Cherepovets Steel Mill PAO “SEVERSTAL” - Ленгипромез

Cherepovets Steel Mill PAO “SEVERSTAL”

Ironmaking Plant, 1957

Coke Oven Battery, 1957

BOF Shop.
Melting department

The question of creation of a metallurgical base in the European North area of Russia was raised already at the end of the Civil War. Several sites have been investigated for the future works construction: Cherepovets, Lodeinoye Pole, Aniensky Bridge and some others. The Leningrad – Murmansk research expedition under leadership of Academician I.P. Bardin recommended in the pre–war years to choose Cherepovets for the future erection of the steel works.

On June 20, 1940 I.V. Stalin and V.M. Molotov have signed Decree № 1066 – 417с  “On establishment of a metallurgical base in the north – west area of the USSR”.

In spite of secrecy of the started works, on September 21, 1940, some information appeared in the newspaper “The Industry” announcing that “Gipromez” began designing of a new metallurgical plant to-be-constructed in Cherepovets.

In the course of several years, till the Great Patriotic War, the disputes about the location of this north – west steel works have been continued.

On January 27, 1944 the artillery salute announced the liberation of Leningrad from a 900–day siege, and two months later the State Defense Committee has approved a decree on rehabilitation of the industry and municipal economy and services of the “northern capital city”. In this connection the question of renewal of the Cherepovets Steel Mill construction beginning with the second quarter of 1945 was raised again.

On 16 – 18 April, 1946 the Soviet for study of the productive forces at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR has heard the report of the Leningrad – Murmansk research expedition and concluded that “the principal issues of the source of raw materials and the fuel resources for the north – west metallurgy were investigated and prepared in such a degree that allows to start the designing of the Cherepovets Steel Mill and simultaneously the preliminary and civil engineering works on site”.

On December 30, 1947 I.V. Stalin has signed a Decree “On construction of the Cherepovets Steel Mill and of ore and raw materials base for it”.

The designers and the earliest builders have overcome many difficulties, and on August 24, 1955 the fire–spitting hot-metal stream appeared from the Blast Furnace marking the birth of the Cherepovets Steel Mill.

Sheet–Rolling Plant № 2
2000 mm Wide–Strip Hot Rolling Mill

May of 1954	TPP – TBS
February of 1956	Coke Oven and By-Product Plant
July of 1955	Sinter Plant
August of 1955	Ironmaking Plant
May of 1958	Open–Hearth Plant
October of 1969	Electric Arc Furnace Shop
November of 1959	Sheet–Rolling Plant № 1
1973	Sheet–Rolling Plant № 2. Sheet dressing
April of 1975	2000 mm Wide–Strip Mill
December of 1961	Bar–Rolling Plant
May of 1962	Formed Sections Department
	Consumer goods:
October of 1963	Mass Consumption Goods Shop
October of 1973	Enamel Kitchen Utensils Shop
November of 1980	Acid Converter Shop
April of 1986	Blast Furnace № 5

“Lengipromez” started and continues designing of the Cherepovets Steel Mill units and facilities. The staff of “Lengipromez” has prepared in fruitful cooperation with their colleagues from the specialized design institutes the designs of the shops and departments which are by their parameters at the front lines of the ferrous metallurgy in the country.

Revamping of Blast Furnace № 4

Ironmaking Plant
Hot–metal sampling

Ironmaking Plant
Iron tapping

Blast Furnace № 4 has been constructed according to the “Lengipromez” design. The Blast Furnace № 4 blowing–in took place on March 27, 1969. The first iron tapping was accomplished on March 29, 1969. Nine months later the Blast Furnace came up to its full rated capacity, and due to this the Ironmaking Plant output was increased by 75 %.

Blast Furnace № 4 with a working volume of 2700 m³ had an annual output capacity of 1800 thou. tons of hot metal or 5000 tons daily. At the time of its commissioning it was the largest blast furnace unit not only in the USSR but all over the Europe, as well. After Cherepovets the blast furnaces of the same capacity have been erected in Krivoi Rog, Nizhni Tagil, Temirtau.

