U.S. patent application number 12/868402 was filed with the patent office on 2011-03-03 for heat retention tunnel for processing coils of hot rolled bar and rod products.
Invention is credited to Ward Holloway, Bruce V. Kiefer, Wade P. Krejdovsky, Ajay Nowlay.
Application Number | 20110049773 12/868402 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43623652 |
Filed Date | 2011-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110049773 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kiefer; Bruce V. ; et
al. |
March 3, 2011 |
HEAT RETENTION TUNNEL FOR PROCESSING COILS OF HOT ROLLED BAR AND
ROD PRODUCTS
Abstract
A heat retention tunnel is disclosed for processing vertically
disposed coils of a hot rolled product being transported along a
path. The tunnel comprises walls extending along the sides of the
path, and a roof overlying the path. Heat reflective panels line
interior surfaces of the walls at locations facing the coils being
transported along the path.
Inventors: |
Kiefer; Bruce V.; (Holden,
MA) ; Krejdovsky; Wade P.; (Framingham, MA) ;
Nowlay; Ajay; (Worcester, MA) ; Holloway; Ward;
(Barre, MA) |
Family ID: |
43623652 |
Appl. No.: |
12/868402 |
Filed: |
August 25, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61237443 |
Aug 27, 2009 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
266/249 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C21D 9/663 20130101;
F27B 9/34 20130101; F27D 1/0033 20130101; B21C 47/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
266/249 |
International
Class: |
C21D 9/52 20060101
C21D009/52 |
Claims
1. A heat retention tunnel for processing vertically disposed coils
of a hot rolled product being transported along a path, said tunnel
comprising: walls extending along the sides of said path; a roof
overlying said path; and heat reflective panels lining interior
surfaces of said walls at locations facing the coils being
transported along said path.
2. The heat retention tunnel of claim 1 further comprising barrier
panels underlying said path, said barrier panels being arranged to
retard any upward flow of ambient air through said tunnel.
3. The heat retention tunnel of claim 1 wherein said heat
reflective panels have a height at least equal to the height of the
tallest coils being processed.
4. The heat retention tunnel of claim 2 wherein said heat
reflective panels have a height at least equal to the height of the
tallest coils being processed.
5. The heat retention tunnel of claim 1 wherein said heat
reflective panels are fabricated from a heat resistant
material.
6. The heat retention tunnel of claim 2 wherein said heat
reflective panels are fabricated from a heat resistant
material.
7. The heat retention tunnel of claim 4 wherein said heat resistant
material is stainless steel.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/237,443
filed on Aug. 27, 2009 entitled HEAT RETENTION TUNNEL FOR
PROCESSING COILS OF HOT ROLLED BAR AND ROD PRODUCTS which is
incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to hot rolling mills producing bar
and rod products, where coils of the hot rolled products are
temporarily held for retarded cooling in enclosed tunnels.
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
[0003] A coil handling system employing retarded cooling tunnels is
disclosed in U.S. 2008/0019805A1, the description of which is
herein incorporated by reference. In this system, the tunnels are
provided with adjustable side louvers to assist in controlling
cooling rates.
[0004] A deficiency of this system lies in the non-uniform cooling
of the coils, which produces unacceptable variations in mechanical
and metallurgical properties of the material. These variations are
caused in part by unwanted air flow through the system, resulting
in uneven convective cooling.
[0005] In addition to the heat loss due to uneven convective
cooling, there is also a significant amount of heat loss due to
radiation from the surfaces of the coils. This is most significant
on the outside diameters of the coils, which have the most surface
area. Some portions of the outside coil diameters "see" portions of
the outside diameters of adjacent coils which are at approximately
the same temperature and therefore absorb relatively little radiant
energy. However, there are significant portions of the outside
diameters that "see" cooler surfaces, e.g., the tunnel insulation
and other parts of the structure, and therefore those outside
portions lose significantly more radiant energy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In accordance with the present invention, the conventional
retarded cooling tunnels are modified to reduce uneven convective
and radiant cooling of the coils being processed. Uneven convective
cooling is reduced by providing barrier plates beneath the conveyor
path to retard upward flow of ambient air, and uneven radiant
cooling is reduced by providing heat reflective panels along the
sides of the conveyor path.
[0007] These and other features and attendant advantages of the
present invention will now be described in further detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is across sectional view through a heat retention
tunnel embodying the concepts of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 2-2 of
FIG. 1, with the coils and conveyor eliminated in order to better
view the positions of the heat reflective and barrier panels;
and
[0010] FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3
of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] With reference to the accompanying drawings, a heat
retention tunnel embodying the concepts of the present invention is
generally depicted at 10. The tunnel includes side walls 12 and a
roof 14, the interior surfaces of both being preferably lined with
insulating panels 16. A conveyor 18 defines a transport path
extending along the length of the tunnel. The conveyor includes
modules with driven rollers 20 arranged to support and propel
pallets 22 into and through the tunnel. The pallets include stems
24 projecting vertically and axially through coils 26 of hot rolled
product supported on the pallets. The tunnel side walls and roof
are provided with pivotal louvres 28 which are adjustable between
closed positions (as depicted by solid lines) and open positions
(as depicted by broken lines).
[0012] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, heat
reflective panels 30 line the interior surfaces of the side walls
12. The heat reflective panels overlie the insulating panels 16,
and have heights at least equal to the tallest coils being
processed. The panels 30 are fabricated from a heat resistant
material, a preferred candidate being stainless steel. Although not
shown, it is to be understood that the ends of the tunnel are
closed by entrance and exit doors that are also lined with heat
reflective panels 30.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
barrier panels 32 underlie the transport path along which the coils
are being conveyed. The barrier panels are configured and arranged
to retard any upward flow of ambient air through the tunnel.
[0014] In light of the foregoing, it will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art that the heat reflective panels 30 promote
uniform radiant cooling by reflecting heat radiating from the
surface portions of the coils 26 facing the tunnel side walls. A
similar effect is produced between confronting surface portions of
coils arranged successively along the transport path, the net
effect being more uniform overall radiant cooling of the coils.
[0015] The barrier panels 32 retard upward flow of ambient air,
thus promoting a more uniform top to bottom convective cooling of
the coils.
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