340 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-10? NO.

3, MAY/JuNE 1974

a t Bat Furnaces
GORDON W. ANDERSON, MEMBER, 1EEE

Abstract-A salt bath fumace is basically a ceramic or metal + -

container filled with molten salt into which work is immersed for
either heating or cooling. The furnace contains salt such as nitrates,
nitrites, caustic soda, chlorides, carbonates, and cyanide. Mixtures
of salt are selected to give a specific temperature range and a desired
treatment (or lack of treatment) to the surface of the material being
processed. When we want to change the physical properties of some-
thing without changing the surface of it, we use neutral salts such as
chlorides and nitrates. We can change the surface conditions of a
part by placing it in a salt bath fumace having ingredients that
react chemically with the surface as in carburizing, cyaniding,
nitriding, and aluminizing. Other salts are formulated to remove
scale, paint, plastic, or organic contamination.
Fig. 1. General arrangement of salt bath furnace.

HOW THEY WORK
ELECTRIC salt bath furnaces consist of a container to
hold the molten salt and one or more pair of elec-
trodes for releasing the electrical energy as heat in the
bath. A current is physically passed from one electrode
to the other through the salt.
Fig. 1 shows the general operation of a typical salt
bath furnace. Although we are dealing with ac, at any
instant when current is flowing the electrical system will
be as shown. Current flows down electrode A, through the
salt by any path P, and up electrode B. Electrodes are
sized and spaced so that the only significant resistance is
in the path through the salt. This means that the energy
is released as heat in that path.
We can make our electricity do one more job for us
while it is heating the salt. By making the voltage very
low and the current very high we can create a strong
magnetic field surrounding each electrode. The direction
of the field is determined by the right-hand rule. As the
ac cycles, the field changes magnitude and direction. We
now have a conductor P (the salt path) in a strong,
changing magnetic field. When this happens a force de-
velops, tending to drive the conductor at right angles to
the direction of the field and the current flow. This has
the happy result of always driving the hot salt to the
bottom- of the bath. This creates a circulation of the salt,
giving us quite uniform temperature throughout the bath.
When a part to be treated is placed in the furnace, it
is immediately surrounded by molten salt. This gives a
very high and very uniform heat transfer. It allows a
small inexpensive salt bath to handle the same work load
as a larger more expensive atmosphere furnace. The uni-
Paper TOD-73-100, approved by the Electric Process Heating trodes enter the furnace from the top. A seal tile is located
Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presenta-
tion at the 1973 Eleventh IEEE Conference on Electric Process in front of the electrodes to minimize the access of air to
Heating in Industry, Cleveland, Ohio, April 17-18. Manuscript the electrodes at the air-salt interface. This extends the
released for publication October 7, 1973.
The author is with the C. O. Anderson Company, Cleveland, electrode life materially. Electrodes can be replaced with-
Ohio.
form heating minimizes distortion. Buoyancy reduces the
effective weight of parts approximately 20 percent to 35
percent compared to its weight in air. This also reduces
distortion.
Since the part is always surrounded by salt, there is no
need for an atmosphere to protect the surface of the part.
When transferriDg parts from a highheat furnace to a
quench, enough salt is carried out on the part to protect
the surface during the transfer.
Salt bath furnaces have an automatic preheat. When
a part is immersed in a bath, it is immediately surrounded
by a cocoon of frozen salt. This insulates the part from
the bath for a short period, reducing thermal shock to
the part. As the part graduallv rises in temperature to
the melting point of the salt, the cocoon melts away,
allowing the part to rise rapidly to the bath temperature.
Construction Features
It is not in the scope of this paper to discuss specific
details of construction other than to point out basic de-
signs that are being used. The size and shape of a furnace
can be almost anything desired. A furnace for general use
at temperatures up to 1750°F is shown in Fig. 2. With a
metal pot, the electrodes must enter from the top of the
furnace. They are generally located along the back wall
in an area that the work is not permitted to enter. The
external walls are heavily insulated, and radiation loss
from the surface is minimized by a suitable cover. A metal
pot furnace is used whenever the salts contain appreciable
amounts of cyanide, carbonates, caustic soda, nitrates, or
nitrites.
For temperatures from 1100°F to 2400°F using chloride
salts, a furnace such as that shown in Fig. 3 is used. The
pot is made of interlocking ceramic tiles. Removable elec-
out costly shutdown.
ANDERSON: SALT BATH FURNACEA 341

Fig. 2. Typical steel pot furnace.

