TOTEM Co.Ltd.

TOTEM TOP SCAN Technical proposal

MOSCOW 2009

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1 INTRODUCTION In the last decades the advance of science and engineering in the field of computers science, measuring facilities and informative technologies has served as a mighty momentum for developing automated control systems for equipment and operating processes. In the ironmaking also, there has been an advance in designing up-to-date ACS, that are capable to monitor and govern various parameters of the process. From the beginning of 90-ies the expert system has been under implementation and further development in Austria (Voest Alpine Simens), in Finland (Rautoruuki), Japan (Suzuki), Russia (Institute of Engineering UroRan). However, in spite of a considerable progress achieved in this field , there is still room for upgrading the means of control over the performance of blast furnaces. First of all, it may be referred to the control of the blast furnace charging operation. Even to-day, as it is used to be hundreds of years ago, the charging of blast furnaces is done by the method of trials and errors, as the success in achieving optimum parameters of charging would completely depend upon the expertise and proficiency of operators and do not lend itself to automatic control. The available ACS for blast furnaces charging cannot tackle the problem of optimizing the radial distribution of burden , as it is only the performance of the charging equipment that they can control. It should be also noted that the highest disturbances and fluctuations in the iron making process would crop up exactly due to a non-uniform and poorly controlled charging operation. Therefore, while considering the informative field of the performance parameters and indices of the ironmaking process as a single whole, one can find out that yet there is a vast space, which lacks information on the blast furnace charging parameters. Up till now, there have been no criteria developed that would make it possible in one way or another to quantify this or that charging system and obtain a reliable feedback of heat indications. For the reason of incomplete information on the charging process, the modern cost-intensive expert systems happen to be, as often as not, of low efficiency and their potential is not realized in full. The development of a system to control the blast furnace charging process, which would be adequate to the challenges of to-day might make it possible to make up for the deficit of information on the ironmaking process and in this way to enhance its efficiency considerably. The main preconditions for making the control of the charging process a success are the following:

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1. Development of enhanced charging apparatuses , capable of adequately fine controlling of the radial distribution of stock and providing at the same time a uniform circular distribution of burden in the furnace top. 2. Development of efficient and dependable systems for monitoring the charged burden profile , making it possible to control the radial distribution of stock and generate information The bell-less rotary charging unit (BRCU) which is designed and implemented by TOTEM Co. Ltd. in 2006 on blast furnaces at JSPL and JSP (steel plants of Jindal Corporation in India), meets the requirements, expounded in Paragraph 1. As has been corroborated by industrial and bench trials, BRCU provides a possibility of a sufficiently fine controlling of the radial distribution of stock [1;2], at the same time a high degree of uniformity of circular distribution of burden is achieved. To assist the ironmaking shop personnel a simulating model of the charging process with the help of BRCU has been developed. The model makes it possible to visualize the topography of stacked layers of burden and also to calculate the radial ore/coke ratios and determine quantitative criteria to assess the distribution made. The analysis of performance of BF-2 at JSPL with the help of the simulation model has shown that the suggested criteria for quantifying the radial distribution of stock can correlate quite satisfactorily with the carbon oxide utilization rate [1]., in other words, a feedback relationship with the heat indices has been established. Thus, the prerequisites for developing a full-scale automated control system of the blast furnace charging process have been created. A missing link in the chain for designing such an ACS is a unit designed to determine the burden stock line in non-stop mode of its performance, after having each batch of burden charged. TOTEM Co. Ltd. offers a gadget, which makes it possible to measure the burden profile in the top along several radii simultaneously and to plot graphically the topography of over-all surface of burden in the blast furnace top. At the same time the velocity of descending burden throughout its surface will be also determined. The measured data of profiles and burden descending velocities epures would come out as a basic information both for the calculation of charging process indices and designing of ACS for the charging process, and also as a base for developing new models to describe heat and mass exchange processes in the blast furnace. We have nicknamed the system for measuring the burden profiles as TOTEM Top Scan or TTS as an abbreviation. In conclusion it should be noted that an implementation of TTS will make it possible to create first time in the world an ACS of the blast furnace charging process thus making a valuable contribution to the progress of ironmaking in general.

