Last timeI worked on that furnace, they were making a pour when a gap opened between the iron notch and the hole. Spent a long cold winter night wedged into a hole, underneath the trough pad welding on the furnace shell. The guy welding the new plate, into the trough bottom, burnt through the old steel. A glob of red hot metal dropped down my collar. I carry a quarter size scar, in the center of my chest, from that. Made a lot of money there.
@@GrayHare That would have been an unscheduled "emergency call", way prior to the reline. If you're a Boilermaker, working out of the union hall, it means - I get the call at 10:00pm, show up at 11:00pm, and we sign the tax paperwork and are out the trailer door by 11:30pm. The next hour is dragging leads, torch hoses and setting everything up. I think we spent about 16 hrs. working. These furnaces were producing about 420 tons of pig iron every 45 minutes. So at a minimum that meant 16+ times 420 tons was lost. A reline is a scheduled shut-down where all heat is shut off the furnace and gas supply lines are blanked off. As the furnace cools the internal firebrick liner starts to loosen from the shell. All of it then is knocked out. A total relief means the 10's of feet thick carbon block bottom is also removed. If dictated the copper coolers that are inserted In the shell and help to control the heat in the firebrick are usually removed and replaced. This doesn't include all the miscellaneous piping, electrical, mechanical... work that must be done. A full reline will take a couple mos. Once completed the heat is slowly applied to the furnace so the brick work doesn't collapse.
Thousands of ships, cars, bikes, fridges and washing machines, cranes, trains, trucks, building steel, etc., etc. all flowed through that one small hole at the bottom. Thankyou for showing this video!
I've lived in the shadows of the Rouge for 43 years. Watched dozens of videos about the complex. This one is by far the best. What an awesome look inside the belly of the beast. I really like how you explained the different parts of the furnace and what they do. Those purple flames were a beautiful sight at night Great job filming.... 👍
On one Rouge Steel repair, we worked 12 straight hours. Finally got the furnace back on line. As we were leaving the site I was walking, with the furnace "gas man". They had opened the stove Gas valves too much. They'd opened the two relief valves, at the angel deck. The roar was like Niagra Falls. The flames shot 50 feet into the air. It looked like the space shuttle booster rockets trying to drive the furnace into the ground.
Awesome job! Thanks for sharing! All our lives are dependent upon steelmaking, but few of us actually get to see what it takes to make it. Hats off to the Steelworkers!
@@ecleveland1 Yes, I remember a project where I had to purchase a bull gear for the Hot Strip Mill…it was 14 feet in diameter! Everything is big in a steel mill from the day.
Great video... I did work on that reline and also the C furnace replacement. I was also part of the inspection team for the B furnace blast. Always liked steel work. There is nothing else like it.
Thanks for commenting, John! I was involved in three blast furnace relines at the Rouge. The other ones were after the explosion at the old power house. I bet our paths crossed a couple of times over the years.
My father's (Ed Buckle) company, Metro Industrial Contracting was a big part of that job. Awesome to see the what went into a job like this. Thanks for sharing.
Its absolutely amazing what man can build and rebuild too. Awesome piece of history right there. Just as amazing, it takes age to really appreciate processes like this. The tradesmen that worked this project did an amazing job! What a fantastic vid capture
@@GrayHarealso like how this is a giant version of what ancient ancient Europeans used to make. Just instead of a person with a tool it would be an iron smelter with a stick poking a hole for the iron to flow out.
Don't give all men credit for this incredible achievement. Some men never make it out of the jungle or nomadic level of existence. Only a special breed actually creates large and complex things like this. The vast majority being found in England, Europe, and the U.S. Connect the dots.
Thank you for these beautiful shots inside the reactor... amazing to see. They can run many years without coming offline for maintenance, what a job site!
worked out of the snake pit from 86 to 89 . then a year in waste water with a lot of overtime on the furnaces. then I went to J9. worked a b furnace reline in 87. ended up being in the power house when it blew up. i still dream about that place .@@GrayHare
We probably crossed paths several times during our time there. I visited J9 lots of times to talk about schedules and projects. I spent most of my time in the old HSM and Cold Mills. I was working the day of the explosion, too, but I was over in the Rouge Office Building that day. I stayed the first night too helping to shutdown the rest of the plant.@@frphxkaboom3008
So many times have seen reline of blast furnaces from the city side. (3) 8-hour shifts of contractors work 24/7. At dark part of the day lots of lighting is used to illuminate work areas. Every 25-30 years of life span each blast furnace at our steel mill underwent reline. Contractors used explosives intensively to get rid of salamander. Everyone in the city heard explosions, especially at night. The blue flame of burning BF gas candle is truly amazing at night. Really cool to visit the superstructure areas and see it up close how operates the furnace charging mechanisms: rotary bulk distributor, bells drive. See it up close 2 top valves.
@@GrayHare I've never seen equipment at the superstructure areas from the close range. Have seen that in textbooks just as drawings when studied metallurgy in junior college. Have worked myself at hot strip mill divisions on primary and secondary rolling mills. Born and raised in steelmaking city.
I actually started my career in steel as a combustion engineer working in the soaking pits for ingots and also the reheat furnaces for slabs. That was a long time ago! I did project work for HSM, Pickle Lines, Annealing, Tandem Cold Mill, Temper Mill… It’s sad to see that industry just rust away.
I have no idea what I'm watching but the video is fascinating. Some of the machinery that you guys use is so foreign to me, it almost looks alien. Lots of highly specialied tooling and machinery for sure. Respect to all guys who kept factories like this running.
Amazing this is the last mill in Michigan operating..... Mclouth gone. Great Lakes gone. My father was in the railroad at the plant, he was probably at the plant when you shot the video. Thanks, this was a good watch!
My father worked in Blast Furnaces in Bhilai Steel Plant in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India. He was instrumental in overseeing the first furnace in India with BLT (Bell Less Top) charging system, and first furnaces in India having PLC automation. Personally, I have only seen furnace tops (BF7 and BF8 in Bhilai Steel Plant) having BLT charging systems. Thank you for sharing this video! really enjoyed watching it
Thank you for watching and commenting! I lived through the modernization of the industry in the US in the 1980s. We started out with analog controllers that used air pressure signals from 3psi to 12psi, similar to today’s 4-20 milliamp signals. I remember buying, installing, and programming our first PLCs. Thanks again for watching/commenting!
Good Deal. Been a few years since I was at the Rouge (Was Severstal and then AK at the time... Now Cliffs), But B was demo'd down to the hearth. The casthouse was still in place, but the vessel was long gone. Some of the runners were still intact on the floor. I've worked all over the Steel mill side of the plant... from the ore bridges to annealing as a maintenance contractor. I work over at Great Lakes in Cold Rolling now... Economy got our furnaces a couple years ago. Only thing left on Zug is the coke battery.
I was there from around 1993 to 2004. My main responsibility was the Cold and Hot Strip Mills, but was assigned to most of the BF relines during that time. My son is a pipe fitter contractor on Zug Island doing steam maintenance. Thanks for viewing the video and reaching out with a comment!
1:18:55 amazing, as difficult as steel work is, the smiles say it all... you guys truly made the world turn at that site. Paper only goes so far, future generations will look back on your work with deep appreciation
worked as a M/W out of the snake pit from 86 to 90 then a year in wastewater. the skips were still operational. First it was A and C furnace then after a reline B and C. Hard dirty dangerous work hated it at first but grew to like it. The gas would come down with the skip once measured the stretch on the skip cables and the meter read 800 ppm...that's high. was in the power house when # 6 boiler blew. that was a day to remember , 6 guys died. there is no building in the rouge that I didn't work. I did get around.
I bet we crossed paths at some point after 1993, which is when I was there. I worked mostly in the HSM and CM. I’m sorry you experienced the destruction of the Boiler House. I hope you’ve recovered from that. I was at the ROB and stayed the whole night trying to get everything shut down safely.
