Italimpianti Societa Italiana Impianti P.a.

Bruno Feroldi

This invention relates to the walking beam furnaces--particularly of the bilateral-heating type, with fixed and/or walking beams (1, 2) cooled by means of water or other fluid--for the heating of metallurgical products (B), such as billets, blooms or the like. The invention aims to eliminate or minimize the localized cooling effect on metallurgical products where they contact the cooled beams, which cooling generates the so-called skid marks on said metallurgical products. For this purpose, the invention provides a method wherein each metallurgical article is turned over 180.degree. at least once around its longitudinal axis at a region in the furnace which is near the discharge end (18) of the furnace. The invention also relates to a walking beam furnace wherein the above method can be carried into effect, characterized in that at a region in the furnace near the end (18) thereof, the fixed and/or walking beams (1, 2) comprise a longitudinal stretch having an upper toothed overturning profile (13, 14) capable of causing, during a few advancing steps, a 180.degree. overturning of each metallurgical article around the longitudinal axis thereof.

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Genoa, Italy

Bruno Feroldi