CA1104815A - Apparatus for applying refractory material onto the inner surface of a furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION:

In an apparatus of this invention which applies refractory material in wet slurry form onto the inner surface of a furnace, the improvement is characterized in that the water to be added into the powder-like refractory material for producing the above slurry refractory material is finely and accurately regulated so that the resultant refractory material sprayed from the spray nozzle fixedly adheres onto the abraded or eroded portion of the inner surface of the furnace with a minimum amount of rebound loss.

Description

- Thi~ is a division of appli~ation no. 276,246 oF
April 15, 1977, Thi~ inventlon relates to an apparatus for ap~lying a lining of ref~actory materlal, cement, heat in~ulat~ng material and other insulating materials over the refractory layers of a converter or a furnace including an electxlc furnace and an open-he~rth furnace or a vessel with a ~reat reliability.
In conventional lining operation9, the lining material i~ produced away ~rom the llning operation ~ite and then i9 transferred to the operation slte by means of a long com pression 9upply tube wherein the long floor-laid tube hampers the movement o~ the lining device when it mU9t move from one converter to another, re~ultine in an inefficient lining operation.
Furthermore J ~ince the water storflge tank, refr~ctory material tank, compressor and the like which are required in the linlng operation occupy a large floor ~rsa, the oper~tion cannot be conducted e~ficiently or with adequate mobillty~ -In add~tion, these devices are inatalled apart rrom each other so that a central control ~y9tem for the spraylng ~; 20 apparatu9 i9 hard to achieve. Therefore, at least ~everal worker~ are required to operate the apparatu3.
~ Meanwhile, in the lin~ng operntion, the linln~ appara-.~ ~ tUS:i9 moved to a position adjacent to the upper ope~ end of the furnace. Subsequently, the long shootin~ pipe i9 ~xtended into the ~urnace and t~en the s~ray nozzle attached to the extremity of the shooting pipe 18 d~rected toward the abraded :: : : :
~ 27 or eroded portlon of the ~urnace linin~ and the desired amount t , ; . ' ' :
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of refrac-tory material i~ sprayed onto the above portlon so as to repair the lining of a furnace.
In thi~ case, the operator control~ the shooting pi~e while observing the movement thereof However, -the mere manipulation of the shooting p~pe cannot cover ~ome o~ the abraded portions on the furnace lining because they are not within the sprayable range o~
the shooting pipe.
For example, when the ~pr~y noz~le i~ directed ~rom one abraded portion to ano-ther, in some cases, the ~hooting pipe will come into contact with the upper periphery o~ the furnace if the liniDg apparatus i9 kept in the same poq~tlon.
In these cases, the apparatus as a whole must be moved a certain distance to prevent breaking the shootirg pipe. The operation to move the apparatu~ conventionally requires the operator to get off the apparatus or shlft his position on the apparatuY thereby making the opera tion very cumbersome.
However, the above lining apparatus i~ le~s than optimal in vieY~ o~ the following aspect3.
: 20 1) In the lining operation by the conventional apparatuses including the above improved apparatus, the re-fractory material in wet slurry form, whlch is produced by mixing the powder like xefractory material and ~ater in a desired mixing mus t be sprayed onto the furnaee lining from the spray nozzle.
E~pecially when applylrg r~fractory material while 7 the furnase i8 still hot, the ~prayi~g cau~e a fall in ths ~' :
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-temperature within the furnace. -~
Therefore, -the amount of wa-ter to be mixed with the powder-like refractory material must take into account the furnace tempera-ture/ since the adhering force (adhesiveness) and rebound loss of the sprayed refractory material are greatly affected by the water percentage in the slurry-like refractory material and the -temperature in t:he furnace.
; 2) Conventionally, adjusting the water to be mixed is done by thro-ttling a manual valve disposed at the middle of the water supplying tube. Manual operation, however, cannot achieve fine adjustment of the water addition since it depends mainly on the experience of a skilled operator. Furthermore, due to the nature of the spraying operation, the manual throttling is subject to high radiation heat temperature from the furnace.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for applying a refractory llning onto the inner surface of a furnace which can resolve the above-mentioned defects while keeping the advantages of the impro~ed type of apparatus devised by the applicant of this invention.
It is another object of the present invention to `~ ~ provide such lining apparatus which is provided with a water-regulating system which can finely and accurately regulate the amount of water to be added into the powder-like refractory material.
The invention, as particularly claimed in the instant ;~ divislonal application, is Eor use in an appara-tus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace com-prising: a transport car capable of moving on a floor; a shooting pipe with a spray nozzle from which refractory material is sprayed onto the inner side of a furnace; a support means located on the transport car for pivotally supporting the ; ~ - 3 - -, shoo-ting pipe~ a tank storing powder-like refractory material therein and including a means supplying the powder-like refractory material -to the shooting pipe from the tank, and a means for supplying the desired amount of water into the powder-like refractory material, and is par-ticularly characterized in that -the wa-ter supply means includes a water regulating system in the midst thereof, whereby the amount of water to be mixed with the powder-like refrac-tory material is finely and accurately regulated.
A preferred embodiment of the in~ention will now be described with reference -to -the appended drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the lining apparatus of this ~\

