Refractory Engineering

Furnace Optimization by Mettop

 TABLE OF CONTENT

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 3

2 METTOP AT A GLANCE ............................................................................................................................. 4

3 3D REFRACTORY ENGINEERING ................................................................................................................ 5

4 ADD-ONS – SPECIAL SERVICE BY METTOP ................................................................................................ 7

4.1 QUALITY CONCEPT ...................................................................................................................................... 7

4.2 LINING SEQUENCE ...................................................................................................................................... 7
4.3 HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION AND EXPANSION CALCULATION ............................................................................. 8
4.4 START-UP PROCEDURES AND HEATING UP INSTRUCTION ..................................................................................... 9
4.5 SPECIAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING COURSES ..................................................................................................... 9

5 HOLISTIC APPROACH – SCOPE OF SERVICE BY METTOP.......................................................................... 10

6 CONTACT ............................................................................................................................................... 11

Account No. BIC

Mettop GmbH Court of Registration
00001263219 STSPAT2G
Peter-Tunner-Str. 4 Leoben Civil Court
8700 Leoben Commercial Registration No. Bank Identification Code VAT No.
Austria FN 26145k 20815 ATU 61690637
t +43 3842 81 7 87 IBAN DE 274789359
Bank PL 5263148464
f +43 3842 81 7 87 - 8 AT192081500001263219 2
Steiermaerkische Bank
office@mettop.com
und Sparkassen AG
www.mettop.com
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

It is the rising demand for economic and cost saving operation mode within all metallurgical plants
that makes every aggregate unique and makes tailor made solutions absolutely essential for an
optimized process. Especially regarding refractory lifetime and furnace availability subsequently, a
rethinking of the prevailing refractory concept can lead to significant improvements.

Upgrading of the existing furnace refractory design can lead to a wide range of improvements:

 Optimized visualization of the refractory material by exclusively 3D engineering

 Combined consideration of furnace geometry, steel construction, refractory material and
arrangement
 Prolong refractory lifetime by contribution to optimized operation (heating up specifications
and expansion calculation)
 Speed up installation by providing lining sequences
 Best furnace availability because of support before, during and after installation on site
 Comparing different suppliers´ grades for guaranteeing the best available product
 Cost saving lining concept by choosing price optimized material
 Best available concept by implementation of modern operational systems (purging system,
cooling solutions and tuyere arrangements
With these tools it is possible to achieve the following aims:

 Increasing furnace campaigns

 Increasing furnace availability
 Decrease costs for refractory material

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2 METTOP AT A GLANCE
Mettop GmbH is an independent Austrian engineering company, which was founded in 2005. Mettop
is specialized in process design, process optimization, and process engineering with the focus on:
 Feasibility studies on metallurgical processes
 Basic and detail engineering of metallurgical processes
 Technical process optimization
 New tankhouse technology, the METTOP-BRX Technology
 New cooling technology, the Ionic Liquid Cooling Technology (ILTEC)
 Cooler design, integrated solution for cooler, refractory and process conditions
 Delivery of coolers
 Refractory engineering
 Delivery of refractory
 Staff-training for realization of the provided technical innovations
 Trading technical devices and equipment in the frame of the above described company
subjects
 According to the specific customer and project, the above-mentioned products and services
are provided as either complete package or single parts
Mettop’s activities include the field of the pyro- and hydrometallurgy of non-ferrous metals as well
as the iron and steel industry. The scope of service comprise optimization work in the area of furnace
construction (furnace integrity), like refractory linings, gas purging systems, and cooling systems. In
the field of hydrometallurgy, a new electrolysis technology - the Mettop-BRX Technology - was
developed, which is already used commercially. For all metallurgical aggregates and equipment,
Mettop developed a new cooling technology ILTEC, which uses an ionic liquids as cooling medium
instead of water.

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3 3D REFRACTORY ENGINEERING
In contrast to the state of the art refractory engineering in two dimensions, Mettop uses 3D
refractory engineering to optimize refractory linings and furnace concepts. 3D refractory engineering
requires a full design of all lining details during the construction and drawing stage. This is a big
advantage compared to 2D refractory engineering, as cutting bricks on site can be avoided with the
detailed 3D design. Consequently, time and also costs during installation can be saved. Furthermore,
the 3D refractory engineering allows a step-by-step visualization of the installation procedure. This
again facilitates the refractory installation.

