Rourkela Steel Plant Research Articles

Development of Metallic Fibre-Reinforced MgO-C Brick and its Application at the SAIL Rourkela Steel Plant

Magnesia carbon (MgO-C) bricks are widely used in steel ladles and converters in the iron and steel industry. Bricks of different composition are used depending on the chemical, mechanical and thermal conditions encountered by the converter/ladle. Brick varieties have different erosion behaviour. The critical areas in these iron and steel processing devices are the charge pad area of converters and the impact area of steel ladles, where hot liquid metal or high temperature liquid steel directly strike from a height, causing thermo-mechanical abrasion. A special composition of MgO-C bricks reinforced with stainless steel fibres was developed at the Research and Development Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS) and samples were characterised at laboratory scale. The added fibre design was optimised for hot strength properties. Bricks were manufactured at Lime Dolomite Brick Plant (LDBP), a sister plant of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), based on laboratory test results. The paper describes the details of brick composition, results of lab testing and the performance of bricks in plant-scale trials at RSP.

Cleaning the inclined flues in coke batteries with bottom heating-gas supply

Operational problems at coke battery 6 of Rourkela Steel Plant in India are considered. The structure of coke battery 6 of PVR type (useful capacity of the coke ovens 41.6 m3) is described; it is characterized by bottom supply of the heating gas and hybrid heating. Removing the scale buildup from the inclined section of the heating channels improves the thermal and hydraulic conditions, extends coke-battery life, and eliminates nonuniform heating of the coke cake.

Study on blast furnace cooling stave for various refractory linings based on numerical modeling

Cooling technology for refractory lining of blast furnace is very important for the metallurgical industry, because it can substantially increase output and operation life of furnaces. A three dimensional mathematical model for the temperature field of the blast furnace stave cooler with refractory lining has been developed and analyzed. The temperature and heat dissipated by stave cooler is examined by using the finite element method. The cast steel stave is studied and computational analysis is made to know the effect of the cooling water velocity, temperature, and the lining material on the maximum temperature of the stave hot surface. The refractory lining materials, which are used in this experiment, are high alumina bricks with different stave materials (copper, aluminum and cast iron). The obtained numerical calculations are compared with that obtained from experiments performed at Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha taking a stave in belly zone having maximum heat load shows very good agreement.

Adoption of Sinter Addition in Steelmaking Converter to Control Spitting

Steel Melting Shop-I, Rourkela Steel Plant, Rourkela, produces 0.5 MT of various special steels through BOF-VAR/VOR-LF-CC route. One of the most serious problems in BOF operations was lance skulling, hood jamming, and build-up of metal in the mouth and cone of the furnace due to spitting and slopping. As spitting occurring during blowing increases, these particles of metal are deposited inside the mouth and cone and affect badly BOF productivity. In the present work, control of spitting has been established by addition of sinter during the period of spitting. It also helped to improve the slag formation and fluidity of slag through increase of FeO content during peak decarburisation period.

Repair and sealing of nozzle channels in coke batteries with bottom heating-gas supply

Problems in the operation of coke battery 6 at Rourkela Steel Plant (India) are analyzed. Coke battery 6 is of PVR-51 type, with heating-gas supply at the bottom, and consists of 41.6-m3 ovens; combined heating is employed. The use of a stainless-steel sleeve to eliminate the leaking of heating gas (coke-oven gas) from the hearth channels at the slipping seams is described. This extends battery life and eliminates the leakage of coke-oven gas.

Computational Modeling of Blast Furnace Stave Cooler Based on Steady State Heat Transfer Analysis

The technology of the furnace cooling is very important for the metallurgical industry, because it can substantially increase output and operation life of furnaces. A three dimensional mathematical model for the temperature field of the blast furnace stave cooler has been developed and analyzed. The temperature and heat dissipated by stave cooler is examined by using the finite element method. The cast steel stave is studied and computational analysis is made to know the effect of the cooling water velocity, temperature, and the lining material on the maximum temperature of the stave hot surface. The refractory lining materials, which are used in this experiment, are high alumina bricks with different stave materials (copper, aluminum and cast iron). The obtained numerical calculations are compared with that obtained from experiments performed at Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha taking a stave in belly zone having maximum heat load shows very good agreement.

Evaluation of Effectiveness of Training Programme in Indian Steel Industry

A B S T R A C T Training, like any other organizational aspects, requires commitment of organizational resources in the forms of time, energy, managerial efforts and money. Organizations therefore need to know whether an investment made on training is producing the desired results, i.e., whether training imparted is effective. The class-room learning is more of theoretical in nature. Unless theory is integrated into practice, the learning remains incomplete and static. Generally, training evaluation determines a training programme's effectiveness in meeting its intended purpose, which mainly produces competent employees. Programme evaluation focuses on the results of the training programme and not on the process of training programme. Training programmes invariably inherit expectations in terms of demonstrated benefit to the organization. The purpose of this study is therefore to make an in depth analysis of the training programmes being practiced in Rourkela Steel Plant, vis-a-vis other standard organizations in Steel manufacturing business namely, SAIL, Tata Steel, and JINDAL so as to evaluate and judge their effectiveness.

Application of Improved Quality Tap Hole Sleeve to Increase Shop Productivity at Rourkela Steel Plant

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has undergone massive modernization to increase production from the existing level of 2.18 Mt to 4.2 Mt crude steel after commissioning of one additional 4060 m3 blast furnace and a third converter of 150 t capacity in Steel Melting Shop-II (SMS-II). The increased volume of quality steel production will largely depend on shop productivity with higher converter availability along with a lower down time for maintenance. The design and refractory quality of the tap hole sleeve for the converter plays an important role in the production of liquid steel and availability of the converter. At RSP, MgO-C quality zonal lining material is manufactured at the in-house brick plant (LDBP) while the tap hole sleeve for the converter is procured from various reputed refractory manufacturers. The life of the sleeve varies between 58 heats and 100 heats with an average of around 70 heats. The frequent change of tap hole sleeves not only affects converter lining life due to thermal spalling but also decreases availability of the converter. Improved dense quality tap hole sleeves with less material segregation leading to uniform density, chemical composition and strength across the entire tap hole length were procured and tried in converter A of SMS-II. These tap hole sleeves were manufactured in small pieces, pre-assembled to the required size and delivered as single entities of varying denominations. The service life of these tap hole sleeves reached an average level of 93 heats with a peak of 130 heats and the major portion of heats fell within 5–7 min tap duration which helped in less slag carryover and suggestive of reduced consumption of deoxidants.

Reduction in diversion due to coil break in CRNO grades of coils

Diversion due to coil break in cold rolled non oriented (CRNO) grades of coils showed an increasing trend during Jan–May’12 at Silicon Steel Mill (SSM), Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). Coil break increased from a level of less than 1% during to a level of 30% in May’12. Samples from hot rolled coils and finished coils were taken and detailed metallurgical investigation was carried out to ascertain the genesis of such defects. Further studies were carried out in the processing lines and material flow was tracked from steel making to final product. The probable reasons were identified and corrective measures were taken leading to reduction in diversion due to coil break less than 2%.

Sons of Soil, Sons of Steel: Autochthony, Descent and the Class Concept in Industrial India

AbstractInspired by E. P. Thompson's modelling of class as the contingent outcome of historical processes, this paper explores how autochthony and descent came to inform the boundaries of industrial workforces in the Indian steel towns of Jamshedpur and Rourkela. We suggest that if class is a historical object, then it relates to other forms of power and identity in ways that question the use of rigid analytic typologies. In the private sector Tata company town of Jamshedpur, an industrial working class was constructed during the late colonial period from labour migrants, whose employment became heritable within families. In the public sector Rourkela Steel Plant, founded in the mid-twentieth century, the politics of ethno regionalism coincided with state development policy to inform employment reservation for autochthons. Through a historical analysis of urbanization, migration and employment policy, we consider how elite workforces that bound themselves according to the principles of autochthony and descent were formed in the social laboratories of India's steel towns. We suggest that such processes demand a class concept that engages more subtly with the work of E. P. Thompson.

Mercury Resistant Bacterial Population and Characterization of Bacillus sp., Isolated From Sediment of Solid Waste Discharged Point of Steel Industry

Most of the soil bacteria which are continuously exposed to mercury present in soil and sediments of lakes and rivers have genetically adapted to resist its toxicity. In the present study, mercury resistant bacterial population was enumerated from sediment samples of Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha and a highly mercury resistant strain (MIC = 100 ppm), identified as Bacillus sp., was characterized by various biochemical tests. Mercury levels in the collected sediments were in the range of 0.054–0.079 ppm. Percentages of mercury resistant bacteria in sediments at four sites were 42, 26.32, 67.56, 83.93 % respectively. The highly resistant strain Bacillus sp. could grow well with 7 and 8 pH, 45 °C temperature and 6 ppt NaCl concentration. MIC of Zn, Cu, Fe and Cd are 40, 40, 40 and 20 ppm respectively. The isolate Bacillus sp. SD-43 which has shown greater tolerance of mercury besides volatilizing 60.06 % of mercury as HgCl2 is attributed to the adaptation towards various stress conditions and may be potentially utilized in the process of bioremediation of mercury in contaminated area.

