Thermal lance

An oxygen lance ( also called thermal lance ) is a technical process, at high pressure flows into the gaseous oxygen through a metal tube, which reacts at the end of the pipe with this in a combustion process, which, depending on the metal fuel, very high temperatures. Technical designs with an oxygen lance find application for various purposes.

Was invented in the combustion process with oxygen in 1901 by Dr. phil. Ernst Menne. As part of a demonstration of the effectiveness of his device he opened in Kreuztal (winner country) by means of a device connected to an oxygen tank, 1/8 "big gas pipe in seconds the needle hole at the blast furnace, where previously several Schmelzer had tried unsuccessfully to lift a hole.

Flame cutting

Besides the method, the term also often directly this type of cutting torch, that is one of the technical equipment in the called method of the oxygen lance and oxygen lance core, shall apply. Here the term thermic lance is in use.

The burner design of the oxygen lance is made of a long hollow rod, which is filled in order to increase the surface with steel wires and is flowed through by gaseous oxygen at high pressure and high speed. After heating and lighting the flame at the tube outlet, the pipe material starts to burn up to 5530 ° C under oxygen with a strongly exothermic reaction at temperatures.

The resulting fire lance is placed on to be separated or piercing material and constantly tracked. Temperatures range from to bring materials with very high melting point to melt. The oxygen lance, reinforced concrete and brick used for the cutting of steel, concrete (gravel, sand and cement). Be oxygen lances in civil protection, but also used in iron and steel works (samplers, tapping blast furnace ). Due to the extremely hot combustion of the iron wires and the iron pipe in the oxygen stream and the flow pressure of the combustion gas flame and a cutting torch effect of molten material, and the combustion gases formed are removed by the flow of gas from the combustion site. Since the tube is consumed on flame cutting device through the use, it must be replaced periodically when it is too short.

Can oxygen lances without too much modification can also be used under water; this, the burning steel pipe is simply wrapped eg with insulating tape to prevent a cooling off too much, which could lead to a termination of combustion.

Steel production

In the production of steel by the LD process where a similar construction for the refining of the steel. In this case, oxygen is blown to the liquid melt, and decarburization ( burning of excess carbon ) pig iron is converted to steel.