CHEmETROn

Metals Industry Bulletin #0300

Fire System;
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE SUPPRESS/ON -

Metals Rolling Mills

The protection of an aluminum foil rolling mill by a low pressure

carbon dioxide system is shown on the accompanying drawing.

Many such systems have been installed to protect a variety of metal

processing facilities where metal is reduced in thickness, its metallurgi-
cal properties are changed, its bright surface enhanced or otherwise
processed. This is done in such a way that combustibles are used in
the processing. When metal is squeezed to reduce its thickness, heat
is generated. When a bright surface is needed, as with aluminum foil,
a mineral oil is used to remove this heat while keeping the foil shiny.
A portion of this heated oil vaporizes and the resultant vapors must be
captured and removed The oil that is not vaporized drains to catch
pans from which it is cleaned, cooled and pumped back on the mill.
The fire potential of this oil/oil vapor hazard is obvious. The use of
carbon dioxide, with its ability to extinguish, while not contaminating
the oil, is universal.

Even for rolling mills on which the roll coolant used is in itself not
combustible, CO: fire protection has found a place. See Bulletin
#0305, Multi-Stand Mills/Mills VEth Water Based Coolant.

It should be noted that the coolant is not the only combustible on

the mill. The bearings are usually oil lubricated and much of the
equipment is oil-hydraulic operated. Proper protection includes protect-
ing this equipment as well.

Protection afforded by the CO, system is a combination of local

application and total flooding.

CARDOIX Local Application Coverage

Local application coverage includes the following:

