INNOVATIONS
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
STEEL SAFETY DAY
PERSPECTIVES
Two pages of the latest product innovations for steelmakers
Articles from Tenova and Bloom Engineering
Give Steel Safety Day top priority, says the World Steel Association
PSImetals’ Detlef Schmitz answers our questions
www.steeltimesint.com April 2017 - Vol.41 No3
STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – April 2017 – Vol.41 No.3
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Leading partner in the world of metals
Boost productivity – cut costs Your benefits from SMS group intelligent modernizations are higher production plus better quality. We utilize regular maintenance shutdowns to upgrade your plants so they meet future market requirements. That means you save time and money. Extensive references provide proof of just how successful our revamps are – and what they can do for you.
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CONTENTS - APRIL 2017
INNOVATIONS
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
STEEL SAFETY DAY
PERSPECTIVES
Two pages of the latest product innovations for steelmakers
Articles from Tenova and Bloom Engineering
Give Steel Safety Day top priority, says the World Steel Association
PSImetals’ Detlef Schmitz answers our questions
1
Picture courtesy of: Midrex
www.steeltimesint.com April 2017 - Vol.41 No3
STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – April 2017 – Vol.41 No.3
CAN COMPUTERS AID WORKER WELFARE? STI Cover april.indd 1
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EDITORIAL Editor Matthew Moggridge Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855151 matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com Consultant Editor Dr. Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM Production Editor Annie Baker Advertisement Production Martin Lawrence SALES International Sales Manager Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855116 Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117 Managing Director Steve Diprose stevediprose@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164 Chief Executive Officer Paul Michael SUBSCRIPTION Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com
5 52 2 Leader Steel Safety Day 2017 4 News Industry news, diary dates and contract news 6 Innovations The latest new products.
20 The hour before dawn A wonder product investors avoid.
15 USA update Promises, promises...
Plant safety 23 Computers aid worker welfare. 31 Give safety top priority.
18 Latin America update A good deal for Ternium?
Electric steelmaking 33 Next Generation off-gas analysis. 44 Models for EAF energy efficiency.
Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on
Environment 47 Radiant tube recuperation explained. 52 Optimising for advantage 59 Duplex stainless steel versus mild steel.
subscription. Annual subscription: UK £178.00 Other countries: £254.00 2 years subscription: UK £320.00 Other countries: £457.00 ) Single copy (inc postage): £40.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com Published by: Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly except Feb,
60 Perspectives: PSImetals The right quality at the right time.
May, July, Dec by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER send address changes to Steel Times International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Printed in England by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent NP12 2YA, UK ©Quartz Business Media Ltd 2017
64 History The Anderton boat lift. www.futuresteelforum.com ISSN0143-7798
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2
LEADER
Be involved in worldsteel’s Steel Safety Day...
Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com
April 2017
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Brian K Cupp, 46, probably expected to return home from work as normal when he left his house and set off for Steel Summit, a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Unfortunately, a 30,000-pound steel coil fell on top of him and, sadly, he died. Steel Summit has no previous OSHA investigations or federal civil lawsuits filed against it relating to worker safety, but nevertheless there’s a man down as a result of some kind of lapse in plant safety procedures. It happens and when it does, it brings to the fore the issue of steel plant safety. Earlier in March, Timothy Earl Dagon, 42, died in an accident in the rail yard of US Steel’s Granite City, Illinois, plant. He had worked for the company for 20 years. Also last month, Jamie Peacock, 40, from Oldbury in the West Midlands, UK, died from injuries suffered in an accident at steel firm Camtrex in Birmingham. For every tragedy, however, there are success stories. AK Steel’s Zanesville works, also in Ohio, was recognised recently by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Division of Safety and Hygiene, in recognition of its ‘outstanding safety performance’.
It would be fair to say that while every tragic accident is just that, the steel industry takes worker safety very seriously indeed. Brian Cupp’s death was the result of a falling object, one of the top five causes of serious safety incidents, according to worldsteel, which this month organises its fourth Steel Safety Day (28 April). Moving machinery, falling from heights, on-site traffic and process safety are the other four major causes of safety incidents, but this year the main focus of the worldsteel campaign is falling objects, like the one that killed Mr. Cupp. The World Steel Association (worldsteel) claims that all injuries and work-related illnesses can be prevented, and that the industry has achieved ‘significant improvements’ in the field of safety and health. Emirates Steel, for example, is using modern technology to improve worker safety with the use of drones for plant safety inspections. Steel Safety Day is an industry-wide initiative designed to raise awareness of how to prevent serious safety incidents at steel plants around the world. Be involved.
www.steeltimesint.com
11/04/2017 16:03:21
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4 NEWS IN BRIEF
Indian steel companies report export sales boost It is reported that Indian steel companies, like Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and JSW have reported three-fold jumps in export volumes in the fiscal year 2016-17. Thanks to what The Economic Times calls ‘an enriched product basket’, all three companies have entered key export markets as India declares itself a net exporter of steel. Export volumes, for example, are estimated to account for 22% of JSW sales in FY17.
AK Steel in Ohio praised for ‘outstanding safety’ The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s division of safety and hygiene has recognised AK Steel’s Zanesville, Ohio, plant for its ‘outstanding safety performance’. According to AK Steel, the recognition is part of a collaborative study awareness programme established by the ZanesvilleMuskingum County Safety Council and Chamber of Commerce.
ArcelorMittal launches construction website A website for architects, engineers and building owners has been launched by the world’s biggest steelmaker. According to ArcelorMittal the website constructalia.arcelormittal. com offers new content including over 500 steel construction case studies. Launched in English, the site will soon be available in French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Get yourself to Nashville Did you know? If you want to bring yourself upto-date with the goings-on of the US steel industry, book a flight to Nashville now. AISTech 2017 will take place in the home of country music and it’s a sure thing that Donald Trump, anti-dumping and, of course, China, will be high on the agenda. While the boffins will be pleased to note that there are over 550 technical presentations planned, those who are looking for a broader perspective on the issues affecting US and, indeed, global steelmakers, would be well-advised to attend the Town Hall Forum, always a leading event and this year the panel consists of: John L Brett of ArcelorMittal; James E Bruno of US Steel; Theodore F Lyon of Hatch; Randy Skagen of Nucor; and Barbara R Smith of Commercial Metals Company (CMC).
For more steel industry news and features, visit www.steeltimesint.com
BISG contracts Fives for galvanising lines China’s Baotou Iron and Steel Group (BISG) and its strategic partner Fives are commissioning two continuous galvanising lines to produce a wide range of high added-value automotive steels. BISG is the largest steel producer in north west China’s Inner Mongolia region. April 2017
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• ArcelorMittal Ostrava’s medium section rolling mill in the Czech Republic is approximately one kilometre long. At the time of its construction in the 1980s, it was the second largest investment in Czechoslovakia (the first being the Temelín nuclear power plant), costing 7 billion Czechoslovak crowns. Source: ArcelorMittal. • Around $2.8 billion in antidumping duties in the USA have gone uncollected. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that seeks to improve collections through “every tool” under US and international law. Source: Bloomberg.
Global steel contracts in action... Steel roof for Caribbean cathedral
REIDsteel of Christchurch, UK, has fabricated and shipped a steel roof structure to the Caribbean island of Dominica after a hurricane damaged the existing roof of the island’s cathedral. REIDsteel carried out the structural design, drawing work and fabrication of the roof’s 60-tonne steel frame, purlins and ceiling supports at its site in the UK before shipping the structure to Dominica. Following the hurricane, the cathedral was being renovated at a cost of $12.4 million East Caribbean dollars (£3.7 million).
Quality Excellence award Tata Steel has been awarded the Volvo Cars Quality Excellence Award to mark 60 years of cooperation between the steelmaker and Volvo Cars. Tata is the first steelmaker to win the award, claims Volvo Cars.
And if all you want to do is win something, there’s always the Chevy Silverado Giveaway. There are also some plant tours, including one to Bridgestone Americas, which is based in Nashville. For further information, check out the website on: http://www.aist.org
Indian steelmaker contracts Primetals Indian steelmaker BMM Ispat is expanding production capacity at its Hospet production site in India and has issued a final acceptance certificate (FAC) to Primetals Technologies for the supply and installation of an electric steel plant and merchant bar mill. BMM Ispat’s key product range is structural steel, including reinforcing steels, round bars, flat and square bars, angles and channel sections. The Hospet plant also processes low and medium-carbon and low-alloy steel grades as well as spring and free cutting steel. www.steeltimesint.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Astounding Facts and Figures... • Eurozone growth is projected to slow from 1.6% in 2016 to 1.3% in 2017, reflecting increased political instability and banking problems. Uncertainty will hurt the UK’s investment, consumer spending, and capital inflows in 2017.
• Nine out of 10 premium class cars are fitted with components made by ThyssenKrupp. One in three trucks feature drive components from the company. Source: ThyssenKrupp
capability, enabling the production of premium steels as well as environmental schemes for Port Talbot’s power plant. Investments in packaging steels, electrical steels, an automotive finishing
5
May 2017 8-11 AISTech 2017, Nashville, USA The best way to describe this event is ‘a major global steel event with an American flavour’. Not only is there are healthy and comprehensive conference programme, but also major forums attended by the great and the good of the American steel industry. Don’t miss it! For further information, log on to www.aist.org 9-11 Control 2017, Stuttgart, Germany. Billed as the world’s leading trade fair for quality assurance, Control 2017 brings together international market leaders and suppliers of QA-related technologies, products and subsystems. For further information, log on to www.schall-messen.de
• “America is currently the world’s largest importer of steel, maddening to workers who’ve been laid off from US steel plants around the country.” Source: Boston Globe. Tata Steel invested £1.5 billion in the UK since acquiring Corus in 2007, including £85m this year on sustenance and improvement schemes. Investments are ongoing to improve manufacturing
DIARY OF EVENTS
line, laser welding and nextgeneration coated products support the company’s focus on making differentiated and advanced steel products for key manufacturers globally Source: Tata.
22-25 2017 SEAISI Conference & Exhibition, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore A major regional steel conference covering market developments and outlook, steel price trends, competitiveness and opportunities for steel in the ASEAN region. For further information, log on to www.seaisi.org
June
“The molar chemistry of the reduction reactions shows that the blast furnace makes about 80% more carbon dioxide by weight than it makes iron, and when the additional burdens of ore shipment and sintering are added the ratio approaches 2:1.” Source: Mick Steeper. • While energy consumption per tonne has been reduced by nearly 60% in the last 50 years, energy costs still comprise up to 40% of steel production in some countries. Source: worldsteel. www.steeltimesint.com
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• Over the last four years, car production in Hungary has more than doubled to
over 500,000 light vehicles produced there in 2016. Source: ThyssenKrupp.
• Cem Tasan, a metallurgist working for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA, is looking into whether steel that mimicks the structure of human bones could be more resistant to fatigue. Two kinds of steel with structures similar to those of
bone are being investigated and they are ferrite-cementite pearlitic steel and martensiteaustenite transformationinduced plasticity steel. According to Tasan, these steels possess key properties that limit the growth of cracks. Source: www.inscience.org
05-08 Metallurgy-Litmash, Expocentre, Moscow. Thermo process technology, foundry machinery, sheet metals, welding, cutting, joining technology, information processing and many other products for metallurgical plants. For further information, log on to http://10times.com/metallurgymoscow
November 2017 14-17 Metal Expo, Hall 75, VDNkHa, Moscow, Russia This is one of those big, mustattend events. Last year the event attracted 530 companies from 32 countries, including steelmakers, tube and pipe manufacturers and distributors and engineers. Expect a similar deal this year. In fact, there’s so much going on, you’d better check the website. For further information, log on to www.metal-expo.ru
April 2017
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INNOVATIONS
New rust-preventative coating launched Cortec claims it has an ‘excellent record of developing products that meet specific end user needs’. The company believes that its VpCI-277 ready-to-use dry film rust preventative, which is designed to preserve metals during storage and transportation, has solved a problem encountered by a major automotive manufacturer. According to Cortec, the company was using a VpCI product to protect parts during temporary storage and overseas shipping. While pleased with the protection it offered, the automotive manufacturer needed a rust preventative with a drier film and a low VOC that would also meet its solvent-based specification. They were in luck. Cortec developed VpCI-277, a rust preventative coating with a bio-based corrosion inhibitor in a non-flammable, low VOC solvent carrier. It is claimed that the product combines film-forming additives with vapour-phase corrosion inhibitors in order to provide ‘excellent multi-metal corrosion protection’. The product leaves a dry, non-tacky, virtually undetectable film on the metal surface and is further claimed to offer many advantages, including being ideal for robotic assembly of precision components that require tight tolerances. It also helps maintain a
clean preservation process because there is no oily residue. Lastly, the product contains no chlorinated compounds, chromates or nitrites. The product conforms to the following standard test methods: ASTM D1748 (humidity), ASTM D1735 (water fog), MIL-C83993 (water
displacement) and NACE RPO487-2000 (selection of rust preventatives).
For further information, log on to www.cortecvci.com
SMS quenching line for Edelstahlwerke SMS group has received a final acceptance certificate from Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH (DEW) for a new quenching line at its Witten plant in Germany. The new line, installed downstream of an existing blooming mill, consists of a walking-beam furnace and a cooling section. According to SMS group, the project is one of DEW’s most significant and biggest investments of the last few years. The aim is to further enhance the quality of rolled products and make production more energy-efficient and climate-friendly. DEW issued the FAC to SMS group in December last year, after less than two years of very close co-operation. The new quenching line is the first of its kind in terms of layout. It has been designed for round bars in diameters ranging from 55mm to 250mm and lengths between 4m and 17m. Rolled grades include all stainless steels, including bearing steel; rust, acid and heat-resistant steels, and engineering and tool steels. The new line uses the available rolling heat to set the desired material properties by a controlled bar quenching process. The bars are directly charged into the reheating furnace via a roller table and the furnace equalises the heat losses suffered by the material. After the material has been reheated to a specified temperature, it is delivered to a cooling section in which it is cooled down uniformly and April 2017
products.indd 1
in a controlled manner to the desired end temperature. Then it is discharged from the rolling mill via the cooling bed. SMS group supplied its Controlled Cooling Technology (CCT) and SMSPrometheus for deter-
mining and pre-calculating process parameters offline. For further information, log on to www.sms-group.com
www.steeltimesint.com
11/04/2017 16:44:27
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8
Two forklifts from Kalmar Kalmar, part of Cargotec, will deliver two super-heavy forklift trucks to a specialist industrial services provider Pentti Hämeenaho Oy, which runs logistical operations at the Raahe steel mill in north-western Finland. The delivery will take place during Q1 2017. With a lifting capacity of 62 tons, the two new super-heavy trucks will be the highest-capacity forklifts that Kalmar has delivered since one of its machines broke the world record by lifting 90 tons in 1991. They will be used to handle steel coils weighing anything from five to 30 tons, and
will be capable of both single and double coil lifting. Kalmar’s super-heavy forklift trucks are designed specifically for the heaviest and most challenging lifting applications, making them ideal for the extreme demands of steel handling, where safety and efficiency are paramount. The Kalmar DCG620-15 forklift will also feature the ergonomic EGO cabin, which provides maximum visibility and comfort for operators. Thomas Malmborg, vice-president, forklift trucks at Kalmar, said: “We’re very happy that
Kalmar forklift trucks have been chosen to ensure the safe and efficient handling of steel products at the Raahe steel mill. These forklifts, which will handle extreme weights, are the result of hard work by our dedicated teams. This prestigious order demonstrates our outstanding capabilities in developing reliable and flexible customer solutions that are able to meet the heavy-lifting demands of customers around the world.” For further information, log on to www.kalmarglobal.com
Compact pump for analytics market Leybold GmbH has introduced ECODRY to the marketplace. The new product is claimed to be a clean, compact and low-maintenance multi-stage Roots vacuum pump in the size class 40 to 60m3/ hr. The ECODRY is described as a new ‘fore-vacuum’ pump for the analytics market offering quiet and low-vibration operation, space-saving design and powerful performance. “We have managed to build the pump as compact, easy to operate and quiet as is otherwise known only from much smaller devices,” said Alexander Kaiser, product manager. The system was developed, claims Leybold, to match the requirements for systems such as mass spectrometers and electron microscopes and is also suitable for large-scale accelerators due to the absence of dust or oil contamination. Keeping noise levels low is the machine’s key attribute. Leybold describes it as ‘extremely low’ in terms of noise, with an average value of 52dB. It works, the company claims, below the noise limit that is harmful to human health and is not as loud as a conversation at room volume. “In every day operation and compared to the relevant competitive products of its class, the
pump, which is designed for ergonomic working environments, yields the lowest noise emissions,” claims Leybold, adding that an ‘ingenious development and construction strategy were behind such low noise values. The ECODRY offers integrated sound insulation, an optimised silencer in the exhaust and a quiet air-cooling system. A non-contact rotor design enables ‘whisper-quiet’ operation, energy-efficiency and low vibration. In order to produce high-resolution images the rotors and the housing rotate without friction at high speeds of up to 12600 min-1. It is also claimed to generate less heat than conventional systems, which means lower operating costs for air-conditioning. Leybold claims that ECODRY is one of the lightest and most compact vacuum components on the market as systems for research and development have to deliver their performance in a narrow space.
