INTRODUCING EPS GENERATION 4

THE DESIGN

Simplicity and Power

Optimizing nearly every aspect of EPS technology – from slurry flow to coil threading to cabinet fabrication – resulted in a simpler EPS Cell that is more efficient and powerful. How powerful? The EPS Generation 4 ‘split’ Turbine Chamber uses HALF as many Slurry Turbines as Generation 3 (4 instead of 8), yet it descales 40% faster than a Gen 3 Turbine Chamber. Part of the reason is Gen 4 delivers 50% more descaling power per turbine !

The simplicity and ‘lightness’ of the Generation 4 design makes it easier to build, install and maintain. That’s important for markets where TMW endorses local third-party manufacture of portions of the Turbine Chamber and Tank by authorized fabricators. It also reduces freight and installation costs.

Weights and Measures

A side-by-side comparison of the Gen 4 EPS Cell with its predecessor Gen 3 design shows the reduction in mass and space achieved.

	GEN 3 CELL	GEN 4 CELL
Slurry Turbines	8	4
Turbine Chambers	1	2
Cell Length	9.3 meters	8 meters
Chamber(s) Weight	36,200 kg	12,000 kg
Chamber(s) Tank Weight	11,500 kg	3600 kg
Chamber(s) Dimensions, LxWxH	8.5 x 4.5 x 3.8 meters	3.7 x 4.2 x 3.1 meters
Tank(s) Dimensions, LxWxH	5.7 x 4.5 x 3.7 meters	1.7 x 4.7 x 3.5 meters
Chamber Pit Depth	3.8 meters	2.1 meters

	GEN 3 CELL	GEN 4 CELL
Slurry Turbines	8	4
Turbine Chambers	1	2
Cell Length	9.3 meters	8 meters
Chamber(s) Weight	36,200 kg	12,000 kg
Chamber(s) Tank Weight	11,500 kg	3600 kg
Chamber(s) Dimensions, LxWxH	8.5 x 4.5 x 3.8 meters	3.7 x 4.2 x 3.1 meters
Tank(s) Dimensions, LxWxH	5.7 x 4.5 x 3.7 meters	1.7 x 4.7 x 3.5 meters
Chamber Pit Depth	3.8 meters	2.1 meters

Generation 4 Improvements

Gen 4 boosts the efficiency of slurry delivery. It provide descaling comparable to Gen 3 with half as many Slurry Turbines. Click on the markersto see how.

More Powerful Turbine Motors

Full rated horsepower for the Gen 4 Turbine Motors is 18% greater than Gen 3. This extra power was needed to take full advantage of the increased slurry flow generated by the Gen 4 design.

Better Slurry Flow

The more hose, pipes and elbows the EPS Slurry is fed through, the harder the turbines have to work to descale the strip. Gen 4's smaller Turbine Chambers and new tank configuration lead to much simpler slurry path with shorter supply hoses. That increases the slurry flow per turbine rpm over Gen 3, to increase overall descaling efficiency.

Split Chamber Spacing

Gen 4's split Turbine Chamber isolates each top and bottom Slurry Turbine pair from the others in the Cell. That eliminates interference and deflection of slurry streams coming from neighboring turbines – factors that reduce overall efficiency. The more narrow Turbine Chambers also eliminate passline rolls and thread bars and fingers – all high maintenance items – that were needed for material threading in earlier generations.

New Rinse Configuration

EPS Gen 4 increased the space between the Slurry stream and water rinse to prevent interference that reduced descaling efficiency. Gen 3's inter-chamber Final Rinse was eliminated and an external Post Rinse added, with its own filtration system, to make the Gen 4 product even cleaner.

New Turbine Chamber Tanks

The Gen 4 Cell's twin Turbine Chamber Tanks are much smaller than the Gen 3 single tank, therefore, the Gen 4 foundation pit is also much smaller (2.1 meters deep vs. 3.8 meters for Gen 3). But more importantly, their design relocates the eductors from the bottom to the side of the tank to shorten the slurry hoses.

