A direct resistance heating apparatus includes first and second electrodes arranged with a space provided therebetween, a power supply electrically connected to the electrodes, an electrode moving mechanism configured to move, in a state in which the electrodes are in contact with a workpiece and in a state in which current is applied from the power supply to the workpiece through the electrodes, at least one of the electrodes along an opposing direction in which the electrodes are opposed to each other, first and second holders configured to hold the workpiece such that, in a state in which the at least one of the electrodes is moved, a heating target region of the workpiece located between the electrodes is held between the holders in the opposing direction, and a holder moving mechanism configured to move at least one of the holders to pull the workpiece along the opposing direction.

A working system includes two or more container which are manufactured separately and previously and then moved to the factories or working plants, and then assembled into the continuous working system in the factories or working plants, for allowing the working system to be easily manufactured and assembled and moved or transported to the required places or positions. The containers each include one or more working zones and an aisle for entering into the working zones selectively. Two of the containers are arranged opposite to each other and parallel to each other, and the other containers are arranged opposite to and parallel to each other and disposed between the other two containers.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus for a steel material in which one portion in a longitudinal direction of an elongated steel material (10) is heated while the steel material is fed in the longitudinal direction in a state where one end portion of the steel material is gripped, and the one end portion is moved in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional direction so as to form the steel material into a predetermined shape including a bent portion and thereafter to cool a heated portion including the bent portion. The cooling apparatus includes a first cooling apparatus (22) that ejects a first cooling medium to the heated portion, and a second cooling apparatus (23) that is disposed on a downstream side from the first cooling apparatus when viewed along a feeding direction of the steel material, and that ejects a second cooling medium to the heated portion. A plurality of the second cooling apparatuses are disposed along the feeding direction, and flow rates of the second cooling media can be controlled independently of each other. According to the configuration, it is possible to reduce the insufficient quenching of the steel material.

The invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for the press hardening of components (2), having at least one furnace (3), having a press (8), which is arranged downstream of the at least one furnace (3), and having a transporting apparatus (4). In order to provide for cycle times which are as short as possible, means (5) for transporting the components (2) are mounted in a moveable manner in the transporting apparatus (4), wherein the means (5) with the components (2) can be moved, along the transporting apparatus (4), through the furnace (3) and into the press (8), wherein the transporting apparatus (4) is continuous between the furnace (3) and the press (8), and wherein the components (2) can be transported from the furnace (3) to the press (8) without being manipulated.

A cold rolled steel wire having the following chemical composition expressed in percent by weight, 0.2C %0.6, 0.5Mn %1.0, 0.1Si0.5%, 0.2Cr1.0%, P0.020%, S0.015%, N0.010%, and optionally not more than 0.07% Al, not more than 0.2% Ni, not more than 0.1% Mo and not more than 0.1% Cu, the balance being iron and the unavoidable impurities due to processing. This wire has a microstructure including bainite and, optionally, up to 35% acicular ferrite and up to 15% pearlite. A fabrication method and flexible conduits for hydrocarbon extraction are also provided.

A cold rolled steel wire having the following chemical composition expressed in percent by weight, 0.2C %0.6, 0.5Mn %1.0, 0.1Si0.5%, 0.2Cr1.0%, P0.020%, S0.015%, N0.010%, and optionally not more than 0.07% Al, not more than 0.2% Ni, not more than 0.1% Mo and not more than 0.1% Cu, the balance being iron and the unavoidable impurities due to processing. This wire has a microstructure including bainite and, optionally, up to 35% acicular ferrite and up to 15% pearlite. A fabrication method and flexible conduits for hydrocarbon extraction are also provided.

Methods and apparatuses for obtaining bainite are disclosed. The method includes heating a metal component in a vacuum chamber of a vacuum furnace to raise an internal temperature of the metal component, transferring the metal component from the vacuum chamber to a quench chamber of the vacuum furnace, quenching the metal component in oil that is maintained at a bainite-forming temperature range within a quench reservoir of the quench chamber, and removing the metal component from the quench chamber after a predetermined period of time.

A multi-chamber heat treatment device according to the present disclosure in which heating chambers are disposed with an intermediate transport chamber interposed therebetween in a top view, and a treatment object is stored in a heating chamber via the intermediate transport chamber, wherein the multi-chamber heat treatment device includes a gas cooling chamber which cools the treatment object using a cooling gas; and a cooling gas circulation device which includes an gas inlet and a gas outlet.

A heating apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus, and a heating method are provided. The heating apparatus includes a workpiece support on which a ring-shaped workpiece is placed, a rotary drive assembly, and a heater configured to heat the workpiece. The workpiece support includes a plurality of rotating rollers arranged in a circumferential direction. The rotary drive assembly is configured to rotate the plurality of rotating rollers to rotate the workpiece placed on the workpiece support along a ring shape of the workpiece. The heater includes a heating coil configured to induction-heat the workpiece on the workpiece support at a heating position, and an actuator configured to move the heating coil at the heating position relative to the workpiece to adjust a distance between the workpiece and the heating coil.

A method of stirring and apparatus for stirring are provided. The method includes: a) providing a number of electromagnetic stirrer units, each stirrer unit being moveably mounted on a stirrer support carriage; b) providing a number of locations at which stirring is to be provided by a stirrer unit; c) providing stirring at a first location from amongst the number of locations using a stirrer unit; d) providing stirring at a second location from amongst the number of locations using the same stirrer unit, the second location being different to the first location; and wherein the stirrer unit has a first position relative to the stirrer support carriage during movement between the first location and the second location and the stirrer unit has a second position relative to the stirrer support carriage at the first location and at the second location during stirring. The method allows the stirring unit to be readily conveyed between the locations, whilst also allowing the stirring unit to be optimally positioned for the provision of stirring.