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Published in:
2023 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
4. Controlled Atmospheres in Furnaces for Heat Treatments
Authors : Prof. Dr. José Ignacio Verdeja González, Daniel Fernández-González, Prof. Dr. Luis Felipe Verdeja González
Published in: Physical Metallurgy and Heat Treatment of Steel
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
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Abstract
The functions of the atmospheres in contact with steels during the heat treatment can be different:
1.
they are an instrument that provides thermal energy by convective heat transfer mechanism to heat the steel;
2.
they are a source that provides oxygen, carbon, or nitrogen to the steel;
3.
they only represent a suitable support for the transfer of either radiant energy or induction energy. The appearance of pilot-industrial projects to apply mechanisms of faster heat transfer (radiant mechanism) or without influence in the molecules that form the gas (heating of the steel by induction heat transfer) is more and more frequent.
In all the cases, the physical–chemical characteristics of the atmospheres that are in contact with the steel have influence on the changes that can be produced on the surface of the steel that is being processed. On many occasions, as we are talking about large productions (millions of tons), it is not the objective to avoid the surface oxidation, which involves important metallurgical losses. The high operation and energy costs that can involve an atmosphere that could avoid the oxidation do not compensate the metallurgical losses associated with the oxidation. This chapter, dedicated to the atmospheres for the heat treatment of steels, is supported with solved exercises. This knowledge is adequate to understand the superficial changes that can be observed in the surface of the steel.