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Training Manual of Merchant Mill

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FOREWORD

I welcome you to Merchant Mill, the oldest standing mill, spanning over a
period of 60 years .The Mill is involved in the process of hot rolling of
reinforced bars of sizes ranging from 20 mm to 40 mm produced through
TEMPCORE process.
It is indeed a pleasure to note that Merchant Mill is releasing a Training Manual with the
objective of strengthening and sustaining the concepts related to both the process and its
equipment. It is believed that any ambitious target can be achieved only by well-trained and
knowledgeable people.

Wishing you good luck for your future endeavors in Merchant Mill.

P.S.S.Ganesh

Chief, Merchant Mill

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PREFACE

This book, a compendium of Merchant Mill’s process flow, control and its operation aims at
providing introductory and technical input of Merchant Mill. The inputs have been prepared in
a simple and concise language covering general introduction to technical specifications. This
has been done to make it useful for all levels of readers.
The topics have been chosen and organized to take the readers through the various processes
of Merchant Mill operations while supporting them in a lucid manner.
The entire material has been prepared by practicing officers and experts of different fields.
They have not only taken time off their busy schedule to write this but also have persevered
through several iterations of it before the final draft was produced.
It is hoped that this book will be useful not only for the members of Merchant Mill but also for
anybody who wants to know anything about hot rolling of long products.
[Certain contents may vary from actual operating conditions. This book should be used
solely for training purposes and not as operating/maintenance procedures]

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Contents
A. Overview of Merchant Mill ......................................................................................................................................5
B. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERCHANT MILL ........................................................................................................5
C. REHEATING FURNACE MERCHANT MILL ..................................................................................................................7
1.1 REFRACTORY: .....................................................................................................................................................9
1.2 CHIMNEY: ........................................................................................................................................................10
1.3 U-SEAL: ............................................................................................................................................................12
1.4 VALVES:............................................................................................................................................................13
1.5 DOOR: ..............................................................................................................................................................13
D. MILL EQUIPMENT DETAILS .................................................................................................................................16
2.01 Charging Bed: ................................................................................................................................................16
2.02 L.D. Fan (Induced Draught Fan-1 No.) ...........................................................................................................17
2.03 Billet Ejector: .................................................................................................................................................18
2.04 Billet Withdrawal Pinch roll: ..........................................................................................................................18
2.05 Mill Approach Table: .....................................................................................................................................19
2.06 Billet Discard device: .....................................................................................................................................19
2.07 Twist Pinch roll: .............................................................................................................................................19
2.08 Roughing Stand: ............................................................................................................................................20
2.09 Intermediate Stands: .....................................................................................................................................20
2.10 Crop and cobble shear (Rotary): ....................................................................................................................23
2.11 Emergency Shear: ..........................................................................................................................................23
2.12 Finishing mill: .................................................................................................................................................23
2.13 Looper#1: ......................................................................................................................................................23
2.14 Looper#2: ......................................................................................................................................................23
2.15 Water Boxes: .................................................................................................................................................24
2.16 Pinch Roll: ......................................................................................................................................................25
2.17 Dividing (Rotary) Shear: .................................................................................................................................25
2.18 Cooling Bed:...................................................................................................................................................25
2.19 Cold shears and loading table #1 & #2: .........................................................................................................30
E. UTILITY EQUIPMENT DETAILS ................................................................................................................................31
3.01 Hydraulic Operated Equipment: ....................................................................................................................31
3.02 Pneumatically Operated Equipment:………………………………………………………………………………………………………..37

3.03 Water Circuit: ................................................................................................................................................38

3.04 Lubrication Equipment Details: .....................................................................................................................41

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A. Overview of Merchant Mill

This Merchant Mill was installed during T.M.P.(Two Million-Ton Programs) of TISCO

The mechanical equipment was supplied by schloemann A.G. of Germany: electrical equipment by
Brown Bovary of Switzerland and reheating furnace by OFU Germany.

The mill is served on the charging end by billet yard gantry and crane facilities.

The mill is served on the charging end by billet yard gantry and crane facilities.

The main building is 1416 ft long X 100 ft wide and the height to the top of the monitor is 80 ft. The
building is designed to ensure proper ventilation.

The crane span of the building is 95ft and 5 cranes serve the main building

The loading bay consists of an open gantry. The rolled products from the mill building are transferred to
the loading bay with the help of 2 electrically operated cars. A depressed loading dock track enters the
loading bay from the south.

The electrical station is situated on the west of the mill. The building houses the major part of electrical
equipment such as transformers, rectifiers and high tension switch gear and control panels.

The motor house consists of an enclosure within main building and only the rotating machinery such as
main drive motors; exciter and converter sets are housed in the motor house.

The roll and bearing shop building are provided with two 5-ton capacity floor cranes.

A layout of the plant hazardous area marked in red is enclosed to facilitate safe movement in the plant.

B. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERCHANT MILL

1. Do not go to hazardous and lonely places within the department or section

unaccompanied.
2. Do not go in the immediate vicinity of a permanent or working electrical magnet.
3. Do not remove or disregard safety WARNING instructions or Safety Signals.
4. Do not go on the E.O.T. Crane, Crane Track Line, crane Gantry platform for any purpose
without permission from Unit Manager/Officer/Shift Supervisor.
5. Do not ride on tractor & trailor unless it is required and has operator’s permission.

