RUSSULA NEWSLETTER No. 11

The Russula Newsletter No. 11 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A. April 2015 

RUSSULA NEWSLETTER 

SPOTLIGHT FURNACES MILL PROJECTS WATER TREATMENT SERVICE 

Russula opens Successful EAF Three consecutive Gerdau Sayreville NJ Russula builds 

office in Yaroslavl upgrade at upgrade projects at awards Russula water technical service 

Russia Votorantim Gerdau Cartersville treatment plant team in US 

Bar Mill Starts 

Operations at Silat

1 Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A.

SPOTLIGHT 

Russula opens office in Yaroslavl 

Russula is pleased to announce the opening of its 6th 

international office in Yaroslavl, Russian Federation. 

The opening of the new office will boost Russula´s presence 

within the Russian market. 

In 2011-2012, Russula provided the design, equipment 

supply and construction supervision of a water treatment 

plant for the JSC Severstal Long Product Mill Balakovo 

located in the Saratov region. During the course 

of the project Russula settled permanently in Russia, 

opening an office in Yaroslavl, which is responsible for 

serving the entire country. 

Over the past two years, Russula has provided the 

engineering, mechanical and electrical equipment 

supply, construction supervision, testing and 

commissioning of a complete water treatment plant for 

Severstal´s new 1 Mtpy state-of-the-art steel plant, 

located in the Balakovo, Saratov region in Russia. 

“Russula´s water treatment plant technology is unique 

in that it is designed specifically for the steel industry. 

The closed loop circuit reutilizes rain and melted snow 

from the region making it a very ecofriendly process.” 

says General manager Ruslan Shulegin of LLC 

Russula Engineering in Russia. 

Yaroslavl was selected as the new office location due to 

its convenient location and availability of qualified 

technical staff. The city is located 260 km from the Russian 

capital Moscow; its close proximity to airports and 

transportation hubs allows easy travel mobility around 

Russia. At the same time Yaroslavl is a developed industrial 

city with a high level of education to ensure the 

selection of qualified technical staff. 

“Overall we believe that Russia has great potential for 

new projects such as the modernization and renovation 

of existing metallurgical facilities. Using process 

control to improve product quality has become a key 

topic recently among Russian rolling mills. Electrical 

revamps are Russula´s core competence with over 240 

projects successfully completed worldwide.” affirms 

Ruslan Shulegin. 

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A. 2

RUSSULA NEWS 

Steel Conferences 2015 

May 

AISTech 2015 

May 4-7, 2015 

Cleveland, OH USA 

www.aist.org/conference-expositions/aistech 

Russula will be serving beer and tapas at booth #2159 

located in Aisle 2100 at AISTech 2015. 

10:30 am 

Russula North America´s own Director of Sales Eric 

Thorstenson will present ”Modern Rolling for Long 

Products — Upgrading the Electrics” in the Rod & Bar 

Rolling Innovations session. 

2 pm 

Russula´s Rolling Mill Product Manager, Miguel 

Arredondo will present ”SILAT's New 600,000 tpy Rod 

and Bar Mill in Brazil” Rod and Bar Rolling Session. 

June 

METEC 2015 

June 16-20, 2015 

Düsseldorf, Germany 

www.metec-tradefair.com 

Come visit Russula´s booth at the METEC exhibition 

located in hall 04, stand #4F17. 

November 

Russula will be presenting two topics in the technical 

conference proceedings at AISTech. 

May 5th, 2015 

Rod & Bar Rolling Session 

Rm 9 

ALACERO-56 (ILAFA) 

November 9-11, 2015 

Buenos Aires, Argentina 

www.alacero.org 

Russula will be located at booths # 23, 25 and 27 during 

EXPO ALACERO-55. 

Russula´s Sales Director presents at Arab Steel Congress 

Daniel Sanchez, the Global Sales Director for Russula, 

presented at the annual Arab Steel Summit last fall. The 

Summit was organized by the Arab Iron and Steel 

Union (AISU) from 26-28 October 2014 at Grand Hyatt 

Hotel, Dubai, UAE. Concurrently with the AISU mission 

to create a venue for companies to present their latest 

technological solutions which help develop the 

productivity of the iron and steel industry, Daniel 

Sanchez presented ''How to Use Automation to Improve 

Productivity and Quality in Your Rolling Mill.'' 

Over one hundred participants attended the presentation 

on October 28th, 2014. 


RUSSULA NEWS 

Safety first! OSHAS certifies Russula Headquarters 

Russula seeks to protect the health and safety of its employees, 

because we know our employees are our greatest 

assets. In April 2014, Russula Headquarters is 

pleased to receive the certification of compliance with 

OHSAS 18001: 2007 by the Occupational Health and 

Safety Management System. Using this management 

system, accident prevention is integrated even more 

throughout the company. 

• Coordinate with customer safety and health 

organizations to develop a strategy for protecting 

employees against on-site risks. 

KEY PRINCIPLES 

• Safety is inherent to each and every one of the 

work planning tasks. 