A third type of furnace is radically different from the

two just discussed. It is intended for cooling rather than
heating. Such operations as martempering, austempering,
and many other isothermal heat treatments require an Fig. 3. Typical ceramic pot furnace.
isothermal quench furnace. Fig. 4 shows a furnace of this
type. It usually has a steel pot. Unlike the previous
furnaces, this one is heated by immersed resistance heaters.
Heat is extracted from the furnace by circulating air under
pressure around the outside of the pot. Both the heating
and cooling systems are automatically controlled to main-
tain a constant and uniform temperature of plus or minus
5°F. This close temperature control - is important for
proper quenching. Agitation is important also. A pro-
peller-driven pump forces molten salt through a quench
header at a controlled velocity so that proper agitation
for any given part is available. Another feature vital to
this furnace is the control of chloride salts carried into it
from the high heat furnace. These salts are partially
soluble in the nitrate-nitrite salt used in the quench
furnace. In general, raising the percentage of chloride
salts in the quench reduces the quench severity. For proper
quenching it is necessary to control the amount of chloride
in the bath and remove the excess. This is accomplished
by providing a furnace with two chambers. Next to
the quench area is a separating chamber which has
minimal agitation. It is maintained at a temperature
50-100°F below the quench chamber. Since the s.-Aubility
of chloride salt in nitrates is a function of temperature,
the chloride precipitates out in the separating chamber
and settles to the bottom where it can be removed with
simple desludging tools provided with the furnace.

APPLICATIONS
Fig. 4. Typical isothermal quench furnace.
Neutral Hardening
Neutral hardening means the hardening of ferrous
alloys without harmful surface effect such as scaling,
pitting, or decarburization. Fig. 5 shows a large batch-
type furnace for neutral hardening Sendzimer rolls. Work
342 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPIJCATIONS, MAY/JUNE, 1974

Fig. 5. Neutral hardening Sendzimer rolls.

