An apparatus for use in conjunction with a charge well of a furnace containing a molten metal pool into which metal chips are introduced for melting. The apparatus includes a sidewell having a pump well and a charge well. The pump well houses a molten metal pump. The charge well houses a scrap submergence device. The pump well and the charge well are in fluid communication via a passage in a bridge wall that divides the pump well from the charge well. The bridge wall defines a semi-circular end wall of the charge well. The scrap submergence device is capable of clockwise and counterclockwise rotation at variable speed.

The present invention provides an electric furnace including: a cylindrical furnace wall; a furnace cover that is provided at an upper end of the furnace wall; and a furnace bottom that is provided at a lower end of the furnace wall and includes a deep bottom portion and a shallow bottom portion as a region having a height of 150 mm to 500 mm from a deepest point of the deep bottom portion, in which a slag pouring port into which molten slag or a solidified slag lump is capable of being poured from a slag transport container directly or through a tilting trough is provided, the slag pouring port overlaps the shallow bottom portion in a plan view, and the area ratio of the shallow bottom portion to the furnace bottom in a plan view is 5% to 40%.

A continuous concentrate feeding equipment of the present invention, which can supply the concentrate to a smelting furnace continuously when the concentrate is received, includes a pressure-adjusting tank that temporarily accumulates granular concentrate; a lift tank that receives the concentrate from the pressure-adjusting tank and discharges the concentrate to a smelting furnace; an air passage for introducing compressed air into the pressure-adjusting tank and the lift tank, respectively; and control means for controlling the compressed air, and the concentrate is continuously supplied from the lift tank to the smelting furnace even when the lift tank receives the concentrate from the pressure-adjusting tank by the control means.

A system of obtaining an aluminium melt including SiC particles for use when moulding vehicle parts, e.g. brake disks. The system comprises a pre-processing tank (2),configured to receive SiC particles and to apply a pre-processing procedure to pre-process the SiC particles; a SiC particle transport member (4) configured to transport the pre-processed SiC particles from the pre-processing tank (2) to a crucible (6) of a melting furnace device (8), and that the melting furnace device (8) is configured to receive and melt solid aluminium, e.g. aluminium slabs, and to hold an aluminium melt (10) and to receive said pre-processed SiC particles (12). The pre-processing tank (2) is a fluidization tank, and that said pre-processing procedure is a fluidization procedure including heating and fluidizing of said SiC particles. The fluidization procedure is performed during a predetermined time period, and that said heating comprises heating said SiC particles up to at least 400° C., in order to achieve a protective oxide layer around said SiC particles.

A continuous concentrate feeding equipment of the present invention, which can supply the concentrate to a smelting furnace continuously when the concentrate is received, includes a pressure-adjusting tank that temporarily accumulates granular concentrate; a lift tank that receives the concentrate from the pressure-adjusting tank and discharges the concentrate to a smelting furnace; an air passage for introducing compressed air into the pressure-adjusting tank and the lift tank, respectively; and control means for controlling the compressed air, and the concentrate is continuously supplied from the lift tank to the smelting furnace even when the lift tank receives the concentrate from the pressure-adjusting tank by the control means.

The invention concerns a method for feeding an optical cored wire into a molten metal bath and an immersion system and an immersion nozzle to carry out the method. The optical cored wire (6) is decoiled, a feeding and straightening device (4) with a plurality of rollers (20, 21) conducts feeding of the optical cored wire (6) in a feeding direction towards the metal bath (11) as well as a first straightening of the optical cored wire (6), and subsequently a separated further plurality of non-motor driven nozzle straighteners (13) arranged between the feeding and straightening device (4) and the metal bath (11) conducts a second straightening of the optical cored wire (6). Very high precision of temperature measurement can thereby be achieved.

A method of operating a top submerged lance furnace, and more particularly but not exclusively to a method of coating an end of a lance of a top submerged lance furnace with a slag layer, as well as a method of maintaining a uniform heat distribution about the periphery of the lance of the top submerged lance furnace. In terms of the method, the lance is caused to rotate, and a fluid is passed through the lance before it is inserted into the molten material bath inside the crucible.

A method for injecting a solid feed material through a solids injection lance includes creating flow conditions in an injection passageway of the lance so that at least a part of the feed material flowing along the passageway forms a buffer zone between a wall of a tube that defines the passageway and feed material flowing along a central section of the passageway.

The present invention provides an electric furnace including: a cylindrical furnace wall; a furnace cover that is provided at an upper end of the furnace wall; and a furnace bottom that is provided at a lower end of the furnace wall and includes a deep bottom portion and a shallow bottom portion as a region having a height of 150 mm to 500 mm from a deepest point of the deep bottom portion, in which a slag pouring port into which molten slag or a solidified slag lump is capable of being poured from a slag transport container directly or through a tilting trough is provided, the slag pouring port overlaps the shallow bottom portion in a plan view, and the area ratio of the shallow bottom portion to the furnace bottom in a plan view is 5% to 40%.

The dual-function impeller can be rotated in molten metal in a direction of rotation, as part of a rotary injector. The impeller can have a body having an axis, a plurality of blades circumferentially interspaced around an axis, and an aperture coinciding with the axis. The blades having both a radially extending portion facing the direction of rotation and collectively generating a radial flow component upon said rotation, and a slanted portion also facing the direction of rotation, inclined relative to a radial plane, and collectively generating an axial flow component directed away from the rotary injector upon said rotation.