 | James Smith (left) and Xin Zhang (right) presented the RSTC service plaque to Matthew Chabes (center). |
The RSTC met 9 May 2023, Detroit, MI, USA.
The following officers were elected: Chair: James Smith - Alkegen Vice Chair: Xin Zhang - Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Papers Chair: Angelo Cristante - Vesuvius Education Chair: Jimmy Barrett - Allied Mineral Products Inc. Young Professional Chair: Rebecka Annunziata - AM/NS Calvert LLC
|
The CCTC and RSTC met jointly, 8–9 February 2023, Starkville, Miss., USA
The Continuous Casting and Refractory Systems Technology Committees held a joint meeting to discuss their shared interest in flow control devices for the caster area.
The group kicked off the business portion of the meeting with a review of each committee’s planned technical sessions for AISTech 2023 nominations for committee officers for 2023–2024. The committees heard updates on upcoming committee Roundups, Technology Training Conferences and study tours. They also discussed the latest AIST Steel In-dustry Fatalities Report.
The joint meeting then transitioned to presentations related to the theme of caster flow control devices.
Presentations: “How Refractories, Robots and Flow Control Systems Integrate,” by Filipe Fabri, Vesuvius. “Continuous Casting Refractories for Clean Steel,” by Toshio Horiuchi, Shinagawa. “Zero CO2 Emissions Tundish Selection,” by Dan Schaner, Calderys. “Tundish Life Optimization,” by Greg Geist, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
The next day, the two committees were welcomed at Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Columbus Division for an extensive tour of the meltshop, caster, ladle and tundish rebuild areas.  | | Don Bryant (center), Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Columbus Division, accepts a plaque of appreciation from Refractory Systems Technology Committee chair Matthew Chabes (left), Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor, and Continuous Casting Technology Committee chair Greg Geist (right), Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works LLC, for hosting the committees’ plant tour on 9 February 2023. |
|
 | Members of the LSRTC and RSTC toured Nucor Steel Florida Inc. prior to their joint meeting on 6 October 2022. |
The RSTC and LSRTC met Jointly 6 October 2022, Orlando, Fla., USA, in conjunction with Secondary Steelmaking Refractories — A Practical Training Seminar
Members of both committees toured Nucor Steel Florida Inc. in the morning and then held their meeting. The group had a number of business items to address, including a thorough safety discussion focused on the recent fatalities logged in the Steel Industry Fatalities Report.
The groups also discussed their upcoming award selection and next year’s training course, which will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., USA, with a tour of CMC Steel Arizona.
The two committees also discussed their sessions for AISTech 2023 and asked for session chair volunteers.
Two presentations were given: one from Mike Fox of RHI Magnesita and the other from Tom Connors of Connors Industrials. |
 | James Smith (left) presented the RSTC service plaque to
Matthew Chabes (right). |
The RSTC met 17 May 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
The following officers were elected: Chair: Matthew Chabes / Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Vice Chair: James Smith / Unifrax Corp. Papers Chair: Xin Zhang / Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Education Chair: Jimmy Barrett / Allied Mineral Products Inc. Study Tour Chair: Rakesh Dhaka / U. S. Steel Research and Technology Center Young Professional Chair: Angelo Cristante / Reno Refractories Inc. Digital Transformation Liaison: Marcelo Santos / RHI Magnesita
|
The RSTC met 15–16 February 2022, Duncanville, Texas, USA.
Matt Chabes, RSTC chair, opened the meeting and provided an overview of how the general economic conditions have changed from 2021 to the outlook for 2022.
A discussion was held on the current Steel Industries Fatalities report and a roundtable discussion occurred on safety measures at different facilities. Discussions included wearable devices, ice cleats for outdoor winter tasks and spring-loaded tables for pallets to limit employees bending over to pick up items from the pallet.
The RSTC sessions for AISTech 2022 were reviewed and a thorough discussion was held on the roles and responsibilities of AISTech session chairs. Nominations were then taken for RSTC officer positions for the 2022–2023 term.
James Barrett, RSTC education chair, provided an overview of the Secondary Steelmaking Refractories Fundamentals Training Seminar, which is being scheduled for 4–6 October 2022 in Orlando, Fla., USA.
