Maanshan Steel’s blast furnace B is revamped in record time

CISDI’s revamp of blast furnace B at Maanshan Steel in China’s Anhui Province has been an outstanding success.

The rebuild was completed in 84 days - six days ahead of schedule - and the furnace is now running at a faster speed than the plant’s blast furnace A, which was rebuilt by CISDI in December 2021 and went on to achieve multiple sector firsts in China.

CISDI’s team channelled the experience and knowledge gained from the earlier rebuild to further optimise tuyere and casthouse platform designs, noise reduction at the reducing valve block and the slag and iron runner system, and applied more digital designs.

A host of CISDI’s intelligent, clean production and green technologies have been implemented.

Furnace B is now state-of-the-art and eco-friendly and productivity and service life has been increased.

CISDI’s fast revamp expertise brought remarkable advantages, including:

Digital design with innovative applications of oblique photography, laser scanning and BIM tech: This enabled a speedy modelling of the existing plant and its equipment and integration with the new facility’s BIM. A new construction method of workshop prefabrication and modular build was applied to improve the revamp’s quality. 

Analysis, calculation and scientific verification of existing frameworks and foundation provided a favourable condition for applying fast, modular rebuilds. 

The hearth erosion model combined with big data analysis provided an accurate calculation of the old hearth’s weight and enabled an accurate selection of pushing facilities.

The design theoretical system, with bosh’s gas indicator at its core, calculated a super-standard of smelting efficiency and consumption and is extending the furnace’s service life.

The team had to conquer numerous challenges, including a limited site space, the involvement of multiple construction companies, concurrent construction projects and complicated organisation.

Concerted efforts by CISDI’s team and other parties involved ensured the strict safety, schedule and quality standards were met.

Maanshan Steel’s blast furnace B, revamped with CISDI’s package supply, quickly restarted production