Apparatus for cooling hot steel plate and sheet

Apparatus for cooling hot steel plate and sheet, which comprises:

• a base provided in line with a plate and sheet rolling mill and extending along the delivery line of the plate;
• a plurality of cooling units detachably mounted on said base in the direction of the delivery line, each cooling unit having a top roll-and-nozzle assembly, a bottom roll-and-nozzle assembly, and a plurality of coupling devices for coupling said assemblies, said top roll-and-nozzle assembly having a top roll frame, a plurality of top rolls rotatably mounted on said frame and extending across the plate delivery line and a plurality of top cooling nozzles disposed between said top rolls, said bottom roll-and-nozzle assembly having a bottom roll frame, a plurality of bottom rolls rotatably mounted on said frame and extending across the plate delivery line and a plurality of bottom cooling nozzles disposed between said bottom rolls, said units of top and bottom roll-and-nozzle assemblies each having a length for holding only a portion of the length of plate or sheet being passed through said apparatus between the pairs of said top and bottom rolls, and each pair of said top and bottom cooling nozzles being opposed to each other, said coupling devices being disposed symmetrically with respect to the plate delivery line, and each coupling device being connected between said top and bottom roll frames and having a first and second coupling rod portion detachably connected to each other, rod moving means connected to said first coupling rod portion for raising and lowering the roll-and-nozzle assembly to which it is connected, and restriction balance adjusting means connected to said second coupling rod portion for imparting upward and downward force to said individual coupling devices to raise and lower said top rolls in accordance with a change in the shape of the plate or sheet being passed between said top and bottom rolls for causing said top roll-and-nozzle assembly to apply substantially uniform restraining force to the surface of the plate or sheet that is contacted by the top rolls;
• drive means connected to said top and bottom rolls for rotating said rolls;
• and
• means connected to said cooling nozzles for supplying a coolant under pressure to said cooling nozzles.