EP0206169B1 - Process and apparatus for charging and discharging a revolving ladle turret in a continuous-casting plant - Google Patents

Abstract

Lifting devices for loading and unloading the ladle (2) onto or from the ladle-supporting arm (5) have been disclosed for loading revolving ladle turrets (3) in continuous steel-casting plants. In order to be able to install such revolving ladle turrets (3) even in low transfer and casting bays and in order to eliminate swinging movements of the ladle (2) during lifting, it is proposed to bring the ladle-supporting arm (5) from a self-loading position (19) for casting ladles (2) into a casting position (31) by means of a lifting device (18) and to use the lifting device (18) to lift the ladle (2) from an industrial truck (1) itself, the said industrial truck preferably travelling at floor level (25) in the steelworks. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for loading and unloading a ladle turret in a continuous caster according to the features of the preambles of claims 1 and 2.

On modern steel continuous casting machines, the ladles are set down from above by a ladle crane onto the support arms of a rotating tower and the ladle support arm is then pivoted together with the ladle from the ladle loading position to the pouring position. During sequence casting, the rotating pan can be used to move the empty pan from the pouring position to the loading position and the filled pan from the loading to the pouring position.

From US-PS 4 056 197 a ladle turret in a continuous casting plant is known, which consists of a central column and two ladle support arms. The pan support arms are provided with support surfaces for pans and can be raised and lowered by means of lifting devices above an upper edge of an intermediate vessel in the casting position. The lifting and lowering ability is intended for the insertion of a pouring tube into the intermediate vessel and for an intermediate vessel change. This turret is loaded and unloaded using the classic method. The ladle is lifted from a floor conveyor by means of a ladle crane and to a height above an upper edge of one in the pouring position placed intermediate vessel brought. The ladle is then set down from the ladle crane onto the support arms, which are also at a height above the intermediate vessel, or lifted off when unloading.

A disadvantage of such ladle turrets is that large ladle cranes are required to load the turret, which can raise the ladles to a height sufficient to place the ladle on the ladle support arms. Such ladle cranes are expensive and require correspondingly high halls.

In EP-PS 0 009 259, which forms the preamble of claim 1, a rotary tower is described to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, which has a central column and two pan support arms. On the top of the ladle support arms, stationary or trolley hoists are equipped with crane hooks to hold a ladle. The pan support arm can be loaded and unloaded using these lifting winches. When the pan is raised, the support arms are pivoted through 180 degrees. Although this device can already be installed in lower ladle transport and casting halls compared to classic rotating towers, a certain room height is required for the lifting devices which are arranged above the pan on the ladle support arms. In the case of such rotating towers, the lifting winches or parts thereof are directly in the radiation area of the steel in the pan, which is usually in the casting process for an hour or more.

The object of the invention is to further improve the ladle turret and to eliminate the disadvantages mentioned. In particular, a revolving tower is to be created that can be installed in much lower ladle transport and casting halls. The lifting device should also not be exposed to heat radiation from the liquid steel in the pan. The pan should continue during the pivoting movement and not be suspended from a hoist winch during casting operation. This is intended to eliminate rocking movements of the pan during and after the pivoting movement about the vertical axis of the turret, in particular in the event of a rapid pivoting movement in emergency situations. Furthermore, the ladle turret according to the invention should be simple and inexpensive and, together with the ladle transport and casting hall, which is reduced in height, should enable substantial savings in investment costs.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the sum of the features of claim 1.

With the method according to the invention it is possible for the first time in practice to limit the clearance height of the ladle transport and casting hall in the rotating tower area by several meters, practically to the height of the top of the ladle. The room height in the area outside the ladle turret could, if no other requirements so require, be built much lower. A corresponding ladle or pouring crane can be omitted in both of the halls mentioned. The lifting devices arranged on the revolving tower are not exposed to any heat radiation from the liquid steel or the empty inside of the pan, so that additional measures to eliminate this harmful radiation are unnecessary. The firm support of the pan on the pan support arm eliminates any risk of rocking movements of the pan during and after the pivoting movement of the turret. This increases the safety of the environment against spilling steel and at the same time enables higher movement speeds when swiveling or shorter ladle change times. The simple concept of the turret is based on a single lifting device for loading and for lifting and lowering in the pouring position for extending and retracting the pouring jet protection between the ladle and the intermediate vessel.

