Mechanical Technology January 2015

⎪ Power transmission, bearings and bushes ⎪

A ccording to the Ernst and Young’s Global Steel Report, 2014, energy costs, excess capacity, environmental issues and an increasingly competitive marketplace are some of the key factors redefining the steelmaking industry. Faced with these challenges, steel makers are modernis- ing and revamping existing plants to improve their sector’s appeal by improving energy efficiency and reliability; increasing spare availability; and decreasing maintenance cost. In an effort to increase competitiveness, ArcelorMittal has chosen GE’s Power Conversion business to replace their existing dc drives and control system with GE’s water-cooled Powersemi PW100 in an important upgrade of their Bremen hot rolling mill. “GE Power Conversion is one of the most experienced companies in the market for modernising and revamping high power drives for steel plants,” says Andreas Dalchow, managing director, Hot Strip Mill at ArcelorMittal Bremen. “We know GE’s high-performance controller (HPCi ), power electronic controller (PECe) and its power interface board (PIBe) solutions well and are pleased with their performance and benefits.” ArcelorMittal, headquartered in Luxembourg, is one of the leading steel companies in the world. The Bremen hot steel mill is one of the largest of its kind and one of the core production units within the group. Its strip mill currently reaches a maximum speed of 1 300 m/min and has a production capacity of 4.5-mil- lion metric tons per year. The new dc drives to be provided are fitted with HPCi con- troller technology using PECe and PIBe. This results in a freely programmable, modular system with a real-time multi-tasking operating system. It features modular hardware and software and is used, in particular, for its fast information processing of time-critical tasks in process control and related areas. It is also used as the controller of GE’s low and medium voltage drives. “Given the tough environment, steel makers are looking for modern technologies that provide improved energy efficiency and reliability, and solutions that provides a lower carbon footprint to comply with environmental regulations,” said Mike Archibald, GE Power Conversion’s Global Services Leader. “There is certainly a growing need for service in this industry and GE is proud to support our customers in all these aspects.” The project is expected to complete by the beginning of 2017. GE’s Power Conversion business applies the science and systems of power conversion to help drive the electrification of the world’s energy infrastructure by designing and delivering advanced motor, drive and control technologies that evolve to- day’s industrial processes for a cleaner, more productive future. Serving specialised sectors such as energy, marine, oil and gas, renewables and general industry, through customised solutions and advanced technologies, GE Power Conversion partners with customers to maximise efficiency. GE is headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut. In 2011, the company was listed on Fortune 500 as the 26 th -largest firm in the US by gross revenue and the 14 th most profitable. q GE technology increases energy efficiency for ArcelorMittal Bremen ArcelorMittal has selected GE’s Power Conversion Business to upgrade the dc drives and control systems at its Bremen hot rolling mill in Germany.

Mechanical Technology — January 2015

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