JP2009233744A - Container capable of housing object - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container for housing liquid and the like which can suppress heating loss. <P>SOLUTION: The container can house the object within the internal space defined by an internal surface. The internal surface has a shape of a substantially sphere, quasi-regular polyhedron, or dual polyhedron of a quasi-regular polyhedron. The container is characterized in that the internal surface is comprised of a plurality of segment members composed of a heat resistant material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container that can contain an object such as a liquid, for example, a container that can contain a metal such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc, or a molten metal thereof.

  The casting method has a feature that it is easy to impart a shape to a product, and has become a basic technology for manufacturing many machine parts including those for automobiles. A general casting process includes steps of melting a casting material (raw material), pouring the molten material (molten metal) into a container, transporting the container to a casting apparatus, and casting with a casting apparatus using the molten metal. .

  Here, in the normal case, there is a problem of heat dissipation constantly in the container used for transporting the molten metal. That is, the heat of the molten metal injected into the container is released to the outside through the wall surface constituting the container. Therefore, the temperature of the molten metal in a container falls during conveyance of a container, and the problem that a molten metal of desired temperature cannot be obtained at the time of a casting start may arise. Such heat dissipation loss has a great influence on the entire casting process from the viewpoint of energy loss. In such a case, in order to obtain a molten metal having a predetermined temperature at the start of casting, the temperature of the molten metal poured into the container needs to be heated to an excessively high temperature in advance. However, such a countermeasure significantly increases the energy consumption of the entire process.

Then, in order to suppress the heat dissipation loss from such a container, it has been proposed to install a hollow part that can be in a reduced pressure state on the wall surface constituting the container (Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-340957 A

  However, the container described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the relationship between the contact area in contact with the heat source and heat transfer in the container is not considered.

  In general, it is known that the larger the area of the contact region in contact with the heat source, the more easily heat is transmitted, thereby easily causing a heat dissipation loss. However, in the container described in Patent Document 1, the area of the contact region where the molten metal contacts is relatively large in the internal space of the container. Therefore, even in such a container, it is considered that the effect of suppressing heat dissipation loss is still insufficient.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container for storing liquid capable of suppressing heat dissipation loss.

In one aspect of the present invention, a container capable of containing an object in an internal space shaped by an inner surface,
The inner surface substantially has the shape of a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron;
A container is provided in which the inner surface is composed of a plurality of segment members made of a heat-resistant material.

  Here, in the container, the heat-resistant material may be a heat-resistant metal or a heat-resistant alloy.

Further, in another aspect of the present invention, a container capable of accommodating an object in an internal space shaped by an inner surface,
The inner surface substantially has the shape of a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron;
A container is provided in which the inner surface is composed of a plurality of segment members made of ceramics.

Here, in the container, when the volume of the internal space is V (m ³ ) and the surface area of the inner surface is S (m ² ), the value of S / V (m) is 7.7 m ⁻¹ . It is preferable to be lower.

  The quasi-regular polyhedron may be substantially constituted by a combination of a regular triangle and a regular pentagon.

  The quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron may be a pentagonal hexahedron, a saddle type hexahedron, or a hexagonal icosahedron.

  Each segment member may have curved first and second main surfaces that are substantially parallel to each other.

  Furthermore, each segment member may have a hollow structure.

  The ceramic constituting the segment member is made of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of aluminum titanate, silicon nitride, cordierite, spodumene, alumina, silicon carbide, zirconia, sialon, mullite, and boron compounds. It may be configured.

  Alternatively, the ceramic constituting the segment member may be a refractory brick containing one or more materials selected from the group consisting of alumina, magnesia, chromia, silica, and calcia.

  Further, in the container, a first inorganic filling material may be installed between the segment members.

  Or in the said container, the sheet material containing an inorganic fiber may be installed between each segment member.

  Here, the inorganic fiber contained in the sheet material may contain alumina.

In addition, the container according to the present invention further has a housing that covers the inner surface,
A second inorganic filling material may be filled between the casing and the inner wall surface.

Alternatively, the container according to the present invention further has a housing surrounding the segment member,
Between the casing and the segment member, a sheet material containing inorganic fibers may be installed.

  Moreover, the inorganic fiber in such a sheet | seat material may contain the alumina.

  Moreover, the said container may be used in order to accommodate a molten metal.

  In the container, a material different from the material constituting the segment member may be provided on at least one surface of the segment member.

  In the container, ceramics may be provided on at least one surface of the heat-resistant material.

  In the container, the internal space may be a substantially sealed space.

  In the container, the introduction port for introducing the object into the internal space and the discharge port for discharging the object from the internal space may be the same.

  In the present invention, it is possible to provide a container for storing liquid capable of suppressing heat dissipation loss.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

(First form)
FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic cross-sectional view of a container 100 according to the present invention capable of containing a liquid such as a molten metal.

