GB1600596A - Hood for conducting away the smoke and flue gases arising during the charging of a metallurgical vessel - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A HOOD FOR CONDUCTING AWAY THE SMOKE AND FLUE GASES ARISING DURING THE CHARGING OF A METALLURGICAL VESSEL (71) We, VOEST-ALPINE AKTIENGE SELLSCHAFT, formerly known as VEREINIGTE ÖSIERREICHISCHE EISEN- UND STAHLWERKE- ALPINE MONTAN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, a company organised under the laws of Austria, Werksgelände 4010 Linz, Austria, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:: The invention relates to a hood for diverting the smoke and flue gases arising during the charging of a metallurgical vessel, the hood having at least one aspirated conduit, the metallurgical vessel being charged from a charging container hanging from a crane suspension means.

During the charging of a metallurgical vessel, in particular a converter of a steelmaking plant, with scrap and/or pig iron, heavy smoke and flue gas is formed. Due to the inclined position of the converter during charging, the flue gases cannot be collected and removed by the main chimney flue that serves for conducting away the flue gases during the blowing process. The high gas temperatures during charging lead to a strong ascending force, and the flue gases and the smoke rapidly rise up to the roof where they penetrate through openings into the open air, thus causing pollution of the environment.

It has been known to use hoods for collecting the flue gases emerging during charging, but, for operational reasons, these could be designed only up to a certain size, particularly because of the crane having to move close to the converter during charging.

They proved to be too small in operation.

The main part of the glue gases could not be collected and removed and thus escaped.

It is an object of the present invention to minimise or avoid these disadvantages and difficulties by providing a hood with which the flue gases rising from the metallurgical vessel during charging can substantially all be collected and removed and in a controlled way, by for instance conducting away via a filter or a dedusting plant, the indoor crane being movable into the charging position without hindrance.

According to the invention, there is provided a hood for collecting and removing the smoke flue gases arising during the charging of a metallurgical vessel from a charging container hanging from a crane suspension means and movable to a charging position, the hood comprising a first, fixed, section including at least one aspirated flue and a second movable, section including a cover plate and adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means to be displaceable therewith, said second section complementing said first section when the charging container is brought into the charging position.

Advantageously, the second, fixed, hood section comprises at least one side wall of the hood, which wall carries the aspirated flue.

For sealing between the hood sections complementing each other and for allowing movements of the charging container, or ladle, relative to the hood, the fixedly mounted side wall, at its upper and side edges, comprises a U-shaped collar into which the cover plate and side walls of the hood which cover plate adn side walls are adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween.

According to a preferred embodiment, two opposing side walls and a side wall connecting these side walls are fixed. In this case, the fixedly mounted side walls suitably comprise, at their upper ends, a U-shaped collar, into which the cover plate of the hood, adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Optimal tightness of the hood sections with the greatest freedom of motion possible of the charging container can be achieved, if the cover plate of the hood is adapted to be guided on the crane suspension means so as to be vertically displaceable relative thereto.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. t shows a vertical section of one embodiment of the invention during the charging of a converter Fig. 2 shows a view analogous to that of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, of another embodiment according to the invention, Fig. 3 shows a section along line IIt-ILI of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment in a view analogous to that of Fig. 3.

In Fig. 1, a converter of a steel-making plant is denoted by 1, the converter being tiltably mounted below the main chimney flue 2, which sucks away the flue gases forming during the blowing process. For charging by means of a charging container 5, such as a ladle, hanging from a suspension means 3 of a crane 4, the converter 1 is tilted into the position illustrated in Fig. 1, its mouth 6 thus being placed laterally beside the opening 7 of the main chimney flue 2.

For sucking away the flue gases formed during the charging process, a box-like hood 8 is provided, having four vertical side walls 9, 10, 11 and 12, and a cover plate 13 covering over the space enclosed by the side walls. The hood is divided into two sections. One section 8' of the hood, according to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, comprises that side wall 10 lying closest to the converter, which side wall 10 is fixedly mounted on the blowing stand. The second section 8" of the hood, consisting of the cover plate 13 and the three remaining side walls 9, 11 and 12, is mounted on a suspension tie-bar 14 of the suspension means 3 and is displaceable with the same.

Aspirated flues 15 enter the fixedly mounted side wall 10, which flues conduct the flue gases to a filter (not illustrated). At its upper and lateral edges the side wall 10 comprises a U-shaped collar 16, into which the side walls 11, 12 and the cover plate 13 fastened to the suspension means can be inserted with play therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions. As a result, the charging container 5 is adjustable vertically and horizontally, without separating the unity of the two sections 8', 8" of the hood 8. The charging container 5 therefore can always be brought into the position most favourable for charging, the tightness of the U-shaped collar 16, that acts in a way similar to a labyrinth seal, being maintained.

The side wall 9 of the hood 8 remote from the converter and integrally connected with the cover plate 13 is formed of sheet metal platelets one hinged to the next, like a chain screen, so that, when the charging container pushes against this side wall dur- ing tilting, no damage will be caused.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the cover plate 13' of the hood is displaceably guided in the vertical direction relative to the suspension means 3, whereby the height of the charging container 5 relative to the hood is changeable, snug fitting of the cover plate 13' on the three fixedly mounted side walls 10', 11' and 12' of the hood 8 being always guaranteed. Several guiding pins 18 perpendicularly mounted on a radiation guard-plate 17 serve to guide the cover plate. Suction of the flue gases is effected via the aspirated flues 19 entering the lateral walls 11', 12'.