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1. TTS performance principles The key members of TOTEM Top Scan (Fig.1) are as follows: 1. Measuring units. Their main part are radars, that would emit high frequency electromagnetic radiation of directional effect. 2. Electromagnetic radiation reflectors. Two main reflectors for two points on the burden surface are mounted upon each rotor vane and two additional ones, that serve for positioning and identification of measuring points sensors. (Fig.2) 3. Measuring signals treatment pack (Fig.3). Measurements are taken in between the batches charged, when the main reflector appears in front of radars. This moment is determined and the measured point identified with the help of a specific additional positioning reflector-cum-sensor. The signal from the radar through the main reflectors is sent to the burden surface, from which it would be reflected back and part of radiation from the burden surface returns to the reflectors, that would direct the reflected signal to the receiver of measuring unit (Fig.1). The return signal received by the radar, is treated in the measuring unit and after that is recalculated into the distance from the level zero to the burden surface. All measurements are taken on-line. The total number of measurements taken by 6 radars that are installed in the furnace circumference, and by 10 reflectors (two on each vane) come to 60 measurements. The treated basic measurements then are sent to the measuring signals treatment pack , which is a PC of industrial design with required software (Fig.3). In this pack burden profiles are calculated, burden surface layers topography is plotted, as well as radial ore/coke ratios and other charging parameters.

The details of TTS functional duty are given in the following paragraph of the Offer.

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SCAN

Fig.1

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Reflectors

Fig.2

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Connection diagram

Fig.3

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2. TTS functional duty

The main functions of TTS are as follows:

1. Plotting of topography of burden layers stacked in the furnace top. 2. Determination of criteria for the radial distribution of stock on the basis of the plotted topography and with reference to the burden descent velocity. 3. Provision of feedback on the basis of relationships between the ironmaking indices and stock charging criteria. 4. Working out of the control action to make changes in the radial distribution of stock on the basis of feedback.

2.1. Measured and calculated parameters. The main parameter measured by TTS is a distance between the burden surface and notch zero , from which the stock line level is determined. The measurements are taken from 60 points on the burden surface, in an on-line mode. The other parameters that are determined by TTS, are derivatives from the measured distances. All taken measurements are synchronized in time. Table 1 contains the list of parameters, determined by TTS, that are required for exerting control over the charging process.

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Table 1. List of parameters determined by TTS. 1. Measured parameters 1.1. Distance between the burden surface to notch zero (60 points) 1.2. Fixing of measuring time moment 2. Derivatives 2.1. Burden surface profiles after each portion charged 2.2. Profiles of each charged portion layers within one cycle. 2.3. Epures of burden descent velocities along the radial sections of the

top. 3. Calculated parameters* 3.1. Radial ore/coke ratios 3.2. Ore/coke ratios as averaged by several sections 3.3 Stock radial distribution criteria* 3.4. Epure of burden descent velocity as averaged by the furnace

sections 4. Statistical parameters* 4.1. Statistical parameters on the circular uniformity of distribution 4.2. Statistical parameters on the burden circular descent velocity 4.3. Search of statistical relationships between the charging

parameters and blast furnace performance indices. Note: * List of calculated and statistical parameters of ACS shall be prolonged when ACS will be refined in detail.

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3. Scope and terms of supply by TOTEM TTS is supplied by TOTEM on the turn key basis, it includes:

-supply of TTS mechanical equipment; -supply of TTS hard and software; -supply of required technical documentation; -contractual supervision over the erection of TTS mechanical equipment and hardware, start-up and adjustment work and commissioning of TTS; -training of the Customers personnel.

4. Delivery time TTS can be delivered within 6 months from the calendar date of down-payment made by the Customer.

References 1. Dr. (Tech) B.M.Boranbayev, V.N. Vakulin, Y.M. Glazer, P.S.Rana, F.Sarcar, Manish K.Jha, Effect of the charging pattern upon blast furnace performance when a bell-less rotary charging unit is used, AIST Conference, USA, May 2008. 2. B.M.Boranbayev, V.N.Vakulin, Yu.M.Glazedr, A.Sirkar, Bell-less rotary charging unit a perfect burden loading techniology, Metallurg, pp.35.40