Abstract: A pivoting, liquid cooled slag door for metallurgical furnaces is disclosed. The slag door can pivot from the top using one or more robust mechanisms that enable the door to be moved into and stopped in any position between a closed position and an open position. The slag door can also incorporate wing walls disposed in close proximity to the sides of the slag door. The wing walls can minimize air infiltration into the furnace when the slag door is in an open position. The slag door can be disposed in close proximity to the hearth of the furnace to eliminate problems associate with conventional slag door tunnels. The slag door can be fitted with a furnace apparatus such as a burner or a lance and can be used to provide access to the interior of the furnace and to control the flow of material out of the furnace.

Abstract: An enclosure for mounting burners and particle injection equipment in an EAF is described. The enclosures are mounted on the sidewalls of an EAF and include passages in which burners or injectors are mounted so that the discharge ends of the burners and injectors are located closer the melt than sidewall mounted burners and injectors. Burners and injectors mounted in the enclosures heat material in the furnace and deliver particulates to the melt more efficiently than conventionally mounted burners and injectors. The enclosures are liquid-cooled, typically by water, and constructed of high conductivity materials such as copper and/or cast iron and can be constructed in one or more pieces. Therefore, the enclosures protect the burners and injectors from the excessive heat and mechanical impact to which they would normally be subjected when mounted so close to the melt.

Abstract: A cooling device for use in an electric arc furnace is provided. The cooling device provides a novel and effective method for cooling burners, lances, enclosures, and other devices used in high heat environments, such as in Electric Arc Furnaces. According to one aspect of the invention used in a steel making process in an electric arc furnace, a cooling tube is inserted into a cooling cavity in a burner. Cooling fluid is injected through the cooling tube into the cavity to cool the portions of the burner adjacent the cooling cavity. The cooling fluid is then extracted from the cavity through a concentric space between the cooling tube and the cooling cavity. According to another aspect of the present invention, a cooling fluid distribution flange is provided to distribute cooling fluid to a plurality of cooling tubes to inject cooling fluid into a plurality of associated cooling cavities.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accessing a furnace melt are provided. Preferably, the method and apparatus provide for the safe and efficient access to the molten metal melt in a furnace. According to one aspect of the invention used in a steel making process in an electric arc furnace, a furnace aperture plug is reciprocated through a furnace aperture, the furnace aperture plug is retracted from the furnace aperture, access is provided to the molten metal melt in the furnace, and the furnace aperture plug is reinserted into the furnace aperture when the access is concluded.