Installation with a refractorily lined metallurgical vessel

There is disclosed an installation with a refractorily lined metallurgical vessel. The vessel, on its upper end, is provided with a mouth that is connectable to a chimney arranged at a distance above the mouth, by a hood insertable between the mouth and the chimney. In order to provide an installation with which the lining team is not jeopardized and by which it is possible to introduce the lining material into the metallurgical vessel in a simple and time-saving manner, a container is introduceable into the space present between the mouth and the chimney after the removal of the hood. The container covers the chimney downwardly and includes at least one closeable bottom opening. The carrying means for introducing the container is equipped with at least one hoist displaceable from laterally beside the mouth of the vessel to above the mouth of the vessel.

The invention relates to an installation with a refractorily lined 
metallurgical vessel, in particular a steel works converter, which, on its 
upper end, is provided with a mouth that is connectable to a chimney 
arranged at a distance above the mouth by means of a hood insertable 
between the mouth and the chimney. 
In order to be able to line the metallurgical vessel, the entire lining 
material must be introduced into the vessel from above in the case of 
vessels with fixed bottoms. With a vessel having a removable bottom, only 
the material for lining and sealing the bottom joint must be introduced 
into the vessel from above. 
In order to render the mouth of the vessel accessible, it is known with 
installations of the initially defined kind (U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,453; 
German Auslegeschrift No. 1,583,307) to laterally move or lift the hood 
provided between the mouth and the chimney. During lining works within the 
metallurgical vessel, the lining team is jeopardized by pieces of slag, 
such as skulls, which fall down from the chimney. In order to avoid such a 
hazard, the lower opening of the chimney has been covered with plates. 
This is cumbersome and time-consuming. When removing the plates, slag that 
had fallen onto the plates was stripped off, falling down into the newly 
lined converter. Furthermore, transportable floor sections had to be 
established near the mouth for the purpose of lining, via which floor 
sections the lining material was conveyable from the region of the hall 
crane to the mouth. A separate hoist had to be mounted on the floor to 
lower the lining material. 
The invention aims at avoiding these disadvantages and difficulties and has 
as its objects to provide an installation of the initially defined kind, 
with which the lining team is not jeopardized and by which it is possible 
to introduce the lining material into the metallurgical vessel in a simple 
and time-saving manner. 
This object is achieved according to the invention in that, after the 
removal of the hood, a container downwardly covering the chimney and 
including at least one closeable bottom opening is introduceable into the 
space present between the mouth and the chimney by a carrying means, which 
is equipped with at least one hoist displaceable from laterally beside the 
mouth of the vessel to above the mouth of the vessel. 
The container covering the chimney serves to collect parts falling down 
from the chimney, such as slag skulls, and to prevent them from slipping 
into the metallurgical vessel as the container is removed. The hoist, 
which is displaceably arranged on the carrying means, automatically get 
into the operation position when positioning the container, in which 
position lining materials deposited laterally beside the vessel can be 
introduced into the vessel. 
According to a preferred embodiment, the carrying means is designed as a 
frame displaceable along rails, and on which at least one runner 
projecting to laterally beside the mouth of the vessel is provided for the 
hoist. 
For an efficient operation with a simple construction, the runner suitably 
is designed to be elongated on both sides of the vessel to lateral of the 
vessel mouth and is equipped with two hoists. 
Advantageously, two parallel runners are provided to accommodate at least 
one hoist each. 
A preferred embodiment is characterized in that the container is formed by 
a hopper and comprises a hopper orifice that lies centrally above the 
mouth and is closeable by means of a slide, the runner being arranged 
closely laterally beside the hopper orifice. The hopper-like design of the 
container makes feasible a simple evacuation of the same by opening the 
hopper orifice. With a metallurgical vessel having a removable bottom this 
may be effected prior to mounting the bottom, through the vessel into the 
slag cellar, and with a vessel having a fixed bottom this may be effected 
after a lateral displacement of the carrying means, the slag collected 
falling into a transportable chute. 
An embodiment with which the lining material is introduceable into the 
center of the metallurgical vessel is characterized in that the container 
is formed by two adjacently disposed hoppers, the runner being arranged 
between the hoppers in a plane laid through the vertical axis of the 
mouth. 
Advantageously, the carrying means is provided with a working platform 
introduceable into the vessel through the mouth, which offers the 
possibility, with metallurgical vessels having fixed bottoms, to line such 
a vessel from above without necessitating a separate stand. 
Advantageously, the carrying means is provided with an accessible path, the 
interior of the vessel thus being observable from the mouth of the vessel. 
With an installation comprising a hood that is movable along rails, the 
carrying means advantageously is movable along the rails guiding the hood 
and is connectable to the hood or to a moving mechanism carrying the hood.

A steel works converter 1 is tiltable about a horizontal axis 2, its mouth 
3 being below a stationary chimney 4 with the converter 1 being in the 
upright position. The converter 1 comprises a steel shell 5 and a 
refractory lining 6 on its inner side. The chimney 4 ends in a vertical 
distance 7 above the mouth 3 of the converter 1. Between the lower end 8 
of the chimney 4 and the mouth 3 of the converter 1, a hood 9 is 
introduceable by means of a moving mechanism 10, which is displaceable 
along rails 11 arranged on either side of the lower end 8 of the chimney 
4. The hood 9 has such dimensions that it connects to the mouth 3 of the 
converter 1 on the one and hand to the lower end 8 of the chimney 4 on the 
other hand, flue gases leaving the converter 1 thus reaching the chimney 4 
directly without annoying the environment. 
Along the rails 11 supporting the hood 9 and its moving mechanism 10, a 
carrying means 12 is movable by wheels 13 according to the invention, 
which carrying means 12 is comprised of a frame 14 peripherally 
surrounding the chimney 4 and being positionable closely below the lower 
end 8 of the chimney. On this frame, vertical props 16 are provided in the 
corner points 15, on which the wheels 13 are journaled. Within the frame 
14, a container 17 is mounted, which is designed as a hopper whose lower 
hopper orifice 18 is disposed centrally, i.e. in the vertical axis 19 laid 
through the mouth 3. The hopper orifice 18 is closeable by means of a 
slide 20, for whose actuation a hand wheel 21 is provided. The upper 
orifice 22 of the hopper corresponds to the lower end 8 of the chimney 4 
in terms of shape and size. 
To the frame 14, a runner 23 is mounted laterally of the lower hopper 
orifice 18 and closely neighboring the same, which, as is apparent from 
FIG. 1, extends from above the mouth 3 of the converter 1 to laterally 
beside the same. Along this runner, a hoist 24 is displaceable to 
transport lining material 25 for the converter 1. 
Furthermore, an accessible path 26 is fastened to the carrying means 12, 
from which the interior 27 of the converter 1 is visible with the carrying 
means 12 positioned above the mouth 3. 
In order to do without a separate drive for the carrying means, the 
carrying means is connectable to the displaceable hood 9 by means of a 
schematically illustrated coupling 28. As soon as the hood 9 is moved off 
the mouth 3 of the converter 1 by means of a drive (not illustrated), the 
carrying means 12 automatically gets into the operation position 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, together with the hopper 17 and the hoist 
24. 
In FIG. 1 an elongation 29 of the runner 23 has been entered in broken 
lines, whereby it is possible to displace two hoists 24, 24' along the 
same runner 23 from laterally beside the converter 1 to above the mouth 3 
of the converter. This embodiment is advantageous particularly with a 
converter 1 having a fixed bottom, which can be lined only from above. For 
a converter with a removable bottom--converters of this type preferably 
are lined from below--a single hoist 24 will do, which must introduce into 
the interior 27 of the converter only the material for lining and sealing 
the joint between bottom and converter shell. 
According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container is 
comprised of two adjacently arranged hoppers 17, 17', the upper orifices 
22, 22' of the hopers areally complementing each other in accordance with 
the lower end 8 of the chimney 4. The hoppers 17, 17' are symmetrical with 
respect to a plane 30 laid through the vertical axis 19 of the chimney 4 
and the mouth 3 and parallel to the rails 11. Between the hoppers 17, 17', 
the runner 23 for the hoist 24 is provided at a distance as large as 
possible from the mouth 3, i.e. closely below the lower end 8 of the 
chimney 4. The runner 23 thus is disposed in the vertical plane 30 laid 
through the vertical axis 19 of the mouth 3, whereby the hoist 24 can be 
positioned exactly centrically above the mouth 3 of the converter 1 such 
that even larger pallets may easily be lowered into the interior 27 of the 
converter 1. According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, one 
runner 23, 23' is each provided for a hoist 24, 24' on either side of the 
centrically arranged hopper 17. The carrying means 12 additionally carries 
a working platform 32, which is liftable and lowerable by means of a rope 
winch 31 that can be adapted to the shape of the interior 27 of the 
converter 1 by means of lateral projections 33. A drive motor 34 serves to 
lift and lower the working platform 32, which drive motor is coupled with 
the drums 36 winding up the ropes of the rope winches 31 via articulation 
shafts 35. 
With the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and 5 and 6, 
respectively, it is also possible to guide the runners in both directions 
beside the mouth of the steel works converter such that two hoists may be 
provided per runner.