• Risk identification and preventive measures. 

• Train employees with the latest safety procedures 

• Establish working groups to ensure staff 

participation. 

• Control working conditions. 

• Monitor compliance with established objectives. 

• Foster a safe and healthy workplace. 

• Company accident reduction. 


RECENT PROJECTS 

Gerdau Sayreville NJ awarded Russula contract for 

Last December, Gerdau awarded 

Russula the contract to supply the 

Contact Cooling Water Treatment 

Plant for their 800,000 tpy capacity 

rebar mill, in Sayreville, NJ, USA. 

The rolling mill currently produces 

rebar at average/maximum rates of 

78/150 short tons/h (71/136 metric 

tons/h) rolling 115mm square billets. 

The mill scale generated by the 

rolling process at these production 

rates are 1,376/2,645 Lb/h 

(624/1,200 kg/h), with a mill scale 

density of 325 Lb/ft 3 (5,200 kg/m 3 ). 

The project will be implemented in 

two phases. In the first phase, the 

new water plant will treat a total 

flow of 4000 GPM from the rolling 

mill and reheat furnace, and the second 

phase will include the quenching 

system, which requires an 

additional water flow of 3500 GPM. 

For the 4000 GPM treatment, the 

plant design will follow the Russula 

"Four Stage Process" for contact 

water circuits. Water from the 

rolling mill will be treated first in 

the scale pit to remove coarse particles 

that have a size greater than or 

equal to 200 microns. The density 

difference between the water and 

the scale, causes the larger, heavier 

scale particles to be deposited on 

the bottom of the pit, and subsequently 

extracted by a clamshell 

bucket. 

After passing through the scale pit, 

the water will continue to the decanting 

process, where by longitudinal 

drag small scale particles, oils 

and grease are removed. Coarse 

particles that gather at the bottom of 

The 4000 GPM contact 

cooling water will go 

through a four stage treatment 

process consisting of 

a scale pit, decanting 

process, ring filtration and 

cooling towers. The water 

treatment plant flow diagram 

is illustrated on the 

left. 



new contact cooling water treatment plant 

the decanters will be pumped to the 

sludge area and oil floating on the 

surface will be taken off by the top 

of the bridge scraper and removed 

by the oil skimmer. The decanted 

water will then pass to the ring filtration 

system. 

In the ring filters those particles that 

have a higher density than water 

and that have gotten through the 

previous process stages will be removed. 

Finally, the filtered water is 

pumped through the cooling towers 

then circulates back to cool the 

rolling mill equipment. 

The electrical and mechanical scope 

of supply includes: 

- Basic and detailed electrical 

engineering 

- Basic and detailed mechanical 

engineering 

- Cooling towers 

- Bridge scrapers 

- Oil skimmer 

- Sludge centrifuge 

- Clam shell bucket and hoist 

- Instrumentation and valves 

- MCCs 

- PLC and remote I/O 

- HMI 

- Installation supervision 

- Start-up 

- Training 

Rebar made at the Gerdau 

Sayreville mill is typically sold in 

the northeast and Canada. The 

rebar runs the gamut from no. 3 

rebar, which is 3/8 of an inch in 

diameter, to number 18 rebar, 

which is about 2¼ inches in 

diameter. 

Russula will supply a Contact 

Cooling Water Treatment 

plant to Gerdau. 

The rebar mill is located in 

Sayreville, NJ. To the left 

is the water treatment 

plant layout. 



Three consecutive projects at Gerdau Cartersville 

Following the recent modernization of the DC drives 

of the bar mill, Russula has won a contract for the 4 

strand continuous caster and complete bar mill control 

revamp at Gerdau Cartersville in GA, USA. 

The projects will be implemented in two phases during 

planned shutdowns. In the first phase, one strand of the 

continuous caster and the bar mill will be 

commissioned in September 2015. The second phase 

consists of the revamping of the other three continuous 

caster strands, scheduled for December 2015. 

A multi-phase revamp approach allows mills to upgrade 

obsolete control equipment and minimize mill 

downtime, which reduces the impact on production. 

Rolling mill drive upgrade completed in just six days 

The first project, implemented in December 2014, consisted 

of upgrading the main DC drives of the bar mill 

from ABB DCS600 to DCS800. The entire mill downtime 

for the uprade was only six days. Even though the 

upgrade was from the same drive family, due to the 

various sizes and configurations, it was necessary to 

propose solutions for each case, seeking the best technological 

improvement while minimizing the investment. 

The proposed solution is based on using DCR upgrade 

kits, which replace all electronic drive control while 

keeping intact the power stacks. The kits are highly 

modular, allowing the upgrade to be accomplished 

quickly. The main benefits were: 

- Gerdau Cartersville mill obtained the high 

performance offered by ABB DCS800 drives 

without having to change the power stacks, thus 

optimizing the economic investment. 

