Vacuum cooling device for cast ingot smelting

Abstract

The utility model provides a vacuum cooling device for cast ingot smelting, which comprises a vacuum furnace body and a traction component, and the traction component is used for driving a cast ingot to axially move along an inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body; a cooling area is arranged in the middle of an inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, and a plurality of cooling assemblies are arranged in the cooling area at intervals in the axial direction. The cooling assembly comprises at least two contact cooling bodies which are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction of an inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, the contact cooling bodies are movably connected with the inner cavity wall of the vacuum furnace body through transmission parts, and the transmission parts are used for driving the contact cooling bodies to move in the direction close to or away from a cast ingot. According to the utility model, a contact cooling mode is adopted, so that the cast ingot cooling efficiency is improved, and the cooling time is greatly shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of metal smelting technology and relates to a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting. Background Technology

[0002] To ensure the purity of high-purity metal ingots produced by vacuum melting and to avoid adverse reactions caused by contact with air and other substances at high temperatures, high-purity metal casting generally employs vacuum melting technology, such as using a vacuum induction melting casting furnace or a vacuum induction melting continuous casting furnace. After the ingot is formed, it still needs to be further cooled to room temperature in a vacuum environment before being taken out of the furnace to ensure the surface quality of the ingot.

[0003] However, the cooling effect of existing equipment in a vacuum environment is very poor. Heat can only be transferred to the furnace wall through the thermal radiation of the casting itself. While the heat transfer efficiency is acceptable at high temperatures, it drops drastically below 400°C. Cooling the ingot to room temperature generally requires more than ten times the metal melting and casting time, resulting in prolonged operation of the vacuum system, wasted energy, low equipment utilization, and insufficient production capacity. Furthermore, due to the mechanical structures within a typical vacuum furnace, the furnace body is relatively large, and the cooling time after vacuum casting of large ingots is much longer than the melting and casting time, leading to extremely low production efficiency.

[0004] To increase production efficiency, existing cooling equipment mainly employs optimized furnace mechanical mechanisms, such as reducing the volume of the vacuum furnace or introducing high-purity protective gas. However, the effect is still not significant under vacuum conditions, and secondary contamination of the product can occur due to issues with the purity of the protective gas. Newer vacuum casting equipment typically uses a high-purity protective atmosphere device to accelerate ingot cooling. After the ingot is formed, a certain amount of high-purity protective gas is introduced into the vacuum furnace, accelerating the cooling rate through thermal convection. However, because the vacuum furnace body cannot be designed entirely according to aerodynamic principles that favor convection, the convection effect of the protective gas within the furnace is generally limited. Although there is some acceleration effect in actual operation, ingot cooling still requires more than six times the metal melting and casting time. Furthermore, the procurement of protective gas increases production costs, and protective cooling often fails due to the quality of the supplied gas.

[0005] Therefore, how to achieve better cooling performance while effectively shortening the cooling time has become an urgent problem to be solved. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting, which adopts contact heat transfer, improves cooling efficiency, and greatly shortens cooling time.

[0007] To achieve this objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] This utility model provides a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting includes a vacuum furnace body and a traction assembly. The traction assembly is used to drive the ingot to move axially along the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. A cooling zone is provided in the middle of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. Several sets of cooling assemblies are arranged axially at intervals in the cooling zone. The cooling assembly includes at least two contact cooling bodies evenly arranged along the circumference of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. The contact cooling bodies are movably connected to the inner cavity wall of the vacuum furnace body through a transmission component. The transmission component is used to drive the contact cooling bodies to move towards or away from the ingot.

[0009] This invention utilizes a contact-type indirect circulating water cooling system for ingots in a vacuum environment. After the ingot is formed and transported to the cooling zone within the vacuum furnace to cool to the crystallization temperature, a transmission component drives the circumferential contact cooling body to move relative to the ingot. This causes the contact cooling body to adhere tightly to the high-temperature ingot, cooling it through direct contact and rapidly removing heat. This reduces the cooling time to less than three times the metal melting and casting time, not only accelerating equipment production efficiency but also reducing production costs. Furthermore, the absence of other media eliminates the possibility of contamination.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, a heat exchange pipe is provided in the contact cooling body, and a feed branch pipe and a discharge branch pipe are respectively provided at the inlet and outlet of the heat exchange pipe. The feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe are independently connected to the outside of the vacuum furnace body, and a cooling medium circulates in the feed branch pipe, the heat exchange pipe and the discharge branch pipe.

