Protection for externally heated cast iron vessel used to contain a reactive molten metal

摘要

An externally heated cast iron vessel, intended for containing a reactive molten metal, such as aluminum, is made resistant to attack by the molten metal, thereby increasing its useful service life and minimizing contamination of the melt, by lining the inside of the cast iron shell with a plurality of inert self-supporting, refractory plates, of for example, graphite, in such manner that the plates are free to move along their joints as well as relative to the shell upon thermal expansion, and permitting the molten metal to penetrate behind the lining through the joints and crevices therein opened by thermal expansion, thereby producing a refractory layer, in situ in the space between said lining and the inside surface of said cast iron shell, comprising a solid (FeAl.sub.3) reaction product of iron and said molten metal.