  The container 100 has a housing 105 made of a metal such as stainless steel. A plurality of segment members 110, which will be described later in detail, are arranged on the inner surface of the housing via an inorganic filler 107, and the inner surface 130 of the container 100 is formed by these segment members 110. . The inner surface 130 of the container 100 defines the inner space 135 of the container and is in direct contact with the molten metal accommodated in the container 100. Conversely, the housing 105 is not in direct contact with the molten metal because of the segment member 110 and the inorganic filler 107. The segment member 110 may be made of ceramics. Alternatively, the segment member 110 may be made of a heat resistant metal or a heat resistant alloy.

  Here, in the present application, the term “ceramics” is significant because it is a broad concept including all inorganic materials except metal materials and organic materials, that is, fine ceramics, composite materials including inorganic materials, refractory bricks, and the like. There is a need to.

  Although not shown in the drawing, another layer such as an inorganic fiber layer is provided between the housing 105 and the inorganic filler 107 and / or between the inorganic filler 107 and the segment member 110. May be. However, such layers are known to those skilled in the art and will not be described further here.

  In addition, although not an essential feature of the present invention, the container 100 further includes an upper lid 150 to allow the molten metal to be poured into the internal space 135 of the container 100. The upper lid 150 is composed of the housing 105, the inorganic filler 107, and the segment member 110, similarly to the other parts of the container 100. The upper lid 150 is provided so as to be freely opened and closed by, for example, a known hinge mechanism 152 or the like, and the inner space 135 is sealed when the upper lid is closed. In other words, the inner surface 130 of the container is continuously constructed when the top lid 150 is closed. Further, a discharge port 160 through which the molten metal can be discharged to the outside is provided at an appropriate portion of the container 100. In the example of FIG. 1, the discharge port 160 is configured by a housing 105, an inorganic filler 107, and a segment member 110, as with other parts of the container 100. However, the discharge port 160 may be configured by a combination of other members. Although not shown in the figure, a pedestal may be provided on the bottom surface of the container 100 in order to stabilize the installation state of the container 100.

  Here, the container 100 according to the present invention is characterized in that the inner surface 130 of the container 100 is configured to have a relatively small surface area with respect to the volume.

In general, the following relationship is established between the surface area of a member in contact with a heat source (high temperature fluid) and the amount of heat (amount of heat transfer) transmitted through this member.

Q = hA (θf−θw) (1)

Here, Q is the amount of heat transfer, A is the surface area of the member, θw is the temperature of the member, and θf is the temperature of the fluid. Further, h is a heat transfer coefficient, and the unit is W / m ² · K {kcal / m · h · ° C.}. From this equation, it can be seen that the smaller the surface area A of the member, the smaller the heat transfer amount Q.

  The inventors of the present application have found that by configuring the container 100 using this principle, the release loss from the container can be significantly suppressed as compared with the conventional container, and the present invention has been achieved. That is, as will be described later, the container according to the present invention has a smaller surface area on the inner surface 130 when compared to a conventional container having an equivalent volume.

  In order to form the inner surface 130 of the container having such a small surface area, in the present invention, the inner surface 130 is substantially a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron, or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron. The inner surface 130 is configured by combining the segment members 110. This is because in these shapes, the surface area can be suppressed to be relatively small with respect to the volume. In addition, it is extremely difficult to use a plurality of segment members 110 instead of a single member to form the inner surface 130, because it is extremely difficult to manufacture a member having such a complex surface with a single ceramic. Moreover, even if it can be manufactured, the manufacturing cost of such a member is extremely high.

  In the present application, the “quasi-regular polyhedron” is generally called an Archimedean solid, and means a polyhedron having two or more types of regular polygons and the same configuration at the vertex (all 13 types). The “quasi-regular polyhedron” includes, for example, a “deformed dodecahedron” in which each surface is composed of a combination of a regular pentagon (12 surfaces) and a regular triangle (80 surfaces), and each surface is a regular pentagon (12 surfaces). There is a “truncated icosahedron” (so-called soccer ball type) formed of a regular hexagon (20 faces). Further, “quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron” is also called Archimedes dual, and refers to a solid in which the number of vertices and the number of faces of a quasi-regular polyhedron are interchanged geometrically. For example, hexagonal icosahedron (rhombic truncated icosahedron dodecahedron dual polyhedron), saddle type hexahedron (rhombic icosahedron dodecahedron dual polyhedron) and pentagonal hexahedron (deformed dodecahedron (For more details, see "Issuing regular polyhedrons" by Shin Ichimatsu, published by Tokai University).

