Patent Application
20090308503
The present invention relates to a rod or wire manufacturing system including at least one heating-cooling unit. Also, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a rod or wire including heating and subsequently cooling the rod or wire. Further, the present invention relates to the products resulting from the use of a rod or wire manufacturing system and/or a method for manufacturing a rod or wire including heating and subsequently cooling the rod or wire.
Drawn rod or wires for industrial purposes can be made from a variety of metals or alloys including without limitation aluminum, copper, alloy steels, and carbon steels. When made using a carbon steel, the carbon content can range from about 0.35 to 1.1% by weight. Carbon steel may also contain alloying elements such as chromium (Cr), boron (B), silicon (Si) or combinations of these elements.
Before drawing, a material is usually subjected to a heat treatment known as annealing. For carbon steel, the heat treatment consists of passing a rod or wire through a heat source such as a furnace to heat the rod or wire to about 930° C. to 1020° C. This high temperature treatment produces a uniform face centered cubic austenite phase with a regulated grain size to help determine the product's subsequent ductility. Subsequent cooling in air or more commonly in molten lead or fluidized sand produces a phase transformation from face centered cubic austenite to body centered cubic ferrite and orthorhombic cementite arranged in alternating plates, jointly called pearlite. This transformation is rapid since the sections treated are relatively small (generally less than 3.5 mm). The resulting structure consists of very fine pearlite preferably with no grain boundary ferrite or cementite. The fineness of the pearlite depends on the product chemistry and the temperature to which the product is reduced after austenitizing. As annealed, fine pearlite rod or wire is able to be drawn to reductions of area up to and sometimes exceeding 97%, resulting in very high drawn filament strengths. The final drawn filament strength provides exceptional fatigue resistance due to the very fine pearlite size, superior surface quality and the alignment of cementite plates in the drawn direction.
Heat processing metal objects by a fluidized bed is known where the temperature of a solid medium, such as sand suspended in a gas is used to regulate the rate of heat transfer. The rate of heat transferred to the surrounding media per unit surface area of the rod or wire is determined by the temperature of the media since the convective heat transfer coefficient is constant for the media chosen.
Heat processing metal objects by means of a liquid lead bath or media is also known where the temperature of the liquid lead is used to regulate the rate of heat transfer. The rate of heat transferred to the surrounding media per unit surface area of the wire is determined by the temperature of the media.
Heat processing metal objects by means of air is also known where the temperature and velocity of the air is used to regulate the rate of heat transfer.
However, once the physical characteristics of fluidized sand or molten lead baths are set, the flexibility of the heat treating process becomes limited. When processing strand products of different chemistries, like SAE 1070 and SAE 1090 steels requiring different quenching temperatures, it is not possible to accommodate both since only a single temperature can be maintained in any one quenching zone or bath.
Metal alloys such as steel alloys are produced with many different characteristics for use in different industries for different purposes. In recent years, a large demand has developed for steel strands or wires for use in industrial applications such as vehicle tires, bridge strands, pre-stressed strands, galvanized drawn wire, music wire, saw wire and other products to improve their durability and strength. For vehicle use, such tires are generally referred to as steel belted radials, which are realized as stronger and last much longer than conventional, non-belted tires.
Various companies manufacture tire wire cord for use by tire manufacturers which are generally supplied on spools and designate standard alloys of SAE 1070, 1080, 1090, and non-standard alloys designated 1090Cr, 1090B, 1090CrB, and 1080SiCr with a breaking load commensurate with the type of steel used and the total amount of area reduction during final drawing.
After prolonged use, it is not uncommon for some of the wires in steel belted tires to wear, fatigue, and break. Tire manufacturers and suppliers have sought to improve the quality of steel belted tires by changing their manufacturing techniques and testing other, more expensive steel compounds, wire diameters and the like with varying results.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide a new and improved rod or wire manufacturing system, a new and improved heating-cooling operation, a new and improved cooling unit, a new and improved method for manufacturing a rod or wire, and/or a new and improved rod or wire while addressing the above described shortfalls of the art systems.
