Abstract
AHTF (Aerodynamic Heat Treating Furnaces) furnaces, in which air or gas is heated to 600-700°C without electrical or other special heaters, have been developed and placed in operation in a number of plants for heat treating aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloys, and also steels. The AHTF chamber furnace is thermally insulated without the use of firebricks. It has a centrifugal fan with vanes having a special contour. The fan, operating in a closed system, converts, into heat, almost all the energy used to turn it; the heat is transferred to the parts by convection. In most machine-building plants aluminum alloys are heat treated in ERF furnaces (electric resistance furnaces with forced air circulation) or in salt baths. This research deals with an investigation of the heating conditions for various semi-finished products of aluminum alloys in the AHTF-3 in comparison with the ERF-2 (Electrical Recirculation Furnace) furnace and a potassium nitrate bath of approximately the same working volume.
