Apparatus for cooling elongated products during their passage through the apparatus

Abstract

An apparatus for cooling an elongated product during its movement through the apparatus comprises an elongated tube having a cooling fluid inlet at one end and a cooling fluid outlet at the other end so that the cooling fluid will flow from the one to the other end through the tube. The product to be cooled passes through the tube either in the same or in a direction opposite to the direction of flow of cooling fluid through the tube. At least one centralizing element is provided in the tube spaced from the opposite ends of the latter and having a central passage coaxial with the tube and a diameter smaller than that of the tube for the passage of the product therethrough, and a plurality of channels uniformly distributed about the central passage to facilitate flow of cooling water from one to the other end of the tube. In this way a uniform cooling of the product is obtained even if the product is relatively long and heavy, such as steel bars, which due to their weight and their slow movement through the apparatus are liable to bend and come in contact with the tube in the absence of such centralizing elements.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.