Magnetic pump installation
AssigneeNovelis Inc.
InventorEdwin L. Rauch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A magnetic pump in a pump well in a molten metal furnace with a long, relatively thin side wall that wraps around a significant fraction of the circumference of the pump, which facilitates creation of an eddy current based flow field in the molten material with better magnetic coupling, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the pump. Breach of the well wall will not result in spillage of metal outside the furnace, and the well can be monitored for any such breach or other change so that the pump can be lifted out of the well to protect it from contact with the molten metal in the event of such a breach, or other appropriate action can be taken.
Claims26
A molten metal furnace comprising:
- a furnace vessel;
- a pump well positionable inside the furnace vessel and spaced apart from exterior walls of the furnace vessel;
- and
- an apparatus for agitating molten metal within the furnace vessel, the apparatus comprising:
- a magnetic pump at least partially within the pump well;
- a detector for detecting breach of the pump well;
- and
- a lift actuatable in response to a signal from the detector to lift the magnetic pump out of the pump well.
A molten metal agitation apparatus for use in a non-ferrous molten metal furnace, the apparatus comprising:
- a pump well positionable inside a furnace vessel and spaced apart from exterior walls of the furnace vessel;
- a magnetic pump at least partially within the pump well;
- a detector for detecting breach of the pump well;
- and
- a lift actuatable in response to a signal from the detector to lift the magnetic pump out of the pump well.
A method, comprising:
- positioning a magnetic pump within a pump well of a furnace vessel, the pump well spaced apart from exterior walls of the furnace vessel;
- inducing eddy currents in molten metal within the furnace vessel by the magnetic pump;
- detecting a breach of the pump well;
- and
- automatically lifting the magnetic pump out of the pump well in response to detecting the breach of the pump well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.