Furnaces for casting

furnace
• A furnace is a device used for high-
temperature heating. The heat energy to fuel
a furnace may be supplied directly by fuel
combustion, by electricity such as the electric
arc furnace, or through induction heating in
induction furnaces.
 furnace
• A furnace is an equipment to melt metals for
casting or heat materials for change of shape
(rolling, forging etc.) or change of properties
(heat treatment).
• Different industrial furnaces are used for high-
temperature heating processes such as in
metallurgical industry, food industry and
preparation of some building construction
materials
 furnance
• There are different types of furnaces with
different technologies nationally and
internationally but basic process and elements
are same.
 Classification of furnace
• Based upon the kind of combustion, furnaces can be broadly classified as oil fired,
coal fired
or gas fired. On the method of generating heat, furnaces are broadly classified into
two types
namely combustion type (using fuel) and electric type. In case of combustion type
furnaces are
classified as follows:
• Based on the mode of charging of material, furnaces can be classified as:
i. Intermittent or Batch type furnace or Periodical furnace.
ii. Continuous furnace.
• Based on mode of waste heat recovery as recuperative and regenerative
furnaces.
• Another type of furnace classification is made based on mode of heat transfer,
mode of
charging and mode of heat recovery as shown in the figure below
Classification
A cupola furnace

• A cupola or cupola furnace is a melting device

• used to melt cast iron, Ni-resist iron and some
bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any
practical size.
 Construction of copula furnace
• Shell:
• Foundation:
• Tuyres:
• Wind box:
• Blower:
• Slag Hole:
• Tap Hole (Molten Metal Hole):
• Charging Door:
• Chimney:
 Operation of Cupola Furnace:

• (i) Preparation of Cupola:

• A newly built cupola should be thoroughly dried before
firing.
• Any slag around the tuyeres from previous run are
cleaned.
• Any broken bricks are repaired with a mixture of silica
sand and fire clay
• A slag hole opening of about 30 to 35 mm diameter
and a tap hole of about 25 mm diameter is provided
• (ii) Firing of Cupola:
• A fire of wood is ignited on the sand bottom.
• coke is dumped on the bed well from top. Make
sure that the coke begins to burn too.
• A bed of coke about 40 inches thick, slightly
above the tuyeres.
• The air blast is turned on at a lower blowing rate
than normal for igniting the coke
• (iii) Charging the Cupola:
• Next, the charge is fed into the cupola through
the charging door.
• Coke fuel, limestone flux, metal.
• (iv) Soaking of Iron:
• After charging the furnace fully, it is allowed
to remain as such for about 1—1.5 hr. During
this stage charge slowly gets heated up
because the air blast is kept shut this time and
due to this the iron gets soaked.
• (v) Starting the Air Blast:
• The air blast is opened at the end of the soaking
period. The top opening is kept closed till the
metal melts and sufficient metal is collected. As
melting proceeds, the contents of the charge
move gradually downwards. The rate of charging
must be equal to the rate of melting so that the
furnace is kept full throughout the heat.
CHEMICAL REACTIONS

• Combustion
C(coke) + 02 (from air) -> C02 + Heat
Si+ o2 - sio2 +heat
2Mn + o2 - 2Mno
• Reducing zone
C02 + C2 -» CO – Heat
• Melting zone
3 Fe + 2 CO -» Fe3C + C02
• (vi) Closing the Cupola:
• When no more melting is required, the
feeding of charge and air blast is stopped.
Zones of Cupola
Furnace
 Zones of Cupola Furnace
• The cupola furnace is divided in a number of
zones where a number of chemical reactions
take place.
• The following are the six important zones
 (i) Well or Crucible Zone

• It is the zone between sand bed and the

tuyers. Molten metal collected in this zone.
 (ii) Combustion Zone
• It is the zone between the tuyers and a
theoretical level above it.
• Here, the combustion actually done,
consuming all the oxygen from the air blast
and generates huge amount of heat. The
temperature range for this zone is about
1500°C to 1850°C.
 (iii) Reducing Zone

• It is the zone between the top of the

combustion zone and the top level of the coke
bed.
• The Co2 flowing upward through this zone
reacts with hot coke and Co, is reduced to Co.
Due to this reaction, the temperature gets
reduced to about 1200°C.
 (iv) Melting Zone
• It is the zone between the first layer of metal
charge and above the reducing zone. The solid
metal charge changes to molten state picks up
sufficient carbon in this zone. The
temperature attainable in this zone is in the
range of 1600°C to 1700°C.
 (v) Preheating Zone
• It is the zone from above the melting zone to
the bottom level of the charging door.
Charging materials are fed in this zone. It is
also known as charging zone.
 (vi) Stack Zone
• It is the empty portion of this furnace, which
extends from above the charging zone to the
top of the furnace. It carries the hot gases
generated within the furnace to the
atmosphere.
 Advantages of Cupola Furnace
• It is simple in construction and operation.
• Low cast of construction, operation and
maintenance.
• It does not require very skilled operators.
• It requires small floor area as compared to
other furnaces.
• Composition of melt can be controlled.
 Limitations of Cupola Furnace

• Temperature control is difficult to maintain.

• Carbon content increases in the iron
product due to the heating of coke together
with metal.
 Uses

• A cupola or cupola furnace is a melting

device used in foundries that can be used to
melt cast iron and some bronzes.
The cupola can be made almost any practical
size
Induction furnace
 What is induction furnace?

