CUSTOMER: Corus’ Teesside Cast Products Slab & Bloom manufacturing facility

PROBLEM: Clearing slag build-up, allowing liquid steel to flow freely into a tundish, without placing personnel in danger is a problem that has long been recognised

 SOLUTION: Furmanite was called in and set up a new electronic safety lance, which automatically shuts down in the event of liquid steel spillage.   When using conventional oxygenlance systems for clearing these build-ups; molten metal splash can cause the hose to burst. At 10-15 bar g the pressure of the oxygen in the hose causes it to ‘whip around’, a situation that is dangerous for personnel as well creating a risk of explosion.

The new system, installed in the continuous casting plant and involves burning out ladle gates, includes a number of features to control these dangers, essentially it is pressure discharged until a quick-shut valve is operated to link the electrical circuit and allow oxygen to flow. In addition, wires, built into the vulcanised Neoprene core, sense any damage caused by liquid steel splashes and activate shutdown, safely discharging any excess oxygen and removing the pressure that previously caused the hose to ‘whip around’

OUTCOME: The increased safety protection offered by the system, along with the greatly improved durability of the vulcanised neoprene hose has ensured that the installation provides a safe and cost effective method of using oxygen during the burning out process.