Ladle loading device and operation method thereof

Abstract

A ladle feeding device, belonging to the field of iron and steel smelting technology, includes a base body, a robotic arm mechanism connected to the top of the base body, and a foot unit at the bottom of the base body. The robotic arm mechanism is connected to a high-temperature hopper and is used to move the high-temperature hopper. The high-temperature hopper adopts a grab bucket structure, including a grab bucket frame, a grab bucket drive unit, and two symmetrically arranged semi-conical buckets. Each semi-conical bucket has a sandwiched chamber. An air inlet is opened on the top of the outer side of the semi-conical bucket, communicating with the sandwiched chamber, and an exhaust port is opened on the top of the inner side of the semi-conical bucket, communicating with the sandwiched chamber. The air inlet is connected to an argon gas filling mechanism. This ladle feeding device is reasonably designed and simple in structure. The high-temperature hopper uses circulating argon gas to protect the material and has remote control functionality. It not only effectively ensures the purity of molten steel but also reduces safety hazards, making it worthy of widespread application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of iron and steel smelting technology, and in particular to a ladle feeding device and its operating method. Background Technology

[0002] Iron and steel smelting is a general term for the metallurgical processes of steelmaking and ironmaking. Industrially produced iron is classified into pig iron (containing more than 2% carbon) and steel (containing less than 2% carbon) based on its carbon content. Modern ironmaking primarily uses blast furnaces, with some employing direct reduction ironmaking and electric arc furnaces. Steelmaking mainly uses pig iron produced in blast furnaces, sponge iron produced by direct reduction ironmaking, and scrap steel as raw materials, refining them into steel using different methods. Its basic production process involves refining iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace, then using the pig iron as raw material to refine it into steel using different methods, and finally casting it into steel ingots or continuously cast billets.

[0003] The main steelmaking methods currently used are: converter steelmaking, open-hearth steelmaking, and electric arc furnace steelmaking. These three processes can meet the general user requirements for steel quality. To meet the demand for higher quality and more diverse varieties of high-grade steel, various ladle-side treatment methods (also known as ladle refining) have emerged. These include argon blowing, vacuum degassing, and ladle desulfurization. These additional treatments on steel produced in converters, open-hearth furnaces, and electric arc furnaces can produce high-grade steels. For certain special-purpose steels requiring extremely high quality, ladle-side treatment may not be sufficient, necessitating special steelmaking methods. For example, electroslag remelting involves casting or forging steel from converters, open-hearth furnaces, or electric arc furnaces into electrodes, which are then remelted a second time using resistance heating in the molten slag. Vacuum metallurgy is a metallurgical process conducted under pressures below one atmosphere up to ultra-high vacuum conditions, including the smelting, purification, refining, forming, and processing of metals and alloys.

[0004] Currently, due to the different steel grades, the feeding methods vary at different smelting stages. Some alloys are added all at once during the refining process, while others are added in batches, and still others need to be added during the vacuum degassing stage. In the vacuum degassing stage, alloys are mostly added by workers using shovels or by hand. This operation may result in the alloy being added into the slag layer instead of directly entering the molten steel. Materials with low melting points may oxidize directly, and slag from the molten steel may also be carried into the molten steel. All of these factors affect the purity of the molten steel and consequently, the product quality. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies where manual operation easily leads to the inclusion of slag and contaminants, affecting the purity of molten steel. This invention provides a ladle feeding device with a reasonable design and simple structure. The high-temperature silo uses circulating argon gas to protect the material and has remote control functionality. It not only effectively ensures the purity of molten steel but also reduces safety hazards, making it suitable for widespread application.

