The economic production of CRML steels depends on the use of continuous annealing. Successful development of improved CRML steels, the compositions of which have moved to lower carbon contents, is critically dependent on the rate of heating and its effect on transformation characteristics. As a result, accurate simulation of annealing conditions, particularly the heating rate, is essential. With this in mind, European Electrical Steels set criteria for a laboratory annealing facility that would, as far as was practicable, reproduce day-to-day continuous furnace operation. This paper outlines the design criteria, construction, and operation of the resulting annealing facility.
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