New Continuous Hot-dip Galvanizing Line DVL3 at Tata Steel, Netherlands

Author/Presenter
Danny CERRONE – Siemens Industry, Inc., USA
Co -Authors
Philippe PODDA– Siemens VAI Metals Technologies SAS, France
Olivier LIETAR– Siemens VAI Metals Technologies SAS, France
Alain CHALLAYE – Siemens VAI Metals Technologies SAS, France

Key words: Annealing furnace, galvanizing line, exposed automotive sheet, galvannealing, SIROLL PL, SINAMICS
drive.

Introduction

At the beginning of 2000, Tata Steel pushed forward the plan for the development of cold rolled production in its
integrated plant of IJmuiden in the Netherlands. With around 6.5 million tons of crude steel per year, the IJmuiden
plant produces hot rolled, cold rolled and metallic coated steel for many industries, including the automotive and
transport industries, building and construction, consumer appliances and electronics industries, and for general
engineering.

One part of the project was to develop a short and versatile route from liquid steel to cold rolled product via DSP
(Direct Strip Production) and one new cold rolling facility to produce a wider range of products for household and
automotive applications.

Siemens VAI jointly worked with Tata Steel for nearly two years to define the optimum solution within the assigned
investment budget considering the requirements of the plant in IJmuiden, the wide product mix and specific market
demand:
Specific strip profile
Wide range of products to be processed
Compact layout
Optimum investment and production costs

Then, Siemens VAI was awarded a contract by Tata Steel for the process turnkey supply of the new 6-high tandem
cold mill (KW22) coupled with an existing and revamped pickling line and a new automotive CGL line for wide
strip (DVL3).

The challenging project was driven by the existing plant constraints in terms of space limitation associated with the
installation of the new CGL. An innovative line arrangement based on folded entry and exit sections provided the
unique solution to install the line within the allocated space.

DVL3 production commenced in April 2009 and its Final Acceptance was obtained in March 2010.

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Product mix

The new DVL3 hot-dip galvanizing line has an annual capacity of 550,000 metric tons and is designed to produce
various types of high-quality coated-steel materials.

The main targets of the products processed through the line are the top quality cosmetic coated surface appearance
and the pressing and forming capabilities of the product necessary to meet the latest requirements of the automotive
industry. Additionally, in order to produce safer and lighter cars, the demand for advanced high-strength steels is
increasing. These demands are leading to increasingly sophisticated equipment requirements in the Hot-dip
Galvanizing Line.

Other Tata Steel galvanizing lines can produce these steel grades only in a limited amount and for limited
dimensions. The new hot-dip galvanizing line 3 (DVL3) is mainly dedicated to the production of AHSS steel types
and steel grades for outer car parts.

The line has the capacity to produce a broad range of coils between 900 and 2050 millimeter width, and 0.6 and 2.5
millimeter thick, for outer parts, inner parts, reshaping steels and AHSS.

Scope of work

Siemens VAI’s scope of work covered all project aspects from engineering studies, manufacturing of the machines,
procurement of special facilities and components for fluids systems, electrical and automation definition and supply
of equipment, delivery and erection of line equipment including the commissioning and start-up services required to
meet the new facility production requirements. Of course, the overall project was implemented in strict adherence to
the safety standards required for obtaining the CE marking certificate.

The vertical direct-fired furnace was provided by Siemens VAI consortium partner Fives-stein.

Line description

The DVL3 layout is based on a folded design of entry and exit sections in order to fit within the 280 meter line
length limitation which was imposed by the space availability of the existing facilities.

The coil loading section has floor mounted heavy-duty scissor type coil cars capable of handling a 45-ton coil.

The entry section of the line includes a dual payoff reel layout to provide sufficient coil loading and joining time
necessary to reduce the impact of any unscheduled delay on the front end due to the coil loading sequence. The
double payoff reel arrangement enables new coils to be brought into the line and prepared while the previous coil is
being processed through the line.

A Laser welder produces the highest quality resistance seam-welded joint which is suitable for passage through the
skinpass mill and tension levelling section of the line without the need to open the work rolls. This ensures maximum
yield of prime quality product by minimizing the unprocessed material at the weld joint.

A vertical strip storage accumulator separates the entry and process sections of the line. Sufficient strip storage is
provided to accommodate the entry end coil change cycle, while allowing the process section to operate continuously
at a constant line process speed. The strip accumulation capacity also allows for a possible re-weld at maximum
process speed of 180 m/min and for annealing of TRIP steels at a process speed of 120 m/min.

The cleaning section includes a hot alkali spray tank, followed by a brush scrubber alkaline tank, a rinse section
including a brush scrubber rinse tank and rinse tank/wringer rolls, then a dryer, complemented by a fluid circulating
system and fume exhaust system.

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The Fives Stein Digiflex furnace features the latest technologies dedicated to the production of high-quality fully
finished automotive products, and includes a direct-fired heating furnace, a pulse-fired radiant tube furnace, an ultra-
rapid cooling section and an induction booster.