I'm a Michigander myself, mechanical engineer, went to school not too far from this very plant. As part of my work in the automotive industry, I've actually been in the buildings just to the North of the blast furnace, where they do environmental testing on the F-series truck bodies. This is fascinating stuff! My colleagues and I would give a left arm for a tour of the cast house in operation. I was 8 years old when this was filmed. Thank you for posting your video!
I'm just blown away that someone in Michigan with an ME degree even has a job!!?? Must have a legacy connection to get a job in the automotive industry...??? (or not doing ME work??) I had a cousin an ME (UM educated) was laid off early 90's (ALL the educated / engineers were OUTSOURCED to India / China) He Never found another job... I'm sure he could have if he moved out of the Welfare State MI, but that's a calorie burner for someone in Wayne County who's use to getting that FREE BIDEN money!!! Why work, when MI or BIDEN will pay you to sit home, smoke dope, drink, and Blame ALL your problems on Orange Man & Tucker!!!! ( BTW: I left MI in 1985 - joined the Military at 17 and NEVER even thought of going back!!)
@@Ch1n4Sailorfunny is that us working class are the reason they get paid in the first place, it aint biden! Sad as hell what michigan became now from what it was. Guess they’re okay taking from the few businesses that are left and stuffing their pockets with that chump change, than giving back to the state that had the most loyal workforce in the country decades ago.
During the 80's I worked for McHugh Brothers crane rentals. We were in the USS Fairless Works all the time. They also had a shortline based right outside the mill on Tyburn Road, Later on I worked repairing forklifts on the mill's pier after the hot end shut down. I also contracted with Tube City Iron & Metal hauling scrap in, they were a big time scrap broker with a yard right outside Fairless and they put the scrap on railcars and ran it into the mill. I really miss steel, it brought me a lot of prosperity
Wow, the history made on those grounds. . . . . . I envy your experience on 'the Rouge'. To imagine the volume of steel that came from that very spot. . . . . and knowing Henry walked those grounds. Funny, I feel so fortunate just to have viewed that footage, and I'll probably watch it again. . . . . yeah old Boomer Mech. Eng's are strange like that . . . . thank you!
Such an awesome project . The thought of working around hot molten steel scares me to death . I guess if you start working around it it isn't that nerve racking , but you've always gotta keep your eyes open and listen incase anything goes wrong . Awesome video . Thanks for posting .
Thanks for watching! The process of making steel is very dangerous. These people have been working around steel so long that you can become oblivious to some of the dangers. Many safety rules are in place, but you have to know them, then follow them.
Note that this is a Blast Furnace which is the method by which molten Iron is produced. Iron is then taken to the steelmaking shop where it is further refined in a steelmaking furnace (there are at least three types of furnaces) into one of the various grades of steel
My father was a Mason for Kaiser steel in fontana in the 70s. Its cool to see what he use to talk about. Kaiser steel fontana has a now defunct Nascar track sitting on it.
My company is doing the earth moving there and it is unbelievable what is buried under the ground. All these slag that was buried under the ground along with a lot of debris and concrete/rebar.
When you lose parts of the refractory/insulation, the steel shell will get hot in that area. Sometimes, we’d have to spray water on the shell to keep it from getting too hot. But that’s a short-term fix. At least it gives you time to plan for a repair or reline.
@@ww_9527 thank you for your informative comments! Here’s an English translation of the above comment…. “Nowadays, some thermocouples will be installed in the carbon bricks in the blast furnace. The thickness of the refractory is determined by temperature. At the same time, the temperature of cooling wall circulating water is also a reference index.”
Takes me back. I worked as a boilermaker foreman right out of college at USS Edgar Thomson Worked blast furnace, BOP and slab mill at ET and worked coke batteries 21" mill at Clairton. Short stint # 2 side structural at Homestead. Really enjoyed the work. thanks for the video
My son is a Pipefitter on Zug Island in Detroit. I started working in steel at Armco in Ashland, KY in ‘87, then moved to Detroit and worked at the Rouge.
@@NateWeese96 Yes, I still have friends in Ashland and return there periodically. I saw it the last time (couple years ago) and it was sad seeing it. In its day, it was a great place to work and raise a family.
Very cool! I've always been fascinated by the steel industry but I've never seen a relining done before. I saw the Rouge Works up-close a couple years ago when I was driving up to the UP. I stopped by to get some shots (mostly nighttime). Over the years I had the chance to tour a BOF and EAF but never a BF. (At least not one that wasn't abandoned).
Thank you! Guess what? I’m a grandfather, too. Seems like the steel industry is changing dramatically. Back in the day, it was strong and employed many people. Now, only a few active Blast Furnaces remain. Thanks for appreciating us old guy’s memories.
Thank you for taking the time to post this video it is by far the most comprehensive and fantastically well documented iron furnace function I have ever seen. I can't even begin to tell you what part I enjoyed more than the other it was so well done I'm at a loss for words. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will watch it again. I didn't want it to end. Thanks again. Well done.
No,no,no.this isn't an awesome video about the functions of an iron furnace. it's a sad video of the last final days of an era where the strong tough men who made steel here were made to come to work to disassemble the very machines they ran. Knowing the whole time that once the last piece was removed they no longer had a job.
@@chrisbystrak7967 in the video they were rebuilding that furnace and it ran again for many years until eventually it was torn down. I agree with you those were tough men and it's pretty much a bygone era. I'm near Pittsburgh and remember very well the blast furnaces and steel mills that made all the towns around Pittsburgh strong and it is sad to see the mills go and the communities fall apart afterward. my Dad and brothers were affected by all those shutdowns.
Thank you for posting. Enjoyed seeing all of that, the differences between furnaces are fascinating. I'm a blast furnace engineer too. I mainly work on stoves, hot blast main, cast house runners, tuyere stock.
Glad to connect with you! These old furnaces are so amazing. Unfortunately, they're pretty much dinosaurs. B Blast Furnace was erected while Henry Ford still walked the grounds of The Rouge. I loved seeing all the rivets that held the shell together. Thanks again for watching and commenting!
Super great inside view of this. Any idea how often this process gets done? Had no idea the shell was that old. Wild to see the rivets after the lining comes off. Really cool seeing the scale of one of these detroit monsters and how much material it takes to contain that heat! Thanks for doing this, being able to do it, and for uploading (with commentary too!)!
Blast Furnace rebuilds/relines like this occur roughly every 10 years or so. I loved all the rivets that you’d find everywhere. I knew that those were part of the original construction by Henry Ford around 1917. Thanks for watching and commenting! I posted this video for people just like you!😊
I'm thankful for the few remaining steel producers here in Hamilton, Ontario. Moving heavy industry and the production of goods overseas not only hurts the local economies and product quality, but its bad for the environment too. @@GrayHare
That’s an analogy I haven’t heard before, but it sorta makes sense. Additionally, I’ve heard it’s one of the most complex chemical reactions used in manufacturing.
That will be a big test of the seriousness of the owner as to whether the furnace is relined and brought back online. Whyalla became the Long Products main operation when Newcastle was retired. At Port Kembla over my 40+ years I saw the original three blast furnaces pensioned off..the oldest being blown in in 1928...not much later than the furnace here. #4 BF was blown in in late 50's and it too, is long gone. #5 & 6 still exist. One of the causes of the decline in steelmaking in the USA is actually captured here...a very old and inefficient piece of plant being relined for further production some 80 years later. Given this is a Ford operation you would not see a car from the early days being produced that much later. Lack of updating and modernisation translates to being uncompetitive.
