TPT September 2011

T echnology U pdate

Emergency couplings on ladle valves

SLABS, billets and other steel products are manufactured in steel mills with continuous casting facilities and ladle turrets. In continuous casting, molten steel is continuously poured from the foundry ladle over a tundish into the ingot mould. If a foundry ladle is empty except for the residual slag, the ladle valve shuts off the steel flow into the tundish. The ladle turret moves the next ladle over the tundish, the ladle valve is opened and the steel continues to flow. The ladle valve situated under the foundry ladle is operated by a hydraulic cylinder. After a crane has hooked the full foundry ladle into the ladle turret, and shortly before the empty ladle is to be removed, the hydraulic cylinder is generally removed from and attached to the ladle valve by hand. In the event of an operating error or in an emergency it is often no longer possible to release the hydraulic cylinder under the foundry ladle manually. If, in such a case, the crane removes the foundry ladle from the ladle turret and the cylinder is still attached to

The HP-010-Y26 and the 12-010-Y10

the ladle, the hose lines or pipes leading to the cylinder control are destroyed or severely damaged. There is also a risk of fire due to leaking hydraulic oil. To avoid such dangers, coupling manufacturer Walther-Präzision has developed a special emergency separation system, consisting of two identical couplings with a 45° angled connection. Additionally, the two couplings HP-010-Y26 and 12-010- Y10 are mechanically coded in a way that they may not be connected with one another. A confusion of flow and return line is thus prevented. Manufactured from high quality steel, the couplings easily resist temperatures

up to 150°C and working pressures up to 200 bar in this harsh environment. The company states that using this system pays off even after one failure. The costs brought about by destroyed hoses or pipes, labour costs for repair and start up, as well as loss of production due to downtimes are considerably higher than the costs for installing a set of Walther emergency separation couplings on the ladle valve of the foundry ladles. Walther-Präzision – Germany Email: info@walther-praezision.de Website: www.walther-praezision.de

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Combilift Co. Monaghan Ireland Tel: +353 47 80500 UKTel: 07870 976758 E-mail: info@combilift.com www.combilift.com

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S eptember 2011

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