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BlastFurnaceCastHouseEquipments
Thecasthousefloorofablastfurnacehasalwaysbeenoneofthemostdangerousworkingplacesinablast
furnace.Apartfromworkinginanatmospherewhichincludestoxicgases,fumes,anddust,theoperatorshaveto
performhardandheavymanualworkclosetohotmetalandslagrunnersandladlesfilledwithhotmetal.Before
theinventionandinstallationofcasthouseequipment,thetapholeswereopenedandclosedmanually.Opening
wasdonebymeansofsteelbarsandsledgehammers,whereasthetapholewasclosedbyrepeatedlyramming
smallamountsofclayorrefractorymaterialintothetaphole,againwiththehelpoflong,heavybars.Inaddition,
onblastfurnace,theblasthadtobestopped,sinceitwasimpossibletoclosethetapholeproperlyagainstthe
blastfurnacepressure.Thisstoppageoftheblastresultedinregularlossesofproduction.
SamuelW.VaughenofUSAinventedthefirstmudgunin1895.Hispneumaticmudgunmachineoperatedwith
steam,hadadetachablenozzlethathadtobeswungopentoloadthetapholemass.In1901therewasanother
bigchangeintapholepracticeswhenErnstMenneofGermanyinventedtheoxygenlance.Byblowingoxygen
througha1/8inchpipeandignitingit,itwasnowpossibletoopenthetapholeveryquicklycomparedtothepure
manualmethod.Thefirstrecordsoftapholedrillsisfoundaround1921whenEdgarE.BrosiusandJosephE.
JudyofUSAsuggestedamethodofdrillingthetapholeforitsopening.Brosiuseveninventedacombineddrilling
andlancingapparatusin1924.
Anexcellentcasthousesetupisanimportantnecessityforalowcost,highproductivityblastfurnacesincean
effectiveoperationofblastfurnacedirectlydependsonanuninterruptedoperationofitscasthouseequipment.
Adecentplug,whichfillstheentiretapholechannelwithtapholemass,isthemostimportantconsiderationto
allowforasafeandquickopeningsubsequently.However,itisalsoimportanttobeabletodrilltheplugopenwith
agoodrepeatabilityinordertoprolongthelifetimeofthetapholechannelortapholeblock.Lancinghastobekept
ataminimum.
Theextremelyhostileenvironmentofthecasthousefloorcallsforequipmentthatcantaketheheatwhile
providingreliableandlongtermperformance.Tappingtechnologyofamodernblastfurnacerequirescasthouse
equipmentstoberobust,reliable,durable,andefficientforgivinghighperformanceinthearduousconditions
existinginthecasthouse.Theequipmentsaretobedesignedandanalyzedusingthelateststressanalysis
tools,builtandworkshoptestedtothehigheststandards.
Managementofalargeblastfurnacewithhighlevelperformanceneedsefficientandreliablecasthouse
equipments.Thestrivetowardshighestoperationalefficiencyandthereductionofoperationalcostshasalso
pushedthedevelopmentofcasthouseequipmenttechnologies,resultinginanewgenerationofcasthouse
equipmentswhichcanswitchbetweenvariousperformancerangesforamaximumprotectionoftapholeand
hearthoftheblastfurnace.
Asubstantialreductioninmanualworkcanbeachievedthroughmechanizationandautomationinthecasthouse.
Aprerequisiteofmechanizationisalevelcasthousefloorwithflushandflatrunnercoverstoprovidemobile
maintenanceequipmentwitheaseofaccesstoallareas.Automationofallfunctions,suchasdedustingdamper
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positioncontrol,tapholedrillandmudgunoperation,viathesoftwareresidinginadedicatedcasthousePLCin
combinationwithradiocontrolledtappingequipmentreducesmanualoperation,allowsoperatormobility,andthe
conveniencetoeffectivelymonitoreachcast.
Theimportantcasthouseequipments(Fig1)are(i)tapholedrills,(ii)mudgunmachines(iii)manipulatorsforhot
metaltroughcovers,(iv)tiltingrunners,(v)barchangers,(vi)mudgunfillingmachine,and(vii)jackdamdrills.

Fig1BlastfurnacecasthouseequipmentsTapholedrills
Economictappingrequiresahighperformancetapholechannel.Inadditiontothechoiceofappropriatetaphole
massandtheoptimumopeningstrategy,optimaladjustmentsofthetappingparametersaswellastheir
reproducibilityareimportant.Tapholedrillsaretocombinemaximumflexibilitywithwellprovenhighcapacitydrill
hammerstoensureeffectivedrilling.
