Prepared By:Sumant Sahu Metallurgy 3203808302

TRAINING CENTER:BHILAI STEEL PLANT TRAINING DEPARTMENT:SMS II DURATION:17-05-2010 to 12-06-2010

 Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, is one of the

most consumed product worldwide, with an annual production of nearly 1330 million tons. Steel is used in all walks of life; right from a small pin to an aircraft, many a things are made up of steel. The earliest known production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an archaeological site and is about 4,000 years old.

 The steel making process has covered a long journey in

these many years; the Bessemer process, Open Hearth Process and finally into the latest technology of Basic Oxygen Furnace or the LD Converter.
The modern LD Converter now accounts for most of

the Steel production worldwide, the process being cheaper and faster.

 The

LD Converter process was developed in Austria between 1947 and 1949. The first commercial plants were installed in Linz and Donawitz during 1952-1953 and hence, the name LD Converter. In India, this process was first installed at Rourkela Steel Plant in 1956 with vessels of about 35 ton capacity.

 The vessel used in the process is like pear shape.

The vessel is divided into three segments viz. the

spherical bottom, the cylindrical body (shell) and the conical top. Each of these is welded construction of non- ageing steel. A steel ring is welded from inside at the junction of bottom of the body to support the permanent lining of the vessel. Tilting gear is attached, which is capable to rotate the vessel through 360.

Converter Specifications
Converters : 3 Nos

Capacity
Height of Shell Diameter of Shell

: 130T
:8m :6m

Hot Metal charge Scrap

:130 T : 10-15 T

SMS II

 The lance is nearly 8-10 meters long and its

diameter varies with furnace capacity in the range of 20-25 cm. The lance is made of three concentric steel tubes to circulate water around the central tube and pass oxygen through the most inner tubes. The tip of the lance is water cooled by using a copper tip which is welded to the steel tubes. The lance is suspended by a wire rope and can be inserted in or withdrawn from the furnace by means of an electrically operated lance gear.

Lance Design
Cu Tip welded to Concentric pipes 5 hole lance

Throat Dia : 25 mm
Water cooled Life: > 300 heats.

SMS II

 Before starting a heat, the furnace is inspected and then

scrap is charged. The cranes charge hot metal immediately. The charging of bulk materials is done at different times during the blow as per requirement and according to the computer advice. The end point is detected by the amount of oxygen consumed and by experience. Samples of metal and slag are taken and temperature is measured by thermocouple. De-oxidation is done in the ladle. The ladle then goes to continuous casting shop after argon rinsing.

 BEFORE TREATMENT

AFTER TREATMENT

C- 4.6%-4.8% Si- 0.6%-1.3% Mn- 0.3% P- 0.08%-0.16% S- 0.04%-0.07%

C- 4.2% Si- 0.4% Mn- 0.2% P- 0.040% S- 0.03%

Heat Generation C + O CO C +2O CO2

Slag Formation Si + 2O SiO2 Mn + O MnO 2Fe + O2 2FeO

Iron Reduction Si + 2FeO SiO2 + 2Fe Mn + FeO MnO + Fe C + FeO CO + Fe

a) Charging b) Oxygen Blowing c) Sampling & Temp. Measurement d) Corrections before Tapping e) Tapping f) Nitrogen Splashing, Coating Degassing TOTAL TIME

5 min 20min 8 min 5 min 5 min 7 min

50 min

Metal

 Fast process.

Less Nitrogen content.

Economical. Less investment cost.

No need of external fuel because the reaction involved

is exothermic. Less space is required. Better lining life.

The major disadvantage of LD process is that the charge must include a considerable quantity of molten pig iron, thus limiting the amount scrap that can be used.