COOLING ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A COOLING ELEMENT
The invention relates to a cooling element defined in the independent claims and a method of manufacturing the cooling element.
In connection with industrial reactors, in particular reactors used in the manufacturing of metals, such as flash smelting furnaces, blast furnaces and electric furnaces, there are used massive cooling elements that are generally made of copper. Typically the cooling elements are water-cooled, and thus provided with a cooling water channel system. Often the cooling elements are used for protecting the reactor linings of reactors for pyrometallurgical prosesses, wherein the heat emitted on the lining surface is transferred to water through the cooling element and thus wearing of the lining is essentially reduced in comparison with a reactor that is not cooled. The reduction in the wearing is contributed by a so-called autogeneous lining that is solidified on the surface of the fireproof lining due to the cooling process, said autogeneous lining being composed of slag and other matter separated from the molten phases.
The working conditions in the reactor are extreme, when the cooling elements are subjected to intensive corrosion and erosion strains caused by the furnace atmosphere and by contacts with the molten material. Also gas circulations in the reactor can be harmful for the linings on the reactor wall. For an efficient operation of the cooling element, it is important, among others, that the joint between the fireproof bricks and the cooling element is good, so that an effectively heat transferring contact is obtained.
The object of the present invention is to introduce a novel cooling element. In particular, the object of the invention is to introduce a durable cooling element that, apart from cooling, also supports the linings on the reactor wall and improves gas circulation in the reactor.
Fl 109233 teaches a cooling element particularly for such furnaces where a corrosion-resistant surface layer is formed on the element surface by a diffusion joint, which corrosion-resistant surface is made of steel.
The invention is characterized by what is set forth in the characterizing parts of the independent claims. Other preferred embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is set forth in the rest of the claims.
Remarkable advantages are achieved by the arrangement according to the invention. When a shoulder is connected to the cooled housing of the cooling element, the internal gas circulation in the reactor, such as a furnace, is essentially improved by this structure; in addition, the cooling element at the same time supports and cools the lining of the reactor wall. When the cooling element is arranged essentially underneath the reactor wall lining, the housing and the shoulder support the wall lining. If a shoulder is arranged in the cooling element only at the top edge of the housing, and not along the whole height of the housing, more room is left in the reactor to be utilized in the width direction thereof, i.e. in principle the reactor diameter is extended. Advantageously there is reached the necessary cooling effect for the cooling element. Owing to its shape, the shoulder turns the direction of the gas circulation preferably away from the wall lining, which means that its corroding effects in the lining are reduced. When the total thickness of the shoulder and the housing is equal to the thickness of the lining provided above, the cooling element supports the lining in a better way. By forming a metallurgical joint between the shoulder and the housing, a good heat transfer is achieved between the different elements. According to the invention, the metallurgical joint is made as a diffusion joint, by which an extremely wear- resistant and long-lasting joint is created between the shoulder and the housing, said joint being well resistant to the demanding process conditions in the pyrometallurgical reactor. In addition, the joint between the shoulder and the housing can be reinforced with welding the shoulder at its edge to the housing. The method according to the invention is a fast, easy and low-cost way to interconnect elements made of copper or copper alloy, for example in comparison with a situation where the shoulder would be made in the housing by forging.
The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the appended drawings.
Figure 1 A cooling element according to the invention
Figure 2 A cooling element according to the invention
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a cooling element 1 according to the invention, to be employed in the structure of a pyrometallurgical reactor, such as a furnace, used in metal processes, said cooling element comprising a housing 2 made of copper or copper alloy, provided with a channel system 3 for the cooling agent circulation. The cooling element 1 illustrated in figures 1 and 2 is an element used in a furnace. Figure 2 shows the embodiment of figure 1 , viewed in the direction A. According to the invention a shoulder 6, made of copper or copper alloy is joined to the housing 2 and arranged essentially underneath the lining 5 of the reactor wall 4, so that a metallurgical joint is created in the junction 7 between the housing 2 and the shoulder 6. According to the invention, the shoulder 6 is formed in connection with the cooled housing 2 of the cooling element 1 , so that the shoulder 6 guides the gas circulation in the reactor, as well as supports and cools the lining 5 of the reactor wall 4. The housing 2 according to the invention, made of copper or copper alloy, is formed for instance by casting a plate billet that is rolled when necessary. A channel system 3 for the cooling agent circulation is arranged in the plate billet for example by drilling or by some other known means. The channel system 3 is connected to a channel 12 for feeding the cooling agent to the channel system. The shoulder 6 is produced by forming an object of copper or copper alloy for example by casting or rolling.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the metallurgical joint between the housing and the shoulder is made as a diffusion joint. In that case the formation of the joint takes place as a result from a molten and solid substance diffusion and the successive phase change reactions, when the housing 2 and the shoulder 6 are pressed together, and the junction area 7 is heated at least in one step. In the junction area 7 between the housing 2 and the shoulder 6, there is fed soldering
agent containing at least silver, copper or tin. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the soldering agent arranged between the housing 2 and the shoulder 6 is essentially a thin silver film. The silver film can also be tin- coated. Typically the creation of the joint requires a temperature of about 600 - 800 degrees, and the thickness of the junction is of the order of tens of micrometers.
According to the invention, the shoulder 6 is advantageously beveled at the bottom edge 8, so that the shoulder is thicker on the side of the housing 2. Thus the reactor gas circulations proceed in the direction of the arrow marked in the drawing, i.e. advantageously away from the reactor wall linings. The shoulder is arranged at the top edge of the housing 2, i.e. at that edge that is located upper in the reactor. The shoulder extends essentially along the whole width of the top edge 9 of the housing, and only along part of the height of the housing. The depth 10 of the shoulder 6 according to the invention is advantageously 130 - 180 millimeters. The total thickness 11 of the shoulder 6 and the housing 2 is at least as large as the thickness of the lining 5 of the wall above. Now the cooling element 1 preferably supports the wall lining 5 located above it. The shoulder 6 may also be provided with cooling agent circulation, which means that the cooling effect of the cooling element is increased. According to the example, the shoulder 6 is located in the reactor on that side of the housing element that is in contact with the melt. A shoulder according to the invention could also be located on that side of the housing element that is in contact with the wall.
For a man skilled in the art it is obvious that the various different embodiments of the invention are not restricted to the examples presented above, but may vary within the scope of the appended claims.