Test Unit TST300

1 Functional Description

The test unit TST-300 is designed to test the purging plugs between in the ladle preparation area.This to avoid purging failures in the following heat and to prevent the purging plug from unnecessary cleaning (burning, torching) with oxygen.

Nitrogen or compressed air is used as test media. It‘s not allowed to use natural gas or any other inflammable gas.

The actual flow rate is between a predefined upper and lo-wer limit > the porous plug is in good working condition.

The actual flow rate is above the higher limit > there could be a leakage in the piping.

The actual flow rate is below the lower limit > the plug is blocked or partly blocked, oxygen washing could be requi-red (depending on the plug type)

Test Functions:

Plug Test (Test):The plug test function generates an indication about the porous plug condition. At a predefined pressure setting the actual flow rate is measured. The actual flow rate defines the condition of the plug. Three levels are defined:

FC Technik AG Test Unit TST300 page 1

Green:

Orange:

Red:

Oxygen washing support (Bypass):During the washing procedure with an oxygen lance, a continuous flow rate trough the plug is produced. The flow rate is monitored continuously, as soon as the flow rate exceeds a predefined limitation an indication is generated to stop further oxygen washing.

to preserve the refractory material

safety due to less burning procedures

time savings

reproducibility and reliability

The TST is independent from the volumetric capacity, corresponding the height of the ladle and the amount of plugs integrated in the ladle bottom. Especially at big size ladles it is difficult to strike the surface of the plug with the tip of the O2-lance while burning. This depends in general of the weight and the length, e.g. more than 5 m is not unusual of the pipe. The handling is offen very difficult for the worker and it needs time for the cleaning procedure. The result is, that time of burning expands too long and is then inefficient due to higher abrasion occurred at the refractory of the well-block and of course the head of the purging plug. This limits the durability of the bottom purging system and increase times of assembling and changing.

So it is very important to recognize before cleaning wether the plug is per-meable or blogged. In case the plug is free no burning is necessary (priori-ty advantage). The TST immediately detects the flow and pressure (test time runs up to only 30 sec.) which fits at the plug and gives the just-in-time datas directly to the operation screen and indicates simultaneously a signal by lamp or buzzer. The exact measured flow and pressure supports the following pro-cedure in the ladle refining process.

The documentation of the measured Datas helps to achieve a constant re-peatable process too.

2 Advatages

●●●

●

FC Technik AG Test Unit TST300 page 2

FC Technik AGSt. Gallerstrasse 340CH-8409 WinterthurTel. +41 52 238 01 75Fax +41 52 238 01 77fc-technik@bluewin.chwww.fc-techni.ch

Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH

ArcelorMittal Eisenhüttenstadt

ArcelorMittal Hamburg

Elbe Edelstahlwerke Feralpi GmbH

DEW Siegen (order is placed)

3 References

●●●●●

FC Technik AG Test Unit TST300 page 3