AISTech 2019 — Proceedings of the Iron & Steel Technology Conference

6–9 May 2019, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA

DOI 10.1000.377.033

ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor East No. 7 Blast Furnace Casthouse Tapping Equipment Upgrades

Jon Marsh1, Anthony Gadzala1, Ryan Gawron1, Keith Martin1, Joseph Brunner1, James Bobek1, Mark Anthony2,
Romain Clesen3.
1
ArcelorMittal
3210 Watling St, East Chicago, IN, U.S.A., 46312

Email: Jon.Marsh@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219 399 5120
Email: Anthony.Gadzala@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219-399-7071
Email: Ryan.Gawron@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219-399-4154
Email: Keith.Martin@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219-399-8461
Email: Joseph.Brunner@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219-399-6664
Email: James.Bobek@arcelormittal.com
Phone: +1-219-399-6285
2
Paul Wurth
2800, E.Evans Avenue Valparaiso, IN, USA, 46383
Phone: 219-850-1305
Email: Mark.Anthony@paulwurth.com
3
TMT Tapping Measuring Technology Sàrl
32, rue d’Alsace, L-1122 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Phone: +352 261920 - 2458
Email: romain.clesen@tmt.com

Keywords: Casthouse, claygun, taphole drill, taphole

INTRODUCTION
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor No. 7 Blast Furnace is located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in East Chicago,
Indiana. No. 7 Blast Furnace is a 40-tuyere, four-taphole Blast Furnace with a maximum production capability of 12,000
metric tons per day. ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company, with an annual achievable production
capacity of approximately 113 million tons of crude steel, and some 199,000 employees across 60 countries. [1] The focus of
this paper will be to discuss the casthouse taphole blocking and tapping equipment modifications that were implemented in
the past two years and the results that were seen from these changes.

DISCUSSION

Project objectives:
In 2016, A World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Cost Deployment Exercise was performed to analyze the equipment losses in
2015. Mudguns and tapdrills were identified as two of ten pieces of equipment that were responsible for 80% of the total
losses. Two Professional Maintenance Projects were initiated, one each for taphole drills and clayguns. The teams consisted
of managers, engineers, supervisors, maintenance technicians, and operating personnel. The approach taken used a 10-step

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 329

Standard Kaizen method to mitigate the losses, increase reliability and improve the performance of the drilling and blocking
equipment.

EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS / UPGRADES

1. Mudgun Modifications:
The goal of modifying the mudguns was to successfully block the taphole one-hundred percent of the time. Almost every
unsuccessful attempt to block the taphole led to safety incidents, delay time, or equipment damage. In the 10-step Kaizen that
was performed for the mudguns, it was determined by the team that there were two main areas to address: (1) the heating
system used for the clay barrel (2) the ability to monitor ram position, ram speed, ram hydraulic pressure, swing distance, and
when the operators used the push button commands.
In addition to this, there were multiple delays during the reference period that could be attributed to the design of the nose
and transition piece. These delays were identified as “no-stops”, when we were unable to successfully block the taphole, and
would be forced to reduce the furnace wind rate to prevent any equipment damage or safety events. A major contributor to
these delays was a misalignment between the mudgun nose and the taphole face. This misalignment was caused by the act of
tightening the nose by hammering wedges to secure the nose to the transition. We also identified that the wedges were being
installed incorrectly (backwards) and there was variation from operator to operator.

Figure 1. Mudgun barrel and nose transition; old (left) vs. new (right).
Furthermore, we eliminated multiple safety concerns which arose from injuries sustained while opening and cleaning the
mudgun nose. The new design no longer required operators to hammer the wedges out, swing the nose open, or dig out the
cured/burnt clay from the nose. This eliminated acts that could cause strain on the operators. By not digging out the material,
we eliminated the tripping hazards created from the piles of cured clay. A further improvement included a larger clay-loading
door to allow for less maneuvering of the clay by the operators while loading the gun, creating a more ergonomically-friendly
process.

1.1 Water-cooled mudgun nozzle:

We upgraded the mudgun nozzle transition piece to a water cooled/heated transition piece. Between casts the nozzle
transition is heated with steam injected water to keep the clay malleable for ease of extrusion. During hole plugging the
transition piece is cooled with water to prevent clay from curing in the transition piece.
By changing the design of the nose/transition interface, we eliminated a step in the mudgun preparation stage. This step
required operators to open the mudgun nose after each stop to clean out the clay that had cured during the mudgun dwell time
(~15 minutes). By keeping the transition cool during blocking of the taphole, we were able to save approximately 48 kg (105
lb) per stop. This equated to approximately 177,000 kg/year (390,000 lb/year) in clay savings.

