US3341188A - Refractory-lined blast furnace tuyere - Google Patents

Description

p 1967 F. K. ARMOUR ETAL REFRACTORY-LINED BLAST FURNACE TUYERIE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed June FIG.|

INVENTORS 24 FHA/VA A. ARMOUR R05RT E. TOUZ/IL //V 26- 38 :3 K cl FIG. 1

2 Sheets-Sheet .51,

1 Om v @N F. K.- ARMOUR ETAL REFRACTORY-LINED BLAST FURNACE TUYERE Sept. 12, 1967 Filed June INVENTORS FHA/VA K; ARMOUR P055 BY R7 5. TOUZ/M/IV ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,341,188 REFRACTORY-LINED BLAST FURNACE TUYERE Frank K. Armour, Olympia Fields, 111., and Robert E.

Touzalin, Aurora, Ohio, assignors to Interlake Steel Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed June 3, 1965, Ser. No. 460,896 16 Claims. (Cl. 266-41) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tuyere for use in a blast furnace comprising a sleevelike member having inner and outer side walls defining a cooling chamber therebetween, the inner wall defining an axially extending passageway for receiving a fluid blast therethrough. The inner wall having an interior circumferentially continuous recess extending for a major portion of the length of the blast passageway and an insulating material disposed in a flush relationship in the recess so as not to interfere with the blast in the passageway.

This invention relates in general to furnace tuyeres and more particularly to a blast furnace tuyere which has increased service life and provides for high efficiency in the operation of the furnace.

In present day practice, a blast furnace is generally equipped with tuyeres made of metal, such as for instance copper and the tuyeres are generally provided with an arrangement for cooling the same such as for instance by being hollow whereby cooling water can circulate inside the tuyere, while a hot air blast from a blast furnace stove or the like passes through the blast passageway through the central portion of the tuyere. There has also been proposed the use of heat resistant inserts for insertion into the blast passageway of the tuyeres, in an effort to increase the service life thereof. However, such insert arrangements have not been entirely satisfactory in that they obstruct the hot air blast passageway through the tuyere, thereby changing the blowing characteristics of the tuyere design during the blast furnace operation.

The present invention provides an improved arrangement of tuyere for a furnace which embodies a sleeve or insert member of heat resistant and low heat conducting material which is recessed into the tuyere so that the hot air blast passageway through the tuyere is not obstructed, and therefore the blast penetration into the furnace is maintained at the originally designed values. The invention also provides a tuyere which has a greatly increased service life as compared to heretofore known arrangements of tuyeres, as well as novel methods of making the tuyeres of the invention.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a novel tuyere for a furnace.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel tuyere for a blast furnace including an insert member of heat resistant material which is recessed into the tuyeres so as to not obstruct the blast passageway and which is operable to reduce the amount of heat transfer to the coolant used for cooling the tuyere, and which will increase the service life of the tuyere without affecting the blast characteristics of the furnace.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a tuyere for a furnace with refractory insert recessed into the tuyere so as to not obstruct the hot air blast passageway through the tuyere, and which insert serves to insulate the tuyere from the hot air blast, and 'wherein there is provided a metallic surfacing covering the insert in the hot air blast passageway.

Another object is to provide novel methods of manufacture for insulated tuyeres.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be 3,341,188 Patented Sept. 12, 1967 apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, sectional view of a blast furnace having a tuyere arrangement of the invention embodied therewith;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged outer end view of the tuyere construction;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional elevational view of a tuyere constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevational view generally similar to those of FIGS. 3 and 4, but showing a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a View similar to FIG. 5, but showing another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, hot air from a blast furnace stove (not shown) may pass through the hot blast main 10, bustle pipe 12, bootlegs 14, blow pipes 16, and tuyeres 18, and into the furnace 20. Molten iron and slag, the result of the blast furnace operation collects on the hearth 22 of the furnace in the conventional manner.

