Efficiency Gains And Reductions In Furnace Maintenance Through The Use Of High Temperature Ceramic Coating Technology

Unique high temperature, energy efficient ceramic coatings are being used in heat treating and forging furnaces around the globe to reduce the high cost of refractory maintenance, reduce fuel consumption and improve furnace efficiencies as wells product quality. In addition these coatings also protect metal from oxidation when used at elevated temperatures as well as corrosion in caustic environments. With a recent grant awarded to ITC from the DLA, Defense Logistics Agency, the US government is extremely interested in ceramic coating technology and how it can help reduce their high costs of part manufacturing. We will discuss two furnace projects that are currently in progress with the DLA and share some of the successful data gathered from the field. We will discuss how these specialized ceramic coatings can provide energy savings depending on the fuel being used, the furnace operation, furnace configuration, and production schedule of at least up to 20%. Additionally we will show that furnace heat up and turn around times are decreased and how the service life of ceramically coated refractories are extended.