IRONMAKING AND STEELMAKING

The Danieli Corus blast furnace design, based on high-conductivity graphite refractories in close contact with the copper cooling plates, minimizes sliding effects and promotes the creation of stable protective accretion layers. The belly and lower stack include a combination of graphite and silicon carbide refractory and machined copper plate coolers for erosion resistance if this accretion may not be present. The bosh and tuyere zones are exposed to high temperatures, temperature fluctuations and erosion, and only the Danieli Corus design will consistently survive these conditions. Here, the protective accretion not only eliminates the risk of erosion but also provides sufficient thermal insulation to keep peripheral temperatures and process activity at desired levels. This design has a proven campaign life of more than 25 years, even under difficult process circumstances such as those imposed by high productivity and ultra-high coal injection and oxygen enrichment.