The tuyere members may each comprise a tapered, generally cylindrical like article having an axial passageway 24 extending therethrough and through which the hot air blast passes into the furnace. The tuyere may be cored or hollowed out to form a chamber as at 26, thereby providing inner and outer sidewalls 26a, 26b, said chamber being operable for cooling the tuyere member by circulation of a coolant therethrough during operation of the blast furnace. The coolant may be introduced and withdrawn from the chamber 26 as by means of pipes 27 and associated ports 27a in the outer end wall of the tuyere.

The inner end or nose 28 of the tuyere may be of generally solid construction, and there may be provided an interior cooling ring 30 extending rearwardly from the nose and in the conventional manner.

In accordance with the invention, the tuyere is provided with a circumferentially extending recess 32 in wall 26a, which terminates as at 32a in spaced relationship to the inner end extremity of the tuyere, and terminates as at 32b in spaced relationship to the outer end extremity of the tuyere. As can be seen from FIG. 3, this recess also terminates rearwardly of the inner end of the coolant chamber 26. Into this recess is placed a refractory material 34 which is of low heat conductivity and high abrasion resistance. A satisfactory material has been found to be a chemically bonded high alumina refractory, and which is commercially known as Resco Cast AA-22 manufactured by the Refractory Specialties Company of Norristown, Pa. Such material may be troweled into place in recess 32 in the tuyere and formed and maintained there by means of a core pattern until it has set. After it has set for a period of, for instance, from four to 24 hours, the refractory material is hard enough for use.

It will be noted that the castable material 34 does not project into the passageway 24 of the tuyere but merely forms a continuation of the air blast surfaces 36 of the tuyere, such blast passageway 24 through the tuyere tapering from the outer end of the tuyere to the inner end of the tuyere as shown.

A temperature resistant metallic surface such as a stainless steel surface may then be applied to the blast opening 24 through the tuyere, as by means of spraying the metal thereon. A layer thickness of stainless steel of approximately 0.015 inch has been found to be satisfactoryfThe temperature resistant metallic surface preferably extends from the inner to the outer end of the tuyere, thus completely coating the blast opening 24 and the insulating member 34.

It will be seen therefore that the layer of castable refractory material or insulating member 34 which may be of a thickness of approximately /2 inch, is maintained within the tuyere without affecting in any way the air velocity and blast characteristics at the nose of the tuyere. The recessed arrangement also protects the insulating layer 34 from attrition due to high temperature radiation and molten slag in the furnace, and the spacing of the insulating member 34 from the inner end of the tuyere which may be approximately 2% inches for a inch long tuyere, protects the insulating member from the high temperatures and slag action in the furnace.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown another embodiment of the invention in which the tuyere maybe of the same general type as 'aforedescribed. However, in this arrangement there is provided a metal liner member 38 which is recessed into the tuyere as shown so as to not obstruct the blast passageway 24 through the tuyere. Behind the metal liner 38 there is provided a layer of castable refractory material 34 which may be of the type known as Resco Cast RS-3-35 manufactured by the Refractory Specialties Company of Norristown, Pa., of a thickness of approximately 3 inch. Because the material 34' is protected by the metal liner 38, it can be of low strength and does not have to be abrasion resistant as does the heretofore mentioned material 34. The metallic liner 38 is preferably of a high temperature alloy and may be represented commercially by an alloy known as Hastelloy Alloy X produced by the Stellite Division of the Union Carbide Corporation. It comprises approximately 18 /2% iron, 22% chomium, 9% molybdenum and 45% nickel. Such alloy has excellent high temperature strength and oxidation resistance up to approximately 2200 F.

