Continuous casting apparatus

Claim 2

A tubular supply device for introducing molten metal below the surface of a pool of molten metal maintained in the upper end of a continuous casting mold having an elongated unitary refractory tubular lateral wall section defining a conduit for molten metal which has an upper end portion adapted to be connected to a source of molten metal and a lower end portion submergible in a said pool of molten metal and extend below the uppermost end of a solidifying continuous casting in said mold, said tubular section having the lower end thereof closed by an end wall and having as the only outlet for said molten metal supplied thereto a plurality of unobstructed discharge passages extending through said tubular section adjacent said lower end thereof with said passages being circumferentially spaced substantially less than 180* and having their midpoints at the outer ends thereof lying substantially in a single transverse plane through said tubular section, and said discharge passages having a cross-sectional area relative to said tubular section and orientation in said tubular section which establish streams of molten metal flowing therefrom when said tubular section is connected with a molten metal supply container and maintained axially aligned within a pool of molten metal in the upper end of said continuous casting mold generally radially outwardly and upwardly at a rate of flow which causes said streams of molten metal to contact directly lateral portions of a solIdifying continuous casting opposite said passages before intersecting the upper surface of said pool of molten metal and distribute said molten metal substantially uniformly over at least two oppositely disposed lateral portions of the casting comprising a major proportion of the circumference of said casting below the upper end thereof and having a major proportion of said molten metal of said streams flowing axially upwardly in wiping contact with said oppositely disposed lateral portions of the casting where said casting is initially solidifying and then flowing inwardly away from said casting at the surface of said pool to effect removal of objectionable inclusion material from the surface of said solidifying continuous casting before said inclusion material is frozen into the surface thereof.

Claim 3

A supply device as in claim 1, wherein at least two pairs of diametrically opposed said discharge passages are formed in said lateral section.

Claim 4

A supply device as in claim 1, wherein at least three pairs of diametrically oppositely disposed discharge passages are formed in said lateral wall section at about equally spaced intervals about the circumference of said tubular member.

Claim 5

A supply device as in claim 3, wherein at least one of said pairs of discharge passages has a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the remaining said passages.

Claim 6

A supply device as in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area of the said outlet ends of said discharge passages varies inversely with the distance said outlet ends are spaced from the lateral surface of the said solidifying continuous casting.

Claim 7

A supply device as in claim 1, wherein said tubular member has at least two said discharge passages having a cross section whose width is greater than the height thereof.

Claim 8

A supply device as in claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of each of said discharge passages is inclined upwardly forming an acute angle with a transverse plane through said tubular member.

Claim 9

A supply device as in claim 6, wherein said angle is about 10*.

Claim 10

A continuous casting apparatus having in combination; an open ended continuous casting mold in which a continuous casting is formed and a molten metal supply device for said mold comprising a molten metal supply container having operatively associated therewith a depending elongated unitary refractory tubular member with a lateral wall section defining a conduit for molten metal which has the longitudinal axis thereof maintained axially aligned with said mold and having the upper end of said tubular member connected with said supply container and a lower end maintained within the upper end of said mold between oppositely disposed wall portions of said mold and adapted to be submerged in a pool of said molten metal in the upper end of said mold and extending below the upper end of a solidifying continuous casting in said mold, said tubular member having said lower end closed by an end wall and having as the only outlet for said molten metal supplied thereto a plurality of unobstructed discharge passages extending through said lateral wall section adjacent said lower end thereof with said passages circumferentially spaced substantially less than 180* and having their midpoints at the outer ends thereof lying substantially in a single transverse plane through said tubular member, and said tubular member and said discharge passages therein having a cross-sectional area and orientation relative to said wall portions of said mold which impart to streams of molten metal flowing therefrom a generally radially outwardly and upwardly flow at a rate of flow which causes said streams of molten metal to contact directly lateral portions of said continuous casting opposite said passages before intersecting the upper surface of said pool of molten metal and distribute said molten metal substantially uniformly over at least two oppositely disposed lateral portions of the solidifying casting comprising a major proportion of the circumference of said casting with a major proportion of said molten metal of said streams flowing axially upwardly in wiping contact with said oppositely disposed lateral portions of the casting where said casting is initially solidifying and then flowing inwardly away from said solidifying casting at the surface of said pool to effect removal of objectionable inclusion material from the surface of said casting before said inclusion material is frozen into the surface thereof.

Claim 11

A continuous casting apparatus having in combination; an open ended continuous casting mold in which a continuous casting is formed and a molten metal supply device for said mold comprising a molten metal supply container having operatively associated therewith a depending elongated unitary refractory tubular member with a lateral wall section defining a conduit for molten metal which has the longitudinal axis thereof maintained axially aligned with said mold and having the upper end of said tubular member connected with said supply container and a lower end maintained within the upper end of said mold between oppositely disposed wall portions of said mold and adapted to be submerged in a pool of said molten metal in the upper end of said mold and extending below the upper end of a solidifying continuous casting in said mold, said tubular member having said lower end closed by an end wall and having as the only outlet for said molten metal supplied thereto a plurality of unobstructed discharge passages extending through said lateral wall section adjacent said lower end thereof with said passages circumferentially spaced substantially less than 180* and having their midpoints at the outer ends thereof lying substantially in a single transverse plane through said tubular member, and said tubular member and said discharge passages therein having a cross-sectional area and orientation relative to said wall portions of said mold which impart to streams of molten metal flowing therefrom a generally radially outwardly and upwardly flow at a rate of flow which causes said streams of molten metal to contact directly lateral portions of said continuous casting opposite said passages before intersecting the upper surface of said pool of molten metal and distribute said molten metal substantially uniformly over at least two oppositely disposed lateral portions of the solidifying casting comprising a major proportion of the circumference of said casting with a major proportion of said molten metal of said streams flowing axially upwardly in wiping contact with said oppositely disposed lateral portions of the casting where said casting is initially solidifying and then flowing inwardly away from said solidifying casting at the surface of said pool to effect removal of objectionable inclusion material from the surface of said casting before said inclusion material is frozen into the surface thereof.

Claim 12

A continuous casting apparatus as in claim 9, wherein said continuous casting mold is an elongated rectangular mold and said tubular member has six equally circumferentially spaced discharge passages with the longitudinal axis of each of said passages inclined upwardly relative to a transverse plane through said tubular member, and said tubular member with said discharge passages being symmetrically directionally oriented within said rectangular mold and discharging said molten metal in outwardly flowing streams through said discharge passages to effect substantially uniformly distributing said molten metal over the oppositely disposed wide faced of a solidifying continuous casting formed in said rectangular mold with a major proportion of said molten metal flowing upwardly in wiping contact with said wide faces and then flowing inwardly away from said wide faces effecting removal of objectionable inclusion material therefrom.