METALLURGY

As a result, a number of technologies were developed and integrated into the metallurgical process. These technologies are aimed at energy conservation (the problem of ever increasing interest to metallurgists), at reducing the consumption of costly materials and substituting such materials (for example, coke), at improving the quality of metal, and at reducing the cost and time required for renovation and repair work

Riders capable of operating at temperatures of 1100–1400 °C and significant mechanical loads have been developed for pusher-type and walking-beam furnaces. The riders ensure low leakage of heat from the slab placed on these riders in order to provide for:
– energy conservation and
– maximal uniformity of temperature over the slab height for improving the quality of slab metal.

The previously existing rider developments and proposals made in other countries involved the use of expensive cobalt as the basic structural material of riders. The specialists at INEP suggested using chrome compounds as such material; this resulted in drastic reduction (by a factor of three–four) of the cost of riders. The introduction of riders at the majority of metallurgical works in the Soviet Union (Cherepovets, Novolipetsk, Karaganda, Magnitogorsk, and Novokuznetsk iron-and-steel works, Nizhnii Tagil works, Serp i Molot, and other works), as well as in other countries (United States, Chinese People’s Republic, Hungary) revealed good performance of these riders (including the service life), which was at least not inferior (and in the majority of cases superior) to cobalt-based articles. Along with specialists from metallurgical works and research institutes, four researchers from IVTAN were awarded the State Prize.

Structures have been developed of insulation-rider blocks communicating the riders with heat insulation of skid pipes on which the riders are mounted. This will result in additional savings of thermal energy and in simpler mounting of structures

INEP suggest different options of renovation of the heating furnaces depending on their location and types (one such option is shown in the accompanying drawing).

Common to all options are:
– low capital costs,
– speed in performing necessary operations (during the time of planned repairs),
– high economic efficiency.

INEP is capable of performing the entire range of necessary activities, starting with the choice of structures and the design activities up to delivering riders and blocks and author’s supervision.  

Cooled and “dry” rollers for high-temperature continuous furnaces of metallurgical mini-factories have been developed at ENIP. Such production units spring up at an ever increasing rate in other countries (United States, Chinese People’s Republic, Japan, Thailand, and other countries) during the last 10–15 years, though in Russia such projects are still under consideration. The rollers delivered to a number of iron-and-steel works in the United States demonstrated their operating and economic efficiency

Pebble-bed air preheaters for blast furnaces

Air preheaters of a fundamentally new type for blast furnaces have been developed in cooperation with a number of Russian organizations. It is known that the heat-exchange brickwork of Cowper-type preheaters is far from being the most effective because of its form. Therefore, a pebble-bed structure was suggested for preheater brickwork.

As a result, the air blast temperature could be raised by 150–200 °C; this, in turn, brings about the reduction of coke consumption by 7–10%. In addition, pebble-bed preheaters are much smaller, and much less refractory materials are consumed. Heat exchangers of this design were installed at the Kosogorskii metallurgical works (Tula Region) in 1988 and are still exhibiting high operating and economic performance.

A number of developments and solutions involving high-temperature alloys, riders, and rollers have been patented