The present invention meets these and other needs by providing any one of a cooling unit, a heating-cooling operation including a cooling unit, a rod or wire manufacturing system, a method for manufacturing a rod or wire, a method for heat treating of a rod or wire, a method for treating metal, a steel rod or steel wire, and/or a treated metal having an improved tensile strength. Such a cooling unit includes at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable quenching zone and at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable soaking zone. The at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable quenching zone is capable of quenching to a soaking temperature at least one continuously provided rod or at least one continuously provided wire. The at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable soaking zone is capable of maintaining substantially at the soaking temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire so as to be capable of substantially completing a heat treating. In addition to the cooling unit components, a heating-cooling operation includes at least one heating unit. Such heating unit is capable of heating to a preselected temperature at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. When as a stand alone operation, a heating-cooling operation also includes at least one feed unit and at least one take-up unit. The at least one feed unit is capable of continuously providing at least one rod or at least one wire. The at least one take-up unit is capable of continuously gathering the at least one heat treated rod or the at least one heat treated wire.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a cooling unit or a heating-cooling operation including a cooling unit both useable with a rod or wire manufacturing system. Such a cooling unit includes at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable quenching zone and at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable soaking zone. The at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable quenching zone is capable of quenching to a soaking temperature at least one continuously provided rod or at least one continuously provided wire. The at least one heat transfer coefficient adaptable soaking zone is capable of maintaining substantially at the soaking temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire so as to be capable of substantially completing a heat treating. In addition to the cooling unit components, a heating-cooling operation includes at least one heating unit. Such heating unit is capable of heating to a preselected temperature at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. When as a stand alone operation, a heating-cooling operation also includes at least one feed unit and at least one take-up unit. The at least one feed unit is capable of continuously providing at least one rod or at least one wire. The at least one take-up unit is capable of continuously gathering the at least one heat treated rod or the at least one heat treated wire.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a rod or wire manufacturing system that includes at least one feed unit, at least one heating unit, at least one cooling unit, and at least one take-up unit. The at least one feed unit is capable of continuously providing at least one rod or at least one wire. The at least one heating unit is capable of heating to a preselected temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. The at least one cooling unit downstream of at least one heating unit includes at least one adaptable quenching zone and at least one adaptable soaking zone. In turn, the at least one adaptable quenching zone is capable of quenching to a preselected soak temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. Similarly, the at least one adaptable soaking zone is capable of substantially maintaining at the preselected soak temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. In this manner, the at least one adaptable soaking zone facilitates a substantially complete heat treatment of the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. The at least one take-up unit is capable of continuously gathering the at least one heat treated rod or the at least one heat treated wire.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a rod or wire. Such method includes steps of providing, heating, quenching, substantially maintaining at a preselected temperature, and gathering at least one rod or at least one wire. The providing can be a continuous providing of at least one rod or at least one wire. The heating includes heating the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire to a preselected temperature. The quenching includes cooling the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire to a preselected soak temperature. The substantially maintaining at the preselected soak temperature can be achieved by providing at least a foaming liquid quenchant so as to substantially complete a heat treatment of the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire may be achievable. The gathering can be a continuous gathering of the at least one heat treated rod or the at least one heat treated wire.
An additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for heat treating of a rod or wire. Such heat treating includes heating, quenching, and soaking. The heating includes a heating to a preselected temperature at least one continuously provided rod or at least one continuously provided wire. The quenching includes quenching to a soaking temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire. The soaking includes providing at least a foaming liquid quenchant to substantially maintain at the soaking temperature the at least one continuously provided rod or the at least one continuously provided wire so as to be capable of substantially completing a heat treating.
Another additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for treating metal. The method includes heating, subjecting to at least one quenchant, controlling, and removing. The heating includes heating the metal. The subjecting includes subjecting the heated metal to at least one quenchant comprising a liquid and a gas or gaseous media mixture. The controlling includes controlling the at least one liquid/gas or gaseous media mixture. The removing includes removing the treated metal from the quenchant.
Still another additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a steel rod or steel wire comprising at least about 39 area percent fine pearlite. In another aspect, such a steel rod or steel wire includes up to about 45 area percent fine pearlite.
An alternative aspect of the present invention is to provide a treated metal having an improved tensile strength. Such metal can be formed by heating, guiding to at least one liquid and gas or gaseous media mixture, and removing. The heating includes heating a metal to a selected temperature. The guiding includes guiding the heated metal into at least one liquid and gas or gaseous media mixture to treat the metal. The removing includes removing the treated metal from the at least one liquid and or gaseous media mixture.
These and other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views shown in the figures. It is also understood that terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “outward,” “inward,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
Referring now to the drawings in general, and
A rod or wire manufacturing system 10 as depicted in
As noted, at an end of a rod or wire manufacturing system 10 a take-up unit 16 gathers one or more intermediate or finished products 18 that might be used individually as a feedstock in a further manufacturing process or, alternatively, brought together or combined in one or more operations, such as by using a stranding unit 30 as depicted in
As the one or more heated rods or wires 11 exit the heating unit 32′ as depicted in
Applicant has found that a flow rate of liquid quenchant 38 to a second cell type 90 of adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) can be adjusted to tailor a heat transfer coefficient between the liquid quenchant 38 and the one or more rods or wires 11 traveling through the welling liquid quenchant 38. In particular, Applicant has found that the flow rate of the liquid quenchant 38 interacting with a rod or wire 11 can affect the heat transfer coefficient at the wire quenchant interface. Applicant believes that as the flow rate of quenchant is increased, the tendency to form a boiling film (also referred to as film boiling or film water cooling) at a rod or wire 11/liquid quenchant 38 interface can be decreased to create a more intimate contact between the traveling rod or wire 11 and the liquid quenchant 38 and thus increase a heat transfer coefficient at such interface.
In addition to tailoring the heat transfer coefficient to adjust the rate of heat removal from a traveling rod or wire 11, it will be appreciated that the rate of heat removal can be adjusted by changing a composition of a liquid quenchant 38 to create a smaller or larger heat transfer coefficient and, in turn, smaller or larger rate of heat removal.
In addition to tailoring the heat transfer coefficient to adjust the rate of heat removal from a traveling rod or wire 11, it will be appreciated that the rate of heat removal can be adjusted by preselecting a temperature of the liquid quenchant 38 to create a smaller or larger temperature difference and, in turn, smaller or larger temperature gradient. In this manner, adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention can provide one or more adjustable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) having a capability of a tailorable heat removal rate that can be substantially continuously tailored through an independent manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient or a liquid quenchant 38 temperature, or through a combined manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient and a liquid quenchant 38 temperature.
Alternatively, one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) can use a second cell type 90 capable of providing a quenchant, for example, a foam (e.g., formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid quenchant 38), above an upper level of the second cell type 90. An amount of gas that becomes entrapped in liquid quenchant 38 as bubbles can be controlled by a first heat transfer adjuster 42 that includes a gaseous media supply 44, such as a blower or compressed gas source, and an adjusting mechanism 46, such as a valve, a flow meter, or valve in combination with a flow meter, in communication with a diffuser 82 including a porous media 84 submerged in a quenchant 38. Further details of heat transfer adjuster 42 communicating with a second cell type 90 are depicted in
Further features of a second cell type 90 are depicted in
After one or more rods or wires 11 have traveled through the one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1), the one or more rods or wires 11 then travel through one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n).
Applicant has found that a flow rate of gas to a first cell type 80 of adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) can be adjusted to tailor a heat transfer coefficient between a foaming quenchant and the one or more rods or wires 11 traveling through the foaming quenchant. In particular, Applicant has found that the flow rate of gas used to create foaming quenchant interacting with a rod or wire 11 can affect the heat transfer coefficient. Applicant has found that as the flow rate of gas used to create a foaming quenchant is increased, there is a tendency to decrease the amount of intimate contact between the traveling rod or wire 11 and a liquid quenchant 38 of the foam. Thus, there is a decrease in the rate of heat transfer.
In addition to tailoring the heat transfer coefficient to adjust the rate of heat removal from a traveling rod or wire 11, it will be appreciated that the rate of heat removal can be adjusted by changing a composition of a liquid quenchant 38 to create a smaller or larger heat transfer coefficient and, in turn, smaller or larger rate of heat removal.
In addition to tailoring the heat transfer coefficient to adjust the rate of heat removal from a traveling rod or wire 11, it will be appreciated that the rate of heat removal can be adjusted by preselecting a temperature of the liquid quenchant 38 used to create foaming quenchant. In this manner, when adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) include a quenchant reservoir 40 independent of each other and/or of adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, one can provide one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) having a capability of a tailorable heat removal rate that can be substantially continuously tailored through an independent manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient or a liquid quenchant 38 temperature, or a composition of a liquid quenchant 38, or through a combined manipulation of any combination of any of the preceding (e.g., manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient and a liquid quenchant 38 temperature; manipulation of a composition of a liquid quenchant 38 and a liquid quenchant 38 temperature; manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient and a composition of a liquid quenchant 38; manipulation of a heat transfer coefficient, a liquid quenchant 38 temperature; and a composition of a liquid quenchant 38).
