Process innovations lead to improved operations
12.17.2019
If you think about the greatest inventors of all time, would names like Edison, da Vinci and Gates come to mind? Would you also consider an ArcelorMittal employee?
Walk into any ArcelorMittal facility and inventions will surround you. Our Global Research and Development process team leads the effort to improve steelmaking processes that make operations more efficient. They do so in partnership with plant personnel who are vital to testing and perfecting ideas before deployment.
An example is the blast furnace above-burden infrared camera (ABirC). This camera system can monitor all the activities and events above the burden in blast furnaces. It can monitor the internal operation of the furnace in real-time. Operators can detect adverse conditions and take actions quickly to maximize furnace performance. The system is accessible remotely so that they can do so from anywhere.
A process manager at No. 7 blast furnace control room monitors the images provided by the camera system. It relays data such as temperature profiles, the size of the central gas flow and its shape. Operators can use this information to stabilize the furnace and improve fuel rates.
This invention uncovered new blast furnace phenomena like coke surging, coke spraying and burden shooting. For the first time, operators could observe and record the entire material falling stream from its discharge to the top of the burden.
“ABirC is the only blast furnace top instrument that can visualize all the events occurring and report accurate two-dimensional temperature profiles,” said Frank Huang, scientist, ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development East Chicago. “Like a chef who looks directly at the food on his grill and can optimize its cooking, the blast furnace operators can look into the furnace and optimize its performance.”
While this innovation is impressive, it was not applicable for all furnaces across the ArcelorMittal family.
“The initial design was only for bell-less top blast furnaces like No. 7,” said Donald Zuke, lead engineer, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor No. 7 blast furnace. “It’s one of the tools we use to improve efficiency.”
No. 7 blast furnace piloted the system. It’s now installed in all bell-less top furnaces in the U.S., Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic and Brazil. But, until recently, this technology could not be implemented at ArcelorMittal facilities with bell-top furnaces.
“We had to adjust the original design to get the camera into the correct position and enhance its cooling system. We made the camera housing much longer to clear the bells and see the burden at the top of the furnace,” said Huang.
Burns Harbor is the first installation of this new design with Cleveland to follow.
Soon, we will equip all ArcelorMittal bell-top blast furnaces. Each will measure the two-dimensional temperature profiles above the burden. With this information, operators can monitor the size, shape and location of the chimney to improve efficiency.
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