Tapholedrillsaretoprovide(i)reliableopeningofanytapholewithoutdelays,(ii)smoothtapholechannelforless
tapholewear(iii)minimizeoxygenlancingforincreasedoperatorsafetyandpreventionofdamagestotaphole
structure,(iv)highreverseimpactenergyforsafewithdrawalofstuckdrillbar,(v)reducedequipment
maintenancecostandprolongedhammerlifetime.Furthertheyaretoaccomplishamaximumprotectionofthe
criticaltapholearea,inorderto(i)maximizethelifetimeofthetaphole,(ii)reducethenumberoftapholerepairs,
and(iii)increaseavailabilityoftheblastfurnace.Asthisoptimizedtappingpracticeprotectsthetapholeaswellas
theblastfurnacehearthitfinallyresultsintoalongerblastfurnacecampaignlife.
Therearefouroptionswhichareavailablefortheopeningoftheblastfurnacetaphole.Theseareasfollows.
ManualoxygenlancingThisoptionisusedasalastresortwhenallotheroptionshavenotworkedorduring
emergencies.
ElectromechanicaltapholedrillswithouthammeringThisoptionwasusedinolderblastfurnacesforopening
thetapholes.Inmodernfurnacesthisisnotused.
PneumaticorhydropneumatictapholedrillsPneumatictapholedrillshavepneumatichammeringwhile
hydropneumatictapholedrillshavehydraulichammering.Thesedrillsareusedinmanyblastfurnacesfor
openingofthetapholesbuttheperformanceofthesedrillsisrelativelyinferiortofullyhydraulicdrills.
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HydraulicdrillsThesedrillsarefullyhydraulicwithhydraulichammering.Thesedrillsareusedinallmodern
blastfurnaces.Thehydraulictapholedrillsprovideoptimumdrillingperformance,employingacombinationof
highrotationaldrillingtorquewitharapidpercussiverateatmediumimpactenergy.Thisprovidesefficient
drillingoperations,reducingtheneedforhammeringoperationandminimizingthepotentialforcrackingofthe
tapholerefractories.
Duetothedevelopmentofhighperformancetapholemasseswithexcellentabrasionandcorrosionresistance,
thetapholeitselfisnolongerthelimitingfactorintappingtime.Thesehighperformancetapholemasseshave
significantlyincreasedthedemandsontappingequipment.Pneumatictapholedrillingmachineswerequickly
broughttotheirperformancelimits,leadingtounacceptableopeningtimes.Oftenthedrillingprocesshadtobe
combinedwithoxygenlancing,resultingindamagesofthetapholeandhighmaintenancecosts.Thesolutionto
thisproblemwasfullhydraulictapholedrillswhichcancopewiththedemandofthemoderntapholemasses.
Thebasicdesignandinstallationrequirementsfortapholedrillsareasfollows.
Thetapholedrillsaretobesufficientlypowerfulandrigidforaccuratedrillingofthetaphole.
Itistobepossibletolockthedrillincertainpositions.
Allthemovementsandmanoeuvresofthedrillaretoberemotecontrolled.
Itistobepossibletostoptheseatanygiventime.
Thetapholedrillsaretobefittedwithawarningsirenorbuzzerwhichneedstooperateautomaticallybefore
thetapholedrillissetinmotion.
Thetapholedrillistobeinstalledinsuchawaythatwhenitisnotinuse,operatorscanmovefreelyaroundit
andcarryoutrepairsonit.Thereistobeenoughspaceforonepersontopassbetweenthetapholedrilland
anyobstacle.
Suitablemeansofprotectionistobeprovidedforthepersonnelworkingroundthetapholedrill,andittooisto
beprotected.
Powerlinesaretobeprotectedagainstheatandbreakoutsandtheyaretohavegoodmechanicalstrength.
Ifelectricityisused,itisadvisabletohavesuppliesviaatleasttwoindependentcircuits,oneofwhichistobea
safetycircuit.
Ifcontrolishydraulicorpneumaticasuitablysizedaccumulatorneedtobeinstalled.