Very interesting video. I haven't seen another one as informatic. At the same time, I miss the modern one because it would be much better to understand - cameras today are better than they were 25 years ago. But there are probably only a few such places in the world today where all the action could be transmitted as video footage. In the early years of the turn of the century, my teacher of metallurgy and materials science talked about his experience visiting one of the metal industrial complexes of the Soviet Union at that time. It seemed like a very interesting experience, however, as a teenager at that time, I didn't get a full overview of all the technology, I did understand from the description of the equipment in this industry that everything was big and powerful, but over time, and seeing real pictures, everything seems much more powerful now. This video gives me many new questions that I didn't even know how to ask my teacher as a schoolboy: 1. How thick is the lower part of the steel casing of the blast furnace? About the height where the molten iron tap hole is located. Also - how thick is the brick interior lining of the BF at this height? 2. How thick is the brick layer at the bottom of the BF? And does it have any external cooling as well? What material are bricks at the bottom made of? 3. How high above the inner surface of the bottom of the furnace is the tap hole? When the molten iron is poured then how much of it roughly leaves from furnace with one discharge? How fast does it come out of the BF? Any rough number - per ton/minute? As I understand it, the tap hole is not exactly at the bottom level, but higher, so there is always a significant amount of molten iron at the bottom of the furnace? 4. How high is the air temperature a few meters from the ducts with molten metal..how it feels to stand, say, for example 10 feet away, how hot this feels and can it could be compared to something more conventional? 5. How is the solidified iron that accumulates in the duct over time, removed, or are they constructed so that nothing accumulates significantly? A bunch of stupid questions, but unfortunately, I have not seen a single iron smelting plant with my own eyes, not even from a distance.
Let me answer your questions as best I can. 1) The steel shell is 1"-2" thick. We didn't use external cooling, but we did use lots of internal cooling for the refractory. If I had to guess, I'd say the refractory was 3'-4' thick in this area. Remember that a furnace is a pressure vessel so there's a tremendous amount of energy inside, and not just thermal energy. 2) The hearth area refractory was several feet thick and used a lot of cooling because of the high temps in the hearth area (close to 3000F). We also used vertical cooling staves in this area to remove the heat and protect the hearth refractory. 3) I believe the taphole was about 1/4 of the hearth diameter, so about 5'-6' off the bottom. Try googling for blast furnace cutaways that will show the hearth, the tap hole, and the refractory used in each area of the furnace. We used carbon block and cooling pipes in the hearth area, then around the tap hole and higher was probably alumin/silica refractory to deal with the high temps. Higher up the furnace stack we would have used abrasion resistant refractory because of the lower temps and contact with the burden (iron pellets, limestone and coke). Since most furnaces are similar in design (they only vary by hearth diameter) you would refer to a furnace in million tons per year or by hearth diameter.I showed how big the 'salamander' was at the bottom of the furnace when they used dynamite (TNT) to break it up into smaller pieces and remove it from the hearth area so it could be relined. I think 5''-6' thick would be a safe answer. It's hard to imagine, but the hot air blown into the bottom of the furnace actually supports the burden. That means that the burden is separated from the liquid iron collected in the hearth. It was described to me as 'raining' liquid iron from the bottom of the heated burden. If the blast (hot air) was interrupted, the burden would drop into the collected liquid iron and chill/cool the liquid iron which could become solid again -- bad news! 4) The temperature on the casthouse floor (just above the hearth and taphole) would be about 100-110F. It gets much hotter when the furnace is tapped and molten iron and slag come out due to the radiative heat probably more like 150F near the liquid iron. You would need to wear protective/insulated suits to be any where near the molten metal, for safety's sake. The liquid iron in the trough or duct as you referred to it is gravity fed and it didn't build up over time because it would re-melt every tap. 5) The iron and slag troughs would be repaired as needed with a sprayable refractory between taps. They usually had a back-up trough so the one could be repaired if damaged. They tapped the furnace every 30-60 minutes. Liquid iron went out one trough and liquid slag wen the opposite direction. I hope this answers your questions!
I remember working on relining the blast furnaces at Port Talbot steel works over the years very dirty work but I suppose I enjoyed it I wish I was doing it now instead of being retired
I really enjoyed my career in the steel industry, too! Keep those memories alive. I can’t say I agree with you on the retirement, though. I love being retired and exploring North America.
fantastic historical document! Michigan, a serious machine building state like the country taiwan... I bought a car this year and it died less than a year ago due to my neglecting maintenance, wanted to see how far it could got, has about 150K.
I don’t think that’s happened, but I do know we used to have fatalities pretty frequently, maybe annually. It’s a very dangerous environment and there are many ways to die.
I was hoping that someone from that reline would speak up! I was on the night shift also. I bet we crossed paths several times. My son is a PF over on Zug Island.
How long did it take to heat the refractory lining? How many charges were used and time to actually start the furnace? I asked at interlake steel when they were bringing their large furnace back on line and they wouldn't talk to me
Hmmm, there’s a lot of variables in that question. Back in ‘97, the dry out of the refractory would’ve been a couple days. You can’t rush it or you’ll get popcorn-like explosions in the new refractory. Then, they can start adding 100% coke until the system gets heated up. Then, they slowly add the normal burden (coke, limestone, iron ore and sometimes scrap metal in the furnace. Any iron you make during this phase will likely be of poor quality. Eventually, you’ll start getting high quality iron that they can further refine into steel at the BOP or ladle met station. I’d guess the whole process takes about 4 days from dry out to producing good iron. Counting the charges would be difficult to do. Hope this helps!
@@GrayHare Thank you, I've hauled steel out of Interlake steel, US steel, and Bethlehem steel. Later worked as a high voltage contractor at US steel zug Island
Hope you read this. Fascinated by the process. What was burning at the beginning of the video? During the process of reducing iron, what keeps the rE ingredients from falling into the pool of molten iron at the bottom? Did a lot of reading but that part escapes me.
Great questions! In the beginning of the video, we attempted to perform a ‘bottom tap’ where we burn a hole in the bottom of the furnace and let the remaining liquid iron drain out on to the ground to solidify. Unfortunately, the small diameter of the furnace allowed the iron to solidify in the furnace so it wouldn’t drain. The ingredients, or the burden, are supported by the tremendous volume of hot air pumped thru the furnace from the bottom through the several tuyeres. The liquid iron drips/rains to the bottom of the furnace. Hope this helps. You might google the process for some diagrams that show a vertical cross section.
They call it a furnace "relining," but it's more like a partial deconstruction and reconstruction. The furnace relines at the foundry where I work are far simpler (of course, they're only one-ton furnaces), and the reline is in three stages over the course of two and a half days (knock-out, re-line, sintering).
Yes, it started as Ford Steel Division, then Ford sold it and it became Rouge Steel for a long time. While was there, it went bankrupt and was purchased by a Russian oligarch and called Severstahl. Then AK Steel purchased it and finally Cliff’s Steel. It is functioning but I don’t know at what capacity.
This makes the 1,600 degree heat treating furnaces I worked around look like childs toys lol. I'm assuming its been closed down? What year did it shut down if it did?
@@adamfrbs9259 Yes, melting iron takes way more energy than just a heat treatment. That blast furnace blew up around 2006-7ish. I’m retired, so I’m not sure if the steel plant is still functioning. I believe it was purchased by Cleveland Cliffs.
That’s a great question! It takes a lot of planning to restart one. First the refractory is all new and that and the mortar needs to be dried out. You start with lighting some natural gas torches. That’s a nice slow warm up and gets a good draft going (like a fireplace chimney). After a couple days of that you start putting what’s called coke (it’s pure carbon made from coal) in it and start using the big air injectors, called tuyeres. You fill it full of coke for a couple of days while monitoring refractory temps and moisture content. When everything is up to operating temp (about 2,000°-2,500°F) then you can start adding iron ore and limestone to the coke.
@@deepbhaisare they probably were just getting rid of debris from the job by burning wood planks. The natural gas is much easier to control than a wood fire. The dry out and preheating of the refractory is pretty critical to a long life. If you heat it too fast, trapped water turns to steam and it’ll act like popcorn and do a lot a damage on a new lining.