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6. Do not operate E.O.T cranes, Tractor & Trailors and any other moving or stationary
equipment unless it is part of job requirement.
7. Do not stand, move or walk underneath moving E.O.T. cranes carrying load by magnets,
slings or chains.
8. Do not clean clothes or any part of body by compressed air.
9. Do not indulge in horseplay or fights.
10. Do not smoke in the plant.
11. Do not go near gas burners, gas flow controlling valves, explosion caps unaccompanied.
12. Do not go on the shop floor under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
13. Do not go very close to High Pressure hydraulic system pipe joints, hoses etc. as any
leakage of oil can cause injury.
14. Do not go near electric panels, cables, Sub-stations and control rooms unless required.
15. Do not touch any roll product or billet with bare hands even if appearance is steel gray.
They may be hot.
16. Do not trespass into areas where overhead repair work on equipment, EOT cranes,
Building Structure, Pipelines and roof sheeting changing job is being carried on.
17. Do not take vehicles to the shop floor. Always park vehicles near Main office building at
designated places.
18. Do not go inside furnace that has been shut down for repair or to the furnace
basements without authorized escorts and taking clearance.
19. Do not walk on drain covers.
20. Do not go near moving machinery.
21. Use all safety appliances provided.

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C. REHEATING FURNACE MERCHANT MILL

Merchant Mill has Pusher and Skid type of continuous reheating furnace. Billets move on skids
inside furnace, charged on the skids with the help of Pusher towards opposite of furnace.
Merchant mill reheating furnace has three zones.

Pre warming Zone: Unfired Zone

Heating Zone: It has 9 burners located on the roof.

Soaking Zone: It has 9 burners located in the front wall at the discharge end.

Burner

SIDE VIEW OF MERCHANT MILL FURNACE

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FLUE TUNNEL

LONG
SKID
SADDLE CASTING & SHORT SKID

HEARTH OF THE MERCHANT MILL FURNACE

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Billet from the furnace-charging table run along six-cantilevered water-cooled roller inside the
furnace. A cast iron stopper stops the billet. Billets are pushed from roller table into the
furnace by means of Hydraulic pusher that has six rams.

 Furnace size: Effective Length: 20 meters and Width: 9.7 meters.

 Input material sizes: 130 mm2 X 9 meters
 Furnace capacity: 65 Ton / Hour
 Fuel : Coke Ovens Gas having Calorific Value: 4150 K Cal/ m3

Burners: There are 9 burners for heating zone and 9 burners in soaking zone. Coke ovens gas
flows to the burners through a suitably laid out pipe line from a header of 6 size. The
individual burner pipe size is 2-1/2

Combustion Air: The combustion air is supplied by two blowers of 410 N M3 / Hr. at a pressure
of 500 mm Water Gauge.

1.1 REFRACTORY:

Refractory is the quality of a material to retain its strength at high temperatures above 1100 °C
without softening. Refractory materials must be strong at high temperatures, resistant to
thermal shock, chemically inert, and have low thermal conductivities and coefficients of
expansion.

Refractory used at Merchant Mill side walls are 45 to 60% Alumina bricks. The side walls and
roof of the soaking and heating zones are made of 60% Alumina Bricks, whereas the unfired
preheating zone is made of 45% Alumina Bricks. Fusion cast bricks are used at hearth.

The most critical refractory covered area in a reheating furnace is its roof, particularly the Bull
nose area. The brick of the roof are suspended from the top by the help of hangers and at bull
nose by a steel casting termed as bull nose casting. During fixing the bricks, alignment of bricks
are most important. Any less or more expansion joint may cause refractory failure. Also all
precautions should be taken while a newly constructed furnace is lit-up and under slow
heating. Any small variation in temperature may cause major failure.

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1.2 CHIMNEY:

A chimney is a system for venting hot flue gases or smoke from furnace to the outside
atmosphere. They are typically almost vertical to ensure that the hot gases flow smoothly,
drawing air into the combustion through the chimney effect. The space inside a chimney is
called a flue. The height of the Merchant Mill chimney is 20Mt.

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Merchant Mill chimney has a forced draft arrangement. The air drawn and ultimately the
furnace pressure are regulated by the vertical damper, provided at the flue before the
chimney base. Another arrangement is there in-between the base of the chimney and the ID
Fan duct. The arrangement is a butterfly valve operated pneumatically controls the air blown
by the ID Fan.

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PIPE ARRANGEMENT OF GAS; AIR; NITROGEN and WATER at

MERCHANT MILL FURNACE

1.3 U-SEAL:

U-seal is a safety arrangement in the gas pipe line. It is filled up with water when the gas flow
at the upstream is required to be restricted. It has three piping arrangement

1. WATER INLET VALVE

2. WATER OUTLET VALVE
3. WATER DRAIN OUT VALVE

At few places another line is introduced from the base of the U-seal, known as Siphon Line.

Many incidents has been noticed where the water has been siphoned and the water seal has
been broken. So, a close monitoring of the water seal is required to ensure its proper
functioning.

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1.4 VALVES:

Two type of valves are mostly used at gas / air lines

1. Butterfly Valve
These valves are used to control the flow and pressure. It is controlled by process control
system.
2. ON – OFF Valve
These valves are used to ON or OFF or THROTTLE of gas / air. These are mostly operated
manually.
 Gate Valve
 Audco Valve

1.5 DOOR:

Merchant Mill total eleven nos. of doors, out of eleven, billet ejector entry and the billet exit
are operated mechanically. Balance nine are at the end wall of the soaking zone. These are
provided for scale cleaning and short trial piece heating. Most of the air infiltration takes place
in Merchant Mill furnace from the door. So all non-operating doors should be kept air tight
and the operating doors should be kept with minimum operating opening. Merchant Mill has
Solid type furnace doors.

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MERCHANT MILL LAYOUT

PINCH
ROLL

Facilities Details Suppliers

Furnace CO gas fired.Capacity-70t/hr. OFU, Germany
Roughing mill 450mm(1&2) 420mm(3,4,5,6) Schloemann, Germany
Intermediate mill 360mm Schloemann, Germany
Finishing mill 360mm - 2 vertical and 2 horizontal stands Schloemann, Germany
TMT quenching 1 no with 6 quenching headers for on- line quenching Technology supplier-CRM,
unit Belgium

Pinch roll and 1 no Morgan, India

Rotary shear
Cooling bed with 88 mtr long Schloemann, Germany
hydraulic braking
device
Cold Shears 2 nos. Capacity - 360t Schloemann, Germany

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D. MILL EQUIPMENT DETAILS

2.01 Charging Bed:

It is an inclined bed made of Beams. Billets loaded on it by E.O.T. crane and charged into
furnace one by one with the help of Moving Racks, Finger Rolls, Charging Bed Rolls and
Furnace Approach Rolls.