  Hereinafter, an example of the shape of the segment member constituting such an inner surface 130 of the container 100 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows one shape of a ceramic segment member used for shaping the inner surface of the container. 2A is a top view of the segment member 110a, FIG. 2B is a side view of the segment member 110a, and FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the segment member 110a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the segment member 110a has a columnar shape having two bottom surfaces of main surfaces 111a and 112a parallel to each other. As shown in FIG. 2B, both the main surfaces 111a and 112a are curved toward the upper side of the figure, and are convex toward the upper side. The curvature of this surface is preferably designed so that when the plurality of segment members 110a having the same shape are arranged to form the inner surface 130 of the container, the inner surface is substantially spherical. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the main surface 111a has a pentagonal shape, and includes three short sides LU1 to LU3 having the same length and two long sides LU4 and LU5 having the same length. Have. Angle theta ₁ between the two long sides LU 4, LU5 is located DEG 67,45, the angle theta ₂ between the other sides, all in ° 118.14. The ratio of the length of the long side to the short side is 1: 1.75. Similarly, main surface 112a has a pentagonal shape and includes three short sides LD1 to LD3 having the same length and two long sides LD4 and LD5 having the same length. The relationship between each of these sides and the angle formed by them is the same as that of the main surface 111a. However, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the main surface 112a has a shape obtained by reducing the main surface 111a while maintaining a similar shape. Therefore, the five side surfaces 113 of the segment member 110a are shown in FIG. 2 (b). As shown, the main surface 111a is inclined toward the main surface 112a. In FIG. 2B, the angle θ ₃ formed by the ridge line of each side surface 113 and the vertical line is about 10 °. However, this is an example, and the angle θ ₃ may be another angle as long as the two segment members can be arranged adjacent to each other without interference.

  The curved shapes of the two main surfaces 111a and 112a are not necessarily required, and both the main surfaces may be flat surfaces. However, when the main surface (in particular, the main surface 112a) has a curved surface as shown in FIG. 2, it is significant in that the volume of the inner surface 130 formed by arranging the segment members can be further increased. It is.

  By arranging 60 segment members 110a having such shapes vertically and horizontally, a substantially spherical inner surface 130 of the container is formed. Further, in the segment member 110a, when both the main surfaces 111a and 112a have flat surfaces instead of curved surfaces, an inner surface 130 of a substantially hexagonal hexahedron shape as shown in FIG. 3 is formed. The In FIG. 3, only the main surface 111a of each segment member 110a is visible. That is, it should be noted that the actual inner surface 130 of the container is constituted by the main surface 112a of each segment member that is not visually recognized. In other words, the visible shape is the surface of the segment member on the side in contact with the inorganic filler 107 in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the container 100 configured by arranging the segment members 110a described above on the inner surface of the housing 105. FIG. In the example of this figure, the inorganic filler 107 is installed in the clearance gap between the housing | casing 105 and each segment member 110a, and between each segment member 110a. By such an arrangement of the segment members, an inner surface 130 having a substantially spherical or pentahedral shape is formed.

  In addition, instead of the inorganic filler 107, a sheet material containing inorganic fibers may be installed between the housing 105 and each segment member 110a and / or between the segment members 110a. Since the sheet material containing inorganic fibers is generally bulky and flexible, when such a sheet material is used, the segment member 110a is mechanically applied to the sheet material by pressing the segment member 110a against the sheet material. It can be brought into close contact (engagement). Moreover, when a segment member is damaged, the segment member can be easily removed by pulling it out of the sheet material. Therefore, in this embodiment, the segment member can be easily replaced as compared with the case where the inorganic filler 107 is used for the gap. In addition, in the state which pressed the segment member 110a with respect to the sheet | seat material, when sufficient adhesiveness is not acquired, you may use an inorganic adhesive material between both.

  The material of the inorganic fiber contained in the sheet material is not particularly limited, and the inorganic fiber may include, for example, alumina, silica, or a mixture thereof. The form of the sheet material is not particularly limited, and the sheet material may be in various forms such as a mat-like form made of inorganic fibers or a non-woven cloth form.

  It will be apparent that the shape of the segment member used to form the inner surface 130 is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, other segment members may be combined to form the substantially spherical inner surface 130. Alternatively, segment members may be combined to form an inner surface substantially in the shape of a quasi-regular polyhedron. Further, a segment member may be combined to form an inner surface of a quasi-regular polyhedral dual polyhedron shape different from that in FIG.

  For example, an inner surface substantially in the shape of a quasi-regular polyhedron (deformed dodecahedron) may be formed by combining equilateral triangles and regular pentagonal segment members 110d and 110e as shown in FIG.

  Alternatively, the inner surface of a so-called “helical hexahedron” (a kind of dual polyhedron of quasi-regular polyhedron) may be formed by a combined arrangement of segment members 110b as shown in FIG. . FIG. 6B shows a developed view of the “saddle-shaped icosahedron” in FIG. 6A as an aid for making it easier to grasp the shape. In the “saddle-shaped icosahedron”, each main surface is composed of two saddles (rectangles), and has two short sides having the same length and two long sides having the same length. The ratio of short side to long side is 1: 1.54.