Further features of a second cell type 90 and a first cell type 80 are depicted in
As to a diffuser 82 in a second cell type 90 and a first cell type 80, it may be of any design that is capable of providing a volume of gas in a manner that results in an entrapment of gas bubbles in a liquid quenchant 38 to create a foaming quenchant. To that end, Applicant has found that porous media 84 such as that commercially available from Purolator EFP (having locations in Tulsa, Okla.; Houston, Tex.; Shelby, N.C.; St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada; and Dalton, Ga.) and sold as POROPLATE® sintered laminate screen packs to work. Also, Applicant has found that the outer surface of porous media 84 of diffuser 82 can be submerged in quenchant reservoir 40 an amount that is substantially just below the surface of liquid quenchant 38 of quenchant reservoir 40. In turn, Applicant has found that a pressure, for example, in pressure equalizer 47 and/or pressure regulator 48 is sufficient if it is just slightly greater than the height of liquid quenchant 38 above the outer surface of porous media 84 of diffuser 82. Further, Applicant has founds that an entrapment of gas in liquid quenchant 38 in creating a foaming quenchant can create such a recirculation of liquid quenchant 38 within quenchant reservoir 40 so that the temperature of the liquid quenchant 38 can be substantially homogeneous throughout.
As to a liquid quenchant 38 of quenchant reservoir 40, it can be any liquid or liquid mixture that permits the one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) and/or the one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) to each function for their intended purpose. Also with reference to
Another aspect of a quenchant reservoir 40 of cooling system 8 is a quenchant level control 60 that can include a quenchant level setter 62, a quenchant supply 64, and a quenchant resupply 66. It will be appreciated that a quenchant level control 60 may be any structure or combination of structures that are capable of maintaining a prescribed level of liquid quenchant 38 in a quenchant reservoir 40 so that the one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) and the one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) of cooling system 8 are capable of operating in the various modes or manners described herein. To that end,
According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, it can be desirable to adjust a temperature of liquid quenchant 38 to able to tailor the rate of heat transfer from the one or more rods or wire 11. To that end, it could be desirable to provide one or more temperature regulators (not depicted in
According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of rods or wires 11 can be processed using either a rod or wire manufacturing system 10 as depicted in
In one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) provide either a welling liquid quenchant or a foaming liquid quenchant while one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) provide a foaming liquid quenchant. In another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) provide a foaming liquid quenchant while one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) provide a foaming liquid quenchant. In yet another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) provide either a foaming liquid quenchant while one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) provide either a foaming liquid quenchant or a gaseous quenchant, such as air or an inert gas. In still yet another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, one or more adaptable quenching zones 36, 36(n-1) provide either a welling liquid quenchant while some of the one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) provide a foaming liquid quenchant and other of the one or more adaptable soaking zones 37, . . . 37(n-1), 37(n) provide a gaseous quenchant, such as air or an inert gas.
Other aspects of an embodiment of the present invention involve a controller 70 that is capable of communicating with one or more of the units or components of either a rod or wire manufacturing system 10 as depicted in
A controller 70 can be a commercially available controller with a plurality of inputs and outputs that meet the requirements of any peripherals. The controller 70 can be any one of a micro-controller, a PC with appropriate hardware and software, and combinations of one or more thereof. Details concerning controllers that may be used in rod or wire manufacturing system 10 or one or more heating-cooling operations 12, 12′ are discussed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,980,078; 5,726,912; 5,689,415; 5,579,218; 5,351,200; 4,916,600; 4,646,223; 4,344,127; and 4,396,976, the entire disclosure of each being incorporated by reference herein.
Although not depicted in
For an understanding of aspects and embodiments of the present invention, Applicant provides the following nonlimiting examples. A heating-cooling operations 12 including a feed operation 14, heating unit 32, a cooling unit 8, and take-up unit 16 was constructed. The heating unit 32 (e.g., a Thermcraft 6′ long, 1600° C. tube furnace manufactured by Thermcraft, Inc. of Winston Salem, N.C. 27177-2037) was equipped with a temperature measurement apparatus (a pyrometer (700-1400° C.) from Pyrometer Instrument Company of Windsor, N.J., 08561-0479) to measure the temperature of a wire 11 as it exits. As adaptable quenching zones 36 and adaptable soaking zone 37, the cooling unit 8 includes five (5) consecutive cells.
