Process and equipment for thermal treatment with gas quenching.

摘要

Heat treatment of objects with quenching in a gaseous medium with recirculation (8) on contact of the said treated objects with cooling of the quenching gas by means of a heat exchanger, of the kind in which helium is employed as quenching gas, which is stored under pressure while waiting in a buffer vessel (2) into which, at the end of a quenching operation, the helium charge is extracted (27-28) out of the treatment enclosure, as a final stage using a pump (5) until a primary vacuum is obtained, the said extracted helium is raised to a purification pressure by a compressor (14) used in combination with a mechanical filter (15), and the said helium is taken to purification pressure in a purifier for removing impurities (20-35) in order to transfer it, if appropriate, after recompression, into the buffer vessel (2).
<IMAGE>