Refractory Engineering Furnace Optimisation by Mettop
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TABLE OF CONTENT
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 3
2 METTOP AT A GLANCE ............................................................................................................................. 4
3 3D REFRACTORY ENGINEERING ................................................................................................................ 5
4 ADD-ONS – A SPECIAL SERVICE BY METTOP ............................................................................................. 6
4.1 QUALITY CONCEPT ...................................................................................................................................... 6
4.2 LINING SEQUENCE ...................................................................................................................................... 6
4.3 HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION AND EXPANSION CALCULATION ............................................................................. 6
4.4 START-UP PROCEDURES AND HEATING-UP INSTRUCTIONS.................................................................................... 7
4.5 SPECIAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING COURSES ..................................................................................................... 8
5 HOLISTIC APPROACH – SCOPE OF SERVICES BY METTOP .......................................................................... 9
6 CONTACT ............................................................................................................................................... 10
BIC STSPAT2G
VAT No. ATU 61690637 DE 274789359 PL 5263148464
Account No. 00001263219 Bank Identification Code 20815 IBAN AT192081500001263219
Court of Registration Leoben Civil Court Commercial Registration No. FN 26145k Bank Steiermaerkische Bank und Sparkassen AG
Mettop GmbH Peter-Tunner-Str. 4 8700 Leoben Austria t +43 3842 81 7 87 f +43 3842 81 7 87 - 8 [email protected] www.mettop.com
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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It is the rising demand for an economic and cost saving operation mode in all metallurgical plants
that makes every aggregate unique and asks for tailor made solutions that are absolutely essential
for an optimised process. A rethinking of the prevailing refractory concept, especially in terms of
refractory lifetime and furnace availability, can lead to significant improvements.
Upgrading of the existing furnace refractory design can lead to a wide range of improvements and
benefits for the customer:
Optimised visualisation of the refractory material by using exclusively 3D engineering
Combined consideration of furnace geometry, steel construction, refractory material and
arrangement of all additional components
Prolonged refractory lifetime by contribution to optimised operation (heating-up
specifications and expansion calculation)
Speeding up the installation by providing lining sequences step by step
Best furnace availability due to support before, during and after installation on-site
Comparing different suppliers´ grades to guarantee the best available product
Cost saving lining concepts by choosing price optimised material
Best available concepts by implementation of most modern operational systems (purging
systems, cooling solutions and tuyere arrangements)
With these tools it is possible to achieve the following objectives:
Increased time of furnace campaigns
Optimisation of furnace availability
Decrease of costs for refractory material
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2 METTOP AT A GLANCE
Mettop GmbH, founded in 2005, is an independent Austrian engineering company, specialised in the
design, optimisation, and engineering of technologies for metallurgical processes. It is active in the
field of pyro- as well as hydrometallurgy of non-ferrous metals and recently also started with
innovative cooling systems for the iron and steel industry. Special topics can be highlighted:
Feasibility studies on metallurgical processes
Basic and detail engineering of metallurgical processes
Technical and metallurgical process optimisation
New tankhouse technology, i.e. the METTOP-BRX Technology
Water-free and safe cooling technology, i.e. the Ionic Liquid Cooling Technology (ILTEC)
Cooler design and integrated solutions for cooler, refractory and process conditions
Gas purging systems
Refractory management comprising of refractory engineering, delivery and supervision
during lining on site
Project management, monitoring and risk analysis
Staff-training to implement the provided technical innovations
The scope of services comprises optimisation solutions in the area of furnace integrity, combining
refractory selection and layout, gas purging systems and cooling elements. In the field of
hydrometallurgy, a new electrolysis technology - the METTOP-BRX Technology - was developed and
is in operation to allow an acceleration of the electrolytic refining of up to 50 percent. For all
metallurgical aggregates and equipment, Mettop developed the new and water-free cooling
technology ILTEC, that uses an ionic liquid as cooling medium, for creating new pathways towards
safe and efficient cooling for the entire metallurgical industry.
In addition, Mettop is internationally active in terms of technical consulting (process optimisation)
and operator training for customers in the non-ferrous metals industry, and also assists in the
optimisation of risk management in metallurgical plants.
