aluminium world journal 2012

Industrieofen + Stranggieß - Technik GmbH

2012 Edition

Aluminium Melting Furnace after Revamping150 to/day melting capacity

83 to content8 MW EcoReg (r)

Photo credit: Jasper GmbH

Global Media Communication Ltd.

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Foreword By Christopher Fitcher-Harris

Aluminium World Journal aims to provide solutions available to increase productivity and reduce costs of operation within aluminium production and processing facilities. The publication aims to increase awareness of the significant technology and strategies of companies operating globally within the aluminium industry.

This edition of Aluminium World Journal major focus is on materials handling and transportation. Contained in the major focus is indepth case studies and technology reviews produced by leading companies such as COPERION, FROMM Packaging and CARGOTEC.I take this opportunity to thank the companies providing editorial, advertisements and corporate sponsorship support.

Feel free to visit us online to view industry related news, reports, and updates of the Aluminium World Journal 2013 edition confirmed editorial. Find us online at: www.globalmediacommunication.com.

We are pleased to receive proposals from companies, and professional bodies wishing to provide technical papers on the latest developments, for publication in future editions.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Aluminium World Journal. Should you have any comments concerning the content of this edition or would like to discuss participation in a future edition, please contact us.

Christopher Fitcher-Harris

Managing Director

Managing Director Christopher Fitcher-Harris, Production Manager Sofia Henriksson Sales Manager Peter Jones Production Design: row1graphics

Printing: CBF Group Published by: Global Media Communication Limited Telephone: +44 208 579 0594 E-mail: [email protected] Website:globalmediacommunication.com The opinions and views expressed in the editorial of content in this book are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation with which they may be associated. Material in advertisements and promotional features may be considered to represent the views of the advertisers and promoters. The views and opinions expressed in this book do not necessarily express the views of the publisher. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the book, the publishers are not responsible for such opinions and views or for any inaccuracies in the articles or advertisements.©2012 The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. Full details are available from the publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior knowledge of the copyright owner.

Cover illustration: Jasper GmbH

Aluminium World Journal 2012Global Media Communication Ltd.

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INDEX

Global Issues p. 6-14

Materials Handling and Transportation p. 15-31

Surface Inspection p. 32-40

Primary Smelting and Processes p. 41-47

Cast House p. 48-61

Heat Treatment p. 62-66

Rolling Mill p. 67-69

Advertiser and Web Index p. 70

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UPCYCLING WITH UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY

Alufluor is one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of aluminium fluoride.From the very start, in 1973, we have been driven by our commitment to high quality and efficiency and low environmental impact. We believe that business and environmental values go hand in hand. The aluminium fluoride produced at our site in Helsingborg, Sweden, is based on upcycled fluorine-containing by-products from industry, rather than on diminishing raw material, virgin fluorspar.

and consistent quality. The high purity aluminium fluoride also enables usage in various applications in the chemical, ceramic, glass and metal industries.

Our unique technology has been the core of our business since the start in 1973 and we refine and develop it continuously.

For more information visit us on www.alufluor.com

Fast Facts Alufluor AB

Founded 1973Location Helsingborg, SwedenEmployees 45 EmployeesProduction Capacity 24,000 tons/yearOwnership Jointly owned by Rio Tinto Alcan and Yara

Aluminium fluoride (AlF ) is a crucial component in aluminium production. It lowers the melting temperature in the pot, enabling higher electrical efficiency through the production cell. It enables aluminium producers to cut energy use, streamline production, cut production costs and ensure a pure end product.

What makes our process unique is that it reclaims the value within the by-products and use them to produce aluminium fluoride with the highest available purity

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GLOBAL ISSUES

Emal/DubalThe Current Situation And Future With Regards ToAluminium Production In The Middle East p. 9-11

RusalThe Past Present And Future Of The Aluminium Industry p. 12-14

8 GLOBAL ISSUES

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Our knowledge goes beyond materials handling. Being an aluminium producer we understand how our systems impact your process. Alesa is a full service technologies supplier that also offers automation, pot controls systems and reduction technologies.

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THE CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE WITH REGARDS TOALUMINIUM PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

In a little over 40 years the Middle East has become a major global hub in the primary alumin-ium industry. Five smelters have been established within the Gulf Co-operation Council (“GCC”) re-gion, this year boasting a collec-tive capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum — approximately 13.2 per cent of total world production.

With aluminium consumption in the GCC being approximately 606,000 metric tonnes per annum, more than 3 million tonnes of primary aluminium are exported across the world. A wide variety of product-types is produced, from standard, sow and T-ingots, through billets, to sheet ingot and rolling slab; plus anode- and busbars.

Two GCC smelters — Aluminium Bahrain (“ALBA”) and Dubai Alu-minium (“DUBAL”) — have been in operation since 1971 and 1979 respectively. The others are new-

comers: Oman’s Sohar Aluminium began operating in 2008; while commissioning of both Emirates Aluminium Company Limited (“EMAL”) and Qatar Aluminium (“Qatalum”) began in 2009. A sixth smelter — Ma’aden — is under construction in Saudi Arabia which, together with planned expansions at the existing smelters, will lift the GCC’s annual production capacity to almost 5 million tonnes by 2015.

The two smelters in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) — DUBAL and EMAL — will account for ap-proximately 50 per cent of this volume. An entirely state-owned enterprise, DUBAL operates a one million tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter (1,573 reduction cells) at Jebel Ali, Dubai — one of the largest single-site operations of its kind in the world — and in 2011 produced 1,014,795 tonnes of hot metal. The complex also comprises a power plant (2,350 MW at 30°C),

a large carbon plant, the world’s largest aluminium casting opera-tions, a 30 million gallon per day desalination plant, plus a com-prehensive auxiliary and support infrastructure. DUBAL is renowned internationally for its premium purity, high quality products and services; and its commitment to sustainable development through conscious efforts to maximize the health and safety people, reduce the impact of its operations on the environment, and invest in the social and economic development of the community. Dedicated pro-grammes support the Emiratization goals of the UAE, including target-ed recruitment, skills development, management training and strategic career planning. Approximately 92 per cent of DUBAL’s annual produc-tion is exported globally. More than 300 customers in over 50 countries worldwide are served, the compa-ny’s key markets being Asia, Eu-rope, the Middle East North Africa

10 GLOBAL ISSUES

(“MENA”) region and the Americas.Evidencing DUBAL’s determina-tion to develop its own smelting technology, in-house experts have successfully developed DX Reduction Technology — which offers enhanced energy efficiency and productivity levels yet lower environmental emissions than comparative technologies. A dem-onstration line of 40 DX Reduc-tion Technology pots at DUBAL’s Jebel Ali site started-up in February 2008. Since then the amperage has gradually increased from 340 kA to 380 kA with stable results, demonstrating capability to operate at high amperage. Subsequently, DUBAL’s DX Technology cells have been redesigned to operate at even higher amperages. Five new generation cells, built in a pilot line, have been operating at 420 kA. The improved technology — known as DX+ Reduction Technology — is un-derpinned by the inherently robust DX Reduction Technology.

A green-field development at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, EMAL is owned jointly by DUBAL and Mubadala Development Company (in equal shareholding). Energiz-ing of the 756 reduction cells (in two potlines) at EMAL Phase I took place between 1 December 2009 and 31 December 2010. Full pro-duction capacity of 750,000 tonnes per annum was reached within three years of the project’s incep-tion (four months ahead of sched-ule). The company, which currently serves over 150 customers, already enjoys a strong reputation for sound safety management, well-being programmes for employees and adopting global best practices to minimize its environmental footprint — the latter entrenched through the implementation of DUBAL’s DX Reduction Technology. Initiatives are also in place to har-ness Emirati talent through job-cre-ation, engaging the community in

corporate activities and celebrating the cultural heritage of the UAE.

In July 2011, EMAL announced Phase II of its planned develop-ment. The EMAL Phase II project will entail the construction of a new potline within the EMAL complex. The line will comprise 444 DX+ Reduction Technology cells, pow-ered by increasing the onsite power plant capacity to 3,000 MW. This will yield boost annual production capacity by 520,000 metric tonnes.

Simultaneously, the technology installed in EMAL Phase I is up-graded, increasing the production yield from the existing 756 cells to 800,000 tonnes per annum. Thus, on completion of EMAL Phase II in 2014, EMAL’s annual production capacity will be around 1.3 million tonnes, making EMAL one of the largest single-site primary alumini-um producers in the world.

In the meantime, questions are being asked regarding the impact of this year’s political turmoil in the Middle East on the regional aluminium industry. Reflecting the inherent stability of the GCC, only Bahrain and Oman were involved — and in both cases the situation was well-contained. The bulk of the unrest has been in North Africa, plus Syria and Yemen.

Naturally, the instability introduced new challenges to the regional industry. For example, a minimal loss in demand (about 0.1 per cent) has been experienced; and the cost of business has risen slightly due to the increased political risk and associated rise in freight insurance. There have also been minor logisti-cal issues and investor confidence in the region may have declined temporarily.

On the up-side, the crisis has cre-ated opportunities as a result of

the accelerated implementation of social and infrastructural de-velopment projects in the region. Published figures indicate US $985 billion in infrastructure investment within the GCC between 2010 and 2015, including large-scale proj-ects such as the GCC rail network, which will lead to increased metal demand and thus greater growth potential than previously predicted.

Within the UAE alone, demand for aluminium is expected to reach 9 per cent over the next five years. This will be driven by the develop-ment of a long-term sustainable downstream industry, an initiative promoted strongly by both EMAL and DUBAL the latter, is fully aligned with the Abu Dhabi Eco-nomic Vision 2030 to diversify the economy. The Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, where EMAL is located, will play a key role. One of the world’s largest industrial zones, the 417 square kilometer KIZAD is attracting downstream semi-fabricated aluminium producers to avail liquid metal or value-added products from EMAL. Indeed, sev-eral agreements have already been signed.

These developments, together with the anticipated growth in annual global demand for aluminium from the current 42 million tonnes to 70 million tonnes by 2020, bode well for the rapidly growing, internation-ally acclaimed Middle East sector. Especially given the ideal strategic location of the region “in the centre of the world”, which ensures easy access to both established and emerging markets. As such, the outlook for the Middle Eastern alu-minium industry is very positive.

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THE PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY

Today it is impossible to imagine our life without aluminium. The light and soft white metal, with a frosted silver tint is virtually everywhere. But there was a time when aluminium was more precious than gold. Contrary to popular belief, aluminium mines do not exist, and only certain minerals and rocks containing aluminium are suitable for industrial production. The latter only started at the end of the 19th century when ways to produce aluminium through electrolysis were discovered, and only in the period between the two World Wars, the extent of its potential was more widely recognised.

GLOBAL ISSUES

Increasingly employed by the transport and construction sectors, aluminium production boomed following World War II. Whilst only 8,000 tonnes of aluminium were produced in 1900, a century later, its production volume had reached over 40 million tonnes.Aluminium’s outstanding properties explain why, in terms of application in various industries, it is nowadays second only to iron. Aluminium is forgeable and malleable. Its oxide film makes it resistant to corrosion and means the life span of aluminium goods is very long. In addition, it has a high electrical conductivity, is non-toxic and is easily reprocessed. These properties go some way to explaining aluminium’s importance in the world economy.

The aluminium industry is the largest non-ferrous metal industry in the world economy. It is highly competitive and characterized

by high concentration. The six largest producers of aluminium account for more than 40% of the global primary aluminium output. This is mostly due to high entry barriers relating to the specifics of the aluminium production process, which includes bauxite mining, alumina refining and production of aluminium itself. It is no wonder that industry leaders are large, vertically integrated companies, managing all stages of aluminium production. More than that, aluminium production is very energy-intensive; therefore access to cheap energy resources is key to becoming an industry leader.

Currently, there are two primary technologies to produce aluminium: Soederberg and prebake. Soederberg uses a continuously created anode made by addition of ‘pitch’ to the top of the anode. The lost heat from the smelting operation is used to bake

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the pitch into the carbon form, required for reaction with alumina. Prebake technology is named after its anodes, which are baked in large gas-fired ovens at high temperature before being lowered by various heavy industrial lifting systems into the electrolytic solution. In both technologies, the anode, attached to a very large electrical bus, is slowly used by the process. Prebake technology tends to be more efficient, but is more labor intensive. Prebake is becoming preferred in the industry because of the various pollutant emissions related to the creation of the anode from liquid pitch.

As already mentioned, aluminium production process is very power-intensive. Hydropower has always been and continues to be the most important source of electrical energy for the aluminium smelting process. More than 55% of the

world’s primary aluminium is produced using hydro-electric power which is clean, CO2 free and renewable. From an environmental standpoint, different energy sources have different impacts, releasing the same amount of energy. For instance, the carbon dioxide emissions impact of producing 1 MWh from coal has a different environmental (CO2 emissions) impact to that of hydroelectric power production. The high share of hydropower in the electricity mix and the reductions of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions have resulted in a decrease from 12 to 10 tonnes of CO2 equivalents for every tonne of aluminium produced since 2000.

The improvement of the aluminium production process, aimed at increasing production efficiency and lessening the environmental impact, is a key challenge for the industry. RUSAL, the world’s

largest aluminium producer, is using a three-pronged approach to address this : modernisation of the existing facilities (e.g the Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter), equipping greenfield projects with the best available technologies and equipment (e.g the smelters inKhakassia, Taishet and Boguchany)and, finally, a gradual of obsolete capacities with themodern ones. Within this approach, RUSAL is developing new advanced aluminium production technologies, reduction pre-bake technologies, such as RA-300, RA-400 and RA-500, is improving Soederberg technology (“Clean Soederberg”), and finally, developing a revolutionary inert anode technology, which will significantly reduce energy consumption and eliminate emissions producing environmentally safe products – aluminium and oxygen.

replacement

14 GLOBAL ISSUES

Meanwhile, the future of the aluminium industry remains bright. The industry itself has solid growth potential, supported by booming emerging economies. Consumption and demand in emerging economies are expected to more than double in the coming years on par to the level of consumption in developed countries. Today, China alone consumes over 40% of current global aluminium output. It is estimated that this figure will exceed 50% by 2025 due to continued urbanization and industrialization of the country. At the moment, in China, per capita consumption of primary aluminum is 10kg, whereas consumption in the developed countries consumption is 15-30kg, so the potential for growth is tremendous.

Another reason to be confident in this light weight metal’s prospects, is that aluminium is part of the solution for a

sustainable future. Approximately 75% of all aluminium produced is still in productive use, having been through countless loops of its lifecycle. Recycling saves almost 95% of the energy needed to produce aluminum from its original source, bauxite ore. Aluminium is a recyclable material, bringing substantial energy savings and green gas reduction. The aluminium industry has taken a leading role by establishing a uniform global monitoring approach to energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

It is now almost 200 years since aluminium’s first appearance. This metal has changed many aspects of the world in which we live in. The success of this lightweight metal has earned it the name of “metal of the future.” Starting out as a rival to silver and platinum, aluminium gradually took on a new role and

won over ground from iron, steel and plastic. While consumption of aluminium continues to grow, it looks like the future belongs to the thirteenth element.

