Introduction to Mukand Mukand Ltd needs no introduction to people who have been one of the leaders in this field.

Mukand has grown over a period of 68 years from 1937 to a company which has a turn over of more than 3000 crores and employees nearly 700 workers and more than 500 qualified engineers. Company Profile Name: M/S Mukand Ltd Location: M/S Mukand Ltd, Thane-Belapur Road, Kalwe Dist-Thane Tel- 9122-7635820, 79201381 Facsimile - 9122-7630978 Established Year- 1937 Product Range- Heat Exchanger, Pressure Vessels, Cranes, Storage Tanks, Agitators, Collumns Employee Nos. - 7000 Yearly Turnover- 3000 Crores Mukand is Steel, The Quality Steel this motto has been proved by Mukands 76 years of performance in the steel sector that has lead Mukand to be the leader of high technical Steel makers in the private sector. It makes products out of which thousands of other products are made. Besides this, its biggest strength lies in the ability to manage projects however big they might be. With its vast resources of men, machines, capital and materials. Mukand Ltd is growing and helping others to grow. It has the largest foundry in the Non-Government sector a well equipped machine building division and an efficient engineering and construction division that provides best of the service to many vital sectors of national economy like steel, oil refineries, fertilizers plants and even equipments for the space research program. Mukand has also diversified in the contracts and engineering service activity. The company has comprehensive facilities required for making and shaping high quality steels. Mukand started its machine building activity by making Electric Overhead Travel Cranes (E.O.T.) for its own use but now it has grown into highly diversified industrial machinery making division. It offers a comprehensive range of machinery required for material handling in workshop [, mills, mines and ports for

processing of metals, chemicals and fertilizers. With years of experience in the engineering field, it was but logical to diversify into the field of engineering consultancy. Reason of Mukands growth is the technological lead that it has maintained over others. Over the years, Mukand has taken pioneering steps to change the phase of steel making In India. Whether its innovating a new process or products, they have been at the fore-front. Plants and Collaboration Under taking the governtments policy of attracting foreign investors, Mukand started its foreign collaboration with technical collaborators like Nippon Steel (Japan), The British Steel Corporation ( U.K.), Amsted and National Tor-Integ Corp. (Luxemberg ), Hitachi Ltd. (Japan ), Mecon ( India ) and Fertilizer corp of India to name a few. Some of the main customers of Mukands are Bajaj Ltd. Kalyani Forgs Ltd. Bhusan Power and Steels Ltd. T.E.L.C.O. Bharat Gears. Welspun Ltd. Kinetic Honda Motors Ltd. Hero Honda Ashok Leyland Ford SKF Bearing Indian Railway ISRO

Some of the major competitors of Mukand are Bihar Alloys Punjab Concasts Mahindra Ugine Steel Corp ( Musco ) Factor ASP, Durgapur Kalyani Steels Punchmahal Steels Rathi Alloys

Krishna Steels Malvika Steel Ltd Madhya Pradesh Iron and Steel Corp

Introduction to various division of Mukand The company is divided into following main division Kalwe Steel Plant (KSP ) Machine Building Division ( MBD ) Engineering and Construction division ( ECD ) Research and Development dept. ( R & D )

Kalwe Steel Plant The Kalwe Steel Plant produce 3 lacs tone of steel per annum and is continuously on it by using continuous casting sequence. The sales value of Rolled Steel products was 414.20 crores last, giving a rise of 20% on annual basis. ProductsBlooms, Billets, Wire Rods and Bright Bars in various sizes. The different categories of steel manufactured by Mukand are alloy construction steel, ball bearing steal, carbon construction steel, cold heading quantity steel, high carbon steel, electrode quality steel leaded and sulpharised free cutting steel. Semi free cutting steel, spring steel and stainless steel. The Kalwe steel plant is further divided into various departments for better administration and smooth functioning.

WIRE ROLLING MILL During the training program, we were placed in the Wire Rolling Mill (WRM) department of Mukand Ltd. Our main assignment was to study the reheating furnace and reduce its oil consumption. Basically the scrap Iron and Steel are melted in the High Power Induction Furnace, percentage of Carbon and Alloying elements are adjusted in the liquid melt and finally liquid steel is formed. Billet and blooms of steel are cast in the continuous caster unit. These billets are hot rolled in the rolling mill to form various shape members such as bars, wires, plates, etc. as shown in the figure

The Wire Rolling Mill Department is the most important department in the factory. Here in this department mainly wires are manufactured from steel billets. In the manufacturing of the steel wires, the hot billets of different grades of steels are received from steel melting shop or from steel plant Hospet. Billets are in size of 100mm X 100mm, 125mm X 125mm, 165mm X 165mm. The steel billets are heated in the Billet Reheating Furnace and the Hot Rolled in different Roll Stands to the required finished size of wire. The prepared wire is coiled in the coiling unit and then it is sent for dispatch.