  Further, an inner surface of a so-called “hexagon icosahedron” (a kind of dual polyhedron of a quasi-regular polyhedron) may be formed by a combination of segment members 110c as shown in FIG. FIG. 6B shows a development view of the “hexagonal icosahedron” in FIG. 7A as an aid for making it easier to grasp the shape. In the “hexagonal icosahedron”, each main surface is composed of unequal triangles, and the ratio of the three sides is 1: 1.57: 1.85.

  As described above, in the present invention, a container having a substantially spherical, quasi-regular polyhedral or quasi-regular polyhedral dual polyhedron is configured by arranging a plurality of segments in combination.

  Here, a container having a cylindrical inner surface (hereinafter simply referred to as a “cylindrical container”) and a dual polyhedral container having an inner surface that is substantially a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron, or a quasi-regular polyhedron as in the present invention. (Hereinafter, simply referred to as “substantially spherical container”), the relationship between the volume V of the internal space and the surface area S of the inner surface will be examined.

For example, a container capable of accommodating about 1 ton of molten aluminum in an internal space is assumed. In this case, since the specific gravity of aluminum is about 2.7 g / cm ³ , the required volume V of the internal space is about 0.37 m ³ .

In the case of the “cylindrical container”, when the accommodation volume of the internal space is constant at V (0.37 m ³ ), the surface area S ₁ varies depending on the radius r ₁ and the height H of the bottom circle. That is, when the radius r ₁ of the circle on the bottom surface is changed, the height H is determined for each radius r ₁ and further the surface area S ₁ is determined. FIG. 8 shows a change behavior of the surface area S ₁ with respect to a change in the radius r ₁ (m) of the bottom surface of such a cylindrical container. The vertical axis is the surface area S ₁ divided by the volume V of the internal space (ie, S ₁ / V). From this figure, it can be seen that in the case of a cylindrical container, the surface area S ₁ is minimized when the radius r ₁ of the bottom circle is about 0.4 m. At this time, the value of S / V is about 7.7 (m ⁻¹ ).

On the other hand, a “substantially spherical container”, for example, a container whose inner surface is configured by combining segment members 110a as shown in FIG. 2 as shown in FIG. 4, is necessary when assuming a sphere in contact with the inner surface. The radius R ₂ of this sphere for obtaining a large internal space volume V is calculated to be about 0.45 m, and the surface area S ₂ is about 2.49 m ² . In this case, the aforementioned S / V value is 6.73 m ⁻¹ . The black dots in FIG. 8 are plots of this case. From the result of FIG. 8, it can be seen that the S / V value is suppressed smaller in the container according to the present invention than in any case of “cylindrical container”.

9 shows, in a similar analysis, shows a graph when expressed on the vertical axis "substantially containers spherical" surface area S ₁ of the change rate P of the "cylindrical container" to the surface area S ₂ of. Here, the rate of change P (%) = {(S ₁ −S ₂ ) / S ₁ } × 100.

From this figure, when comparing the volume V at a constant value, the surface area S _{2 of} the “substantially spherical container” (position where the vertical axis in the figure is 0) is greater than the surface area of any “cylindrical container”. It can be seen that is suppressed to be small. In particular, the surface area S ₂ of the “substantially spherical container” is still about 13% even when the surface area S ₁ is the smallest in the “cylindrical container” (r ₁ = about 0.4 m). It is getting smaller.

  Thus, the container according to the present invention is configured such that the inner surface is substantially a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron, or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron, thereby significantly suppressing heat dissipation loss from the container. Can do.

  In the ceramic segment member 110 described above, each segment member is preferably “hollow”.

  In general, a heat flux q flowing from one space (for example, internal space) to the other space (for example, external space) through a wall surface constituted by a plurality of members 1, 2, ... i is expressed by the following equation. .

ここで、θ_ｆ１およびθ_ｆ２は、それぞれ内部空間および外部空間の温度であり、

であり、ｋの逆数は、熱抵抗と呼ばれる。なお、ｈ_１、ｈ_２は、それぞれ壁の内部空間および外部空間の熱伝達係数であり、δ_ｉは、複数の部材で構成される壁面の各層の厚さ、λ_ｉは、各層の熱伝導率である。

Here, θ _f1 and θ _f2 are the temperatures of the internal space and the external space, respectively.

And the inverse of k is called thermal resistance. Here, h ₁ and h ₂ are heat transfer coefficients of the internal space and external space of the wall, δ _i is the thickness of each layer of the wall surface composed of a plurality of members, and λ _i is the heat conduction of each layer. Rate.

  Here, consider a case where the wall is composed of only a ceramic member (for example, silicon nitride) and a case where the wall is composed of two layers of a ceramic member (for example, silicon nitride) and an air layer. The thermal conductivity λ of air is about 0.03 W / m / K, and λ of silicon nitride is about 30 W / m / K. Therefore, from the equations (2) and (3), the wall has a two-layer structure. In this case, k is smaller than when the wall is a single layer of a ceramic member. Therefore, it can be seen that by providing the air layer, the heat flux q becomes smaller and the heat insulation of the wall is improved.