List of equipment:-

1. Fixed Rack (10 no.) – There are 10 nos. of Fixed Rack Beams. These beams are locked at
the center by a pin and placed all along the charging bed. It provides
support to billets loaded on it by the E.O.T crane.

2. Moving Rack (5 no.) - There are 5 nos. of moving rack beams. Its upper part is locked by a
lever and pin and its lower part is connected to a gear box (driven by an
electric motor) through eccentric hood bearing and eccentric shaft. This
drive moves the moving racks up and down and the billets are shuffled
and gradually moved forward. The billets are allowed to fall one by one
on charging table rolls through cam and disc.

3. Eccentric Hood Bearing – It connects eccentric shaft to moving rack. It also translates rotary
motion of line shaft to reciprocating motion and moves moving racks
up and down.

4. Eccentric Shaft – It is a straight line shaft in two halves which connects gear box to moving
rack through eccentric hood bearing. It is held in position by means of
pedestal and bearings.

5. Finger rolls and Slide rails – 5 nos. of finger rolls are fitted on fixed beams and 5 nos. of slide
rails are fitted on alternate fixed rolls. Finger rolls holds the billet and
does not allow falling whereas slide rails allow the billets to fall on rolls
with less impact.

6. Charging Bed rolls – There are 11 nos. of rolls with individual drive which moves the billet to
furnace approach rolls for charging into furnace.

7. Buffer – One Buffer is situated at extreme north of charging table rolls to absorb the shocks
of billet movement in reverse direction.

8. Billet Ejector – It is a pneumatic cylinder operating device. The billets not suitable for rolling
are thrown out into a cradle by this device.

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Hazards – Falling of billets from EOT crane, Electric Shock and injury due to movement of
billets and moving machinery.

Lubrication – Lubricate moving rack lever pin at every s/d. Lubricate all charging bed rolls at
every s/d.

9. Furnace approach rolls – There are 15 nos. of individual driven rolls to move the billets for
charging into the furnace.
Hazards – Injury due to movement of billets.

10. Furnace conveyer rolls (6 no.) – There are 6 nos. of conveyer roll individually driven by
electric motor and gear box. Gear boxes are assembled with one roll and
mounted on furnace back wall through bolts. Both gear box and roll are
water cooled. Water is supplied from a 10mm common header laid just
above it on furnace back/stay beams.

List of main equipment’s:

(1) Conveyer Roll.
(2) Shaft.
(3) Gear, Idler, Key Lock Rings, Oil Seals.

Hazards:
(1) Burn hazard due to hot water.
(2) Material handling hazard.
(3) Supply hazard due to water.

Precautions:
(a) Work with hand gloves.
(b) Handle the cooling boxes completely with good wire rope slings of 3/8 mm dia.
(c) Clean the area before work.

2.02 L.D. Fan (Induced Draught Fan-1 No.)

It forces the furnace waste gas out through chimney. For smooth scavenging, a venture is
provided at the chimney base. Fan’s delivery is connected to the venture. The outlet pr. is
maintained at 300/400 mm WC.

List of equipment: Fan, Impeller, Plummer blocks – SN618, Bearing No. - SKF22318K
(130/5228), Adopter sleeve – H2318 (130/6604) + Lock nut + washer, Impeller shaft.

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Damper: An electrically operated damper is provided in the flue passes to create the
required suction draught inside the furnace. Damper is driven by motor and gear box. It
is connected by a wire rope sling.

Hazard: (1) Injury due to moving machinery, electric shock etc.

(2) Burn injury.

F.D. Fan (Force Draught Fan) #1 & #2:

2 nos. of F.D. fans are provided to meet the combustion air requirement (40,000 Nm 3 at 500
mm WC pressure) of the furnace. This is driven by an electric motor of 45 kW.

Components:

 Impeller
 Shaft

F.D. Fan #3: It is a newly installed fan to meet the requirement of both the fans.

Make – ARF

2.03 Billet Ejector:

Billet ejector is used to push out hot and soaked billets of the furnace to mill approach table
through billet withdrawal device. Billet ejector bar is moved by friction rolls driven by an
electromechanical device. Pinch roll gap is adjusted by tie rod and springs (2 nos.) of Carden
shaft are provided to connect gear box output shaft with rolls. Lateral movement of its housing
is obtained by a hydraulic cylinder (80x56x530) to align the pusher bar with soaked billet inside
the furnace. A separate hydraulic power pack is provided to operate the cylinder. Its working
pressure is 40 bars (approx.). The dimension of pusher bar used for pushing soaked billet is
100x80 mm.

2.04 Billet Withdrawal Pinch roll:

Billet pushing ejector pushes the hot billets out from furnace up to billet withdrawal unit.
B.W.U. pinches the billets and withdraws it out from furnace and discharges on mill approach
table. Mill approach table moves this billet to Twist pinch roll; Pendulum Shear and Roughing
stand for rolling. It runs at constant speed. Pinching operation is obtained by a photo electric
cell provided with timer.