Elements of the system that require lubrication are closed off from the pump chamber by a wear-free sealing system; this means that neither lubricant nor particles can penetrate the pump chamber or the recipient, thereby causing no deterioration of final pressure or suction. The end result is that only occasional maintenance is required. Remote control is available. For further information, log on to www.leybold.com
April 2017
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TRAVERSING
RESTBARS With Fabris Traversing Restbars you can make fast and accurate pass changes with ease. Our Restbars are made to mill specifications and customized to your unique requirements. No job too big, or too small. Vertical, Horizontal and Hydraulic configurations available.
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10
INNOVATIONS
ERC 40 reduces plant down time A particularly striking feature of mechanical rotary cam limit switches used in heavy industry is the high level of manual maintenance they require, says Johannes Huebner Giessen. Manual maintenance, it is claimed, leads to long plant standstill times and increased costs for the companies. As a result, Johannes Hübner Giessen has introduced the ERC 40, an intelligent electronic rotary cam limit switch with as many as 15 relay outputs, making it possible to dispense with mechanical rotary cam limit switches – and implement additional, useful functions at the same time. The ERC 40, it is claimed, makes a huge contribution to operating plant economically, because among other positive aspects it automates, simplifies and reduces the expensive maintenance tasks required to date. Mechanical position switches are installed in heavy industrial plant across the globe and represent well-established technology. However, they do not fulfil today's safety requirements – and require a lot of expensive maintenance. The time and cost involved to set the switching points of mechanical rotary cam limit switches is enormous as it entails manually turning cam disks, which under given circumstances can be difficult to access. The procedure is not a one-off affair following initial device installation, but needs to be repeated again and again during regular maintenance, like when replacing ropes in hoisting equipment. The setting up work involved and the resulting production standstill leads to considerable costs
over the lifetime of the devices, according to Johannes Hübner Giessen. The company claims that the ERC 40 reduces such costs significantly and facilitates useful additional functions. Rapid availability following initial installation is a distinguishing feature because the system does not require time-consuming work to set up individual cam disks. It requires only very little maintenance because the configuration software included in the scope of supply makes configuration simple prior to or following installation. It is possible, for example, to copy position switching points directly from the application using a simple drag-and-drop operation. It is claimed to be quick and easy to replace a device. The parameters previously saved as a data record are imported into the new device via the configuration software. The system is easy to calibrate via the preset input following installation or plant repairs, says Johannes Huebner Giessen. To meet respective application requirements it is optionally possible to supply the ERC 40 with 3, 6, 9, 12 or a maximum of 15 relay outputs. Each relay output can represent a cam with two switching points. 28-bit resolution and adjustable switching hysteresis means the device can offer a high level of switching accuracy. The switch test function integrated in the configuration software makes it easy to test if the relays are functioning properly, which reduces time and costs for inspections to a minimum. In addition to switching outputs supplementary real-time data is required to control and mon-
itor many applications and the user can make use of the present position data supplied by the optionally available 4-20 mA output. In the event of any deviations an active error message ensures the highest level of control and information. Alternatively, it is possible to configure one of the relay outputs to facilitate direct integration in emergency-stop or plant stop functions. The reset input facilitates simple error reset. It is possible to monitor the actual operating status by evaluating the status and error outputs as well as by visually checking the LEDs. High economic efficiency and low overall operating costs are compelling features of the new ERC 40, according to Johannes Hübner Giessen. The company claims that in addition to the attractive initial cost of procurement, simple installation, time-saving start-up and low standstill and calibration times mean there are hardly any additional costs. The ERC 40 is claimed to deliver the highest level of availability even under the harshest of conditions and this is because of its IP66-rated housing and high resistance to shock and vibration. The safety-certified series U-ONE-SAFETY-Compact (USC 42) with two-channel system architecture (category 3) for applications that place special demands on functional safety up to SIL 2 (Safety Integrity Level 2) and PL d (Performance Level d) is offered optionally by the company. For further information, log on to www.huebner-giessen.com
Electronic rotary cam limit switch with additional intelligent functions: The ERC 40 is easy to configure and offers up to 15 relay outputs. Image: Johannes Hübner Giessen
April 2017
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11 From left to right: Ali Bindernagel (chairman), Sergio Filippini (member of the board), Günther Schnell (managing director sales & marketing) and Rötger Teyke (managing director commercial)
Schnell takes over from Filippini at Kocks Günther Schnell has been appointed managing director sales and marketing at Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG. Mr Schnell takes over from Sergio Filippini, who retired from the business on 1 March after 16 years in a managerial capacity with Kocks. According to Kocks, the appointment of Mr Schnell ensures the addition of another expert to the company’s executive team. He has considerable steel industry experience. Following a degree in process technology, he started his career in 1997 with VAI Technometal
GmbH as a project manager sales and technology in the field of secondary metallurgy. He joined Friedrich Kocks in 2002 and eventually took on the position of general manager sales/chief representative China. In 2010 he joined SMS group, where he was general manager for wire rod, bar and merchant bar mills. “KOCKS is a unique brand with an outstanding and dedicated team of experts. The 3-roll technology of KOCKS has been setting standards in the long products industry for decades with regard to quality and reliability,” said Schnell.
He added that as a privately owned, mid-size niche player, Kocks should seek to stand out not only with an outstanding product, but also by putting the customer’s success at the heart of its activities and giving every single customer undivided attention, excellent service and quick response times. “I’m looking forward to contributing to these ambitious goals,” he said.
For further information, log on to www.kocks.de
New spectrometer launched ThermoFisher Scientific has introduced a new bench-top spectrometer for laboratory managers, quality control technicians and scientists conducting routine analysis or research on a wide range of materials and sample sizes. The ARL QUANT’X EDXRF (Energy-Dispersive X-ray Flourescence) spectrometer is designed to be four times more sensitive that Thermo’s previous version and is claimed to cover all periodic table elements. The new equipment incorporates a 50W x-ray tube and the latest-generation silicon drift detector (SDD) to enable analysis of light elements and small spot analysis. According to Thermo, it requires less lab space than its predecessors and accommodates typical sample sizes used in XRF analysis as well as large and irregularly shaped samples. Didier Bonvin, XRF product manager at Thermo steeltimesint.com
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Fisher, said that scientists and quality control technicians are under pressure to perform fast elemental analyses that provide full material identification on many sample types and shapes. Bonvin added that the ARL QUANT’X was redesigned to improve efficiency, ease operation and lower cost of ownership. He described the new spectrometer as ‘a tool to solve their most challenging analytical tasks’. Metal is just one area where the machine provides metals characterisation. Other areas include mining, cement and petrochemicals, the company claims.
For further details, log on to www.thermofisher.com/XRF
Digital Edition - September 2015
11/04/2017 16:44:35
12
INNOVATIONS
SMS and MMK Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has awarded SMS group the contract to modernise its continuous slab caster number six and its heavy-plate mill. Both plants’ X-Pact electrical and automation systems will be upgraded. The caster currently produces slabs of thickness ranges of 190mm, 250mm and 300mm. In future it will be able to produce slabs with a thickness of 350mm. The maximum cast width will remain unchanged at 2,700mm. “The future higher weight per metre of the slabs will optimise the allotment of the plates to be produced from the slabs,” claims SMS group. SMS group’s scope of supply for the continuous caster includes the basic and detail engineering, the optimisation of the secondary cooling
Baosteel modernises continuous Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) has contracted Primetals Technologies to modernise its continuous slab caster no. 3 at its 2.3Mt/yr Shanghai steelworks no. 1. The plan is to replace the machine head and the complete strand-guiding system with a view to modernising the plant and producing high-quality slabs for demanding applications. According to Primetals, the modernisation will increase the maximum slab thickness to 357 mm. Once cast, the slabs are further processed in Ba-
osteel’s plate rolling mill and hot rolling mill. The modernised casting plant is scheduled to come into operation in Q1 2018. Continuous slab caster no. 3 has been producing slabs with a minimum thickness of 220 mm since 2003. It has a machine radius of 10 metres and a metallurgical length of 34.5 metres. Once modernised, it will be able to cast slabs in thicknesses of 250, 300 and 357 mm in widths ranging from 1200 to 2300 mm. The range of products
Hi-line Industries freezes prices
system, the adaption of the X-Pact electrical and automation systems, the upgrade of the technological process models (level 2) and the supervision of installation and commissioning. The maximum roll lift in the horizontal stand will be increased from 320mm to 370mm. This will be achieved mainly by modifying the CVC roll bending and shifting system, installing new chocks for the upper work roll and adapting the back-up roll balancing system. SMS group will also supply a new level-2 model for the reheating furnaces and an upgrade of the process models in the rolling mill. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017. The continuous slab caster and the 5.0-m heavy-plate mill were supplied by SMS group in 2009. The mill stand was the first in Russia to feature a CVC plus system. With a rolling force of 120 MN it is one of the most powerful mill stands in the world, claims SMS group. For further information, log on to www.sms-group.com
Hi-line Industries has announced price freezes for the seventh consecutive year, thanks to greater product turnover and increased access to better prices as a result of rising year-on-year spend. UK-based Hi-line says that its energy-efficient compressed air equipment, which includes air dryers, nitrogen and oxygen generators, compressed air filtration equipment, condensate management/drains and service kits, has been available at the same price for the past seven years. The company’s strong market performance in recent years is behind the price freeze. Hi-line was formed in 1999 and has expanded year-on-year, posting steady double-digit growth. Demand for British-manufactured goods since the Brexit vote is unprecedented, the company claims. Hi-line has performed impressively in the export market, although the UK is also proving strong, with an increasing number of national brands trying to support other manufacturers by placing orders in Britain. Hi-line’s good relationship with suppliers is another reason behind the freeze, the company claims. Hi-line is part of the ‘Made in Britain’ campaign and, whenever possible, opts to source wholly British materials to manufacture
its compressed air purification equipment. The company is a member of the British Compressed Air Society, carries ISO 9001:2008 certification and claims to make some of the most energy-efficient compressed air dryers in the world. It is Britain’s largest stockist of air
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s
INNOVATIONS 13
High-speed cutters from Buehler
slab caster includes extremely low to high-carbon steels, micro and low-alloyed, peritectic and HSLA grades, structural steels, pipes and sheet steels. Baosteel Group produced around 35 million metric tons of steel in 2015. The company produces products for the domestic and world markets.
For further information, log on to www.primetals.com
treatment ancillaries and the country’s largest supplier of refrigeration air dryers.
For further information, log on to www.hilineindustries.com
A new table-top precision range of cutters (IsoMet) are available from Buehler ITW Test & Measurement GmbH. The equipment is designed for use on the laboratory table and is equipped with abrasive or diamond blades. According to Buehler, the machines section virtually any type of material, from ductile metals to brittle ceramics; and the equipment’s design is claimed to be ideal for consistent, and precise sectioning performance. A powerful motor, intuitive user interface and rapid sample fastening makes IsoMet High Speed models particularly suitable for busy laboratories requiring the highest quality standards, the company claims. An intuitive touchscreen layout features animated icons that provide access to all sectioning parameters and facilitates programming of consistent, repeatable single or serial sections. A rapid clamping rail and a new, tool-less vising system offer easy fastening and adjustment of the sample within a few seconds and sectioning can be performed either manually or by means of a joystick, or automatically according to a previously entered programme, with highly consistent results, claims Buehler. The SmartCut automated cutting blade feed system avoids damage to the sectioning machine and to the sample, resulting in optimised sectioning processes whatever the sample material.
Both versions of the cutter accommodate wafering blades with diameters ranging from 3in to 8in (76 mm to 203 mm) or abrasive cutting blades with diameters from 5in to 8in (127mm to 203mm). Both offer quick and precise horizontal (x) and linear (y) alignment of the cutting blade, the Pro model also allows vertical alignment. Available cutting lengths range from 0.01in to 7.25in (0.25mm to 184mm) at feed rates from 0.04in to 1in/min (1mm/min to 25 mm/min), with feed increments of 0.01in (1 mm). Maximum sectioning size (diameter) is 2.8in (71 mm). The High Speed Pro offers an automatic dressing system, which, Buehler claims, ensures consistently high sectioning quality and reduces cut set-up time with the capabilities to dress the blade during a cut programme, as well as a laser system for instant visual alignment of the cutting blade. A range of accessories for IsoMet High Speed precision cutters include a rapid rail vise holder, single and double saddle chucks, a variety of quick clamp vises and a retrofit kit with an external recirculation coolant tank that provides enhanced cooling in demanding applications. For further information, log on to www.buehler-met.de
Aeris – an intuitive diffractometer PANalytical’s Aeris is described by the company as ‘a surprisingly intuitive benchtop X-ray powder diffractometer.’ With its user-friendly interface, claims PANalytical, Aeris makes XRD measurements accessible for everyone and as easy as making a cup of coffee. A built-in touch screen directly displays results and there are specific editions for different materials, such as cement, minerals and metals, addressing the specific needs of each market.
According to PANalytical, Aeris is the world’s first fully automatic benchtop XRD instrument designed for low-cost ownership. The Metals edition of Aeris is a benchtop X-ray diffractometer for rapid and reliable analysis of sinter, direct reduced iron and retained austenite. Aeris is fully automatic and can be incorporated into industrial production control. For further information, log on to www.XRDisEASY.com April 2017
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Taking inclusion analysis to the next level Exclusive portfolio and capability for advanced inclusion analysis from Thermo Fisher Scientific Controlling non-metallic inclusions during the steel making process is a key skill for efficient production of modern steels demanded by today’s customers. Thermo Scientific™ FEI™ Explorer with Metals Quality Analyzer™ provides the most exhaustive data on non-metallic inclusions at the lowest cost per inclusion. Thermo Scientific™ ARL™ iSpark™ Optical Emission Spectrometer with Spark-DAT provides the fastest access to data on non-metallic inclusions. Together, the two instruments give the most powerful solution to control non-metallic inclusions, and solve or prevent cost and quality problems caused by inclusions in steel.
Find out more at www.thermofisher.com For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. © 2017 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified.
USA UPDATE
Promises, promises
15
…
Many infrastructure project developers are finding it difficult to keep up with the changing behaviour patterns of the administration of President Donald Trump. By Manik Mehta*
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s behaviour patterns are at variance with the promises he made during his election campaign. For one, the insistence on using US-produced steel for government-funded projects is not practical besides increasing costs because of domestic steel’s much higher prices. President Trump had issued a memorandum to his Secretary of Commerce asking him to develop a plan requiring the use of US steel for “all new, retrofit or expanded pipelines”, in keeping with his “America First” election slogan. The controversial Keystone XL pipeline is in the news again. A spokeswoman for President Trump recently suggested that his recent order – that US pipelines be built with American steel – did not apply to the hotly debated Keystone XL project linking Alberta in Canada with Texas; this is at variance with what Trump had told US Steel’s chief executive Mario Longhi, during a White House meeting with business leaders on 23 February, that the Keystone and Dakota projects had been approved, stipulating that US-made steel and pipelines be used. The US administration now says that the Keystone XL pipeline is not a “new, retrofitted, repaired or expanded pipeline”. Trump’s memorandum would not apply to the Keystone XL. Another anomaly is that Keystone’s developer, TransCanada, is not obliged to buy US steel. Hollow campaign rhetoric? Was Trump’s promise then to require participants in government-funded projects to use US steel merely hollow campaign rhetoric – a double-speak? This is what
many analysts are asking just two months into Trump’s Presidency. Of course, Canada welcomed this news, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office saying that “if confirmed”, the exemption would be a welcome recognition that the Canadian and US steel industries are deeply integrated and support jobs on both sides of the border. Also, as many pundits are privately saying, it is doubtful if the US domestic steel industry could supply American steel to build projects like the Keystone XL without increasing the costs, considering US-made steel is certainly more expensive. Keystone XL, which was first proposed by Calgary-based pipeline giant TransCanada nearly 10 years ago, had been put on ice for nearly a decade by Canada-US politics, an increasingly powerful environmental lobby and collapsing oil prices. Former president Barack Obama used environmental concerns to stop the project in autumn 2015. Trump directed federal agencies to approve Keystone XL ‘favourably, and quickly, within 60 days’. However, experts envisage legal and political fights against the project. US Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., has criticised the Trump administration for not requiring US steel for the Keystone XL pipeline, saying he broke a promise to steelworkers and the Iron Range. Franken wrote to President Trump, calling on the latter to stipulate the use of US steel in the Keystone XL project, and reminded him that in one of his first major decisions, he had disregarded his election campaign pledges.
Franken said “significant inventories” of subsidised and lower quality foreign steel remains in the market “unfairly depressing domestic prices and keeping American steelworkers, including those in Minnesota’s Iron Range, out of work.” Price increases announced Meanwhile, AK Steel has, again, announced a price increase while ratcheting its criticism of what it describes as “unfair imports” that hurt its business. The steelmaker has hiked the spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products – the third price hike this year – following the price hikes in January and February. The company has been complaining for some time about “unfair imports” of stainless steel flooding the markets with lower grade material, particularly from China. A decision by the US International Trade Commission earlier this month seemed to confirm that the US steel industry has been materially injured. The Commerce Department is expected to respond with anti-dumping duties on imports from China, a development welcomed by AK Steel. Roger Newport, AK Steel’s chief executive, said that his company was “extremely pleased” with the ITC assessment that the US steel industry had been injured by stainless steel sheet and strip imports from China. A report from the Alliance for American Manufacturing in early March alleged the World Trade Organisation had allowed such trade violations to go unchecked, making it more difficult to crack down on such imports.
* USA correspondent www.steeltimesint.com
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GUNNING ROBOTS
FOR IMPROVED
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USA UPDATE
Indeed, US Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the Trump administration to “reset” the US trade relationship with China. AK Steel posted $5.88 billion in sales last year, but posted a net loss of $7.8 million - though that was substantially better than the $509 million net loss it reported in 2015. Objective determination In response to a petition filed by Nucor Corp. and the US subsidiaries of ArcelorMittal SA and SSAB AB, the ITC recently gave its final findings to the effect that the US steel industry had been harmed by the dumping of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length from China. The finding opens the door for imposition of duties by the US Department of Commerce. China rejected the ITC’s determination, with its Commerce Ministry saying that issues in the US steel industry were not caused by Chinese imports, but by obsolete equipment and subsequent low yields which resulted in decreased profits. The Chinese side has called on the US to make what it calls “objective” determination to avoid negative impact on US-China trade relations. Meanwhile, US Steel announced its intention to permanently close the No.6 Quench and Temper Mill at its Lorain Tubular Operations. The closure, attributed to “challenging market conditions for tubular products and unfairly traded imports”, would be completed around June. The mill was idle since March 2015. The closure prompted State Rep. Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) to state he was “deeply disappointed” that another line was closing in Lorain where steel had long been an important facet of the local and state economy. He also expressed his concern that Washington had not moved in any “significant way” to battle the dumping of foreign steel which he described as a “leading cause in the decline of the domestic steel industry”. He found the federal inaction “particularly troubling” given President Trump’s frequent promises to bring back manufacturing jobs and revitalise the US steel industry. “If President Trump wants to put ‘America First’, he can start here. I want him to understand this is not just an economic issue, but a national security issue as well. Our community needs leadership from the White House and Congressional leaders, and we haven’t gotten it.” On another front, Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), recently complained about the dismal conditions of the country’s roads, highways and bridges that enable the transport of steel, claiming they suffered from a lack of investment and posed a threat to commerce and global economic competitiveness. “In order for our economy to remain internationally competitive, a strong commitment to robust infrastructure spending – which includes long-term transportation funding – is critical.” The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2017 report card this year rates US infrastructure as a “D+”overall, and, specifically, bridges at a “C+”-taking into account investment, capacity and the need for the project to be completed. The report said that 9%, or about 56,000, of America’s bridges are structurally deficient. Gibson encouraged the steel industry’s continued leadership on bridge construction.� April 2017
11/04/2017 10:31:44
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MAGNA REFRACTARIOS MEXICO SA DE CV C. Sta. María Piso 10 Bld Díaz Ordaz No. 130 Rincón de Sta. María Mty N.L. C.P. 64 650 Nuevo León. MÉXICO tel.: +52 81 8338 1421 fax: +52 81 8338 3191 magna@magnesitasnavarras.es
MAGNA REFRACTORIES INC. JOH 1Y4 Québec CANADA tel: + 1 803 309 47 53 magna@magnesitasnavarras.es
18
LATIN AMERICA UPDATE
A good deal for Ternium? In February 2017, Ternium announced its agreement to purchase the full ownership of Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA) from ThyssenKrupp. This article examines the transaction, emphasising the industrial and financial features. By Germano Mendes de Paula* CSA is a 5Mt/yr slabs capacity cokeintegrated mill with a deep-water harbour and a 490 MW combined cycle power plant. It is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, although it is a considerable distance from downtown and the famous Copacabana Beach. CSA, which originally was a 90:10 joint venture between German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp and Vale, was planned to cost €3.0bn. However, the project faced a lot of delays and cost overruns; consequently, the total investment was amplified to €5.2bn. Vale increased its stake in the venture to 27% in 2009 in order to ensure it would be completed without further postponement. The mill was commissioned in 2010. Vale sold its participation in CSA to ThyssenKrupp for a ‘symbolic price’ in 2016. Looking at the productive approach, Ternium’s motivation is quite understandable. The company produced 6Mt of crude steel and 9.8Mt of rolled steel products in 2016. Thus, it needed to purchase from third parties approximately 3.7Mt of slabs. With CSA, Ternium will diminish this dependence gradually to 2Mt/ yr. This situation derived from the fact that Ternium inherited a contract to supply 2Mt/ yr of slabs to the Calvert re-rolling facility in Alabama, USA, which was sold in late 2013 by ThyssenKrupp to ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Sumitomo. This contract will expire in 2019, when Ternium may decide to diminish even further its reliance on third party slabs. It can be argued that Ternium’s strategy of buying part of its slab requirements in the market was successful in past
years because of excess capacity in the global market, which kept slab prices low. Nonetheless, the company has acknowledged its concern over such dependence. In fact, the number of slab suppliers has diminished. As some providers have engaged in downstream capacity investment, the scenario of constrained slab supply becomes riskier. In addition, according to Ternium, CSA is a state-of-theart facility, specialised in high-end slabs, which will help to enhance the company’s differentiation.
Financial issues Ternium expects to pay €1.26bn ($1.33bn) in the transaction, a price set using €1.5bn ($1.58bn) as enterprise value (EV) and taking into account that CSA has a financial debt of some €300M ($317M) with Brazilian state-owned development bank BNDES. These amounts are based on the agreed-upon valuation and adjustments as
of 30 September 2016. The transaction is expected to close on or before September 2017. Ternium’s current financial conditions are fairly good. Roughly 10 days before the transaction’s announcement, Credit Suisse raised the following question: “What about the excess cash?” According to the bank, in the absence of meaningful expansion, the board and investors will focus on how to allocate cash flow generation. Indeed, it estimated that the net debt/EBITDA would be diminished from 0.6x in 2016 to 0.3x in 2018 and even to null in 2019. In this context, Credit Suisse suggested that, “We believe steel capacity expansions in Mexico or slab-focused acquisitions are likely to be considered, but excessive dividend payments or share buybacks seem unlikely, in our view”. When the acquisition was unveiled, Ternium’s market capitalisation reached $4.65bn. More importantly, the company’s leverage was equivalent to solely 0.6x net debt/EBITDA. According to the bank BTG, this ratio would only rise to 1.4-1.5 net debt/EBITDA due to the purchase and, therefore, it would be easily digestible. In the same direction, bank Itaú ratified Ternium’s leverage would amplify to 1.4x. However, this ratio could be even lower by Q3 2017, when the deal is expected to be concluded, because Ternium is likely to generate more cash in the coming quarters. Moreover, Itaú concluded: “All considered, [Ternium] TX would still be one of the least leveraged steel companies in the world, even after the completion of the deal, due to its cost competitiveness and resilient cash flow generation”.
* Professor in Economics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. E-mail: germano@ufu.br April 2017
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LATIN AMERICA UPDATE
19
It is interesting to analyse the price paid by Ternium. The assets to be acquired generated an EBITDA of $283M in 2016. According to JP Morgan, this implies a multiple EV/EBITDA of 5.6x in 2016. It considered this ratio as a fair price, in comparison with the historical industry average of 5.0-6.0x. It is even relatively cheaper versus the current steel sector average of 7.9x. For its turn, Itaú calculated that the deal is equivalent to 6.0x in 2016. Although it is slightly above Ternium’s current multiple, the price is justified by the potential to: a) improve CSA’s operations with Ternium’s industrial expertise; b) extract synergies between the operations; c) add rolling capacity at CSA at attractive terms by using accumulated tax benefits (a subject to be discussed later). Good deal for Ternium It is useful to examine the replacement value. To JP Morgan, the price implies an investment of $316/t, which compares with the greenfield cost of ~$800-1,200/t. To Itaú, the capital expenditure (capex) to build CSA achieved $1,600/t. Someone might remember that the respective figure to erect Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), which started-up in 2016, was $1,800/t. Therefore, there is no doubt that Ternium paid a fraction of this asset’s replacement value. CSA has around $1.5bn in tax loss carry forwards. Therefore, the company has a large credit to be deducted from future income tax payments. In addition, it had roughly $460 million in tax credits (some $300 million related to VAT) on equipment and material purchased in Brazil. The problem is that the VAT credits can be utilised in domestic market sales, while CSA exports a large proportion of its output. Generally speaking, tax credits may foster an investment in a rolling mill to supply the domestic market. However, in the conference call about CSA, Ternium’s CEO denied any plans to invest in rolling mill capacity, because the hot rolled coil market in Brazil is oversupplied. Ternium has a very good position compared with its peers. Besides the low leverage, it is important to stress that the company had an 89% capacity utilisation ratio in 2016. Furthermore, the acquisition of CSA seems to be strategical to reinforce Ternium’s competitive advantages. Summing up, this transaction can be described as a good match between excess cash and industrial complementarity. �
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THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN
A wonder product investors avoid This second essay in the Hour Before the Dawn series introduces steel’s greatest paradox: how come it’s so hard to make money out of manufacturing the most useful material known to man? By Mick Steeper*
STEEL fully deserves that accolade. It’s the most versatile, reliable and affordable general-purpose engineering fabric that mankind possesses, and it’s a safe bet that future civilisation will never devise anything to replace it. But at the same time, the businesses that manufacture steel struggle to make money, pretty well without exception and all over the world. Even when we take the long-term view, steelmaking is revealed as having been a poor investment for at least the last 50 years. How can both these facts be true at the same time? The fundamental reason is that overcapacity in the global steel industry is endemic. This is because a developing economy needs a domestic steel industry to furnish the building of its infrastructure, but about 10 to 20 years later and with that infrastructure by now substantially complete, the capacity of this industry outstrips national consumption. The new economic power then turns to export, fuelling overcapacity and driving global prices down. The world is currently enacting
this cycle in an extreme form, because the rising exporter is by far the largest productive economy to have emerged in modern times - China. Overcapacity, the excess of supply over demand, can’t be easily or quickly corrected. The problem is a topical one, with a new administration in the United States determined to insulate its national industry against low-priced imports. The overwhelming economic consensus, however, is that protectionism is a zerosum game at best, merely redistributing the impacts of overcapacity while frustrating a natural redress through competition by defending otherwise unsustainable producers. There are moreover true competitive responses to overcapacity, by which the ways in which steel is both made and used are changing to reflect aspects of the oversupply, and there are two ways in particular that will bear on future technology. The more obvious one is the search for differentiation by steelmakers. The subtler, but deeply significant, one is an
impending change in the scrap balance. We will return to these two technology drivers in later essays. It’s important to remember meanwhile that free competition is what drives innovation. That illusory alternative in protectionism will do nothing for technological development either, because it implicitly defends the existing assets and their processes. Until a few years ago, the world believed that it could tolerate a technologically-stagnated steel industry, because the inefficiencies weren’t apparently hurting anybody too much. As the last quarter of the last century dawned, we could envisage running out of oil and we feared it. There was no equivalent problem in steel, though, because global reserves of iron ore, as well as the coal to reduce it, were recognised to be all but inexhaustible. Extraction of these resources was moreover considered to be both technically and politically straightforward – nobody ever described the regions that made steel as either “running out or
* Chair of the Iron and Steel Society (steel division) April 2017
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THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN
21
W E
C O N V E Y
Q U A L I T Y
Hot DRI Conveyor running wild”. Today however we recognise an imperative for technological change in steelmaking, because the carbon footprint of the steel industry is intolerable. The molar chemistry of the reduction reactions shows that the blast furnace makes about 80% more carbon dioxide by weight than it makes iron, and when the additional burdens of ore shipment and sintering are added the ratio approaches 2:1. One way or another, this has to be addressed – by increased recycling, alternative reductants, resort to carbon capture or simply making less steel, or more likely a combination of all of these. Once again, present-day America brings the issues into sharp relief: a policy of protectionism for a carbon-based domestic steel industry arguably requires a parallel denial of climate change to make it credible. The position is ironic, since it’s American enterprise that has led the world in demonstrating the competitiveness of electric steelmaking. The remaining potential justification for protecting a national steel industry is the strategic one. There certainly was a time, when steel was the fabric of war,that making the metal was unquestionably a strategic activity for any nation resolved to defend itself. For at least the last half-century though, the munitions have decisively prevailed over the armour, and so the case for steel as a military necessity no longer stands up. Some cultures have moved on from the old mind set more than others. In some parts of the world, steel still symbolises a kind of economic virility, and this idea evidently carries weight among a democratic electorate. It doesn’t appeal to the pragmatism of the investor, though, and the steel industry has long since lost its value to politicians, democratic or otherwise, as a guarantor of high levels of employment. The modern steel industry requires very low levels of operational manpower per unit capital employed when compared with most other kinds of economic activity. Mankind needs steel industry We could now perhaps recast our paradox in a different form. Mankind needs the global steel industry to step up and reinvest in a low-carbon future, but we must also concede that the steelmakers themselves might never again be able to afford to do so. Moreover, external financiers aren’t motivated to put the money in either, because the return on their investment will inevitably be poor. And although the world has embraced the value of collaborative global research in many fields, with health an established example and energy a rapidly developing one, there is little to suggest that the processing of commodity bulk materials like steel is next on the list of collective priorities for the likes of UNESCO. The steel industry hasn’t stagnated yet, however. Steel’s dominance as an engineering material was born of innovation, and years of refinement of product and process have defied this kind of economic pessimism. From this point too, the series will take on a more direct technical focus, and the third essay will look at how innovation is approached by the various players in steel, contrasting the research objectives of the established steelmakers with those of the disruptors, and highlighting the way in which process “seachanges” have historically refreshed and regenerated the industry. �
April 2017
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23
PLANT SAFETY
Computers aid worker welfare Health and safety are now front and centre as industrial facilities take aim to protect employees and provide a safe work environment. Providing the proper personal protection equipment and training are just two of the ways this is accomplished. Another method, which uses the latest advancements in computer simulation, is to predict the conditions within the work environment and identify all the potential hazards workers may face. By utilising this technology, engineers can make changes as required to provide a safer environment for the workforce. By Brian Bakowski* THE steel industry once had a poor reputation regarding employee health and safety. Looking back at the beginning of the industrial revolution in the United States, there are countless accounts of unsafe working conditions. In fact, in the early 1900s, Allegheny County in Pennsylvania lost over 500 workers in one calendar year to industrial accidents. Employers estimated that 95% of all accidents were the result of employee carelessness while research by Crystal Eastman entitled Work Accidents and the Law in 1910 provided data that suggested otherwise.(1) Crystal
Eastman and her team of researchers investigated all industrial accidents in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area for a period of one year. The three main industrial categories investigated were railroads, mines and steel mills with the latter as the largest manufacturing sector in the research. Ms. Eastman showed that of all the accidents investigated, approximately 30% were the fault of the employer. Furthering her investigation, she showed that approximately 44% of the accidents could be blamed on the employee or a coworker. In the cases where fault could be
blamed on the employee, research showed that the conditions in which they worked led to the accident citing long work hours, temperature extremes and noise. All of the work by Ms. Eastman and the other early pioneers of industrial hygiene led to the creation of the United States Department of Labour in 1913 and the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970. Computational Fluid Dynamic Modeling Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Canopy capture
Fig 1.Typical Dual Electric Arc Furnace Shop
Fig 2. 20 Micron Particle Trace
Canopy capture
Canopy capture
Lead drop out zone
Fig 3. 20 Micron Lead Particle Trace
Lead drop out zone
Fig 4. 20 Micron Lead Particle Trace
* SNC Lavalin America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Brian.bakowski@snclavalin.com www.steeltimesint.com
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PLANT SAFETY
Canopy capture
Canopy capture
Drop out zone remains consistent with fig 3 with less lead dropping out
Less particulate migrating away from the canopy
Fig 5. Revised 20 Micron Particle Trace
Fig 6. Revised 20 Micron Lead Particle Trace Worker deck on Fig 8. Worker onFig the8.tundish
Fig 7. Worker
the Tundish Deck
Workers Workers
Fig 7. Workers
April 2017
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Contaminant
CFD modeling has several advantages over these traditional methods. The first is that the time and money required creating a CFD model is far less than the time and money required for a physical model. The second advantage is the ability to create a computer model to scale as opposed to scaling features down as is the case with a physical model. Thirdly, various options can be run rather quickly as the time required to modify a CADD file is far less than the time required to modify a physical model. Fourthly, the output from the CFD model can be used to quantify capture efficiency as well as temperature, pressure and velocity gradients within the facility.