The good old days... Not sure if the little kids they're making today will have the Fortitude to do this kind of work in the future. Worked a lot of concrete and glass plants on the west coast as a Millwright During the 90's and early 2k's, Too old now too do that work anymore...
how long does it take to cool down so you can go inside and do the work ? How is the initial light up of a cold furnace beeing done? Also don´t get it how a 80 year old furnace can still be operated econicically...technology goes on
Hi, there and thanks for commenting! It can take a couple days to get rid of all that heat. You can pump air and water in there to help cool it down. Re-lighting the furnace has to be done carefully so you don't damage the new refractory. The main thing is to dry out the bricks of any moisture. This must be done slowly or the moisture in the bricks can explode like popcorn. We used natural gas to slowly dry everything out before adding any of the three ingredients in the furnace (coke, iron ore and limestone). Also, fortunately, the process of making iron hasn't really changed that much in the last hundred years or so. Sure, the process is controlled by computers now, but it's still...put raw materials in the top and blow hot air in the bottom.
Very interesting. Thanks. How long does the furnace take to cool down before maintenance can start and is it still operating today? Also how long does the relining take to complete?
It takes quite a while as you can imagine. Probably a week or more to cool down. You need open up the bottom so air can flow like a chimney and cool everything off. It took about 90 days start to end.
I believe it is. Water getting in the furnace can cause explosions. The water turns to steam, just like a popcorn kernel. There’s several sources of water on a furnace, mostly it’s used to keep the refractory cool. I left Severstal around 2004.
There were a couple of scenarios that were put forward. One was the furnace suffered a major slip. Another had to do with water dissociation in the bosh creating hydrogen and oxygen. There are also stories of steam leaks in the lower stack. I remember B furnace being run very hard during the C furnace rebuild. I understand that the explosion happened during a shift change other wise a lot of people may have been killed.
@@GrayHare I love it. Was there a machine to stack them? I did notice a device to help in the removal of them. I can't imagine the heat of this place. Everything is just one big thermal battery.
You saw the temporary platform that was raised as the union brick layers played the million refractory bricks. No machines to help. It has to be done by hand because the steel shell can be warped and skewed with heat and age. The bricks aren’t perfect rectangles either. Their sides are tapered so that the diameter is about 20’. Also, it does take a while to cool down and heat back up due to the mass of the furnace.
I don’t know what year it became standard practice. At the time, we had a fairly strong safety culture. I do remember fighting with the iron workers about safety glasses. They felt the glasses distorted their vision and made it unsafe for them. I felt the chance of them getting dust/debris in their eyes and loosing their balance was too high. They threatened to drag up and leave. They won.
As far as I know it is. While I was there it changed from Ford Steel to Severstal (Russian). It has since changed to AK Steel. During my time, we had three blast furnaces A, B and C. A and B were pretty small and were built by Henry Ford around 1918. C was added during World War II. A was abandoned when I hired in around 1993. B blew up around 2008. C was completely demolished and replaced with a brand new furnace shortly after that. I don't know what they call the new furnace now (maybe D?), but I do believe they are still producing steel, but I don't that for certain. I imagine the new furnace is doesn't use raw materials like iron ore, coke and limestone. I would imagine that any new furnace built today would use scrap steel, but again, I'm out of the industry now.
I think it can vary a lot but 7-10 years we’re typical. Many factors can influence the life, like the cooling circuits, protective armor plates inside, etc. Sometimes, ‘scabs’ can form on the inside of the refractory and become so large that they pull the refractory off the steel shell when they fall.
Last timeI worked on that furnace, they were making a pour when a gap opened between the iron notch and the hole. Spent a long cold winter night wedged into a hole, underneath the trough pad welding on the furnace shell. The guy welding the new plate, into the trough bottom, burnt through the old steel. A glob of red hot metal dropped down my collar. I carry a quarter size scar, in the center of my chest, from that. Made a lot of money there.
Yikes!! I know how bad slag burns can be. Were you there before during or after this reline?
@@GrayHare That would have been an unscheduled "emergency call", way prior to the reline. If you're a Boilermaker, working out of the union hall, it means - I get the call at 10:00pm, show up at 11:00pm, and we sign the tax paperwork and are out the trailer door by 11:30pm. The next hour is dragging leads, torch hoses and setting everything up. I think we spent about 16 hrs. working. These furnaces were producing about 420 tons of pig iron every 45 minutes. So at a minimum that meant 16+ times 420 tons was lost.
A reline is a scheduled shut-down where all heat is shut off the furnace and gas supply lines are blanked off. As the furnace cools the internal firebrick liner starts to loosen from the shell. All of it then is knocked out. A total relief means the 10's of feet thick carbon block bottom is also removed. If dictated the copper coolers that are inserted In the shell and help to control the heat in the firebrick are usually removed and replaced. This doesn't include all the miscellaneous piping, electrical, mechanical... work that must be done. A full reline will take a couple mos. Once completed the heat is slowly applied to the furnace so the brick work doesn't collapse.
Thanks for your comments. Great insights to a lowly farmer.
Thousands of ships, cars, bikes, fridges and washing machines, cranes, trains, trucks, building steel, etc., etc. all flowed through that one small hole at the bottom. Thankyou for showing this video!
Every newborn people came from small hole to. 😂
@@plus5514 art imitates nature.
🤣🤣🤣@@plus5514
@@plus5514 No, You were different.. Came from a big hole.
Yeah...an aircraft carrier flowed out that tiny hole
I've lived in the shadows of the Rouge for 43 years. Watched dozens of videos about the complex. This one is by far the best. What an awesome look inside the belly of the beast. I really like how you explained the different parts of the furnace and what they do. Those purple flames were a beautiful sight at night Great job filming.... 👍
Thanks, Steve! I bet it was cool living close by. Seems like there was always something going there. I always loved the flares, too!
On one Rouge Steel repair, we worked 12 straight hours. Finally got the furnace back on line. As we were leaving the site I was walking, with the furnace "gas man". They had opened the stove Gas valves too much. They'd opened the two relief valves, at the angel deck. The roar was like Niagra Falls. The flames shot 50 feet into the air. It looked like the space shuttle booster rockets trying to drive the furnace into the ground.
Awesome job! Thanks for sharing! All our lives are dependent upon steelmaking, but few of us actually get to see what it takes to make it. Hats off to the Steelworkers!
I can understand the theory and chemistry behind this but it’s the scale that always gets me.
@@ecleveland1 Yes, I remember a project where I had to purchase a bull gear for the Hot Strip Mill…it was 14 feet in diameter! Everything is big in a steel mill from the day.
Great video... I did work on that reline and also the C furnace replacement. I was also part of the inspection team for the B furnace blast. Always liked steel work. There is nothing else like it.
Thanks for commenting, John! I was involved in three blast furnace relines at the Rouge. The other ones were after the explosion at the old power house. I bet our paths crossed a couple of times over the years.
Yes nothing like it. Enjoyed working on ark furnace .
My father's (Ed Buckle) company, Metro Industrial Contracting was a big part of that job. Awesome to see the what went into a job like this. Thanks for sharing.
I remember your dad! I did a few projects with him. Thanks for commenting.
Its absolutely amazing what man can build and rebuild too. Awesome piece of history right there. Just as amazing, it takes age to really appreciate processes like this. The tradesmen that worked this project did an amazing job! What a fantastic vid capture
You’re right! Detroit trades are very skilled and equipment/processes like this couldn’t be done without them.
@@GrayHarealso like how this is a giant version of what ancient ancient Europeans used to make. Just instead of a person with a tool it would be an iron smelter with a stick poking a hole for the iron to flow out.
@@RobertCraft-re5sf I’d love to see an old metallurgical furnace in operation!
Don't give all men credit for this incredible achievement. Some men never make it out of the jungle or nomadic level of existence. Only a special breed actually creates large and complex things like this. The vast majority being found in England, Europe, and the U.S. Connect the dots.
Thank you for these beautiful shots inside the reactor... amazing to see. They can run many years without coming offline for maintenance, what a job site!
Great video! You guys all had a great mustache that a man could really set his watch to!
