Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) met during AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa., on May 5. They began the meeting with a review of the CSRTC sessions at AISTech and encouraged those present to attend the afternoon panel discussion. This was followed by election of officers for the coming year. The CSRTC then reviewed its mission statement and agreed that it was still applicable, but should have the word “cold” inserted to read, “...promote safety and advancement in cold sheet and strip rolling technologies and operating practices through information exchange and training.” The status of the benchmarking project was reviewed, and future plans for this were discussed. The CSRTC will offer the Cold Rolling Training Seminar, Feb. 20–24, 2011, in Orlando, Fla. They discussed some minor improvements that needed to be made to the seminar and passed this along to their Training Subcommittee to resolve. They then reviewed the status of their Cold Mill Roundup, which will be published in Iron & Steel Technology, and discussed plans to complete this project. The fall CSRTC meeting is tentatively planned to be held at ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., and their March meeting is being planned as a joint meeting with VDEh. To conclude the meeting, David Paton presented Scott Starr with a plaque to show the committee’s appreciation for chairing the committee for the past two years.
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) met March 9–10 in Columbus, Miss. The committee chair, Scott Starr, welcomed everyone to the meeting, and the attendees introduced themselves. This was followed by a safety report, with all attendees discussing safety at their plants or any other safety issues. This led into technical presentations. Carl Kennedy of Houghton presented “Strategies for Producing Clean Sheet in Cold Mill Operations.” Mike Peretic of SMS Siemag gave a technical presentation on “The Dry Strip System — A Means to Control Solution Stain.” Larry Flowers provided an overview of Severstal Columbus, showed a video of the plant and reviewed what the participants would see on the tour. A comprehensive tour of Severstal Columbus was then conducted, and included the meltshop, tunnel furnace and hot mill, cold mills and the galvanizing line. After the tour, Severstal put together a social gathering for the attendees.
The next day began with a presentation by Matt Knapik of Quaker on lubrication and strip cleanliness practices. This was followed by a presentation by Mark Landy and Brian Smith of Siemens Industry Inc. on future expectations in steel rolling for automation of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and requirements to consider.
Following the technical presentations, the producer members held a “best practices” discussion on cold rolling solution and strip lubrication/cleanliness practices. CSRTC chair Scott Starr developed a survey on the topic, which he circulated to the producers, and the results of this survey were discussed. After the best practices discussion, plans were discussed for the next Cold Rolling Fundamentals Specialty Training Conference, being planned for February 2011. A separate teleconference will be held to review feedback from the last conference and to refine a few of the final details. The CSRTC then reviewed the status of their sessions for AISTech in Pittsburgh, including a joint session with the Rolls Technology Committee. Additional participants for their panel discussion on cold rolling operational issues were also identified. The CSRTC developed topics for the Call for Abstracts for AISTech 2011. The meeting concluded with a discussion on future leadership for the committee.
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) met on Oct. 22–23, 2009, in Rockport, Ind. After some discussion on committee membership, the CSRTC discussed plans for their next Cold Rolling Fundamentals Specialty Training Conference. The decision was made to present this conference in February 2011 in Orlando, Fla., and to maintain the same program that was offered in 2009, with some minor refinements made based on feedback from the 2009 course. Homero Ortiz of ArcelorMittal then reviewed sessions planned for AISTech 2010, which will be held May 3–6 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Rolls Technology Committee had met the previous week and proposed a joint session with the CSRTC, so this was reviewed in more depth, with the final decision to be made after further review. Time was then allotted for each attendee to discuss any safety incidents or concerns. This led to a further discussion on designing equipment for safety, and it was agreed this would be a topic for a presentation for a future meeting. A survey had previously been distributed to the producer companies on coil identification and marking techniques, and each company reviewed their results with the committee. The meeting was followed by a tour of AK Steel Rockport Works, where the attendees had the opportunity to see the carbon and stainless continuous pickling line, the stainless continuous annealing and pickling line, the carbon and stainless continuous cold mill, the continuous hot-dip galvanizing and galvannealing line, the hydrogen annealing and temper rolling facilities, and the automated guidance vehicles (AGVs). Scott Starr of California Steel Industries, and the CSRTC committee chair, presented a plaque of appreciation to Matt Ludwig, plant manager of AK Steel Rockport Works, and also thanked Matt Baur of AK Steel for all his efforts in arranging the meeting.
