The caster extension is part of a broader strategy to ensure the plant’s ability to absorb the additional liquid steel coming from a recent upgrade to the electric arc furnace and the forthcoming installation of a new meltshop by Danieli Centro Met, including an EAF, a twin LF and a twin Vacuum Degasser.
The first phase of the caster extension is planned for September 2020 during the annual plant shutdown. The additional segment No. 10 will be installed and two extraction unit modules will be maintained. Modifications will be made without major impact to the existing foundation and steel structures, keeping the installation within the maintenance shutdown and without production losses.
The TSC modernisation also will include installing the latest Danieli technological packages, such as a 3D secondary cooling system to ensure uniformity, accuracy and reliability during the solidification process; a liquid core and dynamic soft reduction system); and, a system to physically detect the solidification end to ensure that the Dynamic Soft Reduction is always applied within the targeted solid fraction.
Following the upgrade of the existing EAF and installation of segment No. 10, OMK will increase its productivity up to 9%.
The second phase will consist of replacing two extraction units and adding segment 11, increasing the metallurgical containment length to 17.3 m. This will improve plant productivity by an additional 11%. The installation of the second phase is planned for August 2021 to coincide with the startup of the new meltshop complex.
_{(source: Danieli)}