Roll Stuck:The work rolls, together with the mill coolant hoses
4801 Southwick Drive and applicators, are usually treated as rate by volume (per NFPA Stan-
Third Floor dard No. 12), with the mill frames treated as walls to limit the hazard
Matteson, IL 60443 on the ends. Nozzles cover both the unwind and rewind sides. See
Telephone: 708/748-l 503 drawing.
Fax: 7081748-2847
o 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (9196)
CHEmErRon
Fire System:
Metals Industry Bulletin #0300
Bearing Journals and Oil Hose Connections: The
bearings, with their lubricating oil system connec-
tions, are usually treated by local application calculat-
ed rate by area. On the accompanying drawing, note
that a removable enclosure is shown around the bear-
ings. Instead of an enclosure, sometimes a shutter-
like barrier is dropped to enclose this area while the
mill is operating. The purpose of these is to prevent
oil vapors from escaping into the mill area through
the ends of the mill. Nozzles providing the coverage
must be inside the enclosure so it will not interfere
with the discharge. Total flooding is not practical be-
cause the enclosure is removable. If the enclosure is
so close to the mill as to prevent installation of local
application nozzles inside, total flood nozzles for
coverage when the enclosure is in place, and local
application nozzles for when it is not, are both used.
Screw Down Area: Some mills are equipped with
hydraulic equipment mounted on a platform on top of
the mill that provides the downward force to squeeze
the rolls together. (The foil mill on the drawing does
not have same. This design is required for mills roll-
ing heavier gauges). This platform, in addition to
having some oil equipment, tends to accumulate oil
which, if ignited, would be difficult to reach due to
its relative inaccessibility. It is protected using rate by
area local application.
Hoods: In order to ensure maximum VOC (vol-
atile organic compounds) control, modern mills have
very sophisticated fume control systems. These in-
clude air curtains, double hoods, etc. For simple
sheet metal hoods (as shown on drawing), the under-
side of the hoods are covered using rate by area local
application. Nozzles, which are pointed up, should be
provided with caps to prevent oil accumulation in the
nozzles.
Coils and Handling Equipment: Some coils are
prepared for rolling by being covered with roll cool-
ant as they unwind. This equipment is protected rate
by volume. If it is located under the hood and the
hood height is not too high, it could be better to treat
the bottom of the hood as well as everything under it
co2 Application Bull&in
Page 2
down to the mill floor as local application rate by
volume.
Open Pits: Uncovered pits, in which oil may
accumulate, that are less than 4 deep are treated by
local application rate by area. When the open pit is
4 or more deep, local application at a rate of 4 lbs.
per minute per square foot is used as described in
NFPA Standard No. 12.
Total Flooding Coverage
In addition to the above, other parts of the total
rolling mill hazard can be treated as total flooding.
These include :
Closed (Covered) Pits: CO, is calculated for the
pits using the flooding factors of Standard No. 12
depending on the volume of each pit. It should be
noted that pits on the mill consist of open sections
adjacent to covered sections. Each is treated in its
own way. but the ends of a covered pit are not con-
sidered open when they open into a protected open
pit, and hence, no compensating CO, for loss is need-
ed in the CO2 calculations for flooding these spaces.
Fume Exhaust System: CO, is calculated at a
65 % flooding concentration as per Standard No. 12.
In most modern mill exhaust systems, an oil collec-
tion system prevents the discharge of oil vapor into
the atmosphere. This system is also flooded with
CO,. Fire dampers in the fume exhaust system,
actuated by the CO, discharge, are needed. Upon
system actuation, all fans are shut down. CO? is
discharged on both sides of dampers.
IMPORTANTNOTE: Upon system operation, all
components of the system are discharged simulta-
neously and coverage must be complete per Para. 3-
2.1 of NFPA No. 12. Since the primary CO1 re-
quirement is local application, a 30 second liquid CO,
discharge is used per Standard No. 12. Therefore,
when doing the CO, hazard calculation, you must
remember that you will have only */z minute to pro-
vide flooding CO, for the total flood sections.
CnEmETROn
Fire Systems
Metals Industry Bu//etin #0300
If the exhaust system is made of relatively
light gauge metal which could be quickly heated in
a fire, concern must be given to ensure heated
metal surfaces cannot reignite the fire.
For a more detailed description of fire protec-
tion for fume control systems, see Bulletin #0765,
Fume Control Systems.
Directly associated with the operation of the
mill is the equipment which filters, cools, and
pumps the oil to the mills. Most of this equip-
ment is in a room or cellar away from the mill
where it can be protected by total flooding, usually
as a separate hazard from the mill protection
system.
However, there are times when some of this
equipment is out on the mill floor - usually the
filters, to facilitate service; in that case, it is treat-
ed as a separate hazard covered by local applica-
tion. If the hazards interexpose one another, they
must be capable of simultaneous protection.
Controls: The systems are automatic using
rate compensated heat detectors, with manual
release stations for the system on both the opera-
tors console and away from the mill. A feature
sometimes used is called a spurt. Conditions which
have been shown to precede a fire can be identi-
fied by the mill PLC and a signal given to initiate
a localized CO2 discharge on the mill bite area.
Experience has shown that fires on mills can
develop to be very large very fast. A ball of flame
all the way to the roof Itis how some have been
described. Therefore, the desirability of applying
the full CO2 discharge as quickly as possible exists,
in which case you want to minimize the vapor
time of the discharge. The liquid CO, in the stor-
age tank picks up heat from pipe and fittings as it
is discharged and becomes vapor. Only when the
pipe is fully cooled and full of liquid CO, do you
get the fully effective discharge needed. Quick
liquid discharges can be obtained by keeping the
tank close to the mill or using an insulated dis-
charge header that is constantly full of liquid CO,.
The heat input to this header vaporizes some CO,
co2 Application Bulktin
Page 3
that is recondensed to vapor by the storage unit or
by a separate refrigerator unit. A circulation pump
may be needed.
Other hazards associated with the rolling mill
operation such as electric drive motors, switchgear
and controls, cable tunnels, etc., can be protected
from the same system. They are treated in other
CO, application bulletins.
When the low pressure CO2 system is used,
the highly effective CO, hand hose lines provide
very valuable back-up protection. See Bulletin
#0760, High Capacity Portable Protection
with CO, Hand Hose Lines.
Safety Considerations
When the carbon dioxide system is designed,
the provision for personnel safety must be consid-
ered as strongly as the fire protection. A safe sys-
tem includes provision for:
. Alarms that absolutely, positively indicate the
system is about to discharge.
n Analysis of the CO, gas flow to identify where
the CO, will be after a discharge.
= Provision for a proper lock-out system during
periods of maintenance to prevent an acciden-
tal discharge endangering personnel.
. Adequate instructions and training, including
warning and instructional signs.
NFPA Standard No. 12 provides good infor-
mation in this regard.
 TO MIST FIREDAMPER
----HOSE REEL

*FUME tiooD

MILL PITS -\ II

OIL RESERVOIRS.COOLERS
AND PUMPS (BASEMENT)

Cold Rolling Mill Fire Protection System

CHENlETROn
Metals Industry Bulletin #0305

Fire System6
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE SUPPRESSION -

Metals Rolling Mills

co
2 Part 2: Multi-Stand Mills &
Mills With Water Based Coolant

In Metals Industry Bulletin #0300, an aluminum foil mill was illustrat-

ed and the protection described. In thar write-up, references were made
to mills rolling heavier strip gauges and to mills using water soluble oils
as roll coolants. This bulletin is written to expand on these subjects, as
well as to illustrate and describe the protection utilized on a typical mill
of this type.

The mill illustrated is based on the CO, protection system provided for
a 2 stand tandem mill rolling thin strip for tin plate at a major USA steel
mill. On this mill there are some significant differences from the mill
described in Bulletin #0300. Besides having two mill stands installed in
tandem, the mill contains a screw-down platform containing the equipment
needed to exert the force required to push the rolls together. It is also
equipped with a down-draft ventilation system in which coolant fumes are
drawn down through the pits to afog tunnel, then to an outside wall where
they are exhausted after processing through a mist eliminator (not shown).
To contain the fumes at the mill, hoods are installed over each end and
ducted down to the exhaust tunnel. The sides of the mill around the rolls
are covered by rolling doors that are dropped while the mill is in opera-
tion. The area between the two mill stands is also enclosed (with access
doors available).