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List of equipment:
(1) Gear Box: Spur gear drive arrangement is provided in the gear box to give required rotary
motion and torque to top & bottom rolls.
(2) Driving Spindle (Carden shaft): It joins gear box, both output shafts with both the rolls of
housing.
(3) Housing: It accommodates 2 nos. of rolls similar in diameter, pneumatic cylinders.
(4) Top & Bottom rolls: Both the rolls are same and supported on antifriction bearings housed
in chokes. Top roll is hanged with housing top cover which moves up and down with the
help of a pneumatic cylinder. The downwards movement of top roll bites the billets and
pushes out. Bottom roll is fixed in its place. All the chokes are connected to a centralized
grease lubrication system. The gaps between rolls are set at 90 mm.
(5) Pneumatic cylinder: It is provided in a frame to operate the top roll to give required
pinching to the billets.
Cylinder Detail – 10 Bore x 133 mm, Air Pressure – 3Kg/cm2
It is operated by a solenoid valve fixed near it.

2.05 Mill Approach Table:

This table is situated in between withdrawal pinch roll and twist pinch roll and is used to
transfer hot billets between these two. There are 15 nos. f rolls which are individually driven
by electric motor. It can be rotated in both forward and backward directions. These rolls are
aligned with the lever of w/p roll and t/p roll.

2.06 Billet Discard device:

This billet discard device has been provided in the mill to throw out bent and improperly
heated billets. The device is pneumatically operated. It is situated before t/p roll.

2.07 Twist Pinch roll:

Twist pinch roll is located in between mill approach table & pendulum shear. Twist pinch roll
and pendulum shear is housed in the same frame. It basically does the function of twisting of
billet through 45 degrees to accommodate the billet in the upstream diamond pass of the no.1
roughing stand.
It contains a top & bottom roll driven by A.C. motor through universal shaft & two stage
reduction gear box. Each roll has been provided with two, oppositely placed, sliding conical
discs (having taper angle of 45 degrees) separated by specific distance longitudinally. Two
conical discs are provided to accommodate the whole roll barrel length.

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The bottom roll is fixed in its housing and rotates in its place. The conical disc portion of the
top roll is made to slide on its locating key by a pneumatic cylinder connected through a lever.
When billets enter into Twist Pinch roll, the pneumatic cylinder advances, and in the process, it
pulls back the top conical disc (under use) through connective levers. Twist the billets against
the taper portion of the top & bottom conical disc. The distance between top & bottom conical
disc is kept as such to accommodate the billet diagonally, depending upon the billet size (100
mm2/127 mm2).
As soon as the front end enters into the no. 1 stand of the roughing mill, the pneumatic
cylinder retracts and the conical disc comes back into its initial position.

2.08 Roughing Stand:

Roughing mill constitutes of first six stands of mill where stands #1 & #2 have 450 mm pitch
diameter (P.D.) and stand #3 to #6 have 420 mm P.D. rolls. There are 3 reduction gears boxes
which are driven by motor and gives power to 6 pinion stands. Reduction gear box #1 gives
power to pinion gear box of #1 and #2. #2 reduction gear box gives power to pinion gear box
#3 and #4 and reduction gear box #3 is for #5 & #6. Power transfer to working stand roll from
pinion stands through spindle and spindle head. Gear box lubrication is done by centralized
lubrication system where HLP-320 oil is used. In roughing stands, the bottom rolls are not fixed
and can be moved laterally for squaring the pass and the top rolls can be moved up and down
through screw-down mechanism. The top rolls are spring balanced.

2.09 Intermediate Stands:

Stand nos. 7, 8, 9 & 10 situated after roughing stands (i.e. stand no. 6) and before finishing
stands are called intermediate stands and having roll pitch of 360 mm.

These are driven individually by an electric motor and gear box by horizontal spindles (Carden
Shaft) connected to pinion heads. Gear box provides required torque and speed. These stands
are shifted out/in by a hydraulic cylinder, fitted to each stands, to align the roll pass. Hydraulic
system is operated through a centralized system called the hydraulic system for stand shifting.
Its control valves are mounted in the drive side of gallery at +3.0 meter elevation.

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List of Equipment:
1) Gear box – It is connected to an electric motor and transmits the drive to rolls through Carden
shaft.
2) Pinion heads – 2 nos. of pinion heads are shrinking fitted on output shafts of gear box, at
which pinion end flanges of Carden shafts are fitted.
3) Grease Seal type Gear Coupling – It is a flexible coupling in two halves provided between gear
box and motor. Grease is filled in to lubricate the gear teeth. One half is fitted on gear box
input shaft and the other half on motor shaft. Both are aligned, leveled and held together
through bolts.
4) Carden shaft – 2 nos. of Carden shaft are fitted on each gear box and connected through
flange joints at output shafts.
5) Rolls – 2 nos. of rolls are housed in horizontal position in intermediate housing.
6) Housings – it is made of heavy steel castings and accommodates rolls with chokes, roll
clamping and setting devices, roll cooling system, rest bars for guide support and other
auxiliaries required for roll setting and rolling.
7) Hydraulic shifting arrangement – it is provided for roll pass changing and its alignment.

Hazards: Cobble and fire hazard.

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Roll dia., mm Barrel Motor

length,
Mill mm Rating, Speed, Voltage, Gear
stands kW rpm V ratio
Max. Min.

Roughing
Group

1-H 520 440 1100 400 350/970 750 29.57

2-H 520 440 1100 22.65

3-H 440 390 1000 500 350/970 750 15.56

4-H 440 390 1000 11.63

5-H 440 390 1000 700 350/970 750 8.94

6-H 440 390 1000 6.60

Inter-
mediate
Group

7-H 375 340 800 500 350/970 750 4.04

8-H 375 340 800 500 350/970 750 2.97

9-H 375 340 800 500 350/970 750 2.97

10-H 375 340 800 500 350/970 750 2.56

Finishing
Group

15-V 370 340 600 700 350/970 750 1.838

16-H 375 340 600 700 350/970 750 1.6

17-V 370 340 600 400 350/970 750 1.401

18-H 375 340 600 400 350/970 750 1.26

Mill Stand Data

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2.10 Crop and cobble shear (Rotary):

It is located between stand 8-9.

Crop Cutting: Short front end and/or tail end pieces are sheared to ensure that the process
section is free from deformed, cold or split ends.

