US3734164A

US3734164A - Installations for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes

Info

Publication number: US3734164A
Application number: US00163466A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Latash; B Medovor; S Leibenzon; G Kaganovsky
Original assignee: INSTITUTE ELECTROSVARKI IM PATONA
Current assignee: PATON INSTITUTE; INSTITUTE ELECTROSVARKI IM PATONA
Priority date: 1971-07-16
Filing date: 1971-07-16
Publication date: 1973-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-22

Abstract

Apparatus and method for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes comprising a bottom plate, a discrete slag inlet means disposed on said bottom plate and a hollow mold disposed on the latter, said slag inlet means establishing fluid flow communication between said mold and an access port outside of said mold into which slag may be poured. A bottom pour apparatus useable in the foregoing. A removable slag inlet conduit in fluid-flow communication with the slag inlet in said slag inlet means.

Description

United States Patent 1191 [111 3,734,164 Latash et al. 1 1 May 22, 1973 [54] INSTALLATIONS FOR THE [56] References Cited ggggggggggggggg OF UNITED ELECTRODES 3,501,125 3/1970 Fransson ..249/109 x Inventors: J y Vadimovich i Bflris FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS gfijfij jfflf iifijfi'gfiflgj. 1,257,934 2/1961 France 1. ..l64/l37 Petmich Kaganovsky both of 689,297 4/1967 Belgium ..l64/252 Zaporozhie, all of U.S.S.R.

Institut Electrosvarki lmeni Patona, Kiev, U.S.S.R.

Filed: July 16, 1971 Appl. No.: 163,466

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 669,608, Sept. 21, 1967, abandoned.

Assignee:

Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus and method for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes comprising a bottom plate, a discrete slag inlet means disposed on said bottom plate and a hollow mold disposed on the latter, said slag inlet means establishing fluid flow communication between said mold and an access port outside of said mold into which slag may be poured. A bottom pour apparatus useable in the foregoing. A removable slag inlet conduit in fluid-flow communication with the slag inlet in said slag inlet means.

21 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures n i L\\\\ u 5 INSTALLATIONS FOR THE ELECTROSLAG REMELTING OF METALLIC CONSUMABLE ELECTRODES This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 669,608 filed Sept. 21, 1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to installations for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes, and more particularly to installations, in which the casting of slag into a mold is carried out through a bottom pour arrangement.

An earlier filed co-pending US. application Ser. No. 592,054, filed Nov. 4, 1966, now abandoned, having common ownership with the present application is directed to installations provided with a duct arrange ment for bottom pouring of slag into the mold, and its disclosure is incorporated herein by reference thereto.

In the existing installations, the channel for feeding slag from the duct arrangement into the mold is made in the bottom plate or mold, or partially in both of them.

These installations allow the slag to be poured into the mold easily and efficiently.

In these cases, however, bottom plates or molds of the special design must be employed, i.e., those having a slag-feeding channel which, eventually, complicates and makes more expensive the construction of the installation, and also decreases the service life of both the bottom plate and mold.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-said disadvantages.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an installation for the electroslag remelting, provided with a duct arrangement for pouring slag, the bottom plate and mold of which installation will not require the above-mentioned construction modifications.

The present invention features an installation for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes, comprising a mold with a bottom plate and a duct arrangement for pouring slag into the mold. In conformity with the invention, disposed between the mold and bottom plate is a plate having in its central portion an opening and a lateral channel entering this opening, which channel communicates with said duct arrangement.

It is expedient that the portion of the plate with the lateral channel extend. beyond the mold in order to place the duct arrangement directly on the plate.

To decrease the bottom croppage in the subsequent treatment of an ingot being remelted and to facilitate FIG. 1 ,is a part of the installation of the invention,

shown in a longitudinal cross section;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the installation with the mold removed.

The installation for the electroslag remelting comprises a bottom plate 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) having disposed thereon a plate 2 mounting a cooled mold 3 whereon an ingot to be remelted is forming.

The plate 2 has in its central portion an opening 4 with a lateral channel 3 entering therein, which channel 5 communicates with a channel 6 of a duct arrangement 7, provided with a receiving funnel 8 and intended for pouring slag into the mold 3.

The walls of the opening 4 and lateral channel 5 of the plate 2 slope'upwards in widening fashion in the direction of the mold 3. This is aimed at ensuring the conical shape of the bottom portion of the ingot being remelted and thus at reducing the bottom croppage in the subsequent treatment of the ingot, while also facilitating the removal of the ingot from the bottom plate 1 and the cleaning of the plate 2 from the slag.

The opening 4 of the plate 2 is shaped so as to correspond to the internal cross section of the mold 3.

