Improving the reliability of the electric gun drive for closing the taphole of a blast furnace

Abstract

The blast furnace is a large metallurgical vertical furnace for smelting cast iron and ferroalloys. The principle of the blast furnace operation is the continuity of the metallurgical process during the whole period of its operation up to the regular overhaul, which is performed on average once every ten years. The total service life of the blast furnace can exceed one hundred years. The blast furnace is of a mine type: it is periodically charged from above with ore, coke and other components, gas being fed from below. Periodically, the slag melt is drained from the blast furnace and molten cast iron is released, i.e. the column of raw materials in the blast furnace mine eventually settles down, turning into cast iron and slag, and on top it is replenished with new portions of charge materials. For the periodic release of cast iron, a tap hole is used, which at the end of the release process is filled with the filling mass with the help of a special machine – a gun at the end of the release process. The reliability of the gun determines the quality and continuous operation of the furnace. One of the cycles of the blast furnace gun is fixing the gun on the blast furnace shell to ensure the reliability of the taphole closure. This function of the gun is performed by the locking mechanism. This article discusses an electric gun for closing the taphole of a blast furnace, reveals the drawbacks that can negatively affect the performance of the electric gun, namely, the discreteness of moving the hook of the gripping electromagnet into the loop. The solution of the main problem of the gripping electromagnet is presented, as an important and integral part of the electric gun for closing the taphole of the blast furnace, which in its turn will result in an increase in the reliability of the above mentioned apparatus