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' ': ' ' . - ~ ' . ' ' , invention which is ~rovided wit~ -the wate.r regulating sy~tem.
Fi~. 2 is a side view o~ above apparatu~ t~ke~ Along the line I-I of Fig, 1.
Fig. 3 is another ~ide view with a part broken away of the apparRtus taken along the line II-II of Flg. l.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cros~-~ectional ~iew o~ the shooting pipe proe~ded wit;h a unique ~ater-cooling sy~tem which i9 devised ~or the l:ining apparatu~ of this invention.
. Fig. 5 is a transverse cros3-sectional view of the above shooting~ pipe taken along the line III-III o~ Fig, 4.
Fi~. 6 is a tr~nsverse cIo~s-sectlonal view of the above ~hooting pipe taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 4.
Fi~. 7 i~ a transvexse cro~s-sectional view o~ the above shooting pipe taken along the line V-V of Fig. 4 .
~ig. 8 ie a cros~-sectional ~ront view OI the flow ; regulating ~alve o~ the above apparatus.
~ig. 9 1~ an illustrative view of the ~ystem for regulating the amount of water to be mixed with refractory material which i9 provided for the linin~ apparatus o~ this i~vention.
Fig. l~ 19 an enlarged c.ross~sectional ~iew of Fig. 9 taken along the line VI-VI showing ~he detail of the regu-latin~ ~y~tem.
Fig. ll 1~ an explanatory view of the orifice plate~
: employed in the above water re~ulating 3y9tem.
FiK. 12 i3 a schemQtic chart ~howing the variation 27 of the water to be mixed with the energization of soleno1d .
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valves.
Fig. 13 is another explanatory vle~ showlng the modification of orifice plate3.
Fi~. 14 is ano~her illu~trative view o~ the water re~ulating ~ystem applied to the water supply means whlch directly ~qupplies the w~ter to the flexible hose without cooling the ~hooting pipe.
The apparatus for repalring the furnace lining i~
described in conjunction with the attached drawings. Ref0r-ring to Fig. 1 through Fig. 3, there i8 shown a tran~portcar 2 provided with wheels 4 driven by hydraulically~
operated moto~ ~o that the car 2 19 movable both backwards and ~orwards. Above and ~ub~tantially parallel to the trans~
port car 2, there i9 shown a shooting pipe 8 of duplicate con~truction consisting of an inner pipe 10 ana an outer pipe 12.
The in~er qhooting pipe 10 of a square hollo~ cross-~ection i9 provided with a ~pray nozzle 14 at the fro~t ~xtremity thereo~ and has the rear end thereof rvtatably connected by a ~peci~ically devised swivel joint 15 with a ~lexible hose 16 throueh which refractory material in either dry or wet form is ~upplied to the inner shooting pipe lOo The other end of ~he flexible hose 16 1 connected to refractoxy materlal ~upply source which i9 described later.
The i~ner shootlng pipe 10 i9 slidably di~posed ln~ide the outer shootlng pipe 12 ~uch that the shooting pipe 8 as a 27 whole can be exten~ed ln a telescopie manner. This ~hooting - ~_ :

