Develop a solution or protection mechanism to ensure zero failure in cables of Steel cars and Slag cars that are exposed to metal spatter while the vessel is being tapped/Slag off.
Steel car and Slag car are moved using Cable Reeling Drum (CRD) composite cables. The temperature near the vicinity of CRD composite cable is > 1600 °C. Steel car is used for carrying liquid steel from tapping zone to ladle lifting zone. Liquid steel is tapped in the ladle kept on the Steel car after oxygen blow and ferroalloy addition. While liquid steel is being tapped, CRD composite cable gets damaged due to liquid metal spatters. This prevents the movement of the Steel car, which leads to stoppage of the Converter.
Liquid slag left in the ladle after tapping is poured in the Slag car which is taken to the Slag Pot Lifting Zone. While liquid slag is being poured in the Slag pot kept on the Slag car, here also, the CRD composite cable gets damaged due to spatters, stopping the movement of the Slag car which leads to stoppage of the Converter. In both the cases, the spattered liquid metal reacts with the cable insulation and starts to build up on the cable, this leads to weakening of the cable and eventually to its breakage.
To mitigate the problem following options have been tried:
We are seeking a solution that will prevent the damage of CRD composite cables due to liquid metal spattering.
The solution MUST meet the following criteria:
It will be an added advantage if the solution addresses the following: