Development and implementation of a strip flotation furnace for high temperature heat treatment

Strip flotation furnaces are used mainly in the copper industry for the contactless heat treatment (intermediate or final annealing) of cold-rolled copper alloy strip. The aim of the project presented here was to design a furnace capable of annealing thicker strip material at higher temperatures than had previously been feasible. The development had been prompted by an enquiry from Aurubis Stolberg GmbH & Co. KG of Stolberg/Germany for a horizontal strip flotation furnace. Since the gas in the furnace chamber changes its properties with increasing temperature, the main engineering challenge lay in creating a strip flotation section capable of ensuring a stable transport of thicker strip via an appropriate design of the nozzle and fan systems.