8th International Congress on Science and Technology of Ironmaking - ICSTI 2018

Copper stave failure is a major cause for interim blast furnace repairs, at great cost to the blast furnace owner, primarily due to: a) abrasive wear on the exposed hot-face; b) cracking of welded pipe connections; and c) low cooling density resulting from ineffective cooling layout. Under these damaging conditions, traditional staves often begin to leak water, overheat and exhibit cascading wear around the furnace. Hatch has developed a new and novel stave design to address premature failures that have plagued the industry. These staves feature a metallurgically-bonded abrasion-resistant composite hot-face, providing superior abrasion resistance compared to traditional copper staves, as verified by third-party testing. The metallurgical bond allows for a high level of heat extraction through the hardened layer, maintaining a cold surface conducive to the formation of protective accretions not achievable by traditional mechanically-fixed refractory bricks. Advanced blast furnace cooling technologies and applications for managing premature stave wear will be presented, including specific discussion around imminent stave failure diagnosis, new blast furnace cooling technology (i.e. abrasion-resistant staves) and applications implemented on operating blast furnaces.