Yukun Iron and Steel QSP-DUE celebrates two years of operational milestones

After two years of operation, Yukun Iron and Steel essentially confirmed the productivity and flexibility achieved with the Danieli QSP-DUE^® plant at its site in Yunnan Province, China.

The 4.6-Mtpy plant started up on April 9, 2024. On that morning the first slab was cast, and by the afternoon the first coil had already been rolled.

The plant features two vertical curved slab casters and a split-mill configuration enabling thermo-mechanical rolling of advanced steel grades, such as low-carbon, medium-carbon, medium-carbon HSLA, and weather-resistant, in widths from 900 to 1,500 mm.

As part of plant capability expansion and testing, record‑thickness 145‑mm slabs were produced using the Danieli‑patented DySen caster and rolled directly, demonstrating the process potential. Successful casting sequences of 28 heats in 12 hours on a single caster have also been recorded.

Tunnel furnaces between casting and rolling ensure stable slab temperature and buffer capacity, while an electrical heating system between roughing and finishing stands enables endless rolling of ultra-thin strip.

The QSP-DUE^® plant covers the full production thickness range of 0.8 to 25.4 mm across all three rolling modes: endless rolling, semi-endless rolling and coil-to-coil. Yukun QSP-DUE^® is the one and only plant capable to deliver such flexibility while retaining the high production capacity of a double strand direct casting and rolling plant.

All operations are managed by Danieli Automation process control systems.

Yukun QSP-DUE^® plant incorporates more than 50 Danieli patents.