Cobble Cutting: At a signal to cobble cut, the shear starts and runs continuously to divide
process section and give successive cuts of the remaining length of bar.

2.11 Emergency Shear:

It is located just before stand 15. It is pneumatically operated. In case of any cobble in the
finishing mill, water box or cooling bed; it is operated to prevent excessive accommodation of
cobble.

2.12 Finishing mill:

It consists of stand no. 15, 16, 17 & 18. Out of these 15 & 17 are vertical stands and 16 & 18
are horizontal stands.

2.13 Looper#1:
It is located between stand no. 15-16 of finishing mill

2.14 Looper#2:
It is located between stand no. 17-18 of finishing mill.

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2.15 Water Boxes:

After the finishing mill, where the dimensional properties of the rebar are achieved, the rebar
passes through water boxes where they undergo the TMT process to produce High Yield
Quench Self Tempered (HYQST) rebar. Thus, it gains the high mechanical properties as
required in the national standards and control plan. The rebar is passed through high
pressurized water passing through water nozzles and pipes kept one after the other inside the
after box and its performance is measured through the finish rolling temperature (FRT). Yield
Strength and UTS-Ys ratio are two important product characteristics and are controlled in the
heat treatment process. These characteristics, for a given range of steel composition and billet
temperature, solely depend upon the FRT.

20mm to 32mm 500D + 36mm and 40mm 28mm, 32mm SD + 36mm, 20mm to 32mm 36mm to 40mm 20mm to 36mm 20mm to 36mm Fe
Grades 20mm and 25mm SD Fe 500D 40mm Fe 500D CRSD CRSD Fe 600 600
40mm Fe 600

Process Chart 980 953 909 976 1005 990 991 973
Parameters
Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max
Carbon
(C )%
0.21 0.24 0.21 0.24 0.21 0.24 0.15 0.20 0.15 0.20 0.26 0.28 0.26 0.28 0.26 0.29
Manganese
(Mn)%
0.70 0.80 1.00 1.10 1.00 1.10 0.90 1.10 1.10 1.20 0.75 0.85 0.75 0.85 1.20 1.30
Sulphur (S)% 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.030 0.035 0.035 0.030
Phospohorus
(P)%
0.035 0.035 0.035 0.040 0.040 0.035 0.035 0.030
Silicon
(Si)%
0.15 0.20 0.18 0.23 0.15 0.20 0.15 0.20 0.15 0.20 0.18 0.23 0.18 0.23 0.20 0.30
Chromium
(Cr)%
0.15 0.20 0.10 0.040
Chemical Composition

Copper
(Cu)%
0.40 0.50 0.40 0.50 0.005
Titanium
(Ti)%
0.005 0.010
Vanadium
(V)%
0.10 0.005
Molybdenum
(Mo)%
0.10 0.005
Nickel (Ni)% 0.10 0.025
Nitrogen
(N2)PPM
120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120
S+P 0.070 0.07 0.07 0.070 0.070 0.070 0.065
CE 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.53 0.53 0.42 0.53

YS [Mpa] 500 500 500 500 500 600 600 600

565(D), 565(D),
Properties

UTS [Mpa] 565 565 565 660 660 660

575 (SD) 575 (SD)
1.10(D), 1.10(D),
UTS / YS 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10
1.15(SD) 1.15(SD)
% Wt Tolerance [-3% to 0%] for 20, 25,28 and 32 mm & [-2% to + 2%] for 36 and 40 mm
TECHNICAL SERVICES, MERCHANT MILL

Process chart matrix of Merchant Mill

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Billet PC Grade 20mm 25mm 28mm 32mm 36mm 40mm

Min 575 o C Min 560 o C Min 550 o C Min 540 o C
980 500 D o o o o
Max 590 C Max 575 C Max 570 C Max 560 C
Min 580 o C Min 570 o C
980 SD o o
Max 600 C Max 580 C
Min 560 o C Min 550 o C
909 SD
Max 570 o C Max 570 o C
Min 550 o C Min 550 o C
909 500 D
Max 570 o C Max 570 o C
Min 550 o C Min 550 o C
953 500 D
Max 570 o C Max 570 o C
Min 570 o C Min 560 o C Min 550 o C Min 550 o C
976 CRSD
Max 590 o C Max 575 o C Max 565 o C Max 560 o C
Min 530 o C Min 510 o C
990 600
Max 540 o C Max 530 o C
Min 530 o C Min 510 o C
991 600
Max 540 o C Max 530 o C
Min 540 o C Min 530 o C
1005 CRSD
Max 560 o C Max 550 o C
Min 530 o C
973 600
Max 550 o C
Target FRT for given sections
CE vs FRT
20mm 25mm 28mm 32mm 36mm 40mm
0.42 610 600 590 570 570 570
0.41 600 590 585 570 570 570
Carbon Equivalent (CE)

0.40 595 585 580 570 570 570

0.39 590 580 575 560 560 560
0.38 590 580 570 560 560 560
0.37 585 575 570 560
0.36 585 575 565 550
0.35 580 570 565 550
0.34 580 570 560 550
0.33 575 565 550 540
0.32 575 565 550 540
Last Revision date 15.02.2016 TECHNICAL SERVICES, MERCHANT Mill

Finish Roll temperature matrix of Merchant Mill.

2.16 Pinch Roll:

It is located just after the water box. It stabilizes bar through the water boxes. The bottom roll
is fixed and top roll is pneumatically operated.

2.17 Dividing (Rotary) Shear:

It cuts finished bar to the cooling bed in the appropriate lengths.