- Note

Referring back to Bulletin #0300, you will note the mill hoods are
shown as open hoods with CO, nozzles aimed up to cover same.

CAaDoX However, since that bulletin was written, newer mills of this type
have been provided with double walled hoods. On these there is
an air supply section of the hood which feeds an air curtain
around the hood discharging air down to block fume flow away
from the mill. Technology in fume control is rapidly developing
4801 Southwick Drive to meet environmental needs and fire protection system design
Third Floor must be modified accordingly.
Matteson, IL 60443
Telephone: 7081748-l 503
Fax: 7081748-2847
0 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (9!96)
CHEmETROn
Fire System:
Metals Industry Bulletin #0305
Mills of the type illustrated herein are now
equipped with sophisticated controls for controlling
gauge and strip shape, and are automated for in-
creased production speeds. They allow quick change-
over and offer flexibility of operation. They are also
more susceptible to fire damage if the@re is not
extinguished quickly.
A history of several of fires within a month or so
in midyear 1988 illustrate the protection problem.
A maintenance worker was cutting out a 1 bolt on
a 6-stand tandem cold mill in a steel mill and ignited
condensed residue that remained from mill operations.
It took over 7 weeks to get the mill back in operation
after an extremely serious fire.
At an aluminum plant, a 6-stand tandem cold mill
using water based coolant had finished a production
run and a platform was being installed when
_ . .sparks from the torch ignited oily dirt and sludge
that had accumulated underneath the mill. Within
minutes, fire engulfed three of the six stands on the
. . .mill. The fire burned for about 40 minutes before
it was finally extinguished. . . .You could only see 10
to 15 feet in front of you in the building the smoke
was so thick.. .flames shot up in the air twenty to
thirty foot.
These fires were, of course, on mills where, be-
cause of the use of water based coolant, no fire hazard
was thought to exist. The need for protecting these
mills is well established by these incidents, plus nu-
merous others at both steel and aluminum mills oper-
ating similarly. While the installation of a properly
designed water spray system could provide fire con-
trol, the use of CO, is considered primary protection
for the following reasons:
l The CO, affords
seconds.
faster protection - a matter
Modern mill protection CO, system design targets
a full extinguishing discharge within 10 seconds of
the start of operation. Because of the introduction
of sophisticated and sensitive mill controls, as men-
co 2 Application Bulletin
Page 2
tioned above, quick extinguishment is imperative.
CO: is three dimensional and will extinguish a
three dimensional fire, while water will not.
The CO? gas will penetrate all parts of the mill,
pits, etc., whereas water would have to be dis-
charged directly on each protected area.
Since it is imperative that the entire hazard be
covered, the back of the mill, which may be close
to the electric drives, is especially important. CO?
can be discharged in this area without concern for
shielding the electrics or disconnecting power
before a discharge.
The same CO2 system can provide protection for
fume exhaust, lube oil, and electrical drive sys-
tems: the Chemetron LPCO, hand hose line offers
superior first aid protection during cutting and
welding (obviously needed in the previously men-
tioned 2 incidents).
CO> requires no provision for drainage or retention
of the extinguishing agent discharge.
Arrangement of Protection: In the arrangement of
protection of the mill shown on the accompanying
drawing. we would like to point out the following
features.
I1 The fume exhaust system is protected as a sepa-
rate hazard (zone) with its own valve and con-
trols. In the case of a mill fire, the exhaust
system is automatically flooded along with the
mill. But the exhaust system can also be dis-
charged separately, providing for a longer sus-
tained discharge.
2
of
cl A set of nozzles (hidden from view) discharge
down across the back of the mill, covering the
entire area. These are in addition to the CO2
nozzles directed in to cover other mill equip-
ment. This coverage is usually calculated rute-
@-area.
CHErnETROII
Fire Systems
Metals Industry f?ulletin #030.5
The screw-down area is covered by a local
I3 application discharge calculated on a rate-by-
area method. Some operators have also
valved the screw-down protection separately
so it can be independently discharged.
Reduction of fire incidents can be accom-
I4 plished by using the computer to monitor
strip tension. It has been found that when
the strip breaks, conditions for fire ignition
occur. When tension is released by a strip
break, inerting the work area of the mill
with CO, will prevent fire ignition. This
localized spurt is not shown on the accom-
panying drawing.
Comparing the earlier rolling mills bulletin,
you will note the protection of the following mill
segments is similar.
Roll Stacks: Local application calculated
rate-by-volume.
Bearing Journals and Oil Connections:
Local application using rate-by-area with concern
given to coverage with fume containment doors in
either the up or down position.
Open Pits: Local application using rate-by-
area for pits less than 4 deep and the NFPA Stan-
dard No. 12 recommended approach for pits 4 or
more deep.
Closed (Covered Pits): Covered by total
flooding.
Safety Lockout and Reliability: We dis-
cussed above the advantages of using CO, as pri-
mary fire protection, but this use is not without
risk. As pointed out before, in fire extinguishing
concentrations, CO, is suffocating. Therefore, it is
imperative that all areas where CO, can be dis-
charged or where it can drift to after a discharge
be kept free of personnel while CO, is present.
When necessary for personnel to work in these
areas, supervised lock out of the CO, discharge is
necessary. Chemetron would be pleased to help
design such an arrangement. Under these condi-
co 2 Application Bulldin
Page 3
tions, a fire watch is mandatory in the same man-
ner as when sprinklers are impaired. In the lock-
out mode, detection remains in service while inter-
locks prevent equipment operation while the CO,
discharge is shutdown.
Since the CO, system is so critical to main-
taming mill operations, it is very important that
all possible steps be taken to ensure system reli-
ability. Gigantic strides in providing for this have
taken place in recent years. These include:
control panels that aid in locating and solving
problems.
systems that are fully electrically supervised.
battery back-up power.
key pilot piping and tubing supervision.
alarms that allow much more extensive and
positive personnel warning.
Certification of system designers by the Na-
tional Institute of Engineering Technologies
(N.I.C.E.T.) helps ensure proper systems design.
This certification is established by testing and
experience, and involves substantial training.
Once this type protection has been installed,
proper inspection and maintenance by qualified
personnel is mandatory. This includes updating
protection as mills are modified and modernization
of protection as new technology evolves.
Those concerned with reliable CO, fire protec-
tion should take comfort in recent studies by some
large users of CO, fire protection showing that it
is statistically at least as reliable as water protec-
tion.
 HOOD MILL DRIVE MOTOR
\ 1 SCREWDOWN PLATFORM A-l/-

