Method and apparatus for feeding raw material to an arc furnace

• US 4,385,918 A
• Filed: 01/26/1982
• Issued: 05/31/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Owens- Corning Fiberglas Technology Incorporated (Owens Corning)
• Original Assignee: Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation (Owens Corning)
• Inventors: Dunn, Charles S., Seng, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): LINDSAY JR, ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US06/342,853
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 414/165, 414/172, 414/160, 414/208, 65/27, 65/335, 65/DIG. 4, 193/29
• US Class Current: 65/27
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 3/00 Charging the melting furnaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 65/04 Electric heat

Abstract

A method and apparatus for feeding pulverant raw material to an arc furnace having a plurality of arcing locations defined by vertical electrodes. A vertical feed tube gravitationally conveys the raw material to a central location inside the furnace which is above the arcing locations. A rotatable deflector is located at the bottom of the feed tube and is rotated in step-wise fashion to direct raw material from the feed tube to each of the arcing locations. A fixed deflector is located at each arcing location to confine the raw material fed into the furnace predominantly to the arcing locations. By locating most of the raw material at the arcing locations, the feeding mechanism of the present invention improves the stability of the arc and the melting efficiency of the furnace.

Claims

1. A method of feeding glass batch raw material to an electric glass furnace having multiple vertical electrodes, comprising the steps of feeding a stream glass batch raw material vertically into the furnace at a location intermediate to said electrodes, deflecting the stream laterally to the arc location of each of said electrodes in turn, and confining the deflected glass batch raw material predominantly to each of said electrode locations.

2. A method of feeding glass batch raw material to an electric arc glass furnace having a plurality of vertical electrodes, comprising the steps of gravitationally dropping a continuous stream of glass batch raw material into the furnace medially of the electrodes, impinging the stream onto a movable deflector located internally of the furnace, and indexing the deflector radially to direct the glass batch raw material toward each electrode in sequence.

11. A method as defined in claim 2, including the additional step of impinging the glass batch raw material from the movable deflector onto a fixed deflector located adjacent each of the electrodes.

3. In a method of feeding pulverant glass batch raw material predominantly to the arc location of each of a plurality of arcing electrodes located in a melting glass furnace, the steps of feeding a stream of glass batch raw material into the furnace at a location substantially equidistant from each arc location, interposing a deflector in the path of the glass batch raw material stream, and rotationally sequentially indexing said deflector into alignment with each electrode location to direct the glass batch raw material stream in substantially equal portions to each electrode location.

4. In a method of feeding pulverant glass batch raw material to the arc location of each of a plurality of arcing electrodes located in a melting glass furnace, the steps of sequentially directing a single central stream of glass batch raw material laterally to each of several electrode locations and intercepting the so-directed stream to retain the glass batch raw material in a melting zone substantially concentric with the electrode located at each arc location.

5. An apparatus for feeding pulverant glass batch raw material to an arc glass furnace having a plurality of arcing locations defined by vertical electrodes comprising a feed chute having its discharge end located in the furnace medially of said arcing locations, means for supplying glass batch raw material to the feed chute, a rotatable deflector aligned with the discharge end of said feed chute, and means for rotating said deflector to direct raw material from said chute toward said arcing locations.

6. An apparatus for feeding pulverant glass batch raw material to an arc glass furnace having a plurality of arcing locations defined by vertical electrodes, comprising a vertical feed tube having a lower discharge end located in the furnace generally above the arcing locations, means for supplying glass batch raw material to the feed tube, a rotatable deflector located at the discharge end of said feed tube, and means for rotating said deflector in step-wise fashion to a plurality of positions at each of which the deflector is aligned with one of said arcing locations.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 and including a fixed arcuate deflector at each arcing location interposed in the path of glass batch raw material from the rotatable deflector.

8. An apparatus for feeding pulverant glass batch raw material to an arc glass furnace having a plurality of arcing locations defined by vertical electrodes, comprising a feed chute having its discharge end located in the furnace medially of the arcing locations, means for supplying glass batch raw material to the feed chute, and means located at the discharge end of the feed chute for directing raw material from said chute towards said arcing locations, respectively.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 and including a deflector at each arcing location, each of the deflectors having a convex surface adjacent the arcing location and facing the feed chute to confine the glass batch raw material substantially at the arcing location.

10. An apparatus for feeding pulverant glass batch raw material to an arc glass furnace having a plurality of arcing locations defined by vertical electrodes, comprising feeding means for discharging glass batch raw material above the arcing locations, rotatable means interposed in the path of raw material from the feeding means to direct raw material from the feeding means toward said arcing locations, and fixed deflectors located at said arcing locations, respectively, said deflectors each being interposed in the path of glass batch raw material from the rotatable deflector for directing the glass batch raw material toward the adjacent arcing location.

12. In a method of distributing pulverant glass batch raw material internally of an arcing glass furnace having spaced arcing locations, the steps of feeding the glass batch raw material onto a rotary distributor located internally of the furnace equidistant from the arcing locations, and rotating said distributor in a predetermined pattern to predominantly feed the glass batch raw material to the spaced arcing locations.