Lintel shelf coolers in vertically oriented furnaces

Abstract

Improved vertically orientated metal smelting or converting furnaces, in which at least a portion of its steel shelled vessel is cylindrical. At least one ringed row of horizontal coolers are fixed to the steel vessel shoulder-to-shoulder to form a lintel shelf that cantilevers inward. Such lintel shelf is above the bath zone of the furnace and fully supports a refractory brick lining and interdigitated horizontal coolers above. Below, in the bath zone, the weight of another lining of refractory brick is supported by the floor and the outside of the lining bears against several vertical bathline coolers. The advantage of the improvements include relieving the weight of the upper refractory brick lining and horizontal coolers from the lower bathline lining of refractory brick. Without having to bear such weight, the lower bathline lining of refractory brick can be safely allowed to corrode and thin beyond conventional minimums.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.