• Induction Furnace
• An induction furnace is an electrical furnace in which
the heat is applied by induction heating of metal.
• Induction furnace capacities range from less than one
kilogram to one hundred tonnes capacity and are used to
melt iron and steel, copper, aluminium and precious metals.
 Construction

• An induction furnace consists of a nonconductive crucible holding

the charge of metal to be melted, surrounded by a coil of copper
wire.
• A powerful alternating current flows through the wire. The coil
creates a rapidly reversing magnetic field that penetrates the
metal. The magnetic field induces eddy currents, circular electric
currents, inside the metal, by electromagnetic induction. The eddy
currents, flowing through the electrical resistance of the bulk
metal, heat it by Joule heating.
• Principle
• The principle of induction heating is based on the following two
laws:
• 1. Electromagnetic induction
• 2. The joule effect (the heating that occurs when an electric
current flows through a resistance.)
• The principle of induction melting is that a high voltage
electrical source from a primary coil induces a low voltage, high
current in the metal or secondary coil. Induction heating is
simply a method of transferring heat energy.
 Important points

• The inductor is usually made of copper in order to limit the electric

losses.
• In this furnace type, the charge is melted by heat generated from an
electric arc.
• The coil carries the high frequency current of 500 to 2000 Hz.
 Advantages
• · Induction furnace does not need electrodes like electric arc
furnace.
• · Better control of temperature
• · Better control of composition of the melt
 Disadvantages
• Disadvantages:
• · An induction installation usually implies a big investment that must
be considered and compared to alternative heating techniques.
• · Induction heating is preferably used for heating relatively simple
shapes.
 Types of induction furnaces
• Coreless induction furnaces
• The heart of the coreless induction furnace is the coil, which
consists of a hollow section of heavy duty, high conductivity
copper tubing which is wound into a helical coil.
• To protect it from overheating, the coil is water-cooled, the
water bing recirculated and cooled in a cooling tower.
 Coreless induction furnace
It is also called high frequency induction
furnace. It consists of refractory crucible
placed centrally inside a water cooled copper
coil
Coreless induction furnace
• Channel induction furnaces
• The channel induction furnace consists of a refractory
lined steel shell which contains the molten metal.
Attached to the steel shell and connected by a throat is
an induction unit which forms the melting component of
the furnace. The induction unit consists of an iron core
in the form of a ring around which a primary induction
coil is wound.
 Electric arc furnace
Introduction:

• Electric Arc Furnace is a furnace that heats the

charged material by mean of an electric arc.
• Arc Furnace range in size from small units of
approximately one ton capacity up to 400 tons.
industrial arc furnace can be heat up to 1800°C..
Construction:

• The furnace consists of a spherical

hearth (bottom), cylindrical shell and a
swinging water-cooled dome-shaped
roof.
• The roof has three holes for consumable
graphite electrodes held by a clamping
mechanism.
• This mechanism provides independent
lifting and lowering of each electrode
Operation:
The electric arc furnace operates as a batch
melting process.

• Furnace Charging
• Melting
• Tapping
• Furnace turn-around
Melting:

• The melting period is a heart of Electric arc furnace. The EAF

has evolved into a highly efficient melting apparatus and
modern design are focused on maximizing is accomplished by
supplying energy to the furnace interior. This energy can be
electrical or chemical.

• Electrical energy is supplied via graphite electrodes and is

usually the largest contributor in melting operations. Initially,
an intermediate voltage tap is selected until the electrodes
bore into the scrap. usually light scrap is placed on top of the
charge to accelerate bore-in. approximately 15% of scrap is
melted during the initial bore-in period.
• Heat is transferred to charge material by flame
radiation and convection by the hot products of
combustion. Heat is transferred within the charged
material by conduction.

• Large pieces of scrap take longer time to melt into

the bath than smaller pieces. In some operations
oxygen is injected via a consumable pipe lance to
“cut” the charged material and burns iron to
produce intense heat.
• This oxygen will react with several components in
the bath including, aluminum , silicon , manganese ,
phosphorous , carbon , and iron all these reactions
are exothermic.
Advantage:
• Electric arc furnace can be used as heat treatment
furnace.
• It can be used for melting.
• EAF is used for production of steel making by pig iron
• Electric arc furnace provides flexibility, EAFs can be
rapidly started and stopped.

Disadvantages:
• A lot of electricity consumption.
 Pit furnance
• Pit furnace is a type of a furnace bath which is installed
in the form of a pit and is used for melting small
quantities of ferrous and non ferrous metals for
production of castings. It is provided with refractory
inside and chimney at the top. Generally coke is used
as fuel. It is provided with refractory lining inside and
chimney at the top. Natural and artificial draught
can be used for increasing the capability towards
smooth operation of the furnace. Fig 6.6 show
Resistance furnance
 Resistance furnance
• Resistance furnaces are used extensively because
numerous advantages. Any temperature up to 3000°C can
be obtained in the furnace chamber. Articles can uniformly
heated either by appropriately locating the heat in
elements along the walls of the furnace chamber or means
of forced circulation of the furnace atmosphere. Automatic
control of the power and, consequently, of the
temperature conditions in such a furnace is implemented.
Resistance furnaces are readily mechanized and automated
, thus alleviating the work of personnel and facilitating the
inclusion of such furnaces in automatic transfer lines. In
addition, they are compact.
 Resistance furnance
• Most resistance furnaces are of the indirect type. In indirect-
heat resistance furnaces, electric energy is converted into heat
when a current flows through the heating elements. The heat
transmitted to the articles to be heated by radiation, convection,
or conduction. Such a furnace consists of a working chamber form
ed by a lining composed of a layer of firebrick that supports both
the articles to be heated and the heating elements and that is ins
ulated from a metal casing by a layer of heat insulation . The parts
and mechanisms that operate in the chamber, as well as the heati
ng elements, are made of heat-
resistant steels, refractory steels, or other refractory materials.