- Replaced obsolete equipment and software, which 

was expensive to maintain due to the high price of 

spare parts replacement for discontinued 

equipment. 

- Established a standard and transparent 

communication path between the PLCs and 

standard drives, expanding the communication 

capabilities of these systems with other external 

control systems. 

Control system upgrade for bar mill and continuous 

caster scheduled for September 2015 

This second project is currently under development 

and consists of the upgrade of the existing control 

system and HMI architecture for the bar mill. The 

current ABB AC450 PLCs with the ABB AS500 SCADA 

operator inferface will be replaced with the ABB 

AC800M series and Wonderware Intouch. Russula mill 

control will be implemented for the entire line from the 

first stand to the cooling bed. 

New DC drives supplied by Russula for the sideguards and 

screwdown of the DUO two high stand revamped in 2011 

Gerdau Cartersville mill produces a line of angle bars, 

profiles and flats with diameters from 150 to 300 mm 



Gerdau places its confidence in Russula to revamp the 

rolling mill and continuous caster in Cartersville, GA 

The control system upgrade for the bar mill includes: 

- New main control cabinet supply and installation, 

disconnecting and rewiring local field signals 

- Replace existing PLC with an ABB PM891 from the 

AC800M family 

- New Siemens Simotion shear positioning system 

- Remote unit modification to communicate by 

Profibus DP without disconnecting any signal 

field units 

- Integration of new control system within the 

data acquisition IBA network 

- Development of the full development and 

implementation of the control system and HMI 

according Russula quality standards and customer 

requirements 

Multi-phase startup for continuous caster 

The continuous caster will undergo a multi-phase 

revamp approach where one strand will be 

commissioned this September and the remaining three 

strands in December of this year. 

The existing control and power equipment for the 4 

strand continuous caster will be upgraded with Allen 

Bradley automation systems. This project illustrates the 

high flexibility Russula offers when faced with different 

technological solutions and its total independence from 

electrical equipment manufacturers. 

To modernize the current AC drives and control 

system, five PLCs type AB PLC5 (4 for the lines and 1 

for the common controls) will be replaced with new AB 

ControlLogix 1756 L7 processors. The existing Control 

Technique drives will be replaced with new AB 

PowerFlex 755 series. 

The current GE iFix HMI system will be kept in place 

and readapted to communicate with the new 

processors. 

MAIN DATA 

NO. DESCRIPTION START-UP DATE 

Project 1 DC drive upgrade for stands 1-12, shears 6 & 12, and cooling bed December 2014 

Project 2 New rolling mill control system September 2015 

Project 3 Control system and AC drive upgrade for continuous caster September 2015 (1 strand) 

December 2015 (3 strands) 



Russula to upgrade Isdemir´s two strand wire rod mill in 

Iskenderun, Turkey 

Russula is pleased to announce it has been selected by 

Isdemir to upgrade the automation system and drives 

of their 2 strand 500,000 tpy wire rod mill. The rolling 

mill is located in Iskenderun, Turkey. 

The goal of the upgrade is to fix a few problem areas in 

the mill to improve operations. In particular, the Russula 

automation solution will improve the laying head 

and pinch roll control of both lines A & B, provide consistent 

shear head and tail cuts and improve the water 

cooling box functionality. The combination of these improvements 

with Russula mill control will increase production 

rates. Russula will also supply the engineering, 

valves and instrumentation for revamping the existing 

water boxes. 

The existing AC800M PLCs will be reused along with 

the existing racks and IO hardware. The existing 

TYRAK-L DC converters with masterfieldbus communication 

will communicate with the PLCs through a 

protocol converter by Process Electronic. The Russula 

control scope includes: 

- DCS800 drives for a shears and the Lines A & B 

laying head 

- DCR800 drives for Line A stands and 

finishing block 

- Two AC800M PCLs for Lines A & B mill control 

- Ethernet communication network between the 

PLCs and HMI. Profibus Network communication 

for the new remote I/O, drives and Simotion 

- 3 HMI operator stations 

- IBA high speed data acquisition system 

- Engineering 

- Installation advisement 

- Commissioning 

- Offsite training 

- Onsite training 

The RUSSULA DCR kits provide an economical solution 

to upgrade existing DC drives complete with all 

the features of a modern digital drive. The performance 

of the drive with the DCR kit is the same as a new drive. 

Russula will provide the DCR kit as a pre-engineered 

panel custom designed to retro-fit into the current electrical 

cabinets. All the control hardware and software 

including the pulse firing boards will be replaced. New 

digital field supplies will be supplied complete with 

thyristors. 

The main operator pulpit and control desks will be reutilized. 

New controllers will be mounted in cabinets 

along with power supplies, communication modules 

and peripherals. The electrical equipment home test is 

scheduled for the week of April 27th in Russula´s workshop 

in A Coruña. The commissioning of the two 

strand wire rod mill is scheduled for June/July 2015. 

Russula has a long standing cooperation with Isdemir, 

beginning with the revamp of a 110 ton/hr pusher reheat 

furnace in 2003. This is the fourth revamp project 

Russula will implement at the Isdemir, Iskenderun site. 

