In a thermal or thermochemical treatment, metal workpieces together with a metal guide are arranged on a batch carrier. The present invention relates to a device for flow guidance for metallic pieces during such thermal or thermochemical treatment and quenching, as well as methods using the same. The fluid guide particularly ensures a uniform cooling of an inner and/or outer lateral surface of the workpieces during the quenching process.

A method and system for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced by the method. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

The present invention relates to a quenching apparatus capable of quickly reversing a flow of cooling gas flowing in a chamber. The quenching apparatus includes: a chamber provided with a gas inlet and a gas outlet and having an object charged therein; a pair of flow generating means disposed on both sides of the chamber and generating a flow of gas in the chamber; and a flow direction reversing means disposed in the chamber and reversing a flow direction of gas to make the gas flow in any one of a first flow direction in which the gas flows from top to bottom of the object and a second flow direction in which the gas flows from the bottom to the top of the object.

The invention relates to a device for temperature-controlling a component part. The device has a temperature-control zone, along which the component part is movable along a conveying direction. The temperature-control zone is configured to temperature-control at least one temperature-control section of the component part. Furthermore, the device has a temperature-control zone controller, which is configured to cover a covering region of the temperature-control zone such that in the covering region a temperature-control effect from the temperature-control zone on the temperature-control section of the component part is reducible. Herein, the temperature-control zone controller is configured so as to adjust the size of the covering region.

A system for supporting castings during thermal treatments, such as solution heat treatment, quenching and aging, that includes a tray defining a horizontal base plane and having a plurality of tray openings therethrough, and a fixture extending over one or more of the tray openings. The fixture is formed by a plurality of support plates oriented vertically with lower portions extending across the tray opening and top edges extending above the tray opening with shaped profiles along the lengths thereof. The plurality of support plates form an open lattice having a plurality of top edges that together define an open support surface that is substantially complementary with an underside surface of a casting and configured to loosely support the casting atop the lattice and align the casting in space above the tray opening.

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.

There is disclosed a softening method for a high-strength Q & P steel hot-rolled coil, comprising: after heating a Q & P steel ingot, subjecting it to rough rolling, finish rolling, laminar cooling and coiling to obtain a hot-rolled coil; after unloading the coil, covering the coil on-line with an insulating enclosure and moving it into a steel coil warehouse along with a transport chain; after a specified period of insulating time, removing the coil from the insulating enclosure, and cooling it to room temperature in air, wherein the coiling is performed at a temperature of 400-600? C.; said covering on-line with an insulating enclosure means each hot-rolled coil is individually covered with an independent, closed insulating enclosure unit within 60 minutes after unloading; the insulating time of the steel coil in the insulating enclosure is ?60 minutes. The inventive method replaces the intermediate annealing step in the production process of cold-rolled Q & P steel. The inventive method has low cost and high efficiency, and it is not affected by the surrounding environment.

An end block is disclosed. The end block may include a body extending between a front side, a back side, a left side, a right side, a top side and a bottom side. Furthermore, the body may include a first bore extending through the body between an inlet port and an outlet port and a cylinder bore extending between a cylinder port and the first bore. Moreover, the body may include a precipitation hardened martensitic stainless steel comprising between 0.08% and 0.18% by weight carbon, between 10.50% and 14.00% by weight chromium, between 0.65% and 1.15% by weight nickel, between 0.85% and 1.30% by weight copper, iron, and a first precipitate comprising the copper.

A quench system for applying cooling air to one or more hot metallic components that are supported on a component support having a substantially open construction. The quench system includes a housing having sidewalls that define a cooling chamber with peripheral portions proximate the sidewalls and a center portion spaced inwardly from the sidewalls. The quench system also includes a conveyance system that is configured to carry the component support into the center portion of the cooling chamber, as well as a forced air fan that generates a bulk flow of cooling air through the cooling chamber. The quench system further includes a plurality of nozzle baffles extending inwardly from the plurality of sidewalls to define a narrowing region within the housing between the forced air fan and the conveyance system, whereby, during operation of the fan, cooling air flowing through the peripheral portions of the cooling chamber is redirected into the center portion of the cooling chamber.

A method and system for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferroalloy, e.g., low carbon ferrochrome, from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced by the method. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.