is hardened by heating it to a temperature between

1400°F and 2000°F and quenching it into water, oil, or
salt. In some instances, the work can be air cooled. Salt
bath neutral hardening is widely used for all types of
carbon, alloy, and stainless steels. The salts are generally
mixtures of chlorides, principally barium, sodium, and
potassium. Simple rectifying practices are used in order
to maintain neutrality, but this is not always a necessity.
In many cases, replenishment of dragout is sufficient to
maintain the neutrality of the bath. Work is heated in
approximately one-fourth the time required in radiantly
heated furnaces, and very high production rates are there-
fore secured from compact equipment.
The elimination of atmosphere generators, the high
capacity of the equipment, and the inherent control of
distortion are responsible for hundreds of installations
now in service. These range from small batch-type equip-
ment to fully mechanized lines for hardening several Fig. 6. Hardening business machine parts.
thousand pounds per hour of parts.
The equipment usually consists of a battery of four
High-Speed Tool Hardening furnaces, but sometimes there are as many as six involved.
The hardening of high-speed steel tools is one of the The following operations are required on practically all
most exacting operations in the heat treating field today. tools: 1) preheat (1550-1650°F); 2) high heat (2200-
Even though it is necessary to heat the steel right up to 2350°F); 3) salt quench (1100-1200°F); 4) one or two
the point of incipient fusion, from 2200 to 2400°F, a draws (1050-1100°F). In some instances, tooim are
surface without imperfections must be retained. The nitrided for additional wear resistance, and in these
value of a single day's production may equal the total cases an additional furnace unit is required.
investment represented by a small battery of furnaces.
Therefore, in this case, superior quality in the finished Cyaniding
product is the major requirement, and operating cost is Cyaniding is a process for imparting shallow file-hard
secondary. It is highly significant that the great majority case to the surface of the steel in a relatively short time.
of quality tool manufacturers are now using salt bath The bath usually contains 15 percent to 30 percent sodium
furnaces. Any type of steel, whether tungsten, molyb- cyanide and adds both carbon and nitrogen to the surface
denum, or cobalt, can be hardened with equal ease and of the steel treated. The case depth is usually limited to
safety merely by a change in temperature setting of the approximately 0.010 in.
furnace. Internal stresses in the finished piece are negligible In general, cyanide hardening is applied to secure a
because of the common use of salt quench furnaces, and superficial high-quality wear-resisting surface. Such arti-
as a result, cracked tools are a rarity. cles as screws, grease fittings, business machine parts,
ANDERSON: SAMT BATH FURNACES
Fig. 7. Austempering lawn mower blades.
Fig. 8. Deep austenitizing furnace.
roller chain components, dental burrs, sewing machine
parts, shafts, bolts, and hundreds of other items which
must have superior wear-resisting properties are fre-
quently given this treatment.
Carburizing
Liquid carburizing is similar to gas carburizing or pack
carburizing in that carbon is added to the surface of the
steel to the required case depth. Again, sodium cyanide is
the basic ingredient of the bath. Case depths equal to
those secured by either pack or gas carburizing can easily
be obtained. Somewhat higher temperatures can be em-
ployed, such as 1750°F, which is commonly used today.
A case depth of 0.040 in is produced to a total time of 2 h
343
with a bath operating at 1750°F. It is a simple matter to
handle products simultaneously without impairing the
furnace efficiency. Various charges are loaded into the
bath and are then removed at intervals depending upon
the case depth required. Work can be efficiently quenched
directly from the bath since the furnace can be emptied
one fixture load at a time.
In recent years, combining carburizing and martemper-
ing has lead to a number of significant installations. A
new development that is just now getting into production
operation is a cyanide-free carburizing salt bath which
will provide case depths equal to those previously obtained
with conventional cyanide containing carburizing salts.
We look for this development to come into more wide-
spread use since it does eliminate cyanide disposal prob-
lems. Fig. 6 illustrates a typical installation for hardening
business machine parts. A variety of steels are treated
and the equipment does both carburizing and neutral
hardening of a variety of different parts.
Isothermal Quenching
Interrupted quenching is the rapid cooling of the work
to a selected temperature by quenching into hot salt.
The three major operations in use today are austempering,
martempering, and cyclic annealing. Austempering pro-
vides for medium hardness combined with ductility and
toughness and good control of distortion. Martempering
provides high hardness equal to oil quenching with
greatly reduced distortion and practically no internal
stresses in the hardened piece. Cyclic annealing produces
a soft and easily controlled structure with a very short
time cycle.
The applications where interrupted quenching are used
are quite varied. Austempering is used on relatively light
sections, 4 in or less, where hardness requirements fall
between '?C 35/54 and where toughness or the ability to
bend without breaking after hardening is a requirement.
Fig. 7 illustrates a typical austempering installation for
rotary lawn mower blades. In this relatively small bath
equipment, over two million mower blades per year are
produced. Other parts receiving this type of treatment
are shoe shanks, typewriter parts, sewing machine parts,
springs, clutch plates, open ended socket wrenches, and
pliers.
In martempering, alloy steel is treated successfully in
much heavier sections. Bearing races are a popular ap-
plication using SAE-52100 steels in sections as great as
14 in. Likewise, many types of tools, gauges, and accu-
rately finished parts, for which high stress or