 t/hr top and bottom fired walking beam furnaces with evaporative cooling system.
MILL PROPER :
Roughing mill : Roughing mill train consisting of 8 stands as per following details.
a) 4 Horizontal stands 630 mm dia.
b) 2 Vertical stands 630 mm dia
c) 2 Combination stands 630 mm dia.
Intermediate mill: Intermediate mill train consists of 6 stands as per following details.
a) 2 Horizontal stands 630 mm dia.
b) 2 Combination stands 630 mm dia.
c) 2 Horizontal stands 630 mm dia replaceable by two 1060/710 mm Universal stands.
Finishing mill : Finishing mill train consists of 6 stands as per following details.
a) 2 Combination stands 500mm dia.
b) 4 Horizontal stands 600mm dia replaceable by four 900/600 mm
Universal stands.
COOLING BEDS STRAIGHTENER & BATCHING:
- 120 m long double sided rake type cooling bed.
- 2 straightening machines, one in each line.
- 2 collecting beds and batch transfer equipment.
FINISHING AREA:
- 2 cold saw lines each consisting of one stationary saw and two movable saws.
- 2 x 24 m bundling machines and 2 x 24m and 2 x 12 m piling machines .
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- Online refinishing line.
PROUDCTION PROCESS
Blooms charged on the charging grid are conveyed one by one to furnace approach roller table,
which are weighed and charged to either of the furnaces in two rows. Heated blooms are
discharged singly and rolled in 20 stand continuous mill. The maximum speed of rolling is 9 m/
sec. Four crank shear behind finishing train divides the bar optimally to charge the cooling bed
uniformly and performs head and tail cut operation. A diverter switch directs the divided bar to
either side of the cooling bed. After cooling, the profiles which need straightening are
straightened by an inline straightening machine and are collected into layers on the collecting
bed. These layers are then fed to a cold saw line for cutting into desired saleable lengths. Each
saw line consists of one stationary saw and two movable saws which are suitable for tandem
cutting. After saw cutting, the bar layers are conveyed to a cross transfer where visual inspection
is done. Defective bars are tracked and piled / bundled separately. Rounds , angles (smaller) and
flats are bundled by the bundling machine, where as other profiles are formed into nested packets
by the piling machines . The packets / bundles are weighed and tagged with labels to identify the
product size, heat no, order no, quality etc., before dispatch/transferring to storage yard.
DESIGN FEATURES
FURNACE
Each furnace has a nominal output of 130 t/hr charge. The maximum heating capacity is 150 t/
hr. The effective furnace length and width are 20 m and 12 m respectively. Discharge
temperature of the bloom will be 1200 0 C with a maximum temperature difference of 30 0C
between the surface and core of the bloom. Temperature of preheated air is 450 0C.and that of
gas is 350 0C. The furnace has five zones for the purpose of temperature control. Microprocessor
based furnace instrumentation has been adopted. Evaporative cooling system has a capacity to
generate steam of 4.5 t/hr at 12-15 bar at 100% skid insulation. The specific fuel consumption is
3,40,000 kcal/ton.

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MILL CONFIGURATION
Considering the wide-ranging rolling programme and very high capacity requirement, a fully
continuous stand arrangement has been adopted. The mill configuration is as follows.
Roughing train stand nos : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Configuration : H V H V H K H K
Intermediate train stand nos : 9 10 11 12 13 14
Configuration : H K H K H K
(U) (U)
Finishing train stand nos : 15 16 17 18 19 20
H H K H K H
H ñ Horizontal stand
V ñ Vertical stand
K ñ Combination stand
U ñ Universal stand
Taking into account the kg. per meter weight of input material and the smallest size in the rolling
programme, an elongation of 70:1 (maximum) is required to be done. The section indicated in
Table-1 can be rolled in MMSM using various combinations of 20 rolling stands. Depending on
the profile being rolled combination stand can be used either as horizontal stand or a vertical
stand. For rolling parallel and wide flange beams, two stands in intermediate train and four
horizontal stands in finishing trains are replaced by universal stands.
MILL STANDS
Mill stands are of housing less design characterized by high rigidity, small dimension and low
weight. The high rigidity is obtained by direct compression of the bearing housing by non ñ pre-
stressed rods which also serve as adjusting screws. The rolling pressure is transmitted via bearing
housings to supporting rods. Due to this conventional closed top stands, the frames do not have
any influence on tolerance of the product being rolled. The housing less design permits use of
rolls with flanges up to 40% larger than nominal diameter of rolls. Roll changing is done in the
stand preparation bay, after pulling apart two frames on a special bed. Universal stands are also
of housing less design.
STAND CHANGING
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In order to reduce set up time, during profile change all stands have quick stand changing
facilities. Stands of roughing and intermediate trains are transferred to mill bay/stand preparation
with the help of transfer car and over head crane. In case finishing train where frequency of
change is more, all stands are side shiftable to next bay using chain transfer without the help of
crane. During stand change, connection of electric supply, hydraulic oil, lubrication oil, grease
and cooling water is automatic without manual intervention. The automatic engagement of
spindles on the working rolls is effected by a support and guiding device.
TENSION CONTROL
In order to obtain the close tolerance particularly on thin-web section, it is absolutely necessary
to ensure tension free rolling. To ensure rolling process without any tension is to roll with loop
controls. Other alternative is minimum tension control of rolled material. Minimum tension
means that a bar is rolled under slight tension simultaneously in at least two stands. This control
is effected by correcting the speed ratio in relations to the current input of the main drives. Such
corrections are carried out only during entry of the bar. As the bar runs through, variations in
stock may be caused not only by changes in tension but also by other factors like fluctuations in
temperature and cross-section as well as acceleration and deceleration. In order to overcome
these problems, in addition to the current inputs of the main drives speed corrections are also
done by measuring all separating forces. Considering the rolling range, minimum tension control
has been adopted for all stands. For roughing stand control will be over simple current memory
system. For intermediate and finishing stands this will be over roll force measurement system.
Additionally loop controls are also provided for finishing group of stands in order to further
improve the tolerance.
MMSM TECHNICAL DATA
CAPACITY: 8,50,000 T/YEAR
PRODUCTS: ANGLES, CHANNELS, BEAMS, FLATS, ROUNDS & SQUARES
TECHNO-ECONOMIC FACTORS:
YIELD: 94%
SPECIFIC FUEL CONSUMPTION: 340 X 1000 kCal/T
SPECIFIC POWER CONSUMPTION: 93.92 kWh/T
ROLLING RATE : 222 T/hour

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References
(i) Overview Guide (2006) - Vizag Steel Plant
(ii) Management Trainee Guide (2008) - Vizag Steel Plant

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