EUROPEAN STEEL TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION DAYS 2017 - ESTAD 2017

The intensive use of automation solutions, process models as well as expert systems is well established in converter steelmaking. and It is widely recognized that automated procedures have a positive influence on productivity, product quality and operational safety. The combination of existing technologies, new support systems and the beneficial use of information management tools empower the plant operator to run the plant in almost fully automatic manner, where operators can concentrate on supervision and optimization of the process. Within this paper a bottom-up approach including reference examples how a steel plant can be upgraded in a way that the BOF production can be executed in an almost fully automatic manner is presented. The approach consists of several steps beginning with basic automation requirements like fully automated transfer cars and reliable measurement systems, more advanced automation solutions like robotics for probe handling or crane logistics for fully automated charging and ends with full coupled data management systems for through process quality control. First practical references like the ICE TAG technology, a high temperature RFID-based identification technology for ladles and slag pots as well as monitoring, Lance Guard for closed loop diagnosis of sublance measurement system, or Fluid Guard for leakage detection in safety critical applications are presented. The approach includes further condition monitoring systems to ensure highest plant availability and reliability with lowest maintenance costs. Finally, solutions for automation of most important maintenance tasks in converter steelmaking like lining maintenance or converter relining are discussed.