Air-lubricated crystallizer

Abstract

The gas-lubricated crystallizer comprises a left half body and a right half body which are detachably assembled, oil gas channels, cooling water ways and mounting grooves are formed in the left half body and the right half body, after the left half body and the right half body are spliced, the oil gas channels are in butt joint to form a continuous oil gas conveying channel, and the cooling water ways are in butt joint to form a continuous cooling channel. A complete graphite ring mounting space is defined by the mounting grooves, and a cast ingot forming cavity is defined by the left half body and the right half body. According to the split design of the left half body and the right half body, the machining cost is reduced, large-scale special equipment is not needed, the convenience of transportation and maintenance is also remarkably optimized, and the productivity is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aluminum alloy casting technology, and more specifically to an air-lubricating crystallizer. Background Technology

[0002] As the core equipment for semi-continuous aluminum alloy casting, the air-lubricating crystallizer achieves non-contact casting between the molten metal and the crystallizer wall through the principle of oil-gas film isolation. It fundamentally solves the problems of surface defects and microstructure segregation of ingots caused by friction between the molten metal and the crystallizer wall in traditional casting, and has become a key technical equipment for the production of high-end aluminum alloy materials in aerospace, rail transportation and other industries.

[0003] Currently, most air-lubricating crystallizers on the market adopt an integrated structural design, meaning the crystallizer body is a single, machined cylindrical structure with integrated oil and gas channels, cooling water channels, and graphite ring mounting structures. This integrated structure demonstrates advantages such as structural stability, good sealing performance, and easy control of assembly precision in the production of small and medium-sized ingots, meeting the casting requirements of conventional high-end aluminum alloy materials. However, in actual production, it has been found that the internal structure of the integrated crystallizer has a complex machining process, requiring large-scale specialized machining equipment, resulting in high processing costs. Furthermore, the large size of the overall structure necessitates specialized transport vehicles during transportation, and internal channel deformation due to vibration significantly increases transportation costs and risks. Moreover, the graphite rings and seals within the air-lubricating crystallizer are vulnerable components requiring regular maintenance and replacement. In the integrated structure, replacing these components requires disassembling the entire crystallizer from the casting machine and then performing overall disassembly, a cumbersome process that severely impacts production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention aims to provide an air-lubricating crystallizer. Through a split-structure design, the present invention reduces the processing and transportation threshold of large-size crystallizers and facilitates the inspection and replacement of vulnerable internal components.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution: A gas-lubricated crystallizer includes a detachable and assembleable left half and a right half. Each half is provided with an oil and gas channel, a cooling water channel, and an installation groove. After the left half and the right half are spliced ​​together, the oil and gas channels are connected to form a continuous oil and gas transport path, and the cooling water channels are connected to form a continuous cooling path. The installation groove is enclosed to form a complete graphite ring installation space, and the left half and the right half are enclosed to form an ingot forming cavity.

[0006] Furthermore, the splicing surface of the left half is provided with a positioning pin and a positioning hole provided on the splicing surface of the right half, and the positioning pin and the positioning hole are interference fit.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes a sealing groove disposed on the splicing surface and a sealing element adapted to be installed in the sealing groove; the sealing groove includes an inner wall sealing groove arranged along the circumference of the molding cavity, an oil and gas sealing groove arranged along the oil and gas channel connection and a water channel sealing groove arranged along the cooling water channel connection; the sealing element is a high-temperature resistant graphite gasket or a fluororubber sealing ring.

[0008] Furthermore, it also includes locking components that are evenly distributed circumferentially on the outer sides of the left and right halves, wherein the locking components are locking bolts or clamps.

[0009] Furthermore, the positioning pin includes at least two cylindrical pins and at least one rhomboid pin, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the splicing surface.

[0010] Furthermore, the outer sides of the left and right halves are provided with reinforcing ribs, which are arranged intersectingly along the height and circumferential directions of the crystallizer.

[0011] Working principle and beneficial effects of the present invention: This application adopts a detachable and assembleable left and right halves structure, which splits the crystallizer body radially, with the left and right halves being symmetrical structures; each half independently processes oil and gas channels, cooling water channels, and mounting slots; during assembly, the left and right halves fit together along the splicing surface, so that the end faces of their respective oil and gas channels are precisely aligned to form a continuous oil and gas transport path without misalignment, the end faces of the cooling water channels are seamlessly connected to form a complete cooling circulation path, the mounting slots enclose to form a closed annular mounting space, and at the same time, the inner walls of the halves enclose to form a smooth and continuous ingot forming cavity.

