The stamping simulation workstation for sheet products of Baotou Steel is the typical research platform of applied technologies. With the coordinated supports of “numerical simulation and finite element simulation” technologies, it relies on multiple high performance personal computers to complete massively parallel computation so that the joint interactions of such four main fields as “stamping simulation analysis” “construction of material database” “correlational research of surface” and “comprehensive simulation” are realized. A large amount of simulation analysis is carried out on the platform, which not only provides the basis for optimizing and adjusting the processes and performances of sheet products, but also contributes to winning market reputations for high-end products such as automotive sheet of Baotou Steel. At the same time, the construction of material database promotes the substantial progress of early vendor involvement (EVI).

In order to eliminate the hidden dangers of rock falling and slope slide on slopes in Main Stope and East Stope of Bayan Obo Iron Mine as well as improve slope stability, the stability analysis of the slopes in Main Stope and East Stope of Bayan Obo Iron Mine is carried out. Such modes of slope treatment as full-length grouted bolt+shotcrete with wire mesh on slope surface+drainage opening, drainage with drainage opening and pre-stressed anchor cable+reinforced concrete retaining wall+rib column+drainage opening and pre-stressed anchor cable+half lattice girder+shotcrete with wire mesh+drainage opening are taken to reinforce the sectors with rock falling or slope slide in Main Stope and East Stope of Bayan Obo Iron Mine. Moreover, such slope monitoring systems as artificial monitoring, total station monitoring, slope radar, fracture meter and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receiver as well as corresponding safety management system are established to ensure the slope stability and safe productions of the mine.

In this paper, it is systematically introduced the characteristics of impurity distribution for slurry pipeline and effects of pigging with different types of tube cleaner by taking the pigging and descaling for a long distance high pressure slurry pipeline of iron ore concentrate with variable diameters as an example. It is found through actual pigging that the passability of pipeline could be preliminarily detected with soft foam pig and mechanical tube cleaner with leather cups of different shore hardnesses. In addition, the effect of cleaning scale for slurry pipeline with foam pig is poorer, so the mechanical tube cleaner with stronger pigging ability should be preferred, which is with important guiding significance for pigging of similar slurry pipelines in the future.

In the paper, the current situation of higher solid fuel consumption for 2^# sintering machine in 2^# Sintering Workshop of Iron-making Plant of Baotou Steel is systematacially analyzed. The fuel with comprehensive particle size>5 mm is controlled at 15%~20% and that with comprehensive particle size<1 mm is controlled at about 30% through classifying different fuel bands, putting them into tank and crushing them as well as controlling reasonable proportion of anthracite and coke powder; effective material layer thickness is increased and automatic heat storage effect is improved through increasing height of baffle for trolley of sintering machine to 750 mm and reducing thickness of bed charge from 85 mm to 70 mm; overdamp layer of sintering is reduced through reducing moisture of sinter mixture from 7.2% to 6.9%. The solid fuel consumption in 2^# sintering workshop is reduced significantly through taking the above measures. It reached 50.33 kg/t in 2023, which is 2.13 kg/t lower than that in 2021, which lays the foundation for further reducing energy consumption in working procedure before iron-making.

In this paper, it is analyzed the causes of abnormal temperature increase of side wall at tap hole for hearth of 7^# blast furnace of Baotou Steel and emphasized the treatment measures. With the long-term high-intensity smelting conditions, tap hole of hearth is relatively active and its length is controlled poorly so that scour of slag iron to carbon brick of tap hole is aggravated. As a result, the erosion of carbon brick of tap hole is the cause for temperature increase of side wall at tap hole for hearth of 7^# blast furnace. The temperature of side wall at tap hole is effectively controlled without reducing the smelting intensity and output of 7^# blast furnace through taking such measures as increasing the quantity of circulating water at tap hole to improve cooling intensity, carefully maintaining tap hole, actively eliminating air gap of hearth side wall as well as appropriately opening central gas stream and restraining gas stream at edge for the charging system.

The industrial production process of rare earth steel involves the problem of yield of rare earth and stable yield is the important guarantee for stable performances of rare earth steel products. The effects of addition of position, addition amount and composition of liquid steel (oxygen activity, sulfur content) on yield of rare earth for rare earth steel are studied by adding rare earth in ladle and sampling analysis of tundish. The results showed that the yield of rare earth was increased in turn by adding rare earth in ladle, tundish and crystallizer; the larger the addition amount of rare earth alloy before off-position of ladle furnace, the lower the yield; the higher the contents of oxygen and sulfur in liquid steel, the lower the yield of rare earth.

There is often flocculent flow at nozzle during casting rare earth steel products with continuous casting machine so that the casting with normal casting speed could not be met. In severe case, the flocculation at tundish nozzle causes interruption of production so that continuous casting production is seriously affected. The steelmaking technologies of rare earth steel are optimized by studying the reaction mechanisms after adding rare earth elements into molten steel as well as analyzing the effects of oxygen content of molten steel, oxidizability of slag, protective casting of continuous casting machine and casting temperature on yield of rare earth Ce. As a result, the yield and castability of rare earth elements in molten steel are improved as well as the number of continuous casting heats for rare earth steel products reaches 25 so that scale production of rare earth steel products is ultimately achieved.

Such effective measures as adopting optimum parameters of power transmission, forming refining white slag with microfoam as early as possible, optimizing modes of bottom blowing, accurate temperature control as well as optimizing dust removal control and electrode wrench are taken through experiments of multiple heats aiming at such phenomena as oxidation, melting loss, thermal vibration and drop out of electrode easily occurred during the heating process of ladle furnace. As a result, the consumption of electrode for ladle furnace is decreased from 0.544 kg/t in 2021 to current 0.347 kg/t so that stable and trouble-free operations of smelting for ladle furnace is ensured as well as cost decreasing and benefit increasing and high efficiency continuous casting are achieved.

The locations of disqualification of flaw detection for defects are accurately positioned through manual flaw detection of Q355NE plates with disqualification of online flaw detection as well as the microstructure and defects of the locations of disqualification of flaw detection are analyzed with optical microscope and electron microscope. The results showed that the defect corresponding to disqualification of flaw detection for Q355NE wind power steel was the microcrack in the center of steel plate, microstructure of the microcrack area in the center was martensite and bainite with poorer plasticity, which was caused by segregation of C and Mn. At the same time, MnS inclusions with long strip shape as well as compound of titanium and niobium distributed in chain are found at the crack. The interfacial bonding energy of them and matrix is low, continuity of matrix is destroyed so that cracks are easily initiated with the effects of stress. The microcracks in the center are avoided and qualification rate of flaw detection for wind power steel is increased by improving the segregation during solidification process of casting blank and adopting the mode of offline slow cooling of steel plate.

There is cracking failure at the weld seam of high strength and toughness 490CL wheel steel rim made with flash butt welding during flaring and forming process. Its causes are analyzed through macroscopic and microscopic observations of fracture morphology, tests of chemical compositions, mechanical properties, microstructure and microhardness as well as energy spectrum composition analysis. The results indicated that there were certain area of welding “gray spots” mainly composed of manganese oxide at weld failure so that the weld ductility was reduced. As a result, there is cracking at weld fusion line during flaring and forming process of welded rim. The weld quality of 490CL wheel steel for rim is improved by adjusting such welding parameters as reducing flash allowance and increasing pressure of upset forging so that the proportion of weld failure during forming of rim is reduced from 1.5% to 0.3%.