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3 3D REFRACTORY ENGINEERING
In contrast to the state-of-the-art refractory engineering in two dimensions, Mettop uses 3D
refractory engineering to optimise refractory linings and furnace concepts. 3D refractory engineering
requires a full design of all lining details during the construction and drawing stage. This is a big
advantage compared to 2D refractory engineering, as the cutting of bricks on site can be avoided
with the detailed 3D design. As a consequence, time and costs during installation can be saved.
Furthermore, the 3D refractory engineering allows a step-by-step visualisation of the installation
procedure. This again facilitates the refractory installation on site.
3D engineering of the furnace allows the automatic generation of a complete part list of all bricks
and additional fixtures (e.g. steel plates, hanging hooks, expansion inserts). These are named
systematically and are saved in a comprehensive list. Each brick format and every additional part is
only drawn once and then copied, so that the part list can be generated automatically and contains
all the information required for the refractory lining installation, as for example the required
amounts of brick formats and qualities, the number of expansion inserts, weight, volume and
positioning of bricks in different furnace areas.
In Figure 1 the difference between 2D and 3D can be seen.
Figure 1 – Comparison of a 2D refractory drawing of an off-gas opening of a drum type anode furnace and the same part drawn in 3D. The sophisticated steps, ledges and brick formats can hardly be distinguished in 2D whereas in 3D each brick is visualised
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4 ADD-ONS – A SPECIAL SERVICE BY METTOP
With the finalisation of the drawings for refractory engineering, the service of Mettop is not yet
complete. For the purpose of providing the best possible concept for a best possible operation of the
entire process, refractory engineering comprises of more than drawings.
4.1 Quality Concept
As an independent refractory supplier without a production site or contract to refractory producers,
Mettop can select the best available material to provide an independent and process-orientated
optimised concept. Since the scope of supply refers to refractory engineering but not refractory
manufacturing, a totally neutral material list, without any relation to single manufacturers, can be
offered. This allows the customer to independently order the refractory material according to the
provided quality concept. In addition, Mettop provides full service in terms of ordering, shipping and
delivery, including supervision on site if requested.
Based on the metallurgical and process know-how, the decision about the best available refractory
material has to be considered individually for each customer and application. This also means that
for one single furnace different brick qualities and subsequently different suppliers can be used, just
as desired by the customer.
4.2 Lining Sequence
In order to make the installation and the lining work on site as fast and smooth as possible, a
visualisation of the lining sequence can help immensely. With the 3D engineering tool, a brick by
brick illustration of the entire lining can be provided, for example as a video or as single pictures. This
helps to prevent cost, time and material consuming failures during the lining and will lead to a more
economical and cost saving lining.
In Figure 3 an installation instruction for a drum type anode furnace can be seen. Picture by picture
the installation of each single brick can be visualized.
4.3 Heat transfer calculation and expansion calculation
In order to provide not only the best material but the best lining result, an optimised furnace
performance is also significantly influenced by the start-up procedure. Since expansion during
heating-up is a topic of significance, a careful consideration of the expansion behavior during this
start-up phase is inevitable.
In Figure 3 an example of both, the steady state heat transfer calculation and the expansion
calculation, is given. As a result of the heat transfer calculation, the expansion of the different
materials at the different installation positions is known and instructions can be given on how to
prevent damage of the refractory during the start-up phase.
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4.4 Start-up procedures and heating-up instructions
Once the furnace is lined, the operation mode starts with a first heating-up of the furnace. Especially
too rapid heating can cause irreversible cracking, but also too little heat at some areas of the furnace
might result in condensation and subsequently in cracking due to hydration.
In order to prevent any damage caused by inappropriate heating, a specific and detailed description
of the heating-up procedure is proposed.
Figure 2 – Lining sequence including installation instruction for the entire lining process for a drum type anode furnace
Figure 3 – Detailed consideration and calculation of the steady state heat transfer through the different materials (right) and the expansion calculation including instructions for expansion joints (right)
Customer: PNo.:
Vessel: CNr.:
Sector: Calculated by:
Length: 1,600.00 mm [l]
Brick: 100.00 mm [s]
Brick inside
temperature.:1,267.00 °C [Ti]
Brick outside
temperature.:615.00 °C [Ta]
Extension at [T1]: 300.00 °C 0.40 % [e1]
Extension at [T2]: 1,400.00 °C 1.50 % [e2]
Mortar (Y/N): Y dry-laid: 0.15 mm/Joint
Spring: 0.00 mm wet-laid: 0.10 mm/Joint
Compression
mass:0.00 mm
Fibre board: 10.00 mm
Expansion of
steel shell:4.00 mm mm
Polystyrene: 0.00 mm
Tensioning: 10.00 %
1/5 Temperature 1,136.60 °C [T]
Extension at [T] 1.24 % [e]
No. of jonits 15 pcs. [n]
Expansion 20 mm [ε]
Expansion all-up 6 mm [Ε]
Theo. no. of. exp.
inserts2.10 pcs.
