Design and Operation of a Gimbal Top Charging System

Peter Whitfield Siemens VAI Metals Technologies Ltd

INTRODUCTION Siemens VAI, formerly Davy, has within its iron making group possession of the necessary experience, expertise and knowledge to provide Customers with state of the art solutions for all areas of Blast Furnace technology. Historically Siemens VAI have been involved in the design of Blast Furnaces and Furnace Top Charging systems for over 100 years. During this time Siemens VAI have marketed, designed and installed many types of charging systems, including bell and bell-less top technology, on both new and rebuilt furnaces. Armed with their extensive experience of furnace top charging systems, Siemens VAI were constantly striving to develop the next generation of material distribution systems to improve process control, enhance Blast Furnace performance and reduce downtime for scheduled maintenance. A saving of one days downtime per year could realise additional production of up to 10,000t. This together with the many other envisaged benefits detailed later in this paper inspired the design engineers of Siemens VAI to create the Gimbal Top. In this respect, an opportunity arose within Siemens Corex technology where a need to accurately distribute coal and oxides over the top surfaces of the Melter Gasifier and Reduction Shaft were identified.

progression for Siemens to add this design to its portfolio of world class blast furnace technology. The Gimbal system offers an elegant, simple, rugged, highly competitive design suitable for high temperature and high pressure operation which provides significant advantages over current market alternatives. IS06 CONFERENCE On Monday 9th Oct 2006 Siemens VAI welcomed the worlds leading steel makers to the first Iron and Steelmaking Conference in Linz. Fig 2: World Launch The main focus of the event was to unveil and present the latest developments and state of the art solutions for improving the performance of our Customers plants. The major highlight of the Conference was the world wide unveiling and introduction of a full size operating Blast Furnace Gimbal Top Distribution System.

Fig 1: Prize-winning Corex Gimbal Distributor

Fig 3: Blast Furnace Gimbal Top IS06 The system provides customers the opportunity to generate any burden profile, irrespective of the type of material, by directing the charge to any point on the furnace stock line.

The resulting, prize winning, Gimbal has now been successfully installed on the Corex plants at Mittal Saldanha Bay, (South Africa), POSCO, (S Korea) and two more units are currently and scheduled for installation at Baosteel, China in 2007. Successfully proven in the arduous high temperature and high pressure environment of the Corex Melter Gassifier and Reduction Shaft, it is a natural
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Furnace top control can be provided on skip or belt charged tops with complex charging patterns and burden distribution. This flexible, reliable closed- loop process control system will provide the backbone of blast furnace operation. BLAST FURNACE CHARGING The purpose of the Gimbal Top distribution system is to facilitate controlled distribution of charge material into the blast furnace via a Gimbal type oscillating chute through a holding hopper and variable material gate

opening such that the pressurised charging system above can operate independently of the distribution system. Historically furnace charging was accomplished by a series of bells moving independently to achieve the necessary pressure sealing and material distribution in the furnace. The Davy Universal and the McKee Distributors, to which Siemens VAI can make historical claim, were at the forefront of this charging technology. The Bell Less Top featured an open-top charging chute capable of both rotation and tilt, driven by a complex train of precision gears. This technology has been the dominant technology for blast furnace charging over the last 30 years. The new Gimbal utilises a conical distribution chute, supported by rings in a gimbal arrangement, producing independent and combined tilting of the chute axis.

Fig 5: Chute and Operating Mechanism Through the movement of the hydraulic cylinders, the distribution chute allows precise material distribution with potential for an infinite number of charging patterns at varying speeds. These include ring, spiral, centre, spot, segment or sector charging, providing complete control of material charging into the furnace. GIMBAL HOUSING & DISTRIBUTION CHUTE The whole distributor assembly is enclosed in a gas tight housing, which is mounted directly onto the top flange of the blast furnace top cone. The housing contains a fixed inlet chute and a tilting distribution chute supported by rings in a Gimbal arrangement allowing independent and combined tilting of the chute axis.

Figure 4:

The Gimbal Ring Concept

This tilting chute is driven by two hydraulic cylinders, mounted 90o apart. This type of suspension and drive arrangement results not in a rotation of the tilting chute, but in a circular path by superposition of both tilting motions. Independent or combined operation of the cylinders allows the chute axis to be directed to any angle, or even along any path. Motion is supplied by two hydraulic cylinders, each operating through a shaft, connecting rod and universal joint in order to drive the Gimbal rings.

Figure 6:

Gimbal Housing and Distributor

The distributor assembly is made from a combination of stainless and carbon steel material with the fixed inlet chute and tilting chute body lined with ceramic material to give superior wear protection. A closed-circuit water-cooling system is supplied through the main shafts, Gimbal bearings and universal joint bearings in order to cool the moving elements of the Gimbal distribution system.
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Receive charges of ore, coke and miscellaneous materials in the holding hopper, independently of the distribution system below. Release those discharges, as required, to a dynamic distribution chute located below the holding hopper. Distribute material in prescribed patterns to the furnace stock line in accordance with a predetermined charging matrix. Control of the Gimbal distribution chute is by means of a proprietary control and feedback system, supplied by Siemens VAI, which is fully integrated into the overall furnace charging software.

Figure 7:

Gimbal Distributor Assembly

The key features of the Gimbal design are:Simple, rugged design, using levers driven by hydraulic cylinders. Drive cylinders are mounted outside pressure envelope, hence not subject to hot and dusty service conditions. Gimbal ring arrangement gives simple tilting motion in two planes, which when superimposed gives 360o distribution. Wear on the tilting chute is equalised around its circumference giving a long extended operational life. GIMBAL TOP CONTROL Siemens VAI has a long history of successful control and automation packaged plant in the Iron & Steel industry. Based on a unique blend of manufacturing and engineering excellence our software and process engineering specialists can produce successful solutions for all aspects of furnace operation. Figure 9: Furnace Charging Software The system provides a high level of accuracy and control for the Gimbal movements and hence the positioning of the distribution chute. ADVANTAGES OF THE GIMBAL TOP Operational Advantages The operational advantages of a charging system incorporating a distribution chute and lock hopper system are well proven on blast furnaces worldwide. The Gimbal Top, proven in arduous Corex applications, will allow a similar charging philosophy to be followed, and open more possibilities for charging improvement. The principle operational advantages of improved material distribution by chute and lock hopper system are as follows: The Blast Furnace can be optimised in terms of fuel rate. Coke rate decreases compared to two bell without moving armour Fuel injection rates can be increased. This offers the potential of replacing expensive coke with cheap coal or natural gas Improvement in Fuel injection allow increases in Blast temperature, Oxygen enrichment and therefore increased productivity Figure 8: Burden Distribution Control Cheaper maintenance avoiding long shutdowns for bell changes Material Distribution by chute will give improved: Material distribution control
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The blast furnace Gimbal Top is an automated, computer-controlled pressurised charging system designed to:

Gas utilisation Control of furnace wall temperatures to reduce heat loads and extend furnace life Possibility of fines charging at furnace walls Further specific advantages by the use of a conical distribution chute and Gimbal are: The conical shape prevents material spillage over the side, as is possible with an open chute. This allows precise positioning of the materials at the stock line. Utilising the many paths of the chute any possible charge imbalance due to the furnace top hopper geometry can be corrected. Chute liners wear at an even rate around the full inner surface, this achieves stable material flow characteristics and falling curves over time. Gimbal distributor does not require the extreme accuracy of the furnace top ring normally associated with other market alternatives.

The conical-shape chute retains its ceramic lining in place. The use of expensive high-precision gears (as on some alternatives) is avoided. The Gimbal bearings are cooled with water on a closed-circuit cooling system. This reduces the potential for leakage into the furnace, or water contamination. The bearings on the Gimbal assembly itself are sealed for life. CONCLUSIONS Successfully proven in the arduous high-temperature and high-pressure environment of the Corex Melter Gasifier vessel, Siemens VAI now add this elegant and rugged design to its portfolio of world-class blast furnace technology. The innovative Gimbal design allows infinite charging possibilities, for improved burden distribution to the blast furnace. The rugged simplicity of the drive provides an elegant solution at minimal investment cost. The Gimbal Distributor, as part of the overall Furnace Top Charging System, offers a fully-integrated charging solution, generating significant improvement in blast furnace operation and maintenance cost. The design is suitable for installation at new blast furnaces, and also for retro-fitting to existing blast furnace installations with minimal impact on existing equipment.

Engineering Advantages The simplicity of the Gimbal compared to other solutions gives a number of engineering advantages. Simple lever mechanisms allow the drive cylinders to be mounted outside the pressure envelope; hence not subject to the hot and dusty service conditions. Tilting Chute liners wear at an even rate around the full inner surface, since material flows over full periphery as chute makes a full revolution. This prolongs the wear life of the component a life of 5 years is predicted for the tilting chute.

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