GB1100893A - Improvements relating to method and apparatus for effecting heat exchange with a moving body - Google Patents

Abstract

<PICT:1100893/C6-C7/1> A strip of material (9) which moves upwardly (between plates 27, 29) through a chamber (3) is cooled by the discharge of cool gas as a multiplicity of jets on to its surface in a direction normal to that surface, the gases, after striking the strip (9) moving laterally of the strip to an exhaust passage extending along one edge of strip (9). The gases (e.g. hydrogen, air, an inert gas, or gaseous products of combustion) are cooled in a chamber (21) by a water-cooled tubulous heat exchanger (17) and circulated by a fan 11. The gases pass from fan 11, through ducting and downwards into plenum chambers 23, 25 horizontally into ducts 47 formed between baffles 41 and pass through a plurality of circular apertures 31 in plates 27, 29 to impinge on the strip (9). The ducts 47 extend over the height of the chamber (3) through which the strip (9) passes, and is divided vertically into three portions, a central portion in which baffles 41 are vertical, and upper and lower portions in which baffles 41 are slightly inclined to the vertical, and across the strip, to enable even cooling across the width of strip (9). Plates (not shown) over the upper and lower portions prevent gases entering the ducts except via the central portion, where the entrance is controlled by a plurality of individually controllable dampers 49. The spent gases may exhaust to atmosphere or be returned to the heat exchanger (17). A second exhaust passage may be provided along the other edge of the strip (9), the gases from which being exhausted to atmosphere, or returned to exchanger (17), or passed to a second heat exchanger serving a second fan, in which case each fan may supply both plenum chambers or its respective plenum chamber.