2.18 Cooling Bed:

The cooling bed stands just after the dividing (rotary) shear. The cooling bed components of
the following equipment’s:

(a) Hot run out table: It receives the finished bar after getting cut by rotary shear at desired
lengths and transfers it to the moving rake by braking the bar’s speed at
0. It has about 100 nos. of cantilever type rolls. In the beginning, 7 nos.
of rolls are straight barrel rolls and rest all are taper barrel rolls. These
rolls are fitted with their individual troughs by bolting which are

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mounted with the base by means of bolts. Each roll is driven by an

individual motor.
(b) Braking Device: It comprises of slides which move up & down to the extent of about 80
mm. These slides are accommodated in the trough’s grooves just
opposite to the free end of the rolls. All these slides are connected
together to make one integral unit by means of pull strips which are
joined together by turn buckles. The southern end of the pull strips is
connected to the hydraulic cylinder which operates it to and fro. The
pull strips and slides are connected with several vertical levers by pin
arrangement. The lever design is such that when pull strip goes
forward, all slides are raised together and during the backward strokes,
it lowers down.

Safety Precautions:

 Never enter into cooling bed area when the mill is in operation.
 Obtain Power Cut clearance in prescribed form from electrical or hydraulic power
pack, hot run out table rolls before carrying out any job for braking device.
 Never allow gas cutting, welding or naked fire in hydraulic power pack area.
 Never enter into the cooling bed area without personal protective safety appliances.
 Ensure availability of fire extinguisher and water line for combating fire occurrence.

(c) Moving Rake: The purpose of this equipment is to receive bars from braking device and
transfer to the shuffle bar.

The main components of moving rake are:

1) Rake blocks casting.

2) Fixed rake flats.
3) Movable rake flats.
4) Moving rake frame.
5) Bogie block with 2 types of pulleys (one pulley has guide collars on both sides and the
other area is collar less)
6) Lever pulleys (collar less).
7) Levers.
8) Lever pin and bush.
9) Pins and bushes of all pulleys.
10) Connecting bolts (M16 x 60).
11) Moving rake driving shaft reducing gear box.
12) Pin bush type coupling.

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13) 9 nos. of shaft on both the sides of gear box each having 2 nos. of eccentric 2 nos. of
counter weights, muff coupling at both ends and 2 nos. of roller bearing (Copper make).

Construction of moving rake:

(1) Adjacent to braking device at east side, rake casting blocks are fixed throughout the length,
which have notches to accommodate bars. There are 159 nos. of such blocks and 2 nos. of
half blocks at both ends throughout the length. In between 2 adjacent blocks, small gap is
provided to accommodate moving rake flats.
(2) The entire moving area has 18 sections at each side of the gear box.
(3) One section comprises of a rectangular frame, fabricated of rolled I-beams, fitted with 2 sets
of (one set collar and the other set collarless) wheels at both ends on western side (Braking
device side) beam. These wheels are rested on northern side eccentrics at both ends of one
line shaft. The western half of the bogie rests on the pulleys fitted with the levers and their
shuffle bar side ends.
(4) In each section, there are 2 nos. of levers fixed in east west direction and hinges at the
longitudinal center. It has 2 nos. of collarless pulleys fitted at both the ends. The western
end’s pulley rests on the eccentric and on its eastern side pulley, the beam of the bogie
rests.
(5) Each bogie is fitted with 10 nos. of rake flats which move along with the movement of the
bogie. Hence, known as the moving rake.
(6) Throughout the length of each bogie, 19 nos. of fixed rake flats have been fixed with the
fixed structures. These flats are stationary. Hence, known as fixed rakes.
(7) With the rotation of eccentric shaft, the whole moving unit first goes forward and then rises
up to receive rods, subsequently moves backward and finally lowers down to deliver rods to
fixed rake. This operation keeps on repeating one after another and the bar gets transferred
from this rake to shuffle bar.
(8) The bogies are not attached with any other component. These are simply resting and can
easily be removed by overhead crane as there is no fastener.

Safety precautions:

(1) Never enter into the cooling bed area when the mill is in operation.
(2) Obtain Power Cut clearance in prescribed form from electrical or hydraulic power pack,
hot run out table rolls before carrying out any job for braking device.
(3) Never allow gas cutting, welding or naked fire in hydraulic power pack area.
(4) Never enter into the cooling bed area without personal protective safety appliances.
(5) Ensure availability of fire extinguisher and water line for combating fire occurrence.

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Shuffle bar:
The purpose of shuffle bar is to receive bars from the moving rake, make a group of bars
And transfer these to cold run out tables.

Components of Shuffle bar:

(1) Rectangular plates fabricated from 12mm plates.
(2) Collared pulleys.
(3) Collarless pulleys.
(4) Line shaft for shuffling of bars each having 6 sets of eccentric bearings and muff
couplings at both the ends.
(5) During gear box and motor.
(6) Raising and lowering unit of shuffle bar frames at CRO table side, consisting of line of
shafts connected together having lever attached with it at west side and at opposite side,
counter weights are attached. The upper ends of the levers are connected with the shuffling
plates of rectangular frames. The shaft does not rotate full revolution in any direction but
partially in both directions through an angle of 60 o. The operation performed by a gear box
having a crank at its output shaft. The crank is connected with the line shaft with a lever.
(7) An automatic grease lubrication system has been provided for cooling bed equipment.

Construction of Shuffle bar:

There are several nos. of line shafts connected together and with the output shafts of driving
box at its both ends. Each shaft has 6 sets of eccentrics. One set of eccentric is mounted on the
shaft in opposite direction side by side on these eccentrics, the pulleys of rectangular frame
rest. One side pulleys of each frame have collars and those at other side are collarless. All the
frames have been accommodated in such a way on the line shaft that when the latter rotates,
the frames move up and down as well as in forward and backward directions. The alternate
frames have movement in same directions and adjacent frames have movement in opposite
direction to one another.
The other sides of the frames (CRO table side) are connected with the CRO table line shaft. The
partial rotation of this shaft causes raising and lowering of shuffle bar frames at eastern end
only.