Russula will upgrade the automation system and drives of 

their 2 strand 500,000 tpy wire rod mill 

This is the fourth revamp project Russula will execute for 

Isdemir in Turkey 



Once again, ArcelorMittal Acindar chooses Russula for 

their new 450,000 tpy bar mill in Argentina 

Russula supplied the electrical equipment and installation for ArcelorMittal Acindar´s bar and wire rod mill in 2007 

In 2007, Russula supplied the electrical equipment and 

installation for Acindar´s new 500,000 tpy bar and wire 

rod mill. Now, eight years later, Russula is proud to receive 

an order for the complete control system software 

for Acindar´s new 450,000 tpy bar mill. 

The new mill is currently under construction on the site 

of the Old Mill 1, in Villa Contitución, Santa Fe, Argentina. 

Commissioning is planned for 2015. 

The heart of the order is to engineer and implement 

Russula Mill Control in the new bar mill. Part of the 

original electrical equipment from Old Mill 1 will be 

reused. Two PLC´s will be reutilized for the reheating 

furnace and 4 PLCs for the continuous mill. Existing remote 

IO´s, local panels, power supply and communications 

will be reused. 

Russula will supply a new PLC, IO hardware and 

MCCs for the water treatment plant control. In addition, 

Russula will supply MCCs for the reheat furnace, 

a new main operator control desk for the mill, servers, 

installation supervision, commissioning support and 

training necessary to ensure an efficient start-up and a 

productive rolling mill. 

- High speed flying shears and rotating channels 

for lines A & B 

- Water treatment plant 

- Cooling bed and cold shear 

- Bundling area 

- Fluid systems 

The new software implemented in the PLCs uses the 

Russula Control Framework. All libraries and code 

blocks are reusable and documented. Using an open 

source distributed system simplifies maintenance and 

improves system scalability. 

The HMI provides the mill with an integrated management 

of each area of the plant using just one platform, 

from the reheating furnace all the way to the 

handling of the finished product. 

This new mill, specialized in producing bars for the 

construction market, will increase Acindar´s total capacity 

by 30%. Russula is very pleased to be working 

again with Acindar on this important project. Acindar 

is part of the ArcelorMittal Group. 

The control scope for the new bar mill includes: 

- 80 tph reheat furnace, combustion and 

movements 

- Mill control for 18 stand in line mill 



Successful startup of Gerdau Corsa´s section mill drive 

and controls upgrade 

Russula upgraded the automation system and drives 

for Gerdau Corsa´s section mill. The mill was successfully 

started up at the end of October, early November 

2014. Gerdua Corsa´s 150,000 tpy section mill is located 

in Tlalnepantla, Mexico. 

As an independent provider, Russula has the flexibility 

to integrate the ideal combination of hardware and software, 

mutually agreed upon with the customer for their 

particular mill. For this project, Russula integrated the 

control system and drive hardware from four different 

suppliers. 

The Russula Automation and Service solution for this 

mill includes: 

- Siemens S7-400 PLCs 

- DC Drive Rebuilds - ABB DCS800 

- New DC drives - ABB DCS800 

- New AC Drives - ABB ACS800 

- HMI - Wonderware 

- Electrical, Software and HMI Engineering 

- Main operator control station 

- 3 Simotion controllers for the shears 

- Iba high speed data acquisition system 

Russula was responsible for the installation supervision, 

commissioning, operator/maintenance training 

and three months of production assistance. 

The Russula Mill Control Scope: 

- Rolling mill configuration and mill tuning 

- Cascade mill control 

- Inter-Stand manual control 

- Mill speed references and management of start 

and stop of each section 

- Tension control 

- Tracking and cobble detection 

- Shear cut control 

- Rest cut removal 

- Cooling bed entry and exit sequencing 

- Phantom billet 

- Alarm and Interlocking 

Even after many years of operation, DC motors 

are often in an excellent shape. Since the technology for 

power stacks and power circuits does not change 

rapidly, upgrading the drive electronics will often give 

the same result as replacing the entire drive. This is an 

attractive upgrade path for mills as the installation is 

quicker and the equipment less expensive than buying 

complete new drives. 

This is the fourth project Russula has implemented for 

Gerdau Corsa in Mexico in the past two years. With the 

successful startup of the section mill, Russula strengthens 

its relationship with Gerdau Corsa. 

Billet exiting the reheat furnace at Gerda Corsa section mill 

in Tlalnepantla, Mexico 

The small section mill produces 150,000 tons per year of 1-6 

inch steel strip, squares, rounds and channels 

11 Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A.


Excellent results after drive and control revamp at 

Gerdau Sidenor Reinosa 

In August 2014, Russula successfully started-up the 

Gerdau Sidenor Reinosa DUO blooming mill after implementing 

a drives and control upgrade. Russula was 

also responsible for the engineering, installation supervision 

and commissioning. 

