Process and apparatus for reducing harmful effects on structural components in hot surroundings

摘要

Furnaces, hot presses and other apparatuses having structural components made, in particular, from graphite, carbon and carbon fibre composites which are damaged on heating in air can be improved by operation in an inert gas protective stream. The apparatus is surrounded by a vessel which does not need to be gas-tight and has an inert gas inlet in the upper part or lower part depending on whether the gas is lighter or heavier than air and having at least one main outlet for the gas in the lower or upper part respectively (opposite the inlet). During heating, a sufficiently rapid inert gas flow is maintained through the apparatus so that in it an essentially inert atmosphere at superatmospheric pressure prevails.