Thedrillingrequirementsimposedbythetapholecondition,changeoverthetapholelength.Normallyblast
furnaceoperatorsaretochoosebetweentwodrillhammerphilosophiesnamely(i)lowfrequency/highimpact
energyhammeringformaximumdrillfeed,and(ii)highfrequency/lowimpactenergyhammeringforbetter
protectionofthetapholeandlongertapholelifetime.Thesedays,tapholedrillsareavailablewhichareequipped
withdrillhammerscapableofswitchingbetweenahighimpactfrequencymodeandahighimpactenergymodeto
allowanonlinematchingofthedrillingparameterstothevaryingtapholeconditions.Theseconditionscanbe(i)
rotationaldrillingwithouthammeringformaximumtapholeprotection,(ii)lowfrequencyhammeringwithhigh
impactenergyforareaswithhardinclusionsand(iii)highfrequencyhammeringwithlowimpactenergyto
minimizemushroombreakoffsandtomaximizethetapholelength.
Thesedaysthetapholedrillsareusuallyfittedwithsensorssuitablefortheblastfurnaceenvironment.These
sensorsprovidedrillingparameterfeedbackforprocessmonitoringandautomationofthetappingtechnique.
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Automationfeaturesinthetapholedrillsnormallyincludeoptimizeddrilling(continuousmonitoringandadjustment
offeedforceanddrillingrotation),andautomatictapholelengthmeasurement.
Normallythefollowingthreetypesofdrillrodsareusedintapholedrills.
SoliddrillrodwiththreadedupsetforgeddrillbitTheserodsaregenerallyusedforthedrillingofshortand
easytodrilltapholeswithsofttapholemudandnoinclusionofslagoriron.Thedisadvantageofsoliddrillsis
thattheycanonlybeusedonshorttapholes.
DrillrodswithinterchangeablesteeldrillbitsTheserodsgivethebestcostandperformanceresultsfor
ordinarytapholeconditions.Thedrillbitmakesacleanholewithconstantdiameterfrombeginningtoend.The
bitismadefromcarbonsteelandisinterchangeablewithdifferentdrillrods.Storingofinterchangeablebitsof
differentdiameterstogetherwithonetypeofdrillrodresultsinconsiderablesavingofcost.
Drillrodswithinterchangeabledrillbits(wingbits)Thesedrillbitsaremadefromwearresistantcaststeeland
designedtodrillholeswithaverycleanandconstantdiameter,evenwithhardermudsandundermoredifficult
conditions.Formosttapholesthesebitsarethebestcompromisebetweenhighdrillingspeed/performanceand
goodqualityofdrilledhole.
Mudgunmachines
Mudgunmachinesperformoneofthemostimportantandcriticaloperationsinblastfurnaceswhichistheclosing
ofthetapholes.Closingablastfurnacetapholeunderanyconditionisakeysafetyrequirement.Thisdemands
extremelyhighreliabilityandrobustnessfrommudgunmachines.Inmodernblastfurnaces,tappingtechnology
demandshighperformancemudgunmachinesallowingtheuseofwearresistantandquicksettingtaphole
masses.Todayshighperformancetapholemassescannotbehandledwithoutoptimizedtemperaturecontrolof
themudgunmachine.
Thehydraulicdrivesofmudgunmachinesensurethatanyoperationswithmodernheavydutytapholesare
effectiveandsecure.Mudgunmachinesaremanufacturedspecificallyforcriticalheavydutyoperations,andtheir
designandtechnicalparametersfullycomplywiththerequirementsofmoderntechnologicalprocessesofblast
furnaceoperations.
Thehightapholemasspressurewiththeinversedesignneedsamudgunmachinewithaconsiderablespace
requirement.Nowadays,thebestcompromisebetweenspacerestraintsandmaximumtapholemasspressures
are200kg/sqcmpluggingpressure/250litresoftapholemassvolumeforsmallandmediumsizeblastfurnaces
and250kg/sqcm/350400litresforlargeblastfurnaces.
Mudgunmachinesaretobedesignedforhightapholemassrammingpressures,fastslewandautomatic
operation.Thesemachinesaretobereliablewithhighquality,longtermfailurefreeoperations,easeof
maintenance,andhighlevelofserviceability.
Automationfeaturesofmodernmudgunmachinesincludeautopluggingfortapholeclosure,withpre
programmedadjustablerammingspeeds,volumesandsequences,aswellastapholefacemonitoringand
visualization/controlofthehydraulicpowersystem.
Thebasicdesignandinstallationrequirementsfortapholegunsareasfollows.
