The body of iron that sits in the blast furnace hearth below taphole level, which never drains during normal casting. At the end of a campaign it is drained through a special salamander tap low in the hearth wall; whatever freezes, mixed with coke and slag, has to be cut, drilled or blasted out before the hearth can be rebuilt. Its size and shape also reveal how far the hearth erosion had gone.
Salamander tap is scheduled for Tuesday, after that the hearth crew starts lancing out what's left.
Also heard as
- bear
Related terms
Elephant foot
Blast furnace hearth wear profile where the wall-to-floor corner erodes into the shape of an elephant's foot.
Taphole
Opening through a furnace wall or bottom through which molten metal and slag are drained.
Reline
Replacement of a worn refractory lining, in full or in zones, at the end of a campaign.