Project Report On

Heat Treatment of Wires At

Wire Ropes and Speciality Products Division

(Tatisilwai , Ranchi)

Under the guidance of

Mr. Arvind Kumar

Manager – HRD

Usha Martin Ltd.

Submitted By:

Kumar Sourav

BE (Mechanical Engineering)

Siddaganga Institute Of Technology

PREFACE

The Usha Martin was first established in 1960 at Tatisilwai , Ranchi . Since its inception it has been one of the foremost manufacturers of wire and wire ropes and a world leader in this field . The company since has not only raised the economic standards but also fulfilled social responsibilities as well .Most of the employees in this company are still from the local areas . For Usha Martin , the path to sustainable growth was long , the management constantly tried but innovative business practices. With initiative to diversify the customer base by venturing into the international markets, moving up the value chain and fully integrating its business processes to maximize stakeholder value.

The project deals with the study of heat treatment process involved in the manufacture of wire and wire ropes.

Usha Martin’s future plans are focused on its operation in Jharkhand. Future priorities include product mix enrichment, cost reduction and infrastructural improvements. Already flourishing in its recent foray into mining operations , the company is planning to invest in its iron ore and coal mines, sinter plant, pellet plant, power plants, while also enhancing its steel making and value added products capacity with an investment of Rs. 2,100 crore.

ACKNOLEDGEMENT

I owe a sincere thanks to many people who helped and supported me during this project . My heartiest thanks to Mr. Arvind Kumar , Manager HRD , Usha Martin , for providing me an opportunity to make this project and for his sincere support.

I would also like to thank my institution and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality . I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well wishers.

Kumar Sourav

BE(Mechanical Engineering)

Siddaganga Institute of Technology

CONTENTS

1.USHA MARTIN LIMITED- HISTORY

- EVOLUTION

2. WIRE AND WIRE ROPES DIVISION

3. FINISHED PRODUCT

4.THE FURNACE AND PICKLING

5.HEAT TREATMENT

6.GALVANIZATION

7.SAND BATH AND COOLING WATER

USHA MARTIN LIMITED

Vision

In our chosen business , we shall retain market leadership in India and shall be globally competitive through customer orientation and excellence in quality,innovation and technology.

Looking Back – A Brief History

1960 – The Company was incorporated as Usha Martin Black ( Wire Ropes ) Limited having its wire rope plant at ranchi. The name was changed to Usha Martin Black Ltd. in 1979 and further changed to Usha Martin Industries Ltd. ( UMIL) in 1983.

1965- UMIL promoted Usha Ismal Ltd. ( UIL) in collaboration with CCL Sustems Ltd. of UK for the manufacture of fittings and accessories , equipment for pre-stressed concrete system, wire ropes and wire ropes splicing equipment at Ranchi . UIL merged with UMIL in 1990 and became a division of the company.

1971- UMIL promoted Usha Alloy Steels Limited (UASL) for the manufacture of billets at Jamshedpur . UASL merged with UMIL in 1988.

1975-UMIL set up its machinery division at Bangalore for the manufacture of Wire Drawing and allied machines in technical collaboration with Marshall Richards Bacro Limited (MRB) of UK.

1997 – UMIL merged with UBL w.e.f !st October 1997.

2000 – Acquistion of speciality wire rope manufacturing plant in UK “ Brunton Shaw “.

2000 – Commissioning of 25 MW thermal power plant for captive consumption.

2003 – Usha Beltron Ltd. changed its name to “ Usha Martin Limited (UML). UML created Fine Cord Plasticated coated fine wires, household wire , Polymer coated wire , Fine Ropes & Bright Bars manufacturing facilities in Tatisilwai , Ranchi.

Company Profile

UML is the 2nd largest wire and rope manufacturer in the world and has the largest variety in South East Asia.

It is multi product , diversified engineering conglomerate with 10 production units in India, 1 in Thailand, 1 in UK and 1 in Dubai.

It got the ISO 9000 Cetification by BVQI in 1994. UML is serving through a leading daily “ Prabhat

Khabar “, Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra , Usha Martin Technical Institute.

Evolution of the Company

Steel Division

A backward integration initiative , the Usha Alloys & Steels Division (UASD) at Jamshedpur is one of the largest amongst secondary steel manufacturers of speciality steel long products is India. With ISO 9002 certified facilities , UASD has pioneered the unique process of steel making through mini blast furnace-arc furnace route, which ensures superior quality of steel at a lower cost. UASD serves a range of industries like automobiles, general engineering, fasteners,

railways, defense and power.

