Enhancement of Charge Loading Operations at the Sintering Machines of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works. Part 1. Charge Flow Stabilization During Sinter Machine Loading.

The article presents the results of installing a charge flow stabilizer in the loading devices of sintering machines of the Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Sinter Plant No. 5. While previous stabilizer installation studies mainly focused on how minimizing the discreteness of the charge flow at the exit of the drum feeder affects the structure and bulk density of the sintered charge layer, the present study considers the influence of charge flow stabilization in the loading device on the gas-dynamic and thermal operation of sintering machines. The installation of a charge flow stabilizer at the sintering machines of the Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works allowed the sintering machine production rate to be increased by 3.4% and the charge ignition and specific power natural gas consumption to be reduced by 9–10 and 1.4–2.8%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]