Stirring brick with shaped gas volume control openings

A device for introducing gas into a mass of molten metal from a location in the side wall of a vessel for creating a stirring action therein has a refractory body having a plurality of passageways transversely thereof, the refractory body being positioned in the safety and working refractory lining of a ladle or the like so as to communicate with the interior thereof and molten metal therein. Tubular members positioned in or communicating with the passageways extend from the refractory body and upwardly to a chilling device which in turn communicates with a gas delivery tube through which a desirable supply of gas, such as argon, is delivered under pressure for introduction into the molten metal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field: 
This invention relates to devices for insufflating gas into a mass of 
molten metal in a vessel wherein the device is positioned in the 
refractory lining of the vessel and gas is introduced into the vessel 
therethrough. 
2. Description of the Prior Art: 
Prior structures for introducing gas into molten metal for stirring 
purposes or introducing refining agents and the like have generally 
utilized pocket blocks positioned in the bottom or lower surfaces of the 
ladle or other molten metal vessel, the pocket blocks having openings 
therethrough in which various devices including porous plugs, impervious 
plugs with spaced shells and the like are positioned to provide 
passageways for gas therethrough. Such prior art devices may be seen in 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,396,179 to LaBate, 4,383,520 to LaBate, 4,538,795 to 
LaBate, 4,632,367 to LaBate, 4,687,184 to LaBate, et al. and 4,725,047 to 
LaBate. 
A side mounted lance for a ladle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,170 
(Jeffrey A. Towns, assigned to Insul Company, Inc.) in which a lance is 
positioned partially in the lining in the side wall of a ladle. A 
refractory nozzle built into the side wall of a metallurgical vessel 
providing a single passageway for the introduction of powdered reagents is 
described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,192 to Barbakadze, et al. 
The present invention comprises an improvement with respect to the devices 
disclosed in my above-mentioned U.S. patents and the others in that a 
refractory block of a size and shape enabling it to be easily incorporated 
in the conventional refractory lining of a metallurgical vessel is 
disclosed as having a plurality of passageways transversely thereof which 
communicate with tubes through which a suitable source of stirring gas may 
be directed. The stirring block so formed is easily positioned in the 
refractory linings of a metallurgical vessel such as a ladle or the like 
and may be rather easily and quickly replaced if necessary and is so 
formed and shaped that the gas directed thereto effectively protects the 
portions thereof exposed to the molten metal as well as providing a 
cooling effect considerably increasing the useful life of the stirring 
block. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A stirring block having improved erosion resistance to molten metal is 
formed of a size and shape enabling it to be quickly and easily 
incorporated in the safety and working linings of a metallurgical vessel 
such as a ladle for containing molten metal. Such ladles normally have a 
safety refractory lining and a working lining which is usually a double 
layer of refractory brick. The stirring block of the present invention is 
sized and shaped to be readily incorporated in such linings, either 
initially or in a replacement lining. The stirring block is formed of a 
dense refractory material with the grain structure thereof preferably 
positioned so that it is generally parallel with the passageways so that 
the side of the stirring block that is exposed to the molten metal has 
considerably more resistance to erosion and therefore a greater life than 
is the case in the prior art where the grain structure in the refractory 
block is usually lengthwise thereof rather than transverse as in the 
present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
By referring to the drawings and FIG. 1 in particular it will be seen that 
a portion of a metallurgical vessel, such as a ladle 10, which may be of 
any suitable or conventional construction has been illustrated with a 
conventional safety lining 11 and working lining 12. The safety lining 11 
is generally a rammed refractory material and the working lining 12 is 
illustrated as a double row of refractory bricks. Those skilled in the art 
will observe that the lining extends completely around the side walls of 
the metallurgical vessel and across the bottom thereof. 
In FIG. 1 of the drawings, a refractory stirring block 13 is illustrated in 
vertical section positioned in the double row of refractory bricks 
comprising the working lining 12 and provided with a plurality of 
transverse passageways 14 which extend from a front face or side 15 of the 
refractory block 13 to the opposite or rear side 16 thereof. Each of the 
plurality of transverse passageways 14 are preferably defined by tubes 15 
which extend out of the rear side of the refractory block 13 and are 
shaped so as to bend upwardly as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings and 
in enlarged detail in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. 
