Provided is a roller shaft insulation member for reducing the heat which is conducted to the bearings by passing through the space between the roller insertion hole of a continuous annealing furnace and the roller, wherein the roller shaft insulation member of the continuous annealing furnace comprises an inorganic fiber blanket, which contacts or is near the outer circumferential surface of the roller and in which the content of 45 m or larger shot is 3% or less. A continuous annealing furnace provided with said roller shaft insulation member is also provided.

A roller transport assembly includes a cart assembly and a roller carriage assembly. The roller carriage assembly is slidably mounted to the cart assembly and has at least one chamber for housing a roller. Each of the chambers includes a linear rail extending along a first axis and a roller coupling device attached to and slidable along the linear rail. The roller coupling device is operable to couple to the roller and move the roller along the first axis adjacent and parallel with the linear rail.

A roller transport assembly includes a cart assembly and a roller carriage assembly. The roller carriage assembly is slidably mounted to the cart assembly and has at least one chamber for housing a roller. Each of the chambers includes a linear rail extending along a first axis and a roller coupling device attached to and slidable along the linear rail. The roller coupling device is operable to couple to the roller and move the roller along the first axis adjacent and parallel with the linear rail.

A heat-treating furnace has: a rotary shaft; a rotary bottom surface pivotally supported by the rotary shaft and rotates; a plurality of workpiece storage chambers arranged on the rotary bottom surface in a multi-stage torus configuration around an axis of the rotary shaft as a center; a hollow bell-shaped hot-blast guide disposed in a center of the torus configuration on the rotary bottom surface around the axis of the rotary shaft as a center so as to decrease a volumetric capacity in the furnace and to adjust a quantity of a hot blast fed in from above itself into the workpiece storage chamber on each stage; a furnace body bottom surface spaced away from the rotary bottom surface; and a furnace body lateral surface disposed on the furnace body bottom surface.

A method is provided for heating a furnace arranged with a heating zone heated with a burner providing a flame extending in a longitudinal direction and fed with a fuel and a primary oxidant, the burner is operated with a mass relationship between the fed fuel and primary oxidant permitting less than 50% of the fed fuel to be combusted using the primary oxidant, and a respective pair of secondary oxidant lances are provided one either side of the furnace pointing into the heating zone, lancing a secondary oxidant into the heating zone downstream of the burner substantially parallel with a cross plane, such that a temperature is measured downstream of the lances and that each of the lance pairs includes an upstream, low-speed first and a downstream, high-speed second lance, wherein the amount of secondary oxidant supplied via the first lance is regulated to achieve a homogenous lateral temperature profile. A related furnace is also provided.

A method is provided for heating a furnace arranged with a heating zone heated with a burner providing a flame extending in a longitudinal direction and fed with a fuel and a primary oxidant, the burner is operated with a mass relationship between the fed fuel and primary oxidant permitting less than 50% of the fed fuel to be combusted using the primary oxidant, and a respective pair of secondary oxidant lances are provided one either side of the furnace pointing into the heating zone, lancing a secondary oxidant into the heating zone downstream of the burner substantially parallel with a cross plane, such that a temperature is measured downstream of the lances and that each of the lance pairs includes an upstream, low-speed first and a downstream, high-speed second lance, wherein the amount of secondary oxidant supplied via the first lance is regulated to achieve a homogenous lateral temperature profile. A related furnace is also provided.

A sample heating device includes: a rail-shaped disposal rail extending in one direction in a horizontal plane so that sample boats after heating are arranged and placed in a straight line; a disposal tray that houses the sample boat pushed-out from one end of the disposal rail; a sample boat conveying portion that places the sample boat after the heating at a predetermined placing position on the disposal rail; and a sample boat push-out portion that is positioned closer to the other end side of the disposal rail than the placing position when the sample boat is placed on the disposal rail and that is displaced toward the one end side of the disposal rail after the sample boat is placed at the placing position to slide the sample boats on the disposal rail toward the one end side.

A sample heating device includes: a rail-shaped disposal rail extending in one direction in a horizontal plane so that sample boats after heating are arranged and placed in a straight line; a disposal tray that houses the sample boat pushed-out from one end of the disposal rail; a sample boat conveying portion that places the sample boat after the heating at a predetermined placing position on the disposal rail; and a sample boat push-out portion that is positioned closer to the other end side of the disposal rail than the placing position when the sample boat is placed on the disposal rail and that is displaced toward the one end side of the disposal rail after the sample boat is placed at the placing position to slide the sample boats on the disposal rail toward the one end side.

A furnace having a convection section with convection tubes in a convection compartment is disclosed. The convection tubes receive and preheat hydrocarbon feed primarily by convection of heat from hot flue gas that flows into in the convection section. The convection section additionally includes a perforated distributor plate that prevents flow channeling of the hot flue gas as it flows into the convection section. The furnace also includes a radiant section having radiant tubes in a radiant compartment. The radiant tubes are in fluid communication with the convection tubes so that preheated hydrocarbon feed flows from the convection section to the radiant section. The radiant section burns fuel and heats the preheated hydrocarbon feed primarily by radiation and from the hot flue gas, which flows from the radiant section into the convection section.

The invention relates to a method for sintering carbon bodies (16) in a furnace comprising at least a first furnace chamber (11) for receiving the carbon bodies, which are accommodated in a packing material (23), the carbon bodies being arranged between lateral chamber walls (12, 13, 21) of the furnace chamber, and the furnace chamber serving to form a preheating zone V, a heating zone H provided with a heating device, and a cooling zone A, wherein a packing material (23) made, at least in part, of a highly heat-conductive material is used.