Evaporative Cooling of a Walking-Beam Furnace for Reheating Bloom.

The operation of the evaporative cooling system of a modern, high-ouput (180 tons/hr of steel blooms) walking-beam mill furnace is described, and characteristic numerical data regarding the system are presented. The principles of cooling the reheating furnaces, water cooling and evaporative cooling with natural and forced circulation are described and discussed. A diagram of the cooling system is presented. The advantage of a structural solution which permits the exchange of articulated joints under hot conditions are indicated. The first stage of the furnace operation is described, stressing the relationship between the fuel consumption and the amount of steam produced at the same time in the evaporative system.