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Copper Staves for Blast Furnaces

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Copper Staves for Blast Furnaces KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG Copper staves [EN] for blast furnaces blast for Copper staves Table of contents KME 2 Copper staves - advanced cooling technology 4 Blast furnace cooling 6 Cooling elements 8 Skull formation 9 Furnace revamping 10 Increased working volume 11 Advanced stave engineering 12 Improved "flanged" joint design 13 Copper stave manufacturing 14 Product range and materials 15 Advantages of hot wrought 17 structure copper stave KME offers a unique combination of know-how and experience in all key technologies for the production of high-performance copper staves for blast furnaces. 2 KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves KME KME‘s corporate goal is to develop and manufacture products that meet customer demands, supporting them in finding solutions for their specific applications, and providing services as a long-term partner. KME’s strategy for accomplishing this goal is based on a highly skilled and experienced workforce. KME has the capacity for inventing and developing new materials and innovative production processes, which KME sustains by ongoing advancement and training of its employees as well as the continual improvement of its organisational structures. KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves 3 Copper staves – advanced cooling technology Cast iron staves Stack Copper staves Belly Bosh Tuyere level Hearth Fig. Blast furnace Average heat load 4 KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves Integrated steelworks use blast furnaces as a KME was involved in the development of copper means of supplying pig iron. For high productivity staves from the very beginning and is also the levels to be achieved it is crucial that the down - owner of the basic patent. Copper stave cooling is stream casting plants and rolling mills are continu- today the method utilised in leading blast furnaces ously supplied with iron. Throughout the world, worldwide. KME copper staves play a vital role in ensuring that blast furnaces are readily available and conse- The engineered products division was founded with quently achieve a high level of productivity. the aim of reacting even more flexibly to market demands and improving the customer orientation Copper staves were first utilised in blast furnaces of our business. Our customers are plant/blast in the late 1970s as the best high heat-load wall- furnace builders, steel-making companies as cooling element. As blast furnace productivity well as engineering and maintenance companies intensified and desired campaign life goals in- throughout the world. creased to beyond 15 years it became apparent that copper staves had the best potential to meet or exceed these demands. KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves 5 Blast furnace cooling Stave coolers first began to be developed in the late 1960s. The rise in furnace-productivity was accompanied by a greater demand for efficient cooling systems. Modern-day copper stave coolers insulate the outer shell from the process heat generated in highly stressed furnaces. Yet, depending on where they are positioned within the blast furnace, they will be subjected to differing levels of thermal load. 6 KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves Fig. Typical heat load fluctuations in blast furnaces. Upper stack Middle stack Lower stack Belly Bosh Tuyere level Hearth 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hours (h) With modern blast furnaces, production rates greater than 3.0 tonnes of hot metal per cubic metre of working volume per day can now be reached. This is achieved by using improved burden materials, burden distribution techniques, process control, high hot blast temperatures, oxygen enrichment and pulverised coal injection or natural gas enrichment. However, these high productivity practices result in high heat loads and heat load fluctuations to act on the walls of the blast furnace. Although the specific zone and the magnitude of peak heat loads can vary significantly between furnaces, the belly and lower stack region usually encounter the highest heat fluctuations [see Fig. shown above]. The area in which the highest heat load is experienced is closely related to the position and shape of the cohesive zone and specific charging pattern of the furnace. The main cause of high heat fluctuations is irregular high velocity gas jets venting toward the furnace walls through coke slits in the burden. High-performance cooling systems are needed to ensure that the operational process runs smoothly even when under such stress. With more than 11,000 units produced, KME copper staves have proven to be a reliable and effective solution also in the high loaded zones of the blast furnaces. The theory that the high thermal conductivity of copper would lead to an increased dissipation of process heat has been disproved. The high conductivity of copper results in low surface temperatures and a rapid formation of a thin layer that reduces the heat removal from the furnace. Recent results have shown that the level of heat removed from the furnace is even lower than experienced with cast iron staves. KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves 7 Cooling elements High and fluctuating temperatures Failure mechanism of cast iron are the main loads cooling elements staves under high fluctuating in blast furnaces have to cope with. heat loads Burden composition and quality have been Cast iron staves have a lower cooling efficiency observed to significantly affect heat loads and heat compared to copper staves due to the relatively fluctuations. Blast furnace burden with more than low conductivity of cast iron and the presence of 70 % sinter can result in peak loads of 100,000 to an insulating layer. This layer results in a thermal 200,000 W/m2. While burden with a high percent- barrier between the water-cooled tube and cast age of pellets or lump can generate peak heat iron stave body reducing the heat transfer. loads of over 400,000 W/m2. Depending on the expected heat load, different cooling elements Inefficient heat transfer results in a significantly have to be applied (see table below). higher hot face temperature of the cast iron stave (over 700 °C) and subsequent thermal deforma- tion of the cast iron stave. The cast iron body also experiences phase volume transformation at elevated temperatures, resulting in fatigue crack- ing, loss of stave body material and exposure of steel cooling pipes directly to the furnace heat. Table: Overview of different cooling and refractory designs with their maximum peak heat load capabilities Design Peak heat load Plate coolers with alumina refractories 50,000 W/m2 Cast iron staves 1st generation 100,000 W/m2 Thicker cast iron staves with multiple cooling water circuits 200,000 W/m2 Plate cooler (closer spacing 300 mm), closer spacing with special refractories 400,000 W/m2 High-performance copper staves 500,000 W/m2 It must be emphasised that these peak thermal load is the primary determining factor for the long-term survival of the furnace lining or cooling staves. 8 KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves Skull formation The key to successful operation of a cooling system in a high heat load metallurgical furnaces is the formation of a skull on the hot face of the cooling element. This skull is composed of condensed vapours, Thus the lining and cooling design should ide- solidified slag and metal that attaches the cooling ally be able to handle such heat loads to avoid element surface by splashing, dripping and free- premature failures. Detailed investigations zing onto it. The thickness can vary by up to have revealed that the higher the cooling effi- 20 mm. The stability of the skull mainly depends ciency of the cooling element, the more stable on the cooling capacity and mechanical adherence the skull and the longer it will adhere to the ability of the cooling element to which it adheres. cooling element and retain its insulating and The severity of gas streaming at the wall will also protective properties. affect skull retention. The skull is a natural insula- tor if metallic content is low. The outcome is that highly efficient cooling systems will usually result in lower overall heat During periods of extreme heat load (i.e. high tem- losses from the furnace. perature gas jets or process upsets) the skull may spall off, then build up again afterwards. The falling and building up of skulls causes significant fluctua- tions in heat loads on the furnace wall with peak loads in the range of 300,000 to 500,000 W/m2. KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG — Copper staves 9 Furnace revamping As most modern integrated steel plants have a 1. Partial replacement of cast iron staves minimum number of large blast furnaces in opera- Copper staves are used in high heat load zones tion, blast furnace availability has become an where cast iron staves do not reach the desired important factor for achieving production targets. life-time. The existing shell can be used because Consequently, intermediate repair and revamping the staves can be engineered to match the existing times must be kept to a minimum. openings in the shell. If the design of the furnace is to be changed, copper staves can be designed with KME staves achieve very high life-times due to larger dimensions so as to reduce the number of their good thermal and crystallisation properties. cooling water openings. Experience to date has shown that it is possible to achieve a campaign life of over 15 years. This 2. Replacing plate-cooler design means that the costs related to furnace downtimes with copper staves and maintenance work can be reduced signifi- The main reason for this replacement strategy cantly compared to conventional coolers. is a reduction of downtime due to the improved lifetime of copper staves.
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