Scrap Yard

Your scrap yard feeds the EAF. If loading takes too long, the furnace waits. Our models capture every detail — from crane kinematics to scrap pile dynamics — so you can optimize without guessing.

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Scrap yard simulation with gantry cranes and scrap piles

Questions We Help You Answer

  • Is my scrap yard ready for the new melt shop concept?
  • Can I reduce bucket loading time without new equipment?
  • Do I need a gantry crane, mobile material handler, or both?
  • What's the impact of adding a scrap processing plant?
  • How does scrap pile layout affect loading efficiency?
  • Will my scrap supply keep up with increased EAF production?

What We Model

Equipment Kinematics

Accurate crane movements, mobile material handlers, wheel loaders, and trucks with realistic working schedules.

Scrap Pile Dynamics

Offload, bulk, and up-piling areas with dynamic heights, grade-based layering, and realistic pile depletion.

Bucket Loading

Steel grade-based scrap recipes down to individual layers. Loading sequence optimization per bucket.

Supply Chain Integration

Ship discharge, rail delivery, truck unloading — each with realistic arrival schedules and capacity limits.

Fleet Optimization

Compare gantry cranes vs. mobile material handlers vs. wheel loaders. Quantify fleet size and scheduling rules.

Yard Layout Variants

Test alternative pit configurations, storage assignments, and material flow routes before committing to construction.

Proven Results

"Proved that the new scrap supply concept will not reach the goal by 24%."

— Saarstahl

"15% lower operational costs of mobile scrap manipulators with same productivity."

— voestalpine

"Alternative barge discharge equipment saved about 1 million Euros with same performance."

— Dillinger

"Steelmaker cuts 40% off scrap bucket travel — saves 7 minutes loading time."

— ArcelorMittal Gent

What's at Stake

Scrap yard bottlenecks are invisible until the EAF is waiting. By then, you're losing heats per day — the most expensive metric in steelmaking.

  • EAF idle time caused by late bucket delivery
  • Scrap supply concept that can't keep up with melt shop production
  • Unnecessary CAPEX on cranes when scheduling changes would suffice
  • Pile management problems causing rework and double handling

Every one of these was preventable with simulation.

Ready to de-risk your investment? Schedule a Meeting

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Case Study

Is your scrap yard ready for a production increase?

A production increase to 1.3 million tonnes per year didn't just challenge the melt shop — it tested the scrap yard too. How FESIOS identified and resolved the bottleneck.

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Four ways to exchange EAF electrodes, compared by EAF idle time and the working time of the cranes.

Each electrode exchange causes idle time for the EAF, and the crane is occupied for an even longer duration. Compare four exchange methods by EAF idle time and crane working time.

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How to determine crane bottlenecks in the EAF charging bay

A step-by-step method for anyone planning to add an EAF to an existing BOF melt shop. Verify that your cranes won't become the bottleneck.

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