Success Story I WISDRI Engineering & Research Incorporation Limited

Converter-Based Continuous Casting Project of Jinnan Steel Phase II Quwo Base Capacity Reduction & Replacement Project

Quwo, Shanxi, China

Project Summary

Making a Steelmaking Plant Green and Smart

WISDRI Engineering & Research Incorporation was hired as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the second phase of a steelmaking and continuous casting project on a steel plant in Quwo County, China. A 10-million-ton-grade steel production base in the area, the plant, owned by Jinnan Steel Group, needed cutting-edge equipment and an optimized layout to increase production quality. The project included adding a 150-ton converter, a hot metal desulfurization station, a 1F furnace, and a notable 12-strand billet continuous caster to the steel production plant. Jinnan Steel Group wanted the new plant to be technologically advanced, sustainable, and reliable while staying within budget. WISDRI had to limit carbon emissions, reduce energy consumption, and recycle waste gas and water to meet environmental protection guidelines.

A Dispersed Multidiscipline Workforce

To meet their collaboration and engineering needs, WISDRI sought an integrated 3D modeling platform that could support coordination among the multidiscipline design team to eliminate clashes and handle the creation of hundreds of models. Given COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the project team worked from home offices. Design work on the capacity replacement project necessitated real-time virtual collaboration among 15 different engineering disciplines within 13 separate systems. The engineers also had to create a design that could fit and operate efficiently within the facility’s available space, which was limited. Therefore, an elaborate structural arrangement of the plant was essential.

Digital Solutions Produce the Highest Quality Models

After considering their options, WISDRI created an original cloud platform to host the organization’s internal product lifecycle management system and ProjectWise. This cloud-hosted collaborative management platform housed Bentley’s open modeling applications, which enabled the design team to work remotely during the pandemic and create 3D models in real time. The project team calculated carbon dioxide emissions during design to meet their energy requirements. They optimized the ventilation route with AutoPIPE to shorten duct length, reduce resistance loss, and make dedusting more efficient. Bentley’s automatic design capabilities, including immediate model updates after every drawing change and a comprehensive component library, supported high-quality model creation. Moreover, construction simulation in SYNCHRO increased the amount of prefabrication work prior to on-site installation.

Becoming a BIM Leader in Steel

WISDRI delivered an economical, environmentally friendly steel plant with state-of-the-art equipment to Jinnan Steel Group on time with the help of Bentley’s software. The team ensured that the plant released the least amount of carbon dioxide by quantifying emissions, lowering the plant’s carbon emissions by 0.1 ton per every ton of steel. Collaborating on BIM technology through ProjectWise reduced the design phase by 45 days, saving about 300 hours of communication time. Additionally, the automatic model updates among the 15 distinct engineering disciplines eliminated 166 major collision points to avoid expensive rework during construction. Additionally, simulating construction cut 60 days from the timeline to save CNY 1.8 million on the project. Delivering an automatic, intelligent steelmaking plant has pushed WISDRI to the front of the metallurgical field in applying BIM technology.

Project Playbook: AutoPIPE, Bentley Raceway and Cable Management, LumenRT, Navigator, OpenBuildings, OpenPlantProjectWise, ProStructures, SYNCHRO 4D

OUTCOME/FACTS

  • WISDRI replaced an outdated steel production system with a full-process steel system based on intelligent technology.
  • Construction simulation in SYNCHRO ensured the steelmaking plant’s complex structural arrangement was constructed safely and quickly to save CNY 1.8 million.
  • Using BIM applications cut the design and construction period by a total of 105 days.
 
 

“The Bentley platform works well in improving communication, design quality and efficiency, and in developing reasonable project plans to reduce risks for the whole project.”

Dr. Chu Xuezheng
Deputy Director of the Engineering Digitalization (BIM) Center
WISDRI Engineering & Research Incorporation Limited