AU2010305131B2

AU2010305131B2 - Sinter cooler with exchangeable seal

Info

Publication number: AU2010305131B2
Application number: AU2010305131A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Alan Chambers
Original assignee: Outotec Oyj
Current assignee: Metso Corp
Priority date: 2009-10-08
Filing date: 2010-09-08
Publication date: 2015-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-08
Also published as: EP2486158A1; DE102009048724A1; ES2568214T3; EA019692B1; WO2011042100A1; ZA201202058B; EP2486158B1; AU2010305131A1; PL2486158T3; UA103111C2; EA201290181A1; BR112012007973A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a sinter cooler of a sintering plant for use in metallurgy, comprising a cooling-air chamber (1) and a sinter cooling chamber (3) including a perforated plate (2), which can travel over the same, and comprising a cooling gas seal (4) between the upper surface of the cooling-air chamber (1) and the lower surface of the sinter cooling chamber (3), wherein the cooling gas seal (4) carried along with the sinter cooling chamber (3) includes sealing elements (6) of an elastomeric material, which are mounted with a vertical play such that they are seated on the lateral upper edges (5) of the stationary vertical cooling-air chamber wall (7), which extend in direction of travel of the sinter cooling chamber (3), and during travel of the sinter cooling chamber (3) slide along the upper edges (5).

