How to improve service life of ladle purge plug

Ladle Purge Plug or porous plug is a critical component in ladle bottom purging system. Apart from the purge plug life its reliability, gas flow rate quality of steel produced etc are evolving as the most important parameters to judge the purge plug quality.

Methods to improve service life of ladle purge plug

The wear of the purging plugs mainly consist of erosion due to intensive liquid steel stirring, corrosion by aggressive iron-oxide rich slag at high temperature and, as well as the spalling of layers from the hot face, which is owing to horizontal cracking.In order to prolong the service life of purging plugs, many efforts have been made by adjusting the chemical components so as to improve the material properties.

1.The results showed that higher refractoriness and better iron-oxide-rich slag corrosion resistance could be achieved in the non-cement systems. 

2. Systematically investigated the effect of cement contents on the mechanical properties and found that the phase compositions and microstructure can be optimized through adjusting the cement content in corundum castables. 

3. Furthermore, Prepared three kinds of castables, of which physical properties were characterized along with their microstructures at both room temperature and high temperature to increase cold and hot mechanical strengths. It was concluded that the calcium hexaluminate phase in the matrix of the corundum-based low-cement castable enhances the cold and hot mechanical strengths.

As a part of ladle lining, the geometries of the purging plug may also influence their temperature distribution, stress responses, and service life. It was found that two optimal lining concepts were proposed to decrease heat loss through the steel shell and thermomechanical load at the hot face of the working lining.  

Ladle refining furnaces are widely employed in the modern steel-making process for decarburization, desulfurization, inclusion removal and homogeneous temperature and composition. As the crucial part of the ladle, purging plugs experience an intermittent thermal shock when the liquid steel is poured into and out of the ladle in cycles during the refining process. Moreover, an intense extra heat exchange occurs within the purging plug when the argon is continuously blown into the liquid steel through the slits assembled in the purging plug. Due to these severe service conditions, the working time of the purging plug, is less than that of the refractory lining of the ladle. Consequently, downtime is needed to repair or replace the purging plug, which leads to more energy consumption and lower production efficiency. Therefore, the service life of the purging plug has long been recognized as an important issue in improving steel-making production efficiency.

What are the causes of damage to a ladle purging plug?

Due to vigorous lancing (oxygen )

Due to Back Pressure when plug chowking

If Purging Plug well Block not patching regular

Due to boundary side oxygen lancing with high pressure.

The main reason of damage to refractory materials, including chemical erosion, mechanical abrasion and thermal stress. Thermal stress which is caused by damage to the refractory cracking the direct cause of damage.

The purging plug is an indispensable refining component; Its slit structure and distribution are important factors that influence refining efficiency.

To achieve homogenous temperature and composition of steel by fostering of slag metal refining reaction Argon gas is purged through bottom purging blocks into the steel bath. Purging is the most important activitiy in secondary steel refining process. For smooth running of the process with less downtime, plug performance need to align with operation without failure. Ladle Purging brick are widely used in the secondary refining process, and its service life determines the downtime and usage efficiency of the whole ladle.

Ladle Purge Plug

More details about ladle purge plug

What is purging in ladle?

To achieve homogenous temperature and composition of steel by fostering of slag metal refining reaction Argon gas is purged through bottom purging blocks into the steel bath. Purging is the most important activitiy in secondary steel refining process.

What is purging in steel plant?

Purging is an inerting method commonly used in safety-critical process chambers such as reactors to eliminate oxygen and moisture when operations are started up or shut down.

What does purging mean in steel ladle?

Dual gas purging is often done in a ladle to accelerate the refining operations in steel industries. The purged gas, mainly argon imparts momentum to the molten metal and establishes a turbulent recirculating flow in the melt, which generates shear stresses on the ladle walls.

What is ladle purging?

The purpose of ladle purging plug used by steelmaking factories is to remove harmful gases and impurities, adjust the composition, so as to complete the basic tasks of oxygen supply, slagging, stirring, heating and other steelmaking.

Ladle Purge Plug