Temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus for long metal products and relative method

Abstract

A temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus for long products continuously cast and sheared to size by means of shearing means so as to define segments of bloom, said apparatus being disposed between a casting machine having a first casting line and a second casting line, and a rolling line disposed downstream of the casting machine in order to make long rolled metal products. The apparatus comprises: a mobile movement section of said bloom segments, disposed downstream of said shearing means and comprising a first mobile line and a second mobile line, said first and second mobile line being suitable to move transversely to the direction of advance of the bloom segments in order to move to a first position in which said mobile line and/or said second mobile line are aligned respectively with the first casting line and with the second casting line and to a second position in which one of either of said first mobile line or said second mobile line is aligned with a conveying axis; and a furnace, disposed downstream of said mobile movement section, comprising an entrance rollerway for the bloom segments aligned with said conveying axis, and an exit rollerway aligned with said rolling line and transverse transfer devices suitable to transfer the bloom segments from the entrance rollerway toward the exit rollerway.

1 . A temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus for long products continuously cast and sheared to size by means of shearing means so as to define segments of bloom, said apparatus being disposed between a casting machine having a first casting line and a second casting line, and a rolling line disposed downstream of the casting machine in order to make long rolled metal products, the apparatus comprising:
 a mobile movement section of said bloom segments, disposed downstream of said shearing means and comprising a first mobile line and a second mobile line, said first and second mobile line being suitable to move transversely to the direction of advance of the bloom segments in order to move to a first position in which said mobile line and/or said second mobile line are aligned respectively with the first casting line and with the second casting line and to a second position in which one of either of said first mobile line or said second mobile line is aligned with a conveying axis;   a furnace, disposed downstream of said mobile movement section, comprising an entrance rollerway for the bloom segments aligned with said conveying axis, and an exit rollerway aligned with said rolling line and transverse transfer devices suitable to transfer the bloom segments from the entrance rollerway toward the exit rollerway.   
     
     
         2 . The temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus as in  claim 1 , further comprising a fixed movement section, disposed between said shearing means and said mobile movement section, comprising a first fixed line aligned with said first casting line suitable to move the bloom segments cast by the first casting line toward said first mobile line and a second fixed line aligned with said second casting line and suitable to move the bloom segments cast by the second casting line toward said second mobile line. 
     
     
         3 . The temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus as in  claim 1 , wherein said first mobile line and said second mobile line each comprise movement means sliding on guide elements disposed transversely to the direction of advance of the bloom segments. 
     
     
         4 . The temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus as in  claim 1 , wherein said furnace comprises a buffer, disposed between the entrance rollerway and the exit rollerway, to temporarily contain the bloom segments coming from said first casting line and said second casting line. 
     
     
         5 . The temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus as in  claim 4 , wherein said transverse transfer devices of the furnace comprise displacement devices suitable to transfer the bloom segments from said entrance rollerway toward said buffer and extraction devices suitable to selectively extract from said buffer one of said bloom segments in order to dispose it on said exit rollerway. 
     
     
         6 . A method for the temperature maintenance and/or possible heating of long metal products continuously cast by a continuous casting machine, having a first casting line and a second casting line, sheared to size by means of shearing means so as to define segments of bloom, and subsequently rolled by a rolling line disposed downstream of a temperature maintenance and/or possible heating apparatus of the bloom segments, the method comprising:
 a first step of introducing the bloom segments into a mobile movement section, provided with a first mobile line and a second mobile line, which comprises a first sub-step of introducing the bloom segments cast by said first casting line into said first mobile line which is disposed aligned with said first casting line; and a second sub-step of introducing the bloom segments cast by said second casting line into said second mobile line which is disposed aligned with said second casting line;   a second step of loading the bloom segments into a furnace which provides a transverse displacement of the first mobile line or the second mobile line in order to selectively align them to a conveying axis and subsequently to unload the bloom segments into an entrance rollerway of the furnace which is aligned with said conveying axis;   a third lateral transfer step of the bloom segments, inside the furnace, from said entrance rollerway to an exit rollerway of the furnace which is aligned with said rolling line by means of transverse transfer devices.   
     
     
         7 . The method as in  claim 6 , the method providing, before said first step, to introduce said bloom segments into a fixed movement section having a first fixed line aligned with said first casting line and a second fixed line aligned with said second casting line, said bloom segments being transferred from said first fixed line to said first mobile line and respectively, from said second fixed line to said second mobile line. 
     
     
         8 . The method as in  claim 6 , wherein said third lateral transfer step comprises a first sub-step of displacing said bloom segments transversely from said entrance rollerway into a buffer, and a second sub-step of selectively extracting said bloom segments from said buffer to dispose them on said exit rollerway and to render them available to said rolling line. 
     
     
         9 . The method as in  claim 6 , wherein the bloom segments are introduced into said furnace with an average temperature comprised between 1060° C. and 1110° C. 
     
     
         10 . The method as in  claim 6 , wherein the temperature at exit from said furnace is comprised between 1050° C. and 1200° C. 
     
     
         11 . The method as in  claim 6 , wherein the bloom segments have an overall length comprised between 16 and 60 m. 
     
     
         12 . The method as in  claim 11 , wherein the bloom segments have an overall length comprised between 30 and 40 m.