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Themudgunmachineistobepowerfulenoughtoextrudethetapholemassintothetapholeagainstthefull
forceofinternalpressureoftheblastfurnace,evenwhenthepressurerisesabovenormal.
Themachineistobecapableofplacingthemouthoftheguncorrectlyinthetapholeinspiteofanyobstruction
byslagsorothermaterial.
Themachineistobedesignedtoextrudeallthetapholemassrequiredfortheplug.
Itistobepossibletolockthemudgunmachineinvariouspositions.
Allthemovementsandmanoeuvresofthemudgunmachineistoberemotecontrolledanditistobepossible
tostoptheseatanygiventime.
Themudgunmachineistobefittedwithawarningsirenorbuzzerwhichistooperateautomaticallybeforethe
mudgunmachineissetinmotion.
Themudgunmachineistobeinstalledinsuchawaythatwhenitisnotinuse,operatorscanmovefreely
arounditandcarryoutrepairsonitandthereistobeenoughroomforonepersontopassbetweenthe
machineandanyobstacle.
Suitablemeansofprotectionistobeprovidedforthepersonnelworkingaroundthemudgunmachine,andit
tooistobeprotected.
Powerlinesaretobeprotectedagainstheatandbreakoutsandtheyaretohavegoodmechanicalstrength.
Ifelectricityisused,itisadvisabletohavesuppliesviaatleasttwoindependentcircuits,oneofthisistobea
safetycircuit.
Ifcontrolishydraulic,asuitablysizedaccumulatorneedstobeinstalled.
Controlcabinsfortapholedrillsandmudgunmachines
Controlcabinsforthetapholedrillsandmudgunmachinesaretobelocated,protectedandequippedinsucha
wayastopermitoperationeveninemergencies.Accordingly,theyneedtohavethefollowingbasicfeatures.
Thelocationofthecontrolcabinistobesuchthatthepersonnelarefullyprotectedfromtheriskofbreakouts
orexplosionsandcanobserveoperationsinaperfectmanner.
Nocombustiblematerialistobeusedinitsconstruction.
Atleasttwodifferentandindependententrancesaretobeprovided,oneofwhichistoaffordaccesstoan
emergencyevacuationplatformontheoutsideandwhichistobekeptclearatalltimes.
Therearenottobeanydoorsleadingfromthecabinstotherunners.
Theobservationwindowoverlookingthetappingareaistobe(i)beassmallaspossiblebutgivetheoperator
acompleteviewoftheareaofoperationsandlocationofthemudgunmachineand/ortapholedrill,(ii)befitted
withTriplexglasspanelsonaframewhichopensoutwards,protectedbyagrille,(iii)controlsaretobelocated
nexttothewindowssothattheoperatorcaneasilyworkthemwhilefollowingtheprogressofoperationsand
precautionsarerequiredtobetakentopreventaccidentaloperationofcontrols,and(iv)communication
betweenthecabinandotherplaceswhereworkconnectedwiththeoperationoftheblastfurnaceisdone,isto
beprovidedbyatleasttwoseparatesystemsoforalcommunication(internaltelephone,intercom,andradio
telephoneetc.).
Thecabinneedstobeprovidedwithaventilationsystemwhichdrawsairfromanareanotpollutedbysmoke
orgas.
Ifthecabincannotbelocatedinanareaprotectedfrompossiblesplashingorexplosions,thesafetymeasures
aretobeintensified.Inparticular,thedoorsaretobesetsothatanyexplosionwilltendtocloseratherthan
openthem,andthewalls,doorsandroofaretobecoveredwithflameandheatresistantmaterials.
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Manipulatorsforhotmetaltroughcovers
Foravoidingthecoolingofhotmetalpriortoitsdrainingintothehotmetalladles,themainandsupporttroughsfor
hotmetalaretobecoveredwithfixedandremovablecovers.Thesecoversarealsorequiredforefficientdustand
fumeextractioninthecasthouse.However,thetappingprocessandtapholemaintenancerequireunobstructed
accesstothefrontareaoftherunner.Removablecoversareusuallyliftedandmovedbymanipulators,opening
accessfortapholedrillsandmudgunmachines.Usingmanipulatorshelpstofullycoverthemaintroughand
increasethesafetyofmaintenancepersonnel.
