Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL), Angul, India, and SMS group have successfully commissioned the high-speed seven-strand combi-caster established at the Angul Odisha plant in India. This combi-caster is the largest high-speed billet caster in India and was commissioned within 12 months only from project start.

The combi-caster was designed in cooperation with SMS Concast, a company of SMS group, for the production of low- and high-carbon, ball bearing and free-cutting steel. With a casting radius of nine meters and seven strands (continuous straightening with two unbending points), the casting machine speeds range from 0.6 up to five meters per minute, whereas the maximum capacity is 2.3 million tons per year for 165 x 165-millimeter square billets. The casting formats include billets of 150 x 150 up to 200 x 200 millimeters and provision is made for round sections from Rd. 162 to Rd. 220 millimeters.

Presently, JSPL Angul casts 165 x 165-millimeter square billets on the new combi-caster and, in 100-percent open casting mode, can reach up to 2.3 million tons per year for the production of rebar grade steel. However, for 100-percent closed casting of rebar grade steel, it has a maximum production capacity of 1.8 million tons per year. The maximum open casting speed for 165 x 165-millimeter square billets attains 3.6 meters per minute and the maximum closed casting speed for 165 x 165-millimeter square billets is 2.8 meters per minute.

JSPL is already operating two six-strand (Raigarh) and three eight-strand billet casters from SMS Concast, two thereof in Angul and one at Jindal Shadeed, Oman. The new seven-strand caster at the Angul plant is equipped with ladle turret, tundish car with lifting and lowering device, CONVEX^® mold tubes, electromagnetic stirrers and mold oscillators, overhead cross-transfer, turn-over cooling bed and automatic torch cutter. JSPL will benefit from this new high-speed combi-caster with CONVEX^® technology by lower operating costs and increased productivity.

“The machine allows us to achieve higher productivity which was topped in December 2018 with 200,000 tons of steel per month,” says Atul Dubey, VP, Steel Melt Shops at Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. in Angul. He congratulates the two project teams led by S.S. Nagi (JSPL) and P.P. Mandape (SMS Concast) for the efficient commissioning 12 months after project start.

JSPL produces a wide range of iron and steel products including plates, parallel-flanged beams, medium sections, rails, rounds, rebars, wire rod and metal products. The company owns steel production plants in Raigarh, Angul and Patratu, India, and in Sohar, Oman.