Strength characteristics of fiber-reinforced compacted pond ash

This paper reports the strength properties of compacted pond ash reinforced with randomly oriented polyester fibers. The pond ash sample, collected from ash pond of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), was subjected to compactive energies varying from 357 to 3488 kJ m−3, and the optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) corresponding to these compactive energies were determined by conventional compaction tests. The shear strength parameters and unconfined compression strength (UCS) of pond ash specimens compacted to standard and modified Proctor densities with 6 and 12 mm length fibers and fiber contents varying as 0, 0·1, 0·2, 0·3, 0·4, 0·5, 0·75, and 1·0% were evaluated and reported. The test results show that the inclusion of fibers in pond ash increases the peak compressive strength and peak friction angle, and imparts ductility to the specimens. For a given compacted density and fiber content, the 12-mm-size fiber gives higher strength than 6-mm-size fibers. The strength values obtained in the present study are comparable and even better than the good quality, similar graded conventional earth materials.

An Innovative Magnetic Charging Chute to Improve Productivity of Sinter Machine at Rourkela Steel Plant

Sintering is a process in sinter machine for agglomeration of iron ore and other raw material fines into a compact porous mass, i.e., sinter, used in Blast Furnaces as an iron bearing input charge material for hot metal production. ‘Permeability’ of sinter-bed on sinter machine i.e., the porosity in sinter-bed of charged materials, facilitates atmospheric air passes from the top to bottom across the depth of sinter-bed, when suction created from the bottom of the bed, for efficient heat carry over from top to bottom of the bed for complete burning of charged materials for effective sintering process controls the productivity of the sinter machine. The level of ‘permeability’ in sinter-bed is depending upon the effectiveness of ‘charging chute’ in size-wise ‘segregation’ of charge materials across the depth in sinter-bed, achieved due to differences in the sliding velocities of particles during charging into the moving sinter-bed. The permeability achieved by the earlier conventional ‘charging chute’ was limited due to its design and positional constraints in sinter machine. Improving the productivity of sinter machine, through increased permeability of sinter bed is successfully achieved through implementation of an innovatively designed and developed, “Magnetic Charging Chute” at Sinter Plant no. 2 of Rourkela Steel Plant. The induced magnetic force on the charged materials while the charge materials dropping down through the charge chute has improved the permeability of sinter bed through an unique method of segregating the para-magnetic materials and the finer materials of the charge materials to top layer of sinter bed along with improved size-wise segregation of charge materials. This has increased the productivity of the sinter machine by 3% and also reduced the solid fuel consumption i.e., coke breeze in input charge materials by 1kg/t of sinter.

An Intelligent Permeability Optimization System at Sinter Plant of Rourkela Steel Plant

The permeability of sinter mix is one of the vital parameters that affect the performance of sintering process. The amount of water added in the granulation drum has a significant effect on the permeability of the sinter bed and sinter machine productivity. Considering the variation in input feed materials and the parabolic nature of permeability-moisture curve, the optimum level of water addition is a difficult task for the operator to determine. Therefore a mathematical model based intelligent permeability measurement system is developed which determine the required amount of water to be added in granulation drum to achieve the optimum permeability based on the given input material.

Hybrid Modeling of Flat Rolling Process during Hot Rolling

Mathematical Modeling is an effective technique for prediction of process parameters in industrial processes. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique has also been used to recognize a pattern in the given data by training itself. Further the trained network is used for future prediction of process parameters on the basis of the pattern recognition. The mathematical models are based on some ideal assumptions which are not valid in practical industrial conditions. Similarly high variability in industrial data makes pattern recognition difficult for ANN models and leads to high errors of prediction. In the present work, an attempt has been made to develop a hybrid model by integrating two mathematical models and ANN model for prediction of roll force during hot rolling of flat rolled steel products. The mathematical equations for roll force have been derived from the pressure distribution equation derived by Sims and Tselikov. A feed-forward network with back-propagation algorithm has been selected for ANN. All the three methods have been converted into computer code using Visual Basic.Net programming language. The hybrid model has been trained with about 2500 hot rolled steel coil data collected from Bokaro Steel Plant and Rourkela Steel Plant consisting of three different steel grades. The hybrid model has been validated with measured data of about 1000 coils. Combinations of ANN network in hybrid model having different number of hidden neurons and learning rate have been formulated, trained and validated. The final hybrid model has been selected from these combinations which has maximum accuracy. Also Multi-variable optimization technique can be used to find out the values for various input conditions which affect the flow stress and the roll force, minimizing the Root Mean Square Error. When comparing the root mean square error (RMSE) of model, it has been found that the RMSE of hybrid model is about 25% less than that of Mathematical Model.

