Order for Staves Replacement for RINL Blast Furnace No. 3

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, also known as Vizag Steel, has awarded a contract for the replacement of copper staves of Blast Furnace No. 3 at their integrated steel works in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The cooling members will be replaced employing the new “fishing” method for quick and safe project completion.

The Visakhapatnam steel plant was inaugurated in 1970, with the construction of the first Blast Furnace starting in 1982. The plant’s crude steel production typically varies between 4 Mtpa and 5 Mtpa.

Blast Furnace No. 3 is the newest of the three furnaces at the site, all of which have nominal production capacities of 7150 tonnes of hot metal per day. Blast Furnace No. 3 has a 3230 m³ working volume and was first blown in in 2012.

With the “fishing” method for stave replacement, there is no requirement for any manpower to enter the furnace. After blow–down, the staves that need to be replaced are disconnected and carefully pushed into the furnace. Using custom–made crane attachment, the new staves are lowered into the furnace with their cooling pipes and sealing materials pre–attached.

During an earlier stave replacement project employing this method in India, zero lost–time injuries were recorded while reducing the overall replacement time by 40%.