We agree! 😂
Was gonna ask when the shell was actually built, and then you answered it. 1917! So damn much history here! Thank you for faithfully documenting this!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. I really was lucky 🍀 to have spent 13 years working there.
worked out of the snake pit from 86 to 89 . then a year in waste water with a lot of overtime on the furnaces. then I went to J9. worked a b furnace reline in 87. ended up being in the power house when it blew up. i still dream about that place .@@GrayHare
We probably crossed paths several times during our time there. I visited J9 lots of times to talk about schedules and projects. I spent most of my time in the old HSM and Cold Mills. I was working the day of the explosion, too, but I was over in the Rouge Office Building that day. I stayed the first night too helping to shutdown the rest of the plant.@@frphxkaboom3008
So many times have seen reline of blast furnaces from the city side. (3) 8-hour shifts of contractors work 24/7. At dark part of the day lots of lighting is used to illuminate work areas. Every 25-30 years of life span each blast furnace at our steel mill underwent reline. Contractors used explosives intensively to get rid of salamander. Everyone in the city heard explosions, especially at night. The blue flame of burning BF gas candle is truly amazing at night. Really cool to visit the superstructure areas and see it up close how operates the furnace charging mechanisms: rotary bulk distributor, bells drive. See it up close 2 top valves.
That about sums up what the video depicts! I’m glad you benefited from watching. I feel pretty lucky to have been able to see it from my side.
@@GrayHare I've never seen equipment at the superstructure areas from the close range. Have seen that in textbooks just as drawings when studied metallurgy in junior college. Have worked myself at hot strip mill divisions on primary and secondary rolling mills. Born and raised in steelmaking city.
I actually started my career in steel as a combustion engineer working in the soaking pits for ingots and also the reheat furnaces for slabs. That was a long time ago! I did project work for HSM, Pickle Lines, Annealing, Tandem Cold Mill, Temper Mill… It’s sad to see that industry just rust away.
I have no idea what I'm watching but the video is fascinating. Some of the machinery that you guys use is so foreign to me, it almost looks alien. Lots of highly specialied tooling and machinery for sure. Respect to all guys who kept factories like this running.
@@wysoft Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. Sharing these experiences is what it’s all about. 💚
Amazing this is the last mill in Michigan operating..... Mclouth gone. Great Lakes gone. My father was in the railroad at the plant, he was probably at the plant when you shot the video. Thanks, this was a good watch!
Glad you enjoyed!
I worked at the Lackawanna plant for Bethlehem Steel, as a millwright/welder I worked on many Furnace relines.
I never had the opportunity to visit that facility, but I know there was a lot of history there, too.
worked in a steel mill its been gone 22 years. I miss it
I hear you and feel the same way.
My father worked in Blast Furnaces in Bhilai Steel Plant in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India.
He was instrumental in overseeing the first furnace in India with BLT (Bell Less Top) charging system, and first furnaces in India having PLC automation.
Personally, I have only seen furnace tops (BF7 and BF8 in Bhilai Steel Plant) having BLT charging systems.
Thank you for sharing this video! really enjoyed watching it
Thank you for watching and commenting! I lived through the modernization of the industry in the US in the 1980s. We started out with analog controllers that used air pressure signals from 3psi to 12psi, similar to today’s 4-20 milliamp signals. I remember buying, installing, and programming our first PLCs. Thanks again for watching/commenting!
Good Deal. Been a few years since I was at the Rouge (Was Severstal and then AK at the time... Now Cliffs), But B was demo'd down to the hearth. The casthouse was still in place, but the vessel was long gone. Some of the runners were still intact on the floor. I've worked all over the Steel mill side of the plant... from the ore bridges to annealing as a maintenance contractor.
I work over at Great Lakes in Cold Rolling now... Economy got our furnaces a couple years ago. Only thing left on Zug is the coke battery.
I was there from around 1993 to 2004. My main responsibility was the Cold and Hot Strip Mills, but was assigned to most of the BF relines during that time. My son is a pipe fitter contractor on Zug Island doing steam maintenance. Thanks for viewing the video and reaching out with a comment!
if b gone dose that mean a back up runing or did they shut both c and a and go full arc furnace after dad retired
This entire process is amazing. Thank you for making such a great video and sharing it!
Thanks for watching and commenting! I made this just for people like you!
1:18:55 amazing, as difficult as steel work is, the smiles say it all... you guys truly made the world turn at that site. Paper only goes so far, future generations will look back on your work with deep appreciation
Thank you! I’m really proud of my experience in the steel industry. We have 4 generations of steel industry experience in my family.
worked as a M/W out of the snake pit from 86 to 90 then a year in wastewater. the skips were still operational. First it was A and C furnace then after a reline B and C. Hard dirty dangerous work hated it at first but grew to like it. The gas would come down with the skip once measured the stretch on the skip cables and the meter read 800 ppm...that's high. was in the power house when # 6 boiler blew. that was a day to remember , 6 guys died. there is no building in the rouge that I didn't work. I did get around.
I bet we crossed paths at some point after 1993, which is when I was there. I worked mostly in the HSM and CM. I’m sorry you experienced the destruction of the Boiler House. I hope you’ve recovered from that. I was at the ROB and stayed the whole night trying to get everything shut down safely.
41:50 thank you for catching that detail... and just a few seconds later you show the gorgeous new refractory! 🤩
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting.
I'm a Michigander myself, mechanical engineer, went to school not too far from this very plant. As part of my work in the automotive industry, I've actually been in the buildings just to the North of the blast furnace, where they do environmental testing on the F-series truck bodies. This is fascinating stuff! My colleagues and I would give a left arm for a tour of the cast house in operation. I was 8 years old when this was filmed. Thank you for posting your video!
You’re welcome, Doug!
I'm just blown away that someone in Michigan with an ME degree even has a job!!?? Must have a legacy connection to get a job in the automotive industry...??? (or not doing ME work??) I had a cousin an ME (UM educated) was laid off early 90's (ALL the educated / engineers were OUTSOURCED to India / China) He Never found another job... I'm sure he could have if he moved out of the Welfare State MI, but that's a calorie burner for someone in Wayne County who's use to getting that FREE BIDEN money!!! Why work, when MI or BIDEN will pay you to sit home, smoke dope, drink, and Blame ALL your problems on Orange Man & Tucker!!!! ( BTW: I left MI in 1985 - joined the Military at 17 and NEVER even thought of going back!!)
@@Ch1n4Sailorfunny is that us working class are the reason they get paid in the first place, it aint biden! Sad as hell what michigan became now from what it was. Guess they’re okay taking from the few businesses that are left and stuffing their pockets with that chump change, than giving back to the state that had the most loyal workforce in the country decades ago.
Thanks for posting this, really valuable history. I hope someone can AI upscale this footage, it would be really cool to see in high definition
That would be cool! I can tell you that it was awesome being there and seeing it in person.
During the 80's I worked for McHugh Brothers crane rentals. We were in the USS Fairless Works all the time. They also had a shortline based right outside the mill on Tyburn Road, Later on I worked repairing forklifts on the mill's pier after the hot end shut down. I also contracted with Tube City Iron & Metal hauling scrap in, they were a big time scrap broker with a yard right outside Fairless and they put the scrap on railcars and ran it into the mill. I really miss steel, it brought me a lot of prosperity
Hi, Joe! Thanks for sharing your experiences in the steel industry…we’re all brothers in the industry. I made a great life thanks to steel, too.
Thank you for taking the time to film this fascinating view that people never get to see,much less hear about. Helps with modeling too.
You're welcome!
Wow, the history made on those grounds. . . . . . I envy your experience on 'the Rouge'. To imagine the volume of steel that came from that very spot. . . . . and knowing Henry walked those grounds. Funny, I feel so fortunate just to have viewed that footage, and I'll probably watch it again. . . . . yeah old Boomer Mech. Eng's are strange like that . . . . thank you!
You’re the reason I posted this movie! I wanted people to be aware and to remember our history. Thanks for your great comments!
@@GrayHare thank you for posting this.....
Such an awesome project . The thought of working around hot molten steel scares me to death . I guess if you start working around it it isn't that nerve racking , but you've always gotta keep your eyes open and listen incase anything goes wrong . Awesome video . Thanks for posting .