REWIND PIT
IUK

ROLL CHANGE

Carbon Dioxide Fire Protection

for 2-Stand 4-High Tandem
Cold Strip Mill
 Metals Industry Bulletin #03 10
CHEmETROn
Fire Systems
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE SUPPRESSION -

Continuous Coil Coating Lines

co
2
Continuous coil coating lines are process lines where aluminum or
steel strip is continuously coated (painted). Coatings can be applied to
protect against corrosion or weathering, for wear or scuff resistance,
or to give a decorative appearance.

The drawing on page 4 shows only a part of a typical coil process-

ing facility. The entire facility consists of coil handling at the entry
end with unwinders and a joiner to create a continuous strip, strip
cleaning and preparation stages, prime coating and an associated curing
oven, finish coater(s) with curing oven, cooling equipment, a coil
looping stage and tension equipment to facilitate smooth material flow,
an exit shear, and a coil rewind with a belt wrapper. The drawing
shows that portion of the line consisting of the two coaters (prime and
finish), curing ovens and the associated exhaust system. It is this
portion of the line where CO, is often used for fire protection. Both
water based and solvent based coating materials are used on continuous
coil coaters - sometimes both on the same line at different times. The
CO, is, of course, for protection when solvent based coatings are used.

The coating lines can be set up for variations involving heavy

coatings, intermediate coatings, or the lightweight coatings that can be
processed at high speeds. Therefore, these facilities can process metal
strip for a great many applications, such as building materials, foil
packaging, toys, can tops, etc. Interestingly, one design of our low
pressure CO, storage vessels has painted aluminum strip from a coil

-X
coater as the outside metal housing.

