Fig. 44.—Charging Blast Furnaces at Anaconda.
The charging platform, suitably supported on vertical columns, runs at the upper level, being provided, on either side of the furnace, with tracks of rails for the charge cars. The charging doors usually correspond in position to the panels of water-jackets, and are situated along the whole length of each side furnace-wall, the bottom of the charging opening being flush with the floor. They are generally moved up and down in the grooved guides of the upright columns between them, and are of sheet steel suitably strengthened, from 6 to 7 feet wide and 4 feet 6 inches to about 5 feet high, supported by wire-rope and chains, and operated by compressed air cylinders.
The Air Supply to the Blast Furnace.—The quantity of air required by the blast furnace varies very widely with the class of work, rapidity of output, character of charge, and general smelting conditions. It may be stated roughly as being from 300 to 500 cubic feet of air per minute per square foot of hearth area, at a pressure of about 40 to 50 ozs. per square inch.
The rotary blower of the Roots or Connersville type is very well suited for the supply of these enormous quantities of air at moderate pressures, but for blast at higher pressures the air leakage becomes excessive, and piston-driven blowing engines become almost a necessity. Such improvements have, however, been made in rotary-blowing appliances within recent years that most blast-furnace plants are equipped with blowers of the rotary type, which are found highly satisfactory. The air is brought along blast mains of considerable size—about 30 inches diameter—to the furnace building, thence to the bustle pipes of 24 inches diameter, which surround the furnace, from which branch off the pipe connections (5 or 6 inches diameter) for the tuyeres. The practice of equipping each furnace with its own blowing unit is fairly general, making the necessary reserve connections in case of temporary breakdown; many smelters, however, adopt the system of delivering the air from all the engines into one large common air main, making the necessary connections from this to each separate furnace. The importance of avoiding leakages is recognised, and the requisite valves for regulating and controlling the air supply are arranged for.
From the bustle pipe the air passes down the pipe connections which are attached by flanged joints, thence to the tuyere pipes, which are of cast-iron, the blast being regulated by valves. The actual form of tuyere employed varies considerably, each smelter usually having its own special devices for the convenience of repair, renewal, and fixing, as well as for valve regulation and punching. The tuyere is held against the face of the jackets by bolts, leakages being prevented by asbestos packing.
Fig. 45.—Blast-Furnace Shell, with Air Connections (P. & M. M. Co.).