An 1880 Bessemer plant at Hagfors, Sweden

General view of the Bessemer platform

Swedish converter steelmaking is different. This book describes how and why the specifically Swedish "low pressure and high flow" steel-blowing technique was evolved. In this, quite small Bessemer vessels are used. Due to the high purity of Swedish pig iron, most steel analyses could be blown directly. The high purity resulted in relatively cold steel, so a special teeming method was required: the Caspersson ladle. In this way, heat could be preserved sufficiently to allow troublefree teeming. For highly alloyed steels this does not work and in these cases a duplex method had to be adopted. Converter lining wear was great in the Swedich process, and bottom plug pre-production had to be very efficient. Large blowing engines were necessary also to obtain sufficient blast.

At Uddeholm's Hagfors Works in Sweden, an almost complete plant from about 1880 remains preserved. This is taken to illustratrate the Swedish Bessemer process.

The author describes how the process was adopted by this company; and gives the chronology of the Hagfors Works. The plant is illustrated with very evocative line-drawings as well as plans.

omvang - 43 pp - 23 illus
afmetingen - A4
uitvoering - paperback