Introduction
Furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latinfornax, oven. In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace (known either as a boiler or a heater in British English), and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the production of ceramics. In British English the term furnace is used exclusively to mean industrial furnaces which are used for many things, such as the extraction of metal from ore (smelting) or in oil refineries and other chemical plants, for example as the heat source for fractional distillation columns. The term furnace can also refer to a direct fired heater, used in boiler applications in chemical industries or for providing heat to chemical reactions for processes like cracking, and are part of the standard english names for many metallurgical furnaces worldwide.

Types of Reheating Furnaces:

Reheating furnaces are divided into two general classes: Batch Type. Continuous Type.

Continuous Type furnaces:

1) Pusher-Type Furnaces: The furnace at the Bloom Mill at KSP is a Pusher-type Furnace. Continuous pushertype furnaces were designed initially for heating billets and small bloom sections. The hearths were relatively short in length and were sloped downward longitudinally towards the discharge end to permit an easy movement of billets through the furnace. Pushers were used to push forward the charge of cold billets. Longer furnaces generally are constructed now. Some have hearths about 24.5 to 32 meters (80 to 105 feet) long, with top and bottom firing, and contain preheating, heating and soaking zones. Recuperators are utilized to provide waste-heat recovery. Multiple-zone furnaces (e.g. five-zone slab heating furnace) have been evolved from one-zone furnace in the early designs. to the modern five-zone slab heating furnace. The steel to be heated in a continuous furnace can be charged either from the end or through a side door. In either case, the steel is moved through the furnace by pushing the last piece charged with a pusher at the charging end. As each cold piece is pushed into the furnace against the continuous line of material, a heated piece is removed. The heated piece is discharged by several methods, such as through an end door by gravity upon a roller table which feeds the mill, or pushed through a side door to the mill table by suitable manual or mechanical means or withdrawn through the end door by a mechanical extractor.

2) Walking-Hearth Furnaces: The reheating furnace at the WRM department is a Walking-Hearth Furnace. In a walking-earth furnace, travel of the work through the heating chamber follows the same general path as in the walking-beam furnace. The main difference in method of conveyance in these two furnace types is that, in the walking-hearth furnace, the work rests on fixed refractory piers. These piers extend through openings in the hearth and their tops are above the hearth surface during the time when the work is stationary in the furnace. The furnace gases can thus circulate between most of the bottom surface of the work and the hearth. To advance the work toward the discharge end of the furnace, the hearths is raised vertically to first contact the work and then raise it a short distance above the piers. The hearth then moves forward a preset distance, stops, lowers the work onto its new position on the piers, continues to descend to its lowest position and then moves backward to its starting position toward the charging end of the furnace to await the next stroke. In general, the same advantages and disadvantages of the walking-beam furnace apply to walking-hearth furnaces.

Billet Reheating Furnace:

In the Billet Reheating Furnaces, the charge is fed in the form of billets or ingots. It is a precision engineered product which is widely used across different industries for

various applications. It is used mostly in steel rolling mills. The best feature of these billet reheating furnaces is its minimum fuel consumption & minimum burning losses. This is the heart of any hot rolling mill where in the charge is heated to rolling temperature. The charge could be in the form of billets, blooms, slabs or ingots. The type of furnace could be pusher, walking hearth or walking beam either top fired or top and bottom fired. The fuel used could be either oil or gas. The burners are located in a manner so as to achieve uniform heat distribution. The radiation heat energy is efficiently transferred through the useful heat transfer area created by the charge bed. The furnace is basically divided into three zones namely preheating, heating and soaking zones. The actual heating takes place in the heating zone. The temperature uniformity up to desired limits between the core and the surface is achieved in the soaking zone. The flue gases move in a direction opposite to that of the charge thereby ensuring considerable amount of waste heat recovery by convection in the preheating zone, which is also termed as the recuperative zone. For charge with higher thickness as in case of blooms and slabs, burners are provided below and above the skids as against conventional furnaces where burners are provided only on the top. This is known as top and bottom fired Reheating Furnace. Our furnaces are highly fuel efficient due to proper roof profile zonal distribution, optimum preheating recuperative zone lengths, proper burner / flue port locations and good instrumentation including furnace chamber pressure control eliminating atmosphere air ingress, which also reduces the scale loss and de-carbides of the charge. The furnaces could be side charged through water cooled driven rollers or front charged by hydraulic pusher. Discharge can be at the side, through driven water cooled rollers or discharge ejector with pinch-cum-pullout roll mechanism or end discharge through discharge ramp or slab/bloom extractor. Single-zone firing comes with higher scale losses. Single-zone firing furnaces have greater tendency to cause decarburization of high-carbon steel than the top-and bottom fired furnaces, since the steel is in the furnace longer and is exposed to furnace gases with hydrogen and water vapor combinations. The scaling of steel is practiced sometimes deliberately to remove the decarburized surface layer. Those furnaces provided only with top firing require longer hearths for equal production than those with top and bottom firing, but, in the case of pusher-type furnaces, do not require a special soaking zone to eliminate cold spots on the work caused by contact with water-cooled skids. Side-discharge furnaces have less air infiltration at the hot end than end-door discharge furnaces. End-door discharge of the usual gravity type induces cold air into the furnace by the stack effect at the discharge section of the furnace. End-door discharge, however, is mechanically simpler for removing the heated stock; particularly slabs and heavy blooms. A level hearth eliminates the stack effect of hearths sloping upwards towards the charging end. This stack effect draws cold air into the furnaces at the hot end and therefore causes higher fuel consumption and scale losses. For a batch-type furnace, it is preferred to preheat certain grades of alloy and high-carbon steels in a supplementary furnace before the stock is transferred into the hotter furnaces. The preheating zone of a continuous furnace makes this unnecessary. Finally, regenerators or recuperators act as a reservoir of heat supply, which is especially valuable for efficient soaking of steel.