In FIG. 1 of the drawings, the tubes 15 communicate with the lower end of a 
molten metal chilling device 16 which is an elongated container positioned 
in the safety lining 11 of the metallurgical vessel and containing a 
plurality of metal pieces such as large steel shot or the like. Molten 
metal flowing into the stirring block 13 in the event of gas pressure 
failure will chill and freeze in the chilling device 16 and prevent escape 
of the molten metal from the metallurgical vessel. A single stirring gas 
supply pipe 17 communicates with the upper end of the chilling device 16 
and extends out of the refractory lining of the metallurgical vessel at 
its upper end and is connected with a source of suitable stirring gas, not 
shown. The stirring gas may be argon or nitrogen as will be understood by 
those skilled in the art and its is supplied in sufficient pressure so 
that it will be directed into molten metal in the metallurgical vessel 10 
to create a desired stirring action therein. 
As illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the transvere passageways 14 and 
the tubes 15 are shaped in the manner of flattened ovals so that a 
predetermined volume of stirring gas at a known supply pressure is 
delivered thereby into the molten metal in the metallurgical vessel. It 
will occur to those skilled in the art that the flattened oval shapes of 
the transverse passageways 14 and tubes 15 may vary in the dimensions of 
the actual openings thus formed. For example the tubes 15 and the 
passageways 14 may take the form of elongated narrow slots and/or cross 
sectionally circular tubes which are of a known size communicating with 
the stirring block 13 and are of a relatively smaller size extending 
therethrough so that cross sectionally circular smaller jet-like openings 
are provided through which the gas is directed into the molten metal. 
By referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that the 
vertical section of the stirring block 13 illustrated therein has been 
provided with a plurality of horizontal lines G indicating the grain 
structure of the dense refractory material as extending from the front 
face or side 18 of the block 13 to the rear side 19 thereof and parallel 
with the passageways 14 and the shaped tubes 15. The desired grain 
structure which considerably improves the resistance to erosion may be 
formed in the stirring block by ramming or pressing the refractory 
material in a suitable form and in a vertical direction relative to the 
horizontal upper and lower surfaces 20 and 21 respectively thereof. 
By referring now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, a plan view of the inner 
surface of the double row of refractory bricks 12 of the working lining of 
the metallurgical vessel of FIG. 1 may be seen and it will be observed 
that the overall size and shape of the refractory block 13 corresponds 
generally with the size and shape of the refractory brick 12 so that it is 
easily positioned in the working lining of the vessel when it is first 
lined and in successive relinings thereof. The refractory block 13 is 
rectangular with vertical front and back and end surfaces and horizontal 
upper and lower surfaces, the spacing between the upper and lower surfaces 
being about equal to one-half of the spacing between the front and back 
surfaces and the spacing between the end surfaces being about equal to 
double the spacing between the front and back surfaces. It will further be 
seen that the elongated oval shape of the passageways 14 and the shaped 
tubes 15 defining the same are spaced vertically and horizontally with 
respect to one another. It will also be seen that in the preferred 
embodiment of the invention the front face or side 18 of the stirring 
block 13 is preferably provided with oppositely disposed upper and lower 
tapered edges 22 and 23 respectively and oppositely disposed tapered edges 
24 and 25 on its opposite ends which in effect spaces the foremost portion 
of the front face or side 18 of the stirring block 13 forwardly of the 
plane of the double row of refractory bricks 12 which line the 
metallurgical vessel. This shaping of the front face or side 18 of the 
stirring block improves the stirring action in the molten metal induced by 
the delivery of stirring gas thereinto as the flowing metal moves over the 
angular tapered edges away from the plane of the refractory bricks 12 and 
into the mass of molten metal in the metallurgical vessel 10 to a greater 
degree than will occur without the tapered edges. 
It will occur to those skilled in the art that the stirring block 13 
disclosed herein is secured in the indicated location in the working 
lining of the metallurgical vessel with refractory cement known in the art 
so that in effect is becomes a unit of the working lining of the vessel. 
It will thus be seen that a novel and efficient stirring block for a 
metallurgical vessel such as a transport ladle or the like for molten 
meal, such as steel, has been disclosed in which the stirring block has a 
novel configuration and grain structure and controlled passageways and is 
so positioned in the vessel as to occupy minimum space therein and at the 
same time insure the desired delivery of the gas introduced therethrough 
into the molten metal to form a more effective stirring action.