The Russula automation and control scope includes: 

- Blooming control for 6 and 8 ton blooms 

- Stand 2 and 3 control 

- Tilting device control 1 and 2 

- Sideguides 1, 2, 3 and 4 control 

- Upper cylinder control stand 1 

- Engineering 

- Installation support 

- Commissioning 

The Russula Control System was constructed using a 

selection of hardware chosen specifically for this project, 

including a Siemens PLC 414-3DP, new Sinamics 

DCM 220V (3 phase) drives, 5 remote I/Os and WinCC 

HMI. All drives were delivered already mounted on 

panels and then installed in the existing electrical cabinets. 

The communication between the drives, operator desks 

PLC and remote IOs was with profibus, while ethernet 

was used to communicate the new HMI to the PLC. 

As part of the software development, a new recipe system 

was put into operation. The operators found the 

recipes easy to modify and store for fast changes of 

product dimensions, grades and shapes. Without 

doubt, the revamp improved the overall productivity 

and product quality of the DUO blooming mill. 

Located in the municipality of Cantabria, Spain, the 

Gerdau plant is dedicated to fabricating specialty steels 

as well as forging and casting large turbine shafts for 

shipbuilding. 

HMI screen for the Duo blooming mill at Gerda, located in Reinosa, Spain. Russula successfully commissioned the mill in 

August 2014. 


RUSSULA 

good, honest, rolling mills 



20mm first bar 

produced at Silat 

On March 24th, 2015 

Silat rolled its first billet 


25 mm bar produced on March 29, 2015 at the rebar and wire rod mill of Silat 

Successful startup for Silat´s rebar and wire rod mill 

On Tuesday, March 24th, the first billet was rolled on 

the bar and wire rod mill of Silat (Siderúrgica Latinoamericana), 

located in Fortaleza, Brazil. During the day, 

many billets measuring 130 mm x 130 mm x 12,000 mm 

were rolled and the 20mm bars were discharged onto 

the cooling bed. Hot testing progressed quickly in the 

following weeks with 25mm, 16 mm two slitting and 

10mm bars, using the 4 slitting scheme. 

The rolling mill is fed by a 90 tph walking hearth reheating 

furnace. The plant layout includes a 20-stand 

continuous mill with two outlets, one for straight bar 

and the other for wire rod in coil. The rod outlet includes 

a one 10-stand, high-speed twist free finishing 

block fed from the bar mill finishing stands. The smaller 

bar sizes are produced on four strands, to take advantage 

of the mill´s capacity for the entire product range. 

Russula Turnkey Supply 

Russula was the main engineering contractor and 

mechanical equipment supplier for Silat´s rebar and 

wire rod mill. The complete turnkey supply included 

the full gamut of equipment and services from technical 

consultancy to develop the initial mill concept to 

rolling mill equipment supply. 

• Plant layout 

• Basic and detailed engineering for civil works, 

mechanical and electrical installation 

• Roll pass design 

• Electrical and fully integrated automation systems 

• Rolling mill equipment: 

- 20 housingless stands 

- Crop and divide shears 

- Uploopers 

- Powered slitter 

- Cooling bed 

- Cold shear 

- Bar counting table 

- Wire tying machines 

- High speed finishing mill 

- Water boxes 

- Pinch roll and laying head 

- Roller coiling conveyer 

- Coil forming station 

- Vertical pallet/C- hook conveyor 

- Coil compactor 

• Turnkey water treatment plant 

• Installation supervision 

• Start-up support 

• Training 

• Production optimization 


AT RUSSULA WE HIT TH 

Russula Customer Service 

We know all steel plants don´t have the 

same operational difficulties. We have 

the technical know-how to propose 

what solution will work for each unique 

customer and application. When it 

comes to service, we help our customers 

solve their problems quickly 

and easily. 


E GROUND RUNNING 

Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A 18

CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Russula builds technical service team in the US dedicated 

to mill production assistance 

Russula has built a technical team 

with a 100% focus on delivering operational 

support and improvements 

to long product rolling mills. 

Based in Sturbridge, MA, USA, this 

multi-disciplinary service team consists 

of operations, mechanical and 

electrical experts. 

Different from other suppliers, 

which fold customer service into the 

area of revamping existing plant 

equipment, this team is solely dedicated 

to making mills run better. 

”At times, equipment suppliers 

base their standardized solutions on 

offering equipment, equipment and 

more equipment. Here at Russula 

we are interested in solving the 

problems at our customer´s mills so 

they run more efficiently.” says 

Keith Fiorucci, Head of Research 

and Development for Russula. 

Standardized solutions become a 

one-size-fits-all compromise that affects 

many steel mills. However not 

all steel plants have the same operational 

difficulties. Custom solutions 

require a holistic knowledge 

of the long product rolling process. 

It is not enough to understand just 

how the electrical configuration 

affects production, but how the 

process impacts everything. 

