Increasing the endurance of the converter lining

A brief review of the expertise in increasing the endurance of the lining for converters gained at the West Siberia Iron and Steel Works (WSISW) is given. Within three years after the WSISW oxygen converter shop has been put in service, the lining endurance could be improved to 728 heats (1.8 times the design endurance). A flame gunning technology has been developed, which made it possible to achieve an endurance of 1300 heats (at a maximum of 2500 heats). A technology for repairing the converter lining by applying a slag coating (scull) in the stream of an inert gas has been developed. The combined effect of these two technologies made it possible, in 2003, to achieve an average endurance of 2476 heats (at a maximum of 4500 heats).