Dofasco determined through failure investigations and benchmarking that ladle breakouts occur when steel leaks between the mortared safety brick joints. The solution to wall breakouts was to install monolithic safety walls in the ladles. Capital costs, lack of storage space and a steady decline in skilled bricklayers encouraged the company to investigate emerging shotcreting techniques. Dofasco, in partnership with a shotcrete supplier, has the capability to design, supply and install its own products. They have discovered that there is a clear advantage of partnering with a supplier that can provide all facets of the job. A company may be capable of supplying a good product, but in this case, installation is more critical to the quality of the finished product.Installation equipment was developed and is owned and operated by the supplier, leaving the supplier accountable for the finished product. The equipment can be used in any size and taper of ladle it can also be used to install new safety or working linings. A new self-flowing alumina spinel refractory called "Optiset" was developed for the Dofasco safety lining walls.The new monolithic safety linings cost more to install than the conventional brick design. However, the longevity of the monolithic lining will provide a lower cost per metric ton of steel than brick. The new monolithic linings have six large panels (165-metric-ton ladle) and eight panels (320-metric-ton ladle) that are locked together by a tongue and groove joint that resists steel penetration. All 21 steel ladles at Dofasco were converted to monolithic linings by October 2001. Steel is not expected to penetrate the joint, making wall breakouts an occurrence of the past.
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