The technical discussions were then conducted. Fabio Shimono, Gerdau Long Steel North America Midlothian Mill meltshop manager, provided an overview of the Midlothian facility. Included in the overview was the history of the facility, its current equipment and capabilities, the Midlothian Solar Project, safety measures, and COVID-19 protocol. The presentation finished with a clip from the Fox Business channel’s program “How America Works,” which showcased the Gerdau facility. Rafael Bruch, Gerdau Midlothian operational manager, and Marcos Santos, RHI Magnesita, presented case services of refractory challenges at Gerdau Midlothian and how RHI and Gerdau are partnering together for a full ladle service recycling program. Felipe Nonaka, RHI Magnesita, presented on CO2 solutions that RHI has been providing to the industry. Solutions presented included cold setting tundish refractory to eliminate tundish dryers, carbon-free refractory binders, and the increase in refractory recycling efforts. The final presentation was by Mark Mattar of FRC Global, on thermal kinetic energy (TKE) burner technology. Utilizing the rapid expansion of burning gases combined with a venturi produces a high-velocity stream of energy which creates convective heating through velocity and vibrational energy, which is driven into the refractory linings. The kinetic energy generated creates micro-vibrations that penetrate faster than radiant heat to conserve energy.
On 16 February, the members traveled to Gerdau Long Steel North America Midlothian Mill for a facility tour. The tour included the near-net-shape caster and pulpit and the RHI Magnesita refractory maintenance building.  |  | 1. The Refractory Systems Technology Committee (RSTC) met in Duncanville, Texas, USA, on 15–16 February 2022. 2. RSTC chair Matt Chabes (left) presented Brenton Stoker (right) with a plaque of appreciation for hosting the RSTC’s tour of Gerdau Long Steel North America Midlothian Mill. |
|
 | Jimmy Barrett (left) presented the RSTC service plaque to Michael Anderson (right) at AISTech 2021. |
The RSTC met 30 June 2021, Nashville, TN USA.
The following officers were elected: Chair: Matthew Chabes, Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC Vice Chair: James Smith, Unifrax Corp. Papers Chair: Xin Zhang, Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC Education Chair: Jimmy Barrett, Allied Mineral Products Inc. Study Tour Chair: Rakesh Dhaka, U. S. Steel Research and Technology Center Young Professional Chair: Kyle Kingsbury, Duferco Digital Transformation Liaison: Cassie Martin Graham, D. Martin Enterprises
|
The RSTC held a virtual meeting 9 February 2021.
RSTC chair Mike Anderson began the meeting by reporting the latest global crude steel production data and steel industry fatality statistics.
Papers chair James Smith updated the committee on its AISTech 2021 sessions. The RSTC will sponsor sessions on tundish and ladle refractory technologies, refractory digitalization and modeling technology, and basic oxygen furnace and electric arc furnace refractory technologies. The session chair roles were reemphasized, and backup session chairs were solicited.
RSTC committee officers for the 2021–2022 term were then nominated. The candidates will officially be elected at the RSTC meeting during AISTech in Nashville, Tenn., USA.
Education chair Jimmy Barrett provided an update on the upcoming Secondary Steelmaking Refractories —
A Practical Training Seminar to be held 5–7 October 2021 in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA.
The Digital Transformation Subcommittee was then discussed. The subcommittee has been developing two new training offerings for AIST. An online course will be available for free for AIST members. The Digitalization Applications Fundamentals training seminar will be held in fall 2021.
Presentations: “Monitoring Blast Furnaces and Other Process Vessels by Acoustic Emission (AE) Monitoring Technique,” by Maria Tibbo, Afshin Sadri and Winnie Ying, Hatch. “Gap and Crack Detection in Refractory Lining of a Ladle by a Combination of 3D Laser Scanning and Pyrometric Temperature Measurement,” by Rolf Lamm, MINTEQ International. “Application of Some Digital Techniques to Optimize the Thermomechanical Behavior of Refractory Linings,” by Shengli Jin, Montanuniversität Leoben.
|
The RSTC held a virtual meeting 3 March 2020.
RSTC chair Mike Anderson began the virtual meeting with a presentation of current steel industry production data. The committee then brainstormed ways to increase active participation in the RTSC meetings.
