Import Substitution and Improved Performance of Aluminous Refractories in Continuous Reheating Furnaces of Durgapur Steel Plant

Abstract

Uninterrupted service of continuous reheating furnaces is essential for augmenting finished steel production. The furnace availability is affected due to fast wearing of refractories in certain vital locations, and the maintenance costs rise sharply due to frequent shut-down for repairing/replacing the damaged brick-work.Since the inception of Durgapur Steel Plant, the ejector-axis hearths or effective hearths of both billet and slab reheating furnaces (working temperature 1270°C ±20°C) were lined with imported aluminous bricks (Al2O3 83–86%), but the performance was not satisfactory. Trials had been conducted in 1974 and 1975 by employing aluminous bricks (Al2O3 88% min) from an indigenous source and the same has now successfully replaced import. Further, the life of ejector-axis hearth has doubled from what was obtained with the use of imported bricks. Apart from import substitution, the use of this indigenous brick simultaneously increased the availability of reheating furnaces for rolling.