The induction heated coating pot ensures the most efficient and clean heating environment minimising zinc
contamination. The zinc pot is installed on a lifting platform allowing for snout maintenance. Reliable temperature
control of the molten zinc bath is ensured by use of two thermocouples installed in the pot. Bath composition is
monitored by regular bath analysis in Tata Steel’s laboratory.

Dross removal to maintain strip quality is performed by a dross removal device (manipulator) located in front of the
snout.

A conventional air knife system is installed above the coating pot to achieve uniform coating weight.

The after-pot cooling tower includes air cooling in the up-leg to bring the strip temperature down to below 280°C
before being diverted around the top rolls.

The final water quench tank provides controlled cooling of the strip down to 40°C to suit subsequent processing of
the product.

A 1,200-ton capacity Skinpass Mill is installed after the cooling tower in order to provide excellent coated strip
surface roughness together with metallurgical improvement by suppression of the yield point of some steel grades.
The Skinpass Mill is designed for operation with two work roll diameters. This feature means that the mill is
provided with the complete flexibility for operations to process soft exposed automotive products as well as harder
product grades. On-line roughness measurement is installed at the exit of the tension leveller and a roughness
transfer control loop enables the targeted strip roughness to be maintained by varying the skinpass mill rolling force
and strip tension. A wet rolling system is provided, which cleans the work rolls, increases their life and reduces the
coefficient of friction, thus giving a greater elongation for an equal rolling force or a smaller rolling force for the
same elongation. A rinsing unit and a dryer are located between Skinpass Mill and Tension Leveller.

The wet Tension Leveller includes three cassette units, each of the six-high roller type and provides excellent strip
product flatness. A dryer is located at the exit of the Tension Leveller.

In the post treatment section Cr-free surface treatment is provided to protect and prevent discoloration and oxidation
of the galvanized strip surface during coil storage and transport. The chemical treatment is applied by a fully
automatic roller coater which ensures precise controlled application of the chemicals and minimizes the impact to the
local environment. Following chemical application, the strip surface is dried by hot air and cooler units provided to
reach required process temperatures.

A vertical strip storage accumulator separates the process and exit sections of the line. Sufficient strip storage is
provided to allow for the exit end coil removal and change cycle to be met while allowing the process section to
operate continuously at a constant line process speed.

The exit section includes a guiding unit before the side trimmer and scrap chopper. The scrap chute with conveyor
transfers the scrap outside of the building. A vertical inspection station, a moving horizontal table for inspection
purposes, an electrostatic oiler, rotating shear and a single tension reel complete the exit section. The exit section of
the line is designed to operate in automatic mode. It also includes specific equipment such as: strip marker, exit
thickness gauge, and possible future automatic strip inspection system. The layout also includes provision for future
horizontal inspection station for the other side of the strip.

The automation and drive concept includes a matched Level 2, Level 1, drives and HMI for very accurate tension
control, highly responsive drives, optimized sequences and intuitive diagnostic.

Automation is handled throughout the plant by Simatic S7 programmable controllers using standardized application
modules as part of the integrated Siroll PL solution, ensuring easier commissioning as well as maintenance and
service work.

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The Level 1 basic automation uses Simatic S7 400 programmable logic controllers for the different functions such as
sequential controls and the function module FM 458 for high-speed technological controls. This enables easy fault-
finding by a clear division of tasks. Moreover, the online programmability allows delay avoidance caused by
rebooting the system. As a consequence, the design of the Siroll PL automation system ensures excellent reliability
and high availability.

The process automation system or Level 2 includes expertly designed tracking modules and process models which
are a prerequisite for optimized production.

Sinamics, the advanced-technology frequency converters for AC drives, achieves the excellent dynamic performance
required in processing-line drive applications. The AC-drive solution ensures high reliability, significant savings in
maintenance costs combined with an increase in efficiency.

The modular-voltage-source DC-link converter system has an innovative digital control system and uses common
DC-bus operation for sections of the drive systems in the plant.

lntegration tests using plant simulations are essential to success. Siemens VAI thoroughly tested the complete
automation system, including all visualization systems, control consoles and the drive systems in the test facilities in
Erlangen, Germany, before shipment.

Safety

Safety areas were defined to avoid any negative impact on operation and were partly divided into sections to be able
to remedy malfunctions during operation. It is, for example, possible to enter the safety area of the exit coil transport
without stopping the whole line.

The skinpass mill fully-automatic roll change system is of a safety-related design ensuring that, during an ongoing
roll change, access to the area is allowed if any malfunction of the roll change car occurs.

The line mechanical and electrical equipment, in conjunction with a detailed risk analysis, meets the highest
European machine directive standards.

The safety functionality is implemented using the Simatic S7 400F system. The Simatic S7 400F provides maximum
computing power for all safety control functions. Most peripheral process equipment is connected via the ET200
failsafe remote 110. The system is TÜV-certified and used in combination with the Sinamics safe torque-off function
without any hardware disconnector switch.

Conclusion

The new DVL3 galvanizing line of Tata Steel in IJmuiden is a state-of-the-art achievement with the most advanced
technologies which will enable Tata Steel to meet the latest and future requirements of the automotive industry in
Europe.

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