Stave Cooler Steel Collar Gas-Tight Seal and Weight Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stave coolers in blast furnaces face challenges in maintaining a gas-tight seal and supporting the weight of heavy copper or iron stave coolers, leading to potential detachment and leakage of lethal process gases over time.
Innovation Solution
A steel collar is engineered to support the weight of stave coolers and provide a gas-tight seal by continuous welding to the steel containment shell, with independent coolant piping circuits and a pipe box system that collects and routes coolant connections through a single steel collar, ensuring secure attachment and containment within the blast furnace shell.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a steel collar is used to support the stave cooler weight and provide gas-tight seal, then the reliability and containment are improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The steel collar integrates multiple functions: it supports the heavy stave cooler weight, provides gas-tight sealing against the containment shell, and serves as a collection manifold for coolant piping circuits. By combining structural support, sealing, and fluid distribution functions into a single component, the design improves reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The steel collar acts as a multi-functional element that simultaneously serves as a mechanical support structure, a gas seal interface, and a piping manifold. This universal component approach resolves the contradiction by achieving multiple goals (weight support, gas-tight containment, coolant distribution) through a single integrated design rather than separate components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the steel collar supports the entire weight of the stave cooler, then the structural stability is improved, but the stress and potential detachment risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The steel collar is designed to counterbalance the heavy weight of the copper or iron stave cooler through its high-strength steel construction. The collar acts as a counterweight structure that resists gravitational forces and prevents detachment, maintaining stable attachment between the cooler and containment shell despite the substantial load.
3Productivity
If multiple coolant piping circuits are cast inside the stave cooler, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the manufacturing precision and bonding quality become more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant piping circuits are cast into the stave cooler body during the initial manufacturing process rather than being installed separately. This preliminary action ensures proper bonding and positioning of multiple piping circuits within the cooler structure, maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling efficient multi-circuit cooling.
4Reliability
If the steel collar and cover plate provide gas-tight seal through continuous welding, then the containment reliability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and welding requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The steel collar and cover plate are designed to work together as an integrated sealing system with continuous welding between them and the containment shell. This merging of components creates a unified gas-tight barrier that improves containment reliability while consolidating welding operations into continuous seams rather than multiple discrete welds.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively maintains a gas-tight seal and supports the weight of stave coolers, preventing detachment and leakage, thus ensuring the longevity of the stave cooler's campaign life and maintaining a stable blast furnace crucible.
Implementation Method 1
A single steel collar on the backside of each stave is engineered to support the entire weight of the stave cooler
Implementation Method 2
A single steel collar on the backside of each stave is engineered to support the entire weight of the stave cooler. Any and every external connection of the liquid coolant piping circuits are collected and routed together through the single steel collar. These stave coolers are limited to those mountable only from the inside of steel containment shells provided with a matching penetration. The single steel collar and a cover plate accommodate and provide a gas-tight seal by a continuous welding of the single steel collar to each steel containment shell.
Data Source
AI summary
A stave cooler for a furnace that always includes a liquid coolant piping cast inside. A stave cooler body includes a hot face and a backside and a liquid coolant piping cast inside between the hot face and the backside. A single steel collar on the backside of each stave is engineered to support the entire weight of the stave cooler. Any and every external connection of the liquid coolant piping are collected and routed together through the single steel collar. These stave coolers are limited to those mountable only from the inside of steel containment shells provided with a matching penetration. The single steel collar and a cover plate accommodate and provide a gas-tight seal by a continuous welding of the single steel collar to each steel containment shell.