[0011] The heat exchange pipe of this invention is a closed pipe, and it is continuously circulated with the feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe at both ends. Without breaking the vacuum, the circulating cooling medium continuously absorbs heat from the ingot, which greatly improves the cooling efficiency.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the heat exchange pipe is spiral in shape.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the outer peripheral walls of the feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe are wrapped with a heat insulation layer.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the outer surface of the contact cooling body is a plane or an arc-shaped curved surface.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment of this invention, at least two of the contact cooling bodies are distributed in a centrally symmetrical manner.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the transmission component includes a cylinder, one end of which is fixed to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body, and the other end is connected to the contact cooling body.

[0017] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, several groups of cooling components are equidistantly arranged along the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body.

[0018] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the length of the cooling zone in the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body accounts for 30% to 60% of the total length of the vacuum furnace body. For example, it can be 30%, 33%, 35%, 38%, 40%, 42%, 45%, 48%, 50%, 53%, 55%, 58%, or 60%, but it is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also applicable.

[0019] As a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the traction component is connected to the bottom of the vacuum furnace body and is partially located in the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, and the traction component located in the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body supports the ingot.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0021] This utility model provides a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting, which realizes contact indirect circulating water cooling of ingots, shortening the cooling time to less than three times the metal smelting time. Compared with the traditional protective gas cooling method, the efficiency is doubled. At the same time, since no other media are introduced, pollution problems are avoided, thus improving production efficiency and reducing production costs. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the ingot being moved to the cooling zone for cooling in the vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0024] Among them, 1-vacuum furnace body; 2-traction component; 3-ingot; 4-cooling zone; 5-contact cooling body; 6-cylinder; 7-heat exchange pipe; 8-feed branch pipe; 9-discharge branch pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0025] It should be understood that in the description of this utility model, the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0026] It should be noted that, in the description of this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0027] Those skilled in the art should understand that this utility model necessarily includes the necessary pipelines, conventional valves and general pump equipment for achieving complete process, but the above content is not the main improvement of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can make their own additional layouts based on the process flow and equipment structure selection. This utility model does not make any special requirements or specific limitations in this regard.

[0028] The technical solution of this utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] In one specific embodiment, the present invention provides a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting, comprising a vacuum furnace body and a traction assembly. The traction assembly is used to drive the ingot to move axially along the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. A cooling zone is provided in the middle of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, and a plurality of cooling assemblies are arranged axially at intervals in the cooling zone. The cooling assembly includes at least two contact cooling bodies evenly arranged along the circumference of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. The contact cooling bodies are movably connected to the inner cavity wall of the vacuum furnace body through a transmission component, and the transmission component is used to drive the contact cooling bodies to move toward or away from the ingot.

[0030] This invention changes the traditional vacuum natural cooling method in vacuum casting equipment, adopting a method of direct contact cooling between the cooling body and the ingot under vacuum conditions. This facilitates heat dissipation and improves the cooling effect. During operation, to ensure smooth ingot movement, the cooling body is kept in a retracted state by a transmission mechanism to avoid obstruction. After the ingot has been transported to the cooling stage, the cooling body is pushed closer to the ingot by the transmission mechanism until it is in close contact with the ingot for cooling. After cooling is complete, the cooling body is pulled away from the ingot by the transmission mechanism, while keeping it in a retracted state, to continue transporting the ingot out of the vacuum furnace.

[0031] The shape of the contact cooling body in this invention matches the structure of the ingot, allowing it to closely adhere to the ingot for direct contact cooling during the cooling process. This invention does not specifically limit the structure of the contact cooling body; those skilled in the art can adjust it according to the ingot structure. For example, when the ingot is a plate-shaped billet or a square billet, the outer surface of the contact cooling body near the ingot has a planar structure; when the ingot is a rod-shaped billet, the outer surface of the contact cooling body near the ingot has an arc-shaped curved surface structure.