[N]
Exp. theo. allow
after every7.13 brick
Exp. allow
after every8 brick
Exp. covered by
card boards 19.29 mm
ε - Compensation
Ε / Thicknes of exp. Insert
n / N
Card Board
Ti-(Ti-Ta) ∙ 1/5
e1 + (e2 - e1) / (T2 - T1) ∙ (T - T1)
l / s
l ∙ e / 100
Calculation
Expansion insert
Calculation Of Expansion Allowance In Straight Linings
Example Furnace
EXPC01 - Bottom WL - Length
Parameter
Compensation Jointfigure
Thickness of expansion paper
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Ambient temperature (input)Surface temperature (calculated)Heat transition coefficientCalculation formulaWind velocityEmissivityDiamter Heat loss per m²Heat loss per m tube
Wall layers from inside to outsideMaterial
Steady state heat transfer calculation
18.08.2015
Customer
DateName
PNo.:CNo.:Vessel Example Furnace
HTC-01: Bottom-str
Quality 1Quality 2
RangeRev.
mm
W/m
Temperature [°C]mean borderW/mK
1,351.0--
230 928.1
1,241.01,013.0 1,015.9972.0 1,010.9931.0 933.3
2.7002.7002.6092.623
1,128.045010
150
0.0
mmW/m²
-1,351.0
0.5-
°C°C
W/m²K
m/s
UnitOutsideInside1,250.01,241.0
30.0169.7
9.7ASTM680F
Quality 5Quality 6Quality 7Quality 8Quality 9
150.0
Quality 3Quality 4 10
163041020
1200
813687516262170
1.3381.2961.2390.07650.68
695.8679.1347.8170.2169.7
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4.5 Special Support and Training Courses
It is of superior interest to provide the best possible performance on applying a new refractory
concept, but not only in terms of material performance. Therefore we take service seriously and
assist in all sorts of issues.
Installation on-site with precision, speed and efficiency
The entire installation on-site will be supervised and guided by Mettop personal.
After sales service
Mettop provides after sales service and special support for planned maintenance as well as for the
case of an unlikely event.
Training courses
For an optimised profit from the benefits, and using the entire metallurgical potential of refractory
engineering, it is of interest to fully understand the metallurgical background of the processes.
Therefore Mettop provides detailed and comprehensive training courses on-site to teach the
operators metallurgical know-how combined with operational instructions.
Figure 4 – Specific heating up description
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5 HOLISTIC APPROACH – SCOPE OF SERVICES BY METTOP
The scope of services of Mettop is intended as a holistic concept to create an optimised process. The
offered refractory engineering itself comprises of the following:
3D engineering
Construction plans
Complete list of parts
Independent and process orientated optimised concept
Technical documentation
Since Mettop combines substantiated knowledge about refractories with profound metallurgical know-how, it makes sense to be part of the entire process concept. On letting Mettop be part of the process, the following tools are used for optimising processes:
Thermodynamical modelling with HSC
CFD modelling
Optimised construction
Optimised refractory design for less wear
Most modern cooling systems
Possibility of improvement of metallurgical processes via purging systems
Finally, after having created a refractory concept, Mettop will support the customer in every possible way to achieve an optimised performance:
Visualisation of the lining sequence, step-by-step installation procedure
Heating-up description
Considerations regarding possible problems on-site (hydration,…)
Extension calculations and instructions
On-site support, supervision during start-up
After sales service and special support
Training courses for operators
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6 CONTACT
Mettop GmbH Peter-Tunner-Strasse 4 8700 Leoben Austria www.mettop.com Dr. Iris Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 41 [email protected] Dr. Andreas Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 40 [email protected] DI Stefan Wallner: +43 664 88 60 45 53 [email protected]
Mettop GmbH Peter-Tunner-Str. 4
8700 Leoben Austria
www.mettop.com
Dr. Iris Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 41 [email protected] Dr. Andreas Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 40 [email protected]
DI Stefan Wallner: +43 664 88 60 45 53 [email protected]