UC RUSAL13/1, Nikoloyamskaya str., Moscow, 109240, RussiaPhone: +7 (495) 720-51-70 +7 (495) 720-51-71Fax: +7 (495) 745-70-46

www.rusal.com

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MATERIALS HANDLING AND TRANSPORT

CoperionPlants For The Aluminium Industry From One Single Source From Raw Material Receiving Up To Electrolysis p. 16-19

CargotecOne Of The Worlds Largest Alumina Producers Opt For Environmentally Friendly Siwertell Ship Loader From Cargotech p. 20-23

FROMM PackagingThe Fromm Group-Latest Technology Has ReachedAround The World p. 24-26

SMV ASFresh Thinking For A Better Working EnvironmentAnd Improved Efficiency p. 27-29

Jungheinrich Forklift Drive Systems – Between The Hype And Reality p. 30-31

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Personal contact is an essential step for us to create confidence.

>>That’s why we form the basis for your success. Because Coperion conveys what you need to produce primary aluminium: alumina and petcoke. From unloading to feeding of the electrolysis cells, pneumatically or mechanically. Reliable, safe, gentle to the prod-uct, economical and, above all, individually adapted to meet your requirements. Our experts plan and implement complete plants or individual process steps up to commissioning. We build plants and process components for the market. We produce confidence for our customers. Confidence through partnership is our assurance that you can rely on. >>www.coperion.com

>compounding & extrusion >materials handling >service

8192_MH_Alu2_en_210x297.indd 1 17.06.2009 13:19:54 Uhr

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Coperion is the worldwide market and technology leader in compounding & extrusion, materials handling and service - as well as being a partner for global corporations and small to medium-sized enterprises in the plastics, chemicals, food and aluminium industries offering all business activities along the process chain combined with comprehensive services.

Compounding systems installed worldwide over 10,000Bulk materials handling systems installed worldwide over 8,000Employees worldwide 1,900Network of locations worldwide 29

Plants for the aluminium producing industry - from raw material receiving up to electrolysisCoperion GmbH is the competent partner for all bulk materials

handling solutions around and within the smelter. The company offers solutions to the aluminium producing industry that have proven to be extremely efficient and reliable.It supports its customers from the first project concept, through a wide range of services to realization and start-up of bulk materials plants such as for example retrofit solutions and provides after-sales support.Coperion has the necessary expertise for every process stage along the entire process chain in manufacturing of primary alumina. In each process step, the challenges demand plenty of experience, specialist competence and flexibility.The tasks involved in the design and implementation of a plant from project planning through to installation, and also of individual process stages for handling alumina and petcoke for the

production of primary aluminium, are extremely complex. Therefore, great emphasis is placed on optimization of the interfaces between individual process stages along the entire process chain. This guarantees reliable and economical material flow.

Raw Materials ReceivingAs large quantities of alumina and petcoke are required for aluminium production, the raw materials are either supplied by ship or rail car. Short ship docking times during unloading are a most important cost-cutting factor. This is something Coperion can guarantee, and at the same time ensure gentle and reliable unloading of the product. The pneumatic Coperion ship unloader features leading-edge technology backed by Hartmann expertise which has proved its efficiency and effectiveness hundreds of times over the years. The decisive

PLANTS FOR THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY FROM ONE SINGLE SOURCE FROM RAW MATERIAL RECEIVING UP TO ELECTROLYSIS

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process components such as filters, rotary valves, blowers etc. are developed and manufactured at the company’s own factory. Speed, reliability and gentle handling of the product during unloading are the first steps towards economical operation of a system. With their experience, pragmatic approach and our innovative technical developments, Coperion experts make sure that the optimum solution is implemented in the shortest possible time.Reliable and very gentle conveying of the raw materials ensures economical production at a consistently high quality level.

Intermediate conveyingAfter unloading the alumina and

petcoke, it is transported as quickly and gently as possible to the silos with pneumatic or mechanical conveying systems. To ensure high-quality transport, the most suitable conveying mode is selected from a uniquely comprehensive portfolio and customized to suite site conditions and requirements. Depending on the requirements and the individual situation, Coperion's own pneumatic conveying technologies DUROLIFT, DUROSTAT, DUROSLIDE or mechanical conveying equipment such as belt conveyors, tube belt conveyors and also trough chain conveyors are used. For vertical transport either the DUROLIFT conveying system or mechanical bucket elevators come into use.

In-plant storageWhen charging and discharging alumina silos and also during storage, it is particularly important that a uniform particle distribution is maintained. When handling petcoke the main challenge is to evacuate the product safely. The company’s know-how guarantees reliable processes for both raw materials. To prevent segratation of the alumina during feeding and discharge, Coperion collaborates with IBAU HAMBURG to implement an efficient anti-segregation system. On the silo roof the alumina is distributed from a central transfer point through a system of air-slide conveyors to several optimally arranged filling connections into the silo.

MATERIALS HANDLING AND TRANSPORTATION

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A special discharge system in the silo base permits selective fluidization and sequential discharge of the alumina from individual zones. In this way it is guaranteed that the regular alumina particle distribution is ensured - the most important characteristic for the efficiency of the smelting process. Very robust discharge devices are available and used for discharge of the petcoke.

In-plant conveyingGentle transport and therefore low particle degradation in the alumina enables stable operating conditions and a constantly high quality in the cells. No matter how far storage silos are from the smelter – the product will always reach the "hot spot" in best form. A number of different conveying technologies are offered. The principle is, however, the same for pneumatic, mechanical or truck transport. Coperion has the know-how needed for all conveying methods to ensure gentle product transport, thereby maintaining the quality of the raw materials.

Distribution to electrolysis cellsWith the DURODENSE system Coperion offers a very gentle process for charging the electrolysis cells. Slow, continuous, reliable and self-regulating - these are all advantages which really count during this process stage. The DURODENSE has perfected the technology. With its low alumina flow velocity, the DURODENSE system prevents a scaling effect, providing a sound basis to ensure that primary aluminium manufacturing is reliable and continuous. This system is self-regulating and only requires minimum automation technology which - in light of the large number of electrolysis cells - is not only advantageous with regard to investment and maintenance, but also for operation by personnel. Less is more. This is particularly true in this case.

Project managementCoperion’s project management team has a wide-ranging scope of engineering skills and know-how at their disposal with all the facets of

special knowledge and competence needed for the implementation of both plants and individual process stages. The global network and the experience of the project managers at all Coperion sites ensure a constant transfer of knowledge which offers customers a host of advantages. The company provide tailored systems in all sizes, always ensuring deadline compliance and the highest standard of quality. Local sourcing and cooperation with the global purchasing organization keep costs as low as possible. Coperion’s global assets and project management structure make sure that all processes remain unaffected by frictional losses.

Dry bulk handling systems that you can truly rely onCargotec’s land-based Siwertell ship unloaders and loaders are designed to suit each terminal’s specific requirements.

Siwertell systems use unique enclosed screw conveyor technology to ensure that dry bulk cargo operations are

environment-friendly and efficient.

Let the dry bulk handling experts design a custom-made answer to your particular needs.

Siwertell ship loader

at Alunorte, Brazil

SIWERTELL IS A CARGOTEC BRANDwww.cargotec.com • www.siwertell.com

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ONE OF THE WORLDS LARGEST ALUMINA PRODUCERS OPT FORENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SIWERTELL SHIP LOADER FROM CARGOTECH

Environmental benefits and efficiency were two key factors in Alunorte’s decision to replace its belt-type ship loader with a totally enclosed Siwertell alumina ship loader from Cargotec Sweden.

The new system has been operating since the summer of 2010.Company Alumina do Norte do Brasil S.A. (Alunorte) was created in 1978 to take advantage of the rich bauxite deposits in the Brazilian state of Pará.Following a series of expansion projects, Alunorte now operates the world’s largest alumina refinery. Annual production has increased from 1.6 million tonnes in 2000 to the current production capacity of 6.26 million tonnes per year, representing 7% of the world’s alumina production.

In 2006 the company identified the need to replace its existing

belt-type ship loader because of problems related to the high dust emissions it created and the need to increase the loading capacity.Cargotec was contracted to design and provide a modern, efficient, environmentally friendly solution from its Siwertell ship-loader brand.

The brief was for a system designed to load Kamsarmax-size vessels up to 80,000 dwt, to be located at the production plant in Barcarena, Pará, in Northeast of Brazil.Mr. Douglas Wichers, Sales Manager, Cargotec Sweden said Alunorte’s new Siwertell ship loader was built on a different design concept to the older one.“The new design is based on a totally-enclosed aero slide system and a Cleveland cascade-type vertical telescopic loading spout. In combination with two dust collectors at the transfer points, this is a very efficient loading

system when it comes to the elimination of dust emissions into the environment.”

The loader is based on a travelling gantry design with one horizontal arm capable of slewing and luffing motions and is fitted with a vertically adjustable loading spout. The operator cabin is located on an arm which extends over the ship’s hold to give the operator the best possible view of loading operations, adding significantly to efficiency and safety.Mr Wichers noted that although the designed loading capacity of the new Siwertell system is 2,500t/h, in practice this has been reduced to about 2,000t/h in order to match the current feeding capacity of the existing shore side tube conveyors.“The loader can obviously not process more than the incoming material flow. If Alunorte decides to increase the tube conveyor’s capacity, then the Siwertell loader

22 MATERIALS HANDLING AND TRANSPORTATION

is already prepared for such an increase.

Cargotec’s involvement does not stop when the equipment is delivered, installed and commissioned, said Mr Wichers.“Quality service combined with comprehensive long-term support is as essential to our customers as quality products. From the first contact through the entire lifetime of an installation, Cargotec provides the services and products needed to ensure cost-effective, efficient, safe operations. It is this sort of quality and commitment that means that one of the first Siwertell ship unloader delivered in 1975 is still unloading over one million tonnes of cargo per year”.

Considering the wider scope of Cargotec’s Siwertell range, Mr Wichers says the company has developed loaders employing three different conveying technologies to best meet varying market demands; namely screw, aero slide

or belt conveying. The choice of conveying technology is influenced by a number of factors including the on site conditions and the cargo or cargoes to be handled. “Siwertell ship loader products offered by Cargotec exploit technologies carefully developed over a long period, benefitting from a world leading company’s accumulated experience. In developing the most operationally efficient and safe dry bulk handling equipment, Cargotec emphasises the importance of optimising the loader in environmental terms as well as in maximising its performance.

In addition to the loader, the Siwertell brand also includes ship unloaders where Cargotec for years has been the company that has delivered most continous unloaders worldwide. A Siwertell ship unloader is totally enclosed from the pick-up point in the hold, which is below the cargo surface, to the transfer point at the jetty conveyor. This attention

to detail delivers a cleaner, safer environment through the elimination of spillage and dust.

The Siwertell unloader programme is divided into four groups. The appropriate group is determined by the size of ships to be handled, the required unloading capacity and the commodity to be handled.In addition to loading and unloading systems, Cargotec can also provide bespoke bulk terminals incorporating Siwertell ship unloaders and/or loaders with mechanical or pneumatic conveying systems to suit the particular requirements of bulk terminal projects, whether for import, export, or cargo transhipment.

For ports and harbour that do not have or need permanent bulk handling facilities, Mr Wichers says Cargotec offers the ultimate in flexibility with its Siwertell mobile unloaders, designed to be completely autonomous in operation without the need for any

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other dockside equipment such as an auxiliary crane.

Mounted on a semi-trailer, Cargotec's mobile unloaders are based on Siwertell’s unique screw technology and can be operational very soon after arriving on site. Typically it takes between 30 and 45 minutes to complete the unfolding operation.Like the Siwertell ship unloaders, the mobile unloaders have a totally-enclosed conveying line that delivers environmentally friendly, cost effective operation and typically consuming only 0.18 litres fuel/tonne during a cement handling operation .

Three different models are available with unloading capacities of up to 500t/h and vessels size up to 20,000 dwt. In addition to Alumina, the mobile unloaders, together with the other types of Siwertell ship unloaders, are suitable for handling other free-flowing dry bulk cargoes such as

cement, sulphur (when equipped with a Siwertell sulphur safety system), grain, feedstuffs, biomass and fertilisers.

The other types of Siwertell ship unloaders can be designed to unload vessels of up to 200,000 dwt and for none free flowing materials such as coal.The totally enclosed system eliminates costs associated with loss of material and clean-up operations when unloading is complete.

Maintenance and spare part costs are kept to a minimum, for the mobile unloaders since they generally incorporate only standard components, easily sourced worldwide at any time. Personnel costs are low as only one person is required to operate the unit and perform the folding and unfolding procedures.

By Douglas Wichers, Sales Manager, Dry Bulk Terminals, Cargotecand Jörgen Ojeda, Director Mobile Unloaders, Cargotec

Cargotec Sweden AB, Bulk HandlingVisit us at: www.siwertell.come-mail us on: [email protected]: +46 42 858 00, Fax: +46 42 858 99

Images of Siwertell ship loader at Alunorte, Brazil. It has a loading capacity of 2500 t/h of Alumina.


FROMM Holding AG | Switzerland | Tel. +41 (0)41 741 57 41 | Fax +41 (0)41 741 57 60www.fromm-pack.com

Strapping equipmentKeep an eye on your maintenance and downtime costs!Strapping equipment in the aluminium industry is subject tohigh wear and tear. High downtime and excessive maintenanceaffect your costs. Next time you select your strapping equip-ment check us out. FROMM stands for high reliability equip-

ment, first class service and low maintenance costs. A fullrange of quality strapping tools and machines backed up by aworldwide network of sales- and service engineers can be avaluable alternative to the equipment you might be using today. Call us – our FROMM representative will be happy to tell youmore about the benefits of our strapping products!Benefit from our experience!

1189FROMM_ALUWORD_AD_210x297 4.7.2008 7:52 Uhr Seite 1

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THE FROMM GROUP-LATEST TECHNOLOGY HAS REACHED AROUND THE WORLD

Fromm automatic strapping machines and strapping tools are designed for highly demanding applications in the aluminium, non-ferrous metals and steel industries. The company’s state of the art technology is backed up by worldwide customer service and support

FROMM’s new MH610 strapping heads and P330 strapping tool, designed by the company’s R&D centre in Germany, are almost equally capable of producing the highest strapping tension. The P330 is believed to be the strongest mobile strapping tool on the market today and allows all heavy steel strapping sizes to be replaced by 25mm/1 inch polyester strapping. Polyester strapping is more economical than steel strapping and savings can be substantial. Polyester strapping pulled to its optimal working range ensures tight straps and safe transport of products.