”When a rolling mill asks me to 

visit, 85% of the time is spent diagnosing 

the short-comings in the 

mill. The other 15% is proposing the 

best way to fix them. Depending on 

the root cause of these reoccurring 

issues, revamping equipment may 

or may not be necessary. Many 

times the problems can be fixed 

without huge CAPEX investments.” 

adds Keith Fiorucci. 

This mill production assistance 

team will also assist in Russula´s ongoing 

Greenfield and revamp projects 

during hot commissioning. 

Their operational input will help expedite 

start-ups and ensure the mill 

returns to sustained production. 

The primary scope of work includes: 

• Roll Pass Design and 

Consulting 

• Process Optimization 

• Modern Methods of 

Process Analysis 

• Custom Equipment Design – 

small/medium scale projects 

• Small and Medium sized 

upgrades 

• Customized Solutions 

• Internal Training 

• Operational Training 

- Process Reviews – On Site 

- Hands on Courses 

Mill floor, directly with 

operators 

- Production Assistance 

- Troubleshooting 

Customer satisfaction requires having 

continual close customer contact. 

These teams will purposefully 

be kept small to give a more personalized 

service that engages the 

customer. ”Throwing more people 

at a problem does not make the solution 

better. You need to gather the 

right mix of people depending on 

the issue at hand.” commented 

Keith Fiorucci. The technical service 

team will provide production assistance 

for steel mills globally. 

Office Address and contact info: 

Russula Corporation 

559 Main Street, Unit 202 

Sturbridge, MA 01518 

T: +1 774 452 4411 

E: keith.fiorucci@russula.com 



Successful EAF upgrade at Votorantim Siderúrgia in 

Barra Mansa, Brazil 

Russula simplified the 

control configuration to 

one platform during the 

EAF No. 1 upgrade at 

Votorantim Siderúrgia. 

The EAF was successfully 

commissioned in January 

of this year. 

Votorantim Siderurgia contracted 

Russula to upgrade the existing 

electric arc furnace No. 1. at its Barra 

Mansa plant located in Rio de 

Janeiro, Brazil. In early January of 

this year, the control system modernization 

was successfully completed. 

The EAF has a capacity of 51 

ton/tap-to-tap cycle. 

In this project, the existing control 

configuration, previously provided 

by multiple equipment suppliers, 

was replaced with one single platform. 

This simplified maintenance 

and spare parts inventory. In particular, 

the old MCC panel, Siemens 

Step 5, Rockwell SLC 500 PLCs 

were replaced with a new MCC 

panel and a new Siemens Step 7 

PLC. The Step 7 PLC is widely used 

in the steel sector, to ensure spare 

parts availability and minimize 

electrical failure downtime. 

EAF No. 1 Control Scope 

The control funcionality of the EAF 

No. 1 included: 

- Energizing electrodes 

- Steel melting process initiation 

- Electrode and furnace 

movement to the liquid steel 

casting operation 

- Interface with the electrode 

regulation system 

- EBT ladle car and retractable 

platform movement 

- Furnace tilting platform and 

roof removal mechanism 

The existing MCC panel, containing 

logic performed by contactors and 

relays, was responsible for the control 

of the medium voltage unit, the 

hydraulic unit, the electrode regulation 

system and the furnace movement 

system. The medium voltage 

unit consisted of a motorized drive 

disconnect and a main circuit 

breaker to energize the electrodes 

and start the steel melting process. 

The hydraulic unit controlled the 

electrode movements and furnace 

movement to the liquid steel casting 

operation. For the electrode regulation 

system, the MCC interfaced 

with an auxiliary PLC AMI-GE, responsible 

for the regulation. Lastly 

the furnace movements system consisted 

of the logic of locking movements, 

gate valve, furnace tilting, 

roof lifting, roof removal mechanism 

and opening of the slag door. 

The existing PLC Siemens Step 5 

contained the logic responsible for 

the control and drive of the ladle car 

EBT and retractable platform. The 

PLC interfaced with an auxiliary 

controller Tiefenbach, which was 

responsible for triggering the 

proportional valve for the furnace 



The new control system layout for EAF 1 atVotorantim Siderúrgia 

tilting and roof removal mechanism 

The existing Rockwell SLC 500 PLC 

contained the logic responsible for 

controlling and monitoring the furnace 

instrumentation: temperatures 

for inlet water for the shell and roof, 

chilled panels and furnace floor; 

pressure switches for chilled arms, 

structure, wall plate, moving elbow 

and burners; pressure transducers 

for inlet and outlet water for housing 

and EAF roof. This PLC also interfaced 

with the SIA melt shop 

system, which interfaced with the 

burners PLC and dedusting PLC. 

As stated previously, the revamp 

simplified the existing control configuration 

to one single platform. 

