ENHANCEMENT OF LIFE OF BLAST FURNACE RUNNER

THROUGH DESIGN OF RUNNER CASTABLE

Dr. A. K. Samanta, Anindya Roy, Dr. S. Adak & Dr. A. K.Chattopadhyay
Yoshihiro Fujitake*, Yasuhiro Eguchi* & Yukihiro Suekawa*
TRL Krosaki Refractories Limited, Belpahar – 768 218, Odisha (INDIA)
*Krosaki Harima Corporation, Yahatanishiku, Kitakyusyu City 806-8586
(JAPAN)
1.0 Abstract The excessive corrosion (chemical) and erosion
With the recent development of iron making (mechanical) of the trough working lining can be
technology, the productivity of blast furnace has controlled to a great extent with the strengthening of
increased phenomenally. In order to deal with the the castable matrix and fluid motion control,
increased productivity of blast furnace, the increase respectively.
in cast-house availability also has become a
necessity. In recent days a lot of developments have 2.2 Design Aspects of Main Trough based
been made in the trough castable to achieve higher on Blast Furnace Operation Parameters
campaign through-put with minimum down time. The
major factors determining the campaign life of main Main trough contributes more that 50% of the total
trough are: i) Corrosion at the slag line ii) Erosion specific consumption value in any trough
and corrosion at the metal line and iii) Mechanical management. The corrosion/erosion in the main
abrasion caused by the stream at the impact area. A trough is caused by the turbulent mix of metal and
detail study has been done on the erosion and slag. The rate of corrosion and/or erosion of the
corrosion mechanism inside the trough and a trough becomes higher with reduced residence time
suitable castable has been developed to enhance the of slag and metal in the main trough (Fig.1). A
campaign through-put to almost double. minimum residence time of 7 minutes is required to
The present paper deals with the development of new have a complete separation of hot metal and slag.
generation thixotropic trough castable with the
design of advanced recipe by strengthening the
matrix phase. The different physico-chemical and
thermo-mechanical properties of the castables have
been evaluated. The mechanism of better erosion and
corrosion resistance of the castable have been
studied in the laboratory as well as the same is
monitored during the real campaign. The suitable
application procedure to ensure enhancement of
trough campaign life have also been studied.
Fig.1: Hot Metal Residence Time vs. Castable
2.0 Introduction: Wear Rate
2.1 Difficulties to Achieve Higher
Performance Considering the hot metal discharge rate of
The primary aim for any blast furnace is to minimize 4.5THM/min and hot metal/slag minimum separation
the loss in production by reducing the down-time. time of 7mins, the main trough should have a hot
One of the attributing factors for higher down-time of metal holding capacity of 32THM. Considering the
furnace is the frequent maintenance of trough specific gravity of hot metal as 6.9T/m3, the
refractory working lining. The frequent maintenance minimum volume of hot metal that should reside
is basically the effect of high corrosion and erosion inside the main trough before Skimmer Block is
of working lining castable. The corrosion of working 4.64m3.
lining castable occurs mainly due to the chemical
reaction which happens at the slag-castable interface.
 Fig.4(d)) where two different lining patterns (Fig.5
and Fig.6) are considered.

(a)

Fig.2: Overview of Main Trough

Considering a length of 14m up to Skimmer Block of

main trough (Fig.2 & Fig.3); the cross sectional
average area (A-A’) up to the slag-metal interface
should be 0.33m2.
(b)

(c)

Fig.3: Cross-Section of Main Trough at A-A’

Mathematical Calculations:
⇒ 0.33*106 = ½*(X+Y)*375mm
⇒ ½*(X+Y) = 880mm

Considering the vertical gradient as 10⁰;

⇒ tanФ = tan10⁰ = 0.1763
⇒ Y = X + 2*375* tan10⁰
⇒ ½*(X+X+2*375* tan10⁰) = 880mm (d)
⇒ X = (1760-132)/2 ≈ 815mm (bottom width)

⇒ Z = X + 2*965* tan10⁰
⇒ Z = 815 + 340 ≈ 1150mm (top width)

After determining the inner profile of the main

trough, it is very much important to design the
refractory lining ensuring high degree of safety.

