Abstract:
The main objective of the work is to portray the emergency intervention carried out on the Hot Blast Main of Blast Furnace 01 of Gerdau Ouro Branco that took place in December 2023 at the junction of Regenerator 01, better known as Joint “T”.
Due to the failure that occurred in the Hot Blast Main of Blast Furnace 01, we can describe actions to remove the symptoms, monitoring and operational continuity actions aimed at the safety of the process and people, contingency actions for possible changes in the scenario, future monitoring and coverage in other equipment on the Site.
The Hot Blast Main is the equipment within the structure of the Blast Furnaces, responsible for transporting the air heated in the Regenerators and mostly enriched with oxygen to the Wind Ring, which is responsible for distributing the hot air at the base of the Blast Furnace, directed through the tuyeres so that the process of reduction and formation of pig iron can be carried out.
On 12/19/23, the operation/preservation team of Gerdau Ouro Branco's Blast Furnace 01 was observed in its thermographic inspection routine, which is carried out once per shift, an anomaly located at the HS01 junction for the hot air, a region better known as the “T” joint of the Regenerators.
This anomaly popularly known as “hot spot” occurred in the upper part of the junction (“T” joint) of Regenerator 01, HS01, due to the detachment of part of its refractory.
The team's immediate action was to communicate with all Site leadership and reduce the flow of air blown from the regenerators with the aim of installing forced refrigeration in the hot spot to reduce the temperature of the site and preserve the affected area.
Subsequently, the equipment was scheduled to stop so that the intervention could be carried out effectively and the condition of the Hot Blast Main could be restored.
