Fives is in charge of the modernisation of two reheating furnaces to increase their efficiency and capacity from 250 t/h to 295 t/h to meet the new requirements of the hot strip mill N1. Both furnaces – Stein Reheating WBF (Walking Beam Furnace) – have been supplied by Fives in 1994 and 2003 respectively.
The modernisation aims to optimise the overall furnace heat distribution by integrating a new combustion zone. It will ensure homogeneous heating of slabs throughout the furnaces and will enable to increase their capacities.
Therefore, the furnace roof level will have to be raised and the furnace casing will be modified. For each furnace, Fives will replace some existing burners with AdvanTek® BLF (Long Flame Burners) which will substantially improve crosswise and lengthwise temperature profiles of the products, as well as reducing NO_x emissions and energy consumption. Virtuo® Edge-R, a process optimisation system for Level 2, will be implemented for both furnaces to enable control of the slab temperature profile in a real time mode.
The revamping project for both furnaces is scheduled to be completed by 2021.
_{(Source: Fives – Steel & Glass)}