The ladle turret according to the invention is characterized by the sum of the features of claim 2.

Depending on the construction of the guides of the lifting and lowering pan support arms and the placement of the lifting device, the height of a rotation plane for the pan rotating tower can be determined. According to an advantageous embodiment, it is proposed to arrange the plane of rotation of the ladle turret on the foot side of the central column. This enables long, stable guideways and low-lying articulation points for the lifting device. The center column can also be built low.

In an advantageous variant of the solution, the invention additionally provides that the center column is provided with vertical guides for vertical movement of the socket support arms and that a lifting device, preferably made of hydraulic piston-cylinder units for the movement of the socket support arms, is connected to the pivotable center column are. Such a construction requires little floor space for the turret.

Another solution variant provides that the pan support arm is connected to the central column via a horizontal axis and can be pivoted about this axis from the self-loading position into the casting position. A low susceptibility to wear and a vibration-free lifting movement of the pan make this variant appear advantageous. Such a construction is also favorable in terms of investment.

Both pan support arms can be rigidly connected to one another and pivoted by means of a single lifting device. Such a simple device should be considered for small pan sizes. The beam-like double support arm essentially reduces the lifting weight to the weight of the pan contents.

Independently articulated support arms can be designed with a single or a double control lever. Additional advantages can be achieved if the double control lever is articulated on one side to the turret column and on the other side to a pan chair in the sense of a parallelogram. The ladle chair always remains in the desired horizontal position during the lifting movement by the double link.

The piston-cylinder units for moving the socket support arms can be articulated on the center column as well as on the support arm at different points and in different positions. In the sense of a further advantageous embodiment, it is recommended to provide as a lifting device a piston-cylinder unit which engages below the support arm and which is attached to a support plate of the rotatable center column in a Is articulated position that the axis of the lifting movement of the piston-cylinder unit is substantially perpendicular. During the stroke movement, the piston-cylinder unit should pivot as evenly as possible about a vertical axis. Wear and maintenance costs can be reduced, for example, compared to oblique or horizontal piston cylinder units. The space requirement is also minimal. The device also optimizes a ladle stroke / piston stroke ratio of 2: 1.

In order to increase the security against unintentional lowering of the ladle in the pouring position, such as, for example, in the event of a leak in the hydraulics, line break, leaky check valves, etc., according to a further advantageous embodiment, a stationary support device can be arranged in the pouring position, on which the ladle support arm is supported in the pouring position becomes. This stationary support device can be connected to the structure of the casting platform.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to figures.

Fig. 1

eine Ansicht auf ein Beispiel des Erfindungsgegenstandes,

Fig. 2

einen Horizontalschnitt durch die Mittelsäule ohne Tragarme,

Fig. 3

eine Ansicht auf ein weiteres Ausführungsbeispiel und

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht auf ein weiteres Ausführungsbeispiel.

Show it:

Fig. 1

1 shows a view of an example of the subject matter of the invention,

Fig. 2

a horizontal section through the center column without support arms,

Fig. 3

a view of a further embodiment and

Fig. 4

a view of another embodiment.

1 and 2, 1 is shown schematically a ladle car with a pan 2. The pan 2 has been lifted from the pan carriage 1 by pan support arm 5, which can be moved by a lifting device 18. In the self-loading position, to which an arrow 19 shows, pan support surfaces 20 on the support arm 5 can be lowered to a level 21 below the support surfaces 22 of the pan 2. The ladle support arm 5 can lift the ladle 2 by means of the lifting device 18 in the form of a piston-cylinder unit, from the ladle wagon 1 traveling at steelworks floor height 25 or generally floor conveyors themselves.