Exposure Limit
Iron Oxides (fume)
10 mg/m3
Lead
50 Âľg/m3
Manganese Fume
15 mg/m3
Kish
5 mg/m3
Table. Particulate Exposure Limits Activity
Metabolic Rate (W/m2)
Standing 70 Walking slowly
115
Walking moderately
150
Walking briskly
220
Lifting/packing 120 Pick and shovel work
235-280
Light machine work
115-140
Heavy machine work
235
Table 2. Metabolic Rates for Select Activities 100 Predicted percentage dissatisfied (%)
modeling is the science of predicting fluid flow and heat and mass transfer. CFD models are used to simulate flow conditions for a variety of applications by numerically solving coupled balance equations for mass (Conservation Equation), flow (Navier-Stokes Equation of Motion) and heat (heat transfer equations). The numerical approach taken by CFD is to break a given geometry into many smaller, geometrically simple pieces or elements. The equations can then be solved for each element with each element communicating with its neighboring element. The individual solutions for each element are then combined to give a solution for the overall volume (or domain). One of the advanced uses of CFD modeling is in the design of emission capture hoods. Prior to using CFD models, several other methods were used. One particular set of calculations, often referred to as the Hemeon Method, considers the diameter of the hot source, the temperature of the source and the distance from the source to the hood to calculate a hood size and ventilation volume.(2) This method is adequate to design the ventilation hood and volume, but does not consider outside influences such as crosswinds. Another traditional method is the use of water models. Water models require a scaled down version of the facility to be built from Plexiglas or some other similar material. The model is then filled with water and a dye is inserted to simulate a plume rising from a source. These models are useful for
10
1 -2
-1.5
-1
-0.5 0 0.5 1 Predicted mean vote index
1.5
2
Fig 9. Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied
approximating the size of a canopy hood as the plume surge is visible inside the model. These models fail in predicting the impact of temperature and outside forces on the plume.
Particulate matter For most steel mills, particulate emissions are a major source of concern from both regulatory and health/safety perspectives. Because of health concerns, OSHA has implemented exposure limits for particulate matter released within a shop during the steel making process as shown in Table 1.(3) Iron oxides, lead and manganese fumes are released during various stages of the steel making cycle. The amount of lead and manganese released is highly dependent on the quality of scrap. Kish is formed during the casting of the blast furnace when the released iron oxide precipitates and forms graphite flakes. The size of the particle affects both their movement within a shop and their behaviour in our respiratory system.(4) Using simulation software, we can www.steeltimesint.com
12/04/2017 08:49:47
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26
PLANT SAFETY
Front of body under thermal stress (red). Back and legs under less thermal stress (orange)
Fig 10.Tundish worker thermal stress
Fig 11. Worker thermal stress
Fig 12. Temperature profile
New exhaust hood and duct
Fig13. Revised Temperature Profile New gravity vents
Ladle Tundish Straightener
Turret
New cooling air vents
accurately predict the capture efficiency of the emission control system during all aspects of the iron producing/steel making cycle. Fig. 1 represents the model geometry for a typical dual electric arc furnace (EAF) shop. This model includes the physical boundary of the shop, furnace(s), interior sheeting, cranes and ventilation hoods. Special consideration must be given to ancillary equipment/processes such as ladle pre-heaters and casters. Ladle pre-heaters and casters generate large quantities of heat, which may influence the movement of the plume and the total capture efficiency. Boundary conditions are then added to represent various process conditions (ventilation volume, temperatures, cross winds, roof openings). When the model is completed, the user can then accurately predict the capture efficiency and, with a large degree of certainty, predict the zone where particulate will drop out within the shop. Fig. 2 represents a 20-micron particle trace of metal dust generated during a scrap charge. In Fig. 2, we see a large portion of the dust drafted by the emission control system and, using the software, calculate a canopy hood capture efficiency of 78%. Fig. 3 and Fig.4 represent the same particle trace with the properties of lead assigned to the particle. Comparing Fig. 2 with Fig. 3 and Fig.4, we see that the metal dust remains April 2017
plant safety BAKOWSKI.indd 3
Clothing Icl (clo) Trousers w/short sleeve shirt
0.57
Trousers w/long sleeve shirt
0.61
Overalls, long pants, flannel shirt
1.37
Table 3.Typical Clothing Insulation Values PMV Value
Sensation
-3 Cold -2 Cool -1
Slightly Cool
0 Neutral 1
Slightly Warm
2 Warm
vented to the outside. The model calculates an increased capture efficiency of 85%. Fig. 6 shows the same particle trace is in Fig. 5 but with the properties of lead assigned to the particles. Using CFD simulation software, we can predict the current capture efficiency of the emission control system. Should additional controls be required, CFD can ‘right size’ the volume and controls providing cost savings to the project. The above examples demonstrate these capabilities and are one of the many strengths of CFD simulation.
3 Hot
Table 4. Thermal Scale
suspended for a much longer period whereas the lead drops out around the furnace deck. This is due to the difference in density between the two materials. We can use the model to develop methods to increase the capture efficiency to reduce the amount of particulate, which migrates and settles within the shop. One of the methods to increase capture efficiency is to add additional volume to the main canopy. Often, additional volume can be made available by evaluating the current damper configurations and setpoints. Another method is to remove heat sources from the shop. Venting these sources (if possible) may increase capture efficiency. Fig. 5 illustrates capture efficiency with an increased canopy volume of 15% and assumes that the ladle pre-heaters are
Thermal stress OSHA has not adopted a specific heat standard, but the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been providing recommendations to OSHA over the last 40 years. Heat stress occurs when the body’s means of controlling internal temperature begins to fail. Three major factors influence the degree of thermal stress workers must endure with the most obvious being the climate in which the worker is performing his or her duties. The other two are work demands and clothing. The tradition for more than 40 years has been to describe thermal balance with an equation describing the heat exchange between body and environment (4). This equation is: S = (M + W) + R + C + K + (CRESP + ERESP)+E (Equation 1)
www.steeltimesint.com
12/04/2017 08:49:49
Finite Network Method Precise simulation of EAF high current systems
Exclusively at BSE available
Principles.
Concept.
Advantages.
● Detailed simulation of all electro-magnetic properties of EAF high current system.
Finite Network Method (FNM) makes realistic calculation feasible for the first time:
● Exact dimensioning of components and ultimate power input optimisation.
● Accurate calculation with a precision of less than 1 %; all other methods have error ranges >10 %.
● Local current density.
● Optimum layout of masts and roller guides for best power input.
● Simulation also for peripheral and metallic structures where eddy currents are induced. ● Precise unsymmetry calculation as the basis for good operational results. ● Optimisation of existing equipment and optimal design of new equipment.
Inhomogeneous current density distribution in the high current cables depicted in a cross-section.
● Exact short circuit impedance and unsymmetry; short circuit tests (dip tests) are not necessary any more. ● Measure the real arc voltages in real-time. ● Real static and dynamic forces and momenta acting on the mechanical system. ● Local magnetic field strength and shielding effects. ● Induced eddy currents.
● Optimal design of high current conductors and symmetrizing loops. ● Prevention of hot spots in the furnace. ● Balanced power input and improved regulating performance. ● Optimal material sizes, optimal cooling.
● Effects of ferromagnetic material like steel.
Simulation of graphite electrodes with clearly visible proximity- and skin-effect.
Very inhomogeneous current density distribution at the external delta closure of the transformer.
Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH Robert-Koch-Straße 13 D-77694 Kehl/Germany Phone (+49) 78 51/877- 0 Fax (+49) 78 51/877-133 eMail info@bse-kehl.de www.bse-kehl.de
BSE0356_anz_hochstrom.indd 1
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28
PLANT SAFETY
Upper body and legs remain under thermal stress (red)
Cooling air vents Upper body and legs remain under thermal stress
Arms, legs and back under less thermal stress (yellow)
Effects of the cooling air show the worker’s back is “neutral” (green) as opposed to “hot” (red)
Fig 14. Revised Tundish Worker Thermal Stress
Where: S = heat storage rate M = metabolic rate W = external work rate R = radiant heat exchange C = convective heat exchange rate K = conductive heat exchange rate CRESP = rate of connective heat exchange by respiration ERESP = rate of evaporative heat loss by respiration E = rate of evaporative heat loss Table 2 lists metabolic rates for various activities. (5) Clothing is a very important factor to consider when calculating the thermal comfort of employees. Typical work clothing in a melt shop requires long pants with a long sleeve shirt with potentially an aluminised (aka ‘silvers’) hood and jacket. Table 3 represents the differences in clothing insulation values and is represented by the symbol “clo”. (5) Looking at the model created for the EAF shop, we can place ‘workers’ at various locations, in this case, near the caster, to determine the amount of thermal stress on the workers as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. In this example, a metabolic rate of 120 is assigned to represent typical duties at the caster. A clothing factor of 1.37 has been assigned to represent the worker in full fireretardant clothing. The heat stress of the worker is evaluated using the Predictive Mean Vote (PMV). The PMV refers to a thermal scale running from cold (-3) to hot (+3) originally developed by Ole Fanger. (5) This scale is shown in Table 4. It is important to note that the PMV is very subjective and is an average response from a large group of people. Fig. 9 represents the distribution of satisfaction among the sample group. (5) Evaluating the heat stress in the workers with red indicating ‘hot’ (+3), we see that the worker nearest to the tundish is under April 2017
plant safety BAKOWSKI.indd 4
Fig 15. Revised Worker Thermal Stress
the most thermal stress (completely ‘red’) as seen in Fig. 10. The worker at grade level, as seen in Fig. 11, shows the front of the worker as ‘red’ indicating the front portion of the body hot while the legs and the back are ‘orange’ representing a warm sensation. We can use CFD simulation software to develop a strategy to alleviate the thermal stress on the workers. Fig. 12 is a temperature profile at the caster centerline. In this profile, we see elevated temperatures above the tundish, turning zone and the straightener. A duty to protect workers In this case, to lessen the temperature at the caster, the entire building needs to be evaluated. The temperature profile in Fig. 12 shows that the heat is accumulating above the tundish deck and needs additional means to exit the building. The following example adds gravity vents, cooling air duct on the tundish deck and a ventilation hood above the turret. Fig. 13 illustrates the results of incorporating these changes. Comparing Fig. 13 to Fig.12, we can see a change in the temperature profile along the caster. In Fig. 12, we see that the air temperature above the straightener and turret reaches approximately 140 deg F. In Fig. 13, we see that the temperature in the same areas reaches approximately 120 deg F. Taking a closer look at the worker on the tundish deck, we see that the cooling air vents are providing some comfort as seen in Fig.14. The front of the worker is still red while the worker’s back is green indicating a neutral sensation. Comparing Fig. 15 to Fig. 11, we see that the worker at grade level has also experienced relief from thermal stress. Although OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in hot environments, under OSHA, employers have a duty to protect workers from recognised hazards in the workplace, including heat-
related hazards. (6) Using the simulation software, we can determine the level of thermal stress on workers and design ways to reduce the temperature in the workplace. Conclusion CFD Modeling has been an effective tool to assist in the design of emission control systems for well over a decade. The software has also been used to model ‘what if’ scenarios to determine the best achievable capture efficiency within the constraints of an existing system. CFD can also be used to predict the thermal comfort of the workers. Ms Eastman showed in her research that the environment in which employees performed their duties contributed to the frequency of accidents. Among the several environments studied, temperature extremes were among the pre-conditions for accidents. CFD was used to run ‘what if’ scenarios to determine the best way to relieve the thermal stress of the workers. Coupling CFD with experienced process engineers can be used to provide better indoor air quality and a safer work environment. � References 1. Eastman, C, Work Accidents and the Law, Charities Publication Committee, New York, NY, 1910 2. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Industrial Ventilation, A Manual of Recommended Practice for Design, 26th Edition, ACGIH, Cincinnati, OH, 2007 13. https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp. show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_ id=9992mber 4. Plog, Barbara A, Niland, Jill, Quinlan, Patricia J., Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene, Fourth Edition, National Safety Council, July, 1996 5. American Society of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, 1989 ASHRA Handbook: Fundamentals, ASHRAE, Atlanta, GA, 1989 6. http://osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/heat_index/ www.steeltimesint.com
12/04/2017 08:49:50
Technology should be... • designed to fit your needs • designed to work reliably • designed to make life easier
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31
PLANT SAFETY
Give safety top priority For steel operators around the world 28 April is always a date to remember. Established in 2014, Steel Safety Day was set up to reinforce awareness of the five most common causes of severe safety incidents in the industry.
