Adjustable Cooling Nozzles for Metal Sheet Quenching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling devices for metal sheet metal during heat treatment struggle to provide flexible cooling for metal sheets of different thicknesses and require replacement when nozzle width adjustments are needed, leading to inefficient cooling, especially for thin sheets where undefined water impingement and vapor cushion formation occur.
Innovation Solution
The device features parallel nozzle openings across the sheet's width with adjustable inner side walls to create a rectangular coolant jet impact area, allowing for precise adjustment of nozzle width and direction, ensuring optimal cooling on both the top and bottom surfaces using high-pressure coolant jets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed-width nozzle openings are used for cooling, then the cooling device can handle standard sheet thicknesses, but it cannot adapt to different sheet thicknesses and requires replacement when adjustments are needed
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle opening width is made dynamically adjustable through movable inner side walls that can be positioned at different locations using adjusting elements. This allows the cooling device to adapt to various sheet thicknesses by changing the nozzle opening width on-the-fly, eliminating the need for device replacement while maintaining simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of nozzle opening width is made variable through the adjusting mechanism. By changing this parameter, the cooling device can optimize its performance for different sheet thicknesses without requiring complex structural changes or replacement of entire nozzle assemblies.
2Productivity
If high-pressure coolant jets are used to prevent vapor cushion formation, then cooling efficiency improves, but undefined water impingement occurs on thin sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system provides locally optimized coolant delivery by directing jets at specific angles towards the sheet surface. The oblique orientation ensures that coolant impacts precisely where needed on the sheet surface, preventing both vapor cushion formation and undefined water impingement by creating controlled, localized cooling zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant delivery is optimized by introducing angular orientation as an additional dimension. Instead of only adjusting nozzle-to-sheet distance, the oblique angle provides another degree of freedom for controlling coolant impingement precision, enabling high-pressure jets to cool efficiently without causing undefined water impingement on thin sheets.
3Area of stationary object
If nozzle openings extend across the entire sheet width, then cooling coverage is maximized, but the device cannot be adjusted for different sheet sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle opening is segmented into two adjustable inner side walls that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the effective cooling width to be adjusted by moving the inner side walls closer together or farther apart, enabling the same nozzle structure to adapt to different sheet widths while maintaining full width coverage when needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables flexible cooling of metal sheets of varying thicknesses, preventing vapor cushion formation and ensuring consistent heat transfer across the sheet, thereby enhancing the cooling efficiency and adaptability of the process.
Implementation Method 1
the cooling water is under increased pressure... the cooling water is forced out at a high velocity onto the sheet metal being quenched
Implementation Method 2
rapidly cool or quench the plate... allows for the targeted modification of its mechanical properties
Implementation Method 3
To prevent a film of water vapor from forming between the still very hot sheet metal and the incoming water... This phenomenon is known in engineering as the Leidenfrost problem
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a device and a method for cooling metallic sheet metal, which is moved in a direction of movement (B) during cooling by means of at least one transport roller (3a). An upper nozzle device (3a) is arranged downstream of the transport roller (3a) and has a housing (4a) with at least one coolant inlet (5a) and a first and second nozzle opening (8a, 8a'), wherein the nozzle openings (8a, 8a') are spaced apart from each other and directed obliquely towards the top surface of the sheet metal in the direction of movement (B). Each nozzle opening (8a, 8a') is designed as a gap extending across the width of the sheet metal (1). A first and a second flow channel (6a, 7a) run in the housing (4a) at an angle (α, β) to the horizontal. The first and second flow channels (6a, 7a) are each formed by an inner side wall (9a, 9a') and an outer side wall (9c, 9c'), which run parallel to each other and between which the first and second flow channels (6a, 7a) are located.The second nozzle opening (8a, 8a') is formed. The inner side walls (9a, 9a') of the first and second flow channels (6a, 7a) can be moved vertically by means of an adjustment element (11a) to adjust the width of the first and second nozzle opening (8a, 8a').