EoW November 2013

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The dawn of a new age ▲ ▲ The AEOX system from CPA

The “AEOX Structural Transformation System” by CPA (international patent pending) is designed to run different wire dimensions at the same time. For that reason, the cooling section is divided into individually adjustable sections according to the customer’s request. The adjustment is done from outside the tank, without any manipulation of running wires or in the quenchant. The quenching section is directly connected to the soaking zone, without leading the wires through surrounding atmosphere. The soaking zone consists of two individually adjustable, electrically heated sections. In that way it is possible to introduce a temperature gradient from the entrance to the exit in order to minimise wire temperature changes during pearlite transformation. The AEOX STS quenching system can be combined with the energy-efficient austenitisation furnaces of CPA which provide energy savings of up to 40 per cent and an adjustable part load capacity starting with 30 per cent of the nominal furnace load. CPAWire Technologies – Austria Website : www.cpa.at

systems make use of small solid particles impacting on the wire which extract heat from the product by direct contact. Compared to the lead baths, these systems are environmentally compatible and have less power consumption. Still, these systems have some disadvantages. They are usually operated with sand of 100 to 200μm particle size. This is a size where dust can enter the respiratory system and lead to irritations. Particle sizes below approximately 5μm, which may be produced during operation, can even get into the lung and cause severe health problems. In a technical point of view, these systems only allow to run a very narrow dimension range of wires at the same time, since it is not possible to adjust the bed corresponding to the wires individually. To overcome the described problems, CPA developed a water-based quenching system. The quenching fluid is a mixture of water and organic polymers. These fluids are environmentally friendly and easy to handle. Because of the polymer properties, the vapour film phase at the beginning of the quenching is very stable. The comparably long-lasting vapour film phase results in a controllable quenching process. The transformation temperature is reached before the bulk boiling phase starts.

Austrian high-quality wire machinery manufacturer CPA Wire Technologies uses the gentle but efficient water quenching system AEOX STS, which helps to save energy without being harmful to workers and nature. AEOX STS is part of the elaborate AEOX Heat Treatment Technology consisting of energy-efficient recirculation convection furnaces for austenitisation and cross-flow convection furnaces for diffusion, stress relieving, soft annealing and tempering of wires and strips. It is claimed that with the entire AEOX heat treatment technology users can save up to 40 per cent of energy. Traditionally, the quenching systems used in the steel wire industry are lead baths. In a technical point of view, these systems are very well suited for achieving the desired thermal procedure. But there are major disadvantages which must not be neglected. First of all, lead is an environmental poison. Additionally, residues of lead will always adhere to the wire which might require additional chemical cleaning. Finally, heating up and controlling the temperature of tons of wire requires valuable energy. As an alternative to lead baths, fluidised bed systems have been introduced. These

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November 2013