Steel companies that have the best safety records are those whose chief executives are held accountable by the board of directors for the safety and health of all people on their sites, employees and contractors alike, and where all levels of management are actively involved and support a safe and healthy approach to work on the shop floor. Injuries and work-related illnesses must not be considered a normal part of our industry. Investigating and learning from incidents (with or without injury) will help prevent the recurrence of such events. Knowledge from the lessons learnt will help the whole industry to protect people and avoid situations that threaten safety or health. As such, robust data collection and sharing is crucial. The most important indicator of safety and health in the steel industry is the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR). A Lost Time Injury (LTI) is defined as any work-related injury resulting www.steeltimesint.com
plant safety world steel.indd 1
in the company employee, contractor, or third party contactor employee not being able to return to work for their next scheduled work period. The LTIFR is then calculated as a number of LTIs per million man-hours. Worldsteel collects this data from its members and uses the data to guide one of its most important safety initiatives: Steel Safety Day. Steel Safety Day Established in 2014, Steel Safety Day was set up to reinforce awareness of the five most common causes of severe safety incidents in the industry. By focusing on the causes of these safety incidents – moving machinery, falling from heights, falling objects, on-site traffic, and process safety incidents, worldsteel reiterates its commitment to the safety and health of
the people who work in steel. Steel Safety Day takes place on 28 April every year and is aligned with the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Ahead of the day, companies are requested to carry out a safety audit at their sites and then report their data to worldsteel. A summary of reports received from member companies are then made available to members via the worldsteel extranet. In 2016, 390,000 people from 350 sites worldwide took part in Steel Safety Day. Nearly 900,000 people work at these 350 sites. The LTIFR of the industry has decreased by 72% since 2005. Collecting data on the causes of safety incidents allows worldsteel’s Safety and Health Committee (SHCO) to set up task forces made up of industry experts with a specific remit to investigate aspects of
6 Employee LTIFR 5 Global lost time injury frequency rate
NOTHING is more important than the safety and health of the people who work in the steel industry. This commitment, endorsed by worldsteel’s board of directors, is accompanied by a set of six safety principles that guide worldsteel and all of its members across all of their areas of activity: • All injuries and work-related illness can and must be prevented • Managers are responsible and accountable for safety and health performance • Employee engagement and training is essential • Working safely is a condition of employment • Excellence in safety and health drives excellent business results • Safety and health must be integrated into all business management processes.
Combined LTIFR Contractor LTIFR
4 3
2
1
0 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Caption
April 2017
11/04/2017 10:43:57
32
PLANT SAFETY
the common causes of safety incidents and to produce guidance notes on how to eliminate them. The theme for 2017’s Steel Safety Day is falling objects and worldsteel members are able to access the guidance notes on this topic through the worldsteel extranet. Beyond data collection, Steel Safety Day is a superb opportunity for industry employees to participate in a truly global campaign that showcases the steel industry as a global leader in safety and health; caring about the well-being of our people is the essence of successful leadership. What Steel Safety Day aims to instill in industry employees is that everyone must be involved in a meaningful way, on a daily basis, to support safe working. Engaged and empowered employees will choose to work safely themselves and ensure others do as well. It is also important to note that good safety and health is good business and has a positive impact on employees. Indeed, engaging people in safety and health discipline also contributes to improved business results. Prevention of injuries and workrelated illnesses creates a competitive advantage by having our most valuable resource – our people – at work. All resources are jeopardised by workplace incidents, which result in production losses and downtime for investigations. The costs of incidents and work-related illnesses undermine competitiveness. As such, safety and health should be included in all new and existing business processes. When safety and health are consistently brought to the forefront of business decisions and processes people develop an appreciation for the importance of the topic. People understand what is expected of them and have the knowledge to work safely. Conclusion Worldsteel provides an excellent platform for sharing best practices in safety and health and Steel Safety Day is one of our most important initiatives to empower the industry with the skills and knowledge to bring it closer to its goal of zero injuries. It is also the perfect occasion for the industry to demonstrate its solidarity in this field to the wider world. For more information on Steel Safety Day and other safety and health initiatives at worldsteel please visit worldsteel.org. Photographs of Steel Safety Day 2016, when the theme was ‘falling from height’, can be seen on worldsteel’s Flickr site. �
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) represents over 160 steel producers (including nine of the world’s 10 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members represent around 85% of world steel production and the organisation acts as the focal point for the steel industry, providing global leadership on all major strategic issues affecting the industry, particularly focusing on economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
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33
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
Next Generation off-gas analysis NextGen® is a proprietary hybrid, multi-point off-gas analysis technology, developed by Tenova, which combines the reliability of extractive technology with the faster response times and lower hardware and installation costs of laser systems. It is suited for all harsh industrial applications. The technology’s 2015 launch focused initially on EAF and BOF steelmaking in North America where nine NextGen systems have been installed or are underway. NextGen is now available internationally with several systems pending in South America, Europe and Asia. This paper describes the advantages of the technology in harsh industrial plants requiring one or more off-gas analysis locations. Particular reference is given to EAF steelmaking. By Dr. D J Zuliani*
OFF-GAS analysis has become a recognised method for understanding and improving EAF energy utilisation efficiency. ‘Full spectrum’ analysis (CO, CO2, O2, H2, H2O vapour & N2) is akin to a bright flashlight peering into the furnace in real-time, allowing operators to better understand ‘inEAF’ energy dynamics and determine how best to optimise and control the practice to improve overall energy efficiency. A complete description of the use of full spectrum analysis for optimising and dynamically controlling EAF operating practice is beyond the scope of this paper.[1] Extractive and insitu laser off-gas analysis technologies were first commercialised for EAF process control around 2000. Worldwide, there are now something like 90 extractive systems and about 10 insitu laser systems in EAF plants. Both technologies are over 15 years old and neither provides the complete solution needed to satisfy today’s process control requirements.
Fig. 1: Off-gas system EAF 4th Hole configurations; insitu laser (vertical alignment left, horizontal alignment centre) and EFSOP extractive probe (right) Fig. 2: NextGen hybrid multi-point technology provides continuous, simultaneous, full spectrum off-gas analysis for between 1 to 4 sampling locations Central multipoint control unit •Full spectrum off-gas analysis (CO, CO2, O2, H2O, & N2) •Compact analyser cabinet located in EAF control pulpit • Single multipoint analyser covers up to 4 off-gas analysis laser stations • No calibration or maintenance • Rapid response probe tip to analysis < 8sec Fibre optic
Compact sampling stations
connections
•Mounted on shop floor no protective room needed •Hi velocity suction excellent start-to-end of heat
Extractive off-gas analysis Extractive systems [2,3,4,5] use a watercooled probe, heated line and analyser to continuously extract, clean and analyse a sample of off-gas extracted from the fume duct. Analytical methods such as NDIR, thermal conductivity, solid electrolytes and mass spectrometry are employed. Extractive systems provide several advantages including:
reliability •Gas filtered prior to laser cells no signal loss as Patented extractive probes •Samples EAF gas before dilution •Guaranteed 1 year •CFD to optimise probe location
insitu laser •Proprietary laser cells easy cleaning removable windows •Maintenance < 20 min once every 1 to 2 weeks
•Maintenance <20 min once every 1 to 2 weeks
* Tenova Goodfellow Inc. 6711 Mississauga Road, Suite 200, Mississauga, Ontario Canada L5N 2W3 www.steeltimesint.com
E STEELMAKING Tenova.indd 1
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ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
Consteel®, twin-shell or shaft furnaces. Probes
Power on furnace Preheat furnace
Sampling station on floor FCE #1
Sampling station on floor FCE #2
Probe
EAF control room cabinet • Multipoint laser analyser • PLC link • Dynamic control Sampling station on floor downstream Fibre optic cables
Fig 3. NextGen® hybrid multi-point technology provides continuous, simultaneous, full spectrum off-gas analysis for between 1 to 4 sampling locations
Extractive technology, however, suffers from longer response delays (around 20April 2017
E STEELMAKING Tenova.indd 2
40 seconds from probe tip to analysis), higher installation costs, especially for environmentally protective analyser rooms, the need for regular analyser calibration and the need for separate analysers for each off-gas sampling location such as for upstream/downstream analysis and in plants equipped with multiple furnaces,
If EAF too oxidising
If EAF too reducing
often too much fume suction
insufficient post combustion
Increased yield loss (FeO)
Too much uncombusted CO & H2 in off-gas
Increased refractory attack
Increased fume system repair costs from high post
Increased tap alloy use
combustion heat load
Increased electrode wear
Higher chemical energy costs C,O2 & nat gas
Higher energy costs from higher N2 load
Higher electrical energy costs
Increased power on & tap-to-tap times
Increased power on & tap-to-tap times
Goal... maintain modestly Reducing off-gas chemistry • Maximises energy efficiency (C, nat gas, electricity & O2) •Minimises yield losses •Minimises power on & tap to tap •Minimises refractory wear •Minises electrode wear •Minimises tap alloy additions
Efficiency
• Undiluted off-gas chemistry – the extractive probe is positioned directly inside the cone of off-gas exiting the 4th hole thereby ensuring pure EAF process gas is sampled before dilution with combustion air (Fig. 1). Analysing undiluted EAF process gas is critical for both process control and water detection • Continuous ‘full spectrum’ off-gas chemistry – including CO, CO2, O2, H2, H2O vapour and N2 as well as minor species as required • Water Detection using both H2 & H2O analysis – enabling effective water leak detection in both reducing and oxidising conditions [1] • Better than 99% reliability – providing continuous uninterrupted off-gas chemistry from start-to-end of the heat. Whenever power is on, extractive systems use high velocity suction and filters to continuously extract and clean the off-gas for analysis. Extractive systems automatically switch to instrument air or N2 back-purging during ‘power-off’ periods to clean the probe and filters. The probe is usually positioned vertically to facilitate gravity assistance during back-purging.
Insitu laser off-gas analysis Insitu laser systems [6,10] use tunable diode lasers to transmit a near IR range beam through the off-gas in the fume duct. The laser’s wavelength is modulated around the particular spectroscopic line of the gaseous species of interest. The amount of beam absorption enables calculation of the concentration of the off-gas species. Insitu lasers offer some advantages including shorter analytical response time ( around two seconds), self-calibration and no need for an environmentally protective analyser room. However, insitu lasers are also not without issues: • “Partial analysis”– Insitu laser systems use up to three separate lasers – one for CO2 and H2O vapour, one for CO and one for O2. However, laser technology cannot analyse many mononuclear diatomic gases including N2 and H2 [9]. Also, the O2 laser is costly and difficult to couple to fibre and is often omitted. Hence, most insitu laser installations provide only a ‘Partial Spectrum’ analysis for CO, CO2 and H2O vapour • Water detection using only H2O analysis is effective only if the EAF freeboard is oxidising [1] • Reliability issues – Insitu lasers rely on successful transmission of the beam through the off-gas fume. Beam attenuation from off-gas dust can interrupt
Oxidising
Reducing
furnace
furnace
Fig 4. Importance of maintaining moderately reducing freeboard chemistry
www.steeltimesint.com
11/04/2017 10:45:09
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Measure and Validate Your Profile PROFILEMASTER® SPS Series. In-Line Light Section Profile Measurement Systems For Hot and Cold Applications
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• With up to 8 cameras. Modular camera setting, any shape can be captured • Up to 16,000 points / contour (2,048/camera) = 5,734,400 points/second (with 8 cameras) • Different colors of the lasers, thus no interference • Shape fault detection (SFD) • Creation of measurement recipe with Zumbach software: – Customer can load the profile via its own DXF file (from CAD construction) or – By means of the "Product Generator": predefined forms allow quick "read in" of any product with round or rectangular size
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36
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
CO
CO2
O2
example, in shops requiring two separate off-gas sample locations a single insitu laser system will provide discrete analysis for each location at around eight-second intervals (approximately two seconds to align the beam and another two seconds for a reading). If a reading is missed because of beam attenuation, the time between individual discrete readings increases to 16 seconds or longer. Adding more sampling locations further increases the time between readings.
H2
Reducing to oxidising
35 30 % Off-gas chemistry
25 20 15 10 5 0
EAF REDUCING
EAF OXIDISING
High %CO + %H2 & Low %O2
High %CO2 & Low %CO + H2
H2O + C
H2 + CO
H2O +C
H2 +CO
H2O + Fe
H2 + FeO
H2O +Fe
H2 + FeO
H2O + CO
H2 + CO2
H2O +CO
H2 +CO2
%H2 NEEDED for functional water detection
%H2O vapor NEEDED for functional water detection
Fig 5. Oxidising or reducing conditions dictate if water leak manifests as H2O vapour or H2
signals. Several solutions have been proposed to help mitigate attenuation including an impinger to shield the beam [6] or shortening the laser transmission path length with two continuous N2 purged, water-cooled horizontal or vertical steel probes [12]. While the shortened path length configuration has reduced beam attenuation problems compared to full path length insitu designs, there still remains a real risk of periodic and unpredictable signal interruptions especially when dust loading
Reducing EAF operation Plant confirms water leak decided to hold off repairs
is high. Industry reported information indicates that around 50% of EAF heats can experience some degree of lost insitu signals from attenuation • Discontinuous analysis in multi-point applications – because insitu lasers need a full power beam to minimise attenuation problems. When multiple analysis locations are required, the main, full-powered beam must be cycled between sample locations using a switch. This results in a series of ‘discrete’ discontinuous readings. For
A Fig. 6 (a) and (b): Actual EAF water leaks detected Water leak repaired
by % H2 in reducing conditions
Large
(upper) and by %H2O in
spikes
oxidising conditions (lower)
NextGen hyrbid extractive/laser technology NextGen hybrid technology (Fig. 2) combines extractive’s excellent reliability with laser’s faster response time and lower hardware and installation costs. It eliminates laser attenuation by filtering prior to analysis for CO, CO2, O2, H2, H2O vapour and N2 (by difference). Optional gases include but are not limited to NOx and SOx. NextGen includes: • A centrally located control unit which contains the required lasers • Fibre optic cable connecting the control unit to compact sampling stations mounted directly on the shop floor • Each sampling station is connected to a proprietary probe by a short heated line. NextGen has multi-point functionality providing continuous analysis for up to four sample locations simultaneously. Off-gas filtering enables the use of a beam splitter to send simultaneous lower powered laser beams by fibre to each sampling station thereby providing continuous, multi-point full spectrum analysis for each sample location (see Fig. 3). The NextGen patent pending design provides several breakthrough advantages: • Excellent reliability – NextGen utilises off-gas extraction and filtration, which
% H2
B
Small
Oxidising EAF operation
spikes
%O2 EAF
% H2
oxidising
Reported water leak
21 Consecutive heats
April 2017
E STEELMAKING Tenova.indd 3
Small spike %H2
Large spike %H2O
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11/04/2017 10:45:10
113GHZ + YOUR WAVELENGTH
From the sum of 113GHz, we respond to any of your level measurement applications with the appropriate radar frequency. In terms of engineering, we supply the complete portfolio of smart process sensors to optimize your mills and furnaces and give you a first real step into the Internet of Things. On a personal note, we tune into your wavelength to understand what exactly it is that you need for your specific steel processes.