The castable material 34, which is likewise recessed into the tuyere as shown, could be inserted into place in recess 40, and then the liner 38 which can be fabricated with one or more longitudinal joints 39, can be installed in the tuyere and expanded into place, and then welded along the longitudinal seam into an integral liner. Or the liner 38 may be provided with holes 39a therein, and then inserted into the tuyere and expanded into place and welded, and then the castable insulating material 34' may be inserted into the recess 40 in the tuyere through such holes, and permitted to harden. The sections of the liner 38 removed to form the holes 39a may then be inserted back into place in the holes and welded into an integral liner.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown another embodiment of tuyere wherein the tuyere proper is of generally similar construction as the FIG, 3 embodiment except that the recess 44 in the tuyere extends all the way to the outer end thereof, so that the insulating liner member 46 can be preformed and then inserted from the outer end of the tuyere into place.

Such insulating member 46 can be secured in place by any suitable temperature resistant refractory slurry or paste 47, to bond the liner to the inner wall 26a of the tuyere. A suitable refractory paste has been found to be that commercially identified as 8-820 made by the Glasrock Products, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. There are many other suitable refractory mortars that could be utilized such as that known as Super #3000, made by the Refractory and Insulating Corporation of Port Kennedy, Pa., and Resco Set 33 made by the aforementioned Refractory Specialties Company of Norr-istown, Pa. The outer end of the insulating member 46 is preferably tapered as at 48 so as to provide clearance for the blow pipe 50 coacting with the outer end of the tuyere.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a further embodiment, wherein a liner.38' which may be generally similar to the liner 38 of the FIG. 4 embodiment, is inserted in the recess 44 in the tuyere. In this arrangement, the liner does not have to be slotted longitudinally thereof since it can be inserted from the rear or open end of the tuyere together with the insulating member 46. Such liner and refractory insulating member 46' can be held in place by a suitable one of the aforementioned refractory pastes coacting between the tuyere proper and the insulating member 46' and the liner 38 to hold them together in an integral unit against movement axially and rotatively of the tuyere.

From the foregoing discussion and the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the invention provides a novel tuyere arrangement for a blast furnace which includes an insulating member or section which is operable to reduce the amount of heat transfer to the coolant used for cooling the tuyere, and which insulating insert is recessed Within the tuyere so as not to interfere with the blast opening through the tuyere and thus will not change the operating blast characteristics of the furnace. The invention also provides novel methods of providing a tuyere with an insulating insert associated therewith and in a manner to give long service life characteristics to the tuyere.

The terms and expressions which have been used are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of the features shown or described, or portions thereof, and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

We claim:

1. A tuyere comprising, a sleeve-like member having inner and outer side walls defining a cooling chamber therebetween, said inner wall defining an axially extending blast passageway through the tuyere, said inner wall having an interior circumferential recess therein extending for a major portion of the length of said blast passageway, insulating means disposed in said recess so as not to project out into said passageway past the other defining surfaces of said passageway, said insulating means being recessed radially from said other defining surfaces of said passageway and including a metallic liner disposed in said recess radially inwardly with respect to said insulating means, said liner being generally flushed with said other defining surfaces of said passageway so as not to interfere with the blast characteristics of the tuyere, and including opening means in said liner, closure means inserted in said opening means, and means attaching said closure means to the remainder of the liner.

2. A tuyere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said liner is initially severed longitudinally thereof and when assembled in the tuyere is expanded into place to form a longitudinal seam, and weld means closing said longitudinal seam of the liner.

3. A tuyere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said liner overlaps said insulating means in a direction lengthwise thereof, but in rearwardly spaced relationship to the forwardmost extremity of said cooling chamber.

4. A tuyere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said liner is comprised of a high temperature alloy possessing high temperature strength and oxidation resistance.

5. A tuyere in accordance with claim 4 wherein said alloy consists essentially of approximately 18% iron, 27% chromium, 9% molybdenum, and 45% nickel.

6. A tuyere for use in a blast furnace comprising, a generally cylindrical sleeve-like member having inner and outer ends and outer and inner walls defining a cooling chamber therebetwen, the exterior surface of said inner wall defining an axially extending blast passageway which tapers convergently in a direction toward said inner end, said inner wall having an interior circumferentially continuous recess extending for a major portion of the length of said blast passageway, said recess spaced axially inwardly from the inner end of said sleeve-like member and rearwardly of the forwardmost extremity of said cooling chamber, and a refractory insulating material disposed to completely fill said recess, said refractory insulating material having a smooth, uninterrupted interior surface which is disposed in flush relationship with the exterior surface of said rear wall so as not to interfere with the blast characteristics through said tuyere.

7 A t y e in accordance with claim 6, wherein said refractory insulating material is a preformed one-piece member, and heat resistant adhesive means holding said preformed member in said recess.

8. A tuyere in accordance with claim 6, including a metallic liner disposed in said recess radially inwardly of said insulating material, said incsulating material being recessed radially from said blast passageway and said liner being disposed in flush relationship with said blast passageway throughout its length.

9. A tuyere in accordance with claim 8, wherein said metallic liner overlaps said insulating material in a direction lengthwise thereof, but in rearwardly spaced relationship relative to the forwardmost extremity of said cooling chamber.

10. A tuyere in accordance with claim 9, wherein said insulating material and said metallic liner are spaced axially inwardly from the rear end of said sleeve-like member.

11. A tuyere in accordance with claim 7, wherein the end of the preformed member adjacent the outer end of said sleeve-like member is tapered outwardly toward said inner wall in a direction toward the outer end of said sleeve-like member and is spaced inwardly in an axial direction from the outer end of said sleeve-like member.

12. A tuyere in accordance with claim 7, wherein said recess opens onto the outer end of said sleeve-like member, and said preformed member being tapered at the end adjacent the outer end of said sleeve-like member and terminating axially inwardly from the outer end of said sleeve-like member.

13. A tuyere in accordance 'with claim 6 wherein said insulating means is comprised of a castable refractory material.

14. A tuyere in accordance with claim 6 wherein said blast passageway has a layer of a heat resistant met-a1 thereon, said layer covering said insulating means.

15. A tuyere in accordance with claim 14 wherein said layer is in the form of a coating having a thickness of approximately 0.015 inch.

16. A tuyere in accordance with claim 6 wherein said tuyere has a thickened nose portion and wherein said recess commences rearwardly of said thickened nose portion and rearwardly of the forwardmost extremity of said cooling chamber, and a cooling ring in said chamber extending rearwardly from said nose portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,023,025 12/ 1935 McKee 266-41 2,497,000 2/ 1950 Johnson 266-41 3,031,178 4/ 1962 White 26641 3,043,578 7/1962 Cohn 266-41 3,061,300 10/ 1962 Schultz 26641 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

E. MAR, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A TUYERE COMPRISING, A SLEEVE-LIKE MEMBER HAVING INNER AND OUTER SIDE WALLS DEFINING A COOLING CHAMBER THEREBETWEEN, SAID INNER WALL DEFINING AN AXIALLY EXTENDING BLAST PASSAGEWAY THROUGH THE TUYERE, SAID INNER WALL HAVING AN INTERIOR CIRCUMFERENTIAL RECESS THEREIN EXTENDING FOR A MAJOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID BLAST PASSAGEWAY, INSULATING MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID RECESS SO AS NOT TO PROJECT OUT INTO SAID PASSAGEWAY PAST THE OTHER DEFINING SURFACES OF SAID PASSAGEWAY, SAID INSULATING MEANS BEING RECESSED RADIALLY FROM SAID OTHER DEFINING SURFACES OF SAID PASSAGEWAY AND INCLUDING A METALLIC LINER DISPOSED IN SAID RECESS RADIALLY INWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID INSULATING MEANS, SAID LINER BEING GENERALLY FLUSHED WITH SAID OTHER DEFINING SURFACES OF SAID PASSAGEWAY SO AS NOT TO INTERFERE WITH THE BLAST CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TUYERE, AND INCLUDING OPENING MEANS IN SAID LINER, CLOSURE MEANS INSERTED IN SAID OPENING MEANS, AND MEANS ATTACHING SAID CLOSURE MEANS TO THE REMAINDER OF THE LINER.

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