  Therefore, also in the present invention, the heat dissipation loss from the container can be further suppressed by making the ceramic segment member 110 have a hollow structure. Moreover, when the segment member of such a hollow structure is used, it becomes possible to suppress the weight of the whole container. Therefore, handling and conveyance of the container are facilitated, and the conveyance can be performed more efficiently. The hollow space of the segment member may be filled with air, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this space may be decompressed or evacuated.

  Moreover, it is preferable that such a segment member is comprised with a chemically stable material, when it contacts with a molten metal. Thereby, the problem that impurities are mixed in the molten metal due to the mutual reaction between the molten metal and the segment member and the quality of the molten metal is deteriorated can be suppressed. In addition, problems such as container breakage due to chemical degradation can be reduced.

  Here, when the segment member described above has a hollow structure, the thickness of the member is preferably as thin as possible from the viewpoint of thermal shock resistance.

For example, generally, when the strength of a material is σ _f and the thermal stress is σ _th , destruction due to thermal stress occurs when σ _th = σ _f is reached. Thus, the critical temperature difference [Delta] T _C to withstand the material is given by the following equation.

ここで、νはポアソン比、Ｅは、ヤング率、αは熱膨張係数であり、βは、ビオ係数であり、材料の熱伝導率λ、厚さδ、および熱伝達係数ｈを用いて、
β＝δｈ／λ （５）
で表される無次元数である。この式から、材料の厚さδが小さいほど、βが小さくなり、ΔＴ_Ｃが大きくなることがわかる。

Where ν is the Poisson's ratio, E is the Young's modulus, α is the thermal expansion coefficient, β is the bio coefficient, and the thermal conductivity λ, thickness δ, and heat transfer coefficient h of the material are used,
β = δh / λ (5)
It is a dimensionless number represented by From this equation, as the thickness of the material δ is small, beta is reduced, it can be seen that [Delta] T _C increases.

  On the other hand, in a segment member having a hollow structure, extreme reduction in thickness is a problem because the mechanical strength of the member itself is lowered. Accordingly, in the case of a segment member having a hollow structure, the wall thickness is preferably in the range of about 1 mm to about 10 mm, and more preferably in the range of about 3 mm to about 8 mm.

  Examples of the ceramic material for the segment member include aluminum titanate, silicon nitride, cordierite, spodumene, alumina, silicon carbide, zirconia, sialon, mullite, and boron compounds (hereinafter, these ceramics are referred to as “non-refractory”). This is called “brick ceramics”). In particular, since aluminum titanate and silicon nitride are stable against molten aluminum, it is preferable to use these materials when the container is used to accommodate the molten metal.

  Alternatively, as a ceramic material for the segment member, for example, a refractory brick containing one or more materials selected from the group consisting of alumina, magnesia, chromia, silica, and calcia may be used. However, when using refractory bricks, it is preferable to install “non-refractory brick ceramics” at least on the main surface 112a constituting the inner surface 130 of the container. In general, refractory bricks have the disadvantages that they are weak and tend to be partially chipped. However, by adopting such a configuration, the strength of the segment member is improved, and for example, the problem that the liquid stored in the internal space of the container is contaminated by the fallen object can be avoided.

  When the segment member is made of a metal or an alloy, the material of the segment member includes an alloy containing Cr and / or Ni, such as stainless steel (SUS304, SUS316 (L), SUS310S, etc.), a Ni-based alloy, or the like. included. In the case of a segment member made of metal or alloy, at least the main surface 112a that constitutes the inner surface 130 of the container has “non-fireproof” in order to suppress the interaction with an object such as a liquid contained in the container. It is preferable to install “brick ceramics”.

  In the above description, the other members constituting the container, such as the housing 105 and the inorganic filler 107, have not been described so much. However, it will be apparent that these members can be used in various ways. For example, the outer shape of the housing is not limited to the spherical shape as shown in FIG. 1, and the housing may have another outer contour such as a square. Further, the casing may have a double wall structure, and an air layer, a reduced pressure layer, or a vacuum layer may be provided between the two walls. Further, as a material for the housing, nickel base alloy or the like may be used in addition to stainless steel. On the other hand, as the inorganic filler, for example, an alumina-silica-based inorganic material (for example, castable) may be used.

(Second form)
FIG. 10 schematically shows the form of the second container according to the present invention. The second container 1000 basically has the same configuration as the container 100 shown in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  However, the second container 1000 is largely different from FIG. 1 in that it does not have the discharge port 160. That is, the second container 1000 is configured such that when the upper lid 1050 is closed, a continuous inner surface 1030 is formed, and the inner space 1035 is completely sealed.

