Claims
- 1. An apparatus for segmentally cooling successive segments of preheated steel pipe comprising:
- (a) a preheater for heating the steel pipe;
- (b) a flow chamber configured to receive successive segments of the steel pipe from the preheater and adapted to flow selectively and continuously a cooling medium over the outer surface of the successive segments of the steel pipe;
- (c) a plug having a diameter less than the internal diameter of the steel pipe; and
- (d) an internal feeder having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet being located in the flow chamber and the internal feeder being adapted in conjunction with the plug to flow selectively and continuously a cooling medium over the inner surface of the same successive segments of steel pipe, at least one of said flow chamber and internal feeder being further adapted to control the flow of cooling medium such that the temperature of each segment can be lowered to a desired temperature in the flow chamber and thereafter controlled by using the inherent heat of the segment to vaporize substantially all of the cooling medium to create a vapor blanket along a surface of each segment so cooled to thereby control the temperature of the surface.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the internal feeder comprises a floating lance which is adapted to remain stationary with respect to the flow chamber.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 wherein the internal feeder further comprises a detachable cooling medium source.
- 4. An apparatus for heat treating a steel pipe comprising:
- (a) a preheater for heating the steel pipe;
- (b) a pipe feeder adapted to feed the steel pipe at a variable rate from the preheater into a flow chamber the flow chamber being less than the length of the pipe and adapted to bring selectively a cooling medium into contact with the outer surface of a segment of the steel pipe after the steel pipe enters the flow chamber;
- (c) a plug of sufficient size to seal slidably the inside cross-section of the steel pipe as it passes into the flow chamber, said plug having a contoured surface along the side opposite the preheater; and
- (d) an internal feeder having a length longer than the flow chamber and having an outside diameter less than that of the steel pipe and adapted to direct a cooling medium against the contoured surface of the plug thereby to bring selectively the cooling medium into contact with the inside surface of a segment of the steel pipe, the plug and the internal feeder being further confined in conjunction with each other to control and direct the flow of cooling medium such that the temperature of each segment of the steel pipe can be lowered to a desired temperature and thereafter controlled by using the inherent heat of the segment to vaporize substantially all the cooling medium to create a vapor blanket along the inside surface of each segment so cooled, the outside diameter and length of the internal feeder being sufficient to maintain the vapor blanket sufficiently to control the temperature of each segment of steel pipe as it passes beyond the flow chamber.
- 5. An apparatus for heat treating a steel pipe comprising:
- (a) a preheater for heating the steel pipe;
- (b) a flow chamber having a hollow cylinder with an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of the pipe, the cylinder having an inlet and an outlet for the pipe and a series of vanes on the inside walls of the cylinder adapted to throw a cooling medium toward the center of the hollow cylinder and onto a steel pipe in the flow chamber, the flow chamber also having a cooling medium inlet adapted to bring the cooling medium in contact with the vanes, and a cooling medium outlet; and the diameter and configuration of the flow chamber being adapted in conjunction with the configuration of the vanes, the flow chamber inlet and outlet and the cooling medium inlet and outlet to control the flow of cooling medium such that each segment of pipe entering the flow chamber is impacted by a sufficient amount of cooling medium to reduce the segment to a desired temperature while vaporizing substantially all of the cooling medium so impacting the segment thereby to form a vapor blanket which is maintained around the segment as it passes through at least a portion of the flow chamber;
- (c) a pipe feeder adapted to feed the steel pipe at a predetermined and controllable rate from the preheater and through the pipe inlet and outlet of the flow chamber and thereafter along a predetermined path;
- (d) a plug of sufficient size to seal slidably the inside cross-section of the steel pipe as it passes into the flow chamber, said plug having a tapered front portion adapted to receive the steel pipe as it passes from the preheater to the flow chamber pipe inlet and a contoured end portion opposite the tapered end portion; and
- (e) an internal feeder having an outside diameter less than that of the inside diameter of the steel pipe and extending along the predetermined path of the steel pipe from a point in the flow chamber to a point outside the flow chamber, said internal feeder being adapted to direct a cooling medium against the contoured end portion of the plug thereby to bring selectively the cooling medium into contact with the inside surface of each segment of the steel pipe as it passes through the flow chamber along the predetermined path, and said internal feeder being further adapted in conjunction with the plug and the flow chamber to control and direct the flow of cooling medium such that the temperature of each segment of the steel pipe can be lowered to a desired temperature in the flow chamber by using the inherent heat of the segment to vaporize substantially all the cooling medium flowing through the internal feeder and the inside surface of the pipe and form a vapor blanket along the inside surface of the pipe, the length and diameter of the internal feeder being such in relation to the length and diameter of the steel pipe to maintain at least a portion of the vapor blanket along the inside surface of the pipe segment for a predetermined amount of time as the segment travels beyond the flow chamber, whereby the temperature of each segment of the pipe is controlled as it passes from the flow chamber.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the internal feeder comprises a rigid conduit with an outside diameter less than that of the steel pipe, the conduit being connected at one end to a detachable cooling medium source and at the other end being sufficiently close to the plug such that the flow of the cooling medium from the internal feeder will impinge upon the contoured surface of the plug with sufficient force to be reversed in direction and flow against the pipe wall.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the internal feeder further comprises a helical series of vanes attached at their outer periphery to the inside wall of the substantially rigid conduit and attached at their center to a central shaft extending from and integrally mated with the contoured surface of the plugs.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a pair of ausforming rolls for deforming the steel pipe as it leaves the flow chamber outlet.
- 9. The apparatus of claims 4 or 5 further comprising a chamber located downstream of the flow chamber for receiving the steel pipe.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the chamber is a furnace adapted to maintain the pipe at an elevated temperature.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 348,694, filed Feb. 16, 1982 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
125917 |
Nov 1978 |
JPX |
603681 |
Mar 1978 |
SUX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
M. A. Grossmann, et al., "Quenching, Internal Hardness Distribution and Depth of Hardening", pp. 43-52, (1964). |
ASM Committees on Quenching and Martempering, "Quenching and Martempering", pp. 5-216, (1964). |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
348694 |
Feb 1982 |
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