A hardening apparatus comprises a tracing gauge that is a member having the same axis shape as the axis shape of a bent pipe and being held in an attitude identical to the bent pipe, and a tracing device that is a member which can move in the longitudinal direction of the bent pipe and the tracing gauge and can move in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A guide part engaged with the tracing gauge in a manner slidable along the tracing gauge is held at one end of the tracing device, and a hardening device is held at the other end. A transportation device moves the hardening device in the longitudinal direction by moving the tracing device.

A method for determining the temperature of a metal strip (1) inside a cooling apparatus (4) of a hot rolling installation is implemented by an electronic device (12). This method includes acquiring a temperature measure of a strip portion at a current time instant; estimating, at the current time instant, a heat flux extracted from the strip portion inside the cooling apparatus according to a thermal model, and computing a strip portion temperature at a next time instant from the acquired temperature measure and the estimated extracted heat flux. The thermal model models an air cooling of the strip portion, a coolant header cooling of the strip portion by a coolant header and a remaining coolant cooling of the strip portion, wherein for the coolant header cooling the model models both an impingement cooling of the strip portion and a parallel flow cooling of the strip portion.

Systems and methods for quenching an extrudate using an atomized spray of liquid are described. A system includes a billet die at a proximal end configured to accept a billet and form an extrudate, a quench chamber located adjacent to the billet die for receiving the extrudate and comprising at least one pulsed width modulation (PWM) atomizing spray nozzle and a control module in communication with the at least one PWM atomizing spray nozzle and configured to independently control a liquid pressure, a gas pressure, a spray frequency, a duty cycle and flow rate of each at least one PWM atomizing spray nozzle.

A method for determining the ferrite phase fraction x.sub.a after heating or when cooling a steel strip (2) in a metallurgic system. Also, a device for carrying out the method. A method by which the ferrite phase fraction in the steel strip (2) can be determined online, quickly and easily, includes measuring a width w.sub.1 and a temperature T.sub.1 of the steel strip (2), wherein the steel strip (2) comprises a ferrite phase fraction x.sub.a 1 during the measurements; heating or cooling the steel strip (2); when heating the steel strip (2) a phase conversion at least in part occurs, a.fwdarw.y from the ferrite state a into the austenitic state y and when cooling the steel strip a phase conversion at least in part occurs, from the austenitic state y into the ferrite state a; measuring of a width w and a temperature T of steel strip (2) converted at least in part; determining the ferrite phase fraction of the formula (I), wherein T.sub.0 is a reference temperature and a.sub.a and a.sub.y are the linear heat expansion coefficients of ferrite and austenite.

This heat treatment apparatus is configured such that a treating target is conveyed via an intermediate conveyance chamber and accommodated in a heating chamber. The heat treatment apparatus is provided with a gas cooling chamber that is disposed adjacent to the intermediate conveyance chamber and in which the treating target is cooled using a cooling gas containing an oxidizer.

Disclosed are a high-pressure liquid-state or supercritical-state quenching apparatus, comprising a working chamber, a heating device, a cooling device, a vacuum pump set, a storage tank, a buffer tank, a gas booster, a first pressure gauge, and a temperature controller. According to the Invention, vacuum liquid-state or supercritical-state quenching is implemented, which satisfies a quenching requirement of a large workpiece, and can also achieve an effect of high-pressure gas quenching. In addition, clean heat treatment is implemented, which avoids waste gas and waste water pollution, and is energy-saving and environmentally-friendly heat treatment.

A device and a method for cooling metal strips or sheets conveyed on a conveyor line, in particular hot-rolled strips in the outlet of a rolling train. For these purposes, the device includes at least one cooling beam extending across the width of the conveyor line, and the cooling beam features a connection point to which a supply tube for cooling liquid can be connected, and a number of discharge openings arranged along a longitudinal axis of the cooling beam, such that cooling liquid can be discharged through the discharge openings in the direction of the metal strip or sheet that is to be cooled. Associated with each of the individual discharge openings is a respectively adjusted flow area, such that the flow areas of the respective discharge openings decrease in a direction leading away from the connecting point along the longitudinal axis of the cooling beam.

A heat recovery system includes a plurality of heat source portions; a heat exchanger connected to the heat source portions via a primary flow path portion through which a first fluid flows, and configured to perform heat exchange between the first fluid and a second fluid; a valve mechanism configured to select a flow path that connects the heat exchanger and the heat source portions; and a power generation unit connected to the heat exchanger via a secondary flow path portion through which the second fluid flows, and configured to generate electric power using the second fluid. Timing of a temperature rise of the first fluid in one heat source portion is different from that in another heat source portion. The valve mechanism operates in accordance with the timing of the temperature rise of the first fluid in each of the heat source portions.

A controller alters a cycle time of a die arrangement, configured to hot stamp metal into components and having an active cooling system, based on an amount of heat transferred from the components to the active cooling system such that a grain structure of the components transitions from an austenitic state to a martensitic state.

The invention discloses an on-line intelligent control method for the cooling characteristics of a quenching liquid in heat treatment production, which comprises the steps of: step 1: subjecting a workpiece to thermal insulation; step 2: measuring the cooling characteristics and the heat transfer coefficient of a quenching liquid followed by correction; step 3: starting cooling; step 4: then changing the internal circulation rate; and step 5: removing the workpiece. This scheme can effectively avoid the problem that the cooling of a workpiece in industrial production deviates from the ideal cooling characteristics of a quenching liquid obtained in a laboratory.