摘要 |
The first portion (3) of a cooling path for cooling hot-rolled wire rod or wire (2) slopes downwardly from a likewise inclined rolling finishing block (1) at an angle ??? of at least 3 DEG so that the wire rod or wire is subject to little or no compressive stress due to the friction between the wire rod or wire and the tube through which the latter passes in order to be subjected to cooling liquid. The wire rod or wire can be placed under tension if the angle of slope alpha is sufficiently large and, in an extreme case the first portion of the cooling path can descend vertically. A loop layer (4) deposits the wire rod or wire in overlapping loops (5) on conveying means (6) where the wire rod or wire is air- cooled. The avoidance or minimizing of compressive stresses in the first cooling section makes the wire rod or wire less prone to buckle. <IMAGE> |