[0032] To ensure uniform heat dissipation around the ingot, at least two of the contact cooling bodies are preferably distributed in a centrally symmetrical manner. For example, when the ingot is a square billet, four contact cooling bodies are arranged along the circumference of the ingot, and all of them are rectangular to match the four sides of the ingot for cooling; when the ingot is a rod-shaped billet, two contact cooling bodies are arranged along the circumference of the ingot, and both of them are hollow semi-cylindrical to cool the ingot from all directions.

[0033] In some embodiments, a heat exchange pipe is provided within the contact cooling body. The inlet and outlet of the heat exchange pipe are respectively provided with a feed branch pipe and a discharge branch pipe. The feed branch pipe and discharge branch pipe are independently connected to the outside of the vacuum furnace body. Cooling medium circulates within the feed branch pipe, heat exchange pipe, and discharge branch pipe. During operation, a circulating cooling water tank for providing the cooling medium is provided outside the vacuum furnace body. The heat exchange pipe is circulated through the feed branch pipe and discharge branch pipe, allowing the cooling medium to circulate continuously within the heat exchange pipe. Without disrupting the vacuum, the cooling medium directly contacts the ingot for heat transfer, removing the heat from the high-temperature ingot and achieving cooling. The cooling medium can be any medium commonly used in the art, such as chilled water or a refrigerant, which can be adjusted according to actual needs. Specifically, the heat exchange pipe is spiral-shaped, increasing the contact area between the cooling medium and the ingot, which is beneficial for improving the cooling effect.

[0034] Furthermore, the outer walls of the feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe are wrapped with an insulation layer to reduce heat loss during the flow of the cooling medium and keep the cooling medium at a low temperature. The insulation layer includes, but is not limited to, high-temperature resistant materials commonly used in the art, such as rock wool, aerogel felt, phenolic foam, and foamed cement.

[0035] In some embodiments, the transmission component includes a cylinder, one end of which is fixed to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body, and the other end is drive-connected to the contact cooling body. The cylinder in this invention can also be remotely controlled via hardware, software, and electromechanical control technology. After the ingot is transported to the vacuum furnace body for cooling, the cylinder is remotely activated to push the contact cooling body towards the ingot until it is in close contact with the outer peripheral wall of the ingot and then stops moving. Cooling is then performed. After cooling is complete, the cylinder is remotely activated again to pull the contact cooling body back to its original position, preventing obstruction of the ingot's transport. This invention does not specifically limit the structure or model of the cylinder; those skilled in the art can make adaptive adjustments according to actual conditions. Specifically, the cylinder body can be fixed to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body, and the piston rod is connected to the contact cooling body, thereby driving the contact cooling body to move.

[0036] In some embodiments, several groups of cooling components are equidistantly arranged along the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body. Specifically, along the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body, the length of the cooling zone accounts for 30-60% of the total length of the vacuum furnace body. In application, this invention adjusts the number and spacing of the cooling components according to the axial dimension of a single ingot, ensuring that the cooling components can cover the outer periphery of the ingot as much as possible after the entire ingot is positioned in the cooling zone, thereby improving cooling efficiency.

[0037] In some embodiments, the traction assembly is connected to the bottom of the vacuum furnace body and partially located within the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, with the traction assembly within the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body supporting the ingot. The traction assembly necessarily includes a casting platform and connecting rod extending into the vacuum furnace body, as is well known to those skilled in the art for achieving process integrity, and a downward driving component positioned outside the vacuum furnace body. The two ends of the connecting rod are respectively connected to the casting platform and the downward driving component. The casting platform engages with the ingot, and the downward driving component drives the connecting rod to pull the casting platform downwards, thereby causing the ingot to move axially within the vacuum furnace body. Those skilled in the art should understand that the traction assembly necessarily also includes necessary pipelines and conventional components for achieving process integrity, but the above is not considered a major improvement of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can add their own layout based on the process flow and equipment structure selection; this utility model does not impose special requirements or specific limitations in this regard.