MH610 PET strapping headsLoose straps can damage products during shipping and pose a threat to safety. Therefore Fromm strapping machines with MH610 heads have been designed to produce a strapping tension of 7000N, the highest achieved by any PET strapping head on the market. This ensures that products remain safely secured until they reach their destination. The machines and heads are built to strap aluminium ingots, billets, slabs, coils and sheet materials efficiently using 25mm/1-inch and 32mm/1.25 inch wide and 1.35mm/0.055 inch thick PET strapping.All head components are produced on ultra modern machining centres at Fromm manufacturing facilities. The well-designed, ruggedly built head offers high reliability even

when used around the clock, minimising both maintenance costs and downtime.Combined with a service contract and regular preventive maintenance by Fromm’s well trained, local service engineers, the machines have a long working life.

P330 PET strapping toolThe P330 portable plastic strapping tool can produce a tension of up to 6000N, which permits the processing of plastic straps up to 25mm/1 inch in width and 1.53/0.062 inch thick. The heavy polyester straps provide a problem –free replacement for traditional steel straps, resulting in considerable cost savings. The ergonomically designed handle, the new push-button arrangement and simple operation ensure a high degree of user-friendliness and rational working methods. The high quality manufacture and well known operating safety and reliability of the tools are reflectedin very low maintenance costs, even when used for extended periods. Fromm tools provide the highest level of safety in the manual packaging of ingots, slabs, billets or sheet materials.

Strapping tool for round applicationsThe Fromm Group has just started to launch the world’s first pneumatic strapping tool for round applications and small surfaces called P380. The patented technology allows the customer to convert the existing steel strapping applications locked with steel seals. The P380 is applicable on a minimum surface of 80mm and a minimum diameter of 240mm. The new combination tool outperforms separate tensioner and sealer operation giving the user higher work efficiency.

Automatic ingot strapping machineThe Fromm automatic strapping machine model PM 200002 has been developed to strap packs of ingots securely using PET strapping. The heart of the machine is the high tension MH610 strapping head applying automatically two to three straps per pack of 25 x 1mm (1 x 0.040 inch) PET strapping. The savings in material costs mean that the payback on the investment in an automatic polyester strapping machine or in a retrofit solution is achieved relatively quickly.

Strapping head retrofits – a case studyThe Fromm company in Australia have been offering industry a retrofit solution to minimise the cost of changing to Fromm’s plastic strapping system. Last year a four machine retrofit replacing existing PET strapping heads was undertaken at one ofAustralia’ largest Aluminium Ingot.Whilst the project was without difficulties the end result of the customer is, new strapping heads lower cost of strap and much lower spare parts and service costs.With cost of ownership much more considered that in the past, people are looking for cheap to own not cheap to buy. Using 19mm x 1.27mm Fromm strap, the Fromm company have been able to improve the customers pack integrity by strapping much tighter. The ingots transport better to Asian destinations meaning less breakages and happier end customers.Down in Australia there is quite some interest at the remaining ingot producers to move to the Fromm solution and the affiliate company AWS is guiding them accordingly.


Turnkey end-of-line solutionsThe Fromm Group can provide turnkey end-of-line solutions using its automatic strapping lines, strapping tools and polyester strapping, backed up by an efficient after-sales service. Fromm packaging experts are available to customers to analyse their existing packaging facilities and advise on how their packaging budgets can be reduced.

About the Fromm GroupThe Fromm Group through its parent company Reinhard Fromm Holding AG in Switzerland was established in 1647. The family-owned business employs over 8000 people throughout the world. Its 34 subsidiaries in Europe, the USA, South America, India, Asia, South Africa and Australia and over 50 partners and distributors, guarantee efficient customer service and support. The Fromm corporate policy is based on continuity, independence, reliability and quality products.Numerous world-leading aluminium manufacturers put trust in Fromm products and solutions.

Contact informationFROMM Holding AGHinterbergstrasse 26CH-6330 Cham, SwitzerlandPhone: +41 / 41 741 57 41Fax: +41 / 41 741 57 60Website: www.fromm-pack.com

MH610 PET strapping head and P330 PET strapping tool – the strongest combination

Technical data for strapping head MH610

Suitable strapping qualities: StarStrap Polyester (PET)

Strapping dimensions: widths thicknesses

25.0 – 32.0 mm / 1 – 1 1/4¨

0.40 – 1.35 mm / .016 - .055¨

Average seal strength: up to 85% of strap breaking strength (dependent on strap quality)

Sealing method: friction welding

Strap tension: 7000N adjustable

Feed/retract speed: 5.3 m/s / 17.4 ft/s

Tension speed: 105 mm/s / 4 1/8 ft/s

Package size: min. W150 x H180 mm W 5 9/10 x H 7”max. W3000 x H3000 mm W 9.84 x H 9.84 ft

Power supply: 400V – 3PE – 50Hz230V – 3PE – 60Hz

Consumption: 1.1KW

Control Voltage: 24V DC

Dimension: L 615 x W 307 x H 446 mm / L 24 x W 12 x H 17.5¨

Weight: 115 kg/118 kg / 253/260 lbs

Technical data for strapping tool P330



19.0 – 25.0 mm / 3/4 – 1¨

0.60 – 1.53 mm / .025 – .062¨

Average seal strength: up to 85% of strap breaking strength (dependent on strap quality)

Sealing method: friction welding

Strap tension: 300-6000N adjustable

Battery: 28 VDC/3.0 Ah Lil

Weight: 7 kg/ 15.4 lbs

Technical data for strapping tool P380



13.0 – 19.0 mm / 1/2 – 3/4¨0.40 – 1.35 mm / .016 – .053¨

Weight incl. suspension bracket 6.8kg / 15 lbs

Tool sizes with suspension bracket L39O x W135 x H305 mm / 15.4¨ x 5.3¨ x 12.0¨

Average seal strength: up to 75% (dependent on strap quality)

Type of seal Friction weld sealing

Strap tension: 600-1800N / 135-405 lbs (adjustable)

Tensioning speed: 120-260 mm/s / 47-10.2 inch/s

Max air pressure: 60 bar / 87 psi Type of seal

Min. package size Flat packages: 80 mm / 3.1¨Round packages: 2 x 70 mm / 2.7¨ or 1 x 240 mm / 9.4¨

27

FRESH THINKING FOR A BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENTAND IMPROVED EFFICIENCY

The most important element for smelters around the world today is qualified personnel.A modern smelter today has a high focus on security and good working conditions for their employees. At the same time there are still several areas which can be improved in portion to safety, working environment and process performance.SMV have worked close together with our customers for more than 53 years and have developed concepts which have contributed to this improvement.

As supplier to this market it is of high importance that we are conscious about the changes happening and contribute actively with good solutions.As an example for this, I would like to mention one project we had some years ago. One customer contacted us and wanted to discuss how to improve one type of pot room vehicles. They had heavy maintenance costs on these vehicles and also higher appearance of sick leave compared to operators on other vehicles.Together with our customer we exposed the areas of improvement by using the maintenance log, we

made a new design for the working tools, and at the same time we had a high focus on ergonomic issues. When we delivered the vehicle it was equipped with hydraulic suspension on all wheels, the cabin was equipped with an air suspended operators chair mounted on a hydraulic rotating table, this was to ensure correct orientation towards the working area. After some months in operation it was exposed that sick leave related to neck, shoulder and back problems had been more than halved.After one year the maintenance costs also was more than halved. A strong focus on these important issues contributes to a shorter payback time for the investment and to a better working environment.The latest years we have seen a considerable extent of involment from the people executing the tasks on a daily basis, such as maintenance, vehicle and process operators. This change have been very positive and we can conclude that it contributes to better products from us, and greater grade of ownership from the customers side.In the following I will present some

of our concepts that have been developed very much in the same way with good customer involment and the creativeness of our skilled staff.

Reduce HF, improve working conditionsHot Bath Crushing system (HBC)In aluminium production hot bath are produced through the operation of changing anodes. Most smelters today have focus on how to reduce HF emissions, improve working conditions, effective utilization of building area and effective logistics.

SMV hot bath crusher is designed to receive grabbed bath from the anode changing operation.The first two hours are critical related to HF emission, and it is important to bring the bins with hot bath to the HBC as soon as possible after anode changing. When tilted into the HBC the process starts automatically, the fumes are extracted into the suction/ scrubber system, the material is crushed down and distributed onto a covered cooling conveyor. The length of the cooling conveyor depends on the capacity needed and what temperature the second stage fine processing can handle.This system is suitable in order to reduce emissions of fluoride, but it also reduces substantial


the amount of bins in circulation, liberate expensive cooling areas forbins and also reduce the need of handling equipment and operators in the recycling process.

Improve Anode ConsumptionHot Anode Milling machine.In Aluminium plants with pre-bake technology, there can occur peaks under the anodes under different conditions. This can occur under startup of pots, lower anode quality and how the pots are operated and tuned. The deviance can occure as “mushrooms” or peaks, but also as unevenness surface of the anodeblock underside. In both cases these deformations disturb the electrolysis and should be removed.Normally the troubled anode is taken out and replaced, or the anode is taken out and the deformation is attempt i.e removed by dragging it over the floor with limited success. To secure optimal utilization of the carbon block, SMV have designed the Hot Anode Milling Machine, and since 1985 we have delivered over 30 machines.The principle of operation is that the machine is moved to the pot where the troubled anode is, the anode is placed into the milling

area of the machine by crane or anode changer vehicle. The milling operation takes approx. 4-6 min. and the anode is put back with a clean and uniform surface. The total time outside the pot should not be more than 10-15 min. and the disturbance of the process and heat loss is minimal for the pot.The operator is sitting inside the cabin with full overview of the milling and with no exposure to the fumes and heat.

Safe and efficient Service/ Inspection on pot and pipesSMV Service wagonAt the top rack over the pots, there are several components which need to be inspected or replaced regularly. Most smelters also have feeding of oxide trough wall mounted pipes which have to be cleaned or replaced.The SMV Service wagon is a small and flexible vehicle and can be operated by one operator. The Service wagon is equipped with operator basket and a service crane. The platform is raised and faced with the pot, and the crane helps with lifting components from the floor/ vehicle to the top of the pots. All movements of crane and platform is done from the remote controlled panel.It is designed for effective and secure performance and gives the operator a chance to execute the work in a safe way.

Before Milling

After Milling

Reduce voltage dropEffective Anode Beam Repair SystemAfter some time the contact surface between the anode beam and anode stem is damaged, it is most important to have a smooth surface to avoid voltage drop.SMV have developed a system for Milling and welding of anode beams. The work can be performed inside pot rooms or in the service area for cell reparation.The system is tailor made for each customers need and can be equipped with one or two milling heads, for dual milling/welding or single milling/welding operation. The equipment is hooked onto the anode beam with crane or forklift, and it is operated from a remote control panel.

Efficient LogisticSMV Anode transportersConsiderable masses of new anodes and used butts are transported. For most aluminiumplants these operations represents high costs due to tear and wear of the flooring. SMV’sAnode Transporters are easily maintained, and their advanced suspension system reduces thedamage on foors.The anode transporters consists of a standardized truck with tailor made trailer for different customers.

The Operator has full control with direct view to the loading/ unloading of pallets. If required the wagon may be equipped with covers.

By Lars Hovda, SMV A/S

29

COMPANY PROFILESMV was founded in 1958 and has a wealth of experience as a supplier to a variety of markets. What began as a company supplying the local market in the Sunnhordland region has now grown to encompass a range of products and services provided to the local, national and international markets.

Today, SMV is a multi-disciplined company working within the field of industrial mechanics. Our various departments, including development and construction, machining, installation, testing, surface-treatment and service, make it possible for us to provide packages covering everything from entire projects to smaller, individual sections.

By using modern design and construction programs our engineers perform design of vehicles, stationary machines for Potrooms, Rodding and bath recycling for the Aluminium Industry especially.

SMV also has long experience with training, start ups, maintenance and preventive service

on electro hydraulic machines / equipment. This work is performed both in house at SMV or on site at Customer facilities (mechanical, electrical, hydraulics, pneumatics).

SMV also has a number of strategic business partners that complement us in areas such as the prefabrication of steel , automation and material transportation.

The company is ISO 9001-2000 Certified.

SMV Technology

• Product Development• Engineering Services• Project Development and Management• Spare Parts• Machine Safety CE• Safety Solutions and Products

SMV Production

• Machining• Special Welding• Installation• Testing• Surface-Treatment

SMV Service

• Service of Industrial Machines• Service of Hydraulic Components• Preventative Maintenance• Renovation of Machinery

Contact Information:

Lars HovdaManaging director

Telephone Office : +47 53771200Telephone Direct : +47 53771202Telephone Mobile: +47 90840855

E-mail : [email protected]

Web : www.smv.as

Martin FitjeTechnical Manager

Telephone Office : +47 53771200Telephone Direct : +47 53771206Telephone Mobile: +47 90840853

E-mail : [email protected]

Web : www.smv.as


The search for alternative drive systems is nothing new: back in 1900 Ferdinand Porsche introduced the electric Lohner Porsche with wheel hub motors, followed in 1902 by a hybrid vehicle.

Faced with rising oil prices, tight budgets and concerning environmental developments, manufacturers of forklift trucks are coming up with ever more efficient and environmentally friendly drive systems, both IC motor and electric. But which systems best meet the customer’s requirements?

Back in 1900 Ferdinand Porsche launched the highly regarded

electric Lohner Porsche with wheel hub motors at the World Exhibition in Paris. A racing version followed and by 1902 there was even a hybrid vehicle.

Public interest is focused on alternative drive technologies depending on oil prices. A hype cycle represents phases of public receptiveness to new technologies. Due to the climate debate and rising energy costs we are now in a cycle of maximum receptiveness to alternative drive systems.

With lift trucks however, drive technologies and energy efficiency for optimum customer intralogistics solutions have always been at the

heart of research and development. This applies especially to in-house, battery powered warehouse vehicles.

Multi-shift operation with a single battery charge, avoiding battery replacement and simply reducing battery sizes have immediate cost implications for our customers. Energy recovery in braking and load lowering, efficient AC threephase drive systems and state-of-the-art charging technologies have long been standard at Jungheinrich, developed over many years.

With IC motor trucks fuel costs account for over one third of total costs. With its latest hydrostatic truck generation (keyword: state-of-the-art TDI motors) Jungheinrich is again one step ahead of the competition. This has been borne out time and again in independent comparative tests. As a result we offer a product range that is already extremely attractive from a carbon footprint perspective.

