Skip Charging System
Charging is considered to encompass all functions needed to move material from the stockhouse to the furnace top, and into the vessel. Flexware has developed and supplied its own charging control system that completely and automatically controls this critical function for skip charged furnaces. The system includes otimization of charging by the PLC, that is, the PLC schedules steps and controls stockhouse, skip car, and furnace top operations such that charging proceeds at the highest possible rate. Also included is the control of all charging-related equipment: feeders, conveyors, hoppers, skips, bells, top valves, stockrods and moveable armor.
Stove Gas Safety System
Flexware developed a stove gas safety system that insured the safe operation of the combustion systems on each of the stoves and displayed to the operator the first interlock lost whenever a stove lost permission to fire.
Recycled Water Control System
A continuous supply of process cooling water is very critical to a blast furnace. Flexware developed and installed a system for controlling the recycled water system for a pair of blast furnaces, based on Wonderware’s ArchestrA technology and Rockwell Automation ControlLogix PLCs. To insure high availability, the system was designed with three pairs of redundant PLCs, a redundant Object Server, and redundant networks. Prior to installation of this system, water overflows and emergency diversions were a major problem and resulted in several EPA fines. The new system has proved itself by completely eliminating these problems, and causing no unplanned furnace downtime.
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