Thanks for watching! The process of making steel is very dangerous. These people have been working around steel so long that you can become oblivious to some of the dangers. Many safety rules are in place, but you have to know them, then follow them.
Note that this is a Blast Furnace which is the method by which molten Iron is produced. Iron is then taken to the steelmaking shop where it is further refined in a steelmaking furnace (there are at least three types of furnaces) into one of the various grades of steel
My father was a Mason for Kaiser steel in fontana in the 70s. Its cool to see what he use to talk about. Kaiser steel fontana has a now defunct Nascar track sitting on it.
I love to hear that! My son is Pipefitter in Detroit to this day.
My company is doing the earth moving there and it is unbelievable what is buried under the ground. All these slag that was buried under the ground along with a lot of debris and concrete/rebar.
Who knew the refractory had to be replaced? This is absolutely amazing and thanks for uploading the video.
When you lose parts of the refractory/insulation, the steel shell will get hot in that area. Sometimes, we’d have to spray water on the shell to keep it from getting too hot. But that’s a short-term fix. At least it gives you time to plan for a repair or reline.
现在的高炉内的碳砖会安装一些热电偶。通过温度判定耐火材料的厚度。同时冷却壁循环水的温度也是一个参考指标
@@ww_9527 thank you for your informative comments! Here’s an English translation of the above comment…. “Nowadays, some thermocouples will be installed in the carbon bricks in the blast furnace. The thickness of the refractory is determined by temperature. At the same time, the temperature of cooling wall circulating water is also a reference index.”
i used to haiul it too the mills, uss, etc
Takes me back. I worked as a boilermaker foreman right out of college at USS Edgar Thomson Worked blast furnace, BOP and slab mill at ET and worked coke batteries 21" mill at Clairton. Short stint # 2 side structural at Homestead. Really enjoyed the work. thanks for the video
My son is a Pipefitter on Zug Island in Detroit. I started working in steel at Armco in Ashland, KY in ‘87, then moved to Detroit and worked at the Rouge.
@@GrayHare you’d be disappointed to see Armco in Ashland now. Already demo’d half the site
@@NateWeese96 Yes, I still have friends in Ashland and return there periodically. I saw it the last time (couple years ago) and it was sad seeing it. In its day, it was a great place to work and raise a family.
Very cool! I've always been fascinated by the steel industry but I've never seen a relining done before. I saw the Rouge Works up-close a couple years ago when I was driving up to the UP. I stopped by to get some shots (mostly nighttime). Over the years I had the chance to tour a BOF and EAF but never a BF. (At least not one that wasn't abandoned).
Thanks for watching and commenting on the video, Mike! I bet your night shots of the plant were awesome.
best and most detailed one ive seen ..always wanted to see the bells work
Thanks for commenting! The bells are an ingenious way of adding material to a closed vessel that's under about 30 psi of pressure.
Thank you for the video. My grandfather worked the steel mills in Youngstown, Ohio and I really enjoy watching videos like these.
Thank you! Guess what? I’m a grandfather, too. Seems like the steel industry is changing dramatically. Back in the day, it was strong and employed many people. Now, only a few active Blast Furnaces remain. Thanks for appreciating us old guy’s memories.
Great video. You dont get to see most of that very often. Im glad you took the chance to amke this.
Thanks, Ewan!
This was deeply satisfying. Thank you.
It was satisfying making/publishing the movie. Thanks for watching! 😊
Thank you for taking the time to post this video it is by far the most comprehensive and fantastically well documented iron furnace function I have ever seen. I can't even begin to tell you what part I enjoyed more than the other it was so well done I'm at a loss for words. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will watch it again. I didn't want it to end. Thanks again. Well done.
No,no,no.this isn't an awesome video about the functions of an iron furnace. it's a sad video of the last final days of an era where the strong tough men who made steel here were made to come to work to disassemble the very machines they ran. Knowing the whole time that once the last piece was removed they no longer had a job.
@@chrisbystrak7967 in the video they were rebuilding that furnace and it ran again for many years until eventually it was torn down. I agree with you those were tough men and it's pretty much a bygone era. I'm near Pittsburgh and remember very well the blast furnaces and steel mills that made all the towns around Pittsburgh strong and it is sad to see the mills go and the communities fall apart afterward. my Dad and brothers were affected by all those shutdowns.
Lost my good friend at this mill... RIP Randy.
So sorry to hear this. While I was working there, seems like we had at least a couple deaths every year, usually contractors. 😢
Thank you for posting. Enjoyed seeing all of that, the differences between furnaces are fascinating. I'm a blast furnace engineer too. I mainly work on stoves, hot blast main, cast house runners, tuyere stock.
Glad to connect with you! These old furnaces are so amazing. Unfortunately, they're pretty much dinosaurs. B Blast Furnace was erected while Henry Ford still walked the grounds of The Rouge. I loved seeing all the rivets that held the shell together. Thanks again for watching and commenting!
@@GrayHare the Titanic was held together with riveting too....
Super great inside view of this. Any idea how often this process gets done? Had no idea the shell was that old. Wild to see the rivets after the lining comes off. Really cool seeing the scale of one of these detroit monsters and how much material it takes to contain that heat! Thanks for doing this, being able to do it, and for uploading (with commentary too!)!
Blast Furnace rebuilds/relines like this occur roughly every 10 years or so. I loved all the rivets that you’d find everywhere. I knew that those were part of the original construction by Henry Ford around 1917. Thanks for watching and commenting! I posted this video for people just like you!😊
Very cool video! I’m so proud to call you my bubba. 💜
3:15 That is a brave mofo right there. The hot metal can appear without warning.
Yep, it’s very dangerous. Kinda like fire fighters running into a burning building. Thanks for watching and commenting. 😊
Union brothers at work! Job well done!
Yep, that was probably about 95% union workers on that job. We couldn’t have done it without them.
Huge thanks for this video, not too much North American content related to this on TH-cam.
Thanks, Luca! Unfortunately, it seems that most heavy manufacturing like this has moved overseas.
I'm thankful for the few remaining steel producers here in Hamilton, Ontario. Moving heavy industry and the production of goods overseas not only hurts the local economies and product quality, but its bad for the environment too. @@GrayHare
Is that still Dofasco up there? They were such a great company and leader in the steel industry. I visited their facility many times.
@@GrayHare mittel bought it
A blast furnace, as explained to me , is an upside down volcano.. these men have tamed a volcano, and made it safe and ready, to be re built.
That’s an analogy I haven’t heard before, but it sorta makes sense. Additionally, I’ve heard it’s one of the most complex chemical reactions used in manufacturing.
We made steel in Whyalla south Australia for many decades.some how new owner has botched the reline now our furnace is dead .thanks GFC😢
That’s terrible! I hate to hear of things like that. I hope someone comes in and straightens it out.
That will be a big test of the seriousness of the owner as to whether the furnace is relined and brought back online. Whyalla became the Long Products main operation when Newcastle was retired.
At Port Kembla over my 40+ years I saw the original three blast furnaces pensioned off..the oldest being blown in in 1928...not much later than the furnace here. #4 BF was blown in in late 50's and it too, is long gone. #5 & 6 still exist.
One of the causes of the decline in steelmaking in the USA is actually captured here...a very old and inefficient piece of plant being relined for further production some 80 years later. Given this is a Ford operation you would not see a car from the early days being produced that much later. Lack of updating and modernisation translates to being uncompetitive.
Very interesting video. I haven't seen another one as informatic. At the same time, I miss the modern one because it would be much better to understand - cameras today are better than they were 25 years ago. But there are probably only a few such places in the world today where all the action could be transmitted as video footage.
In the early years of the turn of the century, my teacher of metallurgy and materials science talked about his experience visiting one of the metal industrial complexes of the Soviet Union at that time. It seemed like a very interesting experience, however, as a teenager at that time, I didn't get a full overview of all the technology, I did understand from the description of the equipment in this industry that everything was big and powerful, but over time, and seeing real pictures, everything seems much more powerful now.