Modern furnace components:

The furnace components can be divided into three categories. 1. The burners, heat exchanger, draft inducer, and venting. 2. The controls and safety devices. 3. The blower and air movement.

The flame originates at the burners and is drawn into the heat exchanger by the negative pressure produced by the draft inducer. The hot gases produced by the combustion of the flame pass through the chambers of the heat exchanger and heat the metal walls of the heat exchanger. The gases cool as they transfer the heat to the heat exchanger and are at about 120 F (50 C) as they exit on a high efficiency furnace. The cooled gases then enter the draft inducer blower and are pushed into the venting pipes. The exhaust gases then are directed out of the house through the vent pipes. The controls include the gas valve, ignition control, igniter, flame sensor, transformer, limit control, blower control board, and flame roll out switch. The transformer provides 24 volts of electricity to power the controls. 24 volts is applied to the thermostat that is installed in the living space. The thermostat is basically an automatic switch that closes and completes the electrical circuit when the room temperature drops below the heat setting. This then allows 24 volts to the circuit board which initiates the heat sequence. The circuit board has a relay that closes to power up the motor on the draft inducer blower. Then the circuit board igniter relay is energized which sends 120 volts to the hot surface igniter and makes it glow bright and get extremely hot. Next the gas valve relay in the circuit board is energized. This allows voltage to the gas valve and energizes a solenoid coil in the gas valve which opens the valve to allow gas to flow to the burners. The gas flows into the burners and is ignited by the hot surface igniter. The ignition control circuit board applies an AC voltage to the flame sensor which is just a stainless steel rod. An interesting thing occurs inside a burning flame, which is called ionization. That is, free electrons are produced which can conduct electricity through the flame itself. The electrons will normally flow from the flame sensor, through the flame when present, and back to ground through the grounded burners. The ignition system must prove that a flame is present to continue the gas flow, or if there's no flame, then shut off the gas flow through the gas valve to prevent a possible explosion. It also must not be fooled into thinking there is a flame present by a flame sensor that is touching the ground from being broken or bent. This produces a half-wave of electrical current from each full wave. The ignition control circuit detects the half-wave to determine if the sensor is merely touching ground. If the ignition control receives this half wave signal from the flame sensor then combustion will continue. Now the circuit board timer counts a determined amount of time and energizes the blower relay. This relay powers up the blower motor and air is then pushed over the heat exchanger where it removes the heat from the hot metal and enters the ductwork to go to the various rooms in the house. The limit control is a safety device that will open the electrical circuit to the ignition control and stop the gas flow if the furnace overheats. The flame roll-out switch does the same thing if the flame was rolling out of the heat exchanger instead of being completely induced into it by the draft inducer. The blower creates a negative pressure on the intake side which draws air into the ductwork return air system and blows the air out through the heat exchanger and then into supply air ductwork to distribute throughout the home. Walking Hearth Mechanism

An alternate method of transporting the ingots/ billets from the charging end of the furnace to the discharging door point is by using a walking hearth furnace. The furnace hearth has alternately fixed and moving beams. The fixed beams are part of the hearth at either sidewall ends of the furnace and the moving beams are in between two fixed beams. Walking beam/ hearth furnaces have three fixed and two moving hearths or walking beams. A hydraulic system is provided to operate the walking beams through hydraulic

cylinders. In the older designs there used to be a lifting and lowering cylinder which lifted the beam through bell crank levers. Once the beam reaches the top position all the ingots/ billets that were resting on the fixed beams of the hearth get lifted up and now rest on the moving beams, when another hydraulic cylinder moves the beam forward by one stroke which is normally around 700 - 1000mm, all the ingots/ billets move forward by a distance equal to one stroke of the forward/ backward cylinder. The lifting lowering cylinder now lowers the moving beam by a preset height through limit switches/ proximity switches. In the downward movement, when the levels of the fixed and moving beam tops are equal, the ingots/ billets now rest on the fixed beams or the hearth at a new point which is one cylinder stroke ahead of its previous position. The moving beams continue its downward movement ensuring that its top surface is well and truly below the fixed beams. It comes to rest at this position. Now the forward /backward cylinder retracts the moving beams to their original position. This completes one full cycle of transportation. In modern walking hearth furnaces the moving hearths are mounted on rollers which ride up & down a ramp, actuated by hydraulic cylinders. One hydraulic cylinder performs the pulling up of the beam on the ramp and subsequently lowering it and the other pulls/ pushes the beam forward/ backward as above. The advantage of the ramp system is that there are no linkages, bell crank levers mounted on pivot bearings, which require extensive maintenance. Each moving beam has a water seal at the bottom to prevent the escape of flue gases into the cellar from in between the fixed & moving beams. The Inside view of a typical WB/WH Furnace is shown in Figure Figure: Inside (cellar) view of a Walking Hearth Furnace