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Operation of Shuffle bar:

(1) The finished rods are delivered to shuffle bar by moving rake one by one. Then, the
western side line shaft bar starts rotating and in turn makes the shuffle bar frames move
forward backward and carry the rods towards the CRO table. During this operation, the
eastern end of shuffle bar frames remain in raised position.
(2) When the bunch of rods gets completed as per the requirement, the east line shaft is
operated to actuate eastern part of the shuffle bar frame up and down. In the process of going
down, all the bars on the shuffle bar gets transferred to the CRO table.

Safety precautions:
(1) Never enter into the cooling bed area when the mill is in operation.
(2) Obtain Power Cut clearance in prescribed form from electrical or hydraulic power
pack, hot run out table rolls before carrying out any job for braking device.
(3) Never allow gas cutting, welding or naked fire in hydraulic power pack area.
(4) Never enter into the cooling bed area without personal protective safety appliances.
(5) Ensure availability of fire extinguisher and water line for combating fire occurrence.

(e) Cold run out table: the shuffle bars transfers the rolled product from the rakes and
deposits it on the run out roller table which conveys it to the cold shears. The length of this
table is about 106 meter and is provided with 65 nos. of reversible rolls. The diameter of these
cast iron rolls is 310 mm and barrel length is 1000 mm and supported in roller bearings. All the
rolls are driven by individual motors. The motors and rolls are coupled by means of spur gears.
The operation of the roller is controlled by a master switch.
A disappearing stop is provided in front of the cold shear which is used to align the bars.
This stopper is operated by a pneumatic cylinder and a push button.

Safety precautions:
(1) Always cross the CRO table at specified places only.
(2) Do not carry any job without Power OFF clearance from electrical.
(3) Get the valve of compressed closed before any job with the pneumatic system.
(4) Inform the operator before carrying out any job
(5) Always use PPE

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2.19 Cold shears and loading table #1 & #2:

The shear is of right hand design with inclined housing made of cast steel.
Shear Pressure -360tons.
Tensile strength of material when cold -60kg/mm2
Length of knives -900mm
No. of strokes when operated continuously -15/min

A 200 KW, 750 rpm slip-ring motor drives the knife through a spur gear reduction unit. The oil
pump has to be started before starting the shear. The shear motor starts individual cuts and
motor stops at the end of the cutting cycle. The top knife is slightly curved concave so as to
hold the bars between the knives during the cut. Lubrication of the shear is effected by means
of an automatic force feed system. The lubrication system and the cold shear drive motor are
interlocked.

The driving motor will not start until and unless the lubrication system is on. One grinder-type
gauge is placed after the shear for cutting lengths of 6-24 m. the gauge carriage is traversed
with the help of a 7.5 KW, 1000 rpm slip ring motor and a chain. An oil pump operated by a 2.2
KW, 1500 rpm squirrel cage induction motor provides the necessary oil for lifting and lowering
the gauges as well as for clamping. The motors for traversing, lifting, lowering and clamping
are interlocked in such a way that traversing can be effected only when the stop is in the lifted
position and carriage in the unchanged condition. Once the shear has started to run, the stop
is raised so that the material can be transferred immediately after cutting.

The 23 m long loading roller table no. 1 is situated at the back of cold shear #1. This is provided
with 19 geared motor roller units. A disappearing stop is provided at the end of this table. The
material cut to the desired lengths is transferred into one of the loading pockets situated on
either side of the table. A chain type transfer device has 17 chains divided into two sections.
These two transfers can be coupled electrically for simultaneous operations. The drives consist
of 20 KW, 750rpm slip ring motors, one for lifting and lowering and one for transport for each
section.

The cut material is lifted off the table and transported by chains into the pocket. The control is
automatic in operation. As soon as the push button is worked, the lifting drive starts. When
the chains are lifted, the drive stop through a limit switch and the transport drive is switched
on. The transport drive runs as long as the adjustable time relay (0.7 to 10s) is activated. The
time relay switches off the transport drive and switches on the lifting and lowering drive in
such a way as to bring the chain back to its lower position. In case of emergency, the operation
can be stopped at any stage.

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A roller table about 25 mm long connects the loading roller table is similar to the one
connecting the cooling bed and cold shear #1.

Cold shear #2:

The cold shear #2 and grinder-type gauge are similar to that of shear no. 1. The loading table
has pockets situated at one side while on the other side materials can be deposited over chain
cross transfer. The cross transfer may be utilized if the materials are to be finished and shipped
from the oil mill building. The chain conveyer is in two sections and each section is operated by
a 35 KW, 750rpm slip ring motor. Both the sections can be coupled electrically for
simultaneous operations. The drive is transferred to the sprockets through spur gear reduction
unit.

Of the two sets of shears and loading arrangements that are provided, one is kept in operation
and the other serves as a stand-by. For faster operation of the mill, both may be employed
judiciously.

During the construction of the new mill, the management found it advisable to continue to run
the old mill. The old mill building, which was intended to be the finishing bay for the new mill
products, could no longer be made available and hence, an additional open gantry at the west
of the new mill building was proposed to finish and ship the rolled product.

E. UTILITY EQUIPMENT DETAILS

3.01 Hydraulic Operated Equipment:

Hydraulic cross pusher:

Hydraulic cross pusher consists of 6 nos. Each cylinder connected to separate pusher bar
individual Hydraulic cylinder used to push the billets placed over conveyer roll inside the
furnace.

Each cylinder is operated by separate power pack, so that if any pusher fails the other can
push the billet inside and keep the mill running.

Each power pack consists of:

(a) Vane type hydraulic pump.

(b) Hydraulic oil tank – 500 lit.

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(c) 4/3 way solenoid operated tandem centered D.C. valve.

(d) Pressure relief valve (Pressure set at 50 bar normally)
(e) Flow control valve (Quantitative type used to control the speed of cylinder)
(f) Water cooler (to cool the oil returning to the tank)
(g) Pressure gauge (to indicate pressure)
(h) Return line filter
(i) New return valve

The pusher bar moves over the slot of short skid and then pushes the billets inside. One
interlock has been incorporated here, until the cylinder cuts the limit switches (F/R and B/R),
the furnace approach roll will not start. So, the chance of interference between the pusher bar
and billet ends.