This video gives me many new questions that I didn't even know how to ask my teacher as a schoolboy:
1. How thick is the lower part of the steel casing of the blast furnace? About the height where the molten iron tap hole is located. Also - how thick is the brick interior lining of the BF at this height?
2. How thick is the brick layer at the bottom of the BF? And does it have any external cooling as well? What material are bricks at the bottom made of?
3. How high above the inner surface of the bottom of the furnace is the tap hole?
When the molten iron is poured then how much of it roughly leaves from furnace with one discharge? How fast does it come out of the BF? Any rough number - per ton/minute? As I understand it, the tap hole is not exactly at the bottom level, but higher, so there is always a significant amount of molten iron at the bottom of the furnace?
4. How high is the air temperature a few meters from the ducts with molten metal..how it feels to stand, say, for example 10 feet away, how hot this feels and can it could be compared to something more conventional?
5. How is the solidified iron that accumulates in the duct over time, removed, or are they constructed so that nothing accumulates significantly?
A bunch of stupid questions, but unfortunately, I have not seen a single iron smelting plant with my own eyes, not even from a distance.
Let me answer your questions as best I can.
1) The steel shell is 1"-2" thick. We didn't use external cooling, but we did use lots of internal cooling for the refractory. If I had to guess, I'd say the refractory was 3'-4' thick in this area. Remember that a furnace is a pressure vessel so there's a tremendous amount of energy inside, and not just thermal energy.
2) The hearth area refractory was several feet thick and used a lot of cooling because of the high temps in the hearth area (close to 3000F). We also used vertical cooling staves in this area to remove the heat and protect the hearth refractory.
3) I believe the taphole was about 1/4 of the hearth diameter, so about 5'-6' off the bottom. Try googling for blast furnace cutaways that will show the hearth, the tap hole, and the refractory used in each area of the furnace. We used carbon block and cooling pipes in the hearth area, then around the tap hole and higher was probably alumin/silica refractory to deal with the high temps. Higher up the furnace stack we would have used abrasion resistant refractory because of the lower temps and contact with the burden (iron pellets, limestone and coke). Since most furnaces are similar in design (they only vary by hearth diameter) you would refer to a furnace in million tons per year or by hearth diameter.I showed how big the 'salamander' was at the bottom of the furnace when they used dynamite (TNT) to break it up into smaller pieces and remove it from the hearth area so it could be relined. I think 5''-6' thick would be a safe answer. It's hard to imagine, but the hot air blown into the bottom of the furnace actually supports the burden. That means that the burden is separated from the liquid iron collected in the hearth. It was described to me as 'raining' liquid iron from the bottom of the heated burden. If the blast (hot air) was interrupted, the burden would drop into the collected liquid iron and chill/cool the liquid iron which could become solid again -- bad news!
4) The temperature on the casthouse floor (just above the hearth and taphole) would be about 100-110F. It gets much hotter when the furnace is tapped and molten iron and slag come out due to the radiative heat probably more like 150F near the liquid iron. You would need to wear protective/insulated suits to be any where near the molten metal, for safety's sake. The liquid iron in the trough or duct as you referred to it is gravity fed and it didn't build up over time because it would re-melt every tap.
5) The iron and slag troughs would be repaired as needed with a sprayable refractory between taps. They usually had a back-up trough so the one could be repaired if damaged. They tapped the furnace every 30-60 minutes. Liquid iron went out one trough and liquid slag wen the opposite direction.
I hope this answers your questions!
This reminds me- need to clean out the flue snd smoke shelf of the fireplace. Probably take several hours….
Nice footage. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you for watching!
Great video! thank you for sharing this and answering all these questions in comments!
You’re welcome, Garrett! It really is an honor to share with everyone.
I worked for plibrico,we used to do this stuff. Hard work hammering that out. Usually hot as heck in there.
Lots of hard work! The heat really zaps your strength.
Those guys are like being the dentist of a fire breathing Dragon
Yes, and the beast is really tuff to tame!
Really interesting, thanks for uploading it.
Thank you very much for posting this! Very interesting.
You’re welcome and thanks for watching!
my left ear likes this documentation
I remember working on relining the blast furnaces at Port Talbot steel works over the years very dirty work but I suppose I enjoyed it I wish I was doing it now instead of being retired
I really enjoyed my career in the steel industry, too! Keep those memories alive. I can’t say I agree with you on the retirement, though. I love being retired and exploring North America.
35:10 what a lift!
That was an amazing lift! It was a real challenge to weld the new and old sections together also.
Thanks I'm sure that was a great job, happy for you
It was!
Thanks for sharing enjoyed it
Thanks for watching!
Wish I could work somewhere like this.
@@Ivegotmyorangecrush. It’s an honorable way to make a living/career. Put yourself out there! Good luck!
1:08:05 great shots of the bell mouth, thank you
You’re welcome!
Great great video many thanks
That looks hot.
It’s hard to imagine the energy required to melt tons of steel continuously.
2850 degrees hot.
Fascinating, thank you 👍👍👍
I worked for a company doing this. You want nasty? THIS job is nasty. All grunt work and hot as Hell itself.
I have been doing job operation section in B.blast furnace Tata Steel 1998 as the post of stove attendar
Thanks for watching and stay safe while working!
Good stuff!
Thanks!
fantastic historical document! Michigan, a serious machine building state like the country taiwan...
I bought a car this year and it died less than a year ago due to my neglecting maintenance, wanted to see how far it could got, has about 150K.
Thanks!
150 k? That's all?
Dodge Ram just turned 307,000 miles.
How many bodies do you think have been dropped in one of those cauldrons , never to be seen again 🤔
I don’t think that’s happened, but I do know we used to have fatalities pretty frequently, maybe annually. It’s a very dangerous environment and there are many ways to die.
Wow great video. I was on night shift. Boilermakers #169
I was hoping that someone from that reline would speak up! I was on the night shift also. I bet we crossed paths several times. My son is a PF over on Zug Island.
How long did it take to heat the refractory lining? How many charges were used and time to actually start the furnace? I asked at interlake steel when they were bringing their large furnace back on line and they wouldn't talk to me
Hmmm, there’s a lot of variables in that question. Back in ‘97, the dry out of the refractory would’ve been a couple days. You can’t rush it or you’ll get popcorn-like explosions in the new refractory. Then, they can start adding 100% coke until the system gets heated up. Then, they slowly add the normal burden (coke, limestone, iron ore and sometimes scrap metal in the furnace. Any iron you make during this phase will likely be of poor quality. Eventually, you’ll start getting high quality iron that they can further refine into steel at the BOP or ladle met station. I’d guess the whole process takes about 4 days from dry out to producing good iron. Counting the charges would be difficult to do. Hope this helps!
@@GrayHare Thank you, I've hauled steel out of Interlake steel, US steel, and Bethlehem steel.
Later worked as a high voltage contractor at US steel zug Island
I've always wondered what one of those looked like on the inside.
Now you know! I always wanted a tinted window into the furnace that you could see what's going on in the inside.
@@GrayHare That would have been awesome! Probably would look like a volcano. Thanks again for posting the video!
That looked like a Butch Cassidy size load of boom-boom
That was pretty cool to experience.
Cool old footage, sad to see a lot of American infrastructure gone away & not rebuilt 😢
Me, too.
Hope you read this. Fascinated by the process. What was burning at the beginning of the video?
During the process of reducing iron, what keeps the rE ingredients from falling into the pool of molten iron at the bottom? Did a lot of reading but that part escapes me.
Great questions! In the beginning of the video, we attempted to perform a ‘bottom tap’ where we burn a hole in the bottom of the furnace and let the remaining liquid iron drain out on to the ground to solidify. Unfortunately, the small diameter of the furnace allowed the iron to solidify in the furnace so it wouldn’t drain. The ingredients, or the burden, are supported by the tremendous volume of hot air pumped thru the furnace from the bottom through the several tuyeres. The liquid iron drips/rains to the bottom of the furnace. Hope this helps. You might google the process for some diagrams that show a vertical cross section.
