HICON/H₂ decarburizing and coating line (DCL)

HICON/H2 decarburizing and coating line (DCL) for the production of grain-oriented (GO) electrical strip

After cold rolling, grain-oriented (GO) electrical strip is heat treated in a continuous furnace to decarburize and recrystallize it. This process takes place in a finely-tuned and precisely-maintained furnace atmosphere. The highly-efficient and consistent decarburization process inhibits magnetic aging, and ensures the long-term efficiency of a transformer. The process steps for this phase of production are as follows:

• Multi-stage strip cleaning
• Rapid strip heating in the heating up section of the continuous furnace (optionally with rapid heating systems up to 500 K/s)
• Decarburization in a dedicated zone of the continuous furnace
• Optional: Nitriding zone for highly-permeable grades (HGO)
• Controlled cooling in the slow cooling zone and final cooling zone
• Optional: In-line MgO coating and drying

The following advantages are provided by the EBNER facility design:

• Precise atmosphere flow and exact control of the atmosphere humidification and supply systems ensure that the highest production capacity and high decarburization speeds are achieved
• Extremely low carbon contents (< 0.0030 % C, 30 ppm) ensure the best possible magnetic properties without aging
• State-of-the-art burner/radiant tube technology and rapid heating-up systems provide high heating gradients, ensuring efficient decarburization and improved texture (crystalline orientation)
• In the cooling zone, homogeneous controlled cooling ensures excellent strip geometry and excellent magnetic properties