1. Steelmaking

1.1 Workshops and material flows in the integrated steel plant

An integrated plant is a gigantic factory. It is set up on an area of several square kilometers (typically 3 to 6 km ² ) containing the various workshops, linked by rail tracks on which the loads to be processed and the products are transported. Within the plants, goods are transported using rail-mounted carts and overhead cranes with capacities of up to 1,000 tonnes. Production logistics and maintenance operations are daily concerns that determine the reliability of production and, by extension, that of refractories. The performance of such plants depends on their design and plans when they were built decades ago, and on the maintenance budgets that have been invested....