US3667719A - Arrangement for the bottom pouring of slag into a chill mould - Google Patents

Abstract

AN ARRANGEMENT FOR THE BOTTOM POURING OF SLAG INTO A CHILL MOULD OF AN ELECTROSLAG FURNACE, COMPRISING A HEAD PIECE FOR ALLOWING THE LIQUID SLAG TO BE POURED, AND A MEMBER PROVIDED WITH A DUCT CONNECTING THE CAVITY OF THE HEADPIECE WITH THE CAVITY OF A CHILL MOULD, THE MEMBER WITH UCT BEING MOUNTED SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF MOVING IN RELATION TO THE CHILL MOULD IN ORDER TO OVERLAP THIS DUCT AT THE POINT WHERE IT COMMUNICATES WITH THE CAVITY OF THE CHILL MOULD AFTER THE LIQUID SLAG HAS BEEN POURED THEREINTO, AND WHEREIN THE POURING OF THE SLAG INTO THE CHILL MOULD ENABLES INGOTS TO BE OBTAINED WITHOUT ANY LATERAL PROJECTIONS IN THEIR BOTTOM END, AND ALLOWS EFFECTING THE ACCURATE DOSING OF SLAG BEING POURED INTO THE CHILL MOULD.

Description

June 6, 1972 v, BAGLAI ETAL 3,667,719

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE BOTTOM POURING OF SLAG INTO A CHILL MOULD Filed Nov. 18, 1969 2 Sheets-5heetfi1 June 6, 1972 v, BAGLAI ETAL 3,667,719

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE BOTTOM POURING OF SLAG INTO A CHILL MOULD 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2 Filed Nov. 18, 1969 United States Patent 3,667,719 ARRANGEMENT FOR THE BOTTOM POURING OF SLAG INTO A CHILL MOULD Vitaly Mikhailovich Baglai, Ulitsa Semashko 10, kv.

54/3; Jury Vadimovich Latash, Vozdukhoflotsky prospekt 48, kv. 14; and Boris Izrailevich Medovar, Bulvar Lesi Ukrainki 2, kv. 8, all of Kiev, U.S.S.R.

Filed Nov. 18, 1969, Ser. No. 877,663 Int. Cl. B22d 27/02 US. Cl. 249-109 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An arrangement for the bottom pouring of slag into a chill mould of an electroslag furnace, comprising a head piece for allowing the liquid slag to be poured, and a member provided with a duct connecting the cavity of the headpiece with the cavity of a chill mould, the member with duct being mounted so as to be capable of moving in relation to the chill mould in order to overlap this duct at the point where it communicates with the cavity of the chill mould after the liquid slag has been poured thereinto, and wherein the pouring of the slag into the chill mould enables ingots to be obtained without any lateral projections in their bottom end, and allows effecting the accurate dosing of slag being poured into the chill mould.

The present invention relates, in general, to apparatus for pouring slag into moulds to be employed in metallurgy when manufacturing high-quality steels and alloys by the electroslag remelting of consumable electrodes.

Known heretofore are arrangements for the bottom pouring of premelted slag into a metal mould. The existing arrangement is provided with a head piece for pouring slag thereinto, and with a part having a duct connecting the top cavity with the mould cavity. Using such arrangements contributes to increasing the productive output of an electroslag furance, as under these circumstances time is saved, which otherwise would be required for melting slag directly in a chill mould of a furnace. Moreover, ingots of a better quality are thus produced, including their bottom portion, which allows reducing the amount of the ingot bottom end to be cropped.

However, the use of the bottom pouring of slag into the mould results in obtaining ingots having a lateral projection up to 300 mm. long, as formed during solidification of slag in the duct connecting the head piece with the mould cavity. This projection hampers the further treatment of the ingot, and, hence, should be cropped off. If the projection is not cropped, it will be rolled into the ingots body during the rolling thereof thus detrimentally affecting the quality of the ingot and resulting in metal losses. Besides, the presence of a lateral projection in the bottom end of the ingot renders impossible the application of non-detachable big-end-up moulds on electroslag remelting units featuring a stationary consumable electrode which is essentially an ingot of ordinary type.

In this case, to extract the ingot from the chill mould requires previously cropping off the lateral projection of the former or making the latter detachable through its vertical plane. Both approaches are inconvenient inasmuch as they involve an increase in the furnace shutdowns, a complication of its construction, and require using an additional complicated equipment.

Moreover, the existing arrangements for the bottom pouring of slag into the chill mould of an electroslag furnace do not ensure an accurate dosing of the amount of liquid slag to be poured thereinto.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages. Other objects and advanice tages of the invention wil become more fully apparent from the following description thereof.

Accordingly, the main object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement for the bottom pouring of slag into a chill mould featuring such an embodiment of a member, which would enable manufacturing ingots without lateral projections in their bottom end and effecting the accurate dosing of slag to be poured into the chill mould.

This object is attained owing to the provision of an arrangement for the bottom pouring of slag into a chill mould of an electroslag furnace, comprising a head piece for casting slag thereinto, and a member provided with a duct connecting the headpiece cavity with the mould cavity, in which, according to the invention, the member with duct is mounted so as to be capable of moving in respect to the chill mould in order to overlap the duct in the point where it communicates with the mold cavity after the slag has been poured thereinto.

To enable the member to move, the arrangement should be provided with a drive being essentially a power cylinder, the movable element of which is connected to the member.

It is desirable that the member with duct be made composite, consisting of a fixed and movable parts, the latter being connected to the movable element of the drive.

The member with duct may be secured on a carriage.

The member should be secured on the carriage by means of a mechanism adapted to lower the member when its duct is being cleaned from solid slag, and for raising it into a position where slag is poured into the chill mould.

Hence, the proposed arrangement allows of producing ingots, without lateral projections and of accurately dosing the slag to be poured into the chill mould.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described exemplary embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the arrangement complete with a non-detachable member;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same arrangement without a head piece;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the arrangement complete with a member composed of a stationary and horizontally movable parts;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the arrangement complete with a member provided with a vertically movable part; and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus complete with a member mounted on a mechanism which is secured on the carriage.

EXAMPLE 1 The arrangement is provided with a head piece 1 (FIG. 1) made as a funnel intended for pouring the premelted slag thereinto and disposed over a member 2 (FIGS. 1 and 2), having a duct 3 connecting the cavity of the head piece 1 with the cavity of a chill mould 4. The member 2 is mounted on a cooled plate 5 located between the chill mould 4 and bottom plate 6. The member 2 is mounted so as to be capable of moving in respect to the chill mould 4 in order to overlap the duct 3 in the point where it communicates with the cavity of the chill mould 4 after the liquid slag has been poured from the head piece 1 thereinto.

To move the part 2, the apparatus is provided with a drive 7 being essentially a power cylinder 8 complete with a movable element 9 connected with the member 2.

The apparatus operates as follows.

Prior to pouring the liquid slag into the chill mould 4, the member 2 is placed so that the outlet opening of the duct 3 coincide with the opening of the chill mould 4.

Then liquid slag is poured into the head pice 1, the slag arriving via the duct 3 into the cavity of the chill mould 4. After the required portion of slag has been poured into the chill mould 4, a drive 7 is actuated, and its movable element 9 shifts the member 2 to the left. The outlet opening of the duct 3 is thereby overlapped with a wall of the chill mould 4, and the liquid slag is discontinued to be supplied into the cavity thereof.

The member 2 remains in this position until a heat is completed. As a result, an ingot is produced free from any lateral projection, which is readily extracted through the top of the chill mould.

EXAMPLE 2 The apparatus is provided with a member 10 (FIG. 3) composed of a stationary 11 and movable 12 parts. The stationary part 11 is provided with a duct 13 connecting the cavity of a head piece 14 with the cavity of a chill mould 15. The movable part 12 is connected to a movable member 16 of a drive 17. The end of the movable part 12 is essentially a part of the wall of the duct 13.

The apparatus operates as follows.

Prior to pouring liquid slag, the head piece 14 is placed on the stationary member 11 of the part 10 so that the duct 13 connects the cavity of the head piece 14 with the cavity of the chill mould 15. The end of the movable member 12 is thereby disposed on the level of the wall of the duct 13. Then liquid slag is poured into the cavity of the head piece 14, the slag arriving via the duct 13 into the cavity of the chill mould 15. After the required amount of slag has been poured into the chill mould, a drive is actuated, and its movable element shifts the movable part 12 of the member 10 in such a manner that it intersects the duct 13 and thrusts with its end against the opposite wall.

The slag is thereby discontinued to be supplied into the cavity of the chill mould. The movable part 12 of the member remains in this position until the heat is completed. The ingot thus produced (without any lateral projection) is extracted from the chill mould, the duct 13 is cleaned from solid slag, and the movable part 12 of the member is returned into its original position with a view to allow pouring the subsequent portion of liquid slag into the chill mould.

EXAMPLE 3 The apparatus is provided with a member 18 (FIG. 4) composed of a stationary 19 and movable 20 parts. The latter with its end portion makes up the bottom of a duct 21 of a member 18 inserted into a groove of a cooled bottom plate 22. The duct 21, provided in the member 18, connects the cavity of the head piece 23 with the cavity of a chill mould 24. The movable part 20 of the member 18 is connected with a movable element 25 of a hydraulic cylinder 26 moving the former vertically.