[0006] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution: a ladle feeding device, comprising a base body, a robotic arm mechanism connected to the top of the base body, a foot unit provided at the bottom of the base body, and a high-temperature hopper connected to the robotic arm mechanism for moving the high-temperature hopper. The high-temperature hopper adopts a grab bucket structure, comprising a grab bucket frame, a grab bucket drive unit, and two symmetrically arranged semi-conical buckets. The wide ends of the two semi-conical buckets are hinged together by the grab bucket frame, thereby forming an openable and closable conical grab bucket. The grab bucket drive unit is disposed on the grab bucket frame and is used to drive the opening and closing of the conical grab bucket, that is, the opening and closing of the high-temperature hopper. The high-temperature hopper is connected to the robotic arm mechanism through the grab bucket frame, and the conical end of the high-temperature hopper, that is, the conical end of the conical grab bucket, faces the molten steel surface. The semi-conical hopper is equipped with a double-layered chamber. An air inlet is located on the top of the outer side of the semi-conical hopper, communicating with the double-layered chamber. An exhaust port is located on the top of the inner side of the semi-conical hopper, also communicating with the double-layered chamber. The air inlet is connected to an argon gas filling mechanism, which fills the double-layered chamber with argon gas. Once the double-layered chamber is full of argon gas, the argon gas can be transported to the high-temperature silo cavity through the exhaust port.

[0007] A further improvement of the present invention is that a main controller is provided on the base body, and the main controller is equipped with a robotic arm control system, a hopper control system, and an argon gas control system. The robotic arm control system is used to control the operation of the robotic arm mechanism, the hopper control system is used to control the opening and closing of the high-temperature hopper, and the argon gas control system is used to control the switching on and off of argon gas in the argon gas filling mechanism and to adjust the argon gas flow rate.

[0008] A further improvement of the present invention is that both the outer and inner surfaces of the semi-conical bucket are provided with an oxide coating layer.

[0009] The operation method of this ladle feeding device includes the following steps:

[0010] S1. Five minutes after VD breaks through the air, the high-temperature silo is moved to a suitable feeding position by the robotic arm mechanism, and then the high-temperature silo is tilted by the robotic arm mechanism.

[0011] S2. After the high-temperature hopper is adjusted, open the high-temperature hopper, which means opening the two semi-conical hoppers; after the high-temperature hopper is opened, add the material, which means adding the material into the lower semi-conical hopper; after the material is added, close the high-temperature hopper, which means closing the two semi-conical hoppers.

[0012] S3. After the high-temperature silo is closed, the argon filling mechanism starts filling the silo with argon until it is full.

[0013] S4. After the argon gas is filled, the high-temperature hopper is positioned vertically above the molten steel surface and 200mm away from the ladle riser using a robotic arm mechanism. Then, the high-temperature hopper is lowered using the robotic arm mechanism until it penetrates 300mm into the molten steel surface. Finally, the high-temperature hopper is opened, and after 10 seconds, it is slowly raised again using the robotic arm mechanism.

[0014] S5. After the high-temperature silo leaves the molten steel surface, quickly add carbonized rice husks to the break in the molten steel surface to prevent oxidation of the molten steel.

[0015] S6. After the carbonized rice husks are added, the high-temperature hopper is moved to an open area by a robotic arm and the residual molten steel is cleaned up.

[0016] A further improvement of the present invention is that, in step S1, the inclination angle of the high-temperature silo is 45°-60°.

[0017] A further improvement of the present invention is that, in step S2, the amount of material added is ≤20kg.

[0018] A further improvement of the present invention is that, in step S3, the argon gas flow rate is 12 NL / min and the argon gas pressure is 0.21 MPa. After 3 minutes, the argon gas can fill the high-temperature silo.