Find out more about our complete level portfolio on www.yourlevelexperts.com
113GHz+YOUR WAVELENGTH _EN_210x297.indd 1
03.04.2017 10:58:02
38
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
iEAF “Net” Energy Control Real-time mass & Energy balance determines “net” Energy = Energy in - Energy losses
Fiber optic connections
PLC link
Off-gas temperature two colour sensor
Net Energy used to dynamically control set points and timing - burners, lances, electricity & fume suction
Off-gas velocity optical sensors Remote optical lens Precise real-time M&E balance is a powerful control tool REAL MEASUREMENTS = KNOWLEDGE = PRECISION
Fig 7. i EAF net energy control
PLC Link
Cooling water temp, inputs (scrap, flux, etc)
Off-gas velocity
Mass flow leaving EAF
Off-gas temperature
Thermodynamic calculations
NextGen full spectrum Analysis Upstream & Downstream needed to close M&E bal
%N2 - air infiltration %CO & % CO2 (up/downstream) - c balance %H2 & H2O - hydrocarbon & H2O balance %O2 - oxidation balance
remains the best method to ensure system reliability and avoid lost analytical signals from laser beam attenuation. • Fast analytical response – probe tip to analysis delays are less than around eight seconds, which for all practical purposes is equivalent to insitu lasers. • Low installation costs – compact sampling station(s) are mounted directly on the shop floor without the need for an environmentally protective room. Each station is connected via a short heated line to a proprietary probe. The unit’s compact size allows close proximity to the probe thereby shortening the off-gas transport distance prior to analysis. • Filtration eliminates attenuation problems – each sampling station extracts and filters the off-gas prior to analysis. Clean off-gas minimises optical cell maintenance and ensures there are no attenuation signal interruptions as with insitu lasers. • Continuous, simultaneous analysis from multiple locations – up to four sampling stations can be connected by fibre optic cables to a single compact multi-point, central control unit which houses the lasers. Because filtered gas eliminates attenuation, a beam splitter can be employed to send continuous, lower powered beams to each sampling station’s analytical cells. Hence unlike insitu lasers’ intermittent discontinuous analysis, NextGen provides continuous, simultaneous analysis from multiple locations. • Tailored analytical precision – unlike insitu’s fixed path length, NextGen’s laser cell path length can be tailored to meet April 2017
E STEELMAKING Tenova.indd 4
each gases’ required analytical precision (ppm to %) • Full spectrum analysis – unlike insitu lasers, NextGen provides full spectrum analysis for CO, CO2, O2, H2, H2O and N2 (by difference). Other gases such as NOx and SOx are possible. • Dynamic control functionality – the control unit can be linked to the plant’s PLC network to facilitate continuous dynamic process control for burners, lances, injectors, fume suction and electrical set points. • Comprehensive water detection – NextGen analyses both H2 and H2O vapour
to detect water leaks in both reducing and oxidising conditions. • Self-calibrating – NextGen off-gas analysis technology is self-calibrating thereby reducing maintenance and the cost of specialised calibration gases. • Safety – since there is no off-gas physically at the control unit there are no concerns with toxic gases such as CO leaking in a confined space. Process control and optimisation NextGen continuous “full spectrum” off-gas analysis is an important tool for improving process energy efficiency. Table 1. below indicates that extractive technology (such as EFSOP) and the new hybrid NextGen technology both provide ‘full spectrum’ offgas analysis and hence can deliver complete EAF process control functionality. By comparison, insitu laser even if configured with the maximum of three lasers only provides partial off-gas chemical analysis and, therefore, has functional and water detection limitations. The following demonstrates how NextGen’s ‘full spectrum’ off-gas analysis, particularly %CO, %H2, %O2, %H2O vapour and %N2, is an important tool for EAF process control and safety [1]: (i) Is the EAF oxidising or reducing? EAF conditions can swing between oxidising (high %O2) and reducing (high %H2 and/ or %CO). Overly oxidising or reducing furnaces incur high energy consumption, Off-gas analysis
EAF Control Factor CO
CO2
H2O
O2
H2
N2
ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES
- Extractive systems (EFSOP)
- Hybrid extractive/laser system (NextGen)
- INSITU laser systems with 1 lasers
with 2 lasers
with 3 lasers (max)
Required gases for EAF process control Is EAF oxidising or reducing? Burner practice evaluation? C Injector practice evaluation? O2 Lance practice evaluation? Charge carbon/bucket practice? Dynamic control of combustion Dynamic control of fume suction Dynamic control of chemical & electrical Energy using real time M&E balance Real-time water leak detection
Table I. Functionality of Various Off-Gas Analysis Technologies for EAF Process Control
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11/04/2017 10:45:11
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ELECTRIC STEELMAKING
Cost item
Benefits
Plant signed
NextGen® benefits
iEAF® benefits
off benefits
full spectrum
M&E bal. dynamic control
off-gas optimisation
(chemical + electrical) energy -15
side by side testing
Electricity, kWh per ton
5%
Natural gas, Nm3 per ton
13%
Charge carbon, kg per ton
29%
Electricity, kWh per net tls
-14
Injected carbon, kg per ton
7%
Nat gas, SCF per net tls
-39
-5
Oxygen, Nm3 per ton
3%
Oxygen, SCG per net tls
-140
-71
Carbon, lbs per net tls
-5
-2
Power on time, minutes per
-2
-1
+0.4%
+0.5%
Table II: Operating cost savings signed-off on by Nucor Steel Seattle
[13]
Yield %
Table III: Typical benefits with NextGen and i EAF® technologies
high operating costs and lower yield and productivity. NextGen dynamic control algorithms aim to maintain moderately reducing conditions to achieve the highest energy efficiency, highest yield, most productive, lowest cost operation. (ii) Dynamic burner control to minimise oxidising and reducing conditions during melting: When %O2 is high, NextGen dynamic control set-points minimise excess O2 and introduce more methane to more fully combust available O2 in the freeboard. When %CO and/or %H2 are high, NextGen algorithms dynamically reduce methane and increase excess O2. (iii) Dynamic suction control: Simultaneously high %O2 and %N2 indicates over-drafting. NextGen control algorithms use %N2 to dynamically control fume system suction to minimise excess O2 from over-drafting. (iv) Optimising O2 lance initiation: Divergence between NextGen %CO and %H2 indicates sufficient molten metal is in front of the flame to safely begin soft O2 lancing without blowback. (v) Minimising costly oxidising conditions near heat-end: Rapidly diverging %H2 and %CO during injection and lancing indicates premature carbon depletion often resulting in high %O2 near heat-end. NextGen is an excellent tool to optimise injection, lancing and charge bucket practices to avoid low carbon utilisation efficiency, high tap oxygen, high alloy consumption and lower yields. (vi) Real-time water detection: H2 is not added to the EAF but forms by reduction of H2O vapour during reducing conditions (Fig. 5). Conversely, H2 reacts to form H2O vapour during oxidising conditions. As shown in Fig. 6, %H2 is critical for detecting leaks in a ‘reducing’ EAF and %H2O is critical in an “oxidising” EAF. [1] Full spectrum off-gas analysis and iEAF Conventional “kWh per ton” EAF control indexes every heat on an essentially identical April 2017
E STEELMAKING Tenova.indd 5
“fixed” clock irrespective of the heat’s actual energy efficiency (transformer fixes ‘kWh’ and charge weight fixes ‘tons’). Conversely, i EAF® controls electrical and chemical energy set points based on each heat’s ‘actual energy efficiency’ not on an average kWh per ton recipe. i EAF uses a real-time M and E Balance derived from NextGen full spectrum analysis, off-gas velocity and temperature measurements and a PLC link to dynamically control each heat based on the actual ‘Net Energy’ received by the charge after real-time energy losses. Tenova has installed nine of its proprietary iEAF systems worldwide, with each achieving reduced energy consumption, improved end-point temperature control and increased yield and productivity.[8,11] The latest NextGen- i EAF installation at Nucor Steel in Seattle in 2016 demonstrated substantial savings (Table II) [13]. Summary NextGen hybrid, multi-point off-gas analysis technology offers significant advantages in harsh industrial plants requiring one or more off-gas analysis locations. The NextGen patent pending design combines the best features of extractive and insitu laser methods. One NextGen system provides simultaneous, continuous full spectrum off-gas analysis (CO, CO2, O2, H2, H2O & N2) for up to four off-gas sample locations. NextGen is an important EAF process control tool for: • Maintaining a mildly reducing freeboard chemistry for the lowest cost, highest yield operation • Dynamic burner control to minimise oxidising and reducing conditions during melting • Dynamic suction control to minimise over-drafting • Optimising O2 lance initiation • Minimising costly oxidising conditions near heat-end • Real-time water detection
i EAF technology uses NextGen analysis, proprietary off-gas sensors and a PLC link to control the EAF using actual ‘Net Energy’ received by the charge after deducting actual real-time energy losses as determined by a real-time M and E balance. �
References 1) DJ Zuliani et al. “The Importance of Full Spectrum Off-Gas Analysis for EAF Process Control, Optimisation & Safety”, 11th European Electric Steelmaking Conference, 2016. 2) DJ Zuliani et al. “EFSOP Holistic Optimisation of Electric Arc Furnaces – Past, Present and Future”, 9th European Electric Steelmaking Conference, 2008. 3) D. Vensel et al. “EAF Performance Improvement at Nucor Steel Auburn using Goodfellow EFSOP”, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2006. 4) M. Missio et al. “Optimisation Results at Ferriere Nord using EFSOP Technology, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2010. 5) M. Khan et al. “Next Generation EAF Optimisation at ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc.”, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2013. 6) W.A. Von Drasek et al. US Patent 6943886 7) D.J. Zuliani et al. “Real-time Water Detection in EAF Steelmaking”, Iron & Steel Technology, January, 2014, pages 84-95. 8) M. Khan et al. “Next Generation EAF Optimisation at ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc.”, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2013. 9) S. Schilt et al. “Diode Laser Spectroscopic Monitoring of Trace Gases”, Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, pages 1-29, 2011. 10) S.C. Jepson, US Patent 6748004 11) B. Babaei et al. “i EAF® Technology: Recent Development and Results in IRO Italy”, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2016. 12) A. Dietrich, US Patent Application US2004/0207851 A1. 13) H. Iyer et al. “EAF Optimisation using Real-time Heat and Mass Balances at Nucor Steel Seattle”, AISTech Conference Proceedings, 2017. www.steeltimesint.com
11/04/2017 10:45:11
8–11 MAY NASHVILLE, TEN, USA VISIT US AT BOOTH: 1822
CMI Group, two centuries of engineering in the service of the industry Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie: a long history, inextricably linked to that of the industrial revolution… In 1817, the British businessman John Cockerill begins his industrial activity in Wallonia by supplying weaving looms to the wool industry. He rapidly diversifies his activities: blast furnaces, industrial boilers, warships… Passionate about steam machinery, in 1835 Cockerill builds the first working steam locomotive to run on the European continent.
Innovative technologies for the metals industry
The tone was set. This thirst for innovation has driven the generations of engineers who, for the past two centuries, have been introducing new processes bearing the Cockerill brand onto the market: engine designed by Rudolf Diesel, guns, boat engines, water tube boilers, locomotives, heat recovery steam generators for electric power plants, rolling mills and steel processing lines, reheating and heat treatment furnaces, boilers for thermo-solar power plants... From the outset, the ‘Cockerill factories’ have been anticipating trends and playing a determining role in worldwide technological advances. John Cockerill also laid the foundations of the international vocation of CMI today. A great industrial explorer, he made many visits abroad, always on the lookout for new technologies and new projects. His conquering spirit has thrived through the decades. Thus, in 1890, the ‘Cockerill company’ was involved in the construction of the first major Chinese steelmaking complex, located at Hanyang, designing equipment and assisting the client in raising capital, assembling the installations and training the local workers.
Today, with the benefit of this centuries old understanding of industrial processes, and driven by the conquering and innovative spirit of its founder, the CMI Group continues to design, install, modernize and maintain equipment across the whole world, and to provide its clients and partners with value-added services and its expertise in international project management.
Technological, international, robust This technology driven group places numerous beneficial assets at the disposal of its client industries: a unique combination of engineering and maintenance expertise, a vast geographic and technological scope, and an ability to innovate in accordance with the operational needs of its customers. CMI has never stopped enlarging its geographical reach and its portfolio of technologies. The Group today counts operational units in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, New Caledonia, Russia and the United States. In all, some 4 600 members of staff within the Group constitute a pool of talent commensurate with CMI ambitions. With the benefit of this organization, CMI today serves an ever more diversified client base. Whatever their specific needs, in CMI they find a partner of choice, whether as an EPCM services provider across all technologies, for solutions involving reducing the ecological footprint of industrial processes, for specialized services or for the Group’s dynamism in terms of innovation.
200 YEARS OF FUTURE! The CMI Group proudly celebrates the bicentennial of the arrival of John Cockerill in Seraing , Belgium
Cold rolling § Strip processing § Chemical processes Thermal processes § Mechanical equipment Automation § Extractive metallurgy www.cmigroupe.com DE SIG N | E NGINEERING | COMMISSIONING | TE C H NIC A L A S S IS TA NC E & TR A INING | A F T ER- S A L ES 1 I n the 19th century, a team from the ‘Établissements Cockerill’ at Seraing (Belgium) receives Viceroy Hung-Chang from the Chinese province of Zhili.
1 In the 21st century, the teams from the CMI Group perpetuate the John Cockerill tradition, sparing no effort to meet the expectations of their clients.
8–11 MAY NASHVILLE, TEN, USA VISIT US AT BOOTH: 1822
CMI Group, two centuries of engineering in the service of the industry Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie: a long history, inextricably linked to that of the industrial revolution… In 1817, the British businessman John Cockerill begins his industrial activity in Wallonia by supplying weaving looms to the wool industry. He rapidly diversifies his activities: blast furnaces, industrial boilers, warships… Passionate about steam machinery, in 1835 Cockerill builds the first working steam locomotive to run on the European continent.
Innovative technologies for the metals industry
The tone was set. This thirst for innovation has driven the generations of engineers who, for the past two centuries, have been introducing new processes bearing the Cockerill brand onto the market: engine designed by Rudolf Diesel, guns, boat engines, water tube boilers, locomotives, heat recovery steam generators for electric power plants, rolling mills and steel processing lines, reheating and heat treatment furnaces, boilers for thermo-solar power plants... From the outset, the ‘Cockerill factories’ have been anticipating trends and playing a determining role in worldwide technological advances. John Cockerill also laid the foundations of the international vocation of CMI today. A great industrial explorer, he made many visits abroad, always on the lookout for new technologies and new projects. His conquering spirit has thrived through the decades. Thus, in 1890, the ‘Cockerill company’ was involved in the construction of the first major Chinese steelmaking complex, located at Hanyang, designing equipment and assisting the client in raising capital, assembling the installations and training the local workers.
Today, with the benefit of this centuries old understanding of industrial processes, and driven by the conquering and innovative spirit of its founder, the CMI Group continues to design, install, modernize and maintain equipment across the whole world, and to provide its clients and partners with value-added services and its expertise in international project management.
Technological, international, robust This technology driven group places numerous beneficial assets at the disposal of its client industries: a unique combination of engineering and maintenance expertise, a vast geographic and technological scope, and an ability to innovate in accordance with the operational needs of its customers. CMI has never stopped enlarging its geographical reach and its portfolio of technologies. The Group today counts operational units in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, New Caledonia, Russia and the United States. In all, some 4 600 members of staff within the Group constitute a pool of talent commensurate with CMI ambitions. With the benefit of this organization, CMI today serves an ever more diversified client base. Whatever their specific needs, in CMI they find a partner of choice, whether as an EPCM services provider across all technologies, for solutions involving reducing the ecological footprint of industrial processes, for specialized services or for the Group’s dynamism in terms of innovation.
200 YEARS OF FUTURE! The CMI Group proudly celebrates the bicentennial of the arrival of John Cockerill in Seraing , Belgium
Cold rolling § Strip processing § Chemical processes Thermal processes § Mechanical equipment Automation § Extractive metallurgy www.cmigroupe.com DE SIG N | E NGINEERING | COMMISSIONING | TE C H NIC A L A S S IS TA NC E & TR A INING | A F T ER- S A L ES 1 In the 19th century, a team from the ‘Établissements Cockerill’ at Seraing (Belgium) receives Viceroy Hung-Chang from the Chinese province of Zhili.
