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.

In the context of a method for producing heavy plate (4) from a steel alloy, comprising the continuous casting of a steel melt and primary forming of an obtained casting strand to produce a slab, and then forming or hot rolling the slab from the casting heat in multiple forming steps to produce a desired heavy plate dimension, followed immediately by a heat treatment of the heavy plate (4), effecting a targeted cooling of the obtained heavy plate (4), wherein the heavy plate (4) is cut to a desired individual plate length before or after its heat treatment as seen in the production direction (3), a solution is provided for producing heavy plate that permits the flexible production of heavy plate of variable qualities. This is achieved by carrying out the heat treatment in the temperature range of 150° C.-1100° C. as a combination of a targeted cooling of the obtained heavy plate (4) from the rolling heat to a desired first temperature, followed immediately by a targeted heating of the heavy plate (4) to a desired second temperature and an immediately subsequent cooling of the heavy plate (4) to a desired third temperature.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a system including: an enclosure having an interior sized to enclose and the workpiece and form a vacuum and pressurized atmosphere within the interior. A plurality of thermal applicators may be in thermal communication with first and second portions of the interior. First and second thermal applicators may independently heat and cool the first and second portions of the interior. The first thermal applicator may apply a first thermal treatment to a first portion of the workpiece in the first portion of the interior. A second thermal applicator may apply a second thermal treatment to a second portion of the workpiece in the second portion of the interior independently of the first thermal treatment.

In a method for manufacturing a ferritic stainless steel product, a ferritic stainless steel object is heated in an inert gas atmosphere including nitrogen gas in a heating furnace at a nitriding temperature higher than or equal to a transformation temperature so as to form a nitrided layer on a surface of the ferritic stainless steel object. Moreover, the nitriding temperature is set lower than 1100° C. during the heating. The heating of the ferritic stainless steel object is performed in a state where a solid carbon exists inside the heating furnace.

High productivity plant for the continuous quenching of steel bars which comprises a loading station suitable to dispose a plurality of bars separated and distanced from each other. Such plant also comprises a first treatment line, a quenching machine, a transfer station disposed downstream of the quenching machine, and a second treatment line.

Provided is a hot-band annealing method comprising subjecting a Si-containing hot rolled steel sheet, having an oxidized scale formed on a surface of the steel sheet by hot rolling, to hot-band annealing with a hot-band annealing equipment provided with a heating zone, a soaking zone, a cooling zone, and a rapid heating device at an upstream side of the heating zone and/or in an inlet side of the heating zone, wherein the hot rolled steel sheet is heated by not lower than 50° C. at a heating rate of not less than 15° C./s by using the rapid heating device to improve a descaling property. Also, provided is a descaling method characterized by subjecting the Si-containing hot rolled steel sheet, after the hot-band annealing, to descaling only by pickling without requiring mechanical descaling or heating the steel sheet in the pickling process.

A manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for a head hardened rail to which various alloy elements are added and which is excellent in hardness and toughness of a head portion surface layer. The method includes, when forcibly cooling at least a head portion of a hot-rolled rail or a heated rail, starting the forcible cooling from a state where a surface temperature of the head portion of the rail is not less than an austenite range temperature, and performing the forcible cooling at a cooling rate of 10° C./sec or more until the surface temperature reaches 500° C. or more and 700° C. or less after the forcible cooling is started.

A method for producing a nitrided packaging steel from a hot-rolled steel product with a carbon content of 400 to 1200 ppm, utilizing a cold-rolling of the steel product to a flat steel product, subsequent recrystallization annealing of the cold-rolled flat steel product in an annealing furnace, in particular a continuous annealing furnace. A nitrogen-containing gas is supplied into the annealing furnace and is directed at the flat steel product to introduce unbonded nitrogen into the flat steel product in an amount corresponding to a concentration of more than 100 ppm, or to increase the amount of unbonded nitrogen in the flat steel product to a concentration of more than 100 ppm, and subsequent cooling of the recrystallized annealed flat steel product at a cooling rate of at least 100 K/s directly after the recrystallization annealing. Using this method, cold-rolled flat steel products may be produced for packaging purposes with a tensile strength of more than 650 MPa and in particular between 700 and 850 MPa.

An heat treatment apparatus for a vehicle body component includes, a jig base, a lower fixed die fixedly installed on the jig base and supporting the vehicle body component that is press-molded into a predetermined shape, a heating unit installed on the lower fixed die and locally heating the vehicle body component, a plurality of side movable dies that can move reciprocally disposed at both sides of the lower fixed die, installed on the jig base, and selectively combinable with the lower fixed die, a cooling unit installed on each side movable die and cooling a heating portion of the vehicle body component, and an upper movable die that can move reciprocally in the up and down direction correspondingly to the lower fixed die, and configured to clamp the vehicle body component through the lower fixed die and at least one of the side movable dies combined together.

There are provided an apparatus for cooling a rail and a method for manufacturing a rail, capable of inexpensively manufacturing a rail with high hardness and high toughness. The apparatus for cooling a rail, configured to jet a cooling medium to the head portion and foot portion of a rail in an austenite temperature range to forcibly cool the rail, includes: a first cooling unit including plural first cooling headers configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the head top face and head side of the head portion, and first driving units configured to move at least one first cooling header of the plural first cooling headers to change the jet distance of the cooling medium jetted from the first cooling header; and a second cooling unit including a second cooling header configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the foot portion.