Apparatus for preheating scrap

Claim 2

Apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station prior to charging said scrap into a furnace, comprising: a. containing means adapted to hold said scrap, b. heating means adapted to fit atop said containing means to provide hot combustion gases to heat said scrap, said heating means being a burner hood comprising a steEl shell in the shape of a frustrum of a cone, having a broad bottom base and a narrow upper base, a box-like water-cooled steel ring having a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe and a baffle plate therebetween to direct the flow of water around said box-like steel ring attached to the broad bottom base and a steel plate attached to the narrow upper base, a refractory lining on the inside surface of the steel shell and a plurality of downwardly directed burners mounted on said narrow upper base, c. supporting means to hold said containing means and adapted to allow hot combustion gases to pass therethrough, and d. exhausting means adapted to be mated with said support means to exhaust said hot combustion gases from said containing means.

Claim 3

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the containing means comprises a generally cylindrical steel shell central portion, a normally open upper end portion and a normally closed lower end portion, a refractory lining laid up against a portion of the steel shell, the lower end portion being closed by a pair of partible jaws pivotally mounted on said lower end portion, said partible jaws being supplied with a plurality of orifices whereby hot gases can be exhausted from said containing means and baffle plates adjacent said orifice.

Claim 4

An apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station according to claim 1 wherein the burner hood is lined with a castable refractory and the orifices and associated burners are positioned in the upper plate means in a predetermined configuration.

Claim 5

An apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station according to claim 1 additionally comprising: e. a hollow water-cooled ring means having a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe and a baffle therebetween to direct a flow of water around said ring, said ring being adapted to be interposed between the burner hood means and the scrap container means.

Claim 6

An apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station according to claim 1 wherein the exhaust means is adapted to be mated over the lower portions of the container means.

Claim 7

An apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station according to claim 1 wherein the burners and burner orifices in the upper plate means are arranged in a predetermined configuration in which there is at least one central burner and a plurality of burners regularly spaced circumferentially about said central burner.

Claim 8

In apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station prior to charging said scrap into a furnace, said scrap being contained in a refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container, supporting means including a movable transfer car mounted on a track extending from a scrap loading station to said preheater station and fastened to the floor of a shop whereby said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container can be moved from said loading station to said preheater station, heating means placed atop said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container in said preheater station whereby hot combustion gases for heating said scrap are formed and are directed uniformly downwardly through said scrap and exhaust means connected to the bottom of said transfer car and extending downwardly through said floor of said shop to a stack means, said heating means comprising: a burner hood having a steel shell in the shape of a frustrum of a cone having a broad bottom base and a narrow upper base, a castable refractory lining the inside surface of the steel shell, a plurality of downwardly directed burners mounted in a predetermined geometric configuration on said narrow upper base, a plurality of flared openings in said castable refractory lining adjacent each of said plurality of burners in a predetermined geometric configuration to combine with the predetermined geometric configuration of the burners whereby the shape of the flame projecting from said burners is controlled and said hot combustion gases formed in the hood are directed uniformly downwardly throuGh said scrap in said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container.

Claim 9

In apparatus for preheating scrap in a preheater station prior to charging said scrap into a furnace, said scrap being contained in a refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container, supporting means including a movable transfer car mounted on a track extending from a scrap loading station to said preheater station and fastened to the floor of a shop whereby said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container can be moved from said loading station to said preheater station, heating means placed atop said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container in said preheater station whereby hot combustion gases for heating said scrap are formed and are directed uniformly downwardly through said scrap and exhaust means connected to the bottom of said transfer car and extending downwardly through said floor of said shop to a stack means, said heating means comprising: a burner hood having a steel shell in the shape of a frustrum of a cone having a broad bottom base and a narrow upper base, a castable refractory lining the inside surface of the steel shell, a plurality of downwardly directed burners mounted in a predetermined geometric configuration on said narrow upper base, a plurality of flared openings in said castable refractory lining adjacent each of said plurality of burners in a predetermined geometric configuration to combine with the predetermined geometric configuration of the burners whereby the shape of the flame projecting from said burners is controlled and said hot combustion gases formed in the hood are directed uniformly downwardly throuGh said scrap in said refractory-lined clam-shell type charging container.