GB2373313A - Materials introduced by lance into furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the manufacture of metal in a furnace 14 and to the addition of materials into the furnace in an improved manner. The materials which are required to be introduced for the manufacturing process are calculated and appropriate quantities discharged into a number of hoppers 16 or cavities. Control system and movement means can be provided to allow the selective discharge of materials from the hoppers or cavities at required stages during the manufacturing process and the same are then discharged into the furnace via a lance 8. The system allows the controlled and measured discharge of the material rather than the conventional approach of shovelling or otherwise manually moving the materials into the furnace which can be dangerous and also inefficient in terms of the required materials being provided.

Description

Material Handling System The invention to which this application relates is an improved material handling system which is specifically, but not necessarily exclusively, directed towards the introduction of materials in a flowable form such as powders, aggregates, and granules in predetermined amounts in a manufacturing process.

In many manufacturing processes, there is a need to introduce materials at stages during the manufacturing process into an area in which the manufacturing or forming occurs. In areas such as the food industry for example, ingredients may be introduced into a vessel in which the goods and material can be mixed. This form of environment is relatively stable and controlled and therefore the introduction of goods can take place in a controlled and relatively well measured manner. However in manufacturing environments which are significantly harsher it is not currently deemed to be practical to introduce predetermined quantities of material with any significant degree of accuracy. An area of manufacturing in which this problem is particularly prevalent is with respect to the manufacturing of metals.

This process utilises a furnace either blast or electric arc in which materials are heated to a molten state and during this time, materials are required to be added into the furnace to allow the formation of metals with particular characteristics and/or to improve the metal forming process. However, while these materials have significant impact on the quality of the finished product, the materials are typically introduced manually by operators taking the material from a particular location with a shovel and throwing the material into the open furnace. This conventional process has several problems. Firstly, there is the danger to the operators in moving around and close to the opening of the furnace, secondly the quantities of the material introduced are determined by the operator themselves in terms of visual assessment of the amount of material in terms of shovel loads. The use of shovels means that material may fall from the shovel prior to the introduction into the furnace and so there is spillage and wastage. Furthermore the employer is required to rely on the operator acting correctly and, for example, remembering to introduce the material and to introduce the correct material.

The current system is therefore relatively unsatisfactory but is tolerated as it is perceived in the metal manufacturing industry that the environment is too harsh to allow any other process to be used.

The aim of the present invention is to provide apparatus and a system which allows the measured introduction of flowable material into a furnace in a relatively harsh manufacturing environment.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for introducing measured quantities of material into a metal forming furnace, said apparatus comprising a hopper in which a bulk quantity of material is held, a port leading to a passage through which material can pass from the hopper and a lance through which the material can exit the apparatus and be introduced into the furnace.

In one embodiment the hopper comprises a number of cavities or a number of smaller hoppers and each cavity or hopper is provided for the reception of a material. Typically selectively operable flow control means are provided for each of the cavities or hoppers to allow the selective closure and opening of the material which is to be introduced into the furnace.

In one embodiment the materials and quantities of the same which are to be introduced into the furnace during a manufacturing process are loaded in the cavities or hoppers in measured amounts. Alternatively, the apparatus is provided with material flow measurement means such that the same can determine the quantity of a material from a hopper or cavity and, once a predetermined amount of material has passed from the hopper or cavity, the flow of further material is prevented.

Typically the flow measurement means are part of a control system of the apparatus which allows the selection of the material or materials to be added, the time during the process at which the materials are added, and the quantity of the selected material which is added.

Typically, the lance is provided with operating means and is formed so that the same can be held and directed by the operator, with the operator at apposition which is removed as far as possible from the furnace in which the molten metal is contained. In one embodiment the furnace can be closed, with a location port provided for the location of the lance and through which the material can be introduced in to the furnace from the lance.

Typically a number of different materials in different forms can be introduced via the apparatus. The material may be in powder form, in the form of granules or in the form of aggregate and it is preferred that the apparatus is of a sufficient size to be able to be used to introduce the material in the different formats.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a system for the introduction of materials during the manufacturing of metal, said system including the steps of calculating the materials and quantities of the same to be added during a manufacturing process, charging the hoppers or cavities with sufficient quantities of the desired materials, generating a material introduction procedure and controlling the selective opening and closing of the hoppers or cavities to allow the required material quantities to be charged in the system and to the lance, and an operator directing the lance to the furnace to allow the introduction of the material from the lance into the furnace.

In an alternative embodiment the lance may be located with respect to the furnace such that no manual intervention is required and the materials can be discharged from the cavities or hoppers and into the furnace via the lance directly.

In whichever embodiment, material moving means may be provided to improve the movement of the material from the hopper to the lance. In one embodiment a vacuum movement means may be used to draw the material to the lance as and when required and in addition or alternatively mechanical movement means such as an auger may be used to draw the material towards the lance.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrams wherein Figure 1 illustrates the apparatus in elevation in one embodiment ; Figure 2 illustrates the apparatus in plan in accordance with one embodiment.

Referring to the Figures, there is shown apparatus in one embodiment of the invention. The apparatus comprises a hopper 2, leading to a discharge valve 4 which in turn leads to a pressurised vessel 6 and lance 8. The lance can be directed, in this case manually, to allow the discharge of material 10 from the end 12 of the lance as shown into a furnace 14 in which molten metal is held.

The hopper 2 is in this embodiment divided into a number of cavities 16 as shown in Figure 2. Each cavity is provided with a passage 18 to the discharge valve 4. The valve can be selectively operated to allow the closure of each of the cavities so as to prevent discharge of material therefrom and selectively opened to allow the discharge of material from one or a number of the cavities.

Flow measurement means can also be provided, although not shown, which allow the quantity of material discharged to be measured and, when a predetermined quantity is identified the cavity or cavities can be closed. Alternatively, the time for which the cavity is open may be used to determine the quantity of material discharged.

Once discharged, the material can pass along the passage to the lance. Control means 20 are provided as part of the apparatus and manual control means may be provided on the lance to allow the operator to control when the material is actually discharged from the lance, i. e. when the lance is in the correct position with respect to the furnace. The provision of the lance allows the controlled and directed discharge of the material and allows the material to be accurately discharged into the furnace so that the manufacturer of the metal can be sure that the material which is required to be added has been added at the required time and to the required quantity. This, in turn, allows the quality of the metal which is manufactured to be improved and, equally importantly, be more uniform from batch to batch.

Thus, in one embodiment, in the manufacture of a metal, aluminium files, carbon and lime are required to be added during the manufacturing process at different times and in different quantities. To achieve this, three of the cavities are loaded with the three materials, the quantities and times of each material discharge is calculated and input into the control system for the apparatus. When the manufacturing process has started, the time for the first material addition, in this example, lime is reached. At this stage the cavity holding the lime is opened and lime passes from the cavity, through the vessel and to the lance, until the required quantity of lime is sensed as having been discharged from the cavity whereupon that cavity is closed. The operator can then use control means on the lance to discharge the lime when the lance is correctly positioned. This process can then be subsequently repeated at the required times and for the required quantities of the aluminium files and the carbon.

As an alternative to the manual directing and operation of the lance, the lance may be held in a located position with the furnace for the duration of the manufacturing process and the material automatically introduced from the lance without manual intervention.

Claims (11)

1. Claims 1. Apparatus for introducing measured quantities of material into a metal forming furnace, wherein said apparatus comprises a hopper in which a bulk quantity of material is held, a port leading to a passage through which material can pass from the hopper and a lance connected to the passage and through which the material can exit the apparatus into the furnace.
2. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the hopper comprises a number of cavities or smaller hoppers and each cavity or smaller hopper is provided for the reception of a material therein.
3. 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein selectively operable flow control means are provided for each of the cavities or smaller hoppers to allow the selective closure and opening of the same to allow the selective supply of material which is to be introduced into the furnace.
4. 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the materials and quantities of the same which are introduced into the furnace during the manufacturing process are loaded in cavities or hoppers in measured amounts.
5. 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus is provided with material flow measurement means to determine the quantities of material to be released from each hopper or cavity.
6. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein flow measurement means are part of the control system of the apparatus to allow the selection of the material or materials to be added to the furnace at the required time during the metal forming process.
7. 7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the lance is provided to be inserted into a location port provided in the furnace.
8. 8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the apparatus is provided to allow the selective introduction into the furnace of material in any of powder, granule, or aggregate form.
9. 9. A system for the introduction of materials during the manufacturing of metal in a furnace, said system including the steps of calculating the materials and quantities of the same to be added during the metal manufacturing process, charging a series of hoppers or cavities with sufficient quantities of the desired materials, generating a material introduction procedure and controlling the selective opening and closing of the hoppers or cavities to allow the required material quantity to be charged in the system to a lance, said lance directed to the furnace to allow the introduction of the material from the lance into the furnace.
10. 10. A system according to claim 9 wherein material moving means are provided to improve the movement of material from the hoppers or cavities to the lance.
11. 11. A system according to claim 10 wherein a vacuum movement means is used to draw material from the hopper or cavities to the lance.