pa1778data.pdf
pa1778data.pdf
pa1778data.pdf
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U.S. STEEL DUQUESNE WORKS<br />
HAER No. PA-115<br />
(Page 175)<br />
IV. Steel Conditioning Office, and Storage Building:<br />
Laid out on a north-south axis and built onto the eastern<br />
outside wall of the building at its southern end is a 18*-0" wide<br />
x 220'-0" x 12'-0" high long brick lean-to. The building houses<br />
the steel conditioning office, the grinder storage room, the tool<br />
storage room, locker room, and wash room.<br />
Construction date: 1943.<br />
V. QuttiPQr Electrical gufr-5tation:<br />
Laid out on a north-south axis, a 140'-0" wide x 270'-0"<br />
long sixty-nine kv sub-station is located 70'-0" north of the<br />
steel conditioning building and 42'-0" east of the electric<br />
furnace building. A one story, 20 , -0" wide x 30'-0" long control<br />
building is located in the northeast corner of the sub-station.<br />
Construction date: 1943.<br />
HISTORY<br />
Electric furnace steelmaking at Duquesne began in 1917 with<br />
the installation of an Heroult 20-ton tilting furnace in the<br />
furnace building of Open Hearth Number Two. Located at the<br />
northern end of the building in line with the open hearth<br />
furnaces, the electric furnace was serviced by existing auxiliary<br />
equipment. It originally was used only for deoxidizing and<br />
desulphurizing basic open hearth steel. Many special alloy open<br />
hearth heats were finished in this manner because the electric<br />
furnace made it possible to produce a more homogeneous product.<br />
The process began by teeming a ladle of molten steel from an<br />
open hearth heat into the charging ladle of the electric furnace.<br />
The charge was then transported by a dinky running over a narrow<br />
gauge track to the furnace where it was poured through a portable<br />
spout attached to the water cooled charging door of the furnace.<br />
As the charge was being poured, a sample of it was taken for<br />
chemical analysis in order to determine the proper amount of<br />
carbon (in the form of anthracite) and manganese to be added.<br />
After analysis, the materials were added to the furnace as the<br />
pouring was completed. With the completion of charging, the<br />
furnace's three graphite electrodes were adjusted to a point just<br />
above the bath and the current was turned on.<br />
The bath was heated by the direct arc method. That is, the<br />
current was passed through an electrode into the bath and back<br />
from the bath to the next electrode. Because the charge<br />
initially froze over the top, especially in low carbon steels,<br />
nothing was done until it was completely melted. When melted, a