The choice of drive system technologies depends on the customerNew drive systems must always be judged by how much they improve customer advantage. And customer requirements are becoming increasingly complex. They include above all

• Energy efficiency,• Low / zero emissions• Short fuel times,• High capacities,• A positive carbon footprint and above all,• A low total cost of ownership

And this is where the wheat is separated from the chaff in the drive systems currently being debated. Although hybrid and fuel cell systems meet the criteria for

FORKLIFT DRIVE SYSTEMS – BETWEEN THE HYPE AND REALITY

31

short fuelling/charging times and improve the carbon footprint, in terms of total cost of ownership these technologies are simply uneconomical for customers. In the foreseeable future fuel cell technology is unlikely to make the leap to economic efficiency, despite rising energy costs.

Energy costs will continue to rise as new technologies decrease in cost. This applies in particular to lithiumion batteries, should these gain a foothold in the automotive industry in future. If costs fall significantly as a result of automated production, lithium ion batteries could fully exploit their advantages over lead acid batteries.

• Three times the storage capacity with the same weight,• Higher currents and hence performance for the same size,• Better efficiency for the same charge and discharge performance,• Shorter charging times,• Considerably higher number of charge/discharge cycles,• Greater use of capacity - lead acid batteries are generally only 80% discharged by the time the voltage fails,• Reducing the useful life significantly.

Lithium-ion technology is becoming an alternative to lead acid batteriesThe combination of lithium-ion technology with efficient electric motors can therefore be used initially in smaller vehicles. However, with appropriate investment it could increasingly be used with larger vehicles as an economic alternative to the traditional lead acid accumulator. At the moment we cannot accurately predict when this will be. It depends largely on developments in the automotive industry.

But what about the much-debated hybrid drive system in industrial trucks? A factual assessment of this not exactly new technology requires the right comparisons to be made. If you compare outmoded technology from a previous generation with the latest hybrid technology, there is indeed a reduction in consumption in excess of 40%. It is misleading to publish such figures. If you compare Jungheinrich’s latest generation of energy-efficient trucks with hybrid technology, the potential for a reduction in consumption through hybrid systems reduces drastically. It’s the same with the car industry. Modern diesel vehicles have virtually the same consumption levels as hybrids. If you factor in the additional technical cost, the carbon footprint equation may even be negative.

According to Marek Scheithauer, Head of Product Management for IC motor trucks at Jungheinrich’s Moosburg plant, there are only a small range of applications where the hybrid systems can be used effectively. The additional technology required is only worthwhile on highly intensive operations and even then only if diesel and LPG prices increase by a further 50%.

Conclusion: Electric mobility and hybrid technology have been around for over 100 years. Fuel cell technology has also been known for decades and was used back in the 60s as an energy source for the Apollo missions. The real challenge lies in developing the technology specifically to optimise costs taking into account all application factors.

The automotive industry must play its roleThe time is right to introduce a new technology when its application advantages outweigh those of the old technology. Wide-ranging public interest in new drive technologies should not distract our attention from the main focus. According to a VDMA study, over the next ten years 56% of efficiency improvements will come from existing technologies. In addition lithium-ion technology has great prospects for finding its way into industrial trucks. Not least, the industrial truck sector is dependent on the support of the automotive industry to force through the enormous amount of investment required for cost-effective battery production.

Jungheinrich will continue to actively develop alternative drive technologies without losing its focus for improving existing technologies. This will allows us to provide trucks that meet criteria for efficiency and a good carbon footprint. When the opportunity arises to achieve a greater customer advantage through lithium-ion or hybrid technology, Jungheinrich will offer its customers these trucks.

by Peter Dibbern

32 SURFACE INSPECTION

On-line Defect Detection,identificatiOn anD reporting

for further information visit www.cognex.com/sisd email [email protected] or call:US +1 508 650 4141 Europe +49 721 66390China +86 21 63517377Japan +81 35977 5400

real time inspection of aluminium enables faster process correction anD better yielD optimization.

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SURFACE INSPECTION

Isra Vision ParsytecSurface Master-Breaking The Limits Of Aluminium Surface Inspection. p. 34-37

CognexComplete Process Vision Improves Product QualityAnd Process Efficiency With Rapid Roi p. 38-40

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35

Increased customer demands and a competitive market in today’s aluminium strip production have made it critical to continuously work on improving efficiency in the manufacturing process and the overall quality of the final product. Automatic surface inspection is the status quo in many production steps. SURFACE MASTER defines the top in terms of image acquisition and classification, but the key for the successful use of surface inspection systems is the inspection performance. What does inspection performance mean? Even the best images will not help improving the process or making precise quality decisions without a system selecting the relevant information from the huge amount of data. Beside proper detection of surface defects, classification is the key to the most important step: creating data quality. SURFACE MASTER filters and aggregates the defect information to support your decisions in process optimization, material grading and downstream optimisation.

Inspection PerformanceThe goal using surface inspection systems is creating the base for confident quality decisions. The major aspect to allow this is Inspection Performance that means getting exactly the data which is needed for the decision. This includes sharpest images, confident detection and exact classification of the relevant defects.It starts with image acquisition: The broad experience of ISRA VISION PARSYTEC with all

SURFACE MASTER-BREAKING THE LIMITS OF ALUMINIUM SURFACE INSPECTION SURFACE MASTER DEFINES INSPECTION PERFORMANCE IN A NEW WAY

kinds of production lines in the aluminium manufacturing process is condensed into a portfolio of SURFACE MASTER Sensor configurations, well adapted to the individual line types, thus providing optimum image acquisition during the aluminium manufacturing process. SURFACE MASTER guarantees highest resolutions, even on fast production lines by using the most advanced cameras. For most complex inspection tasks on lines with a great variety of material – from bright to dark and from shiny to dull - the DUAL SENSOR™ creates best image quality by combining one sensor with diffuse illumination and one sensor with direct light. The following figure illustrates the advantage of the combined approach.

After detecting the defects within an image, it’s necessary to classify them according to the defect type and grade to prepare quality decisions. The hierarchical classifier approach using specialized classifiers, e.g. for shells or for scale, allows a

differentiation at a classification rate far beyond what’s possible using just a single classifier and is the precondition to create data quality. It allows filtering the data according to the different tasks. To protect a tension leveller, only information about holes and edge cracks is necessary. To inform the melt shop about quality problems regarding the casting, only non-metallic inclusions may be relevant, whereas for process improvements, a lot of defects may be interesting.

ApplicationsSURFACE MASTER’s outstanding inspection performance allows a variety of (semi-)automatic appli-cations for immediate reaction on surface quality issues.

Tension Leveller ProtectionOne example is ISRA VISION PARSYTEC’s Tension Leveller Protection. Tension levelling lines have to deal with strip breaks. The costs of strip breaks are high, taking time to get the mill up and running again, additional costs arise due to

INSPECTION PERFORMANCE = PERCENTAGE OF CORRECT QUALITY DECISIONS

DUAL SENSOR™ unique with ISRA VISION PARSYTEC

DUAL SENSOR™ : all 8 real defects


roll shop cost, material loss, and overall attention to this problem. As strip breaks due to material defects often form the majority of strip breaks, eliminating those allows putting a clear focus on the operational issues. Based on the highest inspection performance, SURFACE MASTER offers a unique and innovative tension leveller or cold mill protection solution, scale perfectly applies to tension leveller in aluminium. Severe surface defects can cause strip breaks in a tension levelling line, leading to loss of material and machine downtimes. Identifying these defects in-time for immediate process reaction provides significant yields in terms of runability and throughput.

Harmful defect (hole) at a tension levelling line

Ensuring Highest Quality Standards: Defect Marking (fig.1)Aluminium producers that are simultaneously supplier to further processing industries such as can manufacturers have been asked to physically mark defective strip areas .This allows discharging marked areas of the strip in the end-users manufacturing process. Hence, the highest possible quality standard

of the produced material can be assured. During production, critical defects will be detected automatically for the marking process. Immediately after the recognition, the relevant defects can be marked. On top, if there is sufficient time between the defect recognition and the required action of marking, a review by the operator of the defects which are going to be marked can be addi-tionally included in the procedure. This overall process is based on a rule set which is defined and adjust-ed according to the requirements of each end-user.This defect marking solution helps providing material of a constant high quality. The interactive ap-proach supports the decision-mak-ing process of the inspector

Automatic Sorting (fig.2)If the time for an inspector’s review is too short, there is also the possibility for fully automatic operation. One very effective application is the Automatic Sorting, e.g. for coated Litho sheets.The strip is cut into sheets, but not all of those sheets are of the same high quality. Sorting the sheets automatically according to their quality can be enabled by an inspection system, specially trained for triggering this sorting process.

Advanced System Characteristics To Create BenefitsInspection performance is the key for confident decisions but there are other characteristics making an inspections system breaking today`s limits.

Image Processing PowerTo get the best detection performance on high resolution images, even at highest speed, the inspection system needs sufficient Image Processing Power to precisely analyse each and every image taken from the surface. SURFACE MASTER allows adjusting this power exactly to the specific needs.

Fast Start-UpThe best inspection system will not create benefit if the commissioning takes too long. SURFACE MASTER contains easy to use tools to setup the system in shortest time. SURFACE MASTER comes with an instant classifier and pre-settings which allow starting the payback within one month.

(fig.1) Defect Marking

37

Highest System AvailabilitySURFACE MASTER is designed to guarantee 100% inspection. The system utilizes standard hardware that can be exchanged in shortest time. The cameras are pre-

calibrated, so that even a change can be done within shortest time. For even higher availability redundancy packages are available.

(fig.2) Automatic Sorting

AuditabilityToday’s customers are more and more interested in the used quality management. Your customer will trust you because SURFACE MASTER offers tools and reports for best auditability. This starts with a comprehensive system diagnosis and a long term analysis of the system performance and ends with a System Performance Indicator for each produced coil.

ConclusionWe can conclude that surface defects make surface inspection indispensable for each and every aluminium manufacturer. Surface Inspection Systems enable the detection of surface defects and thereby give the possibility to repair defects where possible or to eliminate their causes. To get the full benefit out of the surface inspection results, only the relevant information must be filtered out from the vast data. Hence, SURFACE MASTER with its outstanding inspection performance contributes to the enhancement of the produced material by reducing downtimes of the system due to fewer coil breaks, by producing less scrap and thus lowering the manufacturing costs, and by finally gaining high-quality aluminium. Surface inspection should be an integral part of the production process chain in the aluminium industry as it guarantees a high level of surface quality.

ISRA VISION PARSYTECAuf der Hüls 18352068 AachenGermany

Superior Quality and Optimum Yield: SURFACE MASTER in Action

Online view on the running coil and all defect images•Coil reports to travel with the coil•Width measurement report•Web reports make the quality visible on the intranet•Shift reports to examine the shift performance•

Process and Product AnalysisSURFACE MASTER offers flexible reporting and analyzing tools for operators, quality engineers and controller. Examples are:


COMPLETE PROCESS VISION IMPROVES PRODUCT QUALITY AND PROCESS EFFICIENCY WITH RAPID ROI

Goal: maximize product quality and yield, and reduce production costs.

Today’s leading aluminum suppliers strive to continuously improve their rolling processes to maximise product quality and yield, and to minimise production costs. For example, in the extremely competitive aluminum can business, producers seek to obtain the highest level of quality at the lowest price. For this reason, any technology that enables a supplier to produce the desired product with greater efficiency and yield—in other words at a lower cost would be highly desirable. With lower production costs, suppliers can achieve greater flexibility by balancing their sales price and sales volume to stay competitive. Even incremental improvements in process efficiency and yield can markedly impact profitability.Detecting and identifying defects prior to value-added downstream processes is one important way to reduce cost and ensure product quality. Ideally, the line supervisor would like to quickly identify where a defect originated within the process, or determine if the defect was actually created in a prior process. When production line problems are solved rapidly, downtime and scrap are minimised, and yield is maximised.In many situations, new worker safety requirements and machine guarding prevent operators from manually inspecting the strip while the line is in operation. As such, another way to reduce cost is to address the inspection challenges created when employees are physically isolated from machines. Enhancing manual inspection processes with vision technologies

not only improves operator safety, it also frees employees from tedious tasks.

Aluminum manufacturers also seek new aluminum applications. One such opportunity is the substitution of steel with specialized or premium quality aluminum to enable manufacture of lighter weight vehicles. For this application, end users require a more optically uniform, defect-free strip. To produce such a strip often requires next-generation inspection techniques.Though surface inspection systems are commonly used to examine metal strip, there is a critical need for advanced vision technologies that can pinpoint the exact location of an upstream process problem with greater speed and accuracy. Of course, any new vision technology chosen to address these trends is expected to produce a rapid return on investment (ROI).

Current approachTo achieve these goals, many aluminum suppliers have adopted surface inspection systems. These vision systems routinely and reliably detect surface defects and irregularities using various camera and lighting configurations including collimated, diffuse, or side lighting depending on the application. With collimated light, two sets of cameras capture the material surface from different angles thus enhancing defect detection. In real time, experienced operators can use the resulting images to aid in troubleshooting line problems.Engineering and quality departments aggregate and analyze the defect information in support of their longer term-process improvement

recommendations and decision-making. Customer service and order fulfillment departments often use the information to grade, allocate and price the product to the appropriate use and end-user.Advanced systems, such as SmartView® Metals with patented SmartLearn® Multi-Step Classifier, automatically classify defects and irregularities to give the operator more insight about the overall quality of the coil. However, even when using advanced systems, confirming the “why and where” of the problem can be a time-consuming and imprecise task. When small defects occur in a very large strip, finding the source of the problem can be as difficult as “finding a needle in a haystack.” As a result, these defects can shut down a production process for hours. Though millions of miles of metal strip have been successfully examined by surface inspection systems, there remains a need to automatically, and thus more rapidly, pinpoint the exact location of an upstream process problem.

A better solution: complete process monitoring speeds problem resolutionThe solution to the problem lies in the integration of high-resolution surface inspection at the line exit, with video cameras that are synchronized and strategically-placed throughout the line. To create this solution, software (SmartSync) is used to link high-resolution surface inspection (SmartView) and web-based monitoring (SmartAdvisor™). The combination of capabilities produces a comprehensive view of the entire rolling process in which the visual synthesis of upstream and downstream events captured on video enable the

39

operator to rapidly determine the root cause of defects and take immediate corrective action. With the combined solution, process problems are resolved more rapidly enabling the supplier to minimize if not eliminate defects, and to increase yield and efficiency.Though this combined solution is new to the metals industry, it is based on proven technology leveraged from other continuous-strip applications where hundreds of similar systems are installed worldwide. The technology has been specifically adapted to metals, using early-adopter feedback from the world’s largest aluminum manufacturers.The SmartAdvisor process monitoring system uses a series of cameras to monitor multiple user specified points along a production line simultaneously. Patented line-synchronization technology integrates all the images together into one fully-visualized process flow. Because the cameras are automatically synchronized to continuous metal processing, it tracks and pinpoints

where a defect or problem in the process occurred, from root cause to failure, more accurately and efficiently than single-point surface inspection. Operators are also able to determine if the defect originated in the current process or if the defect was already present in the raw material. Its cameras can be configured to focus very closely on the strip, or further away to capture the overall work environment.The flexible front-end of the design ensures that the complete rolling process from entry to exit can be scaled up to provide synchronized vision and process control across the entire production line. Critical defects and process upsets automatically trigger a video of the defect on the strip as it passes each camera’s vantage point. The SmartSync software combines video and defect classification information into an integrated composite quality map. Its database allows reporting of all visual anomalies.

