Abstract: A metal melt casting apparatus comprises a vessel for containing the melt and having a wall portion having a downwardly pointing melt tapping hole, the vessel tilting so that this wall portion can be raised and lowered. A fountain has a top for receiving the melt when registered with said tapping hole and a bottom for connection with the bottom of a mold. A gas-tight elastically deflectible sealing means interconnects the tapping hole and the fountain top when the mentioned wall portion is lowered thereon by tilting of the vessel. The sealing means is made in the form of two parts which elastically flexibly engage when the converter wall with the tapping hole is lowered on the top of the fountain, one part being connected to the wall and the other part being connected to the fountain. The sealing means is provided with a gas passage so that the tapping metal stream may be subject to evacuation for degassing or surrounded by an inert gas.

Abstract: A method of treating molten metal in a converter having an induction heater the heating space of which opens into the lowermost portion of the converter compartment comprises injecting a mixture of a solid treating material in powder form with a carrier gas through a sidewall of the converter at a level only slightly above the bottom wall of the converter compartment. A tuyere through which the gas-powder mixture is injected is directed slightly downward and toward the region where the heating space of the induction heater opens into the converter compartment.

Abstract: Unrefined steel is refined by the use of a refining slag in a furnace having two pressure-tightly interconnected, pressure-tightly covered upper and lower hearths having channeltype inductors for heating and stirring steel melts in the hearths, the refining being effected in the upper hearth only and which is of relatively small capacity and has its inductor tilted to effect vigorous melt flow. The refining is continued, batch after batch, with each batch transferred to the lower hearth which is of substantially larger capacity and where the refined steel can be held at a temperature lower than required for its refining, to obtain a volume of refined steel adequate for steel plant casting purposes. Gas pressure in the lower hearth maintains the melt level in the upper hearth as required during the refining, this gas pressure being lowered to transfer each batch of refined steel to the larger lower hearth, and then being increased again for the next refining operation.