Fast Changing Steel Technology and Its Impact on Refractories

Abstract

The authors have reviewed the different processes and the changes involved in the manufacture of steel, with emphasis on the features important to the refractories industry in India. The open hearth and oxygen processes have been discussed in broad details. The unavoidable impact on refractories particularly on the improvement of quality of super silica bricks, as also the gradual swing to all basic furnaces with all their advantages and limitations are dealt with. According to the authors, the much higher cost of basic bricks can only be justified if the output is very much higher in comparison to the output from efficiently run silica-roof open hearth furnaces. And unless all connected problems are completely integrated, basic roofs alone can leave serious loopholes. The different aspects of hearth, checker and furnace refractories have also been briefly discussed.