Protection of copper coolers

In recent years, cooling of the refractory linings is often carried out using different copper cooling systems. The purpose of this cooling is to promote the formation of a frozen layer along the refractory wall. These coolers are required for high heat fluxes through furnace walls allowing for high intensity operations. However, copper has a high oxidation rate at the furnace's operating temperatures.;The objective of this project was to investigate if nickel when plated on copper can improve the service life of the copper coolers. Thin layers of nickel were plated onto copper using "Wood Strike bath" to improve oxidation resistance at high temperatures. Pure copper and nickel-plated copper were oxidized at 600 to 1000°C in air for various lengths of time.;It was found that the nickel-plated copper oxidizes at a rate of about 1/20 of that of pure copper. The heat fluxes obtained during immersion tests of nickel-plated copper and pure copper in smelter slag and matte were almost the same. The activation energy values for copper and nickel-plated copper were found to be 150 kJ/mol and 145 kJ/mol, respectively.