LU83608A1 - DEVICE FOR HANDLING TUBES DELIVERING TO A HIGH TEMPERATURE MOLTEN BODY - Google Patents

Description

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Patent application of September 4, J 98 Designation of the Inventor, (η The undersigned ........... Mr Charles München, ... counsel ..... in patents to ..... ......

.................................................. Luxembourg, ..... lla., ..... boulevard Prince-Henri ............................... ...

acting as depositor - agent of the depositor - (2) 1 "" Spci summer rbelge des Produits refractaires11 for short "B.E.L.R. E. F '.' v N o * ü ve 1 ïëR ou "ted e T o ü rnai, 1, S à int - G his 1 ain, Belgique; 2. S Ö LMER ... S..QCIEIE .... L.QRRA .IN £ .... EI ... MER.LD..IONAL £ ... D £ ... LAMI.N.AG £ .... CQÎiIIl {U .., .... rue. ... d.û..Ja ...

Bienfaisance, 44, Paris, France; 3. USIN0R-UNI0N SIDERURGIQUE DU ••• WQRD -... ET— DE · -L -'.- ES-T ..... DE-LA-FRA-NGE ·· * ..... rue - d ·! Ath ene s-ï -l-A-r-P-a-ri-s -i ..... Fr-an ee ·.

(3) of the invention concerning: J

"Device for handling tubes delivering passage to ..............

a body melted at high temperature ", designates as inventor (s): • ÜFirst name and first name J.pnsieu.r ... Al.ai n.JOYAUX ................. .................................................. ...........................;

Address ... r..Ue .... de ... D.au.vr.es. ".... 3..Q.2 .." .... 5.92.4.D ... .Dunker.que, .... F..r..an.ce ............................... ......: 2.) Surname and first names ..Mr. ..J.acquâ.s ..... F0.USSAL ................ .................................................. ................... |

Address ..r..ue ... de.s .. Magnans., ..... 9., ..... 1.39.20 ... Saint ... M.î..tr.e ..... les .... Re.mpar.ts .., ..... France \ 3.) Name and first names ..Mû.ns.i eu.r ..... Y. va.n.-V.AND.EMA.ELE ...................................... ............................................... d

Address Chaussée de Binche, 238 bis, 7030 Saint Symphorien, Belgium | j

He affirms the sincerity of the aforementioned indications and declares to assume full responsibility for them.

Luxembourg 21 October 81 (signature): A 68026_ (1) Last name, first names, company, address.

(2) Last name, first names and address of the depositor.

. <• \ a.HHS * -—

Claim of the priority of (s)! A dcr. * <. R.d..f 'c * rri: .pondeme (s5 filed: ^) a. : —-Q £ 1.1¾ on ______ OS ^ .û3-.l ^ iQ__ under the number PV 0 / 3.0 3 ^ 0 ^ 5_

Bedside table 88SJ ^ 0) / 1 ^ / l DESCRIPTION MEMORY filed in support of a request for

I PATENT OF INVENTION

in the name of public limited companies known as: - "Belgian company of refractory products" in short s "B.E.L.R.E.F." - SOLMER - LORRAINE AND SOUTHERN CONTINUOUS LAMINATION COMPANY.

- US INOR - STEEL UNION OF NORTH AND EASTERN FRANCE.

for ; "Device for handling tubes delivering passage to a molten body at high temperature"

Inventors - Jacques FOUSSAL (divisional engineer at the FOS-sur-MER-SOLMER factory) - Alain MOYAUX (divisional engineer at the Dunkirk-USINOR factory) - yvan VANDEMAELE (Bachelor in chemical sciences - BELRELF,. 1 - 2 -

The present invention relates to a device associated with a mechanism for manipulating the end of a first tube made of refractory or refractory insulating material intended to come into contact with the end of a second tube, made of a material similar to that of the first tube, to allow the passage of a molten body, at high temperature, in said tubes situated substantially in the extension of one another, said device, which comprises two rings, one of which is mounted on the. above mechanism while the other is associated with the first tube and which may have one with respect to the other and with respect to the axes of the ^ tip | ^ & u at least one angular displacement.

The device according to the invention is, in particular, intended for the steel industry where the qualitative requirements require to protect the jets of liquid metals from any contact with air.4

Said device is advantageously associated with a continuous casting installation (Figure 1), where the molten metal, such as steel, must flow, away from air, from a pocket 1 to a distributor 2, in which the end 3 of the aforesaid first tube 4 made of refractory material fits onto the end 5 of the aforementioned second tube 6, also made of refractory material and constituting the collecting nozzle of the valve 7 used to open and close the bag 1 containing the molten metal to maintain a substantially constant level in the distributor 2.

The tube 4 must be handled for its installation, its replacement but also when a casting incident, such as obturation of the tube, occurs. To do this, we use a /

AT

- 3 -. 1 mechanism 8 with known articulated arm mistletoe allows, on the one hand, the release of the tube 4 from the pocket 1, distributor 2 and tube 6 above and, on the other hand, to ensure the junction of the tubes 4 and 6 when the tube 4 is brought into the extension of the tube 6.

First of all, for the manipulation of the tube 4, a single ring was used associated with the mechanism 8 and supporting said tube 4 by bearing on the flare 9 presented by the latter. Since the tube 6 (collecting nozzle) follows the movements „printed by the valve 7 during the opening and closing operations of the bag 1, which are translational or rotational movements depending on the valve system used, said tube 6 forces the tube 4 to rotate about its axis in view of the junction provided between the two tubes by the mechanism 8 with an articulated arm, this rotation of the tube 4 being very important when using a rotary valve 7.

This single ring device has the serious drawback of causing the tubes 4 and 6 to break, due to the torsional torque which is created between the tubes when the valve 7 is actuated, which poses serious risks to the personnel. conducting the installation and destroying the tightness of the junction of the tubes with the result of exposing the molten metal to the air and, thereby, altering its qualities.

To overcome this drawback, we thought of making] a device comprising two rings 10 and 11 which fit into one another and can rotate relative to each other, the ring 10 being associated with the mechanism 8 while the ring 11 supports the tube 4 by its flare 9. / i - 4 - * ί

* I

Although the mounting of the rings 10 and 11 is carried out with a clearance allowing the circumferential dïlatatî n of the ring 11, it has been realized that, when the installation is in service, the rings 10 and 11 either move very difficult one with respect to the other, or seize one on the other; which has the result of creating a torque between the tubes and causing them to break.

To remedy this new drawback, it has also been thought, in order to reduce the friction between the rings 10 and 11, to lubricate the surface # of the rings in contact with heat resistant greases'. because in view of the extremely high operating temperatures, the grease is fluidized, escapes from the rings and is finally consumed by burning.

We have also attempted, in order to obtain freedom of movement between the rings 10 and 5 U ", to produce at least the ring 11 in a material reducing friction #, such as bronze or cast iron. This measure did not provide any solution because the frictions, given the pressures exerted on the surfaces of the rings in contact, remain too high and cause the blocking of the rings.

We have still tried to have ball bearings between the contact surfaces of the rings 10 and 11. This solution has again proved to be ineffective and leads to tube breakage due to blockage of the ball bearings due to the accumulation of dust in the latter.

The aim of the inventive is to remedy these drawbacks and to provide a positive for two rings 10 and 11 in which ^ / '·' v ·> ·! · · - / ï · £.

: -. v * 3r "-aKv: izLiiB · --- - 5 - 'any risk of friction between the rings is eliminated, which eliminates the risk of breakage of the tubes 4 and 6 and leakage between them ci and ensures, therefore, a greatly increased safety of the personnel serving the installation as well as a casting of the molten metal sheltered from the air.

To this end, according to the invention, means are provided for creating, between the surfaces of the rings rotated towards one another, a cushion of a pressurized fluid.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the ring mounted on the mechanism is annular while the ring associated with the first tube has an annular part intended to be placed inside the ring mounted on the mechanism, substantially coaxial with the latter, and an annular part overhanging the ring associated with the mechanism on at least a significant part of its surface, the aforementioned means being arranged so that the aforementioned fluid exerts on the ring associated with the tube a pressure having a component directed towards the axes of the tubes and a component directed from the ring mounted on the mechanism towards the annular part of the other ring located above, the pressure was sufficient so that the surfaces of the rings turned towards each other do not enter in contact, permanently.

Other details and particularities of the invention will emerge from the description of the drawings appended to this specification and which represent, by way of nonlimiting examples, three / specific embodiments of the device according to the invention. 1 / ï • r - 6 ~

Figure 1 is a schematic view, with partial breaks, illustrating a continuous casting installation comprising a device covered by the invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view in section, with partial broken lines, showing the device according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line III - III of FIG. 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figure 2 and illustrate two variants of the device shown in Figures 2 and 3.