Machinery Division

This ISO 9001 unit was set up in 1974 at Bangalore to manufacture Wire Drawing and allied machines. Over the years, the division has added a wide range of Wire, Wire Rope

and cable machinery to its product range and is now the leader in this field in India. The divion started with technical collaboration with M/s Marshall Richards Bacro of UK and subsequently has collaborated with internationally reputed firms like De-Angeli Industries SPA,Italy

Usha Ismal Division

This unit having manufacturing unit in Ranchi is the leader in the fiels of pre-stressing equipment & accessories and also executes pre-stressing job on turnkey basis. Besides it provides services for jointing of reinforcement bars by mechanical splicing. All major civil contractore of National Highway Authority of India, Indian Railways and PWD are regular users of these products and services.

Cables Division Under UM cables

The cable Division of Usha Martin Limited has emerged as a leading manufacturer of jelly-filled underground & fiber optic telecommunication cables in India. The sophisticated manufacturing facilities is located in Silbasa. The company integrates technology from KABEL RHEYDT ( formerly AEG KABLE ), GERMANY , a member of Alcatel Group – is rated as one of themost efficient plants in the country and a benchmark in the industry. The Plant includes computer –

controlled critical equipments, imported from International Leaders in cable technology.

Wire and Wire Ropes Division

Introduction

The ISO-certified 100,000 MT/annum-manufacturing facilities at Ranchi is 2nd largest producer of ropes in the world. Since its inception, the division has continuously developed and expanded its range of product offerings and is considered a pioneer in certain classes of products in India. Steel wire ropes manucfactured by the division find wide applications in oil exploration, mining, elevators, crane, fishing, construction, load transportation and general engineering sectors. It finds varied use in different parts of the world known for their excellent quality, long life and low maintainance and are the preferred choice of customers across nations.

Ropes, ranging from 2 mm to 100mm diameter find varied applications. The wide ranges of products are used in underground mining, surface mining, mooring, onshore and

offshore drilling, fishing, elevators, cranes, aerial haulage and track installations besides various general engineering applications. Pre-stretched ropes, locked coil wire ropes and spiral strands made in Usha Martin are used in suspension bridges, antenna masts etc.

FINISHED PRODUCTS

Rope:

General engineering rope Flattened strand Elevator rope Non-rotating rope Finished rope Mining rope Hyplex rope Locked coil winding Track rope

Wire:

Auto spoke Cycle spoke PC strand Rolling shutter

ACSR PC wire indexed & plain

Fine Cord

Usha Martin, extended vast experience in rope making technology towards manufacturing of Fine Cords. Usha Martin Fine Cords find application as the inner element for the Automotive Control cables and also in boring applications and as Pull Cord cables for laying of Television cables.

Size Range

The size range for overall diameter of finished cords is 1.20mm to 6.00 mm.

Construction

We can provide fine cords in the following constructions:

7*7 7/19 1/7 1/19

Low Relaxation Prestressed Concrete (LRPC) Strands

In keeping with the demands of the international market, we have introduced low relaxation prestressed concrete(LRPC) strands for the construction industry in 2001. A steel member that is prestressed and embedded in concrete loses the initially applied stress exponentially with the passage of time. By treating the steel through a thermo mechanical process known as stabilizing, the properties of the steel to “relax” under a stressed condition is controlled to a great extent.

Advantages:

* upto 10% reduction in steel requirement possible

* Saving in number of anchorages, ducts, sheathings, wedges and labor resulting in overall reduction of project cost.

Quality and testing

Wire and Strands hold a premier position in the domestic market and are also exported to different part of the world. Plant located at Ranchi has been awarded ISO 9001 due to our emphasis on maintaining global quality standards.

Wires confirm to various specifications such as

* IS specifications

* JIS specifications

* British specifications

* ASTM specifications

* DIN specifications

Aerial Ropes

We are the undisputed leaders in the domestic Aerial Rope sector. Our product offerings include Aerial haulage ropes, material handling ropes, rope for passenger ropeways and other track ropes.

