A tubular furnace serves as an electric heating apparatus employed for conducting syntheses and purifications of both inorganic and occasionally organic compounds. One design variant incorporates heating coils coiled around a ceramic tube, enabling it to endure continuous temperatures of up to 1200⁰C within a thermally insulated chamber. Temperature regulation is achieved through feedback from a thermocouple.
For temperatures surpassing 1200⁰C, a ceramic tube within an insulated chamber is heated using rod-type or U-type silicon carbide heating elements, permitting the furnace to withstand temperatures up to 1500⁰C. In select models, advanced heating elements like molybdenum disilicide enable working temperatures to reach as high as 1800°C.
More intricate tubular furnace are equipped with two or more heating zones, beneficial for transport experiments and achieving a more uniform heat zone in the middle of the furnace. Certain digital temperature controllers offer an RS232 interface, allowing operators to program segments for various purposes, including ramping, soaking, and sintering, enabling more sophisticated applications. Common materials used for the reaction tubes include alumina, Pyrex, and fused quartz.
Applications of Tubular Furnaces
Tubular furnaces serve a diverse array of thermal processes, encompassing tasks like inorganic and organic purification, accelerated aging, annealing, coating, drying, and more. Consequently, they have become indispensable in various heat treatment sectors.
The primary rationale for utilizing a tubular furnace lies in the unparalleled thermal consistency achieved by cylindrical heaters. In a single-zone chamber, components undergo uniform heating, exceeding 1000°C (1832°F) across a complete 360° axis, ensuring even heat distribution across the entire part's cross-section. This characteristic renders tubular furnaces exceptionally suitable for delicate thermal processing tasks, including applications like thermocouple calibration.
Additionally, tubular furnaces can incorporate multiple heating zones to enhance their processing capabilities. This facilitates precise temperature gradient adjustments during heat-up and cool-down phases, allowing controlled peak temperatures in specific areas of interest within a part, typically the central section. This strategic control is beneficial for materials testing applications, enabling accurate characterization of material mechanical properties at elevated temperatures.
Two Main Categories of Tubular Furnace:
Split Tubular Furnace: These are commonly used in academic and R&D settings. They feature a hinged body that allows it to be opened in half, providing convenient access to the inner chamber.
Solid Tubular Furnace: Unlike split tube furnaces, solid tube furnaces do not have any opening mechanism, either vertically or lengthwise. They employ a process tube that runs through a stationary heating cylinder, making them well-suited for applications involving consistent batch sizes.
The Elevator Furnace, also referred to as a Bottom Loading Furnace, is equipped with a lifting bottom and is available in various chamber sizes. It can achieve a maximum operating temperature of up to 1750 degrees Celsius. The Elevator Furnace incorporates a lifting platform (available in both manual and electric variants), which greatly facilitates the loading and unloading of samples. It boasts high alumina fiber insulation and evenly distributed heating elements throughout the inner chamber, ensuring excellent temperature uniformity.
This furnace utilizes reputable electric components and features a touchscreen control panel with programmable temperature control for up to 32 segments (with an option for 51 segments). The controller's accuracy is within a range of plus or minus 1 degree Celsius. The Elevator Furnace is an ideal choice for sintering various materials, such as powders, zirconia, or ceramics, at high temperatures in laboratory and industrial settings.
Tubular furnaces, including the versatile Elevator Furnace, have become indispensable tools in a wide range of thermal processes. These furnaces offer precise temperature control and uniform heating, making them ideal for applications ranging from inorganic and organic synthesis to materials testing and thermocouple calibration.
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