[0012] The left and right halves of this invention not only effectively solve the industry problem of large-size processing of existing integrated crystallizers, but also reduce the volume and weight of each half by half after splitting, allowing complex internal cavities to be processed by conventional CNC equipment, thus reducing processing costs and eliminating the need for large-scale specialized equipment. Furthermore, it significantly optimizes the convenience of transportation and maintenance. During maintenance, there is no need to disassemble the crystallizer as a whole; operations such as graphite ring replacement and channel cleaning can be completed by directly splitting the halves, greatly improving productivity. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the left half of the gas-lubricating crystallizer of this application. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the right half of the air-lubricating crystallizer of this application.

[0014] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings include: mounting slot 1, positioning pin 2, left half 3, cooling water passage 4, right half 5, positioning hole 6. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The following detailed description illustrates the specific implementation method: This embodiment discloses an air-lubricated crystallizer, such as Figure 1 He Ru Figure 2 As shown, the structure comprises a detachable left half 3 and a right half 5, which are symmetrical and complementary in configuration. The entire structure is integrally formed from ZL205A high-strength aluminum alloy to ensure structural strength and high-temperature resistance. Both the left half 3 and the right half 5 contain oil and gas channels (refer to the schematic diagram of cooling water channel 4, located inside the left half 3 and the right plate), cooling water channels 4, and mounting grooves 1. After the left half 3 and the right half 5 are joined, the oil and gas channels connect to form a continuous oil and gas transport path, the cooling water channels 4 connect to form a continuous cooling path, and the mounting groove 1 encloses a complete graphite ring mounting space. The left half 3 and the right half 5 together form a casting cavity. The splicing surface of the left half 3 is provided with positioning pins 2 and positioning holes 6 located on the splicing surface of the right half 5. The positioning pins 2 and positioning holes 6 are interference-fitted. The positioning pins 2 include at least two cylindrical pins and at least one diamond-shaped pin.

[0016] During assembly, first install the graphite ring into any half of the mounting groove 1, then align the positioning pin 2 of the left half 3 with the positioning hole 6 of the right half 5 and insert it. Achieving preliminary precise positioning through interference fit, the cylindrical pin restricts translation and the diamond pin restricts rotation to avoid misalignment during splicing; tighten the locking bolts that connect the left half 3 and the right plate along the circumference, apply uniform pressure to the splicing surface to make the left and right halves 5 fit tightly together, and complete the overall assembly.

[0017] The five-part split design of the left and right halves of this invention not only effectively solves the industry problem of large-size processing of existing integrated crystallizers, but also halves the volume and weight of each half after splitting, allowing complex internal cavities to be processed by conventional CNC equipment, reducing processing costs without the need for large-scale special equipment. It also significantly optimizes the convenience of transportation and maintenance. During maintenance, there is no need to disassemble the crystallizer as a whole; the graphite ring can be replaced and the channels cleaned by directly splitting the halves, which greatly improves productivity.

[0018] It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the technical solution of this invention. These modifications and improvements should also be considered within the scope of protection of this invention, and will not affect the effectiveness of the invention or the practicality of the patent. The scope of protection claimed in this application shall be determined by the content of its claims, and the specific embodiments described in the specification can be used to interpret the content of the claims.

Claims

1. An air-lubricating crystallizer, characterized in that: It includes a detachable and assembleable left half and a right half. Each half is provided with an oil and gas channel, a cooling water channel and an installation groove. After the left half and the right half are spliced ​​together, the oil and gas channel is connected to form a continuous oil and gas transport path, the cooling water channel is connected to form a continuous cooling path, and the installation groove is enclosed to form a complete graphite ring installation space. The left half and the right half are enclosed to form an ingot forming cavity.

2. The air-lubricating crystallizer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left half of the splicing surface is provided with a positioning pin and a positioning hole is provided on the right half of the splicing surface. The positioning pin and the positioning hole are interference fit.

3. The air-lubricating crystallizer according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a sealing groove set on the splicing surface and a sealing element adapted to be installed in the sealing groove; the sealing groove includes an inner wall sealing groove arranged along the circumference of the molding cavity, an oil and gas sealing groove arranged along the oil and gas channel connection and a water channel sealing groove arranged along the cooling water channel connection; the sealing element is a high-temperature resistant graphite gasket or a fluororubber sealing ring.

4. The air-lubricating crystallizer according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes locking components that are evenly distributed circumferentially on the outer sides of the left and right halves, wherein the locking components are locking bolts or clamps.

5. The air-lubricating crystallizer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The positioning pins include at least two cylindrical pins and at least one rhomboid pin, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the splicing surface.

6. The air-lubricating crystallizer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The left and right halves are provided with reinforcing ribs, which are arranged intersectingly along the height and circumference of the crystallizer.

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