3D engineering of the furnace allows the automatic generation of a complete parts list of all bricks
and additional parts (e.g., steel plates, hanging hooks, expansion inserts), as all parts are named
systematically and are saved in a comprehensive list. Each brick format and every additional part is
only drawn once and then copied, so that the parts list can be generated automatically and contains
all the information required for the refractory lining installation, for example required amounts of
brick formats and qualities, number of expansion inserts, weight, volume and positioning of bricks in
different furnace areas.

In Figure 1 the difference between 2D and 3D can be seen.

Figure 1 – Comparison of a 2D refractory drawing of an off-gas opening of a drum type anode furnace and the same part draw
in 3D. The sophisticated steps, ledges and brick formats can hardly be distinguished in 2D whereas in 3D each brick is visualized

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Figure 2 – Various examples of 3D engineering

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4 ADD-ONS – SPECIAL SERVICE BY METTOP
With the finalization of the drawings for the refractory engineering, the service of Mettop is not
finished. For the purpose of providing the best possible concept for a best possible operation of the
entire process, refractory engineering comprises of more than drawings.

4.1 Quality Concept

As an independent refractory supplier without any production site or contract to refractory
producers, Mettop can select the best available material for providing an independent and process
orientated optimized concept. Since the scope of supply can only consist of refractory engineering, a
material list totally neutral and without any relation to manufacturer can be offered. This allows the
customer to independently order the refractory material according to the provided quality concept.
In addition Mettop provides full service in terms of ordering, shipping and delivery including
supervision on site if requested.
Based on the metallurgical and process knowhow the decision about the best available refractory
material has to be considered individually for every customer and application. This means also that
for one single furnace different brick qualities and subsequently different suppliers are used, just as
desired by the customer.

Figure 3 – Example for a quality concept of an XXXXX furnace with a list of different proposed quality grades for each part

4.2 Lining Sequence

In order to make the installation and the lining work on site as easy as possible, a visualization of the
lining sequence can help immensely. With the 3D engineering tool, a brick by brick visualization of
the entire lining can be provided, for example as a video or as single pictures. This helps to prevent
cost, time and material consuming failures during the lining and will lead to a more economical and
cost saving lining.

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Figure 4 – Lining sequence including installation instruction for the entire lining process for an drum type anode furnace

4.3 Heat transfer calculation and expansion calculation

For providing not only the best material but the best lining result, an optimized furnace performance
is also significantly influenced by the startup procedure. Since expansion during heating up is a topic
of significance, a careful consideration of the behavior during heating up is inevitable.
In Figure 5 an example for both, the steady state heat transfer calculation and the expansion
calculation is given. As a result of the heat transfer calculation the expansion of the different
materials at the different installation positions are known and instructions can be given how to
prevent damage of the refractory during the start up.
Steady state heat transfer calculation Calculation Of Expansion Allowance In Straight Linings

Customer: PNo.:
Customer Vessel: Example Furnace CNr.:
PNo.: Sector: EXPC01 - Bottom WL - Length Calculated by:

CNo.:
Parameter
Vessel Example Furnace Length: 1,600.00 mm [l]
Range HTC-01: Bottom Brick: 100.00 mm [s]
Rev. - Brick inside
1,267.00 °C [Ti]
Name str temperature.:
Brick outside
Date 18.08.2015 temperature.:
615.00 °C [Ta]

Extension at [T1]: 300.00 °C 0.40 % [e1]

Inside Outside Unit Extension at [T2]: 1,400.00 °C 1.50 % [e2]
Ambient temperature (input) 1,250.0 30.0 °C
Surface temperature (calculated) 1,241.0 169.7 °C Compensation Jointfigure
Heat transition coefficient 150.0 9.7 W/m²K Mortar (Y/N): Y dry-laid: 0.15 mm/Joint