Description

- 1 Sinter Cooler This invention relates to a sinter cooler of a sintering plant for use in metallurgy, com prising a cooling-air chamber and a sinter cooling chamber including a perforated plate, 5 which can travel over the same, and comprising a cooling gas seal between the upper surface of the cooling-air chamber and the lower surface of the sinter cooling chamber. In such sinter coolers, external seals of a cotton laminate (e.g. Laminex@), which are provided on the upper surface of rigid rubber strips, previously have been used to avoid 10 cooling air losses. The rubber strips are arranged on adjustable angular brackets, which in turn are fixed on vertical stationary sealing plates. These seals wear relatively quickly and frequently must be readjusted by hand. The present invention relates to a sinter cooler of a sintering plant for use in metallurgy, 15 comprising a cooling-air chamber and a sinter cooling chamber including a perforated plate, which can travel over the same, and comprising a cooling gas seal between the upper surface of the cooling-air chamber and the lower surface of the sinter cooling chamber, characterized in that the cooling gas seal carried along with the sinter cooling chamber includes sealing elements of an elastomeric material, which are mounted with 20 a vertical play such that the sealing elements are seated on the lateral upper edges of the stationary vertical cooling-air chamber wall, which extend in direction of travel of the sinter cooling chamber, and during travel of the sinter cooling chamber slide along the upper edges, wherein the sealing elements are mounted in a vertically movable manner by means of a weight-loaded holder and a guide pin. 25 A possible advantage of the present invention is that the novel cooling gas seal safely reduces cooling air losses and hence the amount of required cooling air, without in creasing the frictional resistance. This can lead to a saving of operating costs and improve the effectiveness of the cooler. 30 Such seal is self-compensating, because in the case of the end-face wear of the seal ing elements the same maintain their sealing function with respect to the cooling-air chamber wall by automatic readjustment. In this way, the service life of the cooling gas -2 seal is prolonged considerably. Due to the reliable sealing, operating costs are saved and the effectiveness of the cooler is improved. The drive unit for the traveling sinter cooling chamber need not be dimensioned larger than before. 5 Preferably, the sealing elements are arranged outside a protective side wall of the sinter cooling chamber and at the lower end thereof, whereby the sealing elements are shielded against sinter dust and heat. Furthermore, the sealing elements preferably are provided in a region inside an e.g. 10 circular rail base of the cooling-air chamber, in order to protect the bearing of the bogie wheels of the sinter cooling chamber against sinter dust. To realize the self-adjusting sealing function, it is advantageous when the sealing elements are mounted in a vertically movable manner by means of a possibly weight 15 loaded holder disposed e.g. as a kind of framework and by means of a guide pin. The weight load can ensure a sufficient contact pressure of the sealing elements on the upper edge of the stationary cooling-air chamber wall, without adversely affecting the slidability. 20 For an easily replaceable assembly of the sealing elements, the guide pins can be received in possibly angular brackets which in turn are attached to connecting plates, in particular welded to the same, wherein the connecting plates preferably are releasably connected with stiffening ribs below the sinter cooling chamber wall. 25 The respective sealing element holder overlaps the associated sealing element prefer ably in a roof-like manner with corresponding inclined surfaces, so that fine sinter dust easily can slip off downwards. The flat smooth upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall, which possibly is formed 30 by a stationary sealing plate of the cooling-air chamber wall, may be formed with such a width that even in the case of a lateral displacement of the sinter cooling chamber, which for example moves on rails by means of bogie wheels, the sealing elements will -3 always fully rest on the upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall with their lower end face. For example, a plurality of sealing element portions can adhesively be bonded at their 5 ends to form an integral sealing element. The ends of the sealing element segments facing each other preferably overlap each other and form a miter. 10 In their lower region, the sealing elements preferably are made of a wear-resistant, creep-resistant polymer having good sliding properties, whereas in their upper region they are made of a polymer that bonds well to metal. The two polymer components should also bond well to each other, e.g. by adhesion or by co-extrusion. It is, however, less expensive to use only one single material for the sealing elements. 15 In accordance with a preferred aspect of this invention, the sealing elements in particu lar are made of an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE-UHMW). Preferably, the upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall is formed by a stationary 20 sealing strip with round, preferably circular cross-section, in order to avoid a deposition of sinter dust and offer a small contact surface for the sealing elements. Further developments, advantages and possible applications of the invention can be taken from the following description of an embodiment and the drawing. All features 25 described and/or illustrated form the subject-matter of the invention per se or in any combination, also independent of their inclusion in individual claims and/or their back reference. In the drawing: 30 Fig. 1A shows a complete top view of a sinter cooler including the invention, -4 Fig. 1B shows a complete side view from direction B in Fig. 1A of a sinter cooler including the invention, Fig. 1C shows a section along line C-C in Figure 1A, 5 Fig. 2A shows a top view of the side wall of a sinter cooler including the inven tion, Fig. 2B shows a portion of a cooling gas seal including the invention in an 10 oblique view, and Fig. 2C shows a section corresponding to C-C in Fig. 2A, completed by a special stationary sealing strip. 15 The embodiment of a sinter cooler including the invention as shown in the Figures is part of a sintering plant for use in metallurgy. It serves to cool the lumpy sintered ore to be supplied to a blast furnace by means of cooling air and to supply the thermal energy of the hot waste air recovered for example to another load. 20 The sinter cooler has a cooling-air chamber 1 and a sinter cooling chamber 3 for the hot sinter material accommodated therein, which for example by means of bogie wheels 22 can travel on a rail track 17, 19 and includes a perforated plate 2 for the supply of cooling air. To minimize a loss of cooling air, a cooling gas seal 4 is provided between the upper edge 5 of the cooling-air chamber 1 and the lower surface of the 25 sinter cooling chamber 3. The upper portion of the cooling-air chamber wall 7 is formed by stationary, in particular metallic sealing plates 18. The cooling gas seal 4 carried along with the sinter cooling chamber 3 includes re placeable sealing elements 6 of an elastomeric material. The sealing elements 6 are 30 mounted with a vertical play such that they are seated on the smooth upper edge 5 of the sealing plates 18 of the stationary vertical cooling-air chamber wall 7 and during travel of the sinter cooling chamber 3 slide along the upper edge 5.