Since each of the billets is exposed on all four sides, except the narrow strip resting on the beams the heating is uniform and fast. There is no danger of the ingots/ billets sticking to each other the rate of heating can be high to reduce the residence time of the charge inside the furnace, thus reducing the burning /scaling losses considerably. For the same length of the furnace the productivity of the hearth is much higher than for the corresponding length of the pusher hearth furnace.

Refractories The furnace also uses refractories for insulation purposes. Any material can be described as a Refractory if it can withstand the action of abrasive or corrosive solids, liquids or gases at high temperature. The various combination of operating conditions in which refractories are used makes it necessary to manufacture a range of refractory materials with different properties. Refractory materials are made in varying combinations and shapes depending on their application. General requirement of refractory material are They should withstand high temperature. They should withstand sudden change of temperature. They should withstand action of molten metal slag, glass, hot gases, etc. They should withstand load and abrasive forces at service condition. They should conserve heat. They should have low coefficient of thermal expansion. They should not contaminate the material with which it comes into contact. Fire-clay refractories such as Fire bricks, Siliceous-fireclays and aluminous clay refractories consists of aluminum silicates with varying Silica (SiO2) content up to 78% and Al2O3 content up to 44%. High Alumina Refractories Alumina-silicate refractories containing more than 45% alumina are generally termed as high alumina materials. The alumina concentration ranges from 45-100%. The refractoriness of high alumina refractories increases with increase in alumina percentage. The application of high alumina refractories include the hearth and shaft of blast furnaces, ceramic kilns, cement kilns, glass tanks and crucibles for melting a wide range of materials. Insulating Materials Insulating materials greatly reduce the heat losses through walls.Insulation is achieved by providing a layer of materials with low heat conductivity between the internal hot surface and external surface thus keeping the temperature of the external surface low. Insulating materials can be classified into following groups Insulating Bricks. Insulating castables. Ceramic fibers Calcium silicate Ceramic coating The characteristics of Ceramic fibers are remarkable combination of the properties of refractories and traditional insulation material. Lower thermal conductivity Light weight Lower heat storage Thermal shock resistance

Chemical Resistance Mechanical resilience Low Insulation cost Ease of maintenance Ease of handling Thermal Efficiency

High Emissivity coating Emissivity (i.e. the measure of materials ability to both absorb and radiate heat) is often considered as an inherent physical property that does not normally change (Other examples are density, specific heat and thermal conductivity). However, the development of high emissivity coatings allows the surface emissivity of the material to be increased. High emissivity coatings are applied on the interior surface of furnaces. Benefits of high emissivity coatings in furnace chambers are uniform heating and extended life of refractotries and metallic components such as radiant tubes and heating elements. For intermittent furnaces or where rapid heating is required, use of such coatings was found to reduce fuel or power by 25-45%

Water cooling system in Walking Hearth Furnace The early design of WB Furnace used alloy steel Walking Beams that were exposed directly to the heat of the Furnace and were subjected to heat Corrosion , so it operated at Maximum Temperature of about 1050 C compared with Re-heating Furnaces that must heat steel to Temperatures up to 1315 C. Hence WB-Reheating Furnaces consist of water-cooled Steel members topped with refractors in such a manner that only the refractories are exposed directly to the heat of Furnace. Alternatively, the beams and supports may be constructed of water cooled Tubular sections (with buttons on the top surfaces to keep the Hot steel from direct contract with the water cooled tubes).

Heat recovery System Recuperators (i) Recuperators (Waste Heat Recovery System) are placed in the path of the Flue Gasses of the Furnace between Furnace outlet and the chimney. The combustion air/gas is preheated in the recuperator through heat of the Flue gas and supplied to the Furance Burners in PreHeating Zone at about 400-5000C. This results in savings of Heat Energy hence fuel. (ii) Based on the material of Construction, recuperators are two types: Metallic (Made of SS) Ceramic (iii) Metallic recuperators have distinct advantages over Ceramic recuperators in terms of lower initial investment, easier maintenance & repair etc and are more popular in SRRM industry. On the other hand Ceramic recuperators have a longer life and can withstand much higher temperatures as compared to Metallic recuperators of about15000C vis--vis 11000C for metal recuperators. (iv) Based on the Design and method of Heat transfer, the Recuperators are of two types: Tubular Convection

