Cooling facility and method
AssigneeConstellium Neuf-Brisach
InventorsVincent DUHOUX, Bruno MAGNIN, Daniel BELLOT, José ROCHE, Pierre AUCOUTURIER
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Abstract
A cooling method for a rolling ingot of aluminium alloy after metallurgical homogenization heat treatment of said ingot and before hot rolling, characterized in that cooling by 30 to 150° C. is performed at a rate of 150 to 500° C./h, with a thermal differential of less than 40° C. throughout the treated portion of the ingot is disclosed. A facility allowing use of said method and said implementation is also disclosed.
Claims20
A method of cooling an aluminum alloy rolling ingot after a metallurgical homogenization heat treatment of said ingot at a homogenization temperature, optionally between 450 to 600° C., and prior to hot rolling,
- wherein the aluminum alloy rolling ingot has a format of dimensions from 250 to 800 mm in thickness, from 1000 to 2000 mm in width, and from 2000 to 8000 mm in length;
- a top surface, a bottom surface, and four side surfaces, wherein the top and bottom surfaces have a larger surface area than the side surfaces;
- and a head and a foot corresponding to extremities in a longitudinal direction,
- wherein cooling, by a cooling value of 30 to 150° C., is performed at a rate of from 150 to 500° C./h, with a thermal differential of less than 40° C. over the entire ingot cooled from the homogenization temperature thereof.
A facility for cooling an aluminum alloy rolling ingot after a metallurgical homogenization heat treatment of said ingot at a homogenization temperature, comprising:
- a spray chamber comprising ramps of nozzles for spraying cooling liquid or spray under pressure, arranged in upper and lower parts of said chamber, so as to spray two large surfaces, top and bottom, of said ingot,
- wherein upper nozzle ramps are paired in the direction of movement of the ingot;
- in any given pair, the upper ramps are inclined such that:
- jets of the two paired nozzle ramps are oriented in opposition to one another;
- the jets have a normal edge to the upper surface of the ingot;
- an equalization tunnel in still air on leaving the spray chamber, in a tunnel whose internal walls and roof are made of an internally reflective material, allowing equalization of the ingot by heat diffusion in said ingot, the core warming the surfaces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.