Apparatus for gavanizing a linear element
AssigneeAllied Tube & Conduit Corporation
InventorsCarl H. Unger, Kalyan K. Maitra
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This continuous galvanizing method and apparatus passes a linear element to be galvanized, e.g., wire, rod, or tube, through a surrounding, relatively short length of conduit which is attached as a cross-tee to the end of a delivery pipe rising from a centrifugal pump submerged in a vat of molten zinc, and continuously flooded with liquid zinc to coat the linear element. The zinc flowing from the open ends of the conduit, and falling as excess from the element being coated, drops back into the vat for recirculation. The vat is covered to provide a substantially closed operating space above the pool of molten zinc to enable the coating to take place in an inert atmosphere.
Claims17
In a continuous process for galvanizing linear elements, improved apparatus for applying molten zinc to a cleansed and preheated linear element to be galvanized comprising in combination:
- a source of molten zinc;
- an inert gas environment over said source;
- means for causing a stream of molten zinc to flow from said source through a linear application zone in said inert gas environment having a longitudinal axis with a predetermined length and having a predetermined thickness;
- means for passing the linear element axially through said application zone parallel to said longitudinal axis at a predetermined rate such that each point on said element is in contact with said molten zinc, whereby said element is galvanized and
- wherein said means for causing said stream of molten zinc to flow comprises means for causing said stream to flow through said application zone before said environment causes any substantial solidification of said molten zinc in said zone, whereby said element is galvanized without the need for an auxiliary source of heat to maintain the stream of zinc in a molten state before application to said element.
Apparatus for applying molten zinc to a cleansed and preheated linear element in order to galvanize said linear element comprising in combination:
- means for heating a pool of molten zinc to a predetermined temperature;
- means for moving said linear element axially through an inert atmosphere located above said pool of molten zinc;
- means for pumping under pressure a stream of zinc through said inert atmosphere at a deliver rate sufficient to surround the periphery of said moving linear element with molten zinc, said-delivery rate being determined at least in part by the speed of said pump, said stream requiring no heating to remain molten from the time of departure from said pool to the time of return to said pool;
- and
- means for adjusting said delivery rate of said means for pumping.
Apparatus, as claimed in 12, wherein the flow rate of the zinc pumped into said open-ended tube is adjustable to flooding requirements of linear elements of different cross-sectional size.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.