Operational Results of the U. S. Steel - Gary Works No. 4 Blast Furnace After Installation of the Compact Bell Less Top

摘要

U. S. Steel relocated a Paul Wurth Compact Bell Less Top from its idle A-1 blast furnace at Great Lakes Works to its No. 4 blast furnace at Gary Works. Repurposing the top from A-1 furnace helped to keep the project costs to a minimum. U. S. Steel worked jointly with Paul Wurth to install the refurbished Bell Less Top in December 2015, replacing the existing McKee distributor, two-bell top. There were several potential benefits that had to be achieved to make the project a financial success. These included improved burden distribution and increased furnace efficiency, which in turn would result in decreased total fuel rate, improved hot metal chemistry, and reduced maintenance time with longer equipment service life. We shall review the installation of the refurbished top on Gary Works No. 4 blast furnace, commissioning the equipment, optimizing burden distribution, along with operational results from the first two years of service. Total fuel rate has decreased while maintaining required hot-metal production levels.