Document EvNg2GMaNJ61EoDoRrb47yRan

#. * Waukegan m> Scptanbcr 26, i960 E. C. lindctrosi - ESQ TOTP HEPOBT - SElBBQff S3SSL OOEPQBATIC3S_ . SDPHffiZ FEHHA.CE BLOCKS-' ------ On 9-22/ I set A> Bolster/ District Salts Manager, Pittsburg District, E. Eland, Salessan, Cleveland area/ and S. E. Woolay, Deacorch. Together so traveled to the Sterroa steel Carp. Kill at Barrel, Pennsylvania. Lee VII wen Engineering Caspeny/Isc. la installing rectangular-shaped steal furnaces of a nee design la a new portion of the Sfaarron Steel Carp, plant. A total of sixteen furnaces are belag built at this tlJEB. JM order CI-8210, parts 1 through 8 for varloue sixes of Sqpoex furnace blocks cat to specified rectangular dsmlasleas, were required for this job. These shlpaenta were cads la eltfrb parts etartlag with. Iferte 30th aad eadirg with Jane 9, 1966. Approximately $30/000 worth of Scares la involved la the total shipassts. This nee type Leo Wilson furnace is approximately tea feat high, fourteen feet vide, and fourteen feet deep. The entire front nail is a door which can be raised overhand vertically. The wells ere eovcrel with 22" by 18" S^erez furnace blocks k-l/2" ia thickness. The eslllsg is Insulated with two layers of X2" by 12" Supers furnace blocks each 2" la thickness. The side wall blocks are retained by scans of a stela- less steel pin over which la driven a stainless abed disc approrlantely 2" dlnseter which serves to beep the blocks fre* falling out. The overhead blocks rest on square pieces of steel which are approglmtcly k" square that mgport each block at tbs ear ners. Therefor*/ these celling blocks are lald-la as a suspended cdllsg tile would be. Three furnaces had been dried out and hsatad to the test temperature prior to our visit. The one furnace which was la operation on this day had gone through epnroslsriely six production cycles of actually wnwwHwg steel la roll fora efter its original dry ing out and test sequence. This furnace. It was reported, had been dried at kOC9? for a total of 2k hours by bringing the temperature up to kOOF, rearing it for eight hoars then shutting the teat off over night. The following anralng the teagerature was brought up to kO09? for the eight-hour period aad then Shut off. The saae procedure was re peated on the third day to ante tqp the 24-boor period at this temperature* At this tlae, no problems were observed with the Smporex lining. Subsequently, this furnace ted Its temperature increased at approodaately 1009? every two hours until the to^es- ature was approximately lOOCP? at which tlae the xeduclsg etaosphere containing approxl- sately 7$ hydrogen, and With the xesainlng nitrogen at a +k0 dew point was added Into the ftcrnaee. Using -this redadag artaospherlc condition, tfao temperature was subse quently brought Tg> to I300P? before being shut doss. After this period of firing- the intierfhce of every side wall block and every celling block showed cracks white ere In a sasevtet radon pattern going both horizontally end vertically, fcralns approbate rectangles of 3" by k" ar therakboats. The crates in this furnace are Isas severe than those In the other two furnaces white ww observed. The other two furnaces, however, differed slightly in their heating cycles in that the reducing atBosptere waa injected at roan temperature end retained In the furnace dnzlng the entire heating cycles as described previously. The cracks observed In the ffccec of these blocks range free: hairline to approximately l/l6" opening. The depth of these fiacfcurea varies fron about 1/8" to 1" Into the block. The surface color of the block ranged firan light to dark gray. This variation In color nay be dne to the variation In the aaonst of silicate White had been ebaarbtid into the surface during the sUle&tlng treataent at the plant. PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT K-1542 lag which taas observed in the r^gperea. !Ih2re ere at present, five reorc furnaces ready to be fired op, one of which met be heated starting 9-26 at the latest. All of those five furnaces ere required,- fay Shsrron Steel Cor*?., to be completed by October 1. Mr. wn also advised vs that Lee Wllaoa had used this aass type reducing ataospbere pro- . viously la different styled fursaeoc -uhieh used JM SBpsrer fmrsnee blochs with ailicatcd ssrfhees as lining mterial without baring this type daTagn occur to the imn&stica. However, Lee Wilson had never before constructed furnaces which had closed flat sur faces of Individual Super-ex blochs as large as these side sell blochs in this fursaea Since the product ran produced over several aronfrha period fraa asnybatcies end since the seas type product has been used for several years by Lee Wilson far lngmu-Mwg other style furnaces without esy problem, it uould appear as if the cause of the dosage to the lining had to occur fros ease other exterior action. Shis could possibly be a factor of the ssethod of heating up the furnace, it could possibly be o factor of the redaction atsoosphere, or it could be sobs other uahnoun feature at this tiss. A chsch of tbs physical test data at the plant covering the period Ires 3-i~6 throng 6-9-66 indicates nothing which Is out of line for Severer furnace blech reqwlrcnsats. .Shrinkage varied roa 1.2 to 1.fig. Density ranged frees 219 to 24-.S lbs. pi? cubic foot and percent M3C varied free 1.8 to 8.3. One of the duasged blochs which waa rcagrad frea a furnace has already been sent to the Ksuhegsn plant. Tao additional bloehs romved frea this sane furnace, as udl os one picee of a sucres blech which had sot been installed in the new furnace, ware obtained at the job site and sill, be sent to S. Wooley cct Research. In Addition, S. Wooley obtained scrapping* fros the surface of the dark colored and of the light colored blochs for spectrogssphie analysis. It was agreed that S. Wooley weald discuss this situation rlth various people at the Research Center on 9-23 &&& advise A. Reinter of esy possible suggestions which could be passed on to Er. Hill at Lee Wilson* While there ere saay tests which can be perferasd to see if ue could duplicate the conditions that we observed, these tests would tshc & considerable period of tins and could not possibly provide Lee Wilson the answer that they desire fee Monday, Scptesber 26th. I havn nsver before observed any crachicg cf -this rature in Srperon furnace blochs and, os stated above, all who viBited the site could only thoorise on possible coaddtiesc vhich my have caused or contributed to 'the creelsiag in ths Supcrer furnace blochs which ve observed. C.____ C3J:j&a E. Blond - Cleveland J. Cespbell - D3Q S. Lane D. H. Gallagher Eile: 531