Pipe Heat Treatment Furnace Upgrade Project Officially Put into Operation

Recently, the company’s pipe heat treatment furnace   upgrade project has successfully completed equipment commissioning, furnace heating and full-load trial production. All process parameters, energy consumption indicators and product quality have met advanced industry standards, marking the official launch of regular production. Centering on the operational pain points of old equipment, the technical upgrading focuses on intelligence, green development and high stability, and comprehensively optimizes the furnace structure and heat treatment system. The project effectively solves the technical bottlenecks that have long restricted the output and quality improvement of high-end steel pipes, laying a solid equipment foundation for the company’s refined and low-carbon production.

After long-term high-intensity operation, the original steel pipe induction hardening and tempering furnace suffered from insufficient furnace tightness, large temperature control deviation, low thermal energy utilization rate and easy deformation and wear. These problems led to unstable heat treatment uniformity and a limited qualification rate of high-end pipe products, accompanied by high energy consumption and elevated operation and maintenance costs. The outdated equipment could no longer meet the large-scale production requirements for high-precision and high-strength steel pipes. To implement the corporate green production strategy and enhance core product competitiveness, the company launched a special furnace upgrade project. A professional technical team was established to formulate a comprehensive renovation plan based on leading industry technologies.

The upgrade focuses on the optimization of the core furnace structure with multiple key technical improvements. The furnace frame is reconstructed with an integral welding process using thickened high-strength steel plates, which greatly enhances the furnace’s high-temperature resistance, deformation resistance and pressure-bearing capacity, and extends the service life of the equipment. A new nano multi-layer composite thermal insulation refractory material is fully laid to optimize the furnace cavity insulation structure, effectively reducing heat loss and eliminating heat dissipation waste. Meanwhile, high-precision airtight sealing devices are replaced to completely resolve heat leakage and uneven air intake of the traditional furnace. Supported by an upgraded intelligent variable-frequency combustion system, the furnace realizes zoned precise temperature control with the internal temperature error controlled within ±1℃, achieving a significant improvement in heat treatment temperature uniformity.

Trial operation data verifies remarkable achievements of the upgrade. The thermal efficiency of the equipment is greatly improved, with natural gas consumption and carbon emissions reduced by more than 40% year-on-year, realizing energy conservation, carbon reduction and cost reduction. The steel pipes obtain more uniform metallographic structure after heat treatment, with upgraded dimensional accuracy and mechanical stability. The qualification rate of high-end products achieves a substantial increase, and the overall production capacity rises by approximately 15%. Furthermore, the equipment features higher operational stability and safety, eliminating potential risks of aging equipment and enabling a smarter, more efficient and environmentally friendly production process.