Hyundai Steel, situated in Incheon and Seoul, South Korea, belongs to the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and runs six production facilities in South Korea and a further one in China. At present, the company is constructing a new plant at the Dangjin site to produce special steels for the automotive industry. In future, bar and wire are to be produced here as primary material for engine and gearbox parts. Annual production of 400,000 t of wire rod and 600,000 t of straight bar and bar-in-coil is planned.
The four-strand continuous bloom caster is equipped with mold-monitoring system Mold Expert. In combination with air mist spray cooling and interior-cooled rollers in the strand guidance system, further technology packages ensure uniformly high quality of the blooms cast. Still hot, these are then fed for direct use in the bar line. This saves energy during reheating and improves operating safety because there is no need for transport of blooms, for example by crane.
The large bar mill encompasses a duo reversing breakdown stand and a finishing train with rolling/sizing stands. The large bar mill also provides billets to be further processed in the small bar and wire rod mill, which Primetals Technologiesalso supplied. This combination mill hasa capacity of 800,000 t and is designed to roll 160 t/h. It includes a continuous roughing and intermediate mill feeding a sizing block supplied by Germany-based Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG for production of bars, a rod outlet with a rod Reducing Sizing Mill (RSM) and also a bar-in-coil (BIC) outlet.
Both the rod and BIC outlets have slow and fast cooling capability. The small bar and wire rod mill has the highest production rate for a combination mill, and is particularly designed for low-temperature rolling. This improves the metallurgical structure and mechanical properties of end products and enhances flexibility during the rolling operation.
Special mechatronics packages and an integrated automation solution ensure the necessary high product quality throughout the plant.
_{(Source: Primetals Technologies Ltd.)}