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pipe 8 is al~o provlded with a cooling system which i9 3~l0TJn ln Flg. 4 to Fig. 7 in detail.
Namely, the outer shooting pipe 12 i9 partially or entirely of dupllcate constiIuction wherein the inner pas~age thereof work3 as a pa~3age for sliding an inner shooting pipe 10 therethrough and the outer passage thereof works as a cooling water supply chamber 18 into which the cooling water i~ supplied by way o~' a cooling water ~upply pipe 20 which is parallely secured to.the outer periphery of th0 outer 3hooting pipe 12. This coollng water supply pipe 20 has one end connected to a coolin~ water supply tub0 22 which i9 communicated with a water-stora.ge tank 58 and the other end connected to the ~ater ~upply chamber 18. The suppl~ pipe 20 also works as an elongated guide for the 31ide movement of the shooting pipe 12 relative to a rotating boom 40 of a cyl-indrical body 340 In the drawings, the outer shooting pipe 12 is pro-vlded with a water inlet 24 and a water outlet 26 at the rear end theleof. For facilitating the ~mooth movement of the inner 3hooting pipe 10 relative to the outer ~hootin~ plpe 12, an intermediate cylindrical sleeve 28 i~ ~ixedly ~ecured along and Wit~ the outer hooting pipe 12 such that a roller mean~ 30 di3po-ed equidistantly at botb ends of the inter-medlate sleeve 2~ imparts the smooth movement of the inner shooting plpe 10 rela~ive to the intermediate sleeve 28 : ~: Numeral 32 lndi~ate~ a ~craper riDg which prevent3 the in-27 ~rusion of' dust~a~nd other ~oreign materials into the ~pace ~ 7 ~

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between the i~te.rmediat~ sleeve 28 and the inner ~hoo-ting pipe 10.
Furthermore J the outer ~hooting pipe 12 is rotatably and slidably di~po~ed within the cylindrical body 34 which i9 substantially disposed at the ~ront o~ the tran~port car

2. A power-operated motor 36 and a gear mechanism 38 which are both attached to the cylindrical body 34 in place cause the rotation of the outer ~hooting pipe 12 by way of the ro-tating boom 40 relative to the cylindrical body 34. The ro-tat-ing boom 40 forms a part of the cylindrical body 34.
This cylindrioal body 34 1~ tiltably mounted b~ a pivot shaft 42 on the top of a vertical ~upport structure 44 which in turn has the bottom end ~ixedly ~ecured to the upper ~ur.~ace of a turntable 46. A hydraulic cylinder 48 is di-agonally di~po~ed on the turntable 46 for the purpose of tilting the o~lindrical body 34. This turntable 46 iY
supported by a plurality o~ roller means 43 which are dis-posed in a clrcle at the lowe~ periphery of the turntable 46.
~ The turntable 46 ~urther include~ a worm wheel 50 - 20 whica meshes with a wo~ 52. The wor~ 52 i3 driVell by a suitabte driving mean~ 54, ~uch as a power-operated ~otor, 90 as to rotate the turntable 46 by way o~ the wormwheel 50.
On the turntable 46, a tank means con~istine of a storage tank 56 for powder-like refractory material ~nd another ~-tor~ge tank 58 ~or water i~ mounted by mean3 of support columns 60 such that the vertical axis o~ the tank ~` 27 i9 ali~ned with the axi~ o~ the turntable 46. These SanX~, ~.. ,, . ,:, : : . . . : - : . ..
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3;~5 56 and 5~, are concentricallJ di3po~ed within each other wherein the di3char~e outlet of the conic~l-shaped refract-ory material tank 56 i~ dic3po~ed just below the center of the bottom of the water storage tank 58. A hea-t insulating shield 62 i9 provided in ~ront of the tank means, The ~torage tank 56, w'nich i~ u~u~lly subject to a de~ired pres3ure therein, h~3 a charging inlet 64 at the . top thereo~ and a discharge outlet 66 at the bottoln thereo~.
This storage tank 56, if de~ired, can ~tore the wet slurry for~ re~ractory 1naterial. In this ca3e, the addition o~ ~ater in-to the po~qder-like refr~ctory material i~ un-n~ces~ary.
A~ ~hown in Fig. 8, below the outlet 66 of the storagetank 56, a flow regulating v~lve 68 i~ disposed which regu-late~ the amount of refractory material to be supplied by a . throttle plate 70 thereof.
The flow regulating valve 6~ ha~ an openin~ 72 at the lo~ver end thereof which, in turn, com~unicate~ with the flex-ibla hose 16 through which the refractory material i~ charged to the inner 3hootin~ pipe 10.
In order to give flow energy to the refractory material `: f ;~ . which pa99e9 through the flexible ho3e 16 and the inner shoot~
ing ptpe 10, an air jet ~un 74 ie provided at the lower end ~: ~
of the flow re~ulating valve 68 dispo~ed opposite to the ; opening 72.
: The water stor~ge tank 58 which i9 prsvided for supply-27 ing the cooling water to the cooling ~ystel~ ha~ a water outlet :
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76 at the bottom thereof which i9 communicated with the cooling water Yupply tube 22. This cooling water ~upply tube 22, as has bee~ said before, has its o-ther end con-nec-ted to the inlet of thle cooling water supply pipe 20 formed to the outer periphery o~ the outer shooting pipe 12 guch that the water cllarged into the cooling water ~upply chamber 18 of the_~hooting pipe 12 cool~ the en-tlre ~hooting - pipe 8, which i8 subject to high radiation heat tem~erature during the sprayin~ operation'.
The outer shoot~ng pipe 12 has another water outlet opening 26 which i~ connec-ted to a warm water return tube 80 wherein the water warmed during the circulation thereo~ with i~ the shooting plpe 8 i~ discharged into the return tube 80 by way of the outlet opening 26.
The return tube 80 ha~ it~ other end connected to the ~lexible hose 16 at the middle thereof by w~y of a three-port valve 82 wherein the war~ed water ~h~ch pas~es through the return tube ~0 is mixed with the po~der-like refractory material to produce refractor~ material in a wet slurry form which i9 charged into the inner shooting pipe 10 by ~ay of the flexible hose 16.
In ~he~middle of the return tube 80, a system ~or regulating the amoun-t of water to be mixed with the powder-llke refractory materlAl is providad. The ~yste~D, which feature~ the pre~ent invention, has the following con ~:
; ~ ~truction.
27 In Fig. 9 and Fi~. lOt a plurality or a de~ired nulnber :