Coating lines can be set up to produce metal with wood grains or

other designs, as well as bright finishes. Sometimes stripable film is
applied at the end of the line for protection of the finished material.
4801 Southwick Drive The coating materials are such that the metal can be formed after
Third Floor painting without leaving blemishes. This even includes embossing.
Matteson, IL 60443
Telephone: 708/748-l 503
Fax: 7081748-2847
0 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (91961
CHEmETROn
Fire System;
Mefals Industry Bulletin #03 10
Industry has found that for many, many products,
they can avoid the cost and problems associated with
installing an in-plant painting facility by buying pre-
painted metal. Therefore, the coil coating industry
has enjoyed a steady market for many years.
Chemetron has been installing low pressure CO,
systems for these facilities for over 25 years. An
article in the October, 1966 issue of Iron and Steel
Engineer, entitled Organic Coatings for Steel Sheets -
Continuous Painting Line, has a photo of the line
with a CARDOX Low Pressure CO, tank in the fore-
ground along side the bake ovens. Technology has,
of course, improved with such advances as computer-
ized control of paint thickness, higher speeds (1500
feet per minute), and widths to 80 inches. But the
basics of CO, fire protection still apply.
Coating line configurations are designed to meet
product needs and plant layout. Some lines double
back to use less floor space. Some have the coaters
above one another rather than in line horizontally.
Ovens are usually horizontal, but we have several
customers with vertical units. One set of ovens can
be mounted above the other when the line is doubled
back.
The principal fire hazards of the coating line that
lend themselves to CO, protection consist of the
coaters themselves, freshly painted metal, the ovens,
fume exhaust, and paint piping trenches.
Coaters
The coaters are usually out in the open, requiring
that the CO, protection be local application. Because
of the difficulty in identifying areas of spillage, leak-
age, etc., the rate-by-volume method of calculation
usually works best. In our illustration there is a hood
over the coater; spot nozzles are mounted in the
hood, directed down at the coater. This performs
very well because the hood, itself, ends up being a
large, low velocity nozzle directing a CO, discharge
co2 Application Bulletin
down to envelop the coater. If there is no hood,
nozzles are mounted from stanchions around the
coater unit.
Sometimes the coaters are arranged so they can be
moved in and out of a set position. When moved
laterally, out of the line, they are in a position to be
cleaned. In this configuration, two sets of nozzles
are required; one set to cover each of the two posi-
tions of the coater. They are, however, piped so that
the CO2 discharges in both positions simultaneously.
The CO? requirement is calculated accordingly.
In some installations the coater is installed in a
coating room, which simplifies the CO, system design
by allowing the entire coating room to be totally
flooded.
When the coaters are installed in the open, it is
very important that the paint spillage be confined by
dikes or drains to limit the extent of the hazard so we
can define the extent of the required CO, coverage.
Detection of a fire triggers the automatic shut
down of the line and paint pumps.
Freshly Painted Strip
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Stan-
dard No. 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems,
in Para. 3-2.1, Extent of Hazard, warns that freshly
coated stock constitutes part of the hazard. Ther-
efore, it is necessary to use the rate-by-area method
of CO2 local application to cover the freshly painted
strip between the coater and the oven.
Remember that if CO, is discharged just from noz-
zles mounted above, the strip itself masks part of the
hazard. Therefore, nozzles are needed below the
strip as well. Protection of the strip is an extension
of the coverage on the coater station, all being cov-
ered by the CO, discharge simultaneously.
CHElllETROll
Fire Systems
Metals Industry Bulletin #03 70
Some of our customers, after their fire risk
analysis, have chosen to protect just the coater
and strip, while others, based on their own fire
experience, also protect the curing ovens.
Ovens
There are ovens in which the strip is support-
ed (flotation type), or where it hangs in a cate-
nary. Heating can be infrared, indirect, or direct
(the most dangerous). The size and design of the
curing/drying ovens is based on the material being
coated, the speed of the line, and environmental
concerns. Hence, there are many variations. Ovens
can be set in line as shown in our illustration, or
as mentioned before, they can be set one on top of
the other if the line doubles back to save space.
Modern computerized controls can monitor
the solvent content of the atmosphere in the oven
at 2 1% and, therefore, can operate safely at some-
what higher solvent levels. Without these controls,
it is usual practice to keep the solvent level below
25% of the lower explosive limit.
The CO, protection of the oven is, of course,
total flood to the design level of the solvent used
(usually 34%), with an additional 1% CO, added
for each 5F (2.&C) of operating temperature over
200F (93.3C).
Over the years, probably more difficulty has
been experienced with false trips of CO: systems
in ovens than from any other source. The usual
detection is rate compensated thermal detectors.
The temperature rating of these detectors is set
about 100F above the operating temperature. If
temperature spikes occur or there are rapid chang-
es in temperature on start up or fan shutdown,
false trips can occur. On new installations, we
recommend that a break-in period be considered.
During this period, the detection system is arrang-
ed to give alarm only so that any temperature var-
iations inherent to the operation that might trip
the detectors are recognized. Then, whatever
changes needed in the CO, system andlor the
operating procedure can be made without concern
co 2 Application Bull&n
Page 3
for dumping CO,. Once this is established, the
system is put on fully automatic control.
Fume Exhaust
A number of different duct configurations are
possible. The exhaust system illustrated is that
used on one of our more recent installations.
Upon system actuation, the CO, system floods
the exhaust ducts to a 65% CO, concentration,
operates a fire damper (with the CO, discharged
on both sides of the damper), and shuts down the
fans.
Ifthere is a solvent recovery system, it is
flooded with CO, as well.
Paint Piping Trenches
In some installations, the paint piping is run
in trenches in the floor between the paint supply
and the coaters. These trenches should be flooded
with CO, to cover any possible accumulation of
combustible from past and present leaks, and to
act as a fire stop to ensure that any burning liquid
from the coater that could reach the trench would
be extinguished.
System Arrangement
In the system arrangement shown, the prime
coater and its oven are protected as one hazard,
and the finish coater and its oven as a second. We
have also designed systems where the coater (plus
the freshly painted strip and paint trench) was
protected separately from the oven (and the fume
exhaust). This potentially reduces CO, use, but
adds to system control costs.
The protection is arranged so that any adja-
cent hazards can be discharged simultaneously, if
this should ever be necessary. The CO, storage is
sized for this eventuality.
 CHEmErRon co 2 Application Bull&in
Fire Systems

