In the field of large-scale industrial storage tank manufacturing, technical challenges and tight deadlines are often the key tests of project success.
Recently, GNEE Steel successfully overcame a highly difficult tank prefabrication project, laying a solid foundation for the smooth delivery of six 2200-ton stainless steel and duplex steel large tanks for a client.
Project Background: Six Large Tanks, A Challenging Endeavor
It is understood that GNEE Steel undertook a major project for a client in the papermaking industry – the prefabrication of six large tanks weighing 2,200 tons each, made of stainless steel and duplex steel. These tanks are used for the storage of critical media in paper production lines, requiring extremely high corrosion resistance and structural strength.
The core difficulty of this project lay in the rolling of duplex steel conical plates with a diameter of 17.5 meters and a plate thickness of 22mm. Duplex steel is known for its excellent corrosion resistance and high strength, but its high hardness and low plasticity make it a "tough nut to crack" for roll forming processes.
Technical Challenge: High Risks in Duplex Steel Cone Rolling
"The large equipment diameter, high hardness of duplex steel, difficulty in rolling, and very high processing risks." This was the consensus reached by the project team during the preliminary assessment. Compared with ordinary carbon steel or stainless steel, duplex steel is more prone to springback, cracks, and even equipment overload during the rolling process.
The original plan adopted the traditional process route of "weld first, then roll." However, considering the material characteristics of duplex steel – the welded seam area under 22mm thickness is extremely prone to cracking during rolling, and the 17.5-meter diameter places extremely high demands on the synchronisation of the rolling machine – this solution was decisively rejected during the technical review.
Overcoming Difficulties: An Innovative Solution Through Teamwork
Facing the dual pressures of "tight schedule and heavy workload," the pressure vessel division of GNEE Steel acted swiftly.
The Pressure Vessel Division of GNEE Steel, immediately organized a special meeting to brainstorm around the cone rolling process. During the meeting, the team analyzed the feasibility of various rolling paths one by one and finally boldly proposed a idea – the "single-plate rolling solution."
The new solution changed the traditional logic of "weld first, roll later" and adopted a reverse process of "roll the single plate into shape first, then weld and assemble." This solution could completely avoid the risk of weld cracking under stress during the rolling process, while placing extremely high demands on the machine's single-pass rolling capacity.
Powerful Equipment: The Strength of the Swiss HAEUSLER Rolling Machine
The feasibility of the new solution was inseparable from the strong support of critical equipment. The Swiss-imported HAEUSLER rolling machine owned by GNEE Steel played a decisive role
This world-class rolling equipment boasts impressive technical parameters:
- Maximum rolling width: 4250mm
- Cold rolling thickness: 210mm (far exceeding the 22mm requirement of this project)
- Warm rolling thickness: 300mm
Leveraging the powerful rolling capacity and high-precision control system of the HAEUSLER rolling machine, the project team successfully achieved precise roll forming of the 22mm duplex steel single plates. Single-plate rolling not only effectively controlled the roundness and straightness of the cone but also significantly reduced the residual stress in the material, providing high-quality prefabricated components for the subsequent welding process.
Results and Outlook: Customer Satisfaction and Brand Enhancement
After the collaborative efforts of all departments and multiple process verifications, the new "single-plate rolling solution" was proven to perfectly solve the technical difficulties of duplex steel cone rolling. The project progressed on schedule, and the product accuracy and quality fully met the client's strict requirements.
The success of this project once again demonstrates GNEE Steel's comprehensive strength in the field of large-scale, difficult-to-process material prefabrication. Relying on first-class forming equipment (including multiple rolling machines, cutting equipment, edge planers, shot blasting and painting rooms, and heat treatment furnaces) and a professional technical team, GNEE Steel has established the capability to undertake high-end domestic and international large tank prefabrication projects.
GNEE Steel stated that it will continue to uphold the customer-centric philosophy, continuously optimize processes, improve efficiency, and provide high-quality "one-stop" prefabrication solutions to clients in more industries such as papermaking, chemicals, offshore wind power, and solar thermal power generation.
About GNEE Steel
GNEE Steel is a leading steel product supplier and processing service enterprise. Leveraging powerful processing equipment and a professional technical team, we have accumulated rich experience in the field of large-scale project prefabrication. We are committed to providing customers with one-stop solutions from material supply to finished product processing, covering stainless steel, duplex steel, ship plate, pressure vessel plate, and many other product categories.
Core Capabilities:
- Swiss-imported HAEUSLER high-precision rolling machine
- Multiple CNC plasma/laser cutting machines
- Large-scale edge planers, shot blasting and painting rooms
- Professional heat treatment furnaces
GNEE Steel continuously follows and shares cutting-edge manufacturing cases within the industry, drawing experience from innovative practices and striving to provide customers with high-quality steel products and processing technical services.
