Shinagawa Refractories Australasia (Rio Tinto – Yarwun, Queensland, Australia)
Shinagawa Refractories Australasia (Shinagawa) required thermal-structural assessment of a furnace unit (PO4) flow divider block for an alumina refinery unit. The existing 3-piece flow divider design had experienced in-service block failure and was to be replaced with a new design proposed by Shinagawa using a castable refractory product in combination with appropriate anchoring and shell attachments. Structural assessment of the proposed flow divider block was required to verify performance of the proposed design and to determine anchor/shell attachment requirements.
What we did:
- Performed preliminary heat transfer calculations to determine effective hot face temperature profiles based on maximum and operating temperature conditions.
- Performed strength assessment (thermal-structural FEA) of PO4 furnace unit refractory lining incorporating proposed flow divider with anchor/shell attachment details and including dead, internal pressure, thermal and lifting loads.
- Determined refractory deflections/stresses (including detailed stresses in the flow divider block, anchor/shell attachment and lifting point components) and verified anchor/shell attachment requirements.
Outcome:
Avesta Consulting verified performance of the proposed design and confirmed suitability of the refractory, anchors, insulation board and backing plate for service loading conditions and lifting.
