Leading Edge Dry Roll Technology for Roller Hearth Furnaces

Duraloy has been awarded another large order for an entire tunnel furnace of their proprietary design dry rolls. The rolls are the largest diameter ever used in this application. 

Duraloy partnered with the client to define the energy savings that could be achieved via dry roll substitution and to justify the installation of these rolls as opposed to the water-cooled rolls that were originally considered. It was determined that the energy savings being afforded by these rolls would conform to acceptable ROI standards.

This customer’s operation involves a combination of unusually high slab loading and furnace temperature, which dictated the use of larger diameter dry rolls. These will represent the largest diameter dry tunnel furnace rolls ever used. Duraloy engineered these rolls, taking into account the customer’s larger and heavier slab weights, high operating temperatures and their requirement of a multi-year lifetime, utilizing proprietary MO-RE 2150^® material. The rolls also incorporate Duraloy’s specialized internal heat flow barrier system to minimize heat loss through the roll ends and to promote cooler bearing operation.

MO-RE 2150^® was developed by Duraloy specifically for tunnel furnace roll applications, and features high creep strength with exceptional oxidation resistance and surface stability so as to allow dry roll operation at temperatures exceeding 2200°F. Since its introduction just over two years ago, Duraloy has sold over 1000 dry rolls using MO-RE 2150^® barrels as replacements for water-cooled rolls. Collectively, it is estimated that all of the Duraloy dry rolls presently installed at locations worldwide, will afford major savings to our customers through reductions in purchases of millions of cubic feet of gas annually.

Development of MO-RE 2150^® alloy is an extension of previous collaborative efforts with Oak Ridge National Laboratory which were sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program, Industrial Materials for the Future. The alloys improved performance is due to a unique microstructure developed through the use of computational thermodynamics based on a detailed understanding of the composition-microstructure-property relationships. Duraloy has made significant progress in understanding the relationship between precipitation and creep properties of these alloys through using a combination of thermodynamic modeling, microstructural characterization, and mechanical property measurements.

For further information contact Jim Echlin at Duraloy Technologies, Inc. 120 Bridge Street Scottdale, PA 15683. You can each him by e-mail by clicking here.

Or, to read more about Duraloy's Proprietary MO-RE 2150 Rolls, you can follow this link.