Hagen, Germany, March 27, 2018   BTU Bridle Technology has received an order from SES Engineering LLC covering the design, construction and supply of three Umlauf Bridles for a revamp of a push-pull pickle line operated by Steel Dynamics Flat Roll Group (SDI). After the revamp that pickle line will be the first in the world to use exclusively Umlauf Bridles to transport the strip through the line. Umlauf Bridles build up strip tension high enough to ensure that also thick-gage and high-strength strip will leave the pickling line leveled. Once revamped, the pickle line will be able to operate at much higher speeds than before, as scale breaking will be much more intensive.

SDI expects from the pickling line revamp in Columbus/Mississippi, for which SES acts as general contractor, above all a solution capable of producing very high strip tension in the line. Therefore SES chose the Umlauf Bridle technology from BTU. Thanks to their special design, Umlauf Bridles of the latest 3.0 generation are able to apply much higher forces onto strip in processing lines than conventional bridle roll units. What is more, Umlauf Bridles distribute the strip tension extremely uniformly across the complete width of the strip.

The first of the three Umlauf Bridles will be arranged directly behind the pay-off reel. There it will immediately bite the very first centimeters of the head of the up to 13 mm thick and up to 1,880 mm wide strips and guide them into the stretch-leveler. The stretch-leveler will be supplied by SES. In connection with the second Umlauf Bridle arranged behind the leveler, strip tensions of up to 1,250 kN can be reached during stretch-leveling. A very intensive scale breaking effect will result from the thus achieved elongation rates of 0.5 to 1.0 percent. This will make it possible to operate the line at speeds of up to 150 m/min.

see article in "MPT International" (2018-3)