Primetals Technologies (Linz, Austria):

Linzer B., Head of Technology Endless Strip Production, e-mail: bernd.linzer@primetals.com
Rimnac A., Bragin S., Yang Bo, Technology Experts Endless Strip Production

Improved high-strength steels used in lightweight construction buildings and other areas should be considered as the up-to-date material providing improvement of economical efficiency. The technology Arvedi ESP is based on usage of precise thermomechanical rolling in strictly held and maximally narrow temperature range. This technology allows to master manufacture of new steel grades having stable demand in the short time period and with low expenses for alloying. The paper presents the results of operation at the first technological line of endless strip production (ESP) facilities in Italy and at 5 other ESP lines that have been supplied lately to Rizhao Steel (China). An overview on higher Mn-containing AHSS products in view of their potential for production via the thinslab casting and direct rolling (TSDR) route is given. The most striking advantages of the ESP technology is the achieved microstructural homogeneity which is a consequence of the thin-slab casting route coupled with direct feeding to the high reduction mill. Moreover, the endless strip production mode results in minimal process deviation contributing to narrow variance in final product properties.

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