Vertical Eductors

The eductors siphon grit from the Turbine Chamber tank and mix it with filtered water to create the EPS slurry. The Gen 4 design moved the eductors from the bottom of the tank to the side. That eliminated 90° bends, shortened hard pipe length and allowed for shorter slurry hoses. These changes combine to increase slurry flow capacity to the turbines.

Generation 4 Improvements

Gen 4 boosts the efficiency of slurry delivery. It provides descaling comparable to Gen 3 with half as many Slurry Turbines. Click on the tooltip markers below to see how.

More Powerful Turbine Motors
Full rated horsepower for the Gen 4 Turbine Motors is 18% greater than Gen 3. This extra power was needed to take full advantage of the increased slurry flow generated by the Gen 4 design.
Better Slurry Flow
The more hose, pipes and elbows the EPS Slurry is fed through, the harder the turbines have to work to descale the strip. Gen 4's smaller Turbine Chambers and new tank configuration lead to much simpler slurry path with shorter supply hoses. That increases the slurry flow per turbine rpm over Gen 3, to increase overall descaling efficiency.
Vertical Eductors
The eductors siphon grit from the Turbine Chamber tank and mix it with filtered water to create the EPS slurry. The Gen 4 design moved the eductors from the bottom of the tank to the side. That eliminated 90° bends, shortened hard pipe length and allowed for shorter slurry hoses. These changes combine to increase slurry flow capacity to the turbines.
Split Chamber Spacing
Gen 4's split Turbine Chamber isolates each top and bottom Slurry Turbine pair from the others in the Cell. That eliminates interference and deflection of slurry streams coming from neighboring turbines – factors that reduce overall efficiency. The more narrow Turbine Chambers also eliminate passline rolls and thread bars and fingers – all high maintenance items – that were needed for material threading in earlier generations.
New Rinse Configuration
EPS Gen 4 increased the space between the Slurry stream and water rinse to prevent interference that reduced descaling efficiency. Gen 3's inter-chamber Final Rinse was eliminated and an external Post Rinse added, with its own filtration system, to make the Gen 4 product even cleaner.
New Turbine Chamber Tanks
The Gen 4 Cell's twin Turbine Chamber Tanks are much smaller than the Gen 3 single tank, therefore, the Gen 4 foundation pit is also much smaller (2.1 meters deep vs. 3.8 meters for Gen 3). But more importantly, their design relocates the eductors from the bottom to the side of the tank to shorten the slurry hoses.

ECONOMICS

Gen 4 Averages $12/ton Pickling Cost for Low Carbon

Greater Efficiency for Lower Pickling Cost

The Gen 4 design improves the economics of EPS processing in several ways:

Higher per turbine pickling power boosts line speeds.
The EPS Scalebreaker boosts line speed over a wider range.
Reduced maintenance time means more production time.

Taken together, these factors widen the cost advantage that EPS pickling enjoys over acid pickling. That is especially true for difficult-to-descale grades like AHSS, silicon steel and stainless. When processing these grades, EPS line speeds are reduced 25 to 35% compared to pickling low carbon product. But for acid pickling lines, the speeds are typically reduced by 55 to 70%.

Use the EPS COST CALCULATOR to find your EPS pickling cost.

The EPS Scalebreaker

Beginning with Generation 4, EPS Cells will be accompanied by the EPS Scalebreaker. This compact, cost-effective unit increases EPS Line speed by as much as 35% for material between 1. 5 mm to 5.7 mm (0.060 to .225 inch), making it an essential component of the EPS Coil Line.

The EPS Scalebreaker has no bridle rolls and is a fraction of the size and cost of tension levelers used in acid pickling lines to break scale. Because of its unique roll configuration, our pull-through EPS Scalebreaker allows us to use only a maximum of 11,000 kg of recoiler tension, completely eliminating the need for large, expensive powered bridle rolls. This patented scalebreaker produces very flat strip (see details), and includes an anti-crossbow station to remove crossbow in the strip as a result of the scale breaking.

