The widest and thickest stainless steel plate in China successfully rolled in batches at Baosteel
Recently, Baosteel Co., Ltd. gave full play to the synergy of the group, purchased wide slabs from Taiyuan Iron and Steel, and successfully rolled the widest and thickest stainless steel plate with a specification of 12.9*3796*12010 mm in batches for the first time, ending the long-term dependence of domestic LNG main pipeline plates in one fell swoop. The “bottleneck” of imports has laid a solid foundation for the government to solve the “stuck neck” problem of key materials and help the country achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
As clean energy, LNG plays an important role in the adjustment of my country’s energy structure. my country will continue to promote the promotion and application of LNG. According to estimates, on the basis of the current 10,000 tons of wide plates for LNG main pipelines, the demand will increase at a rate of 15% every year in the future. With the massive import of overseas LNG resources, the demand for 304/304L austenitic stainless steel as the main material for transportation pipelines will also greatly increase.
304/304L austenitic stainless steel for LNG pipeline transportation has two key technical requirements: one is the material toughness that can withstand changes from room temperature to ultra-low temperature; the other is that the diameter of steel pipes is getting larger and larger with the requirement of increasing transmission efficiency. The width of the stainless steel plate is getting wider and wider, and the maximum width exceeds 4000 mm. In response to the requirements of the material’s resistance to normal temperature and ultra-low temperature, the Academia Sinica has optimized the composition and process of conventional 304/304L, so that LNG steel can maintain good performance in extreme environments.
In response to the width requirements of the material, the production, sales, and research team actively coordinated and purchased slabs with a width of 1,800 mm from Taiyuan Iron and Steel. The thick plate technical team adopted a special online solid solution rolling technology for the production of ultra-wide plates to prevent corrosion after rolling. Performance and mechanical properties meet customer requirements. Users appreciate Baosteel’s ability to provide a substitute for the 3796 mm wide LNG material imported from Japan, and have welded steel plates into tubes on its production line.
In the widest and thickest plate of stainless steel rolling this time, because the specifications and processes exceeded the original production limit requirements, the production, marketing, and research team decided to make innovations and breakthroughs. The stainless steel team actively communicated and discussed with users in advance to confirm orders and technical conditions, and invited users to Baosteel for production.
On-site technical exchanges; the production and manufacturing team identified user needs and formulated detailed production plans, including slab selection, material design, cutting to length, heating, rolling and cooling processes, and subsequent sampling and performance tests; technical team Simulation settings and calculations were carried out for each production process, and corresponding abnormal reaction plans were formulated. The entire trial production process hits, the plate shape is good, and the external dimensions meet the contract requirements. After testing, the performance meets the requirements, and the trial production is a complete success. (Source: China Baowu)