  In this case, since the surface area contributing to heat radiation is further reduced as compared with the container 100 having the discharge port 160 as shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulation of the container can be further improved. In the second container 1000, the object stored in the internal space 1035 is discharged from the opening formed when the upper lid 1050 is opened by inclining the second container 1000. That is, in the second container 1000, the introduction port for accommodating the object in the internal space 1035 and the discharge port for discharging the object from the internal space 1035 coincide with each other.

  Of course, in the second container 1000, the inorganic filler 1007 may be replaced with a sheet material containing inorganic fibers as described above.

  Next, the effects of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples.

  Silicon nitride powder (average particle size of about 1 μm), alumina powder (average particle size of about 1 μm), and yttria powder (average particle size of about 1 μm) are weighed to a weight ratio of 92: 3: 5, These powders were mixed well. To this mixed powder, 0.5 wt% acrylic binder with respect to the weight of the mixed powder and 140 wt% water with respect to the weight of the mixed powder (excluding the binder) were added and mixed by a ball mill.

  The resulting slurry was poured into a gypsum mold. The gypsum mold has a top lid, and the inner surfaces of the upper and lower side surfaces are shaped so that a molded body having the shape shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Further, the upper lid is provided with a discharge port (10 mmφ) for discharging the unsolidified slurry. After the slurry was thickened by about 5 mm using this gypsum mold, the unsolidified slurry was discharged through a discharge port to obtain a molded body having a hollow inside.

  After drying the molded body, the molded body was baked at a maximum of 1800 ° C. for 3 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere of 0.93 MPa to obtain a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. In the obtained segment member, the length of the long side (LU4 and LU5 in FIG. 2) of the first main surface is 122.5 mm, and the length of the short side (LU1 to LU3 in FIG. 2) is 70 mm. The length of the long sides (LD4 and LD5 in FIG. 2) of the second main surface was 88.2 mm, and the length of the short sides (LD1 to LD3 in FIG. 2) was 50 mm. The wall thickness was about 5 mm, and the height (length G in FIG. 2) was 90 mm.

  When the obtained segment member was visually observed, no abnormalities such as cracks were found.

  To an aluminum titanate powder (average particle diameter of about 1 μm), 1 wt% acrylic binder with respect to the powder weight and 160 wt% water with respect to the powder weight (excluding the binder) were added and mixed by a ball mill. . The obtained slurry was poured into the above-mentioned gypsum mold. By the above-mentioned treatment, a molded body having a hollow inside was obtained.

  After drying, the obtained molded body was fired at a maximum of 1400 ° C. for 2 hours in an air atmosphere to obtain a sintered body. The dimensions of each side are the same as in the first embodiment. A sample was cut out from the sintered body so as to have a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 10 mm. Using this sample, the thermal conductivity was measured by a laser flash method (measuring device: TC-7000 manufactured by Vacuum Riko). The thermal conductivity of the sample was about 1 W / m · K, and was found to be sufficiently small. As a result of experiments, it was found that this sample was difficult to get wet with molten aluminum.

  1 wt% acrylic binder with respect to the powder weight and 160 wt% water with respect to the powder weight were added to silicon powder (average particle diameter of about 1 μm) and mixed by a ball mill. A molded body was formed from the obtained slurry by the method described in Example 1 above. After drying, the obtained molded body was baked at 1400 ° C. for 5 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. The dimensions of each side are the same as in the first embodiment.

  Dispersant A6114 was mixed at a ratio of 0.75 and water at a ratio of 160 to a weight of 100 of alumina powder (average particle diameter: about 1 μm: AL-160SG4). Further, 1 wt% (based on the mixture) of an acrylic binder was added to the mixture. After mixing for 16 hours by a ball mill, defoaming treatment was performed. A molded body was formed by the same method as in Example 1 using the obtained slurry. The obtained molded body was dried and then baked at a maximum of 1600 ° C. for 2 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere, whereby a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. 2 was obtained. The dimensions of each side are the same as in the first embodiment.

  In addition, segment members were produced in the same manner for sialon, silicon carbide, silica, cordierite, spodumene, and boron nitride. It was found that any of the segment members was difficult to wet with the molten aluminum and was chemically stable with respect to the molten aluminum.

A substantially spherical container shown in FIG. 1 was prototyped. The outside (housing) of the container was made of stainless steel (SUS304) having a thickness of 8 mm. The casing was divided into two. The dimensions of the assembled stainless steel casing are an outer diameter of 940 mm and an inner diameter of 924 mm. The silicon nitride segment members obtained in Example 1 described above are arranged and arranged in the form shown in FIG. 3 on the inner surface of the casing through an inorganic filler (castable) mainly composed of alumina-silica. The inner surface was formed. By using 60 segment members, a substantially spherical inner surface could be formed.
In addition, the same inorganic filler was installed also in the clearance gap formed between each segment member. In the container configured as described above, assuming a sphere circumscribing the inner surface, the radius of the sphere was about 450 mm. In this container, about 1 ton of molten aluminum can be accommodated.

