Cooling element for a melting furnace

1. A cooling element for a melting surface, comprising:

at least one cooling pipe for passage of a coolant, said cooling pipe provided with two oppositely disposed identical beads extending in a longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe and located diametrically at opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the cooling pipe;

a plate-shaped support element at which the cooling pipe is fastened via each of two leg ends of the cooling pipe; and

cover plates, each oppositely disposed relative to the cooling pipe,

wherein each of the cover plates is welded together with one of the oppositely disposed beads of the cooling pipe,

wherein the cover plates are made from copper or a copper alloy,

wherein each of the two beads has a cross section with a trapezoidal shape, and each of the beads has two legs which extend tangentially from a cylindrical area of the cooling pipe to an end of the bead which forms an outer surface of the cooling pipe, and

wherein one of the beads narrows along a first direction extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis and the other of the beads narrows along a second direction extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.

2. The cooling element of claim 1 , further comprising a second cooling pipe oriented adjacent to the at least one cooling pipe, wherein each of the cover plates are welded together with the respective beads of the at least one cooling pipe spanning across the second cooling pipe.

3. The cooling element of claim 1 , wherein the beads exhibit a thickness in a radial direction relative to the cooling pipe, said thickness corresponds to a thickness of the welded to cover plates.

4. The cooling element of claim 1 , wherein each of the beads has a trapezoidal cross section and a flank, said cover plates being welded to the flanks of the beads.

5. The cooling element of claim 4 , wherein each of the cover plates has an outer surface which is at least partially located in a same plane as an end surface which is bordered by the flanks of a corresponding one of the trapezoidally shaped beads.

6. A process for producing a cooling element according to claim 1 , said process comprising the step of producing the at least one cooling pipe from a hollow profile drawn from copper of a copper alloy.

7. A process for producing a cooling element for a melting furnace, comprising the steps of:

providing a blank metal bar with beads extending along a longitudinal extension of the metal bar;

boring lengthwise through the blank metal bar to form a channel for allowing passage of a coolant and to produce a cooling pipe, said cooling pipe provided with two oppositely disposed identical beads extending in a longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe and located diametrically at opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the cooling pipe;

providing a plate-shaped support element at which the cooling pipe is fastened via each of two leg ends of the cooling pipe; and

providing cover plates, each oppositely disposed relative to the cooling pipe, wherein each of the cover plates is welded together with one of the oppositely disposed beads of the cooling pipe,

wherein the cover plates are made from copper or a copper alloy, and

wherein each of the two beads has a cross section with a trapezoidal shape, and each of the beads has two legs which extend tangentially from a cylindrical area of the cooling pipe to an end of the bead which forms an outer surface of the cooling pipe, and

wherein one of the beads narrows along a first direction extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis and the other of the beads narrows along a second direction extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.

8. The process of claim 7 , further comprising joining a cover plate to the cooling pipe by a welding process.

9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the cover plate is joined to the cooling pipe by arc welding.

10. The process of claim 8 , wherein the cover plate is joined to the cooling pipe by friction welding.

11. The process of claim 7 , wherein the cover plate is joined to the cooling pipe by electron-beam welding.

12. The process of claim 8 , wherein the cover plate is welded between the beads of adjacent cooling pipes.

13. The process of claim 12 , wherein the adjacent cooling pipes are arranged to define an outer cooling pipe and an inner cooling pipe, wherein the cover plate is welded to a bead of the outer cooling pipe and sized to span across the inner cooling pipe.