TPT May 2018

T E CHNOLOG Y

Quench-and-temper facility in full swing THE new advanced quench-and-temper facility (AQTF) heat treatment line supplied by SMS group to TimkenSteel Corporation at its Gambrinus Steel Plant in Ohio, USA, has commenced full commercial production. Extensive testing was successfully completed in November 2017 and TimkenSteel issued the final acceptance certificate to SMS group. Carolee Vanicek, director of tube manufacturing at Gambrinus, commented: “We found that SMS was able to bring the best technology to meet our needs and satisfy our customer demands. The commissioning effort went very well, and SMS group has met all the expectations we had on the AQTF.” The new line is able to treat ten tons per hour of bars and heavy-walled tubes, up to 13" in diameter, precisely complying with specified values. The compact line is characterised by a combination of induction preheaters and combustion furnaces for austenitising and tempering processes. Subsequent cooling takes place in the newly developed Quenching Shell, an advanced OD/ID water sprayer, characterised by high quench severity with flexibility to adapt to changing process conditions. A full array of intensive testing was carried out during the commissioning period, beginning with the certification of the combustion heating furnaces in accordance with the SAE ASM2750-E standard, which calls for demanding temperature homogeneity inside the furnace chamber (±3°C for furnaces of Class 1), as a requirement for producing aerospace-quality material. Different seamless mechanical tubes and SBQ (special bar quality) products have been processed by the AQTF, from 6" to 12" (out of a selectable range from 4" to 13"). These products are made up of a variety of different steel grades that reflects TimkenSteel’s portfolio. The tests were performed with increasing hourly throughput to stress-test all the line components.

join the best: worldwide

Tube & Pipe Producers and Suppliers Pavilion

International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair

Internationale Rohr-Fachmesse

www.tube.de

SMS group GmbH – Germany Website: www.sms-group.com

The new AQTF has an annual capacity of 50,000 process-tons

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 101006 – 40001 Düsseldorf – Germany Tel. +49(0)211/4560-01 – Fax +49(0)211/4560-668 www.messe-duesseldorf.de

36

www.read-tpt.com

MAY 2018

tub1802_WW_87x260.indd

18.09.17 09:30