The dotted line 2 shows the pan 2 again in the raised position. A center column 30, which can be pivoted in a plane of rotation 27, can raise the pan support arm 5 in the casting position 31 above an intermediate vessel 32 by rotation by 180 degrees. During the rotation through 180 degrees, the empty pan 2 'on the support arm 5' is brought to the loading side. By lowering the pan support arm 5, the empty pan 2 'can be lowered onto the pan carriage 1 and transported away at the steelworks floor height 25.

The plane of rotation 27 is attached on the foot side of the center column 30. Above the plane of rotation 27, a platform 15 is rigidly connected to the rotatable center column 30. It is based on a bearing ring 4, for example a roller bearing. With 7 the foundation of the turret 3 is shown. The piston rods 17 are articulated with bolts 16 on the pivotable platform. On four sides of the center column 30, vertical guides 12 are attached divided into sections. Rollers 10, 11 of the pan support arms 5, 5 'are guided along these guides 12.

The dash-dot raised position of the pan 2 on the left side of the center column is a measure 32 higher than the position of the pan 2 'on the right side. This additional height serves to move a pouring tube 34, 34 'into the intermediate vessel 33 or mold 36, if such Pipes can be used as pouring jet protection.

In the casting position 31, a stationary support device is shown at 35, on which the pan support arm 5 'is lowered and supported in its height that is most favorable for casting. Before a rotary movement, the piston-cylinder unit 18 'must therefore first lift the support arm 5'.

The pans 2, 2 'are usually equipped with pivot bearings 8, which are well suited as wings of the pan.

In FIG. 3, pan support arms 42, 42 ′ are articulated on a central column 41 via a horizontal axis 40. Piston cylinder units 43, 43 'can pivot the support arms 42 from a self-loading position 45 into a casting position 46. Instead of the two independently pivotable support arms 42, 42 ', only a beam-like support arm, which can be pivoted by means of a single lifting device, can be built. With 47 an intermediate vessel is shown, which is arranged above a continuous casting plant 48. 49 shows a support device for the support arms 42 in the casting position.

The axes 60, 60 'of the lifting movement of the pistons of the lifting cylinders 43, 43' run essentially vertically, the articulation axes 62 pivoting about an arc 63 around the axis 40. The arrangement of the lifting cylinders 43 can be selected such that the lateral cylinder pivoting 68 comes to rest on both sides of a vertical axis 69 during the lifting movement.

In Fig. 4, the support arms 51, 51 'are designed as double links. A pan support chair 52, 52 'is arranged at each end of the double link. At the opposite ends they are on a central column 54 of a rotating tower in the Articulated in the sense of a parallelogram.

Below the support arms 51, 51 ', piston-cylinder units 55, 55' are articulated on a support plate 56 which is connected to the rotatable center column 54. The piston rods 57 are connected to the lower link 58, 58 '.

The center column 54 with the support plate 56 is rotatably mounted on a ball or roller bearing 64 on a foundation plate 65. Known drives, not shown, can be used for the rotary movement of the turret.

The required room height in the area of the turret is shown at 70. In neighboring parts of the hall, the height of the hall can be chosen to be significantly lower.

The pan in the pouring position is always arranged above the pan in the self-loading position in the pan turrets according to the invention, regardless of the examples in FIGS. 1-4. The elevation 21 below the wings 22 of the pan is provided below the upper edge of the intermediate vessel 33. As a rule, the height difference between the height 21 and the upper edge of the intermediate vessel is at least 1.5 m. This distance can also be 2 m or 3 - 5 m and more.

In order to prevent or reduce bending in the steel jacket in large pans with, for example, 50-400 t liquid steel content, the wings 22 of the pan are arranged opposite one another on the pan circumference. The pan support surfaces 20 on the fork-shaped support arm 5, 42, 51 bring about a symmetrical pan support on both sides of the pan central axis.