  As in the case of Example 5, a substantially spherical container was prototyped. However, in Example 6, the segment member made of aluminum titanate prepared in Example 2 was used.

  A commercially available corundum-mullite-based alumina brick (CWK-3; manufactured by AGC Ceramics) was cut to produce a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the segment member is not a hollow structure. The specific gravity of the alumina brick was about 2.1.

  A sample was cut out from the alumina brick so as to have a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 10 mm. Using this sample, the thermal conductivity was measured by a laser flash method (measuring device: TC-7000 manufactured by Vacuum Riko). The thermal conductivity of the sample was about 1.2 W / m · K.

  A commercially available magnesia-chromia brick (NSX-750; manufactured by AGC Ceramics) was cut to produce a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the segment member is not a hollow structure. The specific gravity of magnesia-chromia brick was about 1.8.

  A sample was cut out from magnesia-chromia brick so as to have a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 10 mm. Using this sample, the thermal conductivity was measured by a laser flash method (measuring device: TC-7000 manufactured by Vacuum Riko). The thermal conductivity of the sample was about 1.0 W / m · K.

  Alumina cement was poured into a gypsum mold and then solidified at room temperature to produce a segment member having the shape shown in FIG. However, in this example, the segment member has a non-hollow structure. Before the alumina cement was poured into the gypsum mold, a silicon nitride anchored plate was installed in the mold.

  FIG. 11 shows a schematic shape of the segment member after the alumina cement is solidified. The anchored plate 340 includes a bottom portion 345 having a large surface 343 and an anchor portion 350 connected to the bottom portion 345, and has a substantially “e” shape. When the alumina cement 360 was poured into the plaster mold, the plate 340 was placed in the plaster mold such that the large surface 343 of the anchored plate 340 formed the main surface 112a of the segment member.

  A commercially available FeCrNi alloy (32Cr-43Ni) (KHR45A (Kubota Co., Ltd.)) was cut to produce a segment member having the shape shown in Fig. 2. However, in this example, the main surface 111a of the segment member is (The segment has a so-called box shape in which one surface does not exist.) The thickness of the surface constituting the main surface 111b of the segment member is 3 mm, and the thickness of the side wall is 2 mm. Further, after shot blasting the main surface 111b of the segment member, a zirconia sprayed film was placed on the surface, and the sprayed film was formed by plasma spraying, and the thickness was about 100 μm.

  As in the case of Example 5, a substantially spherical container was prototyped. However, in this Example 11, the segment member made from the alumina brick produced in the above-mentioned Example 7 was used.

  As in the case of Example 5, a substantially spherical container was prototyped. However, in Example 12, the segment member made of silicon nitride plate + alumina cement produced in Example 9 was used.

  As in the case of Example 5, a substantially spherical container was prototyped. However, in Example 13, the segment member made of the zirconia sprayed film + FeCrNi alloy prepared in Example 10 was used.

Comparative Example 1

A container having a cylindrical inner space was prepared. A schematic cross-sectional view of the container is shown in FIG. The container 200 has a casing 205 (thickness 8 mm) made of stainless steel (SUS304). An inorganic adhesive layer (alumina-silica system), an inorganic fiber layer (alumina-based) are formed on the entire inner surface of the casing. Silica-based) and fire-resistant cement layer (castable) 207 are disposed in this order. Therefore, the refractory cement layer 207 becomes the inner surface 230 of the container, and the internal space 235 is shaped. In FIG. 12, only the housing 205 and the fireproof cement layer 207 are shown for the sake of clarity. The radius r ₁ of the bottom surface defining the internal space is about 0.4 m, and the height H is about 0.74 m. In this container, about 1 ton of molten aluminum can be accommodated.

  The heat insulating properties of the containers according to Examples 5 and 6 and Comparative Example 1 were evaluated. Evaluation is made by injecting about 1 ton of molten aluminum at an initial temperature of 750 ° C. into the internal space of each container, and measuring the temperature of the molten metal after a predetermined time (1 hour) with the internal space sealed. went. The results are shown in Table 1.

この表から、比較例１に係る容器では、１時間後に溶湯の温度が６７５℃まで低下することがわかった。これに対して、実施例５および６に係る容器では、１時間経過後も、アルミニウム溶湯の温度は、それぞれ７２２℃および７３４℃に維持されており、従来のような容器に比べて、放熱ロスが有意に抑制されることが確認された。

From this table, it was found that in the container according to Comparative Example 1, the temperature of the molten metal decreased to 675 ° C. after 1 hour. On the other hand, in the containers according to Examples 5 and 6, the temperatures of the molten aluminum were maintained at 722 ° C. and 734 ° C., respectively, even after 1 hour had elapsed, and compared with conventional containers, the heat dissipation loss. Was confirmed to be significantly suppressed.