Calculation formula ASTM680F Spring: 0.00 mm wet-laid: 0.10 mm/Joint

Wind velocity 0.0 m/s Compression

mass:
0.00 mm
Emissivity 0.5 Fibre board: 10.00 mm Thickness of expansion paper
Diamter - - mm Expansion of
3
steel shell:
4.00 mm mm
Heat loss per m² 1,351.0 1,351.0 W/m²
Polystyrene: 0.00 mm Expansion insert
Heat loss per m tube - - W/m
Tensioning: 10.00 % Card Board
Wall layers from inside to outside Temperature [°C]
Calculation
Material mm W/mK mean border 1/5 Temperature 1,136.60 °C Ti-(Ti-Ta) ∙ 1/5 [T]
Quality 1 450 2.700 1,128.0 1,241.0 Extension at [T] 1.24 % e1 + (e2 - e1) / (T2 - T1) ∙ (T - T1) [e]
Quality 2 10 2.700 1,013.0 1,015.9 No. of jonits 15 pcs. l/s [n]
Quality 3 150 2.609 972.0 1,010.9 Expansion 20 mm l ∙ e / 100 [ε]
Quality 4 10 2.623 931.0 933.3 Expansion all-up 6 mm ε - Compensation [Ε]
Quality 5 230 1.338 813 928.1 Theo. no. of. exp.
2.10 pcs. Ε / Thicknes of exp. Insert
Quality 6 16 1.296 687 695.8 inserts [N]
Exp. theo. allow
Quality 7 304 1.239 516 679.1 after every
7.13 brick n/N

Quality 8 10 0.076 262 347.8 Exp. allow

8 brick
after every
Quality 9 20 50.68 170 170.2
Exp. covered by
1200 169.7 card boards
19.29 mm

Figure 5 – Detailed consideration and calculation of the steady state heat transfer through the different materials (right) and
the expansion calculation including instructions expansion joints (right)

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4.4 Start-up procedures and heating up instruction
Once the furnace is lined, the operation mode starts with a first heating up of the furnace. Especially
too rapid heating can cause irreversible cracking but furthermore, too little heat at some areas of the
furnace might result in condensation and subsequently cracking because of hydration.

In order to prevent any damage caused by inappropriate heating, a specific and detailed description
of the heating up procedure is proposed.

Figure 6 – Specific heating up description

4.5 Special Support and Training Courses

It is of superior interest to provide the best possible performance on applying a new refractory
concept, however not only in terms of material performance. Therefore we take service seriously and
assist in all sorts of issues.

 Installation on site:
The entire installation on site will be supervised by Mettop personal.
 After Sales service:
In case either any unlikely event or planned maintenance, Mettop provides after sales service and
special support.
 Training courses
For optimized profiting from the benefits and using the entire metallurgical potential of refractory
engineering it is of interest to fully understand the metallurgical background of the processes.
Therefore Mettop provides detailed and comprehensive training courses on site for teaching the
operators metallurgical knowhow combined with operational instructions.

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5 HOLISTIC APPROACH – SCOPE OF SERVICE BY
METTOP
The scope of service of Mettop is intended as being a holistic concept for creating an optimized
process. The offered refractory engineering itself comprises of the following:
 3D Engineering
 Construction plans
 Complete list of parts
 Independent and process orientated optimized concept
 Technical documentation

Since Mettop combines substantiated knowledge about refractories with profound metallurgical
know-how, it is intended to be part of the entire process concept. On letting Mettop be part of the
process, the following tools are used for optimizing processes:
 Thermodynamical modelling with HSC
 CFD modelling
 Optimized construction
 Optimized refractory design for less wear
 Most modern cooling systems
 Possibility of improvement of metallurgical processes via purging systems

Finally, after having created a refractory concept, Mettop will support the customer in every possible
way for achieving an optimized performance:
 Visualization of the lining sequence, step by step installation procedure
 Heating up description
 Considerations regarding possible problems on site (hydration,…)
 Extension calculations and instructions
 On-site support, supervision during start up
 After sales service and special support
 Training courses for operators

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6 CONTACT
Mettop GmbH
Peter-Tunner-Strasse 4
8700 Leoben
Austria
www.mettop.com

Dr. Iris Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 41 iris.filzwieser@mettop.com

Dr. Andreas Filzwieser: +43 664 88 60 45 40 andreas.filzwieser@mettop.com
DI Stefan Wallner +43 664 88 60 45 53 stefan.wallner@mettop.com

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