Abstract:
The search for increased efficiency is related in all corporations, and improvement works are done in a systemic way, but not always the results of them are satisfactory or bring the expected return. The majority of the gases generated in the steel process evaluated are reused (in the process itself), thus reducing the purchase of natural gas, used for heating equipment. Each process generates gases with their own physical characteristics such as pressure and calorific value, and in order to be distributed to the proper processes, they must be under the same pressure. Therefore high pressure fans and a gas reducing station are used so that gases are maintained at 130 mBar of pressure. In order to better exploit the gases generated in the process, it would be necessary to increase the flow rate of the gas from the steel plant, which has a higher calorific value, but the high pressure fan was already working at its load limit, but another was kept as a reserve. The operation of the two high pressure fans in parallel was implemented, which generated instability in the fans and started to generate unexpected process stops due to the excessive vibration of the assembly. The company started to have its maintenance cost increased and significant losses due to the unavailability of the equipment. The present work aimed to identify the failures in the system, to propose improvements and to follow the equipment until the same one again to operate according to the characteristics of the project, aiming the management of a multidisciplinary work group involving specialists of several areas of operation (operation, mechanical and predictive maintenance specialists) in a specific work.