Title

NEW DANJOINT HIGH PERFORMANCE OIL LUBRICATED GEAR SPINDLES FOR ESSAR STEEL ALGOMA’S

Authorship

Donadon, Andrea; Palma, Pietro; Tiussi, Gianni; Rugo, Massimo; Codarin, Morris; Palagiano, Ferdinando

Donadon, Andrea

I am this author

Palma, Pietro

I am this author

Tiussi, Gianni

I am this author

Rugo, Massimo

I am this author

Codarin, Morris

I am this author

Palagiano, Ferdinando

I am this author

DOI

10.5151/1983-4764-26799

Downloads

Abstract

The upgrading and modernization of rolling mills are playing a key role to improve the steel plant competitiveness in the actual market. Substantially the customer’s requests are to broaden the product mix with high mechanical properties steel grades or to increase the plant profitability. The first is usually achieved by increasing the max transmitted torque; the second is achieved with a more reliable and a long life duration machines design. The drive train represents a relevant issue in a rolling mill modernization project. For a constant and reliable power transmission, rolling mills performance and uptime rely on gear spindles which are the most critical equipment of the drive train. Gear spindles are widely used in the drive trains of rolling mills for the steel making, aluminum making and non ferrous alloy industry. Working conditions are extremely tough due to high alternating or pulsating rolling torques in the roughing stands and the high torques and speeds in the finishing stands. Overloads, temperatures and lubrication along with oxide and slag are also critical issues that contribute to create a severe working condition. A new generation of gear spindles featuring continuous oil lubrication has been recently developed in order to deliver the constantly increasing rolling torques aimed to produce harder steel grades and to increase the life time of all critical components. The new series of DANJOINT oil lubricated gear spindles derives from extensive experience, know-how in the drive train technology and on-site testing boasting a dramatic fatigue life increase compared to the standard grease lubricated spindles design. The aim of this paper is to explain the main design features of the New DANJOINT High Performance (HP) oil lubricated gear spindles, the advantages of the continuous oil lubrication on gears and on the most critical spindles components and to show a gears lifetime comparison between oil lubricated and standard grease lubricated spindles.

Keywords

Gear spindles, Oil lubrication, Drive train, Hot strip mill, Torque transmission, Crowned gear, Finite element model

Finite element model