Claims (10)

1. Process and device for loading and unloading a ladle on to ladle support arms of a ladle turret in a continuous steel casting plant, wherein the ladle (2) is lifted from a floor conveyor (1), preferably from a floor conveyor (1) operating at the steelworks floor level (25) and is moved to a height above an upper edge of an intermediate vessel (33, 47) located in the pouring position (31, 46), characterised in that the ladle supporting arm (5, 42, 51) located in the loading position (45, 19) is lowered with its ladle support faces (20) to a spot height (21) of at least 1.5 m below the upper edge of the intermediate vessel (33, 47) located in the pouring position (31, 46) and below support faces (22) of the ladle (2) located in the loading position on the floor conveyor (1), and by a lifting movement of the supporting arm (5 42, 51) the ladle (2) is lifted from the floor conveyor (1) and is moved to the height above the intermediate vessel (33, 47) located in the pouring position (31, 46) or is lowered from this height and is deposited on the floor conveyor (1).
2. Ladle turret in a continuous casting plant for carrying out the process according to claim 1, consisting of a central column (30, 41, 54) and the ladle supporting arms (5, 42, 51), wherein the ladle supporting arms (5, 42, 51) are pivotable between the pouring position (31, 46) and the loading position, the ladle supporting arms (5, 42, 51) together with the support faces (20) for the ladles (2) are liftable and lowerable by means of hoisting mechanisms (18, 43, 55) above the upper edge of an intermediate vessel (33, 47) located in the pouring position (31, 46), characterised in that the ladle supporting arm (5, 42, 51) in each case located in the loading position is lowerable together with the support faces (20) for ladles (2), by means of the hoisting mechanisms (18, 43, 55) into a self-loading position (19, 45) below the support faces (22) of the ladle (2) located on the floor conveyor (1), preferably on a floor conveyor (1) operating at the steelworks floor level (25), and in that the spot height (21) of the ladle support faces (20) in the self-loading position (19, 45) of the ladle supporting arms (5, 42, 51) is located preferably at least 1.5 m below the upper edge of the intermediate vessel (33, 47) located in the pouring position (31, 46).
3. Ladle turret according to claim 2, characterised in that a plane of rotation (27) of the ladle turret (3) is located on the base side of the central column (30).
4. Ladle turret according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the central column (30) is provided with vertical guides (12) for a vertical movement of the ladle supporting arms (5) and in that a hoisting mechanism (18), preferably hydraulic piston cylinder units, for moving the ladle supporting arms (5) are connected to the central column (30).
5. Ladle turret according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the ladle supporting arms (5, 5', 42, 42', 51, 51') are connected independently of one another to the central column (41, 54) via one or more horizontal axle pins (40) and are liftable and lowerable with a respective hoisting mechanism (43, 55).
6. Ladle turret according to one of claims 2, 3 or 5, characterised in that the ladle supporting arms (51, 51') are formed as double drop arms, which are pivotably connected to a ladle support chair (52, 52') at one end and to a central column (54) of a turret at the other end, in the form of a parallelogram.
7. Ladle turret according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the hoisting mechanism (43, 55) consists of a piston cylinder unit (43, 55) applied under the supporting arm (42, 51) and which is pivotably connected to a support plate (56) of the rotary central column (54) in such a position that the axes (60, 60') extend substantially vertically during the lifting movement of the piston of the cylinder unit (43, 55).
8. Ladle turret according to one of claims 5-7, characterised in that a ladle lifting distance and a piston lifting distance have a ratio of substantially 2:1.
9. Ladle turret according to one of claims 2-8, characterised in that the spot height (21) is located 3-5 m below an intermediate vessel upper edge.
10. Ladle turret according to one of claims 2-9, characterised in that a stationary support device (35, 49) is located in the pouring position (31, 46) and the ladle supporting arm (5', 42', 51') is additionally supportable in the pouring position (31, 46).

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