Renovation of blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Méditerranée
A digital giant in a human affair
In response to exponential market demand, the annual production capacity at the ArcelorMittal site in Fos-sur-Mer, France, is due to rise from 4.6 to 5.3 million tons of steel. One of the key projects designed to help meet this objective was the refurbishment of blast furnace no 1. The preservation of the colossal piece of production equipment notably called on new measuring instrumentation technologies and the standardized PROFIBUS field network to replace a large proportion of analog signals.
The renovation project in numbers (all trades)
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450 000 hours of preparation, 550 000 hours of intervention on site
and 1 million working hours -
95 days of downtime
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Around a hundred companies
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800 people working every day
“The success of the refurbishment of the blast furnace firstly depended on a very productive design phase. After that, we simply had to get the best companies in their respective fields on board.”
ArcelorMittal
“Endress+Hauser was able to answer all our questions about the new configuration of the instrumentation in the fieldbus.”
ArcelorMittal
“In order to reduce the length of intervention and by extension the exposure to risks, all the measuring instruments were prepared and preset in our workshops.”
Endress+Hauser
“It will be possible to perform settings and diagnostics remotely. We will have a predictive – rather than a curative – approach to maintenance.”
ArcelorMittal
“We needed solutions, not people who would trade accusations of responsibility for mistakes.”
ArcelorMittal
Endress+Hauser assumed responsibility for the efficiency of the project for the
instrumentation lot.
The giant is over 80 meters tall with a capacity of 3 000 m3. The temperature inside the
11 meter diameter crucible is +2 000 °C. Controlling this process digitally means exposing the automation system and instrumentation to extreme conditions. Endress+Hauser was involved throughout this huge project, from planning through to commissioning.
A solution to the client’s problems
Long-standing partners, ArcelorMittal and Endress+Hauser worked together. The overall supply of measuring instruments fulfilled all aspects of the prerequisites, but ArcelorMittal also stood to benefit from the expertise and support provided by the Endress+Hauser teams: experienced professionals in engineering for process automation and
project management.
Attentive and jointly liable for the outcome
To satisfy the quality, safety and efficiency requirements when commissioning the instrumentation and the digital network, Endress+Hauser decided to create and enter into
a joint venture with two other well known companies, SNEF and Cegelec. Objective of the joint venture was to consider, supply, install and commission the entire instrumentation
lot within set time-frames.
Teamwork and reciprocal technical or industrial exchanges were at the heart of this consortium.
André Amar, ArcelorMittal Account Manager at Endress+Hauser for more than 26 years, ensured that the changes, sometimes requested by the client at short notice, were implemented quickly.
For genuine support
Specialist technicians at Endress+Hauser commissioned 1 100 sensors directly on the blast furnace and supervised 700 others in the peripheral workshops, such as the gas cleaning system and slag treatment, all connected by the digital network. More than 400 sensors on the blast furnace are connected via PROFIBUS.
The instruments benefit from long-term service contracts. For its operators, the park is easier to manage thanks to dedicated software such as FieldCare and W@M – Life Cycle Management.
For maximum efficiency of the production equipment
The service life of the refractory lining in a blast furnace is 20 years, and over the next 20 years the Mediterranean giant will be operating at full capacity. In fact, Alphonse Fabiani is hoping to draw on all the options made available by the devices connected in the fieldbus.
Many people, one team, one giant
This project is a good example of expertise and teamwork combining to provide a service:
after 95 days of downtime, blast furnace no 1 was given a new lease of life.
Building on this success, Endress+Hauser has partnered ArcelorMittal once again to renovate blast furnace no 2 at the Fos-sur-Mer site.
Endress+Hauser services
Endress+Hauser as Main Instrument Vendor (MIV)
Project management
Implementation of platform tests (field network design, PROFIBUS compliance reports)
Design and provision of measuring instruments (flow, pressure, temperature), namely 1800 instruments installed and commissioned and over 60 km of cables laid
Fieldbus integration
Field network verification
Commissioning
Training
Consignment stock