[0019] A further improvement of the present invention is that, in step S4, the descent speed of the high-temperature hopper is less than 30 mm / s, and the ascent speed of the high-temperature hopper is less than 50 mm / s.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: The high-temperature hopper of this device adopts a conical design, which utilizes its taper to break through the slag layer on the surface of the molten steel, avoiding the problem of slag inclusion. Furthermore, the high-temperature hopper also employs a design with a jacketed chamber and an argon gas filling mechanism. The argon gas filling mechanism is connected to the jacketed chamber, providing argon gas protection to the high-temperature hopper. This means the high-temperature hopper uses circulating argon gas to protect the material, preventing air or other gaseous contaminants from entering the molten steel, thus avoiding contamination and ensuring the purity of the molten steel. Simultaneously, this device utilizes remote control technology, allowing for remote control of the robotic arm mechanism, high-temperature hopper, and argon gas filling mechanism via a main controller, which is convenient, fast, and highly safe. Moreover, by using the above operating method, argon gas protection is maintained in the high-temperature hopper throughout the entire feeding process, preventing oxidation of the material and the molten steel surface, greatly improving the purity of the molten steel, and thus ensuring product quality. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a top view of a specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of a high-temperature silo according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] 1. Base body; 2. Robotic arm mechanism; 3. Foot unit; 4. High-temperature hopper; 401. Semi-conical hopper; 402. Interlayer chamber; 5. Argon gas filling mechanism; 6. Main controller. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To make the objectives, features, and advantages of this invention more apparent and understandable, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the specific embodiments. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only some embodiments of this invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this patent, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0026] Now refer to Figure 1 and 2 The following is a description of a specific embodiment of the present invention: A ladle feeding device includes a base body 1, a robotic arm mechanism 2 connected to the top of the base body 1, a foot unit 3 provided at the bottom of the base body 1, and a high-temperature hopper 4 connected to the robotic arm mechanism 2. The robotic arm mechanism 2 is used to move the high-temperature hopper 4. Specifically, the robotic arm mechanism 2 includes components such as a vertical arm, a horizontal upper arm, a horizontal lower arm, and an upper helical gear. Its detailed structure can be found in existing industrial robotic arms, and will not be described in detail here.

[0027] Based on existing grab bucket technology, the high-temperature silo 4 adopts a grab bucket structure, which includes a grab bucket frame, a grab bucket drive unit, and two symmetrically arranged semi-conical buckets 401. The wide ends of the two semi-conical buckets 401 are hinged together by the grab bucket frame to form an opening and closing conical grab bucket. Both the outer and inner surfaces of the semi-conical buckets 401 are coated with an oxidized coating. The grab bucket drive unit is mounted on the grab bucket frame and is used to drive the opening and closing of the conical grab bucket, which in turn drives the opening and closing of the high-temperature silo 4. Specifically, the detailed connection structure between the grab bucket frame, the grab bucket drive unit, and the semi-conical buckets 401 can be found in existing grab buckets and will not be elaborated further in this specification.

[0028] The high-temperature silo 4 is connected to the robotic arm mechanism 2 via a grab bucket frame, and the conical end of the high-temperature silo 4, which is the conical end of the conical grab bucket, faces the molten steel surface. The semi-conical bucket body 401 is provided with a sandwich chamber 402. An air inlet communicating with the sandwich chamber 402 is opened on the top of the outer side of the semi-conical bucket body 401, and an exhaust port communicating with the sandwich chamber 402 is opened on the top of the inner side of the semi-conical bucket body 401.

[0029] The air inlet is connected to an argon gas filling mechanism 5, which is used to fill the interlayer chamber 402 with argon gas. After the interlayer chamber 402 is filled with argon gas, the argon gas can be transported to the cavity of the high-temperature silo 4 through the exhaust port. Specifically, the argon gas filling mechanism 5 includes components such as argon gas pipelines and control valves. Its detailed structure can be found in existing industrial gas filling pipelines, and will not be described in detail in this specification.

[0030] Specifically, based on existing control technology, a main controller 6 is installed on the base body 1. The main controller 6 is equipped with a robotic arm control system, a hopper control system, and an argon gas control system. The robotic arm control system controls the operation of the robotic arm mechanism 2, the hopper control system controls the opening and closing of the high-temperature hopper 4, and the argon gas control system controls the switching on and off of argon gas in the argon gas filling mechanism 5 and adjusts the argon gas flow rate. Operators can remotely control the robotic arm mechanism 2, the high-temperature hopper 4, and the argon gas filling mechanism 5 through the main controller 6, which is convenient, fast, and highly safe.

