EUROPEAN STEEL TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION DAYS 2017 - ESTAD 2017

Blast furnace No. 3 at Zaporizhstal in Zaporozhye is rebuilt in 2016-2017. The Ukrainian company is targeting for increased production and availability by the use of new technology. Zaporizhstal awarded the contract of the Top Charging Unit to Danieli Corus, after comparing all available technologies. Main focus of DC is availability and maintainability of equipment. The DC product is a combination of new technology with traditional robust solutions. The hearth of the TCU is the chute type charging devices which has proven to offer optimum control over the distribution of raw material on the stockline, however based on a different tilting technique. Reliability of the chosen charging device is pivotal, as it largely determines availability of the blast furnace and requires long outages in case exchange is required. This article describes the DANCU (Danieli Charging Unit) - a robust hydraulic system. This chute type charging unit has only four major moving parts, none of which is complex or vulnerable. It also describes main project challenges - the use of hot sinter and the short project schedule.