SMS group has successfully completed the modernization of the CSP® plant (Compact Strip Production) at Nucor Steel in Berkeley, South Carolina, U.S.A. The objective of the modernization was to upgrade the double-strand CSP® plant, supplied by SMS group in 1996, to the growth requirements of the market. At Nucor, SMS group for the first time implemented a new modernization concept designed to expand the product range and reduce energy consumption at the same time.
The implemented measures comprised the revamp of one of the two CSP® casters, the extension of the CSP® rolling mill, renewal of the X-Pact® electrical and automation systems and, as a premiere, the installation of an induction heating system from SMS Elotherm, upstream of the CSP® rolling mill.
The CSP® caster was fitted with new molds, a new four-cylinder oscillation system, wider segments, and a new bending and straightening unit. Thanks to the implementation of the Liquid Core Reduction (LCR 3) module in the containment zone, the thickness of the thin slabs can be infinitely adjusted between 48 and 63mm. With the installation of an induction heating system between the CSP® furnace and the CSP® rolling mill, SMS group implemented a future-oriented modernization concept at Nucor Steel.