[0031] The operating principle of this device is as follows: The high-temperature hopper 4 adopts a conical design, which breaks through the slag layer on the surface of the molten steel, avoiding slag inclusion. The high-temperature hopper 4 also features a design with a jacketed chamber 402 and an argon gas filling mechanism 5. The argon gas filling mechanism 5 is connected to the jacketed chamber 402, providing argon gas protection to the high-temperature hopper 4. This means the high-temperature hopper 4 uses circulating argon gas to protect the material, preventing air or other gaseous contaminants from entering the molten steel, thus avoiding contamination and ensuring the purity of the molten steel. Furthermore, this device employs remote control technology. The main controller 6 allows for remote control of the robotic arm mechanism 2, the high-temperature hopper 4, and the argon gas filling mechanism 5, offering convenience, speed, and high safety.

[0032] The operating method of the ladle feeding device of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0033] S1. Five minutes after VD breaks the air, the high-temperature silo 4 is moved to a suitable feeding position by the robotic arm mechanism 2, and then the high-temperature silo 4 is tilted by the robotic arm mechanism 2; specifically, the tilt angle of the high-temperature silo 4 is 45°-60°.

[0034] S2. After the high-temperature hopper 4 is adjusted, open the high-temperature hopper 4, which means opening the two semi-conical hoppers 401; after the high-temperature hopper 4 is opened, add the material, that is, add the material into the semi-conical hopper 401 located below; after the material is added, close the high-temperature hopper 4, that is, close the two semi-conical hoppers 401; specifically, the amount of material added is ≤20kg.

[0035] S3. After the high-temperature silo 4 is closed, the argon gas filling mechanism 5 starts to fill the high-temperature silo 4 with argon gas until it is full. Specifically, the argon gas filling flow rate is 12NL / min, the argon gas filling pressure is 0.21MPa, and the high-temperature silo 4 can be filled with argon gas after 3 minutes.

[0036] S4. After the argon gas is filled, the high-temperature hopper 4 is positioned perpendicular to the surface of the molten steel and 200mm away from the ladle riser using the robotic arm mechanism 2. Then, the high-temperature hopper 4 is lowered using the robotic arm mechanism 2 until it is 300mm below the surface of the molten steel. Finally, the high-temperature hopper 4 is opened, and after 10 seconds, it is slowly raised again using the robotic arm mechanism 2. Specifically, the descent speed of the high-temperature hopper 4 is less than 30mm / s, and the ascent speed of the high-temperature hopper 4 is less than 50mm / s.

[0037] S5. After the high-temperature hopper 4 leaves the molten steel surface, carbonized rice husks are quickly added to the break in the molten steel surface to prevent oxidation of the molten steel.

[0038] S6. After the carbonized rice husks are added, the high-temperature hopper 4 is moved to an open area by the robotic arm mechanism 2 and the residual molten steel is cleaned up.

[0039] By using the above operating method, argon gas is maintained in the high-temperature silo 4 throughout the entire feeding process, which avoids oxidation of the material and the surface of the molten steel, greatly improves the purity of the molten steel, and thus ensures product quality.

[0040] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0041] The terms "upper," "lower," "outer," "inner," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish relative positional relationships and are not necessarily qualitative. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0042] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A ladle feeding device, comprising a base body (1), characterized in that, A robotic arm mechanism (2) is connected to the top of the base body (1), and a foot unit (3) is provided at the bottom of the base body (1). The robotic arm mechanism (2) is connected to a high-temperature hopper (4), and the robotic arm mechanism (2) is used to move the high-temperature hopper (4). The high-temperature hopper (4) adopts a grab bucket structure. The high-temperature hopper (4) includes a grab bucket frame, a grab bucket drive unit, and two symmetrically arranged semi-conical buckets (401). The wide ends of the two semi-conical buckets (401) are hinged together by the grab bucket frame to form a conical grab bucket that can be opened and closed. The grab bucket drive unit is set on the grab bucket frame and is used to drive the opening and closing of the conical grab bucket, which is the opening and closing of the high-temperature hopper (4). (4) The grab bucket is connected to the mechanical arm mechanism (2), and the cone end of the high temperature silo (4), that is, the cone end of the cone grab bucket, faces the steel liquid surface; the semi-conical bucket body (401) is provided with a sandwich chamber (402), and the top of the outer side of the semi-conical bucket body (401) is provided with an air inlet that communicates with the sandwich chamber (402), and the top of the inner side of the semi-conical bucket body (401) is provided with an exhaust hole that communicates with the sandwich chamber (402); the air inlet is connected to an argon gas filling mechanism (5), which is used to fill the sandwich chamber (402) with argon gas. When the sandwich chamber (402) is filled with argon gas, the argon gas can be transported to the cavity of the high temperature silo (4) through the exhaust hole.

2. The ladle feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base body (1) is equipped with a main controller (6), and the main controller (6) is equipped with a robotic arm control system, a silo control system and an argon control system. The robotic arm control system is used to control the operation of the robotic arm mechanism (2), the silo control system is used to control the opening and closing of the high temperature silo (4), and the argon control system is used to control the switching of argon gas in the argon filling mechanism (5) and to adjust the argon gas flow rate.

3. A ladle feeding device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The outer and inner surfaces of the semi-conical bucket (401) are provided with an oxidized coating layer.

4. The operating method of the ladle feeding device according to claim 3, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Five minutes after VD breaks the air, the high temperature silo (4) is moved to a suitable feeding position by the robotic arm mechanism (2), and then the high temperature silo (4) is tilted by the robotic arm mechanism (2). S2. After the high temperature hopper (4) is adjusted, open the high temperature hopper (4), that is, open the two semi-conical hoppers (401); After the high-temperature hopper (4) is opened, the material is added, that is, the material is added into the semi-conical hopper (401) located below; after the material is added, the high-temperature hopper (4) is closed, that is, the two semi-conical hoppers (401) are closed. S3. After the high-temperature silo (4) is closed, the argon filling mechanism (5) starts to fill the high-temperature silo (4) with argon until it is full; S4. After the argon gas is filled, the high-temperature hopper (4) is made perpendicular to the surface of the molten steel and 200mm away from the ladle riser by the robotic arm mechanism (2); then the high-temperature hopper (4) is lowered by the robotic arm mechanism (2) until the high-temperature hopper (4) is 300mm deep into the surface of the molten steel; finally, the high-temperature hopper (4) is opened, and after 10s, the high-temperature hopper (4) is slowly raised by the robotic arm mechanism (2). S5. After the high-temperature silo (4) leaves the molten steel surface, quickly add carbonized rice husks to the broken part of the molten steel surface to prevent the molten steel from oxidizing; S6. After the carbonized rice husks are added, the high-temperature silo (4) is moved to an open space by the robotic arm mechanism (2) and the residual molten steel is cleaned up.

5. The operating method of the ladle feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that, In step S1, the inclination angle of the high-temperature silo (4) is 45°-60°.

6. The operating method of the ladle feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that, In step S2, the amount of material added is ≤20kg.

7. The operating method of the ladle feeding device according to claim 6, characterized in that, In step S3, the argon gas flow rate is 12 NL / min and the argon gas pressure is 0.21 MPa. After 3 minutes, the argon gas can fill the high-temperature silo (4).

8. The operating method of the ladle feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step S4, the descent speed of the high-temperature silo (4) is less than 30 mm / s, and the ascent speed of the high-temperature silo (4) is less than 50 mm / s.

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