In the different figures, the same reference notations designate identical or analogous elements.

In the device with two rings 10 and 11 according to the invention and represented in FIGS. 2 to 5, means 12 are provided for creating, between the surfaces 13, 14 and 15, 16 rings 10 and 11 turned towards one another. other, a cushion of a pressurized fluid such as compressed air, the purpose of this air cushion is to lift from the ring 10, associated with the mechanism 8 by a fork 17 and pins 18, the ring 11 supporting the tube 4 and eliminating between the aforementioned surfaces of the rings any friction so that the latter can rotate freely with respect to the other. Thanks to the air cushion, a relative rotational movement is made between the tube 4 and the ring 10 associated with the mechanism 8 during the opening and closing operations of the valve 7.

This allows the tube 4 to remain permanently in contact with the tube 6, without creating the torque between the tubes which caused them to break, whatever the movement of movement of the / h ^ SJiatjagiViannT— - - -— - 7 - tube 6 accompanying the valve, that is to say a small translational movement in the case of a valve of the drawer type or a significant movement of rotation, which can reach 360 degrees, in the case of a valve of the rotary type .

Besides the elimination of friction between the rings 10 and 11, the air cushion has the advantage of favoring, by escaping the pressurized air, the cooling of the rings and of opposing the introduction of dust. between the rings. These advantages are particularly important when the molten metal is steel, the temperature of which is always higher than 1450 ° C., the device then being exposed to the radiation of the liquid steel staying in the distributor 2, to the dust coming from the materials. powder which covers this steel as well as the heat transmitted by convection from the tube 4.

In the embodiment of the device according to the invention shown in Figures 2 and 3, the surfaces 13 and 14 of the rings 10 and 11 are cylindrical and have with the rings the same axis 19. The surfaces 15 and 16 of said rings are located in parallel planes which are perpendicular to the axis 19 of the rings. According to the invention and as shown in FIG. 4, the surfaces 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the rings 10 and 11 are conical surfaces having with the rings the same axis 19.

The means 12 creating the aforesaid air cushion are arranged in the ring 10 and include channels 20 and 21, regularly distributed in the ring, opening respectively, at one of their ends, on the surfaces 13 and 15 of the bav gue 10 located opposite surfaces 14 and 16 of ring 11J

i - 8 - while another 11 of their ends opens into a conduit. peripheral 22 arranged in the ring 10 and supplied with pressurized air by two diametrically opposite openings 23. The air circulating in the channels 20 and 21 creates a force, the vertical component of which assures the ring 11 and the tube 4 relative to the ring 10 and a radial component; which axis the ring 11 and the tube 4 which it supports relative to the ring 10, which facilitates the rotation of the ring 11 and tube 4 assembly.

Thanks to the air cushion, the ring 11, the tube 4 and the tube 6 remain stationary with respect to each other and are made independent of the ring 10 associated with the mechanism 8. Any torsional force between the tubes 4 and 6 is thus eliminated and there is therefore no longer any risk of breaking the tubes when the tube 6 accompanies the valve 7 in its opening and closing movements.

Channels 20 and 21 advantageously open out into the center of regularly distributed cavities 24 which are produced in the above-mentioned surfaces 13 and 15. These cavities 24 of the surface 13 are, like those of the surface 15, advantageously aligned along a circumference whose center is located on the axis 19. The cavities of the surface 13 are offset radially with respect to the cavities of the surface 15, just like the channels 20 and 21 which open there, the total section of the channels 20 and 21 being at most equal to that of the peripheral conduit 22. The depth of the cavities 24 is between 0.5 and 2mm and their width 1 is substantially equal to a third of the width 1 'of the corresponding surface. The length L of the cavities 24 is a function of the pressure of the air used, which may be that of the compressed air as it is. τ. "commonly distributed in industrial installations, and the effort to be transmitted over the aforementioned surfaces to make the ring 11 free relative to the ring 10. The distance d which separates two immediately adjacent cavities 24 is of the order of 2 1.