The group reviewed the status of the RSTC Japan Study Tour. The tour, originally targeted for spring 2021, will be postponed until 2022. The RSTC will continue to work to secure target sites to visit. Rakesh Dhaka volunteered to serve as study tour chair.
The committee held a brief roundtable discussion on how the global pandemic has impacted the steel industry and how companies are implementing safety protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The RSTC then moved on to planning their sessions for AISTech 2021. There are currently three sessions slated for the conference: Tundish and Ladle, Digitalization and Modeling Technologies, and BOF and EAF Refractory Technologies. RSTC papers chair James Smith asked for volunteers for session chairs.
Jimmy Barrett provided a recap of Secondary Steelmaking Refractories — A Practical Training Seminar, which took place 6–7 October 2020 in a virtual format. The seminar had 42 registered, with attendees hailing from the U.S., Egypt, India and Australia. Barrett noted that the post-conference survey feedback was positive.
The committee then discussed the Digital Transformation Subcommittee Survey. The survey was filled out by one representative on behalf of the whole committee.
Presentations: “Insulation in Ironmaking and Steelmaking Vessels,” by Lionel Rebouillat, Pyrotek. “Review of EAF Technologies and Refractory Digitalization,” by Ashraf Hanna, RHI Magnesita. “Technical Issues on Anchors for Monolithics,” by Ruth Engel, Refractory Consulting Services.
|
The SRSC held a virtual meeting 5 May 2020.
RSTC chair Rakesh K. Dhaka began the committee’s virtual meeting with a presentation of the Refractory Systems Best Paper Award. The award plaque will be given at AISTech 2020.
It was decided to host the RSTC’s fall meeting in conjunction with the Secondary Steelmaking Refractories Technology Training seminar in October. The meeting will also allow virtual/remote participation for the members that may still be under travel restrictions.
The following committee officers were elected for the 2020–2021 term: Chair: Michael Anderson, Magneco/Metrel Inc. Vice chair: Matthew Chabes, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor. Papers chair: James Smith, Thermbond Refractory Solutions. Education chair: Jimmy Barrett, Allied Mineral Products Inc. Young Professional chair: Kyle Kingsbury, Duferco.
Secondary Steelmaking Refractories Fundamentals will be held 6–8 October 2020 in Nashville, Tenn., USA. |
The RSTC met 11–12 February 2020, Mesa, Ariz., USA.
Rakesh Dhaka, United States Steel Corporation, opened the meeting with a discussion of global steel business and output.
The RSTC reviewed its technical sessions for AISTech 2020 and the roles of session chair and papers chair. The committee has two sessions scheduled.
Nominations for committee officers for 2020–2021 were taken.
Education chair Jimmy Barrett reviewed the 2019 Secondary Steelmaking Refractories — A Practical Training Seminar, which was held 6–7 October in Nashville, Tenn., USA. There were 85 attendees, about 57% of which were from steel-producing companies.
The RSTC then discussed the Japan Study Tour, which will be held in April 2021. Companies that the committee is hoping to visit include Krosaki, Shinagawa, TYK, JFE Steel, Nippon Steel and NDK.
Presentations: Kyle Kingsbury, Duferco: “Mag Chrome Bricks for the Copper Industry and Importance of Quality Control on Performance.” Ruth Engel, Refractory Consulting Services, discussed the Elkem furnace. Rob Doty, IMACRO: “Promat Durasteel Composite Insulation Board.” Dave Wilkinson, Redlist: “Amazon Effect: Impact the Entire Business Through Digitization.” Rakesh Dhaka gave a blast furnace presentation.
On Wednesday, 12 February, the group toured
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Miami. The facility includes an open-pit copper mine, a smelter-type isaSmelt™ technology (primary furnace) and ELKEM electric furnace (secondary); four Hoboken-style converters; two oxygen plants; a rod mill; and an acid plant.  | RSTC vice chair Michael Anderson and RSTC chair Rakesh Dhaka presented a plaque of appreciation to Mark Albertsen, Connor McLeod, and Daniel Foley for hosting the tour of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Miami (left to right): Anderson, Albertsen, McLeod, Foley and Dhaka. |
|
