Avon Engineering Helps US Steel Producer Optimize Operations

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Problem

Ladle beams are specialized lifting devices used in steel mills and foundries to handle ladles containing molten metal. These high capacity systems are used to transport molten metal 24 hours a day, 7 days per week in the steel production operation. Ladle beams typically incorporate multiple sheaves, or pulleys, and bearings that are reeved directly into the crane.

When a sheave or bearing fails, or the beam requires servicing, the operation comes to a halt as it must be removed from the crane for servicing. This involves unreeving of the wire rope from which the beam is suspended from the crane. The result is downtime of up to 20 hrs, which in turn means loss of production and revenue.

Solution

The Avon Engineering team was able to improve the customer’s process by modifying the existing beam and how the sheaves are mounted. Sheaves are normally mounted between upright plates welded to the beam. The Avon redesign has the sheaves housed in baskets separate from the beam which are suspended from the crane. The beam can now directly be pinned to the baskets or replaced quickly without having to unreeve the wire rope. Using our design software, we performed a stress analysis to ensure the safety and reliability of this new system.

The next phase of the project involved determining how to remove the baskets suspended from the crane without removing the wire rope. Our team devised a solution by bolting the side stiffener plates rather than welding them. This enables the plates to be removed quickly, and the wire rope dropped down below the basket and moved out to the side. New baskets with sheaves and bearings can now be installed quickly.