Metals Industry Bulletin #03 10 Page 4

Other Hazards n Computer Operations Bulletin #0600 -

Some other areas which may need protection
and could be protected from this same system
include coil handling hydraulics and lube; electri-
cal control rooms; computer rooms and/or under-
floors; and paint rooms.
Information on fire protection of these haz-
ards is contained in the following bulletins:
Protection of Spaces Beneath Raised
Floors
Computer Operations Bulletin #0610 -
Computer Room Fire Protection for the
1990's
Computer Operations Bulletin #0615 -
Critical Computer and Electrical Control
Cabinets
Industrial Facilities Bulletin #0750 -
Paint Mixing and Storage Facilities

TO NOZZLES
IN PAINT
PIPING TRENCH

SPOT NOZZLES TO FINISH COATER

IN HOOD COVERIN AND OVENS
PRIME COATER

MA5 ILK-
L NOZZLES IN
OVENS SELECTOR
VALVES
L SPOT NOZZLES COVERING
FRESHL Y PAINTED STRIP

TOFF
PPRIME
COATER

Carbon Dioxide Fire Protection for a Continuous Coil Coater

 Metals Industry Bulletin #03 15

Fire System6
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE SUPPRESSION -

co2 Part 1: Electric Furnaces &

Continuous Casting Facilities
Mini-Mills

In recent years, the development of the mini-mill concept has

created a whole new segment of the steel industry.

Instead of following the traditional, integrated concept of steel

production - starting with the production of iron, then steel, followed
by the production of a variety of finished steel products - the mini-mill
produces a single product or a very limited product range. They make
steel by melting scrap, doing the metallurgy needed, casting the
product, and then finishing it with very limited rolling mill facilities.
Costs are substantially less. The plants are commonly located well away
from the traditional steel making centers, where the need for bringing
iron ore and coal together economically dictated plant locations. Often
the mini-mill is located where there is low cost power and close to the
markets served.

The history of the successful use of CO, for fire protection of

key facilities in the steel plant is a long and successful one. Low
Pressure CO, systems installed over 50 years ago are still providing
important protection. Mini-mill operations present vital hazards for
which CO, is a proven and ideal extinguishant. Since they often
produce a single product, the loss of production due to a serious fire
can be catastrophic.

CARDOX
The purpose of this bulletin, and another to come, is to familiar-
ize the reader with these CO, fire protection applications, starting with
the melting and casting end of the mill (Part l), followed by the rolling
mill (Part 2).

4801 Southwick Drive The drawing accompanying this bulletin illustrates protection for
Third Floor the Electric Furnace TransformerBwitchgear Areas, Control Pulpits,
Matteson, IL 60443 Electrical Control Room, and Caster Turret.
Telephone: 7081748-I 503
Fax: 7081748-2847
B 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (g/96)
CHEmETROn
Fire Systemi
Metals Industry Bulletin #03 15
Electric Furnace Transformer and
Switchgear Vaults
The protection of the arc furnace transform-
er/switchgear vaults with CO, is designed to offer
protection against an oil fire caused by transformer
failure, or an electrical fire involving equipment and
/or cables.
Arc furnace transformer failures have been
caused by an accumulation of moisture, loss of di-
electric strength of the oil, presence of foreign mate-
rial, defective connections, breakdown of insulation,
overheating, transient over-voltages caused by switch-
ing, and malfunction in the tap changer. It should be
noted that in some installations, the tap changer is a
second transformer.
Quick extinguishment of an oil fire can limit
the damage and protect the balance of the equipment
and installation. Protection of the switchgear and
other electrical equipment from fire, usually caused
by an electrical breakdown, requires traditional CO2
flooding to a higher concentration and holding it for
an appropriate soaking period.
The CO, design involves flooding the vault to
34% CO, within one minute to take care of an oil
fire, and continuing the discharge until 50% CO, by
volume is reached. CO, is an ideal extinguishant -
its three dimensional, dry, a non-conductor, and
easily handled. If the transformer bushings are not
designed to accommodate a water discharge, or if the
transformer is not sealed, the use of CO, is especially
important. A very important feature of CO, is that no
drainage is required; there is no need to capture fire
protection water runoff (contaminated with oil).
It must be noted that CO, fire extinguishing
concentrations are suffocating to personnel. Thus,
supervised lock-outs, to prevent a CO, discharge
when maintenance is required in the vault, are com-
mon. A predischarge alarm is part of the system
controls to guard against a discharge taking place
without adequate personnel warning. Vaults should
co 2 Application Bulletin
Page 2
be kept locked with access only by authorized and
trained personnel.
Since we are often dealing with some poten-
tially deep-seated burning material in these vaults, it
is necessary to hold the CO, discharge in the vault
until the fire is totally extinguished. This holding time
normally does not necessitate the use of an extended
CO, discharge, however. Points of CO, leakage are
few and easily controlled. The opening where the bus
bars carry power from the vault to the furnace cables
is usually above the top level of the transformer and
has minimal effect on CO, loss rates where the pro-
tection is needed.
Caution should be exercised in vaults with
concrete block walls, which are usually porous if not
coated (painted). CO, vapor will leak through the
walls and be quickly lost.
The drawing accompanying this bulletin shows
an AC powered arc furnace. A recent trend has been
to DC arc furnaces. The DC furnace vault has both
rectifiers and a rectifier furnace transformer, as well
as other electrical equipment. Advantages to the DC
system include reduced electric consumption, fewer
flicker problems, less noise, and more uniform melt-
ing. The bottom of the furnace is made electrically
conductive and only one electrode is used, resulting
in less electrode use. A major disadvantage is higher
initial capital costs.
On one installation, the rectifier furnace trans-
former comprised two independent primary and sec-
ondary systems, arranged one on top of the other, in
a common transformer tank. The rectifiers were a
floor above the transformer, with openings for con-
nections between floors. This specialized equipment
would be particularly susceptible to problems of loss
or damage in case of fire.
Where the transformer/switchgear/rectifier
vault is multi-floored, fire detection is required at all
levels for automatic actuation, while a hazard analysis
is needed to determine if CO, should be discharged at
CHEmETROn
Fire Svstems co2 Application Bull&in