1 I n the 21st century, the teams from the CMI Group perpetuate the John Cockerill tradition, sparing no effort to meet the expectations of their clients.
44
ELECTRIC STEELMAKING – ABSTRACT
Models for EAF energy efficiency The EAF process is the subject of continuous cost and process improvements and energy models help to benchmark a particular EAF process by accounting for variations in production parameters, such as deviations in raw materials quality and process parameters such as metal yield, oxygen consumption and power-off times. In this study the energy model from S. Köhle is reviewed and applied to EAF gas purging. By Marcus Kirschen*, Karl-Michael Zettl*, Thomas Echterhof** and Herbert Pfeifer** THE EAF process is characterised by its flexibility in terms of production volume and raw materials. With recent market developments, the requirement to produce high-quality steels from lower-quality scrap, direct reduced iron (DRI), hot briquetted iron (HBI), hot metal (HM) and varying quality ferrous scrap blends at minimum conversion costs has increased. Specific electrical energy demand and electrode graphite consumption represent the most important contribution to conversion costs. Maximising yield from ferrous raw materials, oxygen, carbon, and alloys as well as minimising energy costs are top priority. At modern high productivity levels, even small process improvements generate considerable cost savings. The large number of influencing factors on specific electric energy demand is indicated in Fig. 1. However, user-friendly models of the EAF electrical energy demand process require the reduction of the highly complex interrelations between electrical energy demand and process parameters. �
Chemical energy: oxy-fuel burners, comFurnace design: shell
bined injectors, lances,
size, transformer, AC,
post-combustion
DC, slag foaming
Metallurgy: steel grade, restrictions from sec. metallurgy
Input materials:
Energy recovery:
scrap, DRI, HM,
scrap preheating, hot
lime/dodolime, alloys,
water cooling, OCR
charging
ELECTRICAL ENERGY DEMAND
Dedusting system: volume flow rates, control
Refractories: design, wear, insulation, water cooled elements
Fig 1. Various influencing parameters of input materials and process operation on the specific electrical energy demand of the EAF
FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CLICK HERE http://www.steeltimesint.com/index.php/features/view/models-for-eaf-energy-efficiency * RHI AG, Austria. **RWTH Aachen University, Germany
VISION BECOMES REALIT Y Slag Pot Transporters in a platform or U-Frame design, Slab and Coil Transporters, Industrial Lift Transporters with cabin on top or under platform – the TII Group offers an extensive range of transporters to meet the requirements of the metallurgy industry. tii-group.com
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ENVIRONMENT
47
Radiant tube recuperation explained This article outlines the physical differences between hot-end and cold-end flue gas recirculation (FGR) and explores their relative benefits. By Michael Cochran* and Matthew Valancius** A COMMON way to protect steel product when it cannot tolerate exposure to combustion waste gases during thermal processing, is through radiant tube technology. In order to increase combustion efficiency (and thus to lower fuel use) these burners usually include an internal recuperator to reclaim some of the waste heat that would otherwise dissipate through the exhaust system. Because of space restrictions inside a tube, and the need for strict uniformity, the common way to minimise NOx emissions is through the use of flue gas recirculation (FGR), that is entraining spent exhaust gas into the combustion air, thus lowering flame temperature, and NOx formation. Waste gas can enter the air stream at the hot or cold end of the recuperator. A common way to reduce NOx with direct-fired burners is by staging the combustion, thus lowering peak flame temperature. Due to the physically restricted nature of a radiant tube, it is not practical to employ staged combustion as the primary NOx reducing strategy. The most common NOx mitigation approach for radiant tubes is to entrain waste gas back into the combustion air. Adding spent waste gas to the combustion air stream, lowers the peak flame temperature (and thus the opportunity for NOx formation). There are two main ways of introducing FGR into the combustion air stream, either entrainment at the flame or mixing before combustion. Entrainment is accomplished by intelligent design of the burner using flame momentum. Mixing can occur externally before combustion, or it can be induced by high-pressure combustion air. This latter method is preferred for radiant tube burners. Diluting the combustion air to the range of 15-19% oxygen (air is
Exhaust outlet
Recuperator
Cold air Exhaust
Furnace wall
Preheadted air/POC Pilot/DSI
‘u’ or ‘w’ tube
Fuel inlet
Fig 1. ‘Cold end’ technology for ‘U’ and ‘W’ Tubes w/ parallel flow recuperator
21% oxygen by volume) causes the peak flame temperature to be low enough to reduce NOx. Introducing FGR results in the reduction of thermal efficiency, but the reduction can be minimised with the latest technologies. The designation of ‘cold end’ FGR recirculation is because the exhaust gases mix with the combustion air after they flow past the recuperator (i.e. at the cold end of the recuperator). The waste gas at this point can be several hundred degrees cooler than they are entering the recuperator. In contrast, for ‘hot end’ FGR, the waste gases enter the combustion air stream before they have passed through the recuperator and can be several hundred degrees hotter than for cold end FGR. The following sections discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of these technologies. These configurations are applicable for U and
W-tube applications. ‘Cold end’ FGR recirculation ‘Cold end’ FGR1 is popular because it is relatively simple and effective in reducing NOx. Cold combustion air enters the recuperator where it is pre-heated. Exhaust gases travel past the outside of the recuperator through parallel or counter flow with the combustion air. After passing through the recuperator, a small portion of the waste gas mixes with the combustion air stream, and the remainder passes out of the recuperator and exits through the exhaust system. There is a negative impact on fuel efficiency associated with ‘Cold end’ FGR. The waste gas first passes through the recuperator before mixing with the combustion air, meaning that it is much cooler, and it must regain that lost heat
* Marketing engineer ** Manager, group marketing and strategy, Bloom Engineering www.steeltimesint.com
ENVIRONMENT BLOOM.indd 1
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48
ENVIRONMENT
The sketches in Fig.3 show how the waste gas and combustion air flow through the recuperator. The following assumptions were made for basic mass flow comparison: • 11 parts air (combustion air + 10% excess air) • 1 part natural gas (approximately 10 times as much air is required for complete combustion of natural gas) • 3 parts FGR (which gives 17 % O2 in the air/exhaust mixture) • Air and waste gas have roughly the same densities
‘u’ or ‘w’ tube Pilot/DSI
Fuel inlet
Fig 2. ‘Hot End’ vitiation technology for ‘U’ and ‘W’ Tubes
Furnace wall Preheadted air/POC
Recuperator
Fig. 3 shows both hot and cold end FGR in counterflow (although both technologies are adaptable for parallel flow recuperation, too). For each of these technologies, the upper sketch shows a conceptual schematic of the burner and tube assembly, while the lower sketch shows more detail about the flows of air and waste gas within the recuperator and the waste leg of the radiant tube. Cold end FGR is an older technology. For this combustion scheme, all of the waste gas passes across the recuperator, thus dramatically increasing the temperature of the combustion air (at Point A). At Point C, three parts of waste gas enter the combustion air stream as a way to minimise emissions. Then, 12 parts of waste gas exit the system at Point B (carrying away any additional, potentially useful, heat that might have been in the waste gases.)
Cold air Exhaust
Exhaust outlet
not traveled through the recuperator, they provide some additional heat to the combustion air, thus resulting in a slight efficiency boost. The air and waste gas mix then passes through to the burner nozzle where the combustion occurs.
through combustion in the radiant tube. ‘Hot End’ FGR recirculation Hot end FGR technology (under patent with Bloom Engineering2) generates the combustion air/flue gas mix earlier in the process. Cold combustion air enters the recuperator tube where the waste gas passing in counterflow provides a significant pre-heat. At the end of the recuperator, the air reverses direction drawing hot exhaust gases into the air stream. Because the waste gases have
Hot end versus cold end Use of hot end FGR technology leads to a more balanced recuperator, meaning that roughly the same mass of waste gas flows over the hot side of the recuperator as mass of air flows across the cold side.
‘Hot end’ FGR recirculation
‘Cold end’ FGR recirculation
1 part gas
1 part gas
Hot end vitiation
Hot end vitiation
+3 parts FGR
11 parts air
11 parts air +3 parts FGR
to burner
12 parts
FGR
B
3 parts
Air
11 parts to burner
C
C
B 12 parts
15 parts
11 parts 3 parts
FGR
3 parts A
11 parts
A
Recuperator
11 parts Recuperator
Fig 3. ‘Hot end’ versus ‘Cold end’ mass balance diagrams
April 2017
ENVIRONMENT BLOOM.indd 2
www.steeltimesint.com
12/04/2017 10:03:27
Roll cladding machines, consumables, strategies and soluJons Think your conJnuous caster and hot rolling mill roll performance is acceptable? THINK AGAIN With over 40 years of flux cored wire manufacture, we draw on our experience with hundreds of customers globally to offer roll cladding consumables, strategies, services and soluJons others simply can’t.
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62.5%
66.5% 64.5%
61.0% 60% 56% 52% 20” (508mm) Recuperator length, parallel flow
35” (809mm) Recuperator length, parallel flow ‘Hot end’ FGR
20” (508mm) Recuperator length, counter flow
35” (809mm) Recuperator length, counter flow
‘Cold end’ FGR
Fig 4. ‘Hot end’ versus ‘cold end’ thermal efficiency comparison; Fuel = natural gas
Because the recuperator is unbalanced (i.e. the cold side has only 11 parts flowing through it, and the hot side has 15) the combustion air is not able to strip off the maximum amount of heat from the waste gases, and they leave the process with more heat that otherwise would have been useful process heat. An efficiency boost is generally available for hot end FGR as compared to cold end FGR. As Fig. 3 shows, for hot end FGR, the waste gas enters the combustion air stream before the recuperator (at Point A). Thus, 11 parts of cold combustion air pass across 12 parts of waste gas. Because the recuperator is then more balanced, the waste gas is able to give up more heat to the combustion air before it goes to the burner (at Point C), and generally leaves (at Point B) with less heat as compared to cold end FGR. Although it is tempting to think that a better combustion air pre-heat temperature yields means a more efficient process, a better measure is to determine how much energy from the combustion actually stays in the system and can heat the process. On this measure, the temperature of the waste gas is a better way to determine system efficiency. Because the waste gas has given back more heat to the process (through the combustion air) with Hot end FGR, it is actually more efficient than cold end FGR. Furthermore, because the combustion air and the entrained waste gas are able to mix for longer on Hot end FGR as compared to cold end FGR, tube uniformity and flame stability are both better.
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Hot end versus cold end calculations Fig. 4 compares the combustion efficiency for several radiant tube configurations as follows: • Recuperator (heat exchanger) type (parallel and counter flow). • Recuperator length (20” (508 mm) and 35” (809mm)). • FGR recirculation type (hot end and cold end). Fig. 4 shows that generally counter flow recuperation and longer recuperators lead to higher thermal efficiency. Also, hot end FGR is more efficient than cold end FGR (although the difference is less pronounced with shorter recuperators). ‘Hot end’ FGR recirculation most commonly utilises counterflow recuperation; comparing this thermal efficiency (67.5%) with both ‘cold end’ FGR efficiencies, the resultant fuel efficiency
improvements are: • 13% improvement over ‘cold end’ with a parallel flow 35” (809mm) long recuperator • 9% improvement over ‘cold end’ with a counter flow 35” (809mm) long recuperator • 10% improvement over ‘cold end’ with a parallel flow 20” (508mm) long recuperator • 4% improvement over ‘cold end’ with a counter flow 20” (508mm) long recuperator Benefits of converting existing Strip Processing Lines The technologies outlined in this paper are generally compatible with existing radiant tube strip processing lines. Retrofits are, therefore, often possible and are effective for: • Increased fuel efficiency • Improved tube temperature uniformity • Decreased NOx emissions • Productivity gains Usually, the existing radiant tubes, and often the actual air and gas connections to the burner, require no modifications, thus ensuring a simpler retrofit. While the use of FGR generally necessitates a higher air pressure (and often an upgraded combustion air fan), generally the rest of the combustion air equipment does not require any modification. Of course, a complete engineering analysis of the combustion system is necessary before initiating a retrofit. Conclusions The primary benefit of using FGR, either hot end or cold end, is for minimising NOx emissions. There is a simultaneous benefit of improved temperature uniformity, and increased fuel efficiency is often not difficult to realise during a retrofit. Use of these technologies are both field-proven and show a good return due to the compatibility of the hardware with existing systems, and the consequent ability to reuse equipment. � References 1. US Patent Number 4,800,866 Low NOx Radiant Tube Burner and Method 2. U.S. Patent Number 5,775,317 Recuperative Radiant Tube with Hot Side Vitiation www.steeltimesint.com
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ENVIRONMENT
Optimising for advantage HIGH energy costs, climate change policies, depressed steel prices and lower levels of demand, brought on by the financial crisis, are just some of the obstacles that firms must overcome. Failing to address these issues will mean falling behind competitors that proactively embrace new technologies and processes. The steel industry has a rich history of innovation stretching back to the first industrial revolution. Successful manufacturers have consistently employed the latest technologies to push the industry forward and maximise competitiveness. Similarly, the unique challenges faced in 2016 demand that steelmakers review their processes to reduce wasteful practices and boost efficiency. For example, with such a long development timeframe for the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products, striving for energy efficiency can reap huge benefits that deliver year after year, cutting costs and creating a more economically viable product with a lower environmental impact. Energy usage is one of the biggest costs to a steel production company, with the World Steel Association estimating that 20% to 40% of overall costs are attributed to it.1 Furthermore, EU and government regulations associated with high energy usage can become a burden for any organisation, especially when competing against foreign markets with less stringent regulatory obligations. To put it simply, the industry can no longer afford to be inefficient when it comes to energy and resources. Fortunately, there are effective approaches being implemented today that can help to boost business efficiency and competitiveness. Effective resource management The supply chain is a key area where firms can look for efficiencies that directly impact energy consumption, and building added flexibility into this area is essential. Doing so provides them the ability to respond to an ever-evolving business environment, adjusting to changes immediately that would otherwise negatively impact
Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steel industry is facing an array of challenges that is making investment in innovation more important than ever. Smarter supply chains can reap benefits in energy efficiency, says Markus Malinen*
*Vice president, sales EMEA at Quintiq
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ENVIRONMENT
schedules and corresponding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). To achieve this increased flexibility, companies need to look at the quality of the plans they develop. Solutions like optimised planning software use advanced data analytics and are specifically designed to adjust to a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business model as the organisation grows. This allows integration of existing technology and planning that is based on KPIs. Also, ensuring proper integration of systems means these technologies have access to the real-time data required to generate actionable business intelligence. Access to this data-driven advanced planning technology is important for a number of reasons. First it provides planners with immediate insight into the quality of their schedules, as they are being created, and then throughout each planning stage. They can see how changes to schedules affect specific KPIs. Secondly, they can also make adjustments where needed before committing to a decision. For instance, facilitating ongoing refinement of schedules and allowing prioritisation of a rush order for an important customer. Importantly, they also incorporate all relevant steel industry specific rules and regulations to ensure an organisation remains compliant.
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siloed systems that prevent the intelligent application of data for planning and scheduling. When it comes to hot slabs, this can, and does, lead to them running when they are not required. Similarly, slabs are often cooled down in error, and then need to be heated again. Ultimately, this uses more energy than if they were left on in the first place, as powering down only to require charging again consumes more energy than leaving them on in low power mode.