The SmartAdvisor system can also function as a standalone inspection and diagnostic tool. Aluminum suppliers currently use its video and defect detection information to inspect the bottom-side of their slabs. Because it is portable, the solution can be used to troubleshoot almost any process including slitters and cut-to-length lines. Repeating defect detection algorithms have been specifically designed to find defects such as roll marks.

Results obtainedUsing this technology, aluminum processors are already increasing their quality and yield, and reducing unscheduled downtime. Time is no longer wasted troubleshooting or performing maintenance on the wrong machine or the wrong process. By eliminating manual inspection and other costs such as material handling and unnecessarily scrapping good material, they are also realizing substantial cost savings.

Fig. The integrated combination of surface inspection and process monitoring platforms provides a comprehensive view of the complete process.


For one of the industry’s largest aluminum suppliers, the cost savings realized surpassed the cost of their system --$100,000 US-- in less than one month. This rapid ROI was achieved due to a marked improvement in the supplier’s ability to:

• Track down the root-cause or origin of defects by “rewinding” images from each location on the line.• Determine whether a defect originated from an upstream line, for example the hot strip mill or occurred on the current line, the cold mill.• Immediately identify and confirm welding defects before they became much larger, more costly problems downstream.

Though these results are quite remarkable, with the cost savings achieved, users can expect a typical system to pay for itself in nine months or less.

Jason Zyglis, Strategic Marketing Manager, COGNEX Corporation

A repeating defect classified at the rolling mill exit was also seen as it entered the rolling mill.

Real-time and historic video from each process monitoring camera

41

PRIMARY SMELTING AND PROCESSES

ECLNew Anode Rodding Shop Solutions p. 42-44

FLSmidthMoller® Technology: Advanced Solution For Direct Feeding Of Electrolytic Cells p. 45-47

42

Driven by Innovation Innovation is in everything we do and in all the equipment we design and build.

For over 60 years, ECL™ has been the benchmark for reliable, high quality and cost-effective equipment for aluminium smelters, for all technologies and in all sectors.

We will maintain that focus now and in the future

www.ecl.fr

43

NEW ANODE RODDING SHOP SOLUTIONS

1970, Eastalco, State of Maryland, USA: ECL commissioned his first complete anode rodding shop, from loading/unloading station to casting station. 40 years later, ECL has gained an extensive know-how and unrivalled experience with more than 40 smelters equipped with ECL machines across 6 continents. Able to offer from single machines to turnkey rodding shops for all types of anode (2, 3, 4 or 6 tubs) including engineering of the building (Alba Line 5 – 2003, Jonquière – 2009, Balco – 2010) and construction of the building (Emal Phase 1, 2010); ECL has designed and set up more than280 machines, constituting the largest worldwide installed base in the primary aluminium industry.

Rodding shop design through flow managementNeedless to say that the anode rodding shop is a complex system playing a major role

in the smelter efficiency and productivity. Its performance can dramatically influence reduction line operation but also the lifetime of Anode Baking Furnaces flue walls. The reduction line must be constantly supplied with new anodes whereas spent anodes are taken out of the pots. Hence the rodding shop has some absolute imperatives: quality, productivityand reliability. It’s why ECL attaches considerable importance to the first phase of the rodding shop: DESIGN. As a start, ECL always considers first the smelter’s targets in terms of production quality and productivity. This includes identifying solutions to reduce operating cost and increase capacity. The type and quantity of stations needed is only a part of theequation. To help it in this task, ECL employs a highly specialized software (Witness®) commonly used in the automotive industry to organize and simulate the anode

flow, taking into account the cycle times, reliability and availability rates of machines, anode buffer sizes between machines, conveyors speed and machines locations. Various solutions are simulated to determine the best set of machines and rodding shop organization. This allows ECL to guarantee an efficient solution with given production performance for single machines or complete shops.To ensure the optimum productivity of the shop, a global flow, production and maintenance management system can also be put in place. To this end ECL provides a level 2 solution giving access to a large amount of information regarding each station and the whole rodding shop operation. The centralized computer receives from each station several information such as Input, Output, Alarms status, fault status and operator’s shifts changes. The computer

Cast iron thimblesrejection

Butt entry

Stem Exit

Carbonrejection

44 PRIMARY SMELTING AND PROCESSES

analysis helps determine for each machine the availability rate, the breakdown statistics and therefore its reliability and productivity. The level 2 solution allows the total optimisation of the rodding shop. It can also assist in determining which station needs to be doubled or replaced for a possible smelter expansion. As a reference, at Alba smelter only 9 shifts per week have been determined as necessary to produce the anode assemblies required for the 336 pots (AP35 technology) whereas 12 shifts were specified originally.When designing rodding shop equipment, ECL also focuses on environment, health and safety. Special features, unique technical solutions and extensive safety systems have been designed to control the dust created by the spent anodes cleaning process and the high noise levels in order to help our customers in their HSE efforts and ensure a safe and clean working environment for the workers.

Innovation, around specific customer requirementECL is constantly investing for the future, continuously innovating and continually partnering with its customers for win-win solutions no matter is the project: complete turnkey system for Greenfield smelters or retrofit project within an existing plant. ECL delivers improvements in operational efficiency while always adding value to its customer’s assets.For instance, we can underline the high level of ECL innovation with the 2-in-1 station. Even if each station is assigned to a specific task in the cleaning or rodding process, ECL designated and commissioned in 2009 during EMAL‘s phase 1 the Butt & Thimble Stripping Machine. It combines the butt stripping and thimble breaking functions which brings remarkable savings in capital investments but also significant reduction of the total cycle time. Special jaws are placed around the anode stubs, protecting them from bending.They are equipped with knives on

the underside that break the carbon block when it is pushed against them by the breaking tool coming from below. Once the carbon is removed, the same tool continues its upward movement to push the thimbles against the lower surface of the jaws, until the bottom of the anode stub reaches the level of the jaw. Both carbon and iron pieces fall on the same conveyor. They are separated for recycling by pushers on a sorting table. The total cycle time is lowered down to less than 50 seconds per anode, against 88 seconds for separate stations.We can also mention the anode cooling tunnel, one of the last but not least functional machines developed by ECL engineers and recently installed at Emal as well. This system ensures the heat treatment of spent anodes after the hot bath removal facility. The cooling tunnel use blowers to force ambient air or outside air into the tunnel while drawing heated airfrom the anodes out after filtering. These results in significantly faster cooling times: the air volume blown in tunnel is calculated to lower down anode’s temperature of 200°C (392° Fahrenheit) in an hour, against 80 hours without cooling system whereas the butt conveyor length is reduced by 15% compared to a natural cooling solution.By manufacturing and commissioning 28 complete anode rodding shops, ECL has been able to constantly optimize the design of each station, increase dramatically the reliability and to create some innovative new ones to meet with customer’s requirements. ECL is committed to reach the performance required to feed smoothly the potrooms with sealed anodes of the highest quality, in the safest and most reliable environment as well as the lowest operation costs.

¨

45

IntroductionIt is a long way to the aluminium, beginning with mining of the clay-like ore called “bauxite”, and finalised with the electrolysis of alumina in the electrolytic cells.However the goal to realise the final step inside the electrolytic cell of this 24 hr smelting process in an environmentally friendly way with the highest level of reliability is extremely dependent on the method chosen for the feeding of electrolyte cells. Self-regulating and continuous feeding of the ore bunkers of the electrolytic cells, absolute dust free operation, no generation of fine particles, no segregation, no scaling, minimised energy consumption as well as minimised maintenance work, these are the indispensable characteristics of an advanced solution of a MÖLLER® Direct Pot Feeding System.

General DescriptionThe secondary oxide (fluorinated alumina), produced in the gas treatment centres (GTC) will be stored in silos, near by the GTC.This fluorinated alumina will be taken from the so-called fluorinated alumina silos and will be transported directly by the direct pot feeding system to each of the electrolytic cells. This pneumatic transport ensures a continuous fluorinated alumina feeding to each of the electrolytic cells. The MÖLLER® Direct Pot Feeding System works independently from the pot room cranes, fully automatically and completely dust free. Because of the design, maintenance work as well as the amount of spare parts are minimised. Furthermore, the MÖLLER® Direct Pot Feeding System has been designed to work with highest possible reliability under strongest winter summer and tropical conditions.

MOLLER® TECHNOLOGY: ADVANCED SOLUTION FOR DIRECT FEEDING OF ELECTROLYTIC CELLS

Functional DescriptionOne of the main requirements for the direct pot feeding is the smooth bulk material transport to the electrolytic cells. Bulk characteristics as grain size distribution are unchanged. Generation of fines (attrition), scaling as well as segregation is prevented by lowest possible conveying velocities (< 0.1 m/s) and minimised fluidising air amount. The fluorinated alumina will be taken from the fluorinated alumina silo at the gas treatment centre and will be transported to the so-called main bins, normally one main bin for each half of a pot room.The pneumatic transport to the main bins (near by the pot room walls) as well as the transport along the two pot room walls will be realised by the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide system. According to client requirements, different kinds of feeding systems to the electrolytic cells are available. The so-called 'Single-

Feed', the 'Double-Feed' or even 'Multi-Feed' systems can be foreseen.

'Single Feed System'The main MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide along the pot room feeds directly each of the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slides on top of the superstructure of the electrolytic cell.

'Double Feed System' or 'Multi Feed System'The main MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide along the pot room feeds distribution bins. Each of those distribution bins are connected with two or more electrolytic cells via MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slides on top of the superstructure of the electrolytic cells.All necessary venting is realized via venting domes which are connected to the gas duct of the GTC.The MÖLLER Direct Pot Feeding

Figure 1: Fluorinated alumina silo, MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW® pipe air slide to the pot room wall, main bins and

MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW® pipe air slide along the pot.

46

System is working fully automatically and is more or less 100% filled with Alumina all the time.The different customer requirements in view of free access to crust breakers, dosing devices and the possibility for removing the ore bunkers during operation, influences the final design of the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide on top of the superstructure of the electrolytic cell. When the bunker of an electrolytic cell is full and the bulk material cone level has reached the filling spout discharge opening of the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide, the mass flow of alumina is blocked automatically. When fluorinated alumina oxide is removed from the ore bunker of the electrolytic cell, the pneumatic transport starts again automatically and a constant and reliable mass feed rate to the pots is ensured. The fluidising of the fluorinated alumina inside the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide works permanently to ensure a constant bulk density.Due to the material cone level in the ore bunker of an electrolytic cell, the self-closing filling spout allows a self-regulating and continuous re-filling of the ore bunkers during operation of the smelting plant. The self-closed filling spout and the filling process of the ore bunker are shown in figure 2/3.Furthermore, no pressure tight sealing of the electrolytic cell is necessary, because of the low (over) pressure in the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide.The fluidisation air for the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide along the pot room will be supplied by rotary piston blowers or fans. The fluidisation air for the MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW pipe air slide on top of the superstructure of the electrolytic cells will be supplied by

Figure 2/3: Self-closed filling spout and filling process of the ore bunker of the electrolytic cell.

fans in order to reduce the energy consumption during operation to the necessary minimum amount.

ConclusionThe direct feed of the electrolytic cells is a fully integrated part of the electrolysis of Alumina.Highest possible quality of the aluminium as well as reliability of the smelting process cannot be achieved with any equivalent direct pot feeding system.The MÖLLER Direct Pot Feeding System satisfies highest possible requirements in view of reliability, smooth materials transport with unchanged bulk characteristics, dust emission and energy consumption. Variable design on top of the cell combined with single-, double- or multi-feed solutions meets all possible site requirements.Furthermore, this system is working fully self regulating and maintenance free.

Figure 4: MÖLLER FLUIDFLOW® pipe air slide on top of the superstructure of the electrolytic cell.

PRIMARY SMELTING AND PROCESSES

47

About FLSmidth

FLSmidth® is a market-leading supplier of equipment and services to the global minerals and cement industries. FLSmidth® supplies everything from single machine units to complete minerals and cement flow sheets including associated services.

With more than 13,000 employees, FLSmidth® is a global company with headquarters in Denmark and local presence in more than 50 countries including project and technology centres in Denmark, India, USA and Germany. FLSmidth® has over the past 130 years developed a business culture based on three fundamental values: competence, responsibility and cooperation.

The Group’s in-house resources are primarily engineers who develop, plan, design, install and service equipment, with most of the manufacturing being outsourced to a global network of subcontractors. This has proved to be both a robust and sustainable business model. FLSmidth®, therefore, has relatively few tangible assets and fixed costs leading to a flexible cost structure, which makes it possible to plan and adjust resources.

FLSmidth® is a learning organization, and our employees are our most valuable asset. As we continue to evolve, we will place even greater emphasis on performance and on attracting, developing and retaining people who can enhance our high-performance culture.

FLSmidth® carries out a focused effort in the area of research and development aiming at fulfilling customers’ future needs in terms of innovative technical solutions, high reliability and availability, minimum environmental impact and the lowest possible product lifecycle costs.

FLSmidth® in the alumina businessFLSmidth® first entered the alumina industry more than 100 years ago. Today FLSmidth® has an experienced team of engineers and support staff with extensive alumina experience located in offices around the world – and offers the latest equipment for most areas of an alumina plant.

Red side, white side and alumina handling Based on the Bayer process, invented by the Austrian chemist Josef Bayer, the alumina production process can be split into a ‘red side’ and a ‘white side’.

Red side solutions FLSmidth® offers equipment for the complete bauxite handling, storage, crushing and grinding flowsheet, complementing the digestion or dissolution of bauxite in hot caustic liquor. This is followed by the complete Settler-Washer train flowsheet for Red Mud using the leading technology acquired from Dorr-Oliver Eimco.

White side solutions FLSmidth® offers white side equipment, covering the complete flowsheet after the hydrate precipitation process, including MÖLLER® equipment technology for alumina handling and load-out. Overall, FLSmidth® equipment covers more than 50 percent of the equipment needs of a complete alumina plant, from the bauxite mine to the above refinery equipment. In addition, FLSmidth® also offers all equipment for alumina handling in the smelters.

