Billet heating device

Abstract

This system suppresses issues such as the inability to continue heating the billet due to coil burnout, and a decrease in energy efficiency due to an increase in the coil's resistance. [Solution] The billet heating device comprises a housing, an induction heating coil disposed inside the housing, a cooling mechanism that supplies a cooling medium to a flow path formed along the coil to cool the coil, and a ventilation mechanism that ventilates the internal and external spaces through a communication port that connects the internal and external spaces of the housing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a billet heating device.

Background Art

[0002] A billet heating device including a pair of arms for clamping a billet, a refractory tube surrounding the billet, and a coil for inductively heating the billet has been disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an electric current flows through the coil, Joule heat is generated in the coil and the temperature of the coil rises. At this time, there is a risk that the heating of the billet cannot be continued due to burnout of the coil, or that the energy efficiency decreases due to an increase in the resistance value of the coil.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a billet heating device is provided. This billet heating device comprises a housing, an induction heating coil disposed within the housing, a cooling mechanism for supplying a cooling medium to a flow path formed along the coil and cooling the coil, and a ventilation mechanism for ventilating the internal space and the external space through a communication port that connects the internal space and the external space of the housing. With this embodiment of the billet heating device, since the billet heating device has a cooling mechanism for cooling the coil, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of events such as the inability to continue heating the billet due to the coil burning out, and the decrease in energy efficiency due to an increase in the resistance value of the coil. In addition, there is a risk of condensation occurring on the surface of the coil when the coil is cooled, but since the billet heating device has a ventilation mechanism, the occurrence of condensation on the surface of the coil can be suppressed. Therefore, the risk of failure of the billet heating device due to the occurrence of condensation can be reduced, and the billet disposed in the housing can be heated appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the billet heating apparatus in the operating state of the cooling device in this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the billet heating apparatus in this embodiment when the cooling device is stopped. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] A. Embodiments: Figures 1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams illustrating the billet heating device 100 in this embodiment. Figure 1 shows the billet heating device 100 with the cooling device 32 (described later) in operation, and Figure 2 shows the billet heating device 100 with the cooling device 32 stopped. The billet heating device 100 induces heating of a billet B made of a metal material such as steel. The overall configuration of the billet heating device 100 will now be described with reference to Figure 1.

[0009] The billet heating device 100 comprises a housing 10, a coil 20, a cooling mechanism 30, a ventilation mechanism 40, a switching mechanism 50, a base 60, an insulating member 70, a simple air intake 80, and a simple radiator 90. Inside the housing 10 is the base 60 on which the billet B is placed. The billet B has a columnar shape and is placed on the base 60 in a direction extending horizontally. A pair of insulating members 70 are provided on the vertically upper and lower sides of the billet B and the base 60. The insulating members 70 are made of materials such as refractory cement or cordierite and are used to efficiently heat the billet B.

[0010] The induction heating coil 20 is provided on the outer circumference of a pair of heat insulating members 70. The coil 20 is made of a material mainly composed of copper, for example. A power supply (not shown) is connected to the coil 20, and by passing an electric current through the coil 20, the billet B is induction heated. When the billet B is induction heated, Joule heat is generated in the coil 20, causing the temperature of the coil 20 to rise. To prevent this, the billet heating device 100 is equipped with a cooling mechanism 30 to cool the coil 20.

[0011] <Cooling mechanism 30> The cooling mechanism 30 includes a flow path 31, a cooling device 32, and a pump P. The cooling mechanism 30 cools the coil 20 by supplying a cooling medium to the flow path 31 formed along the coil 20. As shown in Figure 1, the wires constituting the coil 20 have a hollow structure, and this hollow structure functions as a flow path 31 for the flow of the cooling medium. The cross-sectional shape of the wires constituting the coil 20 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment it is rectangular. The cooling medium circulates through the flow path 31 when the pump P, which is installed in the middle of the flow path 31, is activated. In this embodiment, pure water is used as the cooling medium. The cooling medium, whose temperature has risen after passing through the flow path 31 formed along the coil 20, flows into the cooling device 32, which is installed outside the housing 10, and is cooled. The cooled cooling medium flows back into the flow path 31 formed along the coil 20 and is used to cool the coil 20.

[0012] When the coil 20 is cooled, condensation may form on its surface. If the condensation on the surface of the coil 20 is left untreated, it may increase the risk of failure of the billet heating device 100 due to electrical leakage or other reasons. Therefore, the billet heating device 100 is equipped with a ventilation mechanism 40 to suppress the formation of condensation.

