Furnace street

The furnace street is the area directly below the vessel, Usually arranged with a 4° slope in the direction of the furnace pit. On the street, melt and water must be separated on their way to the emergency run-out pit to avoid any steam pressure buildup.
Given the conditions in the foundry, it is often a given that surfaces are not clean, contrary to regulations and textbook-advice. Nevertheless, the safe separation of cooling water and melt must be possible. Designs using metal sheets as protection of the furnace street, that are supposed to redirect water in front of the emergency run-out pit, orchannels and pipes at the furnace pit transition for the same water drain use, however melt as soon as liquid metal hits them and such must be absolutely avoided.
Our techs will frequently come across such designs when inspecting, maintaining or installing. With 40 years of experience in this field we have arrived at the conclusion: The furnace street can’t be completely clean. Design using plates, channels or pipes must never be used for prevention of steam explosions!

At Silmeta Systems we have been striving to improve this process for more than 40 years. Since 2020 we have been predominantly laying out furnace streets with Drain Bricks. Drain Bricks are water and water vapor permeable and above all wear resistant.