Economic advantage One of the biggest benefits is achieved when steel production companies apply this intelligent planning to energy efficiency, rather than just to resource management. The larger the firm, the larger the benefits. For example, higher yields from savings in energy consumption can be found when software is used to take control of all aspects of the production line, searching for ways to minimise waste and finding more efficient ways to use energy intensive resources. To be more specific, major challenges relating to energy consumption come as a result of inefficient hot slab usage. Too many companies are wasting energy due to
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ENVIRONMENT
Let your data do the hard work Firms need to get systems talking to each other if there is any hope of implementing these more energy-efficient processes. This is where intelligent planning platforms and communication come in. The use of advanced data analytics is central to identification of optimal times for charging hot slabs, as well as accurate scheduling for cooling time. This ensures that manufacturers save energy and associated costs and aren’t being wasteful. These solutions can also provide predictive analysis capable of pre-empting customer needs, and associated availability of resources at any given time. This then helps firms to make decisions regarding how to best manage specific resources, so they can evaluate options to make better decisions across the supply chain. More than ever, steel production companies need to ensure the supply chain is running at optimum efficiency and delivering bottom line benefits to the wider business. Firms that have already invested in technologies like advanced analytics and optimised planning solutions
are well-placed to turn data into a valuable resource that can help reduce energy usage, costs and environmental footprint. And with advanced sensor technologies and connected solutions like the Industrial
Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 becoming more ubiquitous, adopting an integrated approach to data and analytics now will lay the groundwork for the next generation of supply chain solutions. �
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DANIELI CENTRO CRANES SAFE AND RELIABLE HIGH-TECH CRANES FOR THE METALS INDUSTRY
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Esecutivi_grigio_A3_2016_22_12_A3 esecutivi 20/01/17 11:53 Pagina 29
DANIELI CENTRO CRANES SAFE AND RELIABLE HIGH-TECH CRANES FOR THE METALS INDUSTRY
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ENVIRONMENT
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Duplex stainless steel versus mild steel
When compared with painted mild steel, duplex stainless steel offers significant net benefits across all major environmental impact categories THE Myllysilta bridge is a road crossing of the Aurajoki River in the coastal city of Turku in Finland, which was rebuilt in November 2011. The Aurajoki is a brackish river and deicing salts are extensively used on the road surface in winter, therefore the cladding had to be highly corrosion resistant. It was also essential that the material used required minimal maintenance over its 100-year design life. Duplex stainless steel grade 2205 (EN1.4462), containing 3.1% molybdenum was chosen for its costeffectiveness and high durability in such an aggressive environment. Molybdenum improves the corrosion resistance of all stainless steels. It has a particularly strong positive effect on pitting and crevice corrosion resistance, for example in harsh coastal environments and where chlorides and de-icing salts are present. By adding longevity, it also contributes to the lower environmental impact of the stainless steel solution in this case study. Assessing the benefit A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) examined the relative environmental impacts of the choice of duplex stainless steel compared to an alternative cladding of mild steel treated with a zinc epoxy paint to protect against corrosion. The LCA compared the impacts of the two materials across five different categories of environmental impact: potential contribution to global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation and the consumption of nonwww.steeltimesint.com
ENVIRONMENT Bridge.indd 1
renewable energy sources. The assessment included any maintenance or replacement required and the impact of recycling the cladding material at end-of-life. Data and assumptions Data for the impacts of producing the required 82 tonnes of duplex stainless steel was provided by the producer of the actual cladding, based on their European plants using electric arc furnaces and an average 61% scrap stainless steel content. Data for the same quantity of mild steel sheet was provided by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), based on average production across the EU, including the use of blast furnaces fed with an average 11% scrap content. For the mild steel option, it was assumed that a three-layer zinc-epoxy paint system, removed and re-applied every 20 years, would be required to provide appropriate corrosion resistance. Stripping and re-painting would result in gradual deterioration and it was, therefore, assumed that the cladding would be replaced after it had been repainted twice. The environmental impacts of recycling the different cladding materials were provided by the steel producer and worldsteel respectively. Because 95% of these steels are recycled at end-of-life in Europe, the credits reflect the reduced demand for virgin resources and saved energy in production which would otherwise have been required. In the case of the duplex stainless steel, this recycling credit is highly significant. The environmental impact of producing the
stainless steel used in the bridge is actually very low. But because the recycling credit is based on European averages, it approaches (and for one of the metrics exceeds) the actual environmental impact for this particular producer. The mild steel cladding also achieves a recycling credit, although it is not as significant as that for stainless steel. The result The LCA for the bridge cladding indicates that duplex stainless steel presents significant net benefits across all major impact categories, in comparison to painted mild steel: • around 35% of the global warming potential: significantly lower carbon emissions due to the relatively high recycling credit and the lack of maintenance or replacement; • around 34% of the eutrophication potential; • a tiny fraction (1%) of the photochemical ozone formation potential: much lower ‘smog formation’ potential due to the high content of volatile organic compounds in the anti-corrosion paint required to protect mild steel; • around 63% of the primary energy demand (non-renewable). Molybdenum-containing duplex stainless steel, therefore, offers significant environmental benefits in the case of the Myllysilta Bridge. It also avoids the cost, complexity and safety issues of lifetime maintenance in this harsh coastal environment. � April 2017
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PERSPECTIVES: PSImetals
The right quality at the right time Detlef Schmitz* believes that the future for global steel producers is ‘challenging but positive’. 1. How are things going at PSI? We are busy. Worldwide the steel industry is investing largely in IT to optimise their business and production processes. We are very glad and proud that 2016 was the most successful year in our metals history and 2017 is starting very well. 2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry? The global steel industry is in a similar situation as the German steel industry in the 70s. Many of the measures performed at that time need to be realised by steel producers worldwide right now. In practice this means: • Building efficient and strong companies by mergers and acquisitions • Reducing capacity • Focusing on special markets and products in close co-operation with customers • Delivering the right quality at the defined delivery date • Optimise all business and production processes in times of difficult market conditions in order to capitalise when the economy rebounds 3. Where does PSI mostly conduct most of its business? Our roots are in the flat industry – due to our German roots and a strong automotive industry. Today we are also the leading supplier of Production Management Systems for pipes and tubes and heavy plates and we are conducting more than 10% of our business in the area of long products. 4. Where in the world are you busiest at present? We are able to offer our products and services to customers worldwide (North America, South America, Europe, Russia,
China, India, Japan). The most interesting and growing market today is America. 5. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are working on? During the last six months we received PSImetals orders for Production Management Systems from: AreclorMittal Ruhrort, Germany; AM Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine; Dillinger France, France; Georgsmarienhütte, Germany; ThyssenKrupp CSA, Brasil; Gränges AB, Sweden; Tosyali Toyo, Turkey; and Tyasa, Mexico.
Our product PSImetals is based on a central Factory Model – a virtual image of all objects and processes relevant to steel production. Together with selected key customers we are currently setting up our PSImetals FutureLab – a R&D program that allows us to further improve our product capabilities. 8. “Aluminum will always outperform steel on a weight basis; and on the stiffness issue alone it will carry the day.” What’s your view? A one-dimensional discussion does not show the right picture. You need to consider mechanical strength in relation to weight, cost of production and reparation, sustainability and especially the compound products based on steel. Looking at the whole picture you recognise many different usages for the different materials. 9. “Vehicles will continue to be predominantly steel.” Right or wrong? He is right, but this will not fall into the steel companies’ lap. Special steel and mainly compound products are important research areas where our customers are investing and consolidating their future. The environmental sustainability of products will become more important and in this area steel is better than other products.
6. How important is Industry 4.0? Industry 4.0 has become a huge technology and business process driver in all industries. With our knowledge and experience we are able to focus on topics that assure benefits for our steel customers and ignore marketing fairy tales. PSI was and is an important partner for steel producers worldwide on their way to smart manufacturing. 7. What is your view on smart factories?
10. Where ‘green issues’ and emissions control are concerned, how is the steel industry performing? With the technology of today you can truly build a green steel plant. Most of our customers are very advanced in that area. They have already invested in the necessary technologies. This year even the Chinese government mentioned that green production is an important target for the country and everybody who is making trips to China can agree.
* Former managing director of PSImetals and now a consultant focused on the North American market April 2017
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PERSPECTIVES: PSImetals
11. Do steelmakers rely on PSI to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? Looking at energy costs you have heaven on earth in North America. In other countries these costs are much higher and an important part of the overall costs. Therefore we help customers to optimise their energy consumption and costs. Energy-oriented planning enables us to deliver a very exact energy forecast enabling our customers to reach their ROI within months. 12. Where does PSI lead the field in terms of steel production technology? Our focus is to help our customers to deliver the right quality at the right time. To reach that goal we integrate all customer facilities (also in different plants), and the ERP, and process control systems. In some projects we have more than 40 interfaces to different systems. This is the basis for an overall transparency and it permits making decisions based on actual, overall information to reach a company optimum and not only departmental optimums.
13. How do you view PSI’s development? We have been able to increase our business and market share continuously. In this industry the needs and solutions are so unique that IT suppliers require special knowledge. PSI has been focused on steel since 1969, we know how to produce steel and our big market share enables us to develop a product specialised for steel: PSImetals.
14. How should the industry react to China? The global steel community needs to make China do its homework and to follow market-based business. Every steel company has to focus on their own strength. 15. What is PSI’s experience with the Chinese steel industry? PSI started very effectively and we successfully installed our product PSImetals in plants of leading companies in China. Chinese companies are particularly looking for consulting in a way to run their plants in an effi cient manner today. They not only want to buy a piano, but also want to play it. The Chinese government recognises the importance of IT in production and started the program ‘China 2025’. 16. Where do you see most innovation in terms of production technologies? PSI sees the best benefi t in an overall general approach from the initial raw material to fi nished product shipping. That helps us to show a genealogy of all products back to the primary. As described in I 4.0 we are working on a full digitisation of all production steps, ranging from overall planning and scheduling to material tracking of all materials at all times, and transparency for all customer orders. We assure allembracing transparency and control including plants at different locations. Quality is the most critical topic in the production chain. 17. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry?
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I see a challenging but positive future for steel producers. They are used to handling crises and create innovative products for their customers. 18. What exhibitions and conferences will PSI be attending in 2017? PSI will attend the AISTech in Nashville, Tennessee USA from 8-11 May. Together with our partner Primetals Technologie we are organising an Industry 4.0 conference in Ijmuiden, Netherlands on 9 May. Tata Steel Europe will be the host of our user group in Ijmuiden, Netherlands, on 10 and 11 May. Together with our strategical partner Primetals Technologies we will sponsor the Future Steel Forum on Industry 4.0 in Warsaw in June and present papers there. We will also present papers at the ESTAD conference in June in Vienna. In September our Brazil colleagues will be present at the ABM week in Sao Paulo and in November we will have a booth at the German Stahltag. 19. PSI is based in Germany, but what’s happening in the country steelwise? Most German steel companies are focused on niche markets. The big players invested in integrated IT systems for ERP and MES. A lot of discussions and rumours are going on about mergers and acquisitions. 20. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry? If I could dispose of ineffi cient plants with detrimental effects on the environment that only survive due to unfair prices, the global steel world would be nice. �
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Perspectives PSI.indd 2
April 2017
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FUTURE STEEL FORUM
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Applying Industry 4.0 to the steel industry What is Industry 4.0 and how can it assist the global steel industry in its quest for greater efficiencies? Two questions, among many others, that will be answered by the experts at the Future Steel Forum in Warsaw in June 2017. The Future Steel Forum is a live discussion of the issues surrounding Industry 4.0 or ‘smart manufacturing’ and will endeavour to cover all bases, including the all-important subject of cyber security, the role of human beings in the factory of the future, how to survive a cyber attack and the all-important process safety and control. Speakers from academia, the steel industry and the world of steel production technology will explain the key concepts behind the digitalisation of steel manufacturing. Myths will be exploded, ideas challenged and terminology explained.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Pinakin Chaubal, ArcelorMittal Global R&D
Jane Zavalishina, Yandex Data Factory
Dr. Michael Eder, Voestalpine
Michael Bremicker, KPMG AG
www.FutureSteelForum.com
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HISTORY Other boat lifts
The Anderton boat lift
The designer of the original hydraulic lift, Edwin Cark, went on to build improved lifts in Europe. On the Canal du Centre at La Louvière in Belgium, four lifts were opened between 1888 and 1917, which remain in working condition and were granted World Heritage status in 1998. He also designed a lift on the Neufosse Canal at La Fontinettes in northern France in 1888 – now a static monument.
Near the town of Newbridge, Cheshire, NW England, is a remarkable iron structure, a boat lift which carries boats vertically between the River Weaver navigation and the Trent and Mersey Canal – the canal being 50’ (15.24m) above the river. By Tim Smith* PRIOR to building the lift, cargoes had to be transhipped at this point. From the northwest, the river brought in raw materials, via Liverpool and the Mersey. The canal then took these south-east to the pottery industry around Stoke-on-Trent. Also salt, a major industry in the Newbridge area, was carried to the chemical industries of NW England. Such was the congestion that there was no land available to build a flight of locks or incline plane to overcome the height distance. Opened in 1875, the lift consisted of two counterbalancing water-filled caissons (tanks) into which a barge can sail in and out via lock gates at either end. Each caisson is 75’ long by 15’ 6” wide (22.8 x 4.7m). They are constructed of wrought iron plates riveted together, and weigh, with water and, if present, a boat, 250 Imperial tons. In its original construction, each caisson rested on a single vertical hydraulic ram 50’ (15.24m) long and sunk 50’ into the river bed below water level so that it could be withdrawn sufficiently to bring the caisson down to river level. These two rams were connected by a horizontal pipe in which a valve controlled the rate of transfer of water from one ram to the other. Thus, as one ram descended, the water contained in it flowed across the link pipe to pressurise the other ram and force it up carrying its caisson, guided by the framework of the lift. A small accumulator stored water at high pressure, pumped by a steam engine, which fed into the hydraulic circuit to overcome frictional resistance. In a cunning plan to accelerate the rate of travel, the depth of water of the canal above the river was 6” (15cm) deeper than the water level of the river below. Thus on reaching the bottom * Consulting Editor Steel Times International April 2017
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of the lift 6” of water had to be discharged from the lower caisson before its boat could be released. This reduced the weight of the lower caisson by 15 tons aiding its ascent driven by the heavier upper caisson. This gave a lift time of just 2.5 minutes, a fearful rate for bargemen not used to travelling in a vertical direction. Sadly, this ‘perfect’ solution had one flaw – corrosion of the cast iron hydraulic ram cylinder. This was brought on by the presence of salt in the river water, both from natural brine streams and spillage from the quays. Thus, after only a few years in operation the lift was shut for major repair of the hydraulic cylinder, which was badly scored. Unfortunately, the scoring was filled in with copper strips, which resulted in accelerated galvanic corrosion after the lift was reinstated. Eventually, distilled water, collected from the steam engine, was used for the hydraulic fluid, but the damage was done and, starting in 1906, the lift was converted The Anderton Boat Lift with craft in lower caisson
to electric power with massive weights suspended from a headgear of pulleys used to counterbalance each caisson. This necessitated strengthening the structure by the addition of five tubular steel ‘A’ frames on either side of the structure. Now, the caissons were no longer linked and could be operated individually using a 30HP motor to overcome friction. Work was completed in 1908 and the lift operated satisfactorily with a lift time of 10 to 12 minutes. By the 1950s and 60s traffic had dwindled to a trickle, tolls no longer covered operating costs, and maintenance of the structure was largely ignored. In 1965, a survey revealed serious structural corrosion, more severe in the steelwork added in 1906 than the earlier wrought and cast iron of the 1870s. Repairs were carried out, but by 1972 further work was urgently needed. In 1976, the lift was scheduled as an ‘Ancient Monument’. In 1978, counterweight cables became entangled causing a caisson with boat to be stranded part way up the lift for several hours. Other mishaps occurred in 1979 and a serious one in 1981 when a badly leaking descending caisson lost so much of its weight that the counterweights reversed its direction of travel and accelerated it back up into the headgear at the top of the lift. In Autumn 1983 the lift was closed. However, in 1997, with the advent of increasing pleasure craft traffic and with the aid of a grant from English Heritage, the owner, British Waterways, decided to repair the lift, converting it back to hydraulic operation but using oil in a sealed system, rather than river water. The work, commencing in 2000, cost £5.5 million, and in March 2002 the lift was once again opened to traffic. It remains so today. � www.steeltimesint.com
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