To minimize the air flow necessary for the constitution of the air cushion, it is advantageous to provide, as shown in Figure 5, means 25 for creating pressure drops in the air flow. These means 25 are arranged at least in the space separating the surfaces 13 and 14, these being distant, when cold, of at least 3 mm to allow a misalignment of the tubes 4 and 6. These means 25 are for example constituted by an annular ring 25 fixed to the ring 10.

It should be understood that the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and that many modifications can be made to these without departing from the scope of this patent.

One could, instead of providing channels 20 and 21 leading to the surfaces 13 and 15 of the ring 10, be satisfied with channels 21 leading only to the surface 15 of said ring 10.

Thus, in particular, each of the series of cavities 24 could be replaced by a peripheral groove into which the aforementioned channels open out.

The device according to the invention could advantageously be used to handle tubes 28 which would join the distributor 2, by means of valves, to the .lingotière / 29 (FIG. 1) of a continuous casting installationJj i

Claims (10)

1. Device associated with a mechanism for manipulating the end of a first tube made of refractory or refractory insulating material intended to come into contact with the end of a second tube, made of a material similar to that of the first tube, to allow the passage of a molten body, at high temperature, in said tubes located substantially in the extension of one another, said device, which comprises two rings, one of which is mounted on the aforementioned mechanism while the the other is associated with the first tube and which can have at least one angular displacement with respect to each other and with respect to the axes of the tubes, being characterized in that means are provided for creating, between the surfaces of the rings facing one another, a cushion of pressurized fluid. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the ring mounted on the mechanism is annular while the ring associated with the first tube has an annular part intended to be placed inside the ring mounted on the mechanism, substantially coaxial with the latter, and an annular part overhanging the ring associated with the mechanism on at least a significant part of its surface, the aforementioned means being arranged so that the aforesaid fluid exerts on the ring associated with the tube a pressure having a component directed towards the axes of the tubes e1 a component directed from the ring mounted on the mechanism towards the annular part of the other ring located overhanging, the pressure being sufficient so that the surfaces of the rings turned towards one another do not come into contact permanent contact./ U - it - 3. Device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the above-mentioned means comprise channels for the passage of the fluid produced in the ring mounted on the mechanism, these channels, regularly distributed in the ring, opening out at one of their ends. , on the surfaces of said ring si-i · killed opposite the surfaces of the ring associated with the first tube while the other of their ends is connected to a source of pressurized fluid. . 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the channels which open on the surface of the ring turned towards the axes of the tubes are offset radially with respect to the channels which open on the surface of the ring turned towards the overhanging part of the other ring. i 5. Device according to either of Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that. Regularly distributed cavities are produced in each of the aforementioned surfaces of the ring and are arranged so that the above-mentioned channels open into these cavities . 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the cavities, aligned along a circumference whose center is located on the axis of the ring, have a depth between 0.5 and 2 mm, their dimension, taken parallel to the axes of the tubes for the surface of the ring facing towards said axes and perpendicular to the latter for the surface facing towards the above-mentioned overhang, is of the order of one third of the corresponding dimensions of the surfaces, the angular dimension of the cavities being a function of the pressure of the fluid used and / • ^ tsaaBna — 1— “. . * - 12 - the force to be transmitted on the surfaces of the two rings to | move the latter apart from each other, the distance separating two immediately adjacent cavities being of the order of twice. smaller than the dimension of the cavities which is of the order of a third of the aforementioned dimensions of the surfaces. • 7. Device according to either of claims: 3 and 4, characterized in that each of the aforesaid surfaces has at least one peripheral groove, coaxial with the ring, into which the aforementioned conduits open. 8. Device according to any one of claim: 2 to 7, characterized in that a space is provided between the annular part of the ring, associated with the first tube, disposed inside the ring mounted on the mechanism and the latter ring, this space being, when cold, at least 3 mm. 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that means are provided, at least in the aforementioned space, to create pressure drops in the flow of the fluid flowing in this space. 10. Device according to any one of claims: 1 to 9, characterized in that the aforementioned second tube is a collecting nozzle forming part of a valve used to ensure the opening or closing of a container containing a liquid metal , the first tube being intended to connect this nozzle to another container in the contents of which it plunges in order to prevent the liquid metal flowing between the two containers from being in contact with air. ; ? oss: r.3: ..... 3 ........... plc-nr! '. ?? Âh ....... pr ^ ss dent ....... À ....... ‘r * 7C H- p-de · ........ S. : · - - * ration ..... 3. ù- Îtvnndlcations λ. r 'cA'r' <