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of communicatin~ ~em~ers 84 are parallely di3posed in the middle of the warmed water return tube 80, wherein each commullicating rnelnber ~4 is provided with a solenoid valve 86 and an orifice plate 8~ having Q different nul~ber of orifice~ 90 formed thereon respectively. Each ori~ice plate 8~ i9 encased in an ori~ice ca~ing 92.
The total flow area of each ori~ice plate ~8 i9 the multiplication of the flow area o~ each orifice plate 88 and nu~ber of orifice~ 90.
In this embodiment, an operator ~elects a de~ired comb1natlon of ori~ice plates 88 such that the totQl flow area of those orifice plates 88 are opened by energi~ing the corresponding solenoid valves 86 whereby a de~ired amount of warmed water is ~upplied into the flexible hose 16.
In Fig. 11, as an example, five orifice plates 88 are sho-~n wherein the number of orifices 90 are chosen in the ;: ratio 4:5:6:7:80 Due to the above selectio~ of orifice numbers, more ~han 20 combination~ can be made in view o~ the number of orifice3 ~0 (~rom 0 to 30 orifices)0 If each ori-fice i9 designed 3uch that it pa~e~ through 1.5 litre per a minute, the amount o~ water to be added to the po~der-like ~ ~ refractory material can be ~axied as ~ho~vn in the chart o~
¦ Fig. 12.
he chart clearly shows that the amount o~ water to be supplied alon~ the warmed water return tube 80 can be regu-lated in a wide~;range~automa~ioalLy and with great accuracy~
27 The orifice plate may be prepared in a manner ~hown in ~ ~ : : :

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-' ~ig 13 wherein the orlfice plates 88 are provided with single orifices of different size3 re~pactively.
If the rou~h re~ulation of the water is permissible, all the orifice plates 88 may be deleted ~o that the water ma~r be regulated in a rou~h manner. The de~ree of roughness in view o~ regulation depends on the number oî solenoid valve~. Namely, if the roughness should be alleviateâ, the - nulnber of solenoid valves are increa~ed.
Furthermore, if desired, a slide plate ~hich has the de~lred number of orifices formed thereo~ can be di~posed in the middle OI the warmed water suppl~ tube wherein the amount OI warmed water to be supplied to the flexible hose 16 i9 regulated by the transverse slide movement o~ the ~lide plate without necessitating a solenoid valve.
In ~hort, the a~ount OI water to be supplied to the flexible hose i9 digitally regulated automatically by select-ing a de~ired combination of orifice plate3 whereby the accu-rate regulation of th~ water i~ achieved and the regulati~g operation i~ simply and easily conducted.
2û Although the water regulating system i9 disclo~ed in vlew of the warned water return tube, it must be noted that suoh a sy~tem can be arran~ed in the middle o~ the flexible hose 16 3uch ~that it directly supplies water to the flexi~le ; ~ ~ hose 16 without cooling the shootin~ pipe 8 as shown in Fig. 14.
~ - , At the rear OI the tran~port oar 2,~an air compre3sor :~ :
~ ~ 27 94 is provided which supplies compressed air to the air jet ,::