Russula supplied a new MCC, responsible 

for the medium tension 

electrical distribution to: the PLC 

panel +K2, remote panel +K1, central 

control desk +P1, panel of hydraulic 

changes (existing), panel 

AMI-GE PLC (existing), graphite 

machine (existing), transformer and 

switch oil pumps (existing), pressing 

machine tubes (existing), main 

circuit breaker Joslyn (existing), 

panel of oxygen robot MOX (existing), 

panel of temperature robot and 

rotating robot (existing) and blow 

torcher´s panel; Motors 1 and 2 for 

water pumps driven by Sirius Soft 

Starter, drain pump, recirculation 

pumps 1 and 2, electrode fixing 

pump, air compressor, oil pressure 

pump of regulator tank and retractable 

platform motor via 

Simocode C; EBT (Eccentric Bottom 

Tapping) ladle car drive motors 1 

and 2, graphite machine motor and 

furnace disconnect, via Sinamics 

PM240; power meter of 23kV input 

network through a Siemens 

PAC4200 multimeter. 

Russula provided a Siemens S7-400 

PLC and a remote ET-200M to 

control the furnace components, instrumentation 

and the discrete interface 

with existing subsystems. 

In addition Russula supplied a new 

cover for the main control desk, a 

new casting desk and a new hydraulic 

control desk. All the existing 

cables were replaced with new cables, 

existing cable trays were relocated 

and new trays provided when 

necessary. The Wonderware Intouch 

HMI screeens made navigation 

and viewing easy through the 

use of two 21" monitors. Operators 

can now view the fusion states, 

movements, cooling, hydraulics, 

power meters, trends, alarms and 

events. Russula also provided an 

IBA data acquisition system to assist 

operations and maintenance for registering 

the relevant data to the furnace 

in real time. 

21 Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A. S.A.


Votorantim successfully commissioned EAF in the 

beginning of 2015 

EAF supervision HMI screenshot (top) and HMI screenshot of furnace movements (below) 



The giant of Bethlehem roars again in Monclova, Mexico 

By Pablo Orvañanos 

April 12, 1936 

Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point 

(A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun) 

October 8, 1939 

Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point 

(A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun) 

October 10, 1951 

A worker in the blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel 

Co. In the 1950s, the Sparrows Point plant in Baltimore 

County was the world's largest steel mill. 

(Robert F. Kniesche/Baltimore Sun) 

The story starts in 1889, when 

steel was first produced by the 

Pennsylvania Steel Company at 

Sparrow's Point. By the mid-20th 

century, the Sparrow's Point 

plant was the world's largest 

steel mill, stretching 4 miles (6.4 

km) from end to end and employing 

tens of thousands of 

workers. Bethlehem Steel purchased 

the mill in 1916 and due 

to a superb reputation, its steel 

ended up as girders in the 

Golden Gate Bridge, as cables 

for the George Washington 

Bridge, and were a vital part of 

war production during World 

War I and World War II. 

The business was so profitable 

that Bethlehem Steel Corporation 

acquired the Sparrow's 

Point shipyard in 1917. The 

Shipyard was one of the most active 

shipbuilders in the United 

States, delivering 116 ships in 

the 7-year period between 1939 

and 1946. 

Changes in the steel industry, 

including a rise in imports and a 

move toward the use of simpler 

oxygen furnaces and the recycling 

of scrap, led to a decline in 

the use of the Sparrow's Point 

complex during the 1970s and 

1980s. 

To combat the crisis, in August 

of 1991 Bethlehem Steel Corporation 

invested more than $200 

million dollars to modernize the 

Sparrows Point 68-in hot strip 

mill. The modernization included 

two new 300 ton/hr 

walking beam furnaces, a combination 

of new and refurbished 

roller tables, and a 4-h reversing 

roughing mill with attached 

entry side edger. 

Unfortunately, the big investment 

couldn’t stop the downward 

spiral of events that caused 

Bethlehem Steel Group to go 

bankrupt in 2001. Since then, the 

Sparrows Point plant has passed 

through the hands of four different 

owners, including Mittal & 

Severstal, who couldn’t do anything 

to save the once biggest facility 

in the USA. The definite 

end to the Sparrows Point plant 

came in January 2013, when all 

the equipment of the facility was 

auctioned to different bidders all 

around the world. 

Fortunately the 68-inch hot strip 

mill quickly found a new home 

on the other side of the border, 

in the steel city of México, Monclova, 

where Altos Hornos de 

México (AHMSA) is collaborating 

with the best local and foreign 

engineers to make the giant 

roar again. AHMSA plans to utilize 

the 68 inch hot strip mill to 

replace their current mill, increasing 

their production capacity 

by 10%. The actual capacity 

of the hot strip mill is 2.8 million 

ton/year. 

The project is currently underway, 

as the foundations are 

being prepared to receive the 

new mill without stopping production 

in the current mill. 

AHMSA has contracted Russula 

to provide engineering services 

for the first stage of this complex 

equipment transfer project. 



AHMSA contracts Russula for the design and supply of a 

new roller table for the hot strip mill 

The new roller table, designed and manufactured by Russula ensures that AHMSA will have a smooth production 

during the 2.4 million tons/year hot strip mill installation 

The final site of the new mill will be 

a couple of meters upstream f r o m 

the current mill. Russula was responsible 

for the design, supervision 

and construction of the new 

foundations to support the new 

mill. 