Hot metal freezes around 1150⁰C. Even after

sufficient erosion of the working lining, if the
1150⁰C isotherm line (freeze plane) can be placed Fig. 4. Thermal Profile Calculations in (a) Case-1:
within the working lining itself then, the chances of New Lining; (b) Case-1: 200mm Erosion; (c)
trough failures can be minimized. In a forced cooled Case-2: New Lining & (d) Case-2: 200mm Erosion
trough, if the maximum amount of heat can be
extracted from the refractory lining, the freeze plane
shift towards the hot face. This phenomenon has been
demonstrated in the below graphs (Fig.4(a) to

Fig.5: Very High Thermal Conductive Lining
Fig.6: Insulation Lining in the Back-up
To substantiate the safe running of main trough,
temperature at the back-up lining can be measured
with the help of thermo-couples. Copper plates are
placed in the back-up lining (Fig.7) throughout the
length of main trough.
Brazing
SS Pipe
Copper Plate
Fig.7: Temperature Measuring Arrangement of
Main Trough Back-up
The tip of the K-type thermo-couples remain in
contact with the copper plates and temperature
against individual thermo-couple is displayed. These
temperatures actually help to understand the residual
thickness of working lining castable.
2.3 Design Aspect of Castable for
Different Zones/Area of the Trough
The corrosion/erosion happens because of the
following reasons:
Fig.8: Corrosion and Erosion Mechanism of
Trough Castable
(i) Chemical reaction at the slag-castable interface:
The FeO present in the slag reacts with the alumino-
silicate fine particles present in the castable matrix
and develop eutectic compound which get dissolved
in the slag.
(ii) Mechanical abrasion caused by liquids – Once the
peripheral area becomes weak, the bigger grains get
exposed and finally get dislodged from their position
by the impact caused by liquid flow and been
transported by the liquids (metal/slag). Table-1
describes the properties of trough castable with
respect to specific areas of trough.
Table 1: Requirement of Properties of Castable
based on Specific Area of Applications
In order to achieve enhanced trough life, the working
lining castable should have: a) Very good slag
corrosion resistance; b) Excellent abrasion resistance;
and c) Very good spalling resistance. Silicon Carbide
has got all the desired properties but its best usage
with respect to different area in a cast-house runner
has been substantiated (Fig.9) by the help of
following tests:
 a) Rotary Slag Corrosion test at 1600OC with BF
Slag.
b) High Frequency Induction Furnace Corrosion
Test at 1500OC for 30mins for 15 cycles with
BF slag and pig iron.

Fig.10(a): Performance in Plant-A with Criticality

of Embedded Trough

Fig.9: Effect of Vaiable % of SiC on Wear Index

of Castable

Based on the test results, different castables bearing

different percentage of SiC have been developed for
different application area as shown in the Table-2.

Table-2: Development of Different Castables for

Blast Furnace Trough Fig.10(b): Performance in Plant-B with Criticality
of Bend Trough

2.4 Enhancement of Trough Performance

with Improved Materials and Design
The enhancement of the performance of the tough
depends on number of factors including operational
parameters, materials, maintenance practice,
workmanship during installation etc. The improved
performances of trough in three integrated Steel
Plants in India are shown in the Fig.10(a) to
Fig.10(c). In all cases, improved campaign life made
a positive impact on the trough management with
lower specific consumption of Refractories.
Fig.10(c): Performance in Plant-C with Criticality
of Slag Rate ≥ 500kg/THM
3.0 Value Addition from TRL Krosaki
through Modern Installation Techniques
TRL Krosaki is well equipped with state-of-the-art
instruments for trough break out, maintenance and
installation with expertise of dedicated service teams.
In order to reduce the installation time, the following
application gadgets are used by TRL Krosaki as
shown in the Fig.11 (a) to Fig.11(c).

Fig.11(a): Photographs of Trough Breakers
Fig.11(b): Photographs of Mixer Machine and
Casting Trolley
Fig.11(c): Photographs of Pumping and Gunning
Machines
4.0 Conclusions
Improved and consistent life of the trough is very
important for uninterrupted operation of Blast
Furnace with constant estimated production of hot
metal. TRL Krosaki has developed new and
innovative products for working lining of different
areas of trough including back up lining with
improved campaign life for different integrated steel
plants in India. The newly developed materials show
lower specific consumption of Refractories for the
full campaign resulting a value proposition to the
steel plants. The design capability of the trough
including different state-of-the-art equipment and
strong back up of Technical Services teams make
TRL Krosaki a recognized player for Trough
Management.
5.0 References
1) Lee W.E. & Chan C.F., Microstructures and
Slag Resistance of Al2O3-SiO2-SiC,
UNITECR 1997, pp 1593-1602.
2) Kanatani S., Improvement of Blast Furnace
Trough Metal Line Castable, UNITECR 1997,
pp 152-155.
3) Camelli S., Analysis of Wear Mechanism of
Al2O3-SiC-C Blast Furnace Runner,
UNITECR 1997, pp 156-159.
4) Golestani-Fard F., Ebrahim N. & Saberi A.,
Effect of Amount of SiC on the Physical,
Mechanical and Corrosion Behaviour of
Al2O3-SiC-C Castable, Proceedings of the
International Colloquium on Refractories, 2006,
Aachen, Germany, pp 143-146.