Swedish steel producer Ovako has awarded Systems Spray-Cooled (SSC) the contract to modernise and increase safety on its Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). It will be the first Spray-Cooled roof in the Nordic region, the company claims, and will be located at Ovako’s bar, billet, tube, and rings facility in Hofors, Sweden.
Ovako was first being exposed to Spray-Cooled technology at the European Electric Steelmaking Conference in Italy and has weighed the new technology against its current pressurised tubular roofs. The main concern was implementing the technology with its environment (piping); otherwise, Ovako has been highly enthusiastic about the technology and, claims SSC, saw clear advantages for maintenance and safety. Because Spray-Cooled equipment operates at atmospheric pressure, the cooling water is not pumped across the area to be cooled. Therefore, the potential for high pressure, high volume water leaks is eliminated, the company claims.
Under the contract, the new roof will be engineered to work with Ovako’s current furnace set-up, as well as 'future-proofed' to integrate with planned furnace upgrades. To alleviate concerns about potential piping issues, the new roof will be engineered using state-of-the-art 3D laser scans of the current furnace and surrounding mill. According to SSC, the 3D laser scan will aid in the design, especially since the available drawings are 25 years old and are said to have discrepancies. It will also allow piping to be designed accurately for easy fitment and should greatly reduce or eliminate unforeseen issues in the process.
The Hofors steelmaking operation, based around ingot casting, has an annual capacity of about 500kt of ingots. The tube rolling capacity is about 120kt annually and the ring rolling capacity about 45kt/yr.
What is described by SSC as an ‘unconventional cantilever-lift roof’ will be fabricated in Germany. Ovako and SSC plan on commissioning in January 2018.