Metals Industry Bulletin #03 15 Page 3

all levels or just at the higher elevations. One school Electrical Control Rooms
of thought is that in every case, a portion of the
CO, needed to flood the vault should be locally
These areas are normally totally flooded with
applied directly to the transformer to take advan-
CO, to the requirements of NFPA Standard No. 12.
tage of the extinguishing characteristics of a locally
When the gear is enclosed in a room, the room is
applied discharge.
flooded. If switchgear cabinets are in the open,
internal protection can be provided by internal
r- NoTE
1
In the 194Os, CARDOX, predecessor to
floodmg. The internal protection of metal-clad elec-
tncal switchgear will be the subject of a future appli-
Chemetron Fire Systems, established design cations bulletin. In the meantime, Chemetron Fire
parameters for protecting open transformers Systems can help define protection requirements.
by running an extensive series offire tests
using locally applied low pressure CO,. Ladle Turrets
While water spray is a better fire extinguish-
ant for open transformers, a number of in-
The need for internal lubrication of the turret,
stallations have been made using low pres-
allowing movement of steel-filled ladles over the
sure CO, where adequate fire protection
caster and then out of the way again, creates a
water is not available.
space inside wherein an inaccessible hazard area
exist\. This area is piped before installation with an
adequate number of CO, nozzles and with piping
On some installations, the arc furnace is for srzed to the protection requirements. This piping can
melting only, and a secondary ladle furnace is used then be tied in to the Furnace/Caster Area protec-
for metallurgy. Each has its own transformer vault tion system to allow proper protection for this area.
requiring protection as shown on the drawing. This IS as shown on the drawings.

During the hazard analysis of an electric fur-
nace installation, caution should be followed to
identify combustible oil filled hydraulic systems and
speed reducers to ensure that they are adequately
protected. (These systems are not shown on the
drawing.)
Control Pulpits
Bulletins #0600, Protection of Spaces Be-
neath Raised Floors, and #0615, Critical Com-
puter and Electrical Control Cabinets are your
reference for the protection of these important
eas.
The CO, design level is that required for oils
and greases - 34% CO, by volume -with provi-
sions for losses out of uncloseable openings.
It should be noted that the production of sheet
steel on a thin slab caster feeding into a single stand
hot mill and then to a cold rolling facility is rapidly
changing the sheet steel market. The hot rolling
facilities of the mini-mill, along with such specialized
mills as Z mills, will be covered in Bulletin #0320,
Mini-Mills Part 2. In the meantime, Bulletin
#0305, Metal Rolling Mills - Multi-Stand
Mills/Mills with Water Based Coolant, is a good
ar-
refercmce as to fire protection of cold rolling mills.
CHEmETROn
Metals Industry Bulletin #0320

Fire System;
Carbon Dioxide Fire Suppression -

CARDOiX
Blast Furnace Pulverized
Coal Injection Systems
(and other Coal Storage Systems)

The desire to move away from the production of coke, witii its
inherent environmental problems, has motivated the use of pulver-
ized coal rather than coke in blast furnace operations.

In this operation, raw coal is stored, then ground and trans-

ported to a storage tank, then moved to feed tanks, distributed and
injected into the blast furnace through the tuyeres. The drawing ac-
companying this bulletin illustrates such a system.

