Sumitomo Metal Industries, Inc.

Sumio Kobayashi

Akio Hatono

Hideki Fujiwara

Takayuki Kubo

Shunji Miyahara

Shuichi Inami

Toshiyuki Fujiwara

Masahiko Okui

Katsukiyo Marukawa

Kantaro Sasaki

Toshio Shiraiwa

Syoji Anezaki

Toshihiko Sakai

Takao Suzuki

Yoshiyasu Sakamoto

Yasuo Sugitani

Shunji Mihayara

Toshiyuki Sugimura

Susumu Ishimura

A single crystal material is filled in a crucible, and the whole of the single crystal material is melted to contain doping impurities. A solid layer coagulated upward from the bottom of the crucible is rendered to coexist with a melted layer over the solid layer. The solid layer is melted from the upper side thereof while pulling the single crystal from the melted layer. The ratio by weight between the solid layer and the single crystal material at the start of pulling is adjusted, together with the ratio by weight between the grown single crystal and the melting solid layer. The single crystal is thus grown while changing the volume of the melted layer.

Method of growing crystal

An apparatus for growing a single crystal having a crucible, two heaters arranged at the outside of the crucible and along the vertical direction, a heat shield placed at the outside of the heaters, a radiation shield for shielding the single crystal from the radiation heat, and an upper heat shield for preventing the upward heat, transfer of the heaters. In the apparatus, a melted layer and solid layer of raw material are formed in the upper and lower portions of the crucible, respectively. While melting the solid layer, the single crystal is pulled up. The lower portion of the heat shield is thinner than the upper portion. The ratio of the height to the diameter of the crucible is 0.85 or more. The melting amount of the solid layer is controlled in the pulling process according to the non-segregation condition in the variable-thickness melted layer method. The oxygen concentration of the pulled single crystal is controlled in the pulling process by adjusting the rotation speed and rotation direction of the crucible.

Apparatus and method of growing single crystal

An apparatus for detecting slag outflow when a molten metal covered by molten slag is poured from one vessel to another by receiving the thermal radiation energy at the microwave frequencies emitted from the pouring stream of the molten metal from said one vessel to another to measure a change in thermal radiation energy caused by the difference in the emissivity of the molten metal and of the molten slag is disclosed. The apparatus comprises; a microwave-focusing mechanism which has a focal point at the measuring target point; a waveguide means one end of which is connected to said microwave-focusing mechanism and which receives the thermal radiation energy from said microwave-focusing mechanism; and a radiometer connected to the other end of said waveguide means to measure the thermal radiation energy at microwave frequencies received through said waveguide means.

Apparatus for detecting slag outflow

An electromagnetic stirrer of linear induction motor type for a continuous casting machine, whose coils are arranged to differ a distance between poles of theeven function components of the travelling wave current distribution with respect to the center thereof from that of the odd function components so that a larger electromagnetic force is generated, thereby eliminating the internal defects, such as macro-segregation or center porosity, and improving quality of the ingot. Also, the electromagnetic stirrer, even when attached to a small-sized mold or a mold of small aspect ratio, demonstrates the sufficient effect.

Electromagnetic stirrer

A method for detecting the surface level of a molten metal, particularly in a continuous casting process, utilizes the thermal radiations emanating from the surface of the metal. An antenna is directed so that its beam width encompasses a portion of the surface of the metal and the adjacent inner wall of the mold or container. The interference between radiations that propagate directly to the antenna from the surface of the metal and those that are reflected off the container wall is measured in terms of its electric power, i.e., the electromagnetic component of the radiations. Fluctuations in the measured electric power are indicative of changes in the level of the metal.

Method and apparatus for determining the surface level of molten metal

Disclosed is a method of measuring the surface temperature of a metallic body. The method comprises: disposing a reflecting member such that the reflecting member constitutes a resonator in cooperation with a substantially flat surface of the metallic body; measuring the mean reflectivity of the resonator over a predetermined frequency band having a center frequency coinciding with the resonance frequency of the resonator, as well as the luminance temperature of the resonator; and computing the surface temperature of the metllic body from these measured values. Disclosed also is an apparatus for carrying out this measuring method. The method and apparatus are suited particularly to the measurement of the surface temperature of a steel sheet heated to a temperature ranging between 500.degree. and 800.degree. C.

Method of and apparatus for measuring surface temperature of metallic

In repairing a blast furnace wall by injecting and solidifying a refractory material on the inside wall of the furnace from outside the furnace, a line consisting of metallic coaxial lines or metallic parallel lines insulated from each other is embedded in the refractory material and the variation of the length of this line is measured through an electric signal to detect the remaining thickness of the injected and solidified refractory material in the furnace wall part. By such detection, the damage of the repaired part of the blast furnace can be known with the lapse of time.

Method and apparatus for detecting damage of blast furnace inside wall

A method for continuously measuring slag foaming within a converter during blowing and an apparatus for practising the method are disclosed. In this method, the foaming slag level is determined by detecting and processing a beat signal developed between the frequency-modulated transmitted wave and the reflected wave of a microwave radar. The apparatus for practising this method comprises a microwave generator, an antenna and a waveguide, and signal processing circuitry. The microwave generator generates frequency-modulated microwaves and supplies them to the antenna which is provided with a waveguide for directing these microwaves into the converter. The antenna with the waveguide are provided with water-cooling means and air purge means to overcome the heat, dust and splash from the converter. The signal processor determines the foaming slag level by detecting and processing the beat signal between the microwaves reflected from the slag within the converter and the reflected waves from a reference reflector added to the antenna.

Method and apparatus for measuring slag foaming using microwave lever

A continuously casting machine is provided with structure for agitating under action of magnetic force the molten steel in a slab drawn from a mold. The agitating device comprises permanent magnet groups arranged on both surfaces of the longitudinal sides of the slab and extending from the part directly below the mold to the completely solidified part of the slab. Direct current is passed to the molten steel in the slab, thereby providing the agitating force under the mutual action of a stationary magnetic field and direct current to the molten steel.

Continuously casting machine

In an automatic molding apparatus, a Doppler speed meter is used to detect the rising speed of molten metal within a mold, and a nozzle stopper attached to a ladle in which the molten metal is contained is actuated in response to a difference between a detected speed signal and a speed pattern signal to control the opening of the nozzle of the ladle whereby the rising speed of the molten metal fed from the ladle to the mold through the nozzle can be controlled in accordance with an optimum molding velocity pattern.

Growing community of inventors

Amagasaki, Japan

Sumio Kobayashi