MORE uprates arc furnace efficiency with vortex meters 14 February 2013

Italian electric arc furnace manufacturer MORE has revealed that part of the reason for its success, in terms of energy and steel quality improvements, has been its adoption of vortex flowmeters to monitor and control the oxygen-fuel ratio.

MORE purchasing manager Roberto Urbani explains that the accuracy and reliability of Emerson's Rosemount 8800 are minimising oxygen and fuel consumption, so reducing costs but also avoiding rework.

Urbani says that MORE had been using DP (differential pressure) flowmeters, but that these were limited both on control accuracy and turndown.

"We tried vortex meters from various other manufacturers but found that their products were not sturdy enough, or they were too sensitive to vibrations that resulted in an unreliable measurement and consequently, poor control of the oxygen-fuel ratio," states Urbani.

"Using Rosemount vortex flowmeters eliminated these problems – delivering the accurate and reliable measurements we required," he says.

Emerson says that's because Rosemount 8800 flowmeters harness adaptive digital signal processing and a mass-balanced sensor design to maximise measurement reliability even in fairly heavy vibration.

Also, turndown is 25:1 and, while DP flowmeters can have up to 30 leakage points, the gasket-free sensor design of the 8800 means there are no leak points, so reducing maintenance and improving safety.

"By implementing Emerson's Rosemount vortex technology, we have been able to build electric arc furnace solutions that guarantee optimum furnace efficiency for users," comments Urbani.

Over the past few years, MORE has installed more than 1,000 Rosemount 8800 vortex flowmeters across many of its furnace installations and says the result has been grater than 99% reliability.

Brian Tinham

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