[0013] <Ventilation mechanism 40> The ventilation mechanism 40 includes an intake port 41, an exhaust port 42, and a blower (not shown). The ventilation mechanism 40 ventilates the internal space and external space of the housing 10 by taking in air from the intake port 41 and discharging it from the exhaust port 42. The intake port 41 and the exhaust port 42 are configured as communication ports that connect the internal space and the external space of the housing 10, respectively. A blower (not shown) is provided near the exhaust port 42. The air taken in from the intake port 41 is discharged from the exhaust port 42 by the blower.

[0014] Since the induction heating of billet B by the billet heating device 100 may be performed intermittently, it may not always be necessary to keep the coil 20 constantly cooled. Therefore, from the viewpoint of reducing running costs and saving energy due to the heating of billet B, it is desirable to stop the cooling of coil 20 by the cooling device 32 when it is not necessary to cool coil 20. Accordingly, the billet heating device 100 is equipped with a switching mechanism 50 that switches the operation of the cooling device 32 on and off as needed.

[0015] <Switching mechanism 50> The switching mechanism 50 includes a switching valve 51, a sensor C, a damper D, and a switching execution unit (controller) (not shown). Sensor C is installed in two locations, near the inlet and outlet of the housing 10, and monitors the flow rate and temperature of the cooling medium. When sensor C detects that the temperature of the cooling medium has fallen below a predetermined temperature, the switching execution unit switches from a cooling operation state (see Figure 1) where the cooling device 32 is operating to a cooling stop state (see Figure 2) where the cooling device 32 has stopped. Note that if the flow rate of the cooling medium falls below a predetermined flow rate, there is a possibility that the cooling medium is clogged or leaking. Therefore, if the flow rate of the cooling medium falls below a predetermined flow rate, the system is configured not to switch from the cooling operation state to the cooling stop state, even if the temperature of the cooling medium has fallen below a predetermined temperature.

[0016] The switching unit switches the switching valve 51 in conjunction with the switch from the cooling operation state to the cooling stop state, thereby switching the flow path 31 of the cooling medium from the first refrigerant flow path F1, shown by a thick solid line in Figure 1, to the second refrigerant flow path F2, also shown by a thick solid line in Figure 2. Since the pump P that circulates the cooling medium is always operating, the cooling medium circulates through either the first refrigerant flow path F1 or the second refrigerant flow path F2.

[0017] In the first refrigerant flow path F1, the cooling medium that flows out from the flow path 31 formed along the coil 20 flows into the cooling device 32. On the other hand, in the second refrigerant flow path F2, the cooling medium that flows out from the flow path 31 formed along the coil 20 flows into the flow path 31 in the simple radiator 90. As a result, even when the cooling device 32 is stopped, the cooling medium is cooled by the simple radiator 90 through heat dissipation.

[0018] In addition, the switching execution unit switches the damper D in conjunction with the switching from the cooling operation state to the cooling stop state, thereby switching the air flow path from the first ventilation flow path V1 shown in FIG. 1 to the second ventilation flow path V2 shown in FIG. 2. The damper D operates about the fulcrum S and switches so as to block the air flow path from the simple intake port 80 to the exhaust port 42 or the air flow path from the intake port 41 to the exhaust port 42. Since the blower provided near the exhaust port 42 is always operating, air is always discharged from the exhaust port 42.

[0019] In the first ventilation flow path V1, the air taken in from the intake port 41 is discharged from the exhaust port 42. That is, the first ventilation flow path V1 is the air flow path in a state where the ventilation of the housing 10 by the ventilation mechanism 40 is being performed. On the other hand, in the second ventilation flow path V2, the air taken in from the simple intake port 80 passes through the inside of the simple radiator 90 and is discharged from the exhaust port 42. By the air passing through the inside of the simple radiator 90, the cooling medium flowing into the flow path 31 in the simple radiator 90 can be more effectively radiated. In addition, in the cooling stop state, since there is little concern that dew condensation occurs on the surface of the coil 20, the first ventilation flow path V1 may be blocked by the damper D.

[0020] According to the billet heating device 100 described above, since the billet heating device 100 has the cooling mechanism 30 for cooling the coil 20, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an event in which the heating of the billet B cannot be continued due to the burnout of the coil 20, or an event in which the energy efficiency decreases due to an increase in the resistance value of the coil 20. In addition, although there is a possibility that dew condensation occurs on the surface of the coil 20 when the coil 20 is cooled, since the billet heating device 100 includes the ventilation mechanism 40, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dew condensation on the surface of the coil 20. For this reason, the risk of failure of the billet heating device 100 due to the occurrence of dew condensation can be reduced, and the billet B disposed inside the housing 10 can be appropriately heated.

[0021] In addition, since the billet heating device 100 includes a switching mechanism 50 that switches the operation and stop of the cooling device 32 as needed, when it is not necessary to cool the coil 20, the cooling of the coil 20 by the cooling device 32 can be stopped, and it is possible to reduce the running cost and achieve energy savings by heating the billet B.