-
This operation is virtually identical to the Coal Grinding, Han-

m
f3
=
1
dling and Storage System as described in Industrial Facilities Bul-
letin #0785. (Applications Bulletin #0160 describes this application
as it is used in the Cement Industry.)
n __:__ -I:u______ ___ I__ IL_ _.A---!.._ ..-_ _f :--1 --_ :-
n III~JUI u~iierer~c;e mr~ ue we exrenswe use OT men gas 111

m
II - some of the process schemes offered. Blast furnace gas (essen-
I-
tially carbon monoxide) is burned, creating an inert gas that is fed
into the grinding mill to convey the ground coal through to the col-
-
lection equipment (cyclone or collector) and then to the pulverized
coal bin (silo).
Q

n Nitrogen systems have been used to provide a cleaning

system for bag fiiters, if a bag type dust coiiector is used to capture
the pulverized coal. This nitrogen system is available to keep the
plant inert when it is out of production, and to provide inert gas to be
used in start-up and shut down. While nitrogen can be used to
provide part of the inerting done by CO, in indirect firing systems,
from a purely fire control point of view, carbon dioxide has some
significant advantages over nitrogen from a fire protection stand-
point. This is discussed in more depth later in this bulletin.

However, many systems use air to convey the coal. An air

4801 Southwick Drive operated system requires lower capital costs.
Third Floor
Matteson, IL 60443 The scope of fire protection required is best established fol-
Telephone: 708/748-l 503 lowing a Fire Risk Analysis, with which Chemetron Fire Systems
Fax: 7081748-2847 can be of heip.

0 1999 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. Issued: (l/99)

CARDOX IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS.
 CHEmErRon
Fire Systemi
Metals Industry Bulletin #0320
Typical Installations
In the pioneering pulverized coal injection
system of over 20 years ago, a 6 ton capacity Car-
dox low pressure CO, system was installed to pro-
tect the raw coal bunker, pulverizer, fluidized coal
tanks, dust collectors and the motor control center.
In a somewhat different arrangement recently
made at a Midwest USA mill, the installation of a 6
ton capacity Cardox system was made to protect
just the pulverizer, weight feeder, ducts and dust
collectors.
On a job in the Far East, CO, was used to pro-
tect the raw coal bunker, coal feeder, pulverizer,
ducts, and filter house, as well as the pulverized
coal reservoir and feeder tanks.
It has been noted that the systems we pro-
tected have used either pressurized mills or mills
operating at a slight negative pressure, for which
the CO, design varies substantially from one sys-
tem to another. Consultation with Chemetron en-
sures that protection planning starts down the right
path.
In all designs, there are portions of the PCI
system that warrant consideration of CO, fire pro-
tection. The following application bulletins describe
the techniques used in protecting the type hazard
representative of the various segments of this pro-
cess. (These techniques have been used for over
40 years in a wide range of applications.)
Coal Grinding, Handling & Storage Systems,
Industrial Facilities Bulletin #0785.
Coal Storage Silos and Bunkers, Power Gener-
ation Bulletin #0040.
Bag Houses (Bag Type Dust Collectors, Indus-
trial Facilities Bulletin #0790.
CO* Application Bulletin
Page 2
Carbon Dioxide vs. Nitrogen
In evaluating inert gases, it is proper to compare
nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
While CO, and nitrogen are both inert gases, the
use of CO, for fire suppression for this type of haz-
ard is well established. It is covered by an NFPA
Standard (NO. 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing
Systems) which recognizes its ability to extinguish
fires as may be experienced in coal mills, ducts,
cyclones, etc. This Standard establishes system
design criteria for many hazards. Hundreds of these
r\,r+~mr hn.rr. t.hem
3yaLF;I I13 I Ia=
i-r+-llrrrl a
VGGI I II 131allc,
rn Galyl
rl-r;nn I +rrnhnin,
vzu
m-r.
II lKjUG3
are well established. No such standard exists for
nitrogen.
Due to the difference in density between CO,
vapor and air, it is substantially easier to control
fires in stored coal by pushing CO, vapor through
the coal with a continuous discharge in the event of
spontaneous ignition of the coal. The discharge of
CO, into this atmosphere creates an interface be-
tween the CO, and entrapped air; this interface
rises to engulf the burning coal. Such is not the
case with nitrogen, which has essentially the same
density as air. Introducing nitrogen into the coal
requires multiple injection points to ensure the inert
gas envelops the burning coal mass within the silo.
CO, equipment is also approved by recognized
authorities as are system control schemes. No such
approvals have been obtained for nitrogen.
Other coal-use systems such as the production
of hot metal from direct reduction iron in a melfer-
gasifier could also present problems in coal silos
and feeders. Therefore, fire protection should be
evaluated in these facilities as well.
Chemetron Fire Systems Applications Engineer-
ing group is available to consult on requirements for
specific installations of any type.
 CnEmETROn
Fire System6 CO* Application Bulletin

Metals Industry Bulletin #0320