Exemplary embodiments of mud gun caps are disclosed herein. An exemplary mud gun cap includes a flame-resistant body that has a tap hole contacting surface. The flame-resistant body has side wall; a first bore and a second bore located within the flame-resistant body. The first bore has a first diameter and second bore has a second diameter. The first diameter is smaller than the second diameter and the second bore is located farther away from the tap hole contacting surface than the first bore.

The invention relates to a sliding closure (10) for a metallurgical vessel comprising a tapping hole (1) for draining metal melt or slag, said sliding closure being provided with a slider housing (3) that can be secured to the vessel (2) and a closure plate (6) that can move therein for opening and closing the tapping hole (1). The sliding closure (10) also has only this moveable closure plate (6), without a stationary closure plate, which is can be moved directly on a sliding surface (7), extending around the tapping hole, preferably of a casing block (9) in the vessel (2) and can be pressed by pretensioning elements. In this way, this sliding closure (10) provides a constructionally simpler structure and user-friendly handling.

Device for inserting a refractory block into a taphole structure of a metallurgical vessel, in particular a basic oxygen furnace wherein the refractory block is carried by a mounting unit and has a proximate end introducable into the taphole. A distal end with locking elements, which can be coupled to a locking plate of the vessel, is disposed at the outside of the taphole of the vessel. The refractory block can be introduced into the taphole structure until the locking elements of the mounting unit can be attached to and coupled with the coupling head with a manipulator. This mounting unit can be uncoupled with the manipulator, when the refractory block is mortared and fixed in the lining, whereby the mounting unit can be decoupled and removed solely out of the taphole to enable refractory block replacement and gunning of refractory material from the inside of the furnace more easily.

An apparatus for shaving a tap hole surface of a blast furnace or the like wherein efficiency can be improved, and a worker can be freed from physically burdensome work in the vicinity of the lower furnace wall of a blast furnace under high temperature. The apparatus includes a surface shaving unit having smoothing bits, and a rotating mechanism unit that, when the surface shaving unit is pressed against the tap hole surface, rotates the surface shaving unit, by utilizing the pressing force, by a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction substantially parallel to the surface, and holds the surface shaving unit at the rotated position. The rotating mechanism unit eliminates the need for work such that every time a conventional surface shaving unit is separated from the tap hole surface after being pressed against the surface, a worker manually rotates the surface shaving unit by a predetermined angle.

In the field of refining metal melts or slags there is disclosed in particular a reactive material based on calcium aluminate and carbon, its process of preparation and various methods for refining metal melts using the same.

A method and apparatus closing a slag doorway and cleaning the slag doorway and channel of a metallurgical furnace including walls defining a slag doorway and a slag channel that crosses the slag doorway and has a bottom. The apparatus includes a support structure associable with the furnace, at least one slag-breaking body including a lower border that, under mounting conditions of the apparatus on the furnace, is directed towards the bottom and at a definable height, the slag-breaking body being associated with the support structure in a movable manner along the slag channel away and/or towards the slag doorway to wipe, with its lower border, the bottom or a parallel plane, and a vibrating or oscillating mechanism associated with the slag-breaking body to confer a vibrating or oscillating movement with non null component incident the bottom, during a travel performed during its movement away or towards the slag doorway.

In an electric arc furnace system for making steel, a method and structure (1) for eliminating teeming hang-ups and ensuring temperature homogeneity in a ladle which teems into an ingot mold by gas purging at all possible steps under both atmospheric and vacuum conditions, and (2) for preventing non-metallic inclusions from appearing in the final product by deflecting the granular material in the teeming ladle well block away from the ingot mold by a heat resistant but combustible deflector just prior to entry of the teeming stream into the ingot mold.

There is provided a melting device including a melting cylinder that is heated to a predetermined temperature, melts a molding material supplied from a material supply port, and generates a molten material; an inert gas supply device configured to supply an inert gas onto a melting surface of the molten material and form an inert gas layer; and a low specific gravity gas supply device configured to supply a low specific gravity gas which is a gas having a different type from the inert gas and form a low specific gravity gas layer on the inert gas layer, wherein the low specific gravity gas layer has a lower specific gravity than the inert gas layer.

A tap hole filling device for an electric arc furnace (1) includes a pivot arm (30) pivotable between a parking position and an operating position, a pivot arm actuator (40), an actuator link mechanism (50), and a refractory filling material dispenser (60) attached to an end portion (31) of the pivot arm to dispense refractory filling material (S) from a dispensing opening thereof while the pivot arm is in the operating position. The actuator link mechanism includes a connector (51) that is moveable between a connecting position, where the connector connects the pivot arm and the pivot arm actuator such that the pivot arm actuator (40) can pivot the pivot arm between the parking position and the operating position in an automatic operation mode, and a disconnected position, where the connector does not connect the pivot arm and the pivot arm actuator, to enable a manual operation mode.

A sand dispensing system with a compact movable sand reservoir, mounted for movement atop a metal making furnace, is refillable with a predetermined amount of sand, and tilts with the furnace. The reservoir dispenses a directed stream of the predetermined amount of sand through a nozzle in a sump panel door to fill a tap hole in the furnace. One end of the nozzle receives the directed stream of sand. The opposite end of the nozzle projects into the furnace, to direct the sand stream into the tap hole when the sand reservoir is in the dispensing position. An imaging device may be used to inspect the tap hole before and after the sand is directed into the tap hole. A remote control may be used to operate the sand dispensing system. The predetermined amount may be adjusted as the fill volume of the tap hole increases.