The apparatus operates as follows.

Prior to pouring the liquid slag into a chill mould 24, the member 18 is placed so that the duct 21 connects the cavity of the head piece 23 with the cavity of the chill mould 24, as it is shown in FIG. 4. Then the liquid slag is poured through the head piece 23 via the duct 21 into the chill mould 24. After the required portion of slag has been poured into the chill mould 24, a drive is actuated so that the movable part 20 of the member 18 shifts upwardly until it overlaps the opening of the duct 21 at the inlet into the chill mould 24. The apparatus remains in this position until a heat is completed. Then an ingot is extracted from the chill mould 24, the movable part 20 is lowered, and the duct 21 of the member 18 is cleaned from solid slag. Thereafter, the process of pouring slag is repeated. The movable part 20 of the member 18 may be provided in its bottom portion with a shoulder which passes throughout the entire perimeter of its cross-sectional area. It is intended for limiting the travel of the part 20 upwardly and for preventing the liquid slag and metal from flowing into a gap available between the parts 19 and 20 of the member 18.

EXAMPLE 4 The apparatus is provided with a head piece 27 (FIG. 5) for pouring the liquid slag, and a member 28 having a duct 29 connecting the cavity of the head piece with the cavity of a chill mould 30 placed on a bottom plate 31. When the member 28 is placed into the position for pouring the liquid slag, the outlet opening of the duct coincides with the opening 32 provided in the bottom plate 31. The member 28 is pressed to the bottom plate 31 by means of a mechanism 33 (jack or spring) adapted to lower the member 28 in the course of cleaning its duct from solid slag, and to lift it into the position where the liquid slag is poured into the chill mould 30. The mechanism 33, retaining the member 28, is secured on a carriage 34 provided with a drive 35 complete with a movable element 36.

The apparatus operates as follows.

Prior to pouring liquid slag into the chill mould 30, the member 28 is placed so that the outlet opening of the duct 29 coincides with opening 32 provided in the bottom plate 31. Then the premelted slag is poured into the head piece 27, which flows via the duct 29 through the opening 32 in the bottom plate 31 into the cavity of the chill mould 30. After the required portion of slag has been poured into the chill mould, a drive 35 is actuated together with the movable element 36 shifting the carriage 34 complete with the mechanism 33 and member 28 mounted thereon; the latter is shifted to the left (see FIG. 5), and the outlet opening of the duct is overlapped by the bottom plate 31. At this juncture, the liquid slag is discontinued to be supplied into the chill mould.

The member 28 remains in this position until the heat is completed. Then the member 28 is lowered by means of the mechanism 33, and the duct is cleaned from the solidified slag. At the same time, the ingot is removed from the ingot mould 30. The member 28 is placed by means of the drive 35 and mechanism 33' into the position allowing the pouring of slag.

In the applicance of the invention, the member may be made as a part of the bottom plate or a part of the watercooled plate to be provided between the lower flange of the chill mould and the bottom plate. It can also be mounted in the lower flange of the chill mould or simultaneously in the flange of the chill mould and bottom plate.

The drive for the member may be embodied in such a manner that it could move the member along another trajectory, for example, turn it in horizontal plane in respect to the bottom plate and chill mould through a certain angle permitting the duct to be overlapped, and, hence, the liquid slag to be prevented from flowing into the chill mould.

Experimental tests have shown the appliance to be capable of precluding the formation of lateral projections in the lower portion of an ingot, allowing the application of simpler electroslag furnaces for remelting stationary electrodes in a big-end-up chill mould widening upwards and a reduction in losses of discarded metal.

Though the present invention is described in connection with its preferred embodiments, it is obvious that there may be allowed variants and modifications thereof, which do not deviate from the scope and idea of the invention, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. An arrangement for the bottom pouring of slag into the mold of an electroslag furnace; comprising a hollow head piece, a bottom plate having a duct for pouring slag, said head piece being installed above the duct, said duct connecting the hollow interior of said head piece with the mold cavity below the bottom edge of said mold; a cooled member positioned so as to be movable relative to the mold and the bottom plate and adapted to intersect during movement thereof a longitudinal horizontal axis of the duct, said member in one of its extreme positions closing the duct below said mold bottom edge and displacing the slag from the part of the duct which is within the cavity of the mold.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said movable member is located in a recess provided in the bottom plate, said movable member being movable in a horizontal plane, said member in one of its extreme positions forming a wall for the part of the duct which is with in the cavity of the mold and in the other extreme position bearing against an opposite wall of the part of the duct located within the bottom plate.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable member is adapted to pass through an opening References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,074 10/ 19101 Scaife 251144 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,193 5/ 1864 Great \Britain 249-109 ROBERT D. BALDWIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 164-250

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