Module-I of Manufacturing Science-ILecture Notes of Chinmay Das
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1.7 MELTING PRACTICE
After moulding, melting is the major factor which controls the quality of the casting. There are anumber of methods available for melting foundry alloys such as pit furnace, open hearth furnace, electricfurnace, rotary furnace, cupola furnace, etc. The choice of furnace type is based on these four factors.
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Alloy Type
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Metal Quality
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Production Demands
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EconomicsAlloys have a wide spectrum of temperatures that they melt at; the list below should illustrate this point.
Metal Alloy Type Temp Range (Celsius)
Zinc 345-455Aluminum 620-735Magnesium 620-735Copper 908-1180Cast Irons 1340-1480High Manganese Steel 1400-1455Monel (70N, 30Cu) 1370-1540Nickel Based Super Alloys 1430-1540High Alloy Steels 1480-1600High Alloy Irons 1540-1650Carbon & Low Alloy Steel 1565-1700Titanium 1700-1820Zirconium 1845-1900Table I: Melting point of common materialsMetal Quality is affected by oxidization and losses due to vaporization, which can adversely affectthe chemical properties of the alloy being melted. Similarly the types of refractory used are matched to thebasicity or acidity of the metal and/or its resultant (Dross or slag).Production demand can range from small batches under 30 Kg through to 100 tonne/hr continuouspour furnaces that run for days and weeks at a time uninterrupted.The economics of furnace selection relate to factors of capital depreciation, maintenance andoperating labour, as well as the fuel and power consumption.
Types of FurnaceCupola
It consists of a cylindrical steel shell with its interior lined with heat resisting fire bricks. It has drop doorsat the bottom. After closing the door a proper sand bed is prepared. This sand bed provides necessaryrefractory bottom for the molten metal and the coke. Immediately above the sand bed is the metal tappinghole which is initially closed with clay till the molten metal is ready for tapping. Above the metal tappinghole normally in a position opposite to is the slag hole through which the slag generated during the meltingprocess is tapped.
Module-I of Manufacturing Science-ILecture Notes of Chinmay Das
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Figure 1.7.1: Cupola
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Above the slag hole is the wind box which is connected to the air blowers supplying the requisiteair at a given pressure and quantity.
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The lining is generally thicker in the lower portion of the cupola as the temperatures are highercompared to those in upper portion.
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There is a charging door through which coke, pig iron, steel scrap and flux is charged.
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The blast is blown through the tuyeres.
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These tuyeres are arranged in one or more row around the periphery of cupola.
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Hot gases which ascend from the bottom (combustion zone) preheat the iron in the preheatingzone.
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Cupolas are provided with a drop bottom door through which debris, consisting of coke, slag etc.can be discharged at the end of the melt.
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At the top conical cap called the spark arrest is provided to prevent the spark emerging to outside.
Operation of Cupola
To operate the cupola, first, the drop doors at the bottom are closed and a sand bed with a gentleslope towards the tap hole is rammed. Then a coke bed of suitable height is prepared above the sand bottomand ignited through the tap hole or any other hole. When the coke bed is properly ignited, alternate layersof charge, flux and coke are alternatively fed into the cupola through the charging door maintainingnecessary proportions and rate of charging. The charge is allowed to soak in the heat for a while, and thenthe air blast is turned on. Within about 5 to 10 minutes, the molten metal is collected near the tap hole.When enough molten metal is collected in the well of the cupola, the slag is drained off through the slag
Module-I of Manufacturing Science-ILecture Notes of Chinmay Das
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hole before opening the tap hole. The molten metal is collected in the ladles and then transported to themoulds into which it is poured with a minimum time loss.The fluxes are added in the charge to remove the oxides and other impurities present in the metal.The flux most commonly used is limestone (CaCO
3
) in a proportion of about 2 to 4 % of the metal charge.Some of the other fluxes that may also be used are dolomite, sodium carbonate and calcium carbide. Theflux is expected to react with the oxides and form compounds which have low melting point and alsolighter. As a result, the molten slag tends to float on the metal pool and thus, can very easily be separated.Melting ratetonne/hourMetal : CokeTypical charge, KgDiameterof meltingzone, m10:01 08:01Blastratem
3
/hourBlastPressureKPaCoke Iron LimestoneBedheightabovetuyeres,mShaftheightfromtuyerestochargedoorstill, m0.5 1.97 1.57 1340 10.20 20 200 7 1.00 2.500.6 2.84 2.46 1940 10.50 28 284 9 1.00 3.000.8 5.11 4.36 3450 11.20 51 510 17 1.05 3.001.0 7.99 6.83 5380 11.70 80 800 26 1.05 3.501.2 11.50 9.79 7750 12.70 115 1150 38 1.10 4.001.4 15.60 13.33 10600 13.40 157 1570 52 1.10 4.001.6 20.44 17.41 13800 14.40 200 2040 67 1.10 4.501.8 25.88 22.05 17450 15.40 260 2590 85 1.15 5.002.00 31.95 27.22 21550 17.20 320 3200 106 1.15 5.00Table II: Cupola operation dataA variant of cupola is called hot blast cupola. In this, air supply is preheated to a temperature of 200 to 400
0
C with help of the hot gases coming out of the stack or by a separate heat input. In either casethe equipment gets complicated by the addition of the extra pre-heater and the circulation equipment. Themain advantage gained is that the amount of heat required by the cupola gets reduced. This in turn reducesthe contact of the metal with the coke and air thus reducing the carbon and sulphur pickups as well as theoxidation losses. Because of the additional equipment and extra care needed for operation, the hot blastcupolas are used only in shops that require large amounts of metal to be melt on a continuous basis.Most of the foundries operate on a batch basis. A number of sand moulds are prepared and keptready for pouring before the molten metal is prepared. This process may take a few days to weeksdepending upon the size and nature of the foundry plant. Thus it becomes necessary only to start meltingmay be once a week or so.Cupola has been the most widely used furnace for melting cast iron. This is because of the lowcost of melting. However, less control of the final quality, and the losses involved would call for somechange in the choice. Therefore liquid or gas fired furnaces and electric furnaces are becoming popularbecause of their better control of melting process and low melting losses. But these are more expensivecompared to the solid fuel fired furnaces and therefore the higher cost is to be justified based on the bettercontrol of quality achieved in terms of the composition and temperature.
Electric Furnace
For heavy steel castings, the open hearth type of furnaces with electric arc would be suitable inview of the large heat required for melting. Due to good temperature control and flexibility of operation,this furnace is widely used for melting for small to medium sized castings in ferrous as well as non-ferrousalloys. There are three types of electric furnaces on the basis of source of heating (Arc, Resistance, andInduction).
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Melting Practice
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