Extended leg return elbow for use with a steel making furnace and method thereof
AssigneeAmerifab, Inc.
InventorRichard J. Manasek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A 180-degree pipe elbow having one end extending beyond the other end and method of joining a 180-degree pipe elbow to lengths of cooling pipe to form a cooling panel for use in a furnace, boiler or other industrial heating apparatus that benefits from assistance of a cooling panel. Having one end of the elbow extend beyond the other end of the elbow enables the one end to be joined to a length of pipe by welding whereby the joining may be by automatic welding which will reduce manufacturing costs and ensure a quality weld.
Claims20
A cooling panel coupled to an inner wall of a steel making furnace, comprising:
- piping sinuously winding between a first end and a second end, the piping including a plurality of section pipes aligned substantially parallel to one another;
- an inlet formed at the first end of the piping and configured to receive a fluid for cooling the furnace;
- an outlet formed at the second end of the piping and being in fluid communication with the inlet;
- a base member configured to couple the piping to the inner wall;
- and
- a plurality of return elbows each coupling two of the plurality of section pipes to one another;
- wherein, each of the plurality of return elbows comprises a first leg and a second leg, the first leg being welded to a first section pipe of the two section pipes and the second leg being welded to a second section pipe of the two section pipes;
- wherein, the first leg comprises a first length and the second leg comprises a second length, where the first length is greater than the second length.
A steel making furnace, comprising:
- a furnace shell movably disposed on a tilting mechanism, the shell including a hearth, a side wall and a roof;
- an exhaust system for exhausting gases from the furnace;
- a water-cooled panel mounted to an inner surface of the side wall, the panel comprising piping sinuously winding between a first end and a second end, the piping comprising:
- a plurality of section pipes aligned substantially parallel to one another;
- an inlet formed at the first end of the piping and configured to receive a fluid for cooling the furnace;
- an outlet formed at the second end of the piping and being in fluid communication with the inlet;
- a base member configured to couple the piping to the inner wall;
- and
- a plurality of return elbows each coupling two of the plurality of section pipes to one another;
- wherein, each of the plurality of return elbows comprises a first leg and a second leg, the first leg being welded to a first section pipe of the two section pipes and the second leg being welded to a second section pipe of the two section pipes;
- wherein, the first leg comprises a first length and the second leg comprises a second length, where the first length is greater than the second length.
A method of forming a cooling panel for being mounted to an inner wall of a steel making furnace, comprising:
- providing a plurality of sections of piping having substantially equal lengths and a plurality of 180-degree shaped return elbows each having a first leg being longer than a second leg;
- welding a first of the plurality of sections of piping to the first leg of one of the plurality of return elbows via a welding tool during an automatic or semi-automatic welding process;
- welding a second of the plurality of sections of piping to the second leg of the one return elbow during an automatic, semi-automatic, or manual welding process;
- and
- sinuously winding the plurality of sections of piping and plurality of 180-degree shaped return elbows to form the cooling panel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.