Improving the Efficiency and Durability of Blast Furnace Air Tuyere Through Different Ceramic Coating Materials

Subject Areas :

Hasan  Bagheri Hasan Abadi ¹ (School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tehran)
Mohsen  Hamedi ² (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tehran)

Received: 2023-07-13 Accepted : 2023-08-29 Published : 2023-08-01

Keywords: Blast Air Tuyere, Mechanical and Chemical Hot Corrosion, Degradation Test, Thermal Degradation Test, Thermal Spray Coating,

Abstract :

Blast air tuyeres are one of the critical components of a blast furnace that are exposed to severe conditions caused by thermal shocks, mechanical erosion, hot chemical corrosion, wettability caused by penetration of molten cast iron, and cracks caused by the thermal cycle. These factors decrease the lifetime of air tuyeres, causing unpredictable failure and costly production stoppages. The present study investigates the protection performance of three types of atmospheric plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings on air tuyeres against the harsh operating environment. As the substrate of air tuyeres, 99.95% pure copper is coated with Yttria Stabilized Zirconia YSZ8%, alumina-zirconia (AZ) and alumina-magnesia (AM). The performance of these three coatings was evaluated using mechanical wear and erosion tests, chemical hot corrosion tests, micro-hardness adhesion strength tests, and porosity measurements. Based on the results, AZ and AM coatings generally performed better than YSZ8% coating in all above-mentioned tests excluding the adhesion strength test. In the adhesion strength test, the AZ coating performance was found to be close to that of YSZ8% coating. Meanwhile, in the mechanical erosion and wear tests, the AM coating outperformed and underperformed the AZ coating, respectively. The porosity of AZ coating was also close to that of AM coating. Hence, it is expected that the blast air tuyere with AZ and AM coatings can offer better performance in blast furnace due to their superior metallurgical and mechanical properties. However, in practice, the AZ coating outperformed the AM coating in BF due to a three-fold increase in the lifecycle.

References:

[1] Chatterjee, R., Nag, S., Kundu, S., Ghosh, U. and Singh, U. 2021. A journey towards improving tuyere life. Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals. 74(5): 1-12. doi:10.1007/s12666-021-02203-y.
[2] Gao, T., Jiao, K., Zhang, J. and Ma, H. 2020. Melting erosion failure mechanism of tuyere in blast furnace. ISIJ International. 61(1): 71-78. doi:10.2355/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2020-138.
[3] Agrawal, A., Tiwari, R.K., Kumar, S., Chatterjee, R., Singh, B.K., et al. 2020. Technological advancements in evaluating the performance of the pulverized coal injection through tuyeres in blast furnace. Metallurgical Research & Technology. 117(6): 611-611. doi:10.1051/metal/2020068.
[4] Farkas, O. and Móger, R.J.s.r.i. 2013. Metallographic aspects of blast furnace tuyere erosion processes. Steel Research International. 84(11): 1171-1178. doi:10.1002/srin.201200328.
[5] Matsumura, Y. and Taoka, K. 2013. Tuyere structure of melting furnace. US Patetnt. US20100320653A1.
[6] Chatterjee, R., Nag, S., Kundu, S., Chakraborty,R., Singh,U. and Chandra, S. 2019. Erosion Behavior of Blast Furnace Tuyere. ISIJ International. 59(9):1732-1734. doi:10.2355/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2018-710.
[7] Mori, K., Yamada, T., Nakamoto, K., Kato, T., Onaka, H. and Yamamoto, T. 1974. Heat insulating durable tuyere. Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office.
[8] Portnov, L.V., Nikitin, L.D., Bugaev, S.F. and Shchipitsyn. 2014. Improving the durability of blast-furnace tuyeres. Metallurgist. 58(5-6): 488-491. doi:10.1007/s11015-014-9938-7.
[9] Kirillova, N.L., Radyuk, A.G., Titlyanov, A.E. and Gorbatyuk. 2013. Improving air-tuyere operation in blast furnaces by means of coatings and sealant. Steel in Translation. 43(5): 231-235. doi:10.3103/S0967091213050082.
[10] Pathak, A., Sivakumar, G., Prusty, D., Shalini, J., Dutta, M. and Joshi, S. V. 2015. Thermal spray coatings for blast furnace tuyere application. Journal of Thermal Spray Technology. 24(8):1429-1440. doi:10.1007/s11666-015-0350-z.
[11] Tarasov, Y.S., Kobelev, O.A. and Sayfullayev, S.D. 2020. Improving the heat insulation efficiency of the blast furnace tuyere. Proc. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 971:032034. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/971/3/032034.
[12] Zhang, D., Gong, S., Xu, H. and Guo, H.J.V. 2003. Measurements of the thermal gradient over EB-PVD thermal barrier coatings. Vacuum. 70(1): 11-16. doi:10.1016/S0042-207X(02)00509-2.
[13] Zhang, Z., Chen, H., Wang, Y., Wang, G., Li, L., Zhong, M. and Bai, H. 2022. Effect of sodium silicate binder on the performance of ceramic coatings on copper prepared by the slurry method. Surface and Coatings Technology. 448: 128868. doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.128868.
[14] Li, C.-J., Luo, X.-T., Yao, S.-W., Li, G.-R., Li, C.-X. and Yang, G.-J. 2022. The bonding formation during thermal spraying of ceramic coatings: A review. Journal of Thermal Spray Technology. 31(4): 780-817. doi:10.1007/s11666-022-01379-z.
[15] Varghese, P., Vetrivendan, E., Krishnan, R., Mathews, T. and Ningshen, S. 2021. Plasma sprayed alumina-yttria composite ceramic coating for electrical insulation applications. Surface and Coatings Technology. 405: 126566. doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2020.126566.
[16] Junge, P., Greinacher, M., Kober, D., Stargardt, P. and Rupprecht, C. 2022. Metastable phase formation, microstructure, and dielectric properties in plasma-sprayed alumina ceramic coatings. Coatings. 12(12): 1847. doi:10.3390/coatings12121847.
[17] Manoj, A., Basha, M., Basha, S. and Sankar, M. 2021. A review-black oxide coating on metal substrates of steels, aluminium, magnesium and copper. Advances in Science and Technology. 106: 46-53. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AST.106.46.
[18] Liu, G., Zhong, X., Xing, Y., Li, T. and Pan, W. 2021. Surface resistivity and bonding strength of atmosphere plasma sprayed copper‐coated alumina substrate. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 104(3): 1193-1197. doi:10.1111/jace.17522.
[19] Skripalenko, M.M., Kobelev, O.A. and Sayfullayev, S.D. 2020. Burnout resistance assessment of air tuyere in blast furnace. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 971(3): 32033. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/971/3/032033.
[20] Nakahira, H. 1976. Blast-furnace tuyere having excellent thermal shock resistance and high durability. US Patetnt. US3977660A.
[21] Chesters, J.H. 1973. Refractories--production and properties. Iron and Steel Institute. CRC Press. London.
[22] Stevens, R. 1983. An introduction to zirconia. Magnesium Elektron Limited.
[23] Fontana, M.G. and Greene, N.D. 1967. Corrosion engineering. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
[24] Xu, H., Guo, H. and Gong, S. 2008. Thermal barrier coatings. Woodhead Publishing Series in Metals and Surface Engineering.
[25] Davis, J.R. 2004. Handbook of thermal spray technology. ed. ASM international,
[26] Claussen, N. 1976. Fracture toughness of Al2o3 with an unstabilized ZrO2 dispersed phase. Journal of the American Ceramic Society. 59(1‐2): 49-51. doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1976.tb09386.x.
[27] Ćurković, L., Kumić, I. and Grilec, K. 2011. Solid particle erosion behaviour of high purity alumina ceramics. Ceramics International. 37(1): 29-35. doi:10.1016/j.ceramint.2010.08.029.