BOTTOM STIRRING IN ELECTRIC FURNACES

Improvement of equilibration through injection of stirring gases in the electric-arc furnace. Description of the blast pipes or stirring elements employed: single-tube stirrer, four-tube stirring bricks, mass stirrer. Discussion of the results: the injection of stirring gases into the melt results in a stronger bath agitation, and thus in improved thorough-mixing of steel and slag. The metal-slag reactions proceed at a higher velocity and approach thus within a shorter time a state of equilibrium. The enhanced bath agitation leads, moreover, to a better heat exchange between the hot and cold zones of the furnace. Discussion of the results achieved at Beltrame and Monteforno after installation of four-tube stirring bricks.