Size Range

The size range generally preferred for such ropes is

* 19mm to 38mm

Specifications

Our aerial ropes cater to the following specifications

* IS 10891/84 Part I

* IS 10892/84 Part IV

THE FURNACE AND PICKLING

The raw material arriving from Jamshedpur is directly put into the furnace. It is the first operation performed. In the furnace a heat treatment process known as patenting is done. Through this process the microstructure of steel is changed which imparts high ductility property to it. It is just followed by the quenching process.

QUENCHING : It is a process where of cooling the hot metal rod coming out of the furnace into a lead bath. The temperature of the lead bath is around 550 degree centigrade. This cools the rod and completes the patenting process.

Advantages of using lead as the quenching material

It does not react chemically with steel It brings a fine pearlitic structure

Economically advantageous as compared to other non-reacting materials

Disadvantages

The rod passing through lead undergoes a physical process known as lead pickup. In this small granules of lead stick to the rod.

After the quenching process pickling process starts. It is continuous with the furnace, hence called in line pickling.

The various steps involved in pickling are:

1. Sand wiper – scraps off the lead sticking to the rod after the quenching process.

2. Water wash- removes the dirt and dust that come due to sand wiping

3. Acid bath- contains concentrated HCL in two successive tanks which removes the oxidelayers and other chemical impurities from the surface of the rod.

4. Water wash- neutralizes rod’s surface to prepare it for coating process

5. Coating- it is done in mainly three types Galvanization or zinc coating Phosphate coating Borax coating

There are two types of furnaces at Usha Martin:

LE-FOUR FURNACE and DSW FURNACE

Furnace details:

Heat zones

Zone 1 : 1060 +- 10 degree c

Zone 2: 1030 +- 10 degree c

Zone 3: 980 +- 10 degree c

Zone 4 : 980 +- 10 degree c

Height of upper roller – 110 cm

Height of lower roller – 102.5 cm

Height between them – 46.5 cm

Material used in furnace – Mild steel or HSS

Length of furnace – 22 m

Width – 1.4 m

Acid BathNo. of baths – 2Length – 7.5 mBreadth – 1.25 m

Zinc bathNo. of burners – 2Length – 2.7 mBreadth – 1.3 m

Borax bathLength – 3 mBreadth – 1.5 mCapacity – 3.3 m3

Flux bathLength – 2 mBreadth – 1.5 m

DryerNo. of burners – 1Length – 3 mBreadth – 1.5 m

Phosphate bathLength – 1.9 mBreadth – 1.5 mCapacity – 8.5 m3

HEAT TREATMENT

Heat treatment is a method used to alter the physical, and

sometimes chemical properties of a material. The most

common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also

used in the manufacture of many other materials such as

glass. Heat treatment involves the use of heating or chilling,

normally to extreme temperatures, to achieve a desired

result such as hardening or softening of a material. Heat

treatment techniques include annealing, case hardening,

precipitation strengthening, tempering and quenching. It is

noteworthy that while the term heat treatment applies only

to processes where the processes where the heating and

cooling are done for the specific purpose of altering properties

intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally

during other manufacturing processes such as hot forming or

welding.

HEAT TREATMENT – STEPS FOR WIRE

CONTENT

LE-FOUR FURNACE LEAD BATH SAND BATH COOLING WATER HCL BATH WATER WASH - 1- GALVANIZING

2- BLACK PROCESS

HEAT TREATMENT OF METALS: Heat treatment is a series of

operations involving the heating and cooling of a metal or

alloy in the sold state for the purpose of obtaining certain

desirable characteristics. The rate of heating and cooling

determines the crystalline structure of the material. In

general, both ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals, as well

as their alloys, respond to some form of heat treatment.

Heating uniform temperature is of primary importance in the

heating cycle. If one section of a part is heated more rapidly

than another, the resulting uneven expansion often causes

distortion or cracking of the part. Uniform heating is most

nearly obtained by slow heating . The rate at which a part may

be heated depends on several factors. One important factor is

the heat conductivity of the metal. Ametal that conducts heat

rapidly may be heated at a faster rate than one in which heat

is not absorbed throughout the part as rapidly. The condition

of the metal also affects the rate at which it may be heated.

Galvanization

Galvanization refers to any of several electrochemical processes named after the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani. It refers to an electro deposition process used to add a thin layer of another metal to an item made of steel , in order to prevent rusting. More recently, though the term has been broadened in common usage to include applying a protective metallic coating to an underlying piece of metal, using a process known as hot-dip galvanization.