Manipulatorsforhotmetaltroughcoversarenormallymountedunderthetuyereplatform.Theyarenormally
compactandareusuallyefficientlyoperatedthroughremotecontrolwithamanualoverridebackup.Important
featuresofmanipulatorsforhotmetaltroughcovergenerallyincludeapermanentlyconnectedcoverand
repeatablepositioning.Thesemanipulatorscanhaveeitherhydraulicorpneumaticoperation.
Manipulatorsforhotmetaltroughcoversresultintominimizedthecostofremovablecoverwhicharemost
exposedtohightemperaturesandquickwear.Themanipulatorsarerequirestoachievesignificantamountoffree
spaceonthecasthouseforsafetyandeaseofmaintenance.
Variousdesignsofmanipulatorsforhotmetaltroughcoversprovideflexiblesolutionsforvirtuallyallthe
requirementsoftheblastfurnacecasthouse,minimizethecapacityofmanipulator,anditsinitialcost.
Tiltingrunners
Tiltingrunnersareessentialequipmentforthecasthouseforthereliableandsafeteemingofhotmetalcast
usuallyforlargeblastfurnaces.Atiltingrunnerisnormallypositionedbetweentwohotmetaltracks.Therunneris
firsttiltedtofillthehotmetalladleononetrackandthentiltedbacktofilltheladleontheothertrack.Whilethe
secondladleisbeingfilled,thefirstonecanbereplacedwithanemptysothatthecastcanbecontinued
uninterruptedwhileseveralladlesarefilled.
Tiltingrunnersarenormallyofruggeddesignsandareusuallyequippedwithhydraulicdrivesforprovidingthe
anglesrequiredforteemingofthehotmetal.Theyarelargefabricateditemsandhencemeetingofthewelding
specificationiscritical.Theyarewellconceivedcontingencystrategiesforensuringoperationalsafety.The
operationofthetiltingrunnercanbeautomatedincombinationwithalevelmeasuringsystemforhotmetalladles.
Barchangers
Barchangerisaroboticmachineusedtohandleandinstallrodsorsoakingbarsintothetapholedrill.Abar
changernormallyincorporatesabarmagazinecontainingdifferentdiametersofbarorrod.Thearmofthemoving
carriagecanloadabarfromthemagazineintothedrillchuck,orremoveaspentbarfromthedrillafteruse.
Mudgunfillingmachine
Thesemachinesareusedfortheautomaticfillingofthemudgun.Aschematicforautomaticfillingofamudgun
machineisshowninFig2.

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Fig2SchematicforautomaticfillingofamudgunmachineJackdamdrills
Jackdamdrillsarefordrillingaholeintheskimmerplate/wallofthemaintroughoftheblastfurnace.This
ensuresthatcastproductsarefullydrainedfromthefurnace.Thedrillsaremadespecifictotheblastfurnaceto
meetthespecificrequirementssuchasthemaintroughlocation,foundations,columnsandfixedequipmentfor
eachspecificcasthouse.Equipmentdrivesareeitherhydraulicorpneumaticandarepoweredbyeitherthe
generalpumpunitoftheequipmentsystemorindependently.Thedrillsaremadeeitherportableorstationary.
Jackdamdrillisausefultoolfortheblastfurnacecasthouse.
Otherimportanttoolsandequipmentsusedinthecasthouse
Otherimportanttoolsandequipmentsusedinthecasthousearepokingbarsofdifferentsizesandlengths,
oxygenlancingequipments,samplingfacilities,andtemperaturemeasuringfacilitiesetc.Theseareinadditionto
thecranesandhandlingfacilitieswhichareneededforvariousoperationsinthecasthouseoftheblastfurnace.
Developmentsincasthouseequipments
Therehasbeenalotofdevelopmentintappingtechnologyoverthelast125130years.Whereasearlier
developmentsfocusedonthemechanicalaspectsofequipmentdesigns,recenteffortshavefocusedonelectric
andhydrauliccontrols.Futuredevelopmentswillhavetocontinuetostriveforlongertapholelifetimesbyallowing
forhardertapholemassesandbyreducingtheinfluenceofthehammersimpactenergyonthehearthrefractory.
Alternativestodrillingandplugginghaveprovenunfeasibleuptotoday.Thetappingvalveforblastfurnacesis
stilladreamofablastfurnaceoperator.Ideaslikestoppingorregulatingthemetalflowbymagneticcurrentshave
notworkedoutonanindustrialscale.

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