Completes controlled
demolition of obsolete facilities
Tata Steel on Sunday executed the
implosion of two obsolete coke plant ffacilities at Jamshedpur Works, paving
the way for new coke oven batteries with the latest technology and higher
efficiency.
In a statement, the company
said that in a first-of-its-kind engineering process in the world, Tata Steel carried out the implosions in
an operating steel plant with India's tallest factory mega structures. The
implosions today marked the completion of the dismantling process of obsolete
high-rise facilities at the coke plant at Jamshedpur Works.
Tata Steel is replacing the existing coke
oven batteries 5, 6 and 7 (combined capacity of one million tonnes a year) with
new batteries 6A and 6B (combined capacity of one mtpa), with the latest
technology and higher energy efficiency, it said.
The first
implosion of a model repair shop 12 meters high was executed on September 4, to
establish the safe operating procedure inside an operational plant, and on
November 27, the company executed the implosion of an obsolete 110-metre-tall
chimney.
Today, another concrete
chimney 110 meters high, along with a 48-meter-tall coal tower were dismantled as planned in
a safe and environment-friendly way, the company said. The implosions were
carried out with the help of contract partner Edifice Engineering India, and
supported by Jet Demolition South Africa.
Elaborating
on the process, Tata Steel said, the controlled implosion of the 110-metre-tall
chimneys were executed using a mechanical hinge, enabling the structure to fall
in one direction with zero degrees of deviation. ‘Water curtains’ were used to
control dust and ‘trenches with berms’ were deployed to absorb vibration. Also,
the use of ‘Steel wires mesh’ prevented the debris from getting scattered.
The
concrete debris generated out of these implosions will be recycled and used in
plain cement concrete (PCC), wall and road construction, Tata Steel said.
Drones were deployed to improve visibility and help identify the hazards by
reaching inaccessible areas and to survey the surrounding areas during implosion.
Sanjiv
Paul, vice president (safety, health & sustainability), Tata Steel, said,
“We have completed an important step of safe and controlled implosions of
obsolete Coke Plant facilities. This is a testimony to our commitment to
operational efficiency, safety, resource optimisation and sustainable growth
strategy.”
Avneesh
Gupta, vice president (TQM and engineering & projects), Tata Steel, said,
“Tata Steel strives to be a technology and innovation leader in the steel
industry, leveraging in-house capabilities and building external ecosystems.
And, the successful execution of these complex implosions showcases our
superior engineering capabilities.”
Tata
Steel's flagship Jamshedpur plant, it may be mentioned, is among the first
steel plants in Asia. The company mentioned that it was the only facility in
India to produce steel at the same site continuously for over 100 years.