Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau and Danieli Corus have signed contracts for two modernization projects for Blast Furnace No. 1 at the Ouro Branco, Minas Gerais integrated steelplant owned and operated by Gerdau. The scope of the modernization includes the furnace’s hearth, tuyere ring and bosh area as well as the casthouse runners cooling system.

Using the input from earlier assessments and modeling of hearth erosion, a new hearth design based on large carbon blocks has been developed. The objective of this design is to achieve a lifetime in excess of 15 years. The casthouse runners will be engineered to overcome thermal issues, improve accessibility between the main runner and taphole, and reduce the complexity of the back-up layers of the existing runners.

In recent years, Gerdau and Daniel Corus have developed an excellent relationship through the successful execution of consultancy as well as modernization projects in both the blast furnace ironmaking and the converter steelmakingareas. Both parties are confident that this modernization project will prove essential for the successful next campaign of the largest blast furnace at the Ouro Branco plant.