Metal protection

The term refers to the coating of steel or iron with zinc. This is done to prevent galvanic corrosion of the ferrous item. The value of galvanizing stems from the relative corrosion resistance of zinc which under most service conditions is considerably less than those of iron and steel. The effect of this is that zinc is consumed first as a sacrificial anode, so that it cathodically protects exposed steel. This means that in case

of scrathes through the zinc coating, the exposed steel will be cathodically protected by the surrounding zinc coating, unlike an item which is painted with no prior galvanizing, where a scrathed surface would rust.

Zinc coatings

Zinc coatings prevent corrosion of the protected metal by forming a physical barrier, and by acting as a sacrificial anode if this barrier is damaged. When exposed to the atmosphere, zinc reacts with oxygen to form zinc oxide, which further reacts with water molecules in the air to form zinc hydroxide. Finally zinc hydroxide reacts with carbon monoxide in the atmosphere to yield a thin, impermeable, tenacious and quite insoluble dull gray layer of zinc carbonate which adheres extremely well to the underlying zinc, so protecting it from further corrosion, in a way similar to the protection afforded to aluminium and stainless steels by their oxide layers.

LE-4 FURNACE

SPECIFICATION

TOTAL LENGTH- 22 m

PRE-HEATING LENGTH – 6.25 m

VESTIBULE – 15.75 m

TOTAL WIDTH – 1.4 m

TEMPERATURE SPECIFICATION (DEGREE CENTIGRADE)

ZONE 1-1030 to 1050 (SLIGHT AIR RICH)

ZONE 2-1010 to 1030 (SLIGHT AIR RICH)

ZONE 3-970 to 990 (SLIGHT GAS RICH)

ZONE 4-970 to 990 (SLIGHT GAS RICH)

LE-4 FURNACELE-4 Furnace is a furnace very popular for wire heat treatment process in this furnce wires are treated in steps . The product coming out of furnace are of very high quality and high strength.

PAY_OFF :

It consistes of 5 kinds of material

24 inch bagin 22/28 inch former DIM 1000 Rollers Separator

Rollers:

These are used to roll the wire to increase their straightness and surface finish . There are many set of rollers for the wires.There are two types of rollers

1st tension roller:

This is the first set of rollers for the wire to pass. They bring out tension in wires and straighten it.

SPECIFICATION

1st Tension roller

Height of upper roller – 110 cm Height of lower roller – 102.5cm Distance between upper and lower roller – 46.5 cm

2nd tension roller:

This is the first set of rollers for the wire to pass. They bring out tension in wires and straighten it.

SPECIFICATION

2nd tension roller

Height of upper roller- 85 cm Height of lower roller – 257.5 cm Distance between upper and lower roller – 856cm

HCL BATHHCL bath will enhance surface resistance of wires towards corrosion. It covers the wire with a protective layer against corrosion.

High corrosion resistance Cleansing of wire surface High temperature resistance

Specification:

Operating temperature- 45 to 60 D.C Tank 1-6 min – 13 max – 45 – 60 D.C Tank 2-11.5 min – 17.5 mx

WATER WASHIt consists of two processes

Galvanizing Black

GALVANIZING

There is a flux bath tank where wire is dipped in the flux for protection of surface from corrosion.

Specification:

Strength – min – 1.04 – max- 1.08 Contents – Galva flux + water Material – 90 kg(min) Drier- 140 to 200 deg.cen. Zinc Tank – 437 to 453 deg.cen.

BLACKIt is not commonly used because of its accuracy

Process and specification:

Phosphate bath Water bath Borax bath – corrosion resistance Drier – 140 to 200 deg. Cel Binder – 24 inch, 8 head DIM -1000 group 1 to 5 R 2(Rotto 27 – head)- 4 groups

From 1 to 2-10 head From 3to4 -10 head

LEAD BATHIt is a type of bath where lead coating is applied on the wire. It has following advantages

Corrosion resistance High temperature resistance High surface finish High strength

It consists of two zones:

Zone 1-550 to 570 deg.cen. Zone 2-535 to 565 deg.cen.

SAND BATH

It is used for further heat treatment of wire. It has following advantages:

High temperature resistance High surface finish High strength

COOLING WATERCooling water cools down the temperature of hot wires. This process is a part of surface hardening. It has following advantages.

Surface hardness increases Temperature resistance