330 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

 Figure 2. New Mudgun Nozzle Transition Piece Section Views
1.2 Hard Surfaced Mudgun Barrel:
Another goal of the project was to improve the service life of the equipment. With the current chromed and polished Mudgun
barrels lasting about one year we decided to trial an upgrade to a welded hard surface barrel. The hard surfacing that was
used is Stoody® hard surfacing. The price of the hard-surfaced barrel increased due to the entire bore having to be welded
and machined. However, it was expected that the increased cost of the barrel would be offset by the increase in life. The first
trial was successful and the barrel lasted more than 2 years. We are in the process of converting all other mudgun barrels to
the hard-surfaced design.

Figure 3. External hard-surfaced mudgun barrel.

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 331

 Figure 4. Close up of hard-surfacing down end of mdugun barrel.
2. Taphole Drill Modifications:
During a single campaign, a taphole drill will open a taphole approximately 162 times in 27 days. Another 10-step Kaizen
was performed to evaluate the current taphole drills and determine a course of action for improving drill reliability and reduce
delay time attributed to the drills. An action plan was developed, and improvements were made as money and time allowed
based upon a rotating repair schedule used for the four tapholes. One of the goals was to make all improvements while each
system was down for a scheduled reline/repair. The modifications were made in parallel and will be described in the
following pages.

2.1 TMT/Paul Wurth HM761 Taphole Drill:

A decision was made to trial a different type of drill due to the mean-time-between-failure of only 17.4 days (418 hours).
This is equivalent to approximately 104 casts (drill-ups). Although, not all failures required a complete drill (slabback)
change out. The average campaign life of the tap-drills at that time was approximately 50 days or 325-350 casts (drill-ups).
The TMT/Paul Wurth HM761 Taphole drill was selected for the following expected reasons: three-times (3x) more drill
torque, 1/3 less parts, enhanced lubrication distribution system, longer service lime before overhaul, rebuilds performed by
trained Paul Wurth machinist (as opposed to maintenance mechanics with less training), and less routine maintenance
required.
The original trial drill was implemented on one of the four tapholes in 2016. The trial drill was in service for 8-9 months prior
to being changed. The drill was changed to evaluate the condition of the internal components. Halfway through the trial
period, the decision was made to convert all the four tapholes to the HM761 drill. By the middle of 2017, we had successfully
installed the tapdrills on all four of the casting systems.
What we saw were good drill-ups with clean opens on the freshly installed drills. We did see a deterioration in drill
performance over time as measured by the number of bits/shafts used during taphole opening. Due to this deterioration we
implemented a time-based maintenance approach to have the drills overhauled no longer than 12 months. During the trial
period, changes in production driving rate may have also contributed to the increased usage of bits/shafts. Recently operators
have been directed to push less clay when stopping the taphole to see the effect on number of bits/shafts used. We do not
have enough data at this time to validate that the change has had any effect on number of bits/shafts used.
There have been some growing pains with installation of the new drills which we’ve identified and have implemented
countermeasures to improve drill performance. The failures ranged from a delay in opening the hole, resulting in the use of
multiple shafts/bits, lancing of the taphole, and even a complete changeout of the drill motor. We had three newly installed
drills reverse hammer failures which we determined to be the result of missing nitrogen filters. These filters were part of the
old system but were thought to be unnecessary and were removed during the installation of the new drills; it was soon learned
that these are required to prolong drill life by preventing the reverse hammer from locking up.
There have been multiple striking bar and drill coupling failures which we have attributed to excessive idle hammering. We
are now working with operators to prevent all idle hammering.
Another failure we have seen is with the pipe fittings located inside the slabback. The fittings would either come loose or
crack due to the vibrations during drill operation. While we worked through this issue, we had mechanics check these pipes

332 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

and fittings two times per week, on Mondays and Thursdays, to tighten or change them. We have since changed these pipes
and fittings to hosing and have not had any of these failures since.

Figure 5. TMT HM761 Taphole Drill

2.2 Ross 3-way solenoid valve control for drill traverse:
Another issue that was identified was the old system used a joystick controlled compressed air line for the forward and
reverse traverse of the drill. The joystick controlled the direction of air flow for the drill traverse and was in the control pulpit
approximately one-hundred-fifty feet from the drill itself. Due to the distance of the piping there was a considerable pressure
drop between the compressed air feed and the drill traverse pressure at the drill. Prior to changing direction of the drill, the air
in the lines would need to be evacuated which caused a delay in the operation of the drill traverse. Some delay minutes were
attributed to the drill equipment being damaged due to a perceived operator error or actual operator error relating to this issue.
To eliminate the “lag” in the drill traverse, a new type of control valve was investigated and eventually installed.
Ross three-way solenoid valves were installed on tuyere level (closer to the drill itself) to control the drill traverse. The
joystick used to control the valve is located directly on control pulpit desk, whereas the old joystick was located off to the
side of the desk and required the operator to stand off to the side of the desk while drilling. These valves have excellent
response time when compared with the old system. The regulators can be set for a wide range of pressures limited only by the
nitrogen feed pressure of 100 psi. This allowed for immediate response and a higher pressure for removal of the drill.

