Experiences with quasi-monolithic bottoms in 70 t ladles at Stahlwerk Bous/Saar GmbH

Abstract

Together with the company Lafarge Refractories GmbH, a new concept was introduced for wear lining of the steel ladle bottom. The disadvantages of the monolithic wear lining used in the 90s were eliminated by the introduction of the so-called quasi-monolithic bottom. Several dried pieces of tabular-alumina-spinel-material are put into the bottom as a puzzle and spilled with each other. The special feature of these precast pieces is not only the use of material of different grain sizes, but also different grain forms in a specific ratio to each other. The bottom of a test ladle was repaired 18 times by casting a self flowing tabular-alumina-spinel castable, what led to clear cost savings. Since the end of 1999, all big ladles at Stahlwerk Bous are converted to this quasi-monolithic bottom. The resulting advantages are discussed.