A first cell (20) is substantially of a type as second cell type 90 as depicted in
A coil of wire 11, conventional steel wire designated 1090 (e.g., AISI-SAE steel alloy designation) having a nominal diameter of 2.0 mm, or alternatively 1070 (e.g., AISI-SAE steel alloy designation) having a nominal diameter of 1.2 mm is mounted in feed operation 14 as in a typical industrial treatment operation. Wire 11 is fed through heating unit 32 for heating purposes, for example to about 930-1020° C. for wire 11 comprising steel. Heated wire 11 is then directed, for example, by roller guides (not depicted in
As discussed, a gaseous media (e.g., any one of one or more substantially inert gasses, one or more reactive gasses, or one or more inert gasses and one or more reactive gasses as may be appropriate) provided by gaseous media supply 44 may be used to form a foaming liquid quenchant. An amount of gaseous media entrapped in liquid quenchant 38 can be varied, for example, by varying a gaseous media flow rate and/or volume percentage of gaseous media entrapped to tailor a forced convective heat transfer coefficient. For example,
If a rate of heat transfer is due mainly to convection, as is typically the case for industrial operations, then theoretically a rate of heat transferred (Q) to a surrounding media per unit surface area (A) can be represented by Newton's Law of Cooling:
For example, to reduce a traveling rod or wire temperature from about 930-1020° C. to 540° C. in the short time (e.g., about 1 second or less) a high rate of heat transfer would be desired. To that end, to increase a heat flux at region (60) of
At region (61) of
At region (62) of
Some examples of cooling units 8, methods, and/or heating-cooling operations 12 according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention involving AISI-SAE 1090 steel are provided in Table 3 below.
As can be seen from the data in Table 3, when a nominally 2 mm diameter AISI-SAE 1090 steel wire was processed using a heating-cooling operation 12 including a plurality of cells (20-24) configured as at least one adaptable quenching zone 36 and at least one adaptable soaking zone 37 the breaking loads and tensile strength of such wire 11 can be tailored. In particular, heated nominally 2 mm diameter AISI-SAE 1090 steel wire was provided to a cooling unit 8 including a liquid quenchant 38 (e.g., comprising water mixed with RAQ-TWT quenching solution as described above) and an adjusting mechanism 46 of gaseous media supply 44 to provide a gaseous media (e.g., comprising air) at different rates to the a plurality of cells (20-24) thereby forming a variety of foaming liquid quenchant configurations.
In Example 1 as summarized in Table 3, treating a nominal 2 mm diameter wire (1090 steel) using a cooling unit 8 configured with four of the plurality of cells (20-24) produced a treated wire having a breaking load of 3600 Newtons (N) and a tensile strength of 1192 Megapascals (MPa). In Example 6 as summarized in Table 3, treating the same nominal 2 mm diameter wire (1090 steel) using a cooling unit 8 configured with only two of the plurality of cells (20-24) produced a treated wire having an increased breaking load of 3947 N with a tensile strength of 1305 MPa. In Example 20 as summarized in Table 3, treating a nominal 2 mm diameter wire (1090 steel) using a cooling unit 8 configured with all of the plurality of cells (20-24) produced a treated wire having an increased breaking increasing to 4171 N and a tensile strength increasing to 1381 MPa. All of the examples as summarized in Table 3, a rod or wire 11 comprising a nominal 2 mm diameter wire (1090 steel) was run at a constant wire speed of about 7 meters per minute.
These examples demonstrate that by providing a cooling unit 8 configured according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1090 wire can be realized. Also, these examples demonstrate that by using methods according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1090 wire can be realized. Further, these examples demonstrate that by providing a heating-cooling operation 12 according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1090 wire can be realized. It will be apparent that similar or the same benefits can be achieved when treating rods or wires 11 having any variety of different compositions when providing cooling units 8 configured according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, using methods according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, and/or providing heating-cooling operations 12 according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.
Some examples of cooling units 8, methods, and/or heating-cooling operations 12 according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention involving AISI-SAE 1070 steel are provided in Table 4 below, and
As can be seen from the data in Table 4, a nominally 1.2 mm diameter AISI-SAE 1070 steel wire was processed using a heating-cooling operation 12 including a plurality of cells (20-24) configured as at least one adaptable quenching zone 36 and at least one adaptable soaking zone 37. In particular, heated nominally 1.2 mm diameter AISI-SAE 1090 steel wire was provided to a cooling unit 8 including a liquid quenchant 38 (e.g., comprising water mixed with RAQ-TWT quenching solution as described above), an adjusting mechanism 54 of quenchant supplier 52 to provide liquid quenchant 38 at different rates to a first cell (20) of the a plurality of cells (20-24), and an adjusting mechanism 46 of gaseous media supply 44 to provide a gaseous media (e.g., comprising air) at different rates to the plurality of cells (20-24) thereby forming a variety of foaming liquid quenchant configurations.
