Hanging walls for furnace

Claim 1

In a furnace having a refractory roof subject to damage by upward expansion of the furnace walls from heat, a steel framework having columns supporting said roof, a first horizontal rail mounted on said columns and spaced inward therefrom adjacent to said roof; a plurality of wall panels, each panel comprising a peripheral angle iron frame having a sheet of expanded metal mesh welded thereto, a layer of refractory material cast on said mesh, outwardly projecting vertical side flanges on adjacent frames bolted to each other, outwardly projecting hooks on said side flanges adjacent their upper ends hanging on said rail and furnishing the sole vertical support for said panels so that all of the vertical expansion of the panels is in a downward direction from said upper ends; a second horizontal rail mounted on the inside of said columns slidably engaging lower end portions of said vertical side flanges to accommodate downward expansion movement of said panels and stabilize the panels in vertical position in spaced relation to said columns; and a layer of compressible insulating material under the lower ends of said panels subject to compression by said downward expansion of the panels.