Design, Fabrication and Construction of Cupola Furnace for Metallurgical Industries

Abstract

A 350 kilogram per hour capacity Cupola Furnace was designed and fabricated from locally available materials for the production of cast iron using pig iron, oily or contaminated steel scraps, foundry returns and fluxes. The main fuel used is metallurgical coke. After analyzing the design parameters, the metallic shells were fabricated in four segments for easy lining: the stack zone, preheating zone, combustion zone and the hearth. Mild steel sheet of 4 mm thickness was procured, marked out as per the design drawing, sliced, rolled into cylindrical shapes and welded together at each seam. The internal configuration was lined first with asbestos paper measuring 4 mm thick using water-glass to enable it adhere to the internal shell of the segments, thereafter, a less dense insulating refractory material was used and finally fireclay refractory bricks were used for lining as they interface directly with the molten metal. The various segments were then assembled and erected with the blower connected to the combustion zone. The research work also contains the materials and components bill.