Heat treatment furnace facilities for the steel industry

HITT high-temperature bell annealer facility for electrical steel strip (HBAF).

High-temperature anneals (HTA) of grain-oriented (GO) electrical strip are used to form grains with magnetically advantageous Goss textures through secondary recrystallization. The high processing temperatures (above 1150 °C) and straight hydrogen atmospheres also remove sulfur and nitrogen. A coating of MgO, added in a previous step, inhibits the formation of stickers in the wraps.

The safety concept for processing in hydrogen has been adopted from HICON/H₂ annealers. The charge is heated by thermal energy radiating from the heating bell and inner cover.

The following advantages over other facility types are provided by the EBNER design:

Encapsulated, gas-tight workload space ensures significantly lower atmosphere consumption (savings of up to 50 %), compared to alternative designs
Rapid heating up and cooling, with possible hydrogen concentrations up to 100 % → significant increase in productivity compared to 100 % nitrogen atmospheres
Further reductions in hydrogen consumption are possible if a hydrogen recycling system is installed
The homogenous temperature distribution within a stack, provided by patented coil supports and symmetrical heating, ensures:
- homogenous magnetic characteristics
- shortened annealing cycles
- and extends the service life of the inner covers

Technical data of the workload space:

Diameter: 2200 mm
Charging height: 3000 mm
Max. weight of charge: 36 t
Heating system: gas-fired, electric heated