 Double Shell Radiation (v) In the SRRM industry, Tubular Convection type Metallic recuperator (Shell & Tube Type) is more prevalent and described below: a) The hot Flue gases are carried through a number of parallel small diameter tubes, while the incoming air to be heated enters a shell surrounding the tubes and passes over the hot tubes one or more times in a direction normal to their axis. b) If the tubes are baffled to allow the gas to pass over them twice, the heat exchanger is termed a two-pass recuperator; if two baffles are used, a three-pass recuperator, etc. c) Although baffling increases both the cost of the exchanger and the pressure drop in the combustion air path, it increases the effectiveness of heat exchange. d) Shell and tube type recuperators are generally more compact and have a higher effectiveness than radiation recuperators, because of the larger heat transfer area made possible through the use of multiple tubes and multiple passes of the gases. e) The tubes on the inlet side of the flue gases are made of either stainless steel or heat resistant Ni cast steel to withstand the prevailing high temperatures. A typical Double Stage Cross Flow type Recuperator is illustrated as below

Furnace Oil :
A dark viscous residual fuel obtained by blending mainly heavier components from crude distillation unit, short residue and clarified oil from fluidized catalytic cracker unit os called as Furnace Oil. Furnace Oil is one of the cheapest fuels available for industrial use. It is a byproduct of petroleum refineries. While processing the CRUD Oil, FO (Furnace Oil) is one of the products along with other petroleum fuels like HSD, Petrol etc. In India it is sold under BIS specification IS 1593-1982.

Technical Specification Table : Requirements for fuel oils S. No. Characteristic Grade LV 3 Requirement For Grade MVI 4 Nil 0.1 Not limited, but to be reported Not limited, but to be reported 66oC P : 21 Grade MV2 5 Grade HV 6 Method of Test Ref to [P : ] of IS : 1448* 7 P:2 P:4 (Method A) P:6 (for reference) P : (for routine)

2 Acidity, inorganic Ash, percent by mass, Max Gross, calorific value Relative density at 15/15oC Flash point, [Pensky martens (closed)], Min Kinematic viscosity in centistokes at 50oC, Max Sediment, percent by mass, Max Sulphur, total, percent by mass, Max Water content, percent by volume, Max

80

125 0.25

180

370

P : 25 P : 30 P : 33 (for reference) and P : 35 (for routine) P : 40

3.5

4.5

Typically it has a calorific value as 10000 cal/gm. The furnaces which are used mainly for heating or pre-heating a large quantity of metal, are the main users of FO. This can be stored in vertical as well as horizontal tanks, above ground or even underground in some cases. The dimensions and capacities of these tanks are predefined in India by CCOE, which is the regulating body for fuel storages. For direct burning, FO is viscous as well as not suitable for complete combustion. It is pre-heated to 55 degrees Celsius onwards, depending upon application. The flow increases with temperature and it improves the combustion also. A water based scrubber is used in the exhaust chimney of furnace, which arrests considerable amount of carbon suite and improves the emissions. The entire FO yard, as per IS standards, pre-heating in storage tanks as well as pipes& Pumps etc., pumping station, level controls, control-panels and entire distribution pipeline is designed taking into consideration the application, required capacity of storage, logistics, available space and government norms.

Properties Of Furnace Oil:

1) Viscosity: Viscosity is the most important characteristic in the furnace oil specification. It influences the degree of pre-heat required for handling, storage and satisfactory atomization. If the oil is too viscous it may become difficult to pump, burner may be hard to light and operation may be erratic. Poor atomization may result in the carbon deposits on the burner tips or on the walls. 2) Flash Point: As per the Controller of Explosives classification, Furnace oil falls in the class "C" category with minimum flash point standard of 66 deg. C. Since Penskey Martens Closed Cup method is used, it is apparent that a small quantity of low boiling point hydrocarbons is sufficient to lower the flash point drastically. 3) Pour Point: It is a very rough readily pumpable. In the However, for Furnace oil point is such that current handling installation.

indication of the lowest temperature at which Furnace Oil is specification the pour point of Furnace oil is not stipulated. manufactured indigenously and for imported parcels, the pour supplies normally can be handled without heating the fuel oil

4) Water: Water may be present in free or emulsified form and can on combustion cause damage to the inside furnace surfaces especially if it contains dissolved salts. It can also cause sputtering of the flame at the burner tip. Water content of furnace oil when supplied is normally very low as the product at refinery site is handled hot and maximum limit of 1% is specified in the standard. 5) Sediment: Furnace oil being a blend of residues contains some quantity of sediments. These have adverse effect on the burners and cause blockage of filters etc. However, the typical values are normally much lower than the stipulated value of maximum 0.25 percent, by mass. 6) Ash: Ash is incombustible component of the furnace oil and is expressed as a percentage mass of the furnace oil sample. Ash consists of extraneous solids, residues of organometallic compounds in solution and salts dissolved in water present in the fuel. These salts may be compounds of sodium, vanadium, calcium magnesium, silicon, iron etc. Ash has erosive effect on the burner tips, causes damage to the refractories at high temperatures and gives rise to high temperature corrosion and fouling of equipment. 7) Sulphur: Sulphur determination includes burning of known quantity of oil, treating the sulphur oxidation products formed during combustion and weighing of sulphur in the form of sulphate. The sulphur di-oxide may come in direct contact with the product during the combustion process and may create adverse quality effects in the product.