MÖLLER® TechnologyThrough MÖLLER® technology, FLSmidth® specialises in design, engineering, procurement, erection and commissioning of pneumatic material handling systems for turnkey projects and components for the alumina industry. Our capabilities of handling primary alumina, secondary alumina, crushed bath and aluminium

fluoride comprise • Large capacity storage silo (up to 85.000 t realized) including anti-segregation filling and discharge• MÖLLER airlift conveying systems (up to 6oo t/h realized)• Pressure vessel dense phase conveying either with MÖLLER Turbuflow® our standard conveying pipe• MÖLLER screw pump conveying systems• Truck/wagon loading and unloading stations• Dosage systems• MÖLLER Fluidflow® pipe air slide and rectangular air slide conveying systems• MÖLLER direct pot feeding systems either with 100 % MÖLLER Fluidflow® pipe air slide conveying technology or as a hybrid of MÖLLER Turbuflow conveying pipe and MÖLLER Fluidflow pipe air slide• PTM filling stations• Modular designed systems – plug and play -

For more than 75 years the MÖLLER® brand has stood for high quality standard systems with more than 5.000 references worldwide.

Actual contracts under execution for Emirates Aluminium Smelter (secondary alumina silos, MÖLLER direct pot feeding system, PTM filling stations, primary alumina truck unloading stations and pressure vessel dense phase conveying systems for a mix of crushed bath/alumina oxide), for UC RUSAL/RusHydro’s Boguchansky Aluminium Smelter (MÖLLER direct pot feeding system) and C.V.G. ALCASA (MÖLLER direct pot feeding system) prove the strong position of FLSmidth® in the global aluminium smelter industry.

MÖLLER Alumina Handling Systems - High performance, high efficiency.FLSmidth Hamburg GmbHHaderslebener Strasse 725421 Pinneberg, [email protected]

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Novelis PAE Expert in Casthouse EquipmentUsing our technical expertise and experience, we engineer, build and commission complete CC and DC aluminium casting lines.

Continuous strip roll casters JUMBO 3C- 3CM

DC slab and billet casters, AUTOPAK automation systemIn-furnace metal treatment system IRMA

In-line metal treatment units ALPUR, JETCLEANER, PDBF, CFFAfter-sales services

Novelis PAECentr’Alp • BP 2438341 Voreppe cedexFrance

Tel +33 4 76 57 87 00Fax +33 4 76 56 65 [email protected]/PAE

Certified by Bureau Veritas CertificationISO 9001 • ISO 14001OHSAS 18001

novelis.com/PAE

49

CAST HOUSE

Hycast ASHycast Profile p. 50-51

Jasper GmbHMore Than 25 Years Of Optimised Thermal Technology p. 53

SMS Siemag AG A Fixed Quantity For Aluminium Rolling Mills p. 54-57

IST GmbH / KuttnerInternational Success For Kunttner Ist p. 59-61

¨

SMS SIEMAG Official Sponsors Of This Section

¨

50

Innovative Casthouse Solutions that Perform

Hycast ASIndustriveien 49 / P.O. Box 225N-6600 Sunndalsøra, NORWAYPhone: +47 71 69 38 00Fax: +47 71 69 00 65E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.hycast.no

51

In 1990 Hycast AS was established by Hydro to be a commercial manufacturer and marketorganisation for cast house technology developed in-house at Hydro’s R&D centre at Sunndalsøra. The first product was an inline degasser but shortly casting technology for extrusion billets, and stations for pot line metal fluxing followed. Most of the Hycast products have been captive during these two decades but late in 2009 it was decided that the whole portfolio of proven cast house technologies was open for sale in the external (non-Hydro) market. Hycast is a 100% subsidiary of Hydro Aluminium AS.

Today the Hycast product portfolio covers the whole casting centre and includes;1) Pot line metal fluxing (alkaline metal and carbide removal)2) In-line melt refining (Hydrogen and inclusion removal)3) Launder systems and rod feeder4) Casting tables for sheet ingot and extrusion ingot5) Vertical DC casting machines6) Control systems including automation and human/ machine interface.

The business model of Hycast is to be an engineering company for Aluminium cast house projects. Manufacturing is done by a limited number of qualified suppliers. Innovation is a highly prioritized task and new product development is done in close collaboration with the Hydro’s R&D and production systems, technology partners, customers and suppliers.

The core competence of Hycast is actually multi-disciplinary. Aluminium metallurgy knowledge is the basis for all our products and services but process understanding,

HYCAST PROFILE

mechanical and electrical engineering, automation and project execution is equally important competences at Hycast. Over the years a substantial number of small and large projects have been completed in most corners of the world. The largest project so far is Qatalum, a50MUSD project for Hycast. Here vertical DC casting machines, in-line filters, launders, casting tables for extrusion ingot, automation systems and more were delivered.

The reference list of Hycast is long and includes:

>40 crucible fluxing stations for pot line metal>60 in-line metal treatment units>100 extrusion casting tables

In addition to this several vertical casting machines, casting tables for sheet ingot, launder systems, rod feeders and automations systems are delivered around the globe.

HES have been the back-bone of Hycast from day one. Since the start in 1990 no Hycast employee has been injured at work! No fatality related to the operation of Hycast equipment has ever been reported. Hycast was the first to deliver a technology portfolio that eliminated the need for Chlorine in the cast house. This was made possible by combining the AlF3 potline fluxing (RAM) with the I-60 SIR in-line unit. The casting processes delivered by Hycastare highly automated and minimizes the need for operators being close to the casting pitduring all phases of the cast. The Hycast Safety Philosophy is embedded in the automationsystem, including hardwiring of all emergency functions.Service is a challenge when

working globally. To meet this challenge Hycast is staffed with highly skilled, experienced and mobile service engineers. In addition, in many cases customerassistance may be done from the Hycast office by accessing the cast house computers for investigations and trouble-shooting. Hycast is working continuously to secure supply and the best possible quality and price of spare parts.

Contact:Managing DirectorRoar ØrsundPhone: +47 917 40 129e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

52 CAST HOUSE

Can you achieve 70% energy e� ciency in your rodding shop?

The most e� cient way to save energy costs in your rodding shop is to

go electrical. Kanthal electrical heating systems have a net e� ciency of 70%,

compared to only 20% for gas.

Electrical heating systems has a number of additional advantages, such as zero

greenhouse gas emissions, a healthier work environment with less noise and

fumes, virtually no maintenance and consistent heating conditions between

batches.

With more than 70 years experience of delivering world-leading heating

solutions, Sandvik has the technology, R&D, and technical service to help you

become a winner.

www.sandv ik . com

Heating technology | Ole Stadum | Sales manager | Sandvik, Norway

CHALLENGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

53

MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF OPTIMISED THERMAL TECHNOLOGY

Jasper GmbH, more than 25 years of optimized thermal technologyThe prices for energy are exploding and therefore encumbering the outlay of energy-intensive companies. The price for oil has doubled during the last year and the prices for gas and electricity are adapted continuously.

Direct influence on the advertised price is limited, signing more favourable contracts only.Saving of energy is a central point of discussion in industrial applications. The capabilities to increase the efficiency of using energy, and therefore the profitability, are manifold. Jasper supplies solutions for these encumbrances.

Right from the start in 1983 the main objective of the Jasper GmbH is to offer thermal processing plants using energy as efficiently and economically as possible, increasing the profitability of the operating company accordingly. Today Jasper employs more than thirty people, in majority master engineers, following this guideline.Jasper GmbH offers a wide range of applications in thermal treatment.

Starting from the simple renewal of burner systems, up to the complete modernization of existing furnaces or building complete new installations, all this with consideration of the special demands of the single customer. Naturally the systems are equipped with regenerator technology for best possible energy saving.

The key products here are the PULSREG® or PULSREG® central and the new development PULSREG® medusa (pulsed, respectively switched operating

regenerator system) and the ECOREG® (rotating, continuously operating regenerator system), alternatively used depending on the application.

The ECOREG® regenerator, providing significant advantages for the industrial process, is available solely from Jasper. Energy savings up to 50% or better could be achieved with our regenerator technology.

Not less important for production with decreased input of energy is the furnace geometry. For instance the ECOMELTER© and MULTIMELTER© furnaces are a result of the long standing experience of Jasper GmbH.

A lot of melting, holding and homogenizing furnaces, complete casting lines and other special applications were realized during the last decades with total customer satisfaction. Reduction of input of fuel (and CO2 correlative) and increasing the profitability were the main intentions, at the same time an increase of production was achieved whenever possible. The scope of supply is completed with the construction and delivery (entirely) of rotary kilns. Jasper employs experts covering this technology.

Quite new in the scope of supply is the thermal treatment of waste. After successfully finishing the first pyrolysis system for support of a power plant in the year 2001 as a cooperation project, Jasper has acquired additional know how in this field of application and is able now to deliver complete systems. Therefore a new office (“Office West”) near Düsseldorf with experts to process these projects was founded.

New developments for utilizing waste are just in progress. Several optimized technologies are available now. Pyrolysis systems, batch operated or as rotary kilns for continuous operation, and hydro thermal treatment plants to utilize waste to pulverized fuel (equivalent to coal).

Perceiving the special conditions of today’s economy, Jasper provides contacts for reasonable financing or leasing of intended installations.

For more information, please contact:JasperGesellschaft für Energiewirtschaft und Kybernetik mbHBönninghauser Strasse 10D-59590 GesekeGermanyTel.: 02942 9747 0Fax.: 02942 9747 47Web.: www.jasper-gmbh.deE-Mail: [email protected]

54

A FIXED QUANTITY FOR ALUMINIUM ROLLING MILLS

CAST HOUSE

For several years, SMS Siemag has been among the world's leading suppliers of rolling mills for flat products made of steel and NF metals.

The range of applications for carbon steels and for high-alloy and stainless quality and special steel grades has always been the dominant field within the company, simply in view of the size of this market. With the strong growth of the worldwide market for aluminium flat products, the share of aluminium rolling mills in the sales volume of SMS Siemag has also risen.This gave the company reason to grant a larger degree of independence to its own Aluminium sector. Therefore, from the previous sales department that focussed on aluminium rolling mills, an independent "Aluminium Division" has now come into being, embracing not only the sales activities but also the order handling and designing of aluminium rolling mills. This reorganisation enables SMS Siemag to target the aluminium industry and attend to its needs in a much more focussed manner.The core products of the new division are hot and cold mills for aluminium strips, sheets and plates. Above all

for new plants, the services offered by SMS Siemag comprise much more than just the rolling mill. The new Aluminium Division nurtures a close cooperation with those other divisions of the company which include aluminium plants in their product portfolio. Such divisions are the Strip Processing Lines and Thermal Process Engineering Divisions which feature in their product ranges a very wide variety of processing lines for the prefabrication and treatment of semifinished products. Such lines comprise not only coating and shearing lines but also all thermal processing facilities such as continuous strip annealing lines and heat-treatment facilities for plates.The company is therefore predestined for the execution of orders for integrated plants in which the chief concern of the investors is to achieve certain final products in a guaranteed quality and quantity. Through the large number of facilities supplied, the company has acquired a wide degree of expertise in handling aluminium as a material. A good example of this would be the equipping of millstands with components that enable processing in a manner compatible with the materials used. Furthermore, SMS

Siemag has comprehensive process know-how which, for example, can be integrated into the automation of plants.The prime equipment in millstands are the facilities for improving thickness tolerances, profile and flatness of the rolled products. SMS Siemag accordingly equips its millstands with various technology packages which can be combined with one another and thereby achieve the optimisation of the strip geometry both by altering the roll shape and by dynamically adjusting the roll gap.An essential feature of both hot and cold rolling mills from SMS Siemag is their equipping with the CVC® plus (Continuously Variable Crown) technology. For the rolling of aluminium, CVC® plus is utilized in the hot rolling mill both for improving the strip profile and, particularly with thinner strip gauges, for improving the flatness. In cold rolling mills, CVC® plus is used for producing high-grade final products.The PFC profile and flatness control system is a dynamic process model that was developed specially for operation in hot rolling mills. In combination with the CVC® plus system and a work-roll bending system, the PFC process model satisfies the most stringent demands relating to the profile and flatness of the rolled strips. On the basis of the pass schedule calculation and the conditions currently applying in the rolling mill, this dynamic process model determines the setting values for the CVC® plus roll shifting, the roll bending and the multizone cooling.

6-high millstandsSMS Siemag can claim that it has further developed the 6-high millstand, originally designedfor the cold-rolling of high-strength steel strips, into a standard product for the production of high-grade aluminium strips. At all events, the company has supplied, or is in the Aluminium hot rolling mill

55

process of installing, 15 six-high stands to the aluminium industry over the past few years, above all inChina.The advantage of 6-high stands is that they cater for a very wide product range, from the hardest of alloys to soft input stock for foil manufacture, as well as for a wide spectrum of strip widths involving width-to-thickness ratios that can be quite extreme. The higher flexibility of the six-high stand in relation to the fluctuating strip dimensions shows itself to be especially valuable with regard to the strip widths extending from 1,000 to over 2,000 mm that are rolled on a mill. Also for the strip gauges, in which hot strip is reduced from 7 or 8 mm to thicknesses as small as 0.1 mm, the six-high stand has proved itself to be the more beneficialsolution as regards the ability to react flexibly to market demands.SMS Siemag – An established quantity on the Chinese market.The benefits of SMS Siemag's rolling mills were also quickly recognized by the rapidly developing Chinese aluminium industry. In the period before 2000, the company had already made sporadic deliveries of individual millstands to China, mainly as replacements for older plants. However, the real break-through on the Chinese aluminium market began with the delivery of two single-stand cold rolling mills to Nanshan Aluminium in 2007. Right from the start, these facilities enabled Nanshan to become one of the most up-to-date aluminium rolling mills in China for the manufacture of can

stock and pre-rolled strip for foil-making.Production commenced rapidly and already after a few years a further expansion was called for, resulting in a capacity increase in several steps from the original 300,000 tpa to today's 750,000 tpa. This is being achieved in 2012, for instance, with the commissioning of a threestand CVC tandem cold mill. On the new mill, pre-rolled can-stock strip is rolled in a maximum width of 2,100 mm and gauges of 0.2 to 0.3 mm from hot strip in gauges of 2.4 to 3.5 mm, in a single pass and therefore highly economically.The two 6-high cold-rolling stands supplied by SMS Siemag to Nanshan in the first expansion stage set the technological standards for virtually all further investments in cold rolling mills for the Chinese aluminium industry. The company has thus delivered 15 more 6-high cold rollingmills in the following years, 14 of them to China to firms such as Chinalco Ruimin, Wanji,Chinalco Nela, and shortly also to Alnan and Shandong Weiqiao, to mention just a few.During the last two years, SMS Siemag has received further important rolling mill orders fromChina. These include the hot and cold rolling mill with a capacity of 200,000 tons for XiamenXiashun. This mill, which originally gained an excellent reputation as a manufacturer of top quality aluminium foils, has received the following from SMS for its further expansion: a "1+1" hot

mill and a single-stand cold mill for the production of 2,150 mm-wide aluminium strips, which can be processed both in the form of pre-rolled foil-making strip and of lithography strip.It is not only among the country's large, well-established aluminium works that the rolling technology of SMS Siemag has been successfully introduced. Newcomers such as Qinghai PingAn Aluminium, Yunnan Aluminium, Shanghai Datun and Luoyang Wanji Aluminium have altogether ordered, or already received, six six-high CVC cold rolling stands as well as a 1+3 hot rolling mill from SMS Siemag. These facilities are being used without exception for the production of aluminium strip in high quality and in widths greater than two metres.Among the already existing works, Northeast Light Alloy Co. Ltd. in Harbin, which belongs to the Chinalco Group, has recognized the trend towards the establishment of a Chinese aeronautical industry and has modernized its existing plate-manufacturing facilities. Thus, in2006, SMS Siemag first received an order to build a reversing hot-rolling mill for aluminium plates with maximum widths up to 3,700 mm. Plates and sheets down to a minimum thickness of 8 mm are to be rolled from the ingots, of thickness up to 600 mm.A completely new works, designed exclusively for the demands of the aeronautical and vehicle-building industries, is currently being erected in Nanning in Guangxi province. AlnanAluminium Co. Ltd., which has gained previous experience with aluminium in the fields of foil manufacture and extrusion-presses, is moving into the production of plates and strips for the aeronautical and automotive industries and for shipbuilding and, for by far the most part, is making use of Western technologies for its entire production sequence. The company has accordingly ordered both the hot and the cold rolling mills from SMS Siemag. The hot rolling mill comprises a 65-MN reversing roughing stand and a 55-MN reversing finishing stand withCVC® plus technology. Aluminium plates in a width of up to 3,800 mm and a thickness of 8.0 to 260 mm are