The height of the plate 2 and the width of the lateral channel 5 when it is overlapped by the mold 3 and bottom plate 1 ensure the obtaining of a space sufficient for the slag passage.

. It is expedient to select the length of the channel 5 in the plate 2 in such a manner that. its end will pass outside the limits of the mold 3. In this case, the duct arrangement 7 is placed directly on the plate 2, adjoining with its base 9 the flange 10 of the mold 3.

When using a metal plate 2, channels 11 are provided therein for supplying a cooling agent, for instance, wa-

ter.

Centering projections 12 are provided in the plate 2 so as to ensure the correct adjustment of the mold 3 in relation to the plate 2 after each melt.

the cleaning of the lateral channel from solidified slag,

it is desirable to make the walls of the opening and those of the plate lateral channel cone-shaped with increasing diameter in the direction of the mold.

It is preferred that the opening provided in the central portion of the plate be shaped similarly to the internal cross section of the mold.

The plate may be manufactured of a refractory material, for example, graphite. Yet, most expedient is the use ofa metal plate, e.g., steel or copper, provided with channels for a cooling agent. On remelting an ingot, the mold must be removed from the plate. For this reason, it is expedient to have provided on the plate centering projections so as to accurately adjust the mold thereafter.

Conventional elements used in electroslag remelting furnaces such as electrodes, means for their supply, including gear mechanism for feeding the electrodes, and the like are not described in detail except to restate from the electroslag art that the electrodes are disposed within their mold without contacting the sidewalls thereof and that the electrodes are electrically energized to provide remelting energy thereto. An electrode 13 and gear 14 for feeding the electrode are shown schematically in FIG. 1, and those components as well as other electroslag remelting installation components can be seen and are described in more detail in the aforedescribed co-pending application Ser. No. 592,054, now abandoned.

The installation operates as follows.

The mold 3 is placed upon the plate 2 which in turn is placed on the bottom plate 1. Provided on the portion of the plate 2 extending from under the mold 3 is the duct arrangement 7 in such a manner that its base 9 will adjoin the flange 10 of the mold 3 while the lower exit end of the channel 6 of this arrangement will coincide with the initial portion of the channel in the plate 2.

Owing to overlapping of the channel 5 by the bottom plate 1, the flange 10 of the mold 3 and the base 9 of the duct arrangement 7, a space is formed in the plate 2 connecting the internal space of the mold 3 with the duct arrangement 7.

Thereafter a required amount of slag is poured into the receiving funnel 8, the slag having been premelted in a separate furnace. As the level of slag in the mold 3 approaches a consumable electrode 13, the process of remelting this electrode begins. Gear mechanism 14 is used to lower the electrode to its proper position in the mold prior to starting the installation and is used to feed the electrode relative to the mold during the remelting process.

After building up and solidification of a certain portion of the ingot, the duct arrangement 7 may be removed from the plate 2 for effecting the preparation of the subsequent melt.

On completing the melt, the mold 3 is raised, the ingot (which is not shown in the drawing) is removed from the bottom plate 1, and the internal surfaces of the walls of the plate 2 are cleaned from the slag.

The invention enables the bottom pouring of slag in existing installations without having recourse to any reconstruction thereof.

The present invention is not limited by the exemplary embodiment thus described, and there may be conceived modifications thereof which do not depart from the concept and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for the electroslag remelting of metal comprising a mold bottom plate including cooling means; a discrete slag inlet means including cooling means disposed on said mold bottom plate having means enabling removal of hardened slag so said discrete slag inlet means may be reused; a hollow mold including cooling means disposed on said slag inlet means for the formation of an ingot in said mold on said bottom plate; and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to said mold with the end of the electrode disposed within said mold for remelting; said slag inlet means having a passage therein'which establishes fluid-flow communication between the hollowof said mold and an access port outside said mold into which molten slag may be poured.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said slag inlet means is disposed on but is removable from said bottom plate.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 additionally comprising a removable slag inlet conduit in fluid-flow communication with said access port.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein a portion of said slag inlet means extends laterally beyond said mold, said slag inlet conduit being positioned on said laterally extending portion of said slag inlet.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said slag inlet means cooling means comprises a flow passage for receiving a coolant fluid.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said slag inlet means is provided with positioning means for 10- eating said mold in a predetermined position on said slag inlet means.