A Better Bottom Line

Gen 4’s more efficient slurry flow and greater power per Turbine creates savings.
The table below shows how a 1-Cell Gen 4 EPS line (4 Turbines total) compares to a 1-Cell Gen 3 EPS line (8 Turbines total).

One Cell Gen 4 EPS Line Compared to One Cell Gen 3 EPS Line
Line Speed	40% Faster
Production: Tons/Month	34% Greater*
Consumables Cost (grit, filter media, etc.)	50% Less
Wear Items Cost (turbine Blades, grit valves, etc.)	49% Less
Electric Cost	45% Less
Cell Maintenance Downtime	27% Less

* 40% faster line speed leads to more frequent coil changes. That's why production is 34% greater and not 40%.

Two Gen 4 EPS Cells Compared to One Gen 3 EPS Cell
Line Speed	50% Faster
Production: Tons/Month	36% Greater*
Consumables Cost (grit, filter media, etc.)	32% Less
Wear Items Cost (turbine Blades, grit valves, etc.)	27% Less
Electricity Cost	5% More
Cell Maintenance Downtime	20% Less
Line Length	20% Greater

* 50% faster line speed leads to more frequent coil changes. That's why production is 36% greater and not 50%.

OPERATIONS

Simpler Operations and Maintenance

EPS Gen 4 line operation retains the simplicity of previous generations, with featues like automatic grit feed and closed loop line speed control based on real-time scale level feedback. Line startup and shutdown are fast, coil loading and threading can be fully automatic, and operators can learn the system in a few days.

Gen 4 maintenance requirements are reduced from previous versions. The smaller, simpler Turbine Chamber provides easier access to maintenance points. The elimination of thread bars and passline rolls removed time-consuming maintenance procedures. And with Gen 4, nearly all maintenance is performed outside of the Turbine Chamber and Tank, so an individual Cell can be locked out for maintenance while the remaining Cells and the EPS line continue to run.

Material Feeding and Threading

The split Turbine Chamber design features two narrow spans to thread material across, instead of one wide span. This greatly simplifies coil threading. Click on image ‘EPS Gen 4 Threading System’ below and you’ll see it consists of only fixed support bars and entry/exit pinch rolls.

By contrast, the Gen 3 Cell required powered, active thread bars and internal passline rolls to reliably feed the strip across the wide Turbine Chamber. Click on the ‘EPS Gen 3 Threading System’ image to see details. These active components required power, actuators, motors and maintenance.

The Gen 4 Cell at TMW does employ a coil stitcher as an additional measure to keep threading fast and error-free.

Material Feeding and Threading

The Gen 4 Cell at TMW does employ a coil stitcher as an additional measure to keep threading fast and error-free.

The Gen 4 material feeding and threading is not only faster and more reliable, it reduces downtime for Cell maintenance. With EPS Gen 3, thread fingers had to be inspected weekly and replaced regularly, requiring entry into the Turbine Chamber with the line shut down. That, combined with maintenance of thread bar and internal passline roll systems, accounted for 14% of line downtime. The Gen 4 design restores that lost time to production.

EPS Gen 4 Pickling Line Configuration

The photo below is the first EPS Gen 4 Pickling Line at TMW. Mouse over anymarker below to see the individual components of the line. Note that any component labeled ‘NEW’ was added specifically to optimize line performance with the Gen 4 EPS Cell.

GET INFO

Your Invitation: Explore EPS Gen 4

Gen 4 has taken interest in EPS Technology to new levels. We are now conducting demonstration tours of our Gen 4 EPS Pickling Line, running trial coils and responding to proposal requests. What is your interest?

Please complete and submit the form below, and a TMW associate will answer your questions and requests promptly.

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