Aluminium cold rolling mill

56 CAST HOUSE

produced. In addition, strips, sheets and plates of width up to 2,600 mm and in the thickness range from 2.2 to 12.0 mm are cold-rolled. The cold mill is a single-stand CVC® plus cold rolling stand in six-high construction, likewise from SMS Siemag. With a roll force of32 MN and a rolling torque of 476 kNm, the mill satisfies all preconditions for the processing of both thinner and also thicker and harder aluminium strips. The cold-rolled strips, covering a wide range of alloys, are up to 2,650 mm wide and thus suitable for the needs of motor-car construction and also, for example, of truck bodiesThe technology package being supplied by SMS Siemag to Alnan also includes the complete electrical and automation package, i.e. the drive engineering, instrumentation and outfitting with measuring devices, the Level 1 process control and the Level 2 technological models.

The world's strongest hot rolling standA special challenge was presented by not only the construction but also the delivery and installation of a hot-rolling millstand to Aleris in Koblenz. With its millstand parameters, it can be described as one of the world's strongest hot rolling mills for aluminium plates. Even though it is not the world's largest in respect of the plate width, it is without doubt the strongest hot plate mill as regards the thickness of the rolling ingots, the roll force and the transmittable torque.The roll gap allows the rolling of 800 mm thick ingots. Also the enlargement of the rolling width from the previous 3,600 mm to the future 3,900 mm provides benefits for the manufacture of wider and thicker aluminium plates for the aeronautical industry, with a view to successfully producing monolithic structures for the reduction of welded joints and for weightsaving.Really new dimensions, however, are achieved by the new millstand through the roll force of 60 MN

in combination with the drive power of 2 x 7,000 kW as well as the transmittable torque of 2 x 5,000 kNm with utilization of the permissible overload factors. This equipment enables the stand to satisfy the main demand that has been made, i.e. to achievea "more thorough kneading" during rolling as a precondition for improving the metallurgical properties. In this connection, Aleris envisages concrete possibilities for supplying the market with new products in the future, involving both monolithic plates and "multiclad" strips for heat exchangers.

The future will be: Plug & Work and Virtual RealityAs the outcome of a perfected standardization of the rolling mill components, it is proudly pointed out at SMS Siemag that these components will never depart from the digital path from their initial design to their completion. Even during the manufacturing process the parts remain traceable and are interlinked with the pertaining components.The consistent implementation of standardization was also one of the preconditions for developing a new process which, in its type and scope in the form practised today as "Plug and Work" at SMS, continues to be unique the world over. The benefits for the rolling mill owners are primarily that all control desks, control cabinets and computing systems are erected and interlinked at the SMS Siemag headquarters before being supplied to the customer. The owners of future rolling mills value above all the possibility of getting to know with their future plant already before it is delivered and also during its erection and installation via simulated real-time operation and becoming familiar with its operation. Thus, for example, all procedures, extending as far as the complete production process, can be simulated as a real process in combination with the future operation of the

rolling mill already in advance of the mill's delivery, erection and commissioning.Since the system also includes the preparation of the operating manual, the operator is moreor less practically integrated into the preparation and optimisation of "his" own manual. In doing this, he sits at the control desk which he will see again later on in the mill and runs through the various process steps, for which he receives immediate feedback. Plug and Work thus enables not only the training of the future operating crew but also the optimization of the sequences under incorporation of the already available experience of the customer himself."Making use of standardization" not only means the storage of unified components in adatabase but also their storage within the framework of experience-based documentationobtained from the entire handling chain of an order and then making them available to allparticipants in a new project. With this objective in mind, SMS Siemag has successfullystarted to develop a new model, designated in-house as a "mock-up".Under the scope of this model, all departments in the firm that are involved in a project, inother words the sales, design, electrical and automation, research and development andproduction departments, and also the fitters and commissioning personnel, are all unified in anetwork, enabling them to depict the new project as "Virtual Reality" and discuss all details ofit on this platform. The aim is to find an overall solution that is optimized in respect of tasksand customers and incorporates all of the experience collated in the different locations anddepartments of the firm. All participants involve themselves simultaneously in the project andmake a joint definition of the optimum standard in each instance.

57

Solid competence for the aluminum industry

Being able to trust in the expertise and performance of every team member, is the foundation for success. To our customers around the world this means being able to count on a comprehensive offering in the area of aluminum produc-tion. From thermal pre-treatment to shaping and refi ning, we always meet the constantly rising challenges of the market.

Whether in new plant construction or revamp projects, our solid process know-how encompasses the complete produc-tion cycle, including the integration of the latest electrical engineering and automation solutions.

Confi dence through performance – SMS Siemag.

Trust...

SMS SIEMAG AG

Eduard-Schloemann-Strasse 4 Phone: +49 211 881-0 E-mail: [email protected] Düsseldorf, Germany Fax: +49 211 881-4902 Internet: www.sms-siemag.com

Vertrauen_A4_e.indd 1 24.04.12 07:43

58 CAST HOUSE

Novelis PAE Expert in Casthouse EquipmentUsing our technical expertise and experience, we engineer, build and commission complete CC and DC aluminium casting lines.

Continuous strip roll casters JUMBO 3C- 3CM

DC slab and billet casters, AUTOPAK automation systemIn-furnace metal treatment system IRMA

In-line metal treatment units ALPUR, JETCLEANER, PDBF, CFFAfter-sales services

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59

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS FOR KUTTNER IST ¨

Contract for the design, development, construction and commissioning of a dual-chamber aluminium melting furnace for slightly contaminated scrap from China

In the hard-fought market of plants for the aluminium recycling industry, IST (Industrieofen + Stranggieß – Technik GmbH, Alfredstrasse 28, 45130 Essen, Germany) has had a successful track record.

Despite renowned competition, IST has distinguished itself through a convincing design for a furnace for the melting of slightly contaminated scrap, as well as chipping and trimming scrap. This design is a variation of the standard dual-chamber furnace concept.

The furnace is equipped with a modern and energy-efficient regenerative burner system, which assures low energy consumption when combined with the standard IST HDFLEX furnace door system and the EEI furnace pressure control flap.

Internal afterburning and adherence to applicable environmental standards are as much an integral part of the plant as the use of the latest EMP system with chargewell.

The furnace plant is regulated according to a strict PROSTEP process stage control system developed by IST and thereby provides a high level of operational and workplace safety.

IST stands for modern design and development of the latest technologies in the area of furnace construction and can count well-known companies like Hydro,

ALERIS, Rio Tinto and TRIMET amongst its many satisfied customers.

IST does not stand for the engineering and delivery of new plants. Instead, it focuses on the modernisation of existing melting and casting plants.

In addition to the purely technical optimisations, the HDFLEX sealing door system developed by IST should also be mentioned. It has been installed and used by numerous renowned operators and contributes to a sustained reduction in energy consumption and maintenance expenditures.

An additional technical development from IST in regard to energy savings is the type EEI

furnace pressure regulating flap.

This specially developed flap provided with highly-resistant FF material has already been installed in numerous plants both domestically and internationally and has already provided as many as three years of service in individual cases.

IST has also established itself as leading company in studies for the optimisation of furnace handling, such as charge optimisation, process optimisation and observations for preventative maintenance, as well as the training of plant operators.

We would be glad to help with the implementation and solution of your tasks.


60 CAST HOUSE

COMPANY PROFILE

KÜTTNER is a group of engineering companies focusing on industrial plant construction. The companies build turnkey mechanical and thermal process technology plants for the smelting and foundry sector. Applications developed for the smelting sector have given rise to a stand-alone energy and environmental technology line of business.

In this regard, the range of services offered by KÜTTNER includes planning, design, delivery, installation, and start-up of the overall plant, including the control and data processing systems.

Today, the KÜTTNER Group has a global workforce of over 650. Most of the shareholders are involved in management of the company.

In the Aluminium Industry KÜTTNER cooperates with IST. They have a competent team of several senior and well-prepared junior project engineers which is proven by an excellent record list.

The joint competence of IST and KÜTTNER allows to provide technical services for modernization and optimization projects in existing melting shops and cast houses or even to build complete production lines - from raw material preparation to semi-final casting products.

YOUR FULL-LINE PARTNERS FOR:

NF Metals Recycling• Melting furnaces• Rotary- / hearth furnaces• Shaft-/ bath furnaces• Waste gas management systems• Refining systems

Foundry Technology• Charge make-up and burdening• Cupola melting• Repetition casting• Investment casting• Sand preparation• Foundry planning

Heat Recovery• Heat exchangers• Heat displacement systems• Waste heat boilers employing steam, thermo-oil, water, with/ without power generation• Recooling equipment

Environmental Engineering• Fume and waste gas collection• Filter plants with optional additive injection scrubber systems• Gas mixing reactors

Process Automation• Electrical construction/ installation• Automation• Visualization• Process control systems• Simulation• Production planning systems

Material Preparation• Return material logistic• Scrap & ingot handling• Pneumatic swarf transport• Dry briquetting• Scrap treatment system• Salt logistic

Charging Machines• Custom tailored machines with: • Travelling frames• Hoisting and tipping systems• Hydraulic pushers/ gripers• Vibratory pans

Dedrossing• Custom tailored devices:• Travelling device• Semi automatic operation• Radiation protection shields

Drum Type Furnace for scrap/dross recycling material• Tiltable and rotary type• Gas or oil fired• Optional oxygen enrichment• Oxyfuel burners

Single/Multi Chamber Furnace for Melting and Casting• Stationary / tilting type• Rectangular / front-loaded• Round / top-charged• Gas / fuel / electrical heated• In-furnace metal treatment

Further Furnace Types• Stationary / tilting type shaft furnaces• Induction melting furnaces

Special Furnace Features• Mechanical metal pump• Electro magnetic stirrers• Furnace pressure control system• Automized bath thermocouple system

Metal Treatment• Alloying• Additive injection• Vortex stations• Degassing• Ladle & lid heating

Casting Machine• Metal transfer • Launder systems • Vertical DC casting machine• Ingot casting • Slab & billet caster

Auxiliary Systems• Burners• Recuperative / regenerative• Air & oxygen models• Primary and secondary dedusting systems• Heat recovery• Process control

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Küttner GmbH & Co. KG, Essen

+49 (0)201 7293 0

[email protected]

�

www.kuettner.com

IST GmbH, Essen

www.ist-engineering.de

[email protected]

� +49 (0)201 7293 420

Competence in Aluminum Melting

Your Full-line Partners:

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62

Millmate Strip Scanner. The leading edge technology.

Improved accuracy leads to better margins, both financially and in the process.Keep track of your strip edges in your mills and process lines using the Millmate Strip

Scanner System (MSS), a well-proven robust sensor with negligible maintenance costs. Based on ABB’s patented Pulsed Eddy Current technology, it is a non-contact sensor with no moving parts. The measurement is extremely stable, even during the worst conditions. Mill coolant, steam, heat and dust do not affect the measurement.

By using the MSS system you will achieve better strip position control resulting in better flatness control possibilities, reduced scrap, improved threading and better coiling. www.abb.com/pressductor

ABB ABForce MeasurementPhone: +46 21 32 50 00Fax: +46 21 34 00 05

FullPageMTG.indd 2 10/6/09 13:27:51

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HEAT TREATMENT

LOI Thermoprocess GmbHHeat Treatment – From Strip To Foil p. 64-66

ABB Official Sponsors Of The Rolling Mill Section

ROLLING MILL

ABB Force MeasurementFlatness Control Installations In Hot Strip Mills p. 67-69

64 HEAT TREATMENT

HEAT TREATMENT – FROM STRIP TO FOIL

Heat treatment is required at several steps during the production of Aluminium foils. This heat treatment is carried out in different heat treatment plants acc. to the re-quirements of the specific process step. The necessary heat treatment processes are intermediate heat treatment during rolling and final annealing of foil rolls at the end of the production process.Aluminium strip is produced from rolling slabs or cast strip. During the production of sheet the feedstock is rolled in several steps. Aluminium strip is also feedstock for the foil production. In order to reduce the hardness of the strip, which results from the rolling process, heat treatment of the rolled material is essential between the rolling processes. Therefore, the coiled strip is intermediately heated in heat treatment plants.At the end of the production process the foil is finally annealed.For these heat treatment processes different furnace concepts are used today: the Multi-Coil Furnace, the Single-Coil Lifting Heart Furnace, and the Multi-Chamber Furnace.

Multi-Coil FurnaceThe Multi-Coil Furnace (see fig. 1) is loaded with several strip coils all at once, which are heat treated by the same heat treatment process. The strip coils are combined to one load on a rack at a preparation station. Equal strip coils – alloy, coil size have to be combined to one load to

achieve an efficient heat treatment process. By a special charging machine the so like prepared load is placed into the furnace.

A Multi-Coil Furnace consists of several sections in which the same process is executed but which can be controlled independently. Each section comes with a circulation fan and a flow distributor including the heating equipment.The upper part of the furnace contains the heat treatment zone including flow distributor and heating; the lower furnace contains the support structure for the load and the space where the charging machine goes in when loading and unloading the furnace chamber. At the front of the furnace a door serves for charging.Usually, several furnaces are installed side by side, which are loaded by one charging machine. The charging machine moves into the area in front of the furnace line. Beside the furnaces preparation, cooling and discharging stands are integrated.

Single-Coil Lifting Hearth FurnaceSingle-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnaces provide individual heat treatment for single strip coils.The Single-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnaces are placed on columns and installed in line; by this the charging machine can move below

fig.1

the furnaces for placing the strip coil in a furnace (see fig. 2). The individual strip coil is placed in an individual chamber.

For placing a strip coil in the furnace chamber the furnace hearth is transferred to the loading station and the coil will be placed onto the hearth, e.g. by overhead crane. The charging machine is under the furnace hearth, lifts it and moves it into a free furnace. Under the free furnace the charging machine lifts the hearth including strip coil into the furnace. After hearth and coil are placed into the furnace the hearth will be fixed by pins and the furnace sealing will be activated. The lifting unit of the charging car lowers and the charging device is available for discharging or charging another furnace. A heat treated strip coil will be placed on the charging station and from there it can be taken out of the line.For heat treatment the strip coil is supported in accordance with the specific requirements of the production and in a way to avoid marking of the strip. The support structure can be placed on the hearth together with the coil or can be firmly installed and thus become an integrated part of the furnace hearth. All known support structures can be used this way.

fig. 2

65

Each furnace is equipped with a circulation fan and a related heating system.The flow distribution system of the furnace cares for circulating the furnace atmosphere and for the optimum impingement of the flow to the sidewalls of the strip coil, because only by this the heat can be introduced to the coil (see fig. 3). Therefore, the flow distributor is equipped with nozzles, which care for the strong flow impingement. This provides a rapid heating, supports an even heating and contributes to the reduction of the heat treatment time. The furnace is indirectly heated by radiant tubes for recuperative burners or by electrical heating devices.The annealing should be processed depending on the specific

fig.3

requirements in an atmosphere of less than 0,1 vol-% O2. Also, to some extent, cooling the strip coil to a specific temperature is processed in a protective atmosphere.For cooling the strip inside the furnace, which is effected in accordance with the alloy, each furnace is equipped with its own cooling device including recirculation fan and heat exchanger. Thus, individual cooling of specific strips is also possible.For each strip coil – depending on alloy, coil size, heating temperature, heating time – the heat treatment process is individually preset. This applies to the process steps such as heating up, holding, cooling and to the parameters of the process steps. Thus, a flexible and precise heat

treatment of an individual strip is guaranteed. Due to the very individual parameters an efficient heat treatment will be achieved.The Single-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnace can be used for annealing in the range of 180°C to 600°C.For homogenising of cast strip 580°C are required. Immediately after casting the strip can be placed in the Single-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnace.The soft annealing is processed at about 350°C. To some extent, the strips are cooled down to 175°C before they are

taken out of the furnace. The annealing includ-ing cooling lasts about 16 hours. The protective atmosphere can be N2 or e.g. a mix-ture of N2-CO2.During heating up the strip rolling oil is removed from the strip. This happens usually up to about 220°C. Depending on the amount of oil the related holding time is preseton the process parameters. After the oil is removed the temperature can be in-creased.This like individual strip coils can be annealed just in time and flexible. The direct connection of the transport system to a storage system enables a fully automatic charging and heat treatment acc. the specific demands of the production schedule. Scheduling can be done precisely, because only the individual strip coil and the booking of the furnaces have to be considered.The advantages of the Single-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnace compared to the Multi-Coil Furnace result from the individual heat treatment of each strip coil, which contributes to a significantly more flexible production process, reduces the energy consumption and decreases the occupied workshop area.Acc. to the expected maximum coil diameter different furnace sizes can be used or can even be placed in one line (see fig. 4). The furnace line can easily be ex-tended afterwards, because each furnace is controlled individually and only the charging system has to be adjusted.The average furnace size can be used for coils of up to 25 MT. If considering an actual average of 10MT per coil, the yearly capacity of each furnace including auxiliary process time and downtime will be about 4000 MT/year.Typical heat treatment plants have been equipped with 4 up to 17 single furnaces.

66 HEAT TREATMENT

Final AnnealingThe final annealing of foils is executed after the final rolling in a

Multi-Chamber Furnace.The Multi-Chamber Furnace combines several individually filled chambers in one furnace casing (see fig. 5). Each chamber is controlled independently and executes its own process. The combination in one furnace casing reduces occupied workshop space and energy consumption.Each furnace chamber contains several individually controlled sections. Each section contains a

circulation fan, the indirect heating and a flow distribution system. The cir-culation is arranged vertically, which means, the air is blown underneath the load by two side channels and returns above the load. The heating is effected in the side channels outside of the

treatment zone.Charging of the foil rolls into the furnace chamber is effected by a

charging machine, which transfers the load from the preparation stand to the furnace chamber. This charging machine runs in front of the furnaces and loads to the furnace in longitudinal direction (see fig. 6). Therefore the load is placed into the furnace in an elevated position and is lowered onto the internal furnace supports.Up to 25MT foil rolls can be loaded into one chamber. The average can be considered as about 18MT. The treatment temperature is 300 – 370°C (max. 400°C). An annealing requires about 60 - 80 hours.The heat treatment process is executed fully automatically from the preparation stand to the discharging stand.A plant in total consists of one or more Multi-Chamber Furnaces and the charging machine as well as the preparation stands.

ControlAll plants are equipped with a fully automatic control system, which enables further expansions and optimisation. To all plants applies that the heat treatment data – pre-sets and actual values can be recorded specifically for each batch, so that a replication is possible.

Individual experienced heating up and cooling down curves can be recorded and can be preset afterwards for reproducible heat treatment

SummaryFor the heat treatment processes required during the production of aluminium strip and foil specific furnace concepts are available for each requirement.With the Multi-Coil Furnace all the time batches containing equal strips should be combined, because the furnace needs to be loaded with multiple strip coils, which can be treated with only one process.With the Single-Coil Lifting Hearth Furnace each strip can be heat treated individually. The strip can be automatically placed into the furnace out of storage or directly after rolling or casting. In this way, the heat stored in the coil is not lost. Space requirement is less due to the plant concept, and the plant can be extended in a more flexible way. With the Multi-Chamber Furnace the final annealing of foil rolls provides advantages regarding space and energy consumption. Also, this plant is operated fully automatically from combining a batch to discharging the rolls.

Hermann J. Meyer, LOI Thermprocess, Essen, Germany

fig.5

fig.6fig.4

67

FLATNESS CONTROL INSTALLATIONS IN HOT STRIP MILLS

ABB Has Recently Announced The Release Of Stressometer Flatness Measurement Rolls For Hot Rolling Applications. The new rolls can be used with both aluminium and steel rolling mills. The rolls have diameters of 313 or 400 mm and can be up to 2500 mm in length. The rolls are retractable and are fluid- or air cooled. When used in reversible mills, the actual flatness measurement is done during the last pass. During the first passes, the measurement roll is protected by a retractable steel cover. The rolls can work under the normal temperature conditions in hot rolling mills: 500 degrees for aluminium and 900 degrees for steel.

Schematic roll in the mill.

Although flatness control for hot rolling is less understood compared to cold rolling, the introduction of this new measurement placed near the roll gap of a hot mill means a technological step with potential for higher productivity and tighter strip tolerances for the whole strip processing line. The reasons are the following:

Historically, technological advances in the design and control of rolling mills have led to metal strips with homogenous prescribed properties in both longitudinal and transversal directions. The downstream rolling processes can influence thickness and flatness differently. Thickness profile is determined early in the hot rolling phase. This initial profile will persist during the subsequent downstream processes. The adequacy of this profile is significant since the cold rolling process has limited possibility to change profile, e.g. only locally, closed to strip edges. Therefore it is important that a correct

profile is determined from start. The possibility to change profile diminishes as the aspect ratio of the rolled strip (i.e. width/thickness ratio) increases due to decreased thickness. By contrast, the ability to correct flatness defects increases with each processing step and is largest at the final rolling stand. These differences in profile and shape control capacity across processing lines along with the inherent measurement and control difficulties explain why historically measuring flatness in hot rolling mills had a slow progress: flatness in hot rolling was hard to measure and for many years it was not clear how can this measurement be used for better strip quality.

Today, the allowable parameter tolerances along the longitudinal and the transversal directions of the strip are not shared equally. Statistically, most of the permissible tolerances such as flatness or thickness are caused by variations in the transversal direction. This means the

battleground for increased quality is still today on the transversal control of strip thickness and flatness. Longitudinal control problems still remain, related to rolling start and end phases of a coil and related to off-line flatness effects.

Even if profile and flatness in hot rolling mills is not yet as well understood and formalized as for cold rolling, an increased interest can be observed for measuring flatness in a hot rolling mill. What is then the explanation for this new focus on flatness in hot rolling mills despite all difficulties? In short the answer is the following: there is a need for tighter tolerances for thickness profile and flatness and for increased speed (productivity) in the cold rolling process. This means an appropriate thickness profile must be determined with higher precision early in the hot rolling process. Therefore setup and on-line models are required to quantify different interactions in the mill during the hot rolling process.

68 ROLLING MILL

Temperature distribution in the measuring roll.

Parameterization of models and dynamic control of the mill require therefore more measurements done as close as possible to the hot mill’s roll gap. Flatness was always part of such interaction models and is therefore a strategic measurement. The results obtained in this way can improve both transversal and longitudinal parameters of the strip.

It was realised early on, in the 1940’s, that accurate rolling models are a key for achieving a homogenous, high quality rolled product. One reason for models is to have accurate parameters for the mill setup. Secondly, many parameters in the rolling process are either difficult to measure or measurements have long time delays. Therefore a model-based prediction (a feed-forward control action) usually gives better results than a traditional non-model-based feedback control.

A rolling model typically quantifies the interactions among many parts of a rolling mill: roll gap deformation zones, elastic deflections of the rolling stand, strip stress distributions and for tandem mills profile transversal influences among consecutive stands. Roll gap deformation zones must consider entry and exit tension of the strip and transverse strain. Roll stack deflections consider shear and banding deflections, etc. Many of these interactions are yet not completely known. For example the relations between thickness profile and downstream buckling is known just from 1971 (the Shohet and Townsend model), a rather recent date in the history of metal processing. The physics, the analytical solid mechanics, the material knowledge and the thermal generation and transfer involved in these models are all rather complex. Even with

today’s fast computers, these computations are still slow. There are several ways to perform such calculations: by a finite element method (FEM), by vector analysis, by differential equations or by heuristics. Heuristic methods will include even simplified models that achieve faster computation by making simplified assumptions about different interactions in the mill. These methods include today even genetic, soft-computing and machine learning algorithms. Contemporary models for example are using on-line full 3D models of the roll stack deformation and these models are complemented by thermal expansion models and roll wear models.

Modeling rolling mills often means a tradeoff between the space granularity and the dynamics (time) granularity of the model. A FEM analysis has a fine spatial granularity, however it has poor means to characterize system dynamics. By contrast, a dynamic system with observers has a poor spatial representation, but gives a very precise dynamic prediction of the system. Vectors have more balanced properties. Practically, models in the rolling industry are using several of such approaches together to achieve both acceptable granularity and short computation time.

There are three typical ways to use models for rolling mill control: set-up (off line) models, look-up table-based models and on-line models. Look-up table models are a middle stage between off-line and on-line models. For example a dynamic flatness target curve along the length of the strip is a look-up table model. On-line models are used for different kinds of model-based control such as internal model control or optimal control. A steady-state model describes a system with parameters

that are not changing in time (all partial derivatives with respect to time of all properties are zero). Dynamical models have parameters that change in time, i.e. partial derivatives of certain parameters are variable.

The control objectives in a cold rolling mill are to produce a strip with a defined thickness and flatness profile. The flatness profile has to be decided by a model that compensates post hot rolling effect such that a suitable flatness profile will be available for the cold rolling phase. The control has to consider effects of plastic deformations inside and outside the roll bite,entry and exit strip tension, thermal camber, measurement noises and measurement and actuator delays.

The decoupling algorithms that isolate flatness and profile control are more complex in hot rolling than in cold rolling. An optimization of the rolling process across a number of degrees of freedom means having command over a rather complex set of methods.

The factors described above are leading to the conclusion that many comprehensive models across several processing lines, allowing for many parameters that influence profile and flatness, will be reconsidered and improved after the introduction of this new flatness measurement technology in hot rolling mills. Both set-up and dynamic models will benefit

69

Last pass - flatness measurement roll in measuring position in the mill.

from better parameterization possibilities following the new measurement technology.

Since the measuring rolls have been introduced only recently, the experimental results are few, yet promising. The new Stressometer roll is currently installed and working in a modern hot rolling mill for aluminium. The flatness control is an optimized, model-based, decoupled control. The results show significant benefits in process repeatability, yield and strip quality. Improvements in the edge trimming pass speed were about 15%. Edge trimming pass yield improvement was about 2%. Side trimming was improved leading to lower odds for strip breaking events. Cold rolling, due to better tail out from the hot mill was significantly improved as good tail from hot rolling means a good start in the cold rolling phase.

The experience of the rolling mill professionals with the new Stressometer can be described as a new opening of a visibility window into the hot rolling process. The insights gained by this new visibility helped in understand relations among different parameters influencing the rolling process and indicated novel ways for improvements. As one engineer remarked, maybe the visibility aspect is most important with the new technology.

SummaryThe introduction by ABB of a new flatness measurement device for hot rolling mills means a new stage for process execution, planning and real-time control of hot mills. Better models and a better understanding for how parameters are influencing rolling are expected to increase substantially strip quality and mill productivity. The experimental results, though at an initial stage, are promising.

George [email protected]

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COMPANY WEB ADDRESS PAGE No.ABB AB Force Measurement www.abb.com/pressductor 62ABB Switzerland Ltd. www.abb.com/aluminium 4Alufluor www.alufluor.com 6Cargotec/Siwertell www.siwertell.com 20Cognex Surface Vision www.cognex.com/sisd 32Coperion www.coperion.com 16DEMAG Cranes and Components www.demagcranes.com 2ECL www.ecl.fr 42EMAL www.emal.ae 11FLSmidth Hamburg GmbH www.flsmidth.com 72Fromm Packaging Systems www.fromm-pack.com 24Hycast AS www.hycast.no 50Isra Vision Parsytec www.isravision.com 34IST Engineering www.ist-engineering.de 61Jasper GmbH www.jasper-gmbh.de 1Kuttner GmbH & Co. KG www.kuettner.com 61Novelis PAE www.novelis.com 48Rio Tinto Alcan Alesa www.rta-alesa.com 8Sandvik AB www.sandvik.com 52SMS Siemag AG www.sms-siemag.com 57SMV AS www.smv.as 29Vigan www.vigan.com 71

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