Strength characteristics of compacted pond ash

Strength properties of compacted ash layers depend to a great extent on the moulding conditions. This paper focuses on the effects of compaction energy and degree of saturation on strength characteristics of compacted pond ash. The pond ash sample, collected from the ash pond of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), was subjected to compactive energies varying from 357 kJ/m3 to 3488 kJ/m3. The optimum moisture content and maximum dry densities corresponding to different compactive energies were determined by conventional compaction tests. The shear strength parameters, unconfined compressive strengths (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) values of specimens compacted to different dry densities and moisture content were assessed and reported. The effects of compaction energy and degree of saturation on shear strength parameters i.e. unit cohesion (cu) and angle of internal friction (Ф) values and also the UCS values are evaluated and presented herein. The results indicate that the dry density and strength of the compacted pond ash can be suitably modified by controlling the compactive energy and moulding moisture content. The strength achieved in the present study is comparable to the good quality, similar graded conventional earth materials. Hence, it may be safely concluded that pond ash can replace the natural earth materials in geotechnical constructions.

Regenerating organizational strength the employee centric way

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the ways and means of creating value and delivering it through people centric initiatives that look beyond technology and reach out to people as instruments in creating a profitable, harmonious and vibrant organization.Design/methodology/approachA case study illustrates strategies of a transformational leader to turnaround an organization, whose survival was at stake, with the help of employees by unleashing their potential and communicating the vision, goals, mission and financial health of the organization.FindingsThe paper presents practical case study material from Rourkela Steel Plant – an integral part of Steel Authority of India Limited. It gives a comprehensive picture of employee centric change interventions and reforms that were the epicenter of the turnaround strategies and helped the organization towards recovery and growth after incurring heavy losses. A set of carefully designed workshops provided the framework for the involvement, motivation and engagement of people, which led to the building of a customer responsive, quality conscious, responsible and committed organizational culture.Originality/valueThis paper ascertains some of the key initiatives for value creation and delivery by involving the vital resources of the organization as illustrated by the case study. It demonstrates a number of practical tools HR professionals can utilize to create a vibrant organizational culture that facilitates free flow of ideas and taps the energy, commitment and imagination of employees, in order to increase productivity, profitability and performance of the organization.

Soft computing for HR uncertainty management in steel industry

This paper discussed possible application of soft computing methods in uncertainty management of the HR component in steel industry during automation period. It explained the importance of HR, the concept of uncertainty management and risk. Risk assessment map of Rourkela Steel Plant is prepared. Then, it discussed what to look in soft computing for uncertainty management.

Rourkela steel plant rolls out successful people strategy

PurposeThe article aims to explain how leaders who initiate people‐centric reforms can help to create a profitable, harmonious and vibrant organization.Design/methodology/approachThe article illustrates the point through a case study of the work of Sanak Mishra as chief executive of the Rourkela steel plant, India.FindingsThe article describes the traits of effective leadership for handling people. It advances the view that successful change initiatives require: people who have the tools and techniques to perform well; a shared vision between leaders and employees and the alignment of organizational goals with those of individuals; open communications across the organization to facilitate the sharing of the ideas, information and knowledge and build an atmosphere of trust; leaders who know how to empower people by delegating authority, and understand when to intervene; leaders who can network with external constituencies, troubleshoot and manage conflicts; leaders who can link the present with a better future for the organization; and leaders with the skills to create a supportive climate in the organization and the ability to influence employees to change their behavior.Social implicationsThe impact of wider economic forces on the fate of an Indian steel plant is considered.Originality/valueThe article emphasizes that effective leaders are able to facilitate the free flow of ideas and tap the energy, commitment and imagination of employees, which then become the vehicle to increase productivity, profitability and the performance of the organization.

Steel plant production line automation strategy using advanced distributed control and convergent technology

This paper presents work on modernisation of a small-scale steel plant production line utilising distributed control strategy and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), known as convergent technology. The developed strategy uses the latest manufacturing techniques and principles, as well as advanced automation and control technology. In particular, we used lean principles and field bus type systems to achieve the above, respectively. Moreover, the entire development considers essential design attributes such as flexibility, scalability, configurability and intelligence. We have demonstrated the above implementation in a real-world application. This work can be extended to the large scale steel plant like Rourkela steel plant of Odisha.