-5 The sealing elements 6 are arranged outside a protective side wall 8 of the sinter cooling chamber 3 and at the lower end thereof such that the former are protected against sinter dust and heat. The sealing elements 6 are mounted in a vertically mova ble manner by means of a possibly weight-loaded holder 9 and a guide pin 10, so that 5 they can compensate a possible wear by automatic readjustment. The upper head 21 of the guide pin 10 forms a stop when the sealing elements 6 have reached their maxi mum of admissible wear. In the illustrated embodiment, the guide pins 10 are accom modated in angular brackets 11 in a vertically movable manner, wherein the through holes through which the guide pins 10 are passed are large enough to provide for freely 10 shifting the sealing elements 6 with respect to the sealing plates 18. The brackets 11 are attached to connecting plates 12 for example by welding. For a fast replacement of used sealing elements 6, the connecting plates 12 in turn are releasably connected with stiffening ribs 13 below the sinter cooling chamber wall 14. 15 The holders 9 overlap the associated sealing element 6 in a roof-like manner with corresponding inclined surfaces 15, so that sinter dust obtained is easily discharged downwards upon reaching the discharge area. The holders 9 also can be formed in two parts and be clamped onto the sealing elements 6 from the side, in order to provide for an easy assembly and disassembly. 20 The end faces 16 of the sealing elements 6 are formed with such a width that they will always rest on the upper edge 5 of the cooling-air chamber wall 7, even in the case of a lateral displacement of the traveling sinter cooling chamber 3 by e.g. ± 25 mm. Prefera bly, the end faces 16 have a width of about 6 to 12 cm. 25 A plurality of sealing element portions can be connected with each other at their ends to form an integral sealing element 6. The connection can be made for example by bonding. To improve tightness, the ends of the sealing element segments facing each other furthermore overlap to form a miter. 30 For further improvement of a permanent operability of the cooling gas seal 4, the seal ing elements 6 are formed in their lower region of a wear-resistant, creep-resistant polymer having good sliding properties and in their upper region of a polymer that -6 bonds well to metal. Furthermore, the polymers expediently should be selected such that they can easily be connected with each other, for example by bonding or by co extrusion. 5 The upper edge 5 of the cooling-air chamber wall 7 in particular can be formed by a sealing strip 23 which is round, in particular circular in cross-section (see Fig. 2C), in order to avoid a deposition of sinter dust and offer a small contact surface for the seal ing elements 6. The sealing strip 23 preferably is made of steel, wherein an additional sheath can be provided, and is replaceable. 10 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implica tion, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to pre 15 clude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the inven tion.

-7 List of Reference Numerals 1 cooling-air chamber 2 perforated plate 5 3 sinter cooling chamber 4 cooling gas seal 5 upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall (sealing plates) 6 sealing elements 7 cooling-air chamber wall 10 8 protective side wall 9 sealing element holder 10 guide pins 11 bracket 12 connecting plates 15 13 stiffening ribs 14 sinter cooling chamber wall 15 inclined surfaces 16 end faces 17 rail base 20 18 stationary sealing plates 19 rails for sinter cooling chamber 20 mounting holes 21 head 22 bogie wheels 25 23 sealing strip

Claims

1. A sinter cooler of a sintering plant for use in metallurgy, comprising a cooling-air chamber and a sinter cooling chamber including a perforated plate, which can travel 5 over the same, and comprising a cooling gas seal between the upper surface of the cooling-air chamber and the lower surface of the sinter cooling chamber, characterized in that the cooling gas seal carried along with the sinter cooling chamber includes sealing elements of an elastomeric material, which are mounted with a vertical play such that the sealing elements are seated on the lateral upper edges of the stationary 10 vertical cooling-air chamber wall, which extend in a direction of travel of the sinter cooling chamber, and during travel of the sinter cooling chamber slide along the upper edges, wherein the sealing elements are mounted in a vertically movable manner by means of a weight-loaded holder and a guide pin. 15

2. The sinter cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing ele ments are mounted outside a protective side wall of the sinter cooling chamber and at the lower end thereof.

3. The sinter cooler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sealing 20 elements are located in a region inside an e.g. circular rail base of the cooling-air chamber.

4. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide pins are received in possibly angular brackets, which in turn are attached 25 to connecting plates provided below the sinter cooling chamber wall.

5. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective sealing element holder overlaps the associated sealing element in a roof-like manner with corresponding inclined surfaces. 30

6. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end faces of the respective sealing elements are formed with such a width that -9 sealing elements will always rest on the upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall even in the case of a lateral displacement of the traveling sinter cooling chamber.

7. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in 5 that a plurality of sealing element portions are connected with each other at their ends to form an integral sealing element, e.g. are bonded to each other.

8. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ends of the sealing element segments facing each other overlap to form a 10 miter.

9. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a lower region the sealing elements are made of a wear-resistant, creep-resistant polymer having good sliding properties, in particular of polyethylene. 15

10. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an upper region the sealing elements is made of a polymer that bonds well to metal, in particular of polyethylene. 20

11. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two sealing element regions of the sealing elements are bonded to each other or co-extruded.

12. The sinter cooler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in 25 that the upper edge of the cooling-air chamber wall is formed by a stationary sealing strip with a rounded circular cross-section.

13. The sinter cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the upper edge of the cooling-air chamber is formed by a stationary sealing strip with a 30 circular cross-section.