Abstract: An apparatus for charging material to be sintered into a sintering machine comprises a shuttle conveyor transporting pelletized material to be sintered, a wide conveyor receiving said pelletized material from the shuttle conveyor and feeding the pelletized material to a pallet moving in a predetermined direction, a deflector plate receiving the pelletized material from the wide conveyor and feeding the pelletized material to the pallet and a support plate supporting the material fed to the pallet from behind, the support plate being arranged facing the deflector plate below the wide conveyor and over the upper side of the pallet.

Abstract: An anti-slag, anti-vortex tundish measurement apparatus for use in tundishes or other molten metal receptacles provides a measurement of the depth of the molten metal layer above the bottom of such receptacles. The apparatus includes a body mounted on a first end of an elongated rod. The body and the rod are formed of a suitable material and have a predetermined size such that the specific gravity of the body and the rod is less than the specific gravity of the molten metal in the receptacle; but greater than the specific gravity of the slag layer covering the top of the molten metal layer such that the body is buoyantly supported at the interface between the slag layer and the molten metal layer. Measurement indicia in the form of incrementally spaced, scale gradations is formed on the second end of the rod, which end extends externally from the interior of the molten metal receptacle.

Abstract: A charging arrangement for shaft furnaces, in particular blast furnaces, comprising a container which is arranged above the shaft furnace and which is subdivided by a separating wall into a lower distributor chamber and an upper lock chamber to which the charging material can be fed from above through a filling hopper. Outside its middle and distributed around its periphery the separating wall includes at least two individually closable bottom openings through which the charging material can be passed from the lock chamber into the distributor chamber. The charging material is fed to the shaft furnace through distributor pipes which connect the distributor chamber to the shaft furnace.

Abstract: A leveling apparatus for leveling a surface of refractory bed comprised of refractory pebbles. The leveling apparatus is comprised of a disk having a level bottom surface suitable for positioning upon the surface of the refractory bed. A plurality of spaced apart, downwardly extending tooth members project beneath the level, bottom surface of the disk, and into the refractory bed. Rotation of the disk causes the plurality of tooth members to displace the refractory pebbles in a rake-like manner to thereby level the surface of the refractory bed by causing the refractory pebbles to conform to the level bottom surface of the disk.

Abstract: An instrument assembly is mounted to view the inside of a furnace or boiler, its probe extending into a port in the furnace wall. To remove slag built up within the port, a deslagger unit is mounted upon the assembly and includes a shiftable blade surrounding the probe lens. A displacing mechanism mounted upon the assembly is periodically actuated to rectilinearly shift the blade within the confines of the port to dislodge built up slag therein.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for directly observing the slag-foaming conditions in a vessel interior.A device for observing the vessel interior light is disposed in a throughhole extending through the side wall of a top-blowing or top- and bottom-blowing converter to reach the vessel interior. The converter operation can be carried out at a high accuracy on the basis of this observation.

Abstract: Refractory erosion detection devices are positioned in the refractory lining of metallurgical vessels, such as ladles and refractory stirring plugs incorporated in such vessels through which stirring gas is directed, comprise metal rods positioned in the upper or outer portions of the refractory bodies with their inner ends spaced from the opposite surfaces of the refractory body so that molten metal introduced into the metallurgical vessels erodes the refractory bodies and the metal rod to a point where the complete erosion and absence of the metal rods visually indicates the pre-determined thickness of the remaining refractory bodies indicating the need of replacement of the same.

Abstract: A method for operating a converter on the basis of a direct observation of the slag-forming conditions in a vessel interior.A device for observing the vessel-interior light is disposed in a throughhole extending through the side wall of a top-blowing or top- and bottom-blowing converter to reach the vessel interior. The converter operation can be carried out at a high accuracy of the slag-amount control on the basis of this observation.

Abstract: The reducing power of gases liberated at the top of the charge of an industrial furnace is determined by a method wherein the energy radiated from the charge in the range, for example between 1 and 6 microns, covering the radiant energy emitted by the compounds CO.sub.2, CO, H.sub.2, and CH.sub.4 is continuously measured in a multiplicity of detection points distributed over the entire upper surface of the charge and outputs are formed corresponding to the energy radiated at each of the points. An energy image of the energy radiated at the points in the range is formed from the outputs. This energy image is converted into respective specific images for the compounds by isolating from the energy image for each detection point the radiant energy emitted by the compounds. The concentration of each of the compounds at each of the points is calculated from the intensity of the respective specific image.

Abstract: An improvement for a system used to measure temperature of hot gases that are laden with entrained solids. The system involves use of a pyrometer that is mounted outside of a sight hole through the wall of a vessel containing the laden hot gases. And, the improvement concerns a projecting shelf above the sight hole to divert molten slag in order to keep the sight hole clear. Also there is a sloped recess at the bottom of the sight hole to drain any slag away from the lower portion thereof.

Abstract: Apparatus for measuring the contour of a surface without establishing contact therewith includes an energy transmitter movable in at least two directions. When employed in a shaft furnace the transmitter is movable along a longitudinal axis, so as to be either retracted to a protected location where it may be isolated from the furnace environment or extended so as to enable measurements, and is rotatable about the longitudinal axis so that the transmitted energy may be scanned across the surface.

Abstract: A pre-heating assembly to be used for pre-heating ingots being transported to a melting furnace, which includes an inner cylinder constituting a main passage for exhaust gas discharged from a flue of the melting furnace, an outer cylinder which is positioned around the inner cylinder to leave a subsidiary passage for the exhaust gas between the two cylinders, an ingot supplying passage spirally provided along the outermost circumference of the inner cylinder, in which the ingots, each having a spherical configuration like a ball, roll down the passage in succession so that each ingot is pre-heated prior to its introduction into the melting furnace, and a connector support member, on which both cylinders are mounted and the bottom portion of the connector support member is coupled to the outlet of the flue.

Abstract: A steel wire heat treatment apparatus is entirely free from the disadvantage of oxidation of the steel wire during treatment. The apparatus includes a heating furnace with a plurality of heating pipes passing, and through which wire rods being heated are passed, and a tempering oil tank provided at a wire rod outlet side of the heating furnace. An end portion of the wire rod outlet side of each heating pipe communicates with the tempering oil tank. An oil-drain pipe is arranged below each heating pipe in such a fashion that one end thereof communicates with the heating pipe and the other end thereof is maintained immersed in oil within an oil-drain tank.

Abstract: A stream of molten metal is monitored as to emitted radiation to detect the onset of inclusion of slag for stopping the stream.