Introduction

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the first coastal based Steel Plant of India is located, 16 KM South West of city of Destiny i.e. Visakhapatnam. Bestowed with modern technologies, VSP has an installed capacity of 3 Million Tonnes per annum of Liquid Steel and 2.656 Million tonnes of saleable steel. At VSP there is emphasis on total automation, seamless integration and efficient upgradation, which result in wide range of long and structural products to meet stringent demands of discerning customers within India and abroad. VSP products meet exalting International Quality Standards such as JIS, DIN, BIS, BS etc. VSP had a turnover of Rs.13500 crores and a net profit of Rs.350 crores in the financial year 20122013. VSP has become the first integrated Steel Plant in the country to be certified to all the three international standards for quality (ISO-9001), for Environment Management (ISO-14001) & for Occupational Health & Safety (OHSAS-18001) The certificate covers quality systems of all operational, maintenance, service units besides Purchase systems, Training and Marketing functions spreading over 4 Regional Marketing Offices, 20 branch offices and 22 stock yards located all over the country. VSP by successfully installing & operating efficiently Rs. 460 crores worth of Pollution Control and Environment Control Equipment and converting the barren landscape by planting more than 3 million plants has made the Steel Plant, Steel Township and surrounding areas into a heaven of lush greenery. This has made Steel Township a greener, cleaner and cooler place, which can boast of 30 to 40 C lesser temperature even in the peak summer compared to Visakhapatnam City

Power Engineering Maintenance (PEM)

Power engineering maintenance department does mechanical maintenance of rotating equipment like turbo blowers, turbo compressors, high capacity exhausters, boiler fans and other process fans distributed throughout the plant. The other jobs of PEM are in-situ balancing and precision alignment of rotary equipment in the plant. PEM adopts condition based maintenance program for maintenance of equipment and thus avoiding major breakdowns. The maintenance of the following equipment in various areas of the plant is done by P.E.M. 1) Coke Oven &Coal Chemicals Plant (CO&CCP) area i) Main exhauster Fans ii) MBC (Microbiological & chemical plant) blowers iii) CDCP (Coke dry cooling plant) mill fans 2) Sinter Plant (SP) area i) Main Exhausters ii) ACP (Air cleaning plant) iii) Straight line cooler blowers 3) Blast Furnace (BF) area i) BHS (Burden handling system) exhausters ii) Cast house exhausters iii) DUB (Dust unloading blowers) 4) Steel Melt Shop (SMS) area i) Converter ID fans ii) IRUT (Intermediate rinsing and up-gradation of temperature) fan iii) LF (Ladle furnace) exhaust fan 5) Thermal Power Plant (TPP) area i) Turbo blowers ii) FD (Forced draught) fans iii) PA (Primary Air) fans iv) ID (Induced draught) fans
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v) GETS (Gas expansion turbine station) vi) BPTS (Back pressure turbine station) 6) Calcining and refractory material plant (CRMP) area i) ID fans 7) Utilities area i) ASP (Air separation plant) ii) Compressor house (CH-1 & CH-2) 8) EMD boosters

Sinter Plant
Sintering is a process of agglomerating iron ore fines into a porous mass by incipient fusion caused by combustion within the mass of the ore particles. The raw materials used in sintering are iron ore fines, coke, limestone and dolomite, sand, metallurgical wastes and lime Sinter plant of VSP has the capacity to produce 5.256 MT of sinter per annum, which will cater to 80% of iron bearing feed to Blast Furnace. Two sintering machines of Dwight Lloyd type having 312m2 total grate area are provided for this purpose. Sinter machine is designed to operate at the rate of 1.2 T/hr/m2 for 330 days in a year. Sinter plant consists of the following main sections 1. Flux crushing section 2. Fuel storage yard 3. Coke crushing & flux screening section 4. Receiving bins 5. Raw material bins 6. Material mixing and distribution plant 7. Base mix yard 8. Secondary sinter mix & pelletizing plant 9. Sinter machine building with sinter cooling 10. Fan building 11. Slime dewatering pump house 12. Sinter screening plant 13. Gas cleaning plant 14. Air cleaning plant

Sinter Plant Main Exhauster

The main exhausters are housed in the fan building. There are four exhausters with a capacity of 15000 m3/min each, two exhausters for each machine. The function of the exhausters is to create suction below the grate of the sinter machine. The vertical speed of sintering depends on the suction that is created under the grate i.e. more the suction higher will be the vertical speed of sintering and more the productivity. Thus, the productivity of Sinter plant depends on the suction provided by the exhausters. The two exhausters provided for each machine create a suction of 1500 mm of water column under the grate. Technical specifications of Exhauster Fan function Fan diameter Fan type Suction type Bearing type Bearing diameter Axial journal clearance (free) Axial journal clearance (located) Type of lubrication Recommended lubricant Quantity for first fill of system Oil flow rate Control of output Design duty (two fans operating) : main sinter exhaust : 3660 mm DI BBS 30 : double side duct : sirocco pressure fed : 10.5 inch : 44.5 mm to 44.75 mm total : .74 mm to .80 mm total : circulating oil : ISO VG 68 oil : 2800 litres : 6060 litres per hour : differential vane control : volume Diff pressure Temperature Density Power Speed 15000m 3 1500 mm w/c 150 C .680 kg/m3 4240 kW 1000 rpm

Brief explanation
This is a 3660 mm diameter double inlet BBS 30 fan. The two fans on each machine rotate in the same direction, the discharge being horizontal in each case. Gas enters fan through an inlet duct drawing from under the sintering machine through an electro-static precipitator. A flange is provided at the fan discharge for connection to the outlet ducting leading to the stack. Expansion joints at inlet and outlet allow thermal movement to take place. The fan casing is of mild steel, suitably stiffened and jointed in such a manner as to permit removal of the shaft and impeller with the minimum of dismantling. The impeller and shaft are supported on pressure lubricated white metal lined bearings fed by an oil circulating system. The fan is driven by an electric motor through a Holset flexible coupling. The drive side and non-drive side bearings are mounted on fabricated steel A frames. The driving motor is mounted on its own integral steel base. Control of fan output is achieved by the use of vane control gear mounted in each inlet duct

Impeller
The impeller is a backward curved blade and is of welded construction fabricated from mild steel with a high yield point. The central mounting plate is a shrink fit on the shaft and is bolted to a flange. The impeller is protected from the erosive action of the abrasive particles in the gas by wear plated welded and bolted in position.

Casing and inlet ducts

The casing and inlet ducts are constructed from mild steel suitably stiffened to prevent breathing caused by fluctuation in gas pressure. Access doors are provided to facilitate routine inspection and maintenance. Flanged drains are provided in the casing and inlet ducts to permit removal of water. Acoustic lagging is applied to the fan casing and ducts to reduce noise transmission. The casing scroll is made of bolted in sections to facilitate replacement in the event of wear.

Shaft and coupling

The shaft of the fan is designed to proportions such that the critical speed is well in excess of the running speed. Consideration has been given to the shaft proportions to avoid large stress concentrations. The runner is secured to the shaft by bolts and assembly is driven by

an electric motor via a Holset flexible coupling. The fan of the coupling incorporates a brake drum. Shaft guards are provided at all points where the shaft is exposed.

Differential vane control

Each of the fan inlet ducts is fitted with a set of multi-bladed dampers the differential vane type. Each set consists of six stream lined cast iron blades bolted to steel spindles and contained within a fabricated steel frame. The spindles are carried in low friction bearings requiring no lubrication. Levers fitted to the ends of the spindles are linked together and to an operating lever mounted at each end of a common lay shaft joining the two sets of dampers. An electric actuator moves a main operating lever which is attached to the lay shaft and thus both sets of dampers are operated simultaneously.

Bearings
The bearings are of the dry sump pressure lubricated self-aligning type and consist of four main parts The cast iron yoke which is split along the horizontal centre line is held together by means of four bolts. The internal diameter of the yoke is machined accurately to a concave section to fit the spherically seated bearing housing. A lifting lug is provided in the bearing yoke. The cast iron bearing housing is spherically machined to limits which permit it to fit within the concave seating of the yoke. The limits are so chosen that when the cap on the yoke is pulled hard down the bearing housing is rigidly held. The housing is jointed on the horizontal centre line and the mating faces are ground flush and gutters are provided to ensure that there is no loss of oil through the joints. The bearing liners are in halves and are located within the housing by a key. The liner is in metal and the bearing surfaces are lined with white metal The cast iron end covers are split across the horizontal centre line and held together by bolts. The end covers are designed to prevent oil leakage along the shaft. Oil is delivered to the bearing surfaces through an oil passage formed between the bearing housing and the liner, the passage terminating in ports on each side of the liner. Oil is delivered from these ports to a relieved section formed on white metal along the lips of the two halves of the liner hence to the bearing surface. Two bearings are fitted to fan and the

bearing next to the coupling is arranged to link the fan shaft. Location is achieved between solid forged thrust collars on the shaft and thrust faces on the liners outside bearing is free . The most important feature of any pressure lubricated bearing is a means provided for delivering oil to the working surface and draining it away after it has passed through the bearing

Fan bearing lubrication and jacking oil system

The arrangement of the lubricating systems for each of the main sinter exhaust fans is identical. The oil flow rate around the system is 6060 litres/hour. Each fan is provided with a combined lubricating and jacking oil system to maintain a constant supply of oil, at correct pressure and temperature to the fan bearings and to the motor bearings. The jacking oil system feeds oil at high pressure to the underside of the fan bearings during start-up and run-down which minimizes both frictional resistance and bearing wear and also reduces the starting torque. Main oil system Either of two identical main lubricating pumps can supply the system. The pumps take their suction from a sump tank through supply lines incorporating filters. A pressure switch automatically starts the standby pump when the running pump fails. The non-running pump is protected from the back pressure of the system by a non-return valve in its discharge line. The whole system to the bearing is protected by a relief valve which discharges back to the sump tank. Jacking oil system Either of two identical jacking oil pumps can supply jacking oil to the bearings taking its supply from the main sump tank through a gate valve and a filter. The pump discharges into two lines which supply each bearing. The line at each bearing divides into two supplies. In each of the supplies is fitted a non-return valve to prevent loss of bearing lubricating oil when the jacking pump is not in use. A pressure relief valve is fitted to the common pump discharge line. A pressure switch will operate when the jacking oil pressure is correct to complete the permissive signal for the main motor starter sequence and safety interlocks.

Case study
The sinter plant exhauster faced a problem of taking more time to reach its rated RPM than its designed value. This issue had to be rectified as it could lead to several other problems which are listed below Effects of high starting time of exhauster Chances of motor burnout: the higher starting time increases the heat generated in the core and the windings are susceptible to burnout. The heat generated is given by P=i2rt Damage to journals: high friction due to lower pressure of lubricating oil can cause wear in the bearings High power consumption during start up

Efforts to reduce starting time of exhauster Bearings were inspected found to be normal: the journal bearings were inspected and were found to be normal, so the non-return valve of jack oil pump was inspected Non-return valve inspected: the non-return was opened and examined. It was found that the spring in the valve was not functioning to its designed value and was letting out the oil leading to the drop in the pressure of lubricating oil and increasing the starting torque. Diagram of jack oil line Jack oil normal pressure Diagram of lubricating oil line

Case study of Exhauster 4

The sinter plant exhauster faced a problem of taking more time to reach its rated speed (RPM) than the normal. This issue had to be rectified as it could lead to several other problems which are listed below Effects of high starting time of exhauster Chances of motor burnout: the higher starting time increases the heat generated in the core and the windings are susceptible to burnout. The heat generated is given by P=i 2rt Damage to journals: high friction due to lower pressure of lubricating oil can cause wear in the bearings Course of action to rectify the problem 1) Bearings were inspected: The journal bearings were opened and inspected. They were found to be normal. 2) Non-return valve inspected: the non-return was opened and examined. It was found that the valves functioning not optimal and was letting out the oil leading to the drop in the pressure of lubricating oil. This caused increased torque requirement for the fan to reach its rated speed (RPM). The valve was repaired and placed in its position

The time required by the fan to reach its rated speed was reduced to its previous range after the non-return valve was repaired

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