MOVEMENT OF SAMPLE
For several reasons heat treatment sometimes needs to be combined with some sort of movement. Carbolite Gero offers a wide range of sample movements before, during and after heat treatment in standard and custom made ovens and furnaces.
A continuous movement of fluids inside an oven can be achieved by upgrading a standard oven to be fitted with electric drives and a shaft.
During the Bridgman method of crystal growth, the growing crystal is moved out of the furnace hot zone furnace into the cold zone at a rate of less than 0.1 mm per hour. During this process a smooth movement is essential for the quality of the growing crystal.
AGEING TESTING AND THERMAL CYCLING
Thermal cycling furnaces are used for continuous material testing, primarily for ageing.
The automated cycling mechanism moves the sample material into the hot zone and once at the desired temperature it is held in position for a pre-defined period of time. After this dwell period the sample material is moved to an air quench zone where the temperature is reduced to a pre-defined temperature. This cycle is repeated as many times as required.
Most thermal cycling furnaces are equipped with cascade temperature control, probe thermocouples located near the sample and a data logger for quality control.
EXAMPLES
Modified GP 450A general purpose oven with rotating mechanism for testing corrosion inhibitors
Bespoke thermal cycling furnace up to 1500°C to test the coating of turbine blades used in power generators
1200°C 3- zone tube furnace for testing emissivity of various metals in inert atmosphere. Samples are loaded and unloaded manually onto support stand which is fixed onto rails entering the furnace. Space at either end for IR measuring equipment (customer supplied).
Custom made TZF 12/38/400 3-zone calibration tube furnace with automated loading used for aging tests with up to 4000 cycles on sensors for aircraft engines
Custom made Bridgman furnace up to 1800°C for crystal growth – the growing crystal is smoothly moved down at a rate of less than 0.1 mm per hour
Custom made oven with Paternoster mechanism with 18 hangers to hold a total of 216 sample trays