-7. Apparatus for the electroslag remelting of metal comprising a bottom plate including cooling means; a

discrete slag inlet means including cooling means disposed on said bottom plate; a hollow mold including cooling means, disposed on said slag inlet means for the formation of an ingot; and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to said mold with the end of the electrode disposed within said mold for remelting; said slag inlet means having an access port outside said mold and provided with a central opening in communication with the hollow of said mold; said central opening extending longitudinally completely through said slag inlet means to establish communication between the hollow of said mold and said bottom plate; said central opening communicating with said access port through a laterally extending channel in said slag inlet means, establishing fluid-flow communication between the hollow of said mold and said access port into which molten slag may be poured in to commence remelting.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said central opening and said laterally extending channel are bounded by walls which diverge in the direction of said mold.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said central opening substantially corresponds in shape to the internal cross-section of said mold.

10. Bottom-pour apparatus for use in construction of a bottom-poured electroslag remelting furnace which includes a hollow mold, means for cooling the mold, a mold bottom plate, means for cooling the bottom plate, and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to the mold with the end of the electrode disposed in said mold for remelting, said bottom pour apparatus comprising a discrete member with cooling means adapted to be interposed between said bottom plate and said mold with said mold atop said member; said discrete member having a substantially centrally disposed port for communicating with the hollow of said mold; an access port in said member; a passage in said discrete member establishing fluid-flow communication between said centrally disposed port and said access port; said access port being laterally displaced from said centrally disposed port so as to be accessible from a point outside said mold when said discrete member is interposed between said bottom plate and said mold; and said port and passage include structural formations enabling removal of hardened slag so that said discrete member may be reused.

l1. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said discrete member cooling means comprises a flow passage for receiving a coolang fluid.

12. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said centrally disposed port substantially corresponds in shape to the internal cross-section of said mold.

l3. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said discrete member contains positioning means for locating said mold in a predetermined position on said discrete member.

14. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said centrally disposed port and said fluid-flow communication passage are bounded by walls which diverge in the direction of said mold.

15. Bottom-pour apparatus for use in construction of a bottom poured electroslag remelting furnace which includes a hollow mold with cooling means, a bottom plate with cooling means and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to said mold with the end of the electrode disposed within said mold for remelting, said bottom pour apparatus comprising a discrete member adapted to be interposed between said bottom plate and said mold with said mold atop said member; means for cooling said discrete member; said discrete member having a substantially centrally disposed port extending longitudinally completely through said discrete member to establish communication between the hollow of said mold and said bottom plate; an access port in said member; and a passage in said discrete member establishing fluid-flow communication between said centrally disposed port and said access port; said access port being laterally displaced from said centrally disposed port so as to be accessible from a point outside said mold when said discrete member is interposed between said bottom plate and said mold.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim wherein said discrete member is disposed on but is removable from said bottom plate.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said means for cooling said discrete member comprises a flow passage for receiving a coolant fluid.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said centrally disposed port substantially corresponds in shape to the internal cross-section of said mold.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said discrete member is provided with positioning means for locating said mold in a predetermined position on said discrete member.

20. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 additionally comprising a removable slag inlet conduit in fluid-flow communication with said access port.

21. Apparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein a portion of said discrete member extends laterally beyond said mold, said slag inlet conduit being positioned on said laterally extending portion of said discrete member.

Claims

1. Apparatus for the electroslag remelting of metal comprising a mold bottom plate including cooling means; a discrete slag inlet means including cooling means disposed on said mold bottom plate having means enabling removal of hardened slag so said discrete slag inlet means may be reused; a hollow mold including cooling means disposed on said slag inlet means for the formation of an ingot in said mold on said bottom plate; and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to said mold with the end of the electrode disposed within said mold for remelting; said slag inlet means having a passage therein which establishes fluid-flow communication between the hollow of said mold and an access port outside said mold into which molten slag may be poured.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said slag inlet means is provided with positioning means for locating said mold in a predetermined position on said slag inlet means.

7. Apparatus for the electroslag remelting of metal comprising a bottom plate including cooling means; a discrete slag inlet means including cooling means disposed on said bottom plate; a hollow mold including cooling means, disposed on said slag inlet means for the formation of an ingot; and means for feeding an electrically energized consumable metal electrode relative to said mold with the end of the electrode disposed within said mold for remelting; said slag inlet means having an access port outside said mold and provided with a central opening in communication with the hollow of said mold; said central opening extending longitudinally completely through said slag inlet means to establish communication between the hollow of said mold and said bottom plate; said central opening communicating with said access port through a laterally extending channel in said slag inlet means, establishing fluid-flow communication between the hollow of said mold and said access port into which molten slag may be poured in to commence remelting.

11. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said discrete member cooling means comprises a flow passage for receiving a coolang fluid.

13. Bottom-pour apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said discrete member contains positioning means for locating said mold in a predetermined position on said discrete member.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said discrete member is disposed on but is removable from said bottom plate.