8) Calorific Value:
Calorific value of a fuel is the quantity of heat generated in kilocalories by complete burning of one kilogram weight of fuel. Gross calorific value is higher than net calorific value to the extent of heat required to change water formed by combustion into water vapours.

Billet Furnace Reheating Once the billets are charged into the furnace they are gradually heated to the range of 1050 oC to 1150 oC, while passing slowly from different zones of the furnace. There are mainly three zones of the furnace viz-a viz Pre-heating Zone- Temperature range 0-300 oC Heating Zone- Temperature range 300-900 oC Soaking Zone- Temperature range 900-1150 oC

Time required for heating the billet to desired temperature was around 2 Hours at average.While heating the billets are progressively pushed in the downwards direction. Due to the inclined base of the furnace they move slowly downwards

Temperature Regime

a)Pre-heating Zone For every 22 0C preheating of combustion air there is 1% saving in fuel consumption. By preheating the air for combustion inside the furnace to 450- 5000C it is not necessary to utilize the fuel to heat firstly the huge quantity of air from ambient to 450- 5000 C, before raising the temperature of the furnace to the desired set temperature in the heating/ soaking zone. This hot air also reduces the quenching effect of injecting cold air into the hot furnace and betters the combustion efficiency and finally it helps to achieve a higher flame temperature which increases the rate of transfer of heat to the furnace atmosphere and subsequent transfer of this heat to the ingot/billet. The net effect of higher hot huge reduction in air temperature is a

specific fuel consumption by 5- 20% (depending on the

temperature of hot air at the burners), results in longer life of refractories, quicker heating of the ingot/ billet. With the reduction in the residence time of the ingot/ billet inside the furnace the losses due to scale formation is also greatly reduced. The same advantages cannot be obtained by having longer furnaces and allowing the flue gases to preheat the ingots/ billets at the charging or preheating zone. The apparent heat losses due to flue gases exiting at the high temperature of 750 -8500 C will be totally offset by installation of high efficiency recuperator to allow an exit temperature to the chimney at the same or less temperature earlier being sent, i.e. 180- 2200 C.

b) Heating Zone & Soaking Zone The temperature at the heating zone is maintained at 1050- 11000C and the soaking zone temperature or temperature of the ingot/billet at discharge is maintained at 10-200C below the heating zone temperature. A properly soaked ingot/billet at 10500C is easier to roll than an ingot/ billet heated to 11500C without soaking. The sign of improper soaking is the bow shape of the bar exiting the 1st roll pass in the roughing mill. This is because of the non-uniformity in temperature between top and bottom of the ingot/billet. If the temperature at the top of the ingot is higher than the bottom, then the top is more plastic than the bottom and deforms greater than the bottom, causing increase in length at top more than at bottom

resulting in a bow shape. If the bow is high then there would be difficulty in entry of the bar into the succeeding pass. In wall tilters such a bar could get stuck between two walls. Approximately 70% of the heating is completed at the heating zone. The general practice in most SRRM is to use the furnace as a single long heating zone, from charging to discharge, with a single temperature gradient. This is a wrong practice. For smooth trouble free rolling it is necessary to properly soak the ingots/ billets to achieve a temperature differential of not more than 200 C from top to bottom of the ingot/ billet. It takes 13 minutes for the temperature at the centre to attain the temperature at the top of the billet/ ingot for 100mm cross-section. Higher cross-sections will take longer. So if the travel from the heating zone to the discharge end takes less than 15 minutes then the temperature to be maintained at the heating zone should be correspondingly higher than 100C mentioned earlier.

What temperature should the billet is reheated up to?

Hot rolling is a metalworking process that occurs above the recrystallization temperature of the material. After the grains deform during processing, they recrystallize, which maintains an equiaxed microstructure and prevents the metal from work hardening. The starting material is usually large pieces of metal, like semi-finished casting products, such as slabs, blooms, and billets. If these products came from a continuous casting operation the products are usually fed directly into the rolling mills at the proper temperature. In smaller operations the material starts at room temperature and must be heated. This is done in a gas- or oil-fired soaking pit for larger workpieces and for smaller workpieces induction heating is used. As the material is worked the temperature must be monitored to make sure it remains above the recrystallization temperature. To maintain a safety factor a finishing temperature is defined above the recrystallization temperature; this is usually 50 to 100 C (122 to 212 F) above the recrystallization temperature. If the temperature does drop below this temperature the material must be re-heated before more hot rolling. Hot rolled metals generally have little directionality in their mechanical properties and deformation induced residual stresses. However, in certain instances non-metallic inclusions will impart some directionality and workpieces less than 20 mm (0.79 in) thick often have some directional properties. Also, non-uniformed cooling will induce a lot of residual stresses, which usually occurs in shapes that have a non-uniform cross-section, such as I-beams and H-beams. While the finished product is of good quality, the surface is covered in mill scale, which is an oxide that forms at high-temperatures. It is usually removed via pickling or the smooth clean surface process, which reveals a smooth surface. Dimensional tolerances are usually 2 to 5% of the overall dimension.