[0038] In order to obtain accurate information about the ingot entering the cooling zone, the traction component of this invention can also be equipped with a grating ruler displacement sensor to detect the movement distance of the ingot in real time. Once the entire ingot has entered the cooling zone, the cooling component is then activated to ensure that the ingot is cooled completely.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] This embodiment provides a vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting, including a vacuum furnace body 1 and a traction assembly 2. An ingot 3 moves axially within the vacuum furnace body 1. Figure 1 As shown, the traction assembly 2 extends from the bottom of the vacuum furnace body 1 and connects to the ingot 3, used to traction the ingot 3 to move within the vacuum furnace body 1. A cooling zone 4 is provided in the middle of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body 1, with the length of the cooling zone 4 accounting for 40% of the total length of the vacuum furnace body 1. Three sets of cooling assemblies are equidistantly arranged along the axial direction within the cooling zone 4. Each cooling assembly includes two rectangular contact cooling bodies 5 symmetrically arranged circumferentially along the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body 1. The contact cooling bodies 5 are movably connected to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body 1 via cylinders 6. One end of the cylinder 6 is fixed to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body 1, and the other end is connected to the contact cooling body 5, used to drive the contact cooling body 5 to move towards or away from the ingot 3. A spiral heat exchange pipe 7 is provided within the contact cooling body 5. The inlet and outlet of the heat exchange pipe 7 are respectively provided with a feed branch pipe 8 and a discharge branch pipe 9. The feed branch pipe 8 and the discharge branch pipe 9 are independently connected to the outside of the vacuum furnace body 1 to circulate the cooling medium within the heat exchange pipe 7. The outer walls of the feed branch pipe 8 and the discharge branch pipe 9 are also wrapped with an insulation layer to ensure that the cooling medium is in a low temperature state.

[0041] The method of using the vacuum cooling device for melting ingot 3 provided in this embodiment includes: using the traction component 2 to move the ingot 3 downward until it reaches the cooling zone 4, and injecting a cooling medium into the contact cooling body 5 for circulation; such as Figure 2 As shown, cylinder 6 is turned on, driving the contact cooling body 5 to move closer to the ingot 3 until the contact cooling body 5 is in close contact with the outer surface of the ingot 3 and continues to cool it; after cooling is finished, cylinder 6 is turned on, driving the contact cooling body 5 to move towards the original ingot 3 and reset, and the traction component 2 continues to drive the ingot 3 to move down and out of the vacuum furnace body 1.

[0042] The applicant declares that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model fall within the protection and disclosure scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting, characterized in that, The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting includes a vacuum furnace body and a traction assembly, wherein the traction assembly is used to drive the ingot to move axially along the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body; A cooling zone is provided in the middle of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body, and several sets of cooling components are arranged at intervals along the axial direction in the cooling zone. The cooling assembly includes at least two contact cooling bodies evenly arranged along the circumference of the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. The contact cooling bodies are movably connected to the inner cavity wall of the vacuum furnace body through a transmission component, which is used to drive the contact cooling bodies to move towards or away from the ingot.

2. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 1, characterized in that, The contact cooling body is equipped with a heat exchange pipe. The inlet and outlet of the heat exchange pipe are respectively provided with a feed branch pipe and a discharge branch pipe. The feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe are independently connected to the outside of the vacuum furnace body. Cooling medium circulates in the feed branch pipe, the heat exchange pipe and the discharge branch pipe.

3. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 2, characterized in that, The heat exchange pipe is spiral-shaped.

4. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 2, characterized in that, The outer walls of the feed branch pipe and the discharge branch pipe are wrapped with a heat insulation layer.

5. The vacuum cooling apparatus for ingot smelting according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The outer surface of the contact cooling body is a plane or an arc-shaped surface.

6. The vacuum cooling apparatus for ingot smelting according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, At least two of the contact cooling bodies are distributed in a centrally symmetrical manner.

7. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission component includes a cylinder, one end of which is fixed to the inner wall of the vacuum furnace body, and the other end is connected to the contact cooling body.

8. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 1, characterized in that, Several sets of the cooling components are equidistantly arranged along the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body.

9. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the axial direction of the vacuum furnace body, the length of the cooling zone accounts for 30% to 60% of the total length of the vacuum furnace body.

10. The vacuum cooling device for ingot smelting according to claim 1, characterized in that, The traction assembly is connected to the bottom of the vacuum furnace body and is partially located in the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body. The traction assembly located in the inner cavity of the vacuum furnace body supports the ingot.

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