We have recently been carrying out development work with one of our customers to improve the performance of the upper rim of their steel ladles. The previously used combination of throwelling material and lock bricks has been replaced by a castable solution.

The development work started with reviewing the customer’s wishes, requirements and limitations. After this, we designed a solution proposal, where the biggest challenge was the implementation of a functional and long-lasting mould solution. Once our proposal was approved, we proceeded to making the mould and preparing for the test period.

The first test of the cast upper rims took place exactly one year ago, and since then, their use became an established operating model. The new practice has functioned better than the previous one and the customer has been very satisfied with it. The cast rim remains better protected during use, which has reduced the need for metalwork on brick supports, for example. In addition, the deskulling of the ladle during use has become easier, as the risk of the uppermost bricks coming loose has significantly reduced . In the masonry phase, finishing the upper rim of the ladle is easy and simple, as the castable compound locks the bricks firmly in place. The performance can still be enhanced, and we are carrying out tests with the aim of finding a material that performs as desired without being “over-quality”, which increases costs.

In this project, we managed to implement a solution with the customer that keeps the upper rims of the ladles in better condition and eliminates one of the factors leading to the premature end of campaigns, i.e. bricks coming loose during deskulling.

We can also design similar solutions for other sites! If you are interested in learning more, please contact our technical support engineers. The contact details are available on our website.