Cooling device and method for operating the same

Cooling device (100) for cooling a metallic product (200), comprising:

• at least one cooling bar (110) with a plurality N of spraying regions I, II, III adjacent in pairs, each spraying region having at least one spray nozzle (130) for spraying a coolant on the metallic product;
• valves (120) for individually adjusting the pressure or the volume flow of the coolant (300) in each of the spraying regions (I, II, III);
• a control device (150) for individually controlling the valves (120);
• and
• a temperature measuring device for determining the distribution of the temperature of the metallic product over its width before the metallic product enters the cooling device;
• wherein at least one partition wall (140) is provided for dividing the interior of the cooling bar (110) into at least two chambers, each of the spraying regions (I, II, III) being assigned to a different one of the chambers;
• wherein the partition wall is shaped at least approximately in accordance with the course of the temperature distribution in a predetermined width section of the metallic product before it enters the cooling device;
• and
• the partition wall is arranged in the cooling bar over this width section, characterized in that at least one adjusting element (144)—also controllable by the control device (150)—is provided for the variable positioning of the partition wall (140) within the cooling bar (110), in particular for moving the partition wall (140) in the longitudinal direction (L) of the cooling bar, and thus for changing the chambers and the spraying regions (I, II, III) of a cooling bar (110).