In Example A, the first cell (20) of the plurality of cells (20-24) was modified to apply an about ⅜ inch round spray perpendicular to a traveling rod or wire 11.
In Examples B-E, the first cell (20) of the plurality of cells (20-24) was modified to apply an about 6 inch flat spray parallel (about ⅛ inch thick) to a traveling rod or wire 11.
In Examples F-K, the first cell (20) of the plurality of cells (20-24) was modified to provide liquid quenchant 38 at various flow rates in the range of 1.5-3 g/m while the traveling rod or wire 11 was encased in a nominally ⅜ inch diameter, 4 inch long pipe
In Example A as summarized in Table 4, treating a nominal 1.2 mm diameter wire (1070 steel) using a cooling unit 8 as configured produced a treated wire having an increased breaking load of 1289 Newtons (N) and a tensile strength of 1148 Megapascals (MPa). In Example D as summarized in Table 4, treating a nominal 1.2 mm diameter wire (1070 steel) using a cooling unit 8 as configured produced a treated wire having an increased breaking load of 1276 N with a tensile strength of 1168 MPa. In Example H as summarized in Table 4, treating a nominal 1.2 mm diameter wire (1070 steel) using a cooling unit 8 as configured and a first cell (20) configured to provide full liquid quenchant 38 immersion of a heated traveling rod or wire 11 as it is guided through a pipe filled with flowing liquid quenchant 38 produced a treated wire having an increased breaking load of 1267 N with a tensile strength of 1153 MPa. In Example I as summarized in Table 4, treating a nominal 1.2 mm diameter wire (1070 steel) using a cooling unit 8 as configured and a first cell (20) configured to provide full liquid quenchant 38 immersion of a heated traveling rod or wire 11 as it is guided through a pipe filled with flowing liquid quenchant 38 produced a treated wire having an increased breaking load of 1407 N with a tensile strength of 1234 MPa. In all of the examples as summarized in Table 3, a rod or wire 11 comprising a nominal 2 mm diameter wire (1090 steel) was run at a constant wire speed of about 12.5 meters per minute.
These examples demonstrate that by providing a cooling unit 8 configured according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1070 wire can be realized. Also, these examples demonstrate that by using methods according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1090 wire can be realized. Further, these examples demonstrate that by providing a heating-cooling operation 12 according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, improved breaking loads and tensile strengths of 1070 wire can be realized. It will be apparent that similar or the same benefits can be achieved when treating rods or wires 11 having any variety of different compositions when providing cooling units 8 configured according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, using methods according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, and/or providing heating-cooling operations 12 according to various aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.
In a further example, an AISI-SAE 1090 drawn wire from one heat of steel was purchased, divided into lots and supplied to tire cord-manufacturing participants for comparison of a liquid quenchant fluidized bed technology (a cooling unit 8 and/or a heating-cooling operation 12 according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present and referred to as LQF hereinafter), a lead based operation (also referred to as lead patenting and STD hereinafter), and an air fluidized sand bed based operation (also referred to as fluidized bed patenting and FBP hereinafter). The wire, nominally 1.95 mm was drawn to nominally 0.35 mm after patenting and plating using the various techniques (e.g., as described with reference to
Microstructural analysis was completed on lead (STD) patented product and LQF patented product. The nominal diameter was about 2.0 mm, and various chemistries were examined. To complete the study, estimates were made of the percentages of fine pearlite, degenerative pearlite and bainite, and fragmented pearlite. In no instance were proeutectoid microconstituents observed. Results indicate that LQF product generally had a higher percentage of fine pearlite and similar amounts of degenerative pearlite and bainite and slightly less fragmented pearlite. Applicant anticipates that through further refinement, LQF patenting will be able to increase the amount of fine pearlite at the expense of degenerative pearlite and bainite. Results of the study are summarized in Table 4 below and depicted graphically in
The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. For example, other strand materials and metal shapes and sizes could also be accommodated by changes to any one of the system, one or more operations, one or more units, one or more zones, and/or one or more processing steps, depending on the requirements of a system, an operation, a unit, a zone, a product, and/or a process. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.
This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of international application No. PCT/US2007/073549 filed 14 Jul. 2007, and claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/487,044 filed Jul. 14, 2006, entitled “THERMODYNAMIC METAL TREATING APPARATUS AND METHOD,” the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US07/73549 | 7/14/2007 | WO | 00 | 1/14/2009 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11487044 | Jul 2006 | US |
| Child | 12373872 | US |