  Table 2 shows the evaluation results of the heat insulation regarding the containers according to Examples 11, 12, and 13. In the same manner as described above, about 1 ton of molten aluminum having an initial temperature of 750 ° C. is poured into the internal space of each container and the internal space is sealed, the molten metal after a predetermined time (1 hour) has passed. This was done by measuring the temperature.

この表から、実施例１１〜１３に係る容器では、１時間経過後も、アルミニウム溶湯の温度は、７０８℃〜７２１℃の範囲に維持されており、従来のような容器に比べて、放熱ロスが有意に抑制されることが確認された。

From this table, in the containers according to Examples 11 to 13, the temperature of the molten aluminum is maintained in the range of 708 ° C. to 721 ° C. even after 1 hour has passed, and compared with the conventional containers, the heat dissipation loss. Was confirmed to be significantly suppressed.

  The present invention can be used for a container for containing a metal such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc, or an alloy thereof. Moreover, this invention is applicable not only to a molten metal but the container which accommodates high temperature powder, a pellet, etc.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a container according to the present invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the segment member which comprises the inner surface of the container by this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning when combining a segment member and comprising an inner surface. 1 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a container according to the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning when another segment member is combined and the inner surface is comprised. It is the figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning when combining another segment member and comprising an inner surface. It is the figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning when combining another segment member and comprising an inner surface. 6 is a graph showing a change in surface area with respect to a radius r ₁ of a bottom surface in a “cylindrical container”. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the rate of change P of the surface area S ₁ of the “cylindrical container” relative to the surface area S ₂ of the “substantially spherical container” as a function of the radius r ₁ of the bottom surface of the “cylindrical container”. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another container according to the present invention. It is the figure which showed typically the form of the segment member manufactured in Example 9. FIG. It is the figure which showed the schematic cross section of the container which concerns on the comparative example 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Container of this invention 105 Housing | casing 107 Inorganic filler 110 Segment member 110a, b, c, d, e Segment member 111a, 112a Main surface 113 Side surface 130 Inner surface 135 Internal space 200 Conventional container 205 Housing 207 Inorganic filler 230 Inner surface 235 Inner space 1000 Another container of the present invention 1005 Case 1007 Inorganic filler 1010 Segment member 1030 Inner surface 1035 Inner space 1050 Upper lid.

Claims (21)

A container capable of containing an object in an internal space shaped by an inner surface,
The inner surface substantially has the shape of a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron;
The said inner surface is comprised with the some segment member comprised with the heat-resistant material, The container characterized by the above-mentioned.   The container according to claim 1, wherein the heat resistant material is a heat resistant metal or a heat resistant alloy. A container capable of containing an object in an internal space shaped by an inner surface,
The inner surface substantially has the shape of a sphere, a quasi-regular polyhedron or a quasi-regular polyhedron dual polyhedron;
The said inner surface is comprised with the some segment member comprised with ceramics, The container characterized by the above-mentioned. The value of S / V (m) is less than 7.7 m ^-1 when the volume of the internal space is V (m ³ ) and the surface area of the inner surface is S (m ² ). Item 4. The container according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the quasi-regular polyhedron is substantially constituted by a combination of a regular triangle and a regular pentagon.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the dual polyhedron of the quasi-regular polyhedron is a pentagonal hexahedron, a saddle type hexahedron, or a hexagonal icosahedron.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each segment member has curved first and second main surfaces that are substantially parallel to each other.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each segment member has a hollow structure.   The ceramic is composed of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of aluminum titanate, silicon nitride, cordierite, spodumene, alumina, silicon carbide, zirconia, sialon, mullite, and boron compounds. The container according to any one of claims 3 to 8.   9. The refractory brick according to claim 3, wherein the ceramic is a refractory brick including one or more materials selected from the group consisting of alumina, magnesia, chromia, silica, and calcia. container.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a first inorganic filling material is installed between the segment members.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a sheet material containing inorganic fibers is installed between the segment members.   The container according to claim 12, wherein the inorganic fiber includes alumina. Furthermore, it has a housing surrounding the segment member,
The container according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein a second inorganic filling material is filled between the casing and the segment member. Furthermore, it has a housing surrounding the segment member,
The container according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein a sheet material containing inorganic fibers is installed between the casing and the segment member.   The container according to claim 15, wherein the inorganic fiber includes alumina.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the object is a molten metal.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein a material different from a material constituting the segment member is disposed on at least one surface of the segment member.   The container according to claim 2, wherein ceramics are provided on at least one surface of the heat-resistant material.   The container according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the internal space is a substantially sealed space.   21. The container according to claim 1, wherein an inlet for introducing an object into the internal space and an outlet for discharging the object from the internal space are the same. .

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