How is billet temperature measured?

Billet temperatures are measured by using a data collection device mounted on a billet as shown in Fig. 1. Total of 20 points are selected for measurement by using TC (thermocouples) as shown in Fig. 2. The data collection device is put into a water jacket filled with water. This water jacket is covered with heatprotective material to minimize exposure to heat radiation. When the test billet is discharged from the furnace, the data collection device is removed and the stored

data are transferred to a PC using a serial cable. This measurement is carried out for the following two extremely different furnace operation patterns: 1. CCR (Cold Charge Rolling) pattern: An operation pattern when the billet with a normal temperatureis charged. 2. WCR (Warm Charge Rolling) pattern: An operation pattern when the billet with high initialtemperature is charged.

(a) Measurement positions for CCR pattern.

(b) Measurement positions for CCR pattern. In general, the furnace temperature set value of soaking zones is fixed to satisfy the required rollingtemperature of the billet. Therefore, the billet temperature can be controlled by controlling thetemperature set value of preheating zone and heating zone. Since the discharging billet temperature is Sensitive to the variation of furnace temperature set value of heating zone, the variation range of the furnace temperature of heating zone is smaller than that of the preheating zone. In practice, the billet temperature pattern is controlled by controlling the

furnace temperature of preheating zone. The different furnace temperature set value of preheating zone is the main difference of the above CCR and WCR pattern. It is observed that the measured temperatures have several characteristics as follows: 1. The ambient temperature of the billet top side along the track is not uniform at the same zone (TC11). 2. The ambient temperature of the billet at a furnace center side is higher than the ambient temperature at furnace wall sides. (TC1,3,11,18, and 20 ). 3. The ambient temperature of the billet right side (TC16 ) is higher than the temperature of the billet left side (TC19 ). The temperature difference between them decreases as the billet is transported through the furnace. Finally, TC11,16, and 19 have similar values at the soaking zones. 4. Also, the billet core temperature (i.e.,TC2,4,6,8,13, 15, and 17 ) at the furnace center side is higher than that of the the core temperature at the furnace wall side. For example, (TC2 TC17 ) is about 60C when the billet is discharged. Since the part of the billet which is on the skid buttonis called the skid part, measurement points within the billet can be classified into skid and non skid parts. The temperatures of the skid and non-skid parts are measured by using TC installed in holes that goes into 10%, 50%, and 90% along the billet thickness direction as shown in Fig. 2 (i.e., TC7,8, and 9 for nonskid part and TC12,13, and 14 for skid part). Since the billet temperature of skid part is lower than that of the non-skid part, the billet temperature of skid part should be greater than the required target temperature. Therefore, only the temperature profiles of skid part will be used for billet heat transfer modeling in the Next section.

Standard Operating Practices for major Mechanical equipment of RHF:

Ingot/Billet charging or collection bed:
1. The counted and weighed ingots/ billets (using weighing Balance) are received by the Furnace Operator and loaded on to the charging table by Mobile/EOT Crane. 2. If ingots are charged, the taper end is alternately placed, so that two consecutive ingots form a rectangle. This is to prevent the ingots from sloping to one side during pushing in the furnace. 3. The ingots are brought in front of the pusher head, either manually or through the roller table in groups of 7-10nos. and the pusher mechanism is operated to push these ingots/ billets into the furnace. 4. The collection bed is made of rails of 60mm square billets laid length wise at 200mm spacing between rails. 5. If it is mechanized, check the chain drives and lubricate as required using grease. 6. Tools used: Endless chain slings, tongs.

Pusher Mechanism:

1. Thestrokeofthepusherissetatapproximately700-1000mmor7to 10 ingot/billet thicknesses. This is approximately 700 -1000 kgs for single row charging and 1400 -2000 kgs for double row charging. 2. The stroke is adjusted by means of two limit switches which are set for extreme forward position and extreme backward position of the pusher head by the operator. 3. The ingots are placed in front of the pusher in the form of a rectangle by alternating the taper by the operator. 4. For best operating practice in charging, the ingots/ billets are chargedleavingagapof150mmbetweeningot/billet and side walls in case of single row charging and additionally a gap of 150mm between the left side rows and right side rows of ingots /billets in case of two row charging. 5. In order to ensure sweeping of ash/solid deposits on the hearth, it is advisable to stagger the ingots/ billets to cover as much width of the hearth as possible over five to six lines of ingots/billets at a time. 6. Prior to the running of the pusher for operational purpose, It is necessary that the following actions are taken by the operator 7. For Screw & Nut Type Pusher: Clean the screw of all foreign particles/ scale etc. Apply grease with a brush, grade EP-3 lithium base mixed with 1% molybdenum disulphide on Screw thread and nut for lubrication at high temperatures. Check oil leveling ear box using the dipstick gauge provided and top up if necessary. For Hydraulic Cylinder with Hydraulic Power Pack. Check oil level in tank, clean filters once a week. Arrange the alternate ingots with its taper opposite to the previous ingot. This is to prevent piling up of ingots inside the furnace. Wait for the ejector operators signal before pushing any ingot into the furnace Check that the correct Heat No. ingots/ billets are charged into the furnace. Keep a count on the ingots/ billets charged.

Ejector:
1. The ejector is operated by an operator who is seated either on a seat mounted on the ejector trolley or by the side of it with a good view of the hot ingots on the furnace hearth. He not only operates the ejector but also signals through a bell to the pusher operator to push the ingots by one stroke into the emptied space. 2. Ifthepusherisoperatedhydraulicallythesamehydraulicsystemisconnected to the pinch roll and trolley movement drives instead of electric motors. The valves for operating the drives are mounted on the operator desk. Other operations remain the same as before. 3. Ejector positioned by operator in line with the last ingot on the furnace hearth. 4. Eject or operates the pinch roll gear box to move the ejector in and out of the furnace, pushing out a single ingot into the extractor rotating table. 5. Operator checks sufficiency of cooling water. 6. Operator wears blue goggles to protect his eyes from the heat glare 7. Operator signals to pusher operator to push ingots. 8. Operator gets the signal to push from the Mill operator through a blinking light or bell. 9. Operator checks oil level in the trolley and pinch roll gearboxes at beginning of shift or if

drives are through hydraulic motors, he checks the oil level in the hydraulic tank if this duty is assigned to him instead of the pusher operator.

Extraction of Hot-Ingots/Billets & loading on Roller Table:

1. In many furnaces a motorized extractor is provided where only billets are charged. This is just a pair of pinch rolls, which is driven either through gear box or hydraulic motor arrangement similar to the ejector pinch rolls. But in most furnaces the ejector pushes the ingot on to a rotating table. 2. In single row charged furnaces the extraction is mostly done manually by the workmen at the discharge door by using a long steel hook. In this case there is no ejector. 3. The work men at this location clean the hearth of scale and ash regularly throughout the shift to prevent the ingot from getting stuck or gets piled. The cleaning is done using long scrapers.

Door Operating Mechanism:

Two doors viz ejector door and discharge door are operated from the ejector operators desk, for pneumatically operated doors and by the workmen who are at the discharge door end by operating the hand winch/counter weighted levers for manual operation. Each time the ejector has to be operated, first the above two doors are opened. The ingot/billet is ejected from the furnace. The doors are then closed. This is repeated after each ejection of ingot/ billet. Since the operation is very frequent, it is advisable to automate the opening and closing by providing
pneumatic cylinders. The Door Operating Hand-winch is illustrated at Figure.

Fig.2 Door operating hand-winch

Heat losses affecting furnace performance: Ideally, all heat added to the furnace should be used to heat the load or the stock. In practice, however, a lot of heat is lost in several ways as shown in figure

Heat losses in a Furnace Flue gas losses: Loss from moisture in fuel: fuel usually consist some moisture and some heat is utilized to evaporate this moisture inside the furnace. Loss due to hydrogen in fuel which results in formation of water. Loss through openings in furnace: radiation loss occurs when there are openings in the furnace and theses losses can be significant especially, for those furnaces which are operating above the temperature of 540 oC. A second loss is through air infiltration because the drat of stack/chimney causes negative pressure inside the furnace, drawing in air trough leaks or cracks or whenever the furnace doors are opened.

Furnace skin/surface losses, also called wall losses: while temperature inside the furnace are high, heat is conducted through the roof, floor and walls and emitted to the ambient air once it reaches the furnace skin or surface. Other losses: there are several other ways in which heat is lost from a furnace. Although quantifying all of them is difficult. Some of them can be included Stored heat losses: when When the furnace is started the furnace structure and insulation also heat up and this heat only leaves when the furnace are shut down again. Thus these type of losses increase with the number of times the furnace is turned off and on. Material Handling Losses: The equipment used to move the stock through the furnace, such as conveyor belts, walking beams, bogies etc. also absorb heat. Every time equipment leave the furnace they lose their heat. Therefore this loss increases with the number of equipments and the frequency by which they enter and exit the furnace. Cooling media losses: water is used to cool down rolls, bearings and other equipments. But this water also absorbs heat away with it. Incomplete combustion losses: Heat is lost if combustion is incomplete because unburnt fuel or particles have absorbed heat but this heat has not been brought to use. Loss due to formation of scales