Metallurgical reactors are well-known in the art. These reactors are typically gravity-fed from above by a charging installation, which in turn may be fed with bulk material from intermediate hoppers. One type of charging installation is disclosed in international application WO 2012/016902 A1. Here, the material is fed through a feeder spout, which is positioned above the inlet of a distribution chute. The chute is mounted on a rotatable tubular support, in which the feeder spout is disposed. To provide for a two-dimensional mobility of the chute, it is also tiltable relative to the support by shafts connected to a gear assembly. The gear assembly is positioned inside a gearbox formed by the support and a stationary casing on which the support is rotationally mounted. For protection of the gear assembly, the bottom portion of the casing has a heat protection shield with a cooling circuit. The shield defines a central opening in which a lower portion of the support is disposed. Since the heat protection shield may be subjected to relatively high temperatures and considerable temperature changes, while there may be also high temperature gradients, there may be a need for inspection, maintenance and/or replacement of the shield or at least of parts thereof. This in particular refers to the cooling circuit, but also to a heat protection layer of refractory material, which is disposed on the underside of the cooling circuit. While a charging installation of the abovementioned application generally works well, maintenance of the heat protection shield is often complicated and time-consuming. Repair of a damaged refractory layer can only be performed by guniting or shot screening when the reactor is shut down. A platform needs to be introduced into the upper part of the reactor. This makes the work not only tedious, but also dangerous.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds