Improvements in the Mechanical Charging of the Modern Blast-Furnace

A Discussion of the Paper of David Baker, read at the Lake Superior Meeting, September, 1904. (Washington Meeting, May, 1905.) MR. JOHN J. PORTER, Chicago Ill. (communication to the Secretary*) :-Mr. Baker's account of his experiences with stock-distribution has been particularly interesting to me, as it confirms the opinions which I had formed concerning the rapid failure of linings in several furnaces that have recently come to my notice. These furnaces, four -in number, are of modern construction, having been built or remodeled within the past two years, and are equipped with a well-known type of skip-hoist and double-bell charging-apparatus. In every case, a hot spot has developed within a few months after blowing-in, which has already compelled relining in two cases, and the probabilities are strongly against a long campaign in the other two. Since the hot spot in each case appeared in a position approximately opposite to the skip-hoist, and since the sizing, mentioned by Mr. Baker, is very apparent, it would seem as though there could be no doubt concerning the cause of the trouble. Nevertheless, there are some who cannot see it in that light; for the managers of two of these plants, at least, do not admit the existence of bad distribution, and have satisfied themselves by putting in cooling-plates, thickening the lining of the in-wall, and changing the brand of the fire-brick used for the construction of the walls. From observations of the clumping-action of the skip-hoist, and from subsequent inspection of the stock-distribution in the furnace itself, I arrived at the conclusion, some time ago, that no system of filling could be perfectly satisfactory where the stock is dumped into the hopper from one side, also that some