One of the to date world's widest and thickest slabs was cast on the SMS group's continuous caster at Nucor Steel Brandenburg
Summary
- SMS group supplied all the necessary technologies for the continuous caster, one of the world’s largest casters.
- Slab size produced was in the range of 203 to 305 millimeters and width of 1,524 to 3,150 millimeters resulting in the widest and thickest slab produced by the continuous caster to date.
- Nucor Steel Brandenburg is able to supply the steel needed for offshore installations.
The single-strand slab caster supplied and commissioned by SMS group for ultra-wide and thick slabs, one of the world's largest casters, continues its successful ramp-up of production at Nucor Steel Brandenburg. Designed for an annual capacity of 1.45 million tons (1.6 million short tons), the slab caster is a core element of the production chain for the new plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, U.S.
Nucor Steel Brandenburg is one of a few mills in the United States capable of manufacturing at scale the heavy gauge plate used in monopile foundations for offshore wind towers. The new mill is located in the middle of the largest steel plate-consuming region in the country and will be able to produce 97 percent of plate products consumed domestically.
“SMS group and Nucor are a good team and we are proud that one of the largest continuous casters is producing slabs to support our mill. The caster is of crucial importance for the success of our new plate mill. In this way, we can successfully contribute to our government's plan to build a total of 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030,” says Johnny Jacobs, Vice President and General Manager at Nucor Steel Brandenburg.
“The use of renewable energies and thus also offshore wind energy is applied environmental protection. It is very important to us to support such projects with our technologies”, says Burkhard Dahmen, CEO of SMS group.
The caster is used to cast slabs ranging from 8 to 12 inches (203 to 305 mm) thick and 60 to 124 inches (1,524 mm to 3,150 mm) wide. Slab lengths vary from 104 to 600 inches (2,642 to 15,240 mm). With HD LASr, the new alignment standard, mold and segments are measured easily and precisely in the maintenance workshop. Various special technological features are integrated into the new vertical-bending caster. These include, for example, robot applications on the casting platform, Liquid Core Reduction and quench cooling in segment 0, Tiltable Foot Rollers and HD moldFO with optical fibers and electromagnetic stirring. In addition, a customer-specific strand guide system, a quenching unit and a secondary cutting unit are integrated.
Various X-Pact® technology packages such as X-Pact® Process Guidance, X-Pact® Solid Control, X-Pact® Tech Assist with Liquid Core Reduction and Dynamic Soft Reduction®, are integrated in the electrical and automation systems of SMS, support the performance of the caster.
SMS group is renowned worldwide for its future-oriented technologies and outstanding service for the metals industry. The company applies its 150 years of experience and its digital know-how to provide the industry continuously with innovative products and processes – even beyond its core business – and generates worldwide sales of around 2.6 billion euros. SMS is the right partner for challenging projects, and supports its customers throughout the lifecycle of their plants, enabling profitable and resource-efficient value creation chains. Paving the way for a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry is the company’s stated goal. As a global player with German roots, SMS takes responsibility for its 14,500 employees.