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gun 74, the water storage tank 58, the refrac-tory~
material ~torage tank 56 and other parts of the apparatu~
which require compressed air as shown in Fig. 14. A die~el engine 96 for moving the tran~port car 2 i~ also mounted at the rear portion on the tran~port car 2 along with it~
.radiator 98.
This air compressor 94 and the diesel engine 96 are . both proteoted ~rom dust and the like by a cover mean~ 100.
The manner in which the apparatu~ of thi~ invsntion 0 i9 operated i8 disclosed hereinafter.
The powdex-like refractory material i~ discharged ~rom the hopper-like storage tank 56 by compressed air ~upplied from the air compres30r 94 wherein the flow amount i~ regu-lated by the flow regulating valve 6~. After the above regulation, the refractory material i~ conveyed throu~h the flexi~le hose 16 with flow energy given by the air jet from the aix jet gun 74. The powder-like material ~ubsequently passes through the shooting pipe 8 and eventually i9 ~prayed ~rom the spray nozzle 14~
20 In this invention, the water which i~ ~upplied to the shooting pipe 8 from the water storage tan~ 58 for coolin~
the shootin~ pip8 8 i~ available. Namely, the coollng water di~oharged from the water storage tank 58 by compres~ed air which i9 supplied from the air compressor 94. The cool in~ water then passes through the cooling water ~upply tube 22 into t~e shooting pipe 8.
27 The ~ater: which i~ warmed after the above cooling :~ ~ : : ` :
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., operation i9 di~charged ~ro~n the outlet 26 and pa~ses through the warmed water return tube 80 and reaches the water regulating systeln.
In thi~ water re~ulatinz ~yste~n, with the energizat-ion of chosen solenoid valves 86, the de~ired amount of water to be mixed with the powder-like refractory material i9 obtained at the end or outlet o~ the watex regulating system.
Thu~ obtained water flow~ into the three port valve 82. By opening the three port valve 82, the powder-like refractory materi~l from the re~ractory material 3torage tank 56 and the warm water from the shooting pipe 8 are mixed together forming refractory material in a wet slurry form at the junction where the return tube 80 and the fle~-ible ho~e 16 meet. ~he thu3 produced slurry-like refractory material i~ supplied to the ~hooting pipe 8 and finally i9 sprayed from the ~pray nozzle 14 onto the inner furnace of the furnace.
Accordingly, the apparatus of thi3 invention ha~ the ~ollowing advantage~;
Since the desired amount sf water can be added into the powdex-like refractory material ~ the rsfractory ma-terial sprayed from the spray ~ozzle can adhere snto the abraded or eroded portion of the furnace lining with little rebound 1099, - 14 _ ~, " .

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Claims (6)

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION are as follows:

1. In an apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace comprising;
a) a transport car capable of moving on a floor, b) a shooting pipe with a spray nozzle from which re-fractory material is sprayed onto the inner side of a furnace.
c) a support means located on said transport car for pivotally supporting said shooting pipe, d) a tank storing powder-like refractory material therein and including a means supplying said powder-like refractory material to said shooting pipe from said tank, and e) a means for supplying the desired amount of water into said powder-like refractory material, the improvement characterized in that said water supply means includes a water regulating system in the midst thereof, whereby the amount of water to be mixed with said powder-like refractory material is finely and accurately regulated.

2. An apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace according to claim 1, wherein said water regulating system comprises a plurality of water communicating members disposed in parallel, each of which is provided with a solenoid valve.

3. An apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace according to claim 1, wherein said water regulating system comprises a plurality of water communicating members, each of which comprises an orifice plate provided with a desired number of orifices of same flow area therein and corresponding number of valves.

4. An apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace according to claim 1, where-in said water regulating system comprises a plurality of water communicating members, which comprise orifice plates provided with orifices of varied flow area and corresponding numbers of solenoid valves.

5. An apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace according to claim 1, wherein said shooting pipe is of a dual concentric pipe construction made of an outer and inner pipe which move relatively with each other and said outer pipe is further of a concentric dual pipe construction forming a cooling water chamber therebetween.

6. An apparatus for applying a refractory lining onto the inner surface of a furnace according to claim 5, wherein said shooting pipe further includes a water supply pipe which is secured to the outside of said outer shooting pipe longi-tudinally for providing cooling water into said cooling water chamber.