Cupola Furnace

ME 2301: Metallic Material Science
CUPOLA FURNACE
Md. Ramjan Ali

Asst. Prof., Dept. of ME
DUET, Gazipur
Introduction
• The cupola is a most widely used foundry furnace for melting

ferrous metals and alloys. Sometimes, it is also used for melting
non-ferrous metals and alloys. Cupola furnace is the cheapest
means for converting pig iron or scrap metal into cast iron. The fuel
used is a good quality low sulphur coke.
1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 2

Construction of cupola furnace
• The cupola is a shaft type furnace whose height is three to five
times its diameter; it is most widely used furnace for producing
molten cast iron. A sketch of a cupola furnace is shown in Fig.

• As seen from the Fig, the main parts of cupola are:
(i) Shell:
The shell is constructed of a steel plate of about 10 mm

thick riveted or welded together and that is internally lined
with refractory fireclay bricks. The shell diameter varies
from 1 to 2 meters with a height of about three to five
times the diameter.

• (ii) Bottom:
The whole structure is erected on legs or steel columns. A

drop door, which is made of one piece, is hinged to a
supporting leg. When the cupola is full of charge, a prop
support at the bottom door is provided so that door remains
close and do not collapse due to the heavy weight of the
charge. If the cupola is not in use, the drop door allows for
maintenance and repair work of the furnace lining.
(iii) Charging Door:
Towards the top of the furnace there is an opening called

charging door is situated. The charging door is used for
feeding the charge containing metal, coke and flux, into the
furnace. It is situated at the height of about 3 to 6 m above
the tuyers.

(iv) Charging Platform:
The charging platform is made of robust mild steel rods

and plates. Usually, it is surrounding the cupola at the level
of about 0.3 m below the bottom of the charging door.

(v) Air Blower:
An air blower is connected to the wind box by means of blast
pipe. It supplies the air to the wind box. A valve is provided in
the blast pipe to control the flow of air. The blast pressure varies
from 250 kg/m2 to 1050 kg/m2.

(vi) Tuyeres:
Air, which is needed for the combustion is blown through the

tuyeres located about 36 inches (0.9 m) above the bottom of the
furnace. Total area of the tuyeres should be 1/5 to 1/6 of the cross-
section area of the cupola inside the lining at tuyere level.

(vii) Volume Meter:
The volume meter is installed in a cupola furnace to know the
volume of air passing. The amount of air needed to melt one
tone of iron depends upon the quality and quantity of coke and
coke iron ratio.

(viii) Tap Hole (Molten Metal Hole):
Slightly above the bottom and in the front there are a tap hole to
allow molten cast iron to be collected.
(ix) Slag Hole:
There is also a slag hole located at the rear and above the level of
the tap hole because slag floats on the surface of molten cast
iron.

(x) Chimney:
The portion of shell above charging hole is known as chimney.

Its
height is generally 4 to 6 m. The chimney is provided with a

filter
screen and a spark arrester. This facilitates a free escape of the
waste gases and deflects the sparks and the dust back into the
furnace.
Operation of Cupola Furnace:
• The operation of cupola furnace consists of following steps:
(i) Preparation of Cupola:
A newly built cupola should be thoroughly dried before firing. Any slag around
the tuyeres from previous run are cleaned. Any broken bricks are repaired with
a mixture of silica sand and fire clay. A layer of refractory material is applied
over the brunt area over the fire brick lining. A bed of moulding sand is then
rammed on the bottom to a thickness of about 6 inches (15 cm) or more,
sloping towards the tap hole to ensure better flow of molten metal. A slag hole
opening of about 30 to 35 mm diameter and a tap hole of about 25 mm
diameter is provided.

Operation of Cupola Furnace
(ii) Firing of Cupola:
A fire of wood is ignited on the sand bottom, when the wood burns
well; coke is dumped on the bed well from top. Make sure that the
coke begins to burn too. A bed of coke about 40 inches thick is next
placed on the sand i.e., slightly above the tuyeres. The air blast is
turned on at a lower blowing rate than normal for igniting the
coke. A measuring rod is used which indicates the height of coke
bed. Firing is done about 3 hours before the molten metal required.

(iii) Charging the Cupola:
Next, the charge is fed into the cupola through the charging door. Many factors,
such as the charge composition, affect the final structure of the cast iron obtained.
The charge is composed of 25% pig iron, 50% cast iron scrap, 10% steel scrap,
12% coke as fuel, and 3% limestone as flux. These constituents form alternate
layers of coke, limestone and metal. Besides limestone, fluorspar and soda ash are
also used as flux material – The function of flux is to remove the impurities in the
iron and protect the iron from oxidation.

(iv) Soaking of Iron:

After charging the furnace fully, it is allowed to remain as such for
about 1—1.5 hr. During this stage charge slowly gets heated up
because the air blast is kept shut this time and due to this the iron gets
soaked.
(v) Starting the Air Blast:
The air blast is opened at the end of the soaking period. The top
opening is kept closed till the metal melts and sufficient metal is
collected. As melting proceeds, the contents of the charge move
gradually downwards. The rate of charging must be equal to the rate of
melting so that the furnace is kept full throughout the heat.

(vi) Closing the Cupola:
When no more melting is required, the feeding of charge and air blast is
stopped. The prop is removed, so that the bottom plate swings to open.
The slag deposited is removed. The cupola can run continuously as are
blast furnace, but in practice it may works when required. The melting
period does not exceed 4 hours in most of the foundries. But, it can be
operated continuously for 10 hours or more.

Zones of Cupola Furnace
• The cupola furnace is divided in a number of zones where a

number of chemical reactions take place.
• The following are the six important zones:
(i) Well or Crucible Zone:
It is the zone between top of the sand bed and bottom of the
tuyeres. Molten metal collected in this zone.

(ii) Combustion Zone:
It is located between well and melting zone and height of this zone is normally
15 to 30 cm. It is also known as oxidizing zone. Here, the combustion actually
done, consuming all the oxygen from the air blast and generates huge amount
of heat. The temperature range for this zone is about 1500°C to 1850°C. The
heat produced in this zone is sufficient to meet the requirements of other
zones of cupola. Few exothermic reactions takes place in this zone these are
represented as :
C + O2 = CO2 + Heat
Si + O2 = SiO2 + Heat
2Mn + O2 = 2MnO + Heat

(iii) Reducing Zone:
It is the zone between the top of the combustion zone and the top level of
the coke bed. It is also known as protective zone.
The CO2 flowing upward through this zone reacts with hot coke and is
reduced to CO. Due to this reaction, the temperature gets reduced to
about 1200°C. This zone protects the charge against oxidation as it has
reducing atmosphere in it. The important chemical reaction takes place
in this zone which is given as:
CO 2 + C (coke) = 2CO + Heat

(iv) Melting Zone:
It is the zone between the first layer of metal charge and above the
reducing zone. It is between 300 to 900 mm above the bed charge.
The solid metal charge changes to molten state picks up sufficient
carbon in this zone. The temperature attainable in this zone is in
the range of 1600°C to 1700°C.
3Fe + 2CO ——→ Fe3C + CO2

(v) Preheating Zone:
It is the zone from above the melting zone to the bottom level of the
charging door. Charging materials are fed in this zone. The charge
is preheated to about 1093°C before they settle downwards to enter
the melting zone. It is also known as charging zone.

(vi) Stack Zone:
It is the empty portion of this furnace, which extends from above

the charging zone to the top of the furnace. It carries the hot gases
generated within the furnace to the atmosphere.

Advantages of Cupola Furnace
(i) It is simple in construction and operation.
(ii) Low cost of construction, operation and maintenance.
(iii) It has a continuous and fast rate of production.
(iv) It does not require very skilled operators.
(v) It requires small floor area as compared to other furnaces.
(vi) Composition of melt can be controlled.

Limitations of Cupola Furnace
(i) Temperature control is difficult to maintain.
(ii) Carbon content increases in the iron product due to the
heating of coke together with metal.
(iii) Some metal elements are converted to their oxides, which are not
suitable for casting.


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ME 2301: Metallic Material Science

Md. Ramjan Ali

• The cupola is a most widely used foundry furnace for melting

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 2

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 3

The shell is constructed of a steel plate of about 10 mm

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 5

The whole structure is erected on legs or steel columns. A

(iii) Charging Door:

Towards the top of the furnace there is an opening called

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 7

(iv) Charging Platform:

The charging platform is made of robust mild steel rods

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 8

An air blower is connected to the wind box by means of blast

pipe. It supplies the air to the wind box. A valve is provided in

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 9

Air, which is needed for the combustion is blown through the

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 10

The volume meter is installed in a cupola furnace to know the

volume of air passing. The amount of air needed to melt one

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 11

allow molten cast iron to be collected.

(ix) Slag Hole:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 12

The portion of shell above charging hole is known as chimney.

height is generally 4 to 6 m. The chimney is provided with a

screen and a spark arrester. This facilitates a free escape of the

• The operation of cupola furnace consists of following steps:

(i) Preparation of Cupola:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 14

(ii) Firing of Cupola:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 15

(iii) Charging the Cupola:

iron and protect the iron from oxidation.

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 16

(iv) Soaking of Iron:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 17

(vi) Closing the Cupola:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 18

• The cupola furnace is divided in a number of zones where a

• The following are the six important zones:

(i) Well or Crucible Zone:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 19

(ii) Combustion Zone:

2Mn + O2 = 2MnO + Heat

(iii) Reducing Zone:

CO 2 + C (coke) = 2CO + Heat

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 21

(iv) Melting Zone:

3Fe + 2CO ——→ Fe3C + CO2

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 22

(v) Preheating Zone:

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 23

(vi) Stack Zone:

It is the empty portion of this furnace, which extends from above

1/30/23 Md. Ramjan Ali, Asst. Prof., ME, DUET 24

(i) It is simple in construction and operation.

(ii) Low cost of construction, operation and maintenance.

(iii) It has a continuous and fast rate of production.