Figure 6. Drill traverse skid w/ Ross three-way solenoid valves installed

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 333

 2.3 Lincoln Lubrication System:
Another issue identified with the drill system was that the oilers for the nitrogen feed lines would go empty or get plugged
with no feedback for an operator to identify the issue. These oilers were not checked frequently enough to prevent them from
running dry. The old system used an oil-drip system which did not continuously feed the drill and caused pre-mature failure
of some drill components.
A good taphole drill pneumatic lubrication system is essential to achieving a full campaign life. One of the modifications
made was to incorporate the Lincoln Lubrication system. This system has one circuit for forward hammer and one for
reverse hammer. The features of this system are a 2.8 cc/min flow rate, clear reservoir to determine volume, a low-level alert
switch, micro flowmeters to monitor flow and push buttons in cabinet for testing and adding additional oil to N2 line. There
is also an initial pre-lube that is triggered by the swing command for 30 sec. The low-level alert switch was incorporated into
the control pulpit desk alarm screen to allow for operating personnel to identify when the oil levels were low and to allow for
them to call for maintenance to be done on the drill.

Figure 7. Lincoln lubrication system cabinet.

2.4 Drill Bit Water Mist Blow Air (nitrogen) Cabinets:
Issues with cooling the drill rod and bit were identified by the operators due to the need to constantly change bits while
drilling the tapholes. A more robust drill bit water mist blow air (nitrogen) system was installed with cabinet’s at all four
tapholes. These cabinets mix atomized water with the drill bit blow air to cool the rod and bit while also evacuating the
taphole of debris to increase the cutting efficiency. The water pressure is 130-150 psi filtered to 20 micron with a water flow
rate at 30-60 L/hr.

Figure 8. TMT/Paul Wurth water mist cabinet.

334 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

 Figure 9. Water mist testing (no drill rod installed).
2.5 Hose Catrac and Stainless Steel Piping Upgrade:
Another area for improvement layed within the delivery system for compressed air to drive hammer, rotation, and traverse of
the drill. There were many failures that occurred due to the old design that utilized a swivel-piping design as well as rubber
hoses that would fail over time. All the casthouse hard piping up to the drills and drill systems was replaced with stainless
steel piping and GSM Armor hose. The drill feed shells were outfitted with a Catrac hose carrier system to contain and
protect the hoses connected to the drill during forward and reverse traversing. There has been a substantial decline in the
number of hose failures since the Catrac’s were installed which has led to a decrease in delay minutes attributed to the drills.

Figure 10. Stainless steel piping and GSM armored hose upgrade.

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 335

 Figure 11. TMT/Paul Wurth hose Catrac.

3. Contrologix PLC and Operator Pulpit Desk Upgrades:

The electrical group identified an area for improvement that included upgrading the pulpit control panels. The old systems
wiring and connections were old, fragile, and prone to breaking leading to drilling failures; this required constant
troubleshooting and repair. The relay logic system that was utilized previously was upgraded to a Contrologix PLC system.
The upgrades made to the PLC system gave us better control of the equipment and gave us more data to be tracked and used
for troubleshooting issues drilling the taphole.

Figure 12. Relay logic (left, old) vs. Contrologix PLC (right, new).

336 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

 Figure 13. Control pulpit operator's desk; old (left) vs. new (right).
Touchscreen monitors were incorporated into the control pulpit desks to allow for continuous feedback to the operators for
their use while running the equipment. Through talking with operations personnel, we determined which parameters to be
incorporated and developed into the HMI screens for the operators. The screens allowed for real-time data to be displayed
which included a graph of ram hydraulic pressure and other instantaneous values including: mm clay pushed, push time, ram
speed, and temperature set points versus process values. By including this information, every operator has the ability to see
the performance of each taphole stop in real-time. We were also able to eliminate a separate environmental control system
which was used for placing active casting systems into the correct “state” and accordingly would open/close dampers to
allow for adequate fume collection. Another improvement was incorporating an alarm screen that could be used to identify
issues with the oil lubrication system and hydraulic system, allowing the operators to proactively call for required
maintenance on the equipment.

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 337

Figure 14. Control pulpit panelview screens. (Top Left) Default display with mudgun parameter feedback, emissions system
selection, and alarm screen. (Top Right) Live trend of ram hydraulic pressure. (Bottom Left) Drill Status screen used while
(Bottom Right) Tapdrill and Mudgun pump status.

CONCLUSIONS
Successfully opening and blocking tapholes is crucial for optimal casthouse, and ultimately blast furnace, operation. The steel
industry is filled with outdated technology and a blast furnace casthouse is no exception to this. By implementing up-to-date
technology to important pieces of equipment, the overall operation can be improved substantially. Initiatives for a lower cost,
safer, and more robust operation can be driven through these innovations in technology. The input of all groups, including
operators, maintenance personnel, and management is essential when implementing these changes.

REFERENCES
1. “At a Glance.” The World's Leading Steelmaker – ArcelorMittal, https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/who-we-are/at-a-
glance

338 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.