Abstract
A number of experimental results have been published at home and abroad concerning the use of radio isotopes in blast furnace operation.
An experiment conducted in our Kawasaki Iron Works of Japan Steel & Tube Corporation yielded the following results.
(1) 60Co was used as tracer for the purpose of estimating the quantity of residual molten pig iron and the eroded condition of hearth bricks.
As the result of this experment, erosion of bricks was fairly exactly estimated.
In the case of No.3 B. F., it was found that erosion of hearth bricks progressed rapidly within six months after the commencement of operation, but thereafter hearth bricks had been in comparatively stable conditions with a slight degree of erosion.
(2) Radiation originated from 60Co, which was embedded into bricks of shaft at the time of constructing the blast furnace, was detected during its operation; and eroded conditions of bricks was estimated with the loss of radiation.
As the result of this experiment, it was found that erosion of bricks was dependent largely upon the operation of blast furnace and the distribution of gas within the furnace, and that bricks at the lower part of shaft had been subject to fairly severe erosion within six months after the commencement of operation.
