Construction Industry News
ABB is working with SMS Group, a specialist in plant construction, mechanical and electrical engineering and automation technology for the metal industry, to supply all medium voltage motors and drives for ArcelorMittal Nippon Steels new hot strip mill in India. The scope also includes a large number of low voltage (LV) drives.
The project in Hazira, an industrial hub in Gujarat, is part of a major expansion of the site, which is already Indias fifth-largest crude steel producer. When the new plant comes online in 2025, Hazira's production capacity will increase by approximately 5.5 million tonnes per year.
“This project for SMS Group and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is an important reference for ABB in the fast-growing metal sector in India. India is the worlds second largest producer of crude steel, with output of 120 million tonnes last year. ABB has a particular advantage as a supplier of both large motors and frequency converters. Not only do these help improve energy efficiency, performance and product quality, we can also help customers with our specialist commissioning and installation services. For example, motors like the AMZ2000 we use at Hazira are so large that they require on-site assembly, and the stator and rotor are supplied in separate lots,” says Chris Poynter, president of ABB Motions systems drives division.
The hot strip mill rolls thick molten steel sheets into thin strips suitable for industrial customers. ABB supplies and installs 13 medium voltage drives and 16 large medium voltage motors.
These will provide the drivetrain for the two main elements of the operation, the roughing train and the finishing train. The first receives steel plates at a temperature of approximately 1,240°C and provides the initial thickness reduction.
The steel then goes to the finishing plant, one of the largest of its kind, where it is reduced to its final thickness. In addition to medium voltage equipment, ABB also supplies 14 medium voltage multiconverters and 256 medium voltage inverters to support additional services.
The proven DTC (Direct Torque Control) technology integrated into ABB frequency converters guarantees a very fast and precise response to any change in motor load during rolling. This precision control ensures optimal quality of the finished steel product.
The multidrive capability of the MV drives will be used in some parts of the operation to control four motors in parallel, reducing installation space and saving energy.
A major technical challenge for ABB was the design of the gearless drive system for the roughing mill. This provides greater control over the process while reducing the number of moving parts for greater reliability.
According to SMS Group, the expansion of the Hazira plant is a very high-profile project that will enable the future transfer of carbon-neutral steel technology, which is currently being developed by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel. Thats why they decided to partner with ABB to leverage their proven expertise in delivering high-quality, reliable powertrain solutions for the demanding applications found in steel mills.
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