Since most of the work will be done 

with the current mill in operation, 

safety is one of Russula’s main concerns. 

Therefore Russula has designed, 

manufactured and installed 

a new support for the roller table 

through which production will pass 

during the excavation and 

construction of the foundations. 

To ensure the building can support 

the weight of the new hot strip mill 

during the equipment transfer operation, 

Russula conducted a feasibility 

study of the structure to 

determine the required modifications 

and developed the reinforcement 

engineering. 

In a couple of months everything 

will be ready in Monclova to receive 

the mill, and the giant will write 

another chapter of his own story. 

The large 4-h reversing mill, with 1130 

sq in mill posts, utilizes 47 in diameter 

work rolls and 60 in diameter backup 

rolls. Main drive power is obtained from 

two 6000 HP double armature motors 

driving through 30 ft long universal 

spade and slipper spindles. An entry-side 

heavy duty vertical edger is attached to 

the main mill housing. The two 43.5 in 

caliber type work rolls, sized for 3 in./ 

pass edging on 10 in slabs are driven by 

two vertical mounted 2.000 HP motors 

through large universal spindles. 


RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION 

Five Spanish Universities join forces in Industrial 

Mathematics Program to solve various industry problems 

During the last fifteen years, Russula has collaborated 

with many universities to develop innovative technological 

solutions that generate knowledge and value to 

the products offered to our customers. With this idea 

in mind, Russula´s R& D department, participates another 

year in the Masters in Industrial Mathematics during 

2015. 

This master is formed by members of academic committees 

from 5 different universities in Spain. Three are 

located in the the Galician region, Santiago de Compostela, 

A Coruña and Vigo; and two in Madrid, specifically 

Carlos III and Polytechnic University. 

The goal of the M2i program is for participating engineers 

to face real problems in the industry and develop 

solutions through the use of specific software, theoretical 

applied analytics and appropriate design tools. 

Companies from the industry collaborate by proposing 

a problem and monitoring the progress of the project. 

Through this collaboration a two fold objective is 

achieved: first the engineer is exposed to similar problems 

that they may encounter in their professional future 

outside their academic envirnoment; secondly, the 

companies benefit from receiving a different 

perspective to the standard solutions that they are accustomed 

to implementing. In addition the participants 

in the Masters have at their disposal different analysis 

tools and software provided by the Universities. 

This is the second year Russula has participated in the 

Industrial Problems Workshop for 2015. In 2014, Russula 

presented three problems, two of which led to final 

projects for the master thesis. The three problems presented 

were: 

• Project 1 -3D modeling continuous tempering 

of steel bars in water boxes. 

• Project 2 - Creating a phenomenological model 

for convective transport of heat in the combustion 

chamber of a steel reheating furnace. 

• Project 3 - 3D modeling and simulation of the 

flow of escape gas in the billet reheating furnace 

combustion chamber. 

The results of the three projects were subsequently 

used for improvement parameterization in the cooling 

process of bars and modeling the behavior of reheating 

furnace results. 

In 2015, Russula paticipated again in the Industrial 


RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION 

Russula R & D collaborates with Industrial Mathematics 

team on three important projects 

Project 1 - Percentage of martensite for steel 1020 in a section 

with small size corrugation. The blue areas represent a 0% level 

of martensite and the red areas show where martensite has 

formed. 

Project 1 - Real metallographic analysis conducted on the 

steel 

Project 2 - A velocity map section in its x component for a cross 

section of the combustion chamber. This simulation aims to identify 

preferred channels with increased exhaust convection heat- 

Project 1 - 3D modeling of rebar. Different cross sections 

were taken to create the grid, previous to the FEM analysis. 

Project 2 - Particle stream lines from a burner in the equalization 

zone of a reheating furnace. The model shows the effect of each 

burner in the heating of the whole combustion chamber. 

Mathematics Workshop, proposing the topic Numerical 

simulation of transient flows in a billet reheating furnace chamber. 

Numerical modeling of billet reheating in a reheating furnace 

clearly depends on an adequate description of convective 

flows. Previous numerical simulations (stationary 

character) have revealed the presence of complex 

structures in the flow of gases from the furnace, which 

help to understand the phenomena of heat transfer in 

the furnace. Direct modeling of the escape gases by a 

predictive tool can be integrated into the plant control 

to substantially improve the results in the heat transfer 

calculations due to convective effect. 

Gas fluxes are strongly non-stationary (even when the 

furnace charging is) because of the furnace´s design. 

Thus we need to understand how the furnace behavior 

affects the dynamic structures of gas flow. Including 

this behavior within the logic of mathematical 

model logic of the heating furnace (commercially 

known as "Level 2C") may improve the calculation of 

the bar temperature. 


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RUSSULA NEWSLETTER No. 11

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