Challenge details:

Wire manufacturing involves the cold drawing of wire rods. This process depends on the mechanical properties of the wire rods, especially their ductility. Reduction of Area (RoA) is measured to determine ductility which ideally should be around 30% RoA. The indicators of ductility during wire drawing are the percentage of elongation and the reduction of the cross-sectional area in the test sample. For High Carbon Wire rods (with diameters greater than 8mm and a carbon content greater than 0.70%) the Reduction of Area (RoA) immediately after hot rolling, is only 10% - 15%. To achieve higher RoA percentage, typical the coils are stored for extended durations of 10 to 21 days, depending on the wire rod size and customer applications. During this period, the reduction in area improves to greater than 30%, making the wire rods suitable for the drawing process. The current practice of storing the wire rod coils for 10 to 21 days leads to higher costs linked to inventory and logistics issues. 

We are looking for a solution to enhance the ductility of high carbon wire rods within a span of 3 days as opposed to the current span of 10 to 21 days. Some constraints in the system are: (1) There is no additional space available to put temperature controlled chamber. (2) If the coil is to be wrapped to contain the temperature of coil, an automated system is to be suggested for wrapping the coil with minimum human intervention. All suggested solutions have to ensure work place safety.