[0022] B. Other embodiments: (B1) In this embodiment, the wire forming the coil 20 has a hollow structure, and the hollow structure functioned as a flow path 31 for flowing a cooling medium. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. Instead of the configuration in which the hollow structure functions as the flow path 31, for example, the flow path 31 of the cooling medium may be formed so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the coil 20. In this case, a configuration in which the coil 20 can be cooled by flowing the cooling medium along the flow path 31 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the coil 20 may also be used.

[0023] (B2) In this embodiment, the billet heating device 100 has a pedestal portion 60, but the present disclosure may omit this. For example, the billet B may be temporarily fixed inside the housing 10 by mechanical means. Further, the billet B may be arranged inside the housing 10 in a direction extending in the vertical direction.

[0024] (B3) In this embodiment, pure water is used as the cooling medium flowing through the flow path 31. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. As the cooling medium flowing through the flow path 31, brine, which is a liquid having a melting point of 0 degrees or lower, such as an aqueous solution of calcium chloride or an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, may be used, or a solution containing an alcohol-based component or an oil-based component may be used.

[0025] (B4) In this embodiment, the billet heating device 100 was equipped with a switching mechanism 50 that switches the operation and stopping of the cooling device 32 as needed, but this disclosure may omit it. In this case, components necessary for switching from the cooling operation state to the cooling stop state, such as the switching valve 51, the simple radiator 90, the simple air intake 80, or the damper D, may be omitted. Whether or not the billet heating device 100 needs to be equipped with a switching mechanism 50 is determined by considering, for example, the energy and equipment costs required to operate the switching mechanism 50 and the degree of reduction in running costs and energy saving achieved by providing the switching mechanism 50.

[0026] (B5) In this embodiment, the sensor C is provided at two locations in the housing 10, near the inlet and near the outlet, to monitor the flow rate and temperature of the cooling medium flowing outside the housing 10, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The sensor C may be configured to sense the temperature of the cooling medium flowing inside the coil 20, or it may be configured to directly measure the temperature of the coil 20. The predetermined temperature of the cooling medium sensed by the sensor C may be determined considering the temperature at which the coil 20 may burn out, or it may be determined considering the decrease in energy efficiency due to the rise in the temperature of the coil 20. Furthermore, the sense of the flow rate and temperature of the cooling medium by each sensor C may use the average value of each sensor C, or the minimum or maximum value. In addition, the sensor C may be configured to sense parameters other than flow rate and temperature, such as the flow velocity of the cooling medium, the change in flow velocity over time, or the pressure of the fluid.

[0027] (B6) In this embodiment, the pump P was operating in both the cooling operation state and the cooling stop state, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the pump P may be stopped in the cooling stop state.

[0028] (B7) In this embodiment, the blower located near the exhaust port 42 was operating in both the cooling operation state and the cooling stop state, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The blower may be stopped in the cooling stop state. Alternatively, the blower may be omitted, and instead, for example, a fan may be provided near the intake port 41 or the simple intake port 80 to take in outside air from the intake port 41 or the simple intake port 80 for ventilation.

[0029] (B8) In this embodiment, the damper D is configured to act on a pivot point S and switch between the first ventilation passage V1 and the second ventilation passage V2 by blocking the air passage from the simple intake port 80 to the exhaust port 42 or from the intake port 41 to the exhaust port 42, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The damper D may have vanes and be configured to switch between the first ventilation passage V1 and the second ventilation passage V2 by changing the shape of the vanes to adjust the airflow rate.

[0030] (B9) The configuration of the billet heating device 100 in this embodiment is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, in addition to the cooling device 32, a cooling device such as a chiller may be provided separately. Also, in order to suppress the occurrence of condensation on the surface of the coil 20, a cloth-like insulating material may be wrapped around the surface of the coil 20, or an insulating paint may be applied to it.

[0031] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 10…Housing, 20…Coil, 30…Cooling mechanism, 31…Flow path, 32…Cooling device, 40…Ventilation mechanism, 41…Intake port, 42…Exhaust port, 50…Switching mechanism, 51…Switching valve, 60…Base, 70…Insulation material, 80…Simple intake port, 90…Simple radiator, 100…Billet heating device, B…Billet, C…Sensor, D…Damper, S…Fulfillment point, P…Pump, F1…First refrigerant flow path, F2…Second refrigerant flow path, V1…First ventilation flow path, V2…Second ventilation flow path

Claims

[Claim 1] A billet heating device, The casing and An induction heating coil is arranged inside the housing, A cooling mechanism that supplies a cooling medium to a flow path formed along the coil and cools the coil, A billet heating device comprising a ventilation mechanism that ventilates the internal space and the external space through a communication port that connects the internal space and the external space of the housing.

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