They call it a furnace "relining," but it's more like a partial deconstruction and reconstruction.
The furnace relines at the foundry where I work are far simpler (of course, they're only one-ton furnaces), and the reline is in three stages over the course of two and a half days (knock-out, re-line, sintering).
Sounds like a similar process, just on a smaller scale. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Do you have any more???? Thanks alot
I have two other short manufacturing movies on my channel. One id called 'How to Make Steel Tube' and the other is 'Rattunde Cutting Machine'.
I am from Weirton, West Virginia.
Weirton Steel had 4 blast furnaces.
It’s all gone now unfortunately.
I grew up in Parkersburg and my B-I-L is from Weirton. His name was Lauerman. Thx for watching!
Is this plant still active? Looking at Google Maps, the site looks deserted. Cliff's Steel is what the site is labeled as.
Yes, it started as Ford Steel Division, then Ford sold it and it became Rouge Steel for a long time. While was there, it went bankrupt and was purchased by a Russian oligarch and called Severstahl. Then AK Steel purchased it and finally Cliff’s Steel. It is functioning but I don’t know at what capacity.
@@GrayHare Thank you
Fascinating!!
Thanks for watching!
@@GrayHare I'm watching it again.
@@fxsrider let me know if you have questions.
This makes the 1,600 degree heat treating furnaces I worked around look like childs toys lol. I'm assuming its been closed down? What year did it shut down if it did?
@@adamfrbs9259 Yes, melting iron takes way more energy than just a heat treatment. That blast furnace blew up around 2006-7ish. I’m retired, so I’m not sure if the steel plant is still functioning. I believe it was purchased by Cleveland Cliffs.
Amazing vid is this plant still working?
I understand that it is. It is now owned by Cleveland Cliffs steel company.
Very Very interesting!!
how do you restart a blast furnace ?
That’s a great question! It takes a lot of planning to restart one. First the refractory is all new and that and the mortar needs to be dried out. You start with lighting some natural gas torches. That’s a nice slow warm up and gets a good draft going (like a fireplace chimney). After a couple days of that you start putting what’s called coke (it’s pure carbon made from coal) in it and start using the big air injectors, called tuyeres. You fill it full of coke for a couple of days while monitoring refractory temps and moisture content. When everything is up to operating temp (about 2,000°-2,500°F) then you can start adding iron ore and limestone to the coke.
@@GrayHare so instead of wooden planks natural gas was used? In books it was mentioned to use big wooden planks to heat and then the use coke.
@@deepbhaisare they probably were just getting rid of debris from the job by burning wood planks. The natural gas is much easier to control than a wood fire. The dry out and preheating of the refractory is pretty critical to a long life. If you heat it too fast, trapped water turns to steam and it’ll act like popcorn and do a lot a damage on a new lining.
@@GrayHare make sense.
Throw a lit match in.
The good old days... Not sure if the little kids they're making today will have the Fortitude to do this kind of work in the future. Worked a lot of concrete and glass plants on the west coast as a Millwright During the 90's and early 2k's, Too old now too do that work anymore...
how long does it take to cool down so you can go inside and do the work ?
How is the initial light up of a cold furnace beeing done?
Also don´t get it how a 80 year old furnace can still be operated econicically...technology goes on
Hi, there and thanks for commenting! It can take a couple days to get rid of all that heat. You can pump air and water in there to help cool it down. Re-lighting the furnace has to be done carefully so you don't damage the new refractory. The main thing is to dry out the bricks of any moisture. This must be done slowly or the moisture in the bricks can explode like popcorn. We used natural gas to slowly dry everything out before adding any of the three ingredients in the furnace (coke, iron ore and limestone). Also, fortunately, the process of making iron hasn't really changed that much in the last hundred years or so. Sure, the process is controlled by computers now, but it's still...put raw materials in the top and blow hot air in the bottom.
10/4 on the POW/MIA flag flying! Thanks!
Very interesting. Thanks. How long does the furnace take to cool down before maintenance can start and is it still operating today? Also how long does the relining take to complete?
It takes quite a while as you can imagine. Probably a week or more to cool down. You need open up the bottom so air can flow like a chimney and cool everything off. It took about 90 days start to end.
This furnace is not operating any longer.
@@GrayHare Thanks for answering. Very intersting to me.
@@GrayHare Ok I thought not after all this time and thanks again for answering.
Is this the furnace that exploded around 2008-ish under Severstal management? Would you know what could have caused it?
I believe it is. Water getting in the furnace can cause explosions. The water turns to steam, just like a popcorn kernel. There’s several sources of water on a furnace, mostly it’s used to keep the refractory cool. I left Severstal around 2004.
There were a couple of scenarios that were put forward. One was the furnace suffered a major slip. Another had to do with water dissociation in the bosh creating hydrogen and oxygen. There are also stories of steam leaks in the lower stack. I remember B furnace being run very hard during the C furnace rebuild. I understand that the explosion happened during a shift change other wise a lot of people may have been killed.
Is this mill still running? I’m near the Buffalo, NY Bethlehem site that’s long been closed but grew up here while it was running.
Someone else asked that and we figured out that it is still operating, but I don’t know at what capacity.
You can destroy and stack 1,000,000 + bricks in "about 3 months"? That's unfathomable. There must be a machine to stack them.
It’s crazy, isn’t it? Thanks for watching!
@@GrayHare I love it. Was there a machine to stack them? I did notice a device to help in the removal of them. I can't imagine the heat of this place. Everything is just one big thermal battery.
You saw the temporary platform that was raised as the union brick layers played the million refractory bricks. No machines to help. It has to be done by hand because the steel shell can be warped and skewed with heat and age. The bricks aren’t perfect rectangles either. Their sides are tapered so that the diameter is about 20’. Also, it does take a while to cool down and heat back up due to the mass of the furnace.
@@GrayHare Fantastic work.
thanks buddy :)
What year did safety harnesses come into play? And tying off?
I don’t know what year it became standard practice. At the time, we had a fairly strong safety culture. I do remember fighting with the iron workers about safety glasses. They felt the glasses distorted their vision and made it unsafe for them. I felt the chance of them getting dust/debris in their eyes and loosing their balance was too high. They threatened to drag up and leave. They won.
Would it be simpler and cost worthy to just replace the whole furnace?
You’re right, modern trends are to replace the entire furnace. The movie was taken 25 yrs ago.
No no way they are made to be relined as the refractory material protects the metal
I believe this is the furnace that exploded right?
Unfortunately, it is. I think was 2006ish?
Is this plant still operating?
As far as I know it is. While I was there it changed from Ford Steel to Severstal (Russian). It has since changed to AK Steel. During my time, we had three blast furnaces A, B and C. A and B were pretty small and were built by Henry Ford around 1918. C was added during World War II. A was abandoned when I hired in around 1993. B blew up around 2008. C was completely demolished and replaced with a brand new furnace shortly after that. I don't know what they call the new furnace now (maybe D?), but I do believe they are still producing steel, but I don't that for certain. I imagine the new furnace is doesn't use raw materials like iron ore, coke and limestone. I would imagine that any new furnace built today would use scrap steel, but again, I'm out of the industry now.
The standard of safety at that plant was about as old as the plant itself.
At the time, safety was very important to us. However, the process of making steel is inherently dangerous.
No way would you catch me doing that
How often does the furnace need to be relined ?
I think it can vary a lot but 7-10 years we’re typical. Many factors can influence the life, like the cooling circuits, protective armor plates inside, etc. Sometimes, ‘scabs’ can form on the inside of the refractory and become so large that they pull the refractory off the steel shell when they fall.
@@GrayHare 按照现在的工艺水平可以使用都15年。
@@ww_9527 Thank you for saying that the life can be up to 15 years.
Hot spots can happen on shell
I hated doing these furnace jobs when I was in construction. But the money was pretty good.
Yep, I made a good living too.