Charging of pig iron or scrap, with a hood according to Figs. 2 and 3 being provided, is effected in the following way: The crane 4, on whose suspension tie-bar 14 the cover plate 13' of the hood 8 is mounted, moves with a pig iron ladle 5 or a scrap chute to exactly the centre of the converter. This step is simplified by a mark on the craneway. Then the crane trolley with its load moves in the direction of the converter up to a height and position where the cover plate 13', which, in its lowered position, rests on the radiation guard-plate 17, is placed exactly above the fixed side walls 10', 11' and 12'. Then lowering of the charging container 5 takes place, the cover plate 13 thus coming to rest on the fixed side walls 10', 11' and 12'. The two hood sections 8', 8" complement each other to form a complete hood 8. Now the charging process takes place.The smoke emerging during that process is captured by the hood 8 and led to a filter through the aspirated flues 19.

If height and side corrections of the position of the charging container 5 during the charging process are necessary, these can be carried out without affecting the unity of the hood formed of the sections 8' and 8". Various positions of the charging container are illustrated in Fig. 2 in full, broken and chain-dotted lines.

When the charging process has been finished, the suspension means 3 of the crane, together with the charging container, is moved upwardly until the cover plate 13' again rests on the radiation guard-plate 17 and is lifted from the fixed side parts 10', 11' and 12'. Then the crane trolley is moved away from the converter until longitudinal movement of the crane 4 with the charging container is possible.

In Fig. 4 a further embodiment is illustrated, in which two opposing side walls 11' and 12' as well as a side wall 10' connecting these side walls are fixedly mounted and provided, at their upper edges, with a Ushaped collar 16'. The cover plate 13" fastened to the crane suspension means 3 can be inserted into the U-shaped collar 16' with play therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments explained in the description of the figures, but can be modified in many ways. Thus it can be advantageous to arrange all four side walls on the cover plate mounted on the crane suspension and to arrange only the aspirated flues of the hood to be fixedly mounted on the stand of the metallurgical vessel. The hood according to the invention can be used not only for converters, but also during the charging of other metallurgical vessels, for instance during filling of a pig iron mixer.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A hood for collecting and removing the smoke and flue gases arising during the charging of a metallurgical vessel from a charging container hanging from a crane suspension means and movable to a charging position, the hood comprising a first, fixed, section including at least one aspirated flue, and a second movable section including a cover plate and adapted to oe disposed on the crane suspension means to be displaceable therewith, said second section complementing said first section when the charging container is brought into the charging position.

2. A hood as claimed in Claim 1, in which the second section comprises a single fixed side wall of the hood, carrying the aspirated flue.

3. A hood as claimed in Claim 2, in which the fixed side wall, at its upper and side edges, comprises a U-shaped collar, into which the cover plate and the side walls of the hood, which cover plate and side walls are adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween.

4. A hood as daimed in Claim 1, in which two opposing side walls and a side wall connecting these side walls are fixed.

5. A hood as claimed in Claim 4, in which the fixed side walls, at their upper edges, comprise a U-shaped collar, into which the cover plate, adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions.

6. A hood as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cover plate of the hood is adapted to be guided on the crane suspension means so as to be vertically displaceable relative thereto.

7. A hood substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1, or Figures 2 and 3, or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (7)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. and vertical directions. The invention is not limited to the embodiments explained in the description of the figures, but can be modified in many ways. Thus it can be advantageous to arrange all four side walls on the cover plate mounted on the crane suspension and to arrange only the aspirated flues of the hood to be fixedly mounted on the stand of the metallurgical vessel. The hood according to the invention can be used not only for converters, but also during the charging of other metallurgical vessels, for instance during filling of a pig iron mixer. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A hood for collecting and removing the smoke and flue gases arising during the charging of a metallurgical vessel from a charging container hanging from a crane suspension means and movable to a charging position, the hood comprising a first, fixed, section including at least one aspirated flue, and a second movable section including a cover plate and adapted to oe disposed on the crane suspension means to be displaceable therewith, said second section complementing said first section when the charging container is brought into the charging position.

2. A hood as claimed in Claim 1, in which the second section comprises a single fixed side wall of the hood, carrying the aspirated flue.

3. A hood as claimed in Claim 2, in which the fixed side wall, at its upper and side edges, comprises a U-shaped collar, into which the cover plate and the side walls of the hood, which cover plate and side walls are adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween.

4. A hood as daimed in Claim 1, in which two opposing side walls and a side wall connecting these side walls are fixed.

5. A hood as claimed in Claim 4, in which the fixed side walls, at their upper edges, comprise a U-shaped collar, into which the cover plate, adapted to be disposed on the crane suspension means, can be inserted with play therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions.

6. A hood as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cover plate of the hood is adapted to be guided on the crane suspension means so as to be vertically displaceable relative thereto.

7. A hood substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1, or Figures 2 and 3, or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.