Insulated furnace door and wall panel system

A method of forming an insulated wall panel product for cooperating with other wall structure as extends peripherally about portions of a treatment chamber of a high temperature furnace to assist in minimizing the loss of heat energy from the treatment chamber and to absorb, store and reradiate impingent heat energy from the periphery of the treatment chamber back toward central regions of the treatment chamber, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing frame means for defining a rigid support structure that is positionable to extend along selected portions of the periphery of a treatment chamber of a high temperature furnace;
• b) providing insulation means for being connected to the frame means, and for defining an inner surface that faces toward the treatment chamber and an outer surface that faces toward the frame means when the frame means is positioned to extend along a portion of the periphery of the treatment chamber, wherein the insulation means includes a sandwiched array of two types of insulation members, namely:
• 1) a plurality of rigid, elongate cast refractory members of predetermined lengths, with each of the cast refractory members having:
• A) outer portion means for defining at least a part of said outer surface of the wall panel;
• B) inner portion means for extending in closely spaced relationship with the inner portion means of adjacent elongated cast refractory members to provide a continuum of cast refractory material for defining said inner surface;
• C) central web portion means of predetermined width for structurally connecting the inner portion means of each cast refractory member with the outer portion means thereof;
• and, D) wherein the elongate cast refractory members, when viewed in cross sections taken transversely with respect to the lengths of the cast refractory members, show said inner portion means to be relatively wide in comparison to the widths of the central web portion means, and,
• 2) a plurality of compressible fiber-type refractory insulation members;
• and,
• c) connecting the elongate cast refractory members to the frame means:
• 1) with the elongate cast refractory members being arranged so as to extend side by said so that the inner portion means of adjacent elongate cast refractory members provide a continuum of cast refractory material for defining said inner surface;
• 2) with at least a separate one of the fiber-type insulation members being compressively sandwiched between the central web portion means of adjacent pairs of the cast refractory members for substantially filling space as exists between the central web portion means of adjacent parts of the cast refractory members;
• 3) with inner portion means of adjacent pairs of the elongate cast refractory members extending into sufficiently closely spaced relationship to form a substantially contiguous inner surface of the wall panel:
• A) that provides the wall panel with a capability, when the inner surface of the wall panel is exposed directly to the heat environment of the treatment chamber, for absorbing and storing impingent heat energy from the treatment chamber, and for re-radiating heat energy back into the treatment chamber;
• B) that confined the fiber-type insulation members so that fibers therefrom are restrained from escaping from between adjacent pairs of the inner portion means into the treatment chamber;
• and C) that shields the fiber-type insulation members from direct exposure to the heat environment of the treatment chamber.

A method of forming a heat-insulating product for lining a panel frame that is to be positioned about the periphery of a high temperature treatment chamber, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of rigid elongate cast refractory members of predetermined lengths, with each of the cast refractory members having:
• 1) outer portion means for defining at least a part of said outer surface of the wall panel;
• 2) inner portion means for extending in closely spaced relationship with the inner portion means of adjacent elongate cast refractory members to provide a continuum of cast refractory material for defining an inner surface;
• 3) central web portion means of predetermined width for structurally connecting the inner portion means of each cast refractory member with the outer portion means thereof;
• and, 4) wherein the elongate cast refractory members, when viewed in cross sections taken transversely with respect to the lengths of the cast refractory members, show said inner portion means to be relatively wide in comparison to the widths of the central web portion means;
• and,
• b) mounting the plurality of elongate cast refractory members on a frame as by establishing secure connections between at least the outer portion means of the cast refractory members and the frame so that resulting elongate assemblies of the cast refractory members and the frame extend in spaced, substantially parallel, side by side array with pocket-like spaces being defined between adjacent ones of the cast refractory members;
• c) installing elongate compressible fiber-type refractory insulating members so that, when the formation of the heat-insulating product is complete, at least a separate one of the fiber-type insulating members is compressively sandwiched within each of the pocket-like spaces between adjacent ones of the cast refractory members' and,
• d) with the steps of mounting the cast refractory members and of installing the fiber-type refractory insulating members being carried out such that, when the formation of the heat-insulating product is complete, the inner portion means of adjacent pairs of the elongate cast refractory members extends into sufficiently closely spaced relationship to form a substantially contiguous inner surface of the wall panel:
• 1) that provides the wall panel with a capability, when the inner surface of the wall panel is exposed directly to the heat environment of the treatment chamber, for absorbing and storing impingent heat energy from the treatment chamber, and for re-radiating such heat energy back into the treatment chamber;
• 2) that confines the fiber-type insulation members so that fibers therefrom are restrained from escaping from between adjacent pairs of the inner portion means into the treatment chamber;
• and 3) that shields the fiber-type insulation members from direct exposure to the heat environment of the treatment chamber.