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3.02 Pneumatically Operated Equipment:

List of Equipment:

1. Charging bed billet thrower

2. Withdrawal pinch roll pinching
3. Mill approach table billet thrower.
4. Twist pinch roll twisting cylinder.
5. Pendulum shear knife cylinder.
6. Mill pinch roll 2 pinching cylinder.
7. Emergency shear.
8. Lopper table persuader roll shifting cylinder.
9. Disappearing stopper.
10.Stopper gauge #1 & #2.

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3.03 Water Circuit:

SCALE PIT: Huge quantity of water is required to cool the rolls during rolling. This water is
circulated to the rolls in a closed circuit design e.g. water once used is not thrown away, but
used respectively in following ways:
(a) Roll cooling water mixed with mill scale flows in a pit known as scale pit, situated in the
east side of erstwhile M. Mill #1 just adjacent to scale pit pump house, through an
underground tunnel.
(b) Water from scale pit is pumped to sulzer pumps cooling tower by scale pit pumps. There
are 2 nos. of scale pit pumps. One pump is running ad other is on stand-by. Provision is
there to divert this water from cooling tower to mill cooling water header directly as
shown in the circuit diagram.

Specification of scale pit pump

Make – Kirloskar Model – 10 UPH4

Discharge – 750 m3/hr. (12500lpm) Suction Flange – 300mm
Delivery Flange – 250mm Total Head – 45 mtr (4.5 kg/cm2)
Motor kilo watt – 180 RPM – 980
Efficiency – 80%

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VERTICAL TURBINE PUMP:

Water for roll cooling is supplied by vertical turbine pumps (earlier Sulzer make pumps were
there which now have been replaced by Kirloskar make pumps). There are 3 nos. of V.T.
pumps located in a room at south side of the main entrance of the mill. Out of 3 only 1 pump is
running and the other 2 are stand by pumps. To take care of the evaporation in cooling tower,
a makeup line is provided with cooling tower.

The V.T. Pump sucks water from the cooling tower and delivers into a header of 300m dia. This
header again has branches of 200 m dia. For rough mill’s stands and 200mm dia. for
intermediate and finishing mill’s stands as shown in the circuit diagram.

Specification of Vertical Turbine Pump:

Make – Kirloskar Type – BHR42 – 22.50 – 1 STG Pump

Delivery Size – 300 m Discharge – 720.00 m3/hr. (200 laps)
Total Head – 33 mtr (3.3 kg/cm3) RPM – 1460
Motor – 102.00 Kw Efficiency – 82%

Warning: The motor must be tested for direction of rotation when coupled to the pump. If the
pump rotates in the wrong direction, serious damage to the pump and driver along
with serious injury to nearby personnel could happen.

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TECHNICAL DATA CHART FOR TMT PUMP DSM 150/46

Packing thickness between upper and lower half of the 0.8mm

casing

Flange size in mm
DEL X SUC 150 x 200

Ball bearing no.

SKF or required
Driving End N311
Non driving end 2 x 7310BG
Qty. of grease per brg. Cms. 200

ST. Box packing size in m

Size X Length 12 SQ X 3200

Position of lantern ring(1) from impeller side

(NDE) side 2+L+3

No. of packing rings.

DE 6
NDE 5

Coupling Type Pin bush type

S290

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3.04 Lubrication Equipment Details:

Oil Cellar:

Function – It is a centralized oil lubricating system to provide oil to all holding stands gear
boxes from #1 to #18 and in both rotary shears.
List of Equipment’s –
1. Storage tank - Capacity – 40,000 liters.
2. Pump - Capacity – 1200 LPM
Type - Gear Pump
Make - Hypo
Pressure – 10 Kg/cm2
3. Pressure filter - Cloth type.
Cleaning Frequency – Whenever differential pressure rises above 0.5 KG/Sq. cm
4. Duplex filter
Cleaning Frequency – Every 2 months
5. Cooler- Not in service.
6. Pressure switches- It gives sense to indicate light for healthy conditioning of oil cellar.
7. Mercury Switch-It gives sense to the motor house for healthy conditioning of the oil cellar.
The minimum set pressure is 1.6 Kg/ Sq. cm.
8. Differential Pressure Gauge – It shows the pressure difference of before and after back
filters. When the differential pressure arises above 0.5 Kg/Sq. cm. Then, the hooter is
switched on.
9. Level gauge - Indicates the oil level of main tank. It is situated at the bottom of the tank.
10. Temperature gauge – It indicates the return line oil temperature.
11. Return line strainer - To strain return oil from foreign body.
12. Returning station pump – Capacity – 150 LPM
13. Centrifuge m/c
14. Sump Pump – to dewater from oil cellar pit.
Operation – Manually
Checking - Every shift

Hazards:

a. Fire hazard
b. Water Flooding.
c. Slipping in Oil Cellar.
d. Power Failure.
e. Confined space.
Emergency preparedness
Environment management

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Grease Lubrication:
Automatic grease lubrication supplies grease to the consuming point with dual line system.
There are 6 such systems in our mill.
1. Charging bed rolls and furnace approach roll.
2. Withdrawal pinch roll, mill approach roll, T/P roll and pendulum shear.
3. Roughing and intermediate mill.
4. Finishing mill.
5. Cooling bed.
6. Cold shear #1 and #2 table roll.

There are also units of multi-line grease pump which supplies grease to vertical spindle choke
of vertical stands.

Two types of grease are used –

a. Lithium E.P. greases (Stock No. – 119/3129) – General purpose application other than
choke bearing.
b. Ca Sulphonate complex grease (Stock No. 119/3720) – For choke bearing greasing of stand
#1 - #18

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