Abstract: A filter includes a crucible, a filtering container, and a receiving tank. The crucible has a heater for heating a pre-filtered object to comprise a primary material in liquid and at least one other material in solid. The filtering container has a body, a sieve, and a press rod. The body connects with the crucible for receiving the heated pre-filtered object in a channel and provides a guide-out member; the sieve is disposed in said channel; and the press rod movably received in the channel for pressing the primary material of the pre-filtered object to flow through the sieve and to the guide-out member. The receiving tank has an entrance facing the guide-out member of the filtering container to receive the filtered primary material.

Abstract: A ceramic filter arranged in a flow passage through which a molten metal is poured from a gate into a cavity of a casting mold. The ceramic filter has a ceramic main body of a three-dimensional reticulated skeleton structure having interconnected pores. The main body is formed into a cylindrical shape having an inner hollow portion. A method of making the ceramic main body is disclosed by applying a ceramic slurry on a reticulated synthetic resin foam having no cell membranes. The foam is sintered and applied with the ceramic slurry until the foam is removed by carbonization.

Abstract: An interchangeable wearable refractory part for a discharge opening of a metallurgical vessel is provided with at least one ceramic filter for filtering a molten metal stream. The refractory part, such as a sliding valve plate, casting pipe, discharge sleeve or nozzle, or stationary base plate, may have the ceramic filter mounted in a passage opening thereof. The refractory parts are wearable, and thus are from time to time, replaced. The service life of the ceramic filters are chosen to correspond with the life span of the refractory part. The ceramic filter can either be a single filter in the passage opening, or a multi-stage filter including a coarse filter for larger impurities, a fine filter for smaller impurities as well as an absorption or reaction filter for dissolved impurities.

Abstract: A furnace system including a main furnace for melting and reducing material to form molten metal and slag which are to be continuously discharged therefrom and provided with an outlet port formed in an upper portion of the side wall thereof, and an auxiliary furnace connected to the main furnace and communicating with the interior of the main furnace through the outlet port. The molten metal and the slag are allowed to continuously flow from the main furnace into the auxiliary furnace while maintaining the melt level in the main furnace above the level of the outlet port so as to seal the outlet port. The molten metal and the slag are discharged from the auxiliary furnace at the same rate as the increase in the amount of the molten metal and the slag in the main furnace. The auxiliary furnace may be provided with temperature control device for independently controlling the temperatures of the molten metal and the slag in the auxiliary furnace.

Abstract: Ceramic porous bodies, including ceramic foam filters and smooth-faced ceramic objects, e.g., ceramic foam bricks, ceramic foam melting crucibles, and ceramic foam cores, made in accordance with the present invention are suitable for use with molten metal in general and molten superalloys in particular. The invention also provides a tundish for use with ceramic foam filters to filter metal en route from a metal furnace to a casting mold, and a melting device for use in casting metal which employs a ceramic foam filter as a bottom pour valve for a melting crucible such that the ceramic foam filter valve regulates the flow of molten metal therethrough in order to permit an entire ingot of metal to melt in the melting crucible before any metal begins to pour from the melting device into a casting mold.

Abstract: In a continuous steelmaking method, a molten metal bath is maintained within a rotary furnace heated by oxy-fuel burners at the charge and discharge ends. Metallic iron charge material such as iron and steel scrap or sponge iron is preheated primarily by heat transferred from the furnace exhaust gases, on an enclosed recuperative conveyor before being introduced through the charge end opening. Molten metal is withdrawn through a siphon tube submerged in the bath through the furnace discharge end opening into a vacuum chamber which is part of an integral vacuum chamber-tundish combination incorporating a molten metal column under vacuum in one leg and a molten steel tundish casting pool under atmospheric pressure as the other leg, connected via a submerged channel.

Abstract: A charge channel opens into a primary melting chamber and comprises a substantially vertically extending first section and a second section which follows the first section and opens substantially tangentially into a cylindrically shaped bottom portion of the primary melting chamber. The charge channel is charged with melting stock by means of a funnel-shaped melting stock infeed. A jet of molten metal is fed into the first section by passage means comprising a pump and a conduit. The jet of molten metal is mixed in this first section with the melting stock which is infed into and passed through the first section in a free-falling movement. The melting stock is enclosed and entrained by the jet of molten metal which is tangentially injected into the melt-containing bottom portion of the primary melting chamber. A turbulent flow is thereby generated in the primary melting chamber and keeps the melting stock in motion during finish melting.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for filtering molten metal is disclosed. The apparatus includes a crucible, a portion of which is a porous filter material. Attached to the rim of the crucible is a shock resistant ring. The crucible is positioned such that the porous filter material is submerged in the molten metal, and the rim is held above the surface of the molten metal by a brace which is attached to a fixed bracket.The molten metal is filtered by seeping through the porous filter material into the crucible. The filtered molten metal is extracted from the crucible.

Abstract: There is disclosed a continuous casting process in which contaminants from a metal melt are separated out by forcing the metal melt to undergo a rotating turbulent flow before it is cast. The desired rotating turbulent flow is achieved by disposing a suitable chamber, through which the melt flows, between the ladle and the mould.