Project Portfolio

Ingot Casting Plant

Basic Parameters of the Ingot Casting Facility:
  • Nominal annual production 50.000 MT
  • Ingot mass 3, 15 or 40 MT
  • Mass of the molten steel up to110 MT
  • Workshop length 48 m
  • Workshop width 24 m
  • Workshop high 24,5 m
Designing and building of the Ingot Casting Area Facility in the area of the Steel Shop Department, as extension to the existing Converter Steel Shop was initiated by the following:
  • Required modernization of the facility due to the
  • fact that existing 15 MT electrical furnace facility (in the area of this facility is located current Ingot casting area) is over 70 years old.
  • Requirements for Ingot Casting Area facility capacity incensement and usage of 40 MT molds instead 15 MT moulds that are currently in use. Equipment and Subsystems
  • Ingot Casting Area Building, length 48 m and width 24 m
  • Control Building: Control and MCC room, locker rooms
  • Vacuuming System – Mechanical water ring pump and 3 steps of steam ejectors
  • Vacuum Tank and Cover
  • Cover Transfer Car
  • OH crane, capacity 70 MT
  • Monorail, 5 MT
  • Automatic ingot tongs
  • Air mail
  • Pipelines for all fluids with entire armature
  • Power supply
  • Control and regulation system
  • Fire detection and protection system
Description of the ingot production process Production of ingots is consisted by 2 main technological processes:
  1. Vacuum Degazation Process – Hidrogen Removal,and
  2. Ingot Casting Vacuum Degazation Process The first and most obvious application of vacuum to extraction metallurgy is to the removal of dissolved gases like hydrogen from refined steel. This is carried out by subjecting a ladle of the metal to low pressure within a vacuum tank which is hermetically sealed and connected to vacuum pumping system. During Degazation, pressure in the vacuum tank should be below 1 mbar. Vacuum is forcing dissolved gases out of the melt. This procedure can be used in production of low carbon, high strength, micro alloyed, stainless and other classes of steel. The removal of gasses can be improved by introducing an inert gas such as argon into the metal melt. Argon is being injected through a porous plug in the ladle bottom. The melt starts to boil when certain vacuum is achieved in the vacuum tank.
Starting data:
  • Quantity of the liquid steel: 95 – 110 MT,
  • H2 Content before degazation: up to 7,5 ppm
  • Steel temperature: 1645 – 1650 0C,
Degazation data:
  • Pressure into vacuum tank: = 1 mbar
  • Ar flow: 400 – 600 N l/min
  • Time of Ar purging: up to 20 minutes.
Final data:
  • H2 Content after degazation: 1,4 to 1,7 ppm (below 2 ppm)
  • Steel temperature: 1570 - 1580 0C,
  • Ingot Casting Ingot casting is final metallurgical operation in steel metallurgy. Cast ingot has to have high strength, minimal degree of segregations, adequate chemical composition and well surface quality. Number of reactions is possible after pouring the melt in the mould (reaction with mould dressing, slag or atmosphere). Temperature is decreasing in cast steel (cooling of the melt) with simultaneously phase change (liquid to solid), lowering the solubility of gasses, etc. Dragging the casting powder from the top surface caused by turbulent flow of the melt in the mould, or mould inner refractory dressing could decrease purity of the steel. The purpose of ingot casting is producing of geometrically simple forms using vertical stable ingot moulds. Solidified steel semi product is called ingot. Ingots are designed for further processing by plastic deformation (rolling or forging). Casting trolley is used for transporting of casting ladle with liquid steel from the vacuum tank to casting pit.
Casting pit is designed for the following size of ingots:
  • 3 MT – in set of 5 pcs,
  • 15 MT –in configuration of 3 x (2 x15 MT),
  • 40 MT – in configuration of 2 x (2 x 40 MT, or in some combination of previously configuration.

Scope of Work:
  • Basic and detail design of Ingot Casting Plant
  • Manufacturing of equipment
  • QA During Manufacturing
  • Erection and Connections
  • Cold & Hot Testing
  • Start-Up
  • Training of Production and Maintenance personnel