The cooling water jacket for copper smelting furnaces is a key cooling component in the metallurgical industry and is crucial for ensuring the safe, stable and efficient operation of the smelting furnaces.
Characteristic dimension |
Key description |
|---|---|
| Core function | Through the internal water circulation system, the high-temperature heat inside the smelting furnace is carried away, protecting the furnace structure and extending the service life of refractory materials. |
| Core material | It is mainly made of copper (such as high-purity red copper and cast copper) because of its excellent thermal conductivity. |
| Mainstream manufacturing processes | It mainly includes drilling of rolled copper plates, casting of embedded pipes and copper-steel composite explosion welding, etc. |
| Technical advantage | It has a high thermal conductivity (about 12 to 15 times that of cast iron), good thermal shock resistance (fast slag skin regeneration speed), and can withstand high heat flow impact. |
| Key design features | The common dovetail groove design promotes the formation of a protective layer by slag hanging. Optimize the water flow channel design (such as S-shaped meandering channels) to enhance the cooling efficiency. |
Main types and choices
According to the manufacturing process and material combination, copper cooling water jackets are mainly classified into the following categories:
Rolling copper plate drilling water jacket: This is the earliest studied and most technologically mature process. It is formed by directly drilling holes in forged thick copper plates to create cooling water channels. The advantages are dense material, high strength, direct heat conduction path and excellent performance. The disadvantages are that deep hole processing is difficult and costly, and the flexibility of shape design is limited. Improper treatment of the head poses a risk of leakage.
Embedded pipe cast copper water jacket: A whole copper pipe is pre-bent into the shape of a cooling water channel and placed in a mold to pour copper liquid, melting the water pipe and the water jacket body into one. The advantage is that there is no need for plugs or welding, fundamentally avoiding the risk of water leakage and ensuring high safety and reliability. Meanwhile, it can cast more complex shapes (such as arc surfaces and notch shapes), meet the needs of special areas, and has a relatively low cost.
Copper-steel composite cooling water jacket: This is an innovative design that combines copper plates (responsible for efficient heat conduction) and steel plates (providing mechanical strength and high-temperature deformation resistance) through technologies such as explosive compounding. This structure combines the thermal conductivity of copper and the strength of steel, solving the problem that pure copper is prone to softening and deformation at high temperatures (about 300℃), and significantly enhancing the service life and safety of the water jacket under harsh working conditions.
Detailed explanation of core advantages
The selection of copper cooling water jackets mainly brings the following key advantages to the smelting furnace
Outstanding thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity of copper is much higher than that of cast iron and steel, which enables copper cooling water jackets to quickly dissipate heat. Their surface temperature can remain low and stable, and the temperature difference between them and the cooling water is small, making it less likely to develop large thermal stress cracks.
Excellent thermal shock resistance: During the smelting process, a protective slag skin forms on the hot surface of the water jacket. When the slag skin falls off, the copper water jacket can quickly (about 20-30 minutes) regenerate the slag skin due to its high thermal conductivity, while cast iron requires 4-5 hours. This rapid response capability enables it to adapt well to the drastic fluctuations in temperature inside the furnace.
Enhancing the service life of the furnace body and production efficiency: Through effective cooling, the copper water jacket not only protects itself but more importantly, it protects the refractory materials and the steel structure of the furnace body behind it, thereby extending the service life of the entire smelting furnace, reducing unplanned shutdowns for maintenance, and improving the equipment operation rate.
Key points of selection and application
When selecting cooling water jackets for copper smelting furnaces, the following aspects need to be comprehensively considered:
Application location: Select the appropriate type and material based on the heat load, mechanical erosion and chemical erosion degree of the water jacket's installation position on the furnace body (such as the furnace body, furnace belly, air inlet area, etc.).
Water quality and management: A soft water closed-loop cooling system must be provided to prevent scaling inside the water channels from affecting heat conduction, and an online monitoring system for parameters such as temperature and flow rate should be established.
Installation and maintenance: During installation, ensure that there is sufficient compensation gap between the inlet and outlet water pipes and the furnace shell to prevent stress damage to the welds caused by thermal expansion and contraction. It is also very important to regularly check the working condition of the water jacket.