Abstract: An anti-freezing valve (1) comprises: a valve body (2) made of metal material (M), defining a passageway (5) for a liquid; an open/close member (9), mounted displaceable in the valve body (2), an anti-freezing arrangement. The valve body (2) is a valve body obtained by casting, which defines a valve seat (8), with respect to which the open/close member (9) is displaceable in a slidable manner between a raised position of opening and a lowered position of closing of the passageway (5). Embedded in the metal material (M) constituting the valve body (2) is an axially extended hollow member (13), belonging to the anti-freezing arrangement, for the passage of a thermovector fluid (F), the hollow member (13) having respective ends (14) accessible from outside the valve body (2), for connection to a circuit of the thermovector fluid (F).

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a vertical heat treatment apparatus having a heat insulator, which has sufficient heat insulation, heat retention and high load pressure bearing properties to cope with increased size dimensions and number of layers of wafer workpieces and can be particularly advantageously used as a semiconductor and TFT substrate heat treatment apparatus. The apparatus features the use of a heat insulator casing 40 supporting a substrate holder 3 on its top and receiving a heat insulator 50 having numerous inner microspaces in its lower space, and defining a substrate holder or boat insulator receiving space A and a heat insulator receiving space B such that these spaces are hermetically sealed with respect to each other by the heat insulator casing.

Abstract: An internal partitioning wall for a blast furnace stove in which a layer of insulating material is interposed between two layers of refractory material. Buttressing means such as integral, refractory ledges are provided at periodic vertical intervals from one layer of refractory material to the other. These refractory ledges protect the insulating layer from damage due to radially directed compressive forces found to exist in this wall and also reduce deterioration of this insulation due to sagging and vertical compression.

Abstract: A breast wall construction of a blast furnace hot blast stove includes a free-moving vertical arch composed of reverse wedge interlocking refractory shapes which form a monolithic unit upon differential heat expansion of the breast wall when the blast stove is operating in the on-gas mode.