Armco Inc.

Armco Steel Company, L.p.

Forrester Caudill

Charles Flinchum

Jerry L Arnold

Timothy R Roberts

Larry E Parrella

Steven L Boston

Gerald L Barney

David L Kleimeyer

Thomas A Compton

David S Mitch

Lloyd W Abrams

Method and apparatus for meniscus coating one or two sides of steel strip with a metal or metal alloy. The apparatus includes a horizontally disposed coating tray for containing molten coating metal, gas heaters for maintaining the temperature of the coating metal above the melting point of the coating metal, stabilizing rollers for moving steel strip transversely past a departure lip positioned on one side of the coating tray and adding solid or molten metal to the coating tray for maintaining the level of the coating metal in the coating tray relative to the upper elevation of the departure lip so that an uninterrupted flow of the coating metal can be delivered over the departure lip to a surface of the strip. The coating tray may be rotatably mounted for adjusting the level of molten metal in the coating tray. The coating tray also may include a sled for lateral displacement for positioning the departure lip a predetermined distance away from the strip. The terminal end of the departure lip preferably includes a planar upper surface having an acute angle of at least 15.degree. relative to the horizontal plane of the coating tray. Non-oxidizing gas may be passed through a jet nozzle to control the coating thickness on the strip.

Apparatus for meniscus coating a steel strip

Method and apparatus for meniscus coating one or two sides of steel strip with a metal or metal alloy. The apparatus includes a horizontally disposed coating tray for containing molten coating metal, means for maintaining the temperature of the coating metal above the melting point of the coating metal, means for moving steel strip transversely past a departure lip positioned on one side of the coating tray and means for maintaining the level of the coating metal in the coating tray relative to the upper elevation of the departure lip so that an uninterrupted flow of the coating metal can be delivered over the departure lip to a surface of the strip. The coating tray may be rotatably mounted for adjusting the level of molten metal in the coating tray. The coating tray also may include means for lateral displacement for positioning the departure lip a predetermined distance away from the strip. The terminal end of the departure lip preferably includes a planar upper surface having an acute angle of at least 15.degree. relative to the horizontal plane of the coating tray. Non-oxidizing gas may be passed through a jet nozzle to control the coating thickness on the strip.

Meniscus coating steel strip

Apparatus and method for controlling and leaving different thickness coatings on a continuous web. A jet finishing assembly includes a support means and at least two rotatably mounted jet finishing knives. The orifice opening of each knife is a different height corresponding to a different thickness coating to be left on the web. When the coating thickness requirement for the web changes, the finishing knives are rotated until a knife having the appropriate orifice opening for leaving the required coating thickness is adjacent the passing web.

Multiple nozzle jet finishing

A process for suppressing zinc vapor in the snout of a continuous line for hot dip coating one side or both sides of a ferrous base metal strip with a molten zinc or zinc based alloy by maintaining the atmosphere within the snout to include about 1-8% hydrogen by volume and about 300 ppm to 4500 ppm water vapor with the balance being one or more inert gases, such as nitrogen. The atmosphere has a hydrogen/water vapor ratio of at least 4 to 1, or higher. This atmosphere is oxidizing to zinc vapor but non-oxidizing to the ferrous strip.

Process for controlling snout zinc vapor in a hot dip zinc based coating

A process for controlling zinc vapor in a finishing process for a hot dip zinc based coating on a ferrous base metal strip in which the strip emerges from the coating bath into an enclosed chamber, by injecting high dew point gas into the chamber. The process is applicable on both a one side and two side coating process. Preferably the atmosphere has about 1-3% water vapor, by volume, for both one-sided and two-sided process.

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Middletown, OH, United States of America

Forrester Caudill