Refractory and Corrosion-Resistant Purging Plug: A Tool for Ensuring Metallurgical Quality
The Purging Plug, also known as a porous brick, is the core device for the bottom-blowing refining process in the metallurgical industry. Installed at the bottom of ladles and metallurgical vessels, it plays a pivotal role in high-temperature smelting. Made from materials with high refractory properties, its internal special pore structure or gas channels can uniformly and stably introduce inert gases such as argon into the molten metal, effectively stirring the molten steel and promoting various metallurgical reactions.
Working Principle
When connected to an external inert gas source, the gas, under pressure, passes through the pores or channels inside the purging plug and disperses into the molten metal as tiny bubbles. As the bubbles rise, they stir the molten metal, ensuring uniform temperature and composition distribution. During steelmaking, argon bubbles drive the circulation of molten steel, accelerating the floating and removal of inclusions and facilitating the full progress of reactions like desulfurization and deoxidation.
Core Advantages
- Outstanding Thermal Shock Stability:Made from high-quality refractory raw materials, it can withstand frequent and drastic temperature fluctuations during high-temperature smelting. In a ladle refining environment of around 1600°C, it maintains structural stability, preventing cracking and spalling.
- Superior Erosion Resistance:It has strong resistance to molten metal and slag. Even in the highly corrosive ferroalloy refining process, it can operate stably for an extended period, significantly reducing the replacement frequency.
- Precise Gas Flow Regulation:It can accurately adjust the gas flow according to different metallurgical process requirements. Whether it's the high-flow rapid stirring in the initial stage of steelmaking or the low-flow fine-tuning in the later stage, it can be precisely adapted to ensure a stable metallurgical process.
- Remarkable Improvement in Metallurgical Quality:Through efficient stirring of the molten metal, it improves the uniformity of temperature and composition, promotes impurity removal and metallurgical reactions, effectively reducing defects such as pores and inclusions in steel and enhancing the strength and toughness of metal products.
- Dual Effects of Environmental Protection and Energy Saving:It improves energy efficiency and reduces energy consumption. The excellent metallurgical effect reduces the reject rate, indirectly lightening the environmental burden and achieving efficient resource utilization.
Application Fields
- Steel Industry:Widely used in various steelmaking processes such as converters, electric furnaces, and refining furnaces for the refining and stirring of molten steel to produce various high-quality steel products.
- Non-ferrous Metals Industry:Suitable for the smelting and refining of non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminum. Gas is introduced to stir the molten metal, improving product purity and quality.
- Casting Industry:Used for treating molten metal to ensure uniform composition and temperature before casting, reducing casting defects such as shrinkage cavities and porosity.
-Slot Plug(slit plug)
Slot plug is the most common structure in purging plug.
The gas channel could be designed and customized according to actual on-site using conditions, including refining steel grade,
refining workmanship, ladle capacity, temperature, hydrostatic pressure of liquid steel etc.
This can achieve the best blowing effect for purging plugs, ensure the longest service life, safety, stability and best air
permeability.
-Porous plug
Porous plug has better porosity and permeability.
Production technology is adding carbon-containing compound into mixture, since carbon-containing compound can burn out without
residue at low temperature, so we adopt low temperature burning out intermediate materials to get the initial porosity.
In porous type plug, inside distributes interpenetrating gas channels in different sizes.
When blowing stop, the steel and slag from ladle will infiltrate into the deep areas of the plug, to form a secure layer on working surface.
-Segment Plug
The segment plug is preferably made of good anti-stripping materials, the block body is not easy to occur fracture, with longer service life. The cracks between different plates will not expand, so this segment plug design can avoid failure of bottom blowing caused by tranverse brick fracture.
Application characteristics: In order to adapt to more and more strict refining conditions(especially special steel), and to meet the requirements of increasing ladle life, the volume of plug becomes bigger and bigger. However the traditional slit type plug has single material and single structure, easy to cause the phenomenon of tranverse fracture and failure of air blowing. Our researched segment plug has successfully soved the problem of fracture existing in traditional slit plug. Significantly increasing the stability of refining process, ensuring the realization and improvement of quality refined steel.
-Hybrid Plug
Secondary refining technology is the most important part in steelmaking process
It can adjust the steel alloy type and liquid temperature.
Purging plug and block is the key functional component to make this process carried out.
As the ladle tends to develop in larger scale, the melting temperature and time have been improved significantly, which makes the
using environment for refractory materials more and more strict. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the performance of
purging plugs and blocks to meet the increasing demands in current steelmaking technology
-Overall breathable brick:
This product adopts high purity raw materials, through vibration casting and low temperature heating process workmanship.
Function is blowing argon gas via purge plug to ladle.
With the feature of high strength, good thermal stability, erosion resistance and abrasion resistance.
Widely used in steel plants LF, LF-VD, CAS-OB refining ladle
We manufacture various high-quality ladle refractory according to the clients' needs , and to ensure the stability and accountability of the quality.
