Thyssenkrupp unit digitalises hot strip treatment

Thyssenkrupp Hohenlimburg has digitalised its shower warehouse for hot strip, which gives the mill faster throughput times, among other things, Kallanish learns from the company.

The Hohenlimburg unit makes medium-wide strip, mainly for further processing by dedicated cold-rollers in the Westphalian region. Now the shower store, in which the coils are specifically cooled before pickling, has been integrated into the existing digital structure. It now exists as a “digital twin”, a mathematical image of the real location, tk explains.

The digitalisation significantly shortens the throughput times, from an average of 72 to only 5-6 hours, the company claims. Quality defects, such as rust scars, can be avoided through controlled cooling. It is also crucial that the coils in the shower store and in the connected pickling pre-store are only cooled down as far as is optimal for the pickling process.

A mathematical model developed in-house is the basis by which each individual coil “knows” when it has reached the optimal temperature. This optimises storage logistics and increases productivity in the processing procedure, tk claims.