But the highest effective volume utilization factor was achieved just at Blast Furnace № 4 at the Cherepovets Steel Mill.

In the period of business recession in the nineties, in December of 1995, Blast Furnace № 4 was stopped, and only on December 18, 2005 it was put into operation again after the complete revamping. At its commissioning the furnace was given a name “Vologzhanka”.

“Lengipromez” was entrusted to prepare the design documents.

During the revamping period the updating of the blast furnace complex equipment has been implemented. In the result of revamping the Blast Furnace № 4 capacity was increased from 1800 thou. tpy to 2200 thou. tpy of iron. The adverse environmental impact was considerably reduced due to some technical innovations, as well.

Today Blast Furnace № 4 is producing almost one third of the total Cherepovets iron.

At blowing–in of Blast Furnace № 4 on December 25, 2005

Ironmaking Plant
Monitoring of iron smelting process

Blast Furnace № 4 command room

Basic indicators of BF № 4 operation

Working volume, m3	2700
Oxygen enrichment, %	30.91
Hot blast temperature, ˚C	1194
Natural gas rate, m3/per 1 ton of hot metal	130
Top gas temperature, ˚C	134
Top gas pressure, atm gauge	1.84
Effective volume utilization factor (design/actual)	0.38/0.33
Output, t/daily (design/actual)	7200/8400

Blast Furnace № 4

Cast house of Blast Furnace № 4

Revamping of Blast Furnace № 5

Blast Furnace № 5
The largest blast furnace in Europe

Construction of Blast Furnace № 5, 1982

Blast Furnace № 5 (“Severyanka”) was blown–in on April 12, 1986, the first iron was tapped on April 13, 1986. The construction of Blast Furnace № 5 was declared to be the All–Union Komsomol Building Project.

In designing of almost 250 facilities of the blast furnace complex about 40 design institutes have taken part, and the general designer – “Lengipromez” was among them. More than 13 thousand builders and erectors were engaged in the blast furnace construction.

In the course of construction more than 160 thousand tons of steel structures were erected, 78 thousand tons of equipment were installed, over 200 thousand cubic meters of precast reinforced concrete were placed, 520 thousand cubic meters of cast–in–situ reinforced concrete were poured, over 30 kilometers of railway tracks were laid.

At the moment of commissioning and later, in the course of nearly twenty years, “Severyanka” remained the largest blast furnace in the world. The giant blast furnace was put down into the Guinness Book of Records. Today BF № 5 is the largest blast furnace in Europe. The working volume of BF № 5 is 5580 m³. The height of the furnace central assembly is 105 meters. To provide the blast furnace operation 1 million and 700 thou. tons of coke, approximately 2 million tons of pellets and over 4 million tons of sinter are required annually. The design furnace capacity is up to 4 million tons per year. “Severyanka” satisfies nearly 50 % of the Cherepovets Steel Mill iron requirements.

During the period of operation two major overhauls of the 1^st category were carried out at the “Severyanka” blast furnace in the course of which a great complex of updating works was implemented: the hydraulic machines for the iron tapholes were installed, the automatic process control system was renewed, the aspiration system was revamped.

For the last major overhaul of the 1^st category Blast Furnace № 5 was stopped in June of 2006. “Lengipromez” was entrusted to prepare the design documents again.

In the process of reconstruction in 2006 the blast furnace shell was replaced partially while the cooling system was changed completely. In addition to the iron the granulated slag is produced also at BF № 5 (it is produced at a special slag granulation plant from the blast furnace waste – slag).

Basic indicators of BF№ 5 operation

Working volume, m3	5580
Oxygen enrichment, %	28.84
Hot blast temperature, ˚C	1170
Natural gas rate, m3/per 1 ton of hot metal	102
Top gas temperature, ˚C	179
Top gas pressure, atm gauge	1.78
Effective volume utilization factor	0.46
Output, t/daily	12000

Blast Furnace “Severyanka”

Blast Furnace Shop № 5
Taphole drilling

Iron tapping at Blast Furnace № 5