Technical data will be customized according to your steel making condition.
| Chemical and Physical Properties |
SNLWB-85 |
SNLWB-90 |
SNLWB-95 |
| Al2O3 +MgO % min |
85 |
90 |
95 |
| Cr2O3 (C) % min |
0 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
| Apparent porosity g/cm3% max |
15 |
13 |
13 |
| Bulk density g/cm3 % min |
3.0 |
3.05 |
2.9 |
| Normal temperature Compressive strength (MPa) min |
80 |
100 |
100 |
| Breaking strength 1500°C×3hmin |
23Mpa |
2.Well block and segment plug
| Chemical and Physical Properties |
(Well block) |
(purging plug) |
| AL2O3 % |
>=85 |
>=85 |
| MgO% |
3-5 |
1-3 |
| Cr2O3 % |
----- |
>2.4 |
| Bulk density g\cm3 |
>=3.0 |
>=2.9 |
| Apparent Porosity % |
<=16 |
<=18 |
| Cold crushing strength Mpa |
110ºC*24h |
>=60.0 |
>=80.0 |
| 1500ºC*3h |
>=100.0 |
>=80.0 |
| Refractoriness under load : ºC |
>=1680 |
>=1680 |
| Modulus of rupture 1400ºC *1h Mpa Mpa |
>=15.0 |
>=15.0 |
| Linear change 1500ºC*3h % |
±0.2 |
±0.2 |
| air permeability, m3/hour at P=4 bar |
30M3/H |
Product packaging
1- International standard seaworthy exportable packing.
2- Wooden pallet.
3- Wooden / bamboo case (box).
4- Further packing information will be based on customer's requirements.
Precautions for Use
- Standard Installation:Install strictly in accordance with operating procedures to ensure the purging plug is firmly installed, well-sealed, and accurately positioned, avoiding gas leakage and ensuring uniform gas dispersion.
- Strict Control of Gas Quality:Use pure inert gases to prevent impurities from clogging the pores or affecting the metallurgical effect, ensuring that the purity of gases such as argon meets the standards.
- Regular Maintenance:Regularly inspect the erosion status of the purging plug and the gas flow. Clean and maintain it in a timely manner during smelting intervals. When slightly blocked, use appropriate methods for dredging to extend its service life.
Shandong Sinorefractory New Materials Co.,Ltd (SinoRefractory)has been focusing on international marketing of flow control refractories in iron and steel industry for 17 years.
SinoRefractory is the second generation of refractories export enterprise developed out of EMEI Group.Supported by one of China's largest production bases in functional refractory materials.
Through years of development in the field of exporting top quality refractories to worldwide markets,SinoRefractory aims at researching,producing,marketing and exporting high standard Ladle slide gate plate,Ladle Nozzles,Well blocks,Purging plugs,Nozzle stuffing sand,Refractory castables, Slide gate Mechanisms etc.
Up to now,SinoRefractory has supplied high quality refractory products and services to nearly 70 top-hundred global steel enterprises.
SinoRefractory will always put clients'interest in the first place,striving to provide a wide range of services,including technical solution,pre-sales support,after-sales services,installation team support,professional know-how according to the changing of steelmaking condition,etc.
We are not only selling products,we are more focused on supporting,developing and growing together with clients.
Our Advantages of SNREF Ladle Gas Purging System Purge Plug Set Block for Steel Melt Refining
Wear resistant materials to cope with high local turbulence and with consistent dimensional control to fit the purge plug.
Purge Plugs:
* Uni or omnidirectional, porous or with slots, several designs
* Large material portfolio to select with our specialists
Plug and Block Assemblies (PBA) reduce your installation challenge and risk.
Below are some RFQ and answers about ladle and tundish flow control refractories:
Q: What are the requirements for refractories for ladle?
A: The requirements of refractories for ladle mainly include:
* high temperature resistance
* thermal shock resistance
* resistance to the erosion of the slag
* high temperature with sufficient mechanical strength
* the lining has a certain degree of expansion
Q:What are the reasons for the destruction of refractories for ladle?
A: The main causes of damage are as follows:
When the ladle transports high-temperature molten steel, the high-temperature molten steel and slag at about 1680ºC scour and erode it, especially in the slag line part, the scouring and erosion is more serious, and it is an important factor to decide the service life of the ladle.
LF and other extra-oven refining treatment on the unburnt brick damage is serious.
Q:What steel grades are different materials of slide plate bricks suitable for respectively?
A: Different materials of slide plate bricks are applicable to different steel grades. For example,
Al2O3-ZrO2-C slide gate plate can be used as ladle sliding gate plate due to its excellent erosion resistance and thermal shock stability, which can adapt to the casting of various steel grades, and ther are the following materilas based on customer's steel making condition: the MgO-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, MgO-Al-C, and so on.
For more details, feel free to send inquiry to us.
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