Patent ID: 8017068

Claim:
An apparatus for injecting gas into a metallurgical vessel supporting a metallurgical process, the apparatus comprising: a gas flow duct extending from a rear end to a forward end from which to discharge gas from the duct; an elongate central tubular structure extending within the gas flow duct from the rear end of the duct to the forward end of the duct; and a plurality of flow directing vanes disposed about the central tubular structure adjacent the forward end of the duct to impart swirl to a gas flow through the forward end of the duct; and wherein the flow directing vanes are each formed with a plurality of internal water flow passages for flow of cooling water internally along each vane, the internal water flow passages each extending along the respective vane, and the flow passages in each vane being spaced successively from a root of the vane outwardly toward a tip of the vane to define separate paths for flow of cooling water through the respective vane; and wherein the elongate central structure is formed with a cooling water supply passage for supply of cooling water to the internal water flow passages in the vanes and a water return passage for outflow of cooling water which has passed through the internal water flow passages in the vanes.