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) met at AISTech 2009 in St. Louis on May 5. They began by discussing the papers that had already been presented and preparing for their remaining sessions at the conference. Their next order of business was officer elections for the upcoming year. By unanimous vote, it was decided to continue with the same committee leadership as the past year, which included Scott Starr as chair, David Paton as vice chair, and Brian Nelson and Homero Ortiz as papers chairs. The CSRTC then reviewed their mission statement and decided that no changes were needed to it. They discussed the Cold Mill Roundup, which they will be finalizing for inclusion in Iron & Steel Technology. Since the Cold Rolling Training Seminar was held in February 2009, the CSRTC opted to wait until 2011 to offer the seminar again. Tentative plans were discussed for an upcoming fall meeting, along with some topics for discussion.
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) met in conjunction with their Cold Rolling Training Seminar on Feb. 22 in Orlando, Fla. The committee chair, Scott Starr, welcomed those in attendance. The meeting began with a review of the CSRTC sessions for AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. They will hold three technical sessions during the conference: Cold Rolling Equipment and Components, New Facilities and Revamps, and Annealing. The presentation lineup was adjusted, and an additional paper was solicited. Future training seminars were then discussed, and it was agreed to offer the Cold Rolling Training Seminar every other year. Therefore, the next Cold Rolling Training Seminar will be offered in 2011. In the past year, this technology committee changed its focus from sheet rolling to cold rolling, narrowing the focus of their topics for the AISTech 2010 Call for Papers to reflect this change. They discussed attendance at committee meetings and future venues for their meetings, with plans for a European meeting in the future.
The Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC) held a meeting in Dearborn, Mich., Oct. 13–14. The meeting began with an update on the integration of the AISI and AIST committees. Following this, Homero Ortiz led a discussion on the CSRTC’s upcoming Cold Rolling Training Seminar, which is scheduled for Feb. 22–26, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. Committee chair Scott Starr will provide an introduction and overview for the conference. Volunteers from the committee were identified to chair the sessions. As co-papers chair with Brian Nelson, Mr. Ortiz followed this discussion with an update on the CSRTC sessions for AISTech 2009. Plans were made to hold three technical sessions, and paper titles and chairs for these sessions were identified. There was also discussion on the AIST Leadership Development Conference and committee representation at this meeting. As a regular agenda item, each committee member discussed safety items in their respective areas. Also for this meeting, a survey was developed on picklers and acid and was sent to the producer members of the committee. The surveys were completed and reviewed at the meeting, with open discussion and a question-and-answer period. Several committee members commented that this proved to be a very valuable component of the meeting. A tour of U. S. Steel Great Lakes was arranged by George Burton, and the CSRTC members had the opportunity to see the pickler and 5-stand tandem cold mill at this facility. To start the next morning’s discussions, Eric Almquist made a presentation on wringer rolls. Additional best practices discussions continued based on the acid survey until the meeting was adjourned.
The Sheet Rolling Operating Committee (SROC) met on May 7 in Pittsburgh, Pa., at AISTech 2008. Through the integration process with the AISI committees, this committee will break into a Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (HSRTC) and a Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC). The leadership of the AISI and AIST committees involved with this integration met in April to begin planning so a proposal could be made to the members at this meeting. The discussion on this plan was the lead topic for the meeting. From this meeting, a slate of officers for the new committees was proposed and approved. Doug Finkbeiner was elected as chair, Eric Thokar as vice chair and Brendan Brophy as papers chair for the HSRTC. Scott Starr was elected as chair, David Paton as vice chair, and Homero Ortiz and Brian Nelson as papers co-chairs for the CSRTC. Members of the predecessor SROC could select one of these new committees or could participate in both. The mission statement for the new committees was then reviewed and approved as: “Promote safety and advancement in sheet and strip rolling technologies and operating practices through information exchange and training,” but the two committees will review it at the individual meetings. The HSRTC discussed plans for a June meeting, which included a tour of ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor, and potential plans for a fall meeting in Europe. The AISI Sheet Mill Practices Manufacturing Committee had a meeting already planned for May 7 and invited anyone who had an interest. The CSRTC fall meeting date and location was still to be determined. The upcoming Specialty Training Conference, Cold Rolling Fundamentals — A Practical Training Seminar, was also discussed. This seminar will be sponsored by the CSRTC and will take place in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 22–26, 2009. The new committee was encouraged to continue to make this program meet the high standards that have been accomplished with the Hot Rolling Training Seminar.
