When liquid metal, particularly steel, is tapped from a furnace into a ladle, allowance must be made for the heat that will be lost in the transfer process from furnace to mould. To compensate for this heat loss the metal is “superheated” in an attempt to ensure the metal arrives at the mould at the correct temperature for casting. With today’s energy prices this can be an extremely expensive process and contributes significantly to the production cost of the castings manufactured.
There are a number of ways of reducing the potential for heat loss, including extensive preheating of ladles and the use of insulating linings. Even with these precautions it is still possible to lose a considerable amount of heat from the surface of the metal.
The use of an insulating lid together with an insulating ladle lining can have a dramatic effect on reducing the rate of heat loss.
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