Industrial electric heating furnaces – Arc furnace device – Electrode support
Patent
1988-08-15
1990-07-10
Envall, Jr., Roy N.
Industrial electric heating furnaces
Arc furnace device
Electrode support
H05B 712
Patent
active
049411497
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method of melting and/or refining metals and a cooling device for the graphite electrode used for the same and, more particularly, to a method of melting and/or refining metals and a cooling device for the graphite electrode used for the same, in which, during melting and/or refining of a metal in an electric arc furnace by passing current through graphite electrodes connected to one another via nipples, a coolant, e.g., cold water, is blown continuously against the outer periphery of upper graphite electrodes held by an electrode holder to cool the electrodes, particularly, it is blown in a downwardly inclined direction at an angle of 10.degree. to 35.degree. C. with respect to the horizontal to minimize its spattering as it is blown and effectively cool the electrodes, as well as suppressng wear of the electrode outer periphery due to oxidization, improving the life of the cover of the electric arc furnace and permitting high voltage or high power factor operation.
BACKGROUND TECHNIQUES
In the steel-making and electric arc melting and/or refining of metals, it has been desired to reduce electric energy cost and wear of the end of outer periphery of graphite electrodes due to oxidation, thereby reducing the cost for electrodes. For suppressing the wear due to oxidization, it has been proposed and practiced to cool graphite electrodes. For the cooling of graphite electrodes in the refining of metal, for instance, there have been proposed a method and a device, in which of graphite electrodes which are connected successively upper ones are constructed such that their inside is cooled by cooling water, that is, they are constructed as water-cooled non-consumable electrodes, and only the remaining lower graphite electrodes which are connected via nipples to the lower end of and cooled from the non-consumable electrodes are consumed during melting and/or refining operations. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,416,014, 4,417,344 and 4,451,926 disclose structures, in which water-cooled non-consumable electrodes consist of hollow aluminum cylinders, and cooling water is introduced into these non-consumable electrodes to cool the wall surface thereof and graphite electrodes to cool the wall surface thereof and graphite electrodes connected to the lower end of these non-consumable electrodes.
Further, Japanese Patent Disclosures 501879/1985 and 501880/1985 disclose structures, in which water-cooled non-consumable electrodes consist of graphite pipes, and cooling water is introduced into the bore of these non-consumable electrodes.
Where the upper non-consumable electrodes are cooled to cool the lower graphite electrodes are connected thereto, wear of the end and outer periphery of the graphite electrodes due to oxidization can be suppressed to attain reduction of the cost for the electrodes.
However, when the graphite electrodes connected to the lower end of the non-consumable electrodes are worn out so that they are to be removed, the electrodes set has first to be removed from the electric arc furnace and transferred to an off-line before removing then from nipples and also removing, if necessary, the nipples from the non-consumable electrodes. When connecting new graphite electrodes, the nipples are first connected to the non-consumable electrodes, and then the new consumable electrodes are connected to the nipples. In this way, in the system where the lower consumable graphite electrodes are cooled from the upper water-cooled non-consumable electrodes, the replacement of worn-out lower consumable graphite electrodes requires works of transferring the electrodes set to the off-line and hard off-line labors of removing and connecting electrodes and nipples. These works and labors are very cumbersome. Further, if the removal and re-connection of consumable graphite electrodes are done repeatedly, it will lead to deformation or battering of and damage to the consumable and non-consumable electrodes and nipples, defectiveness of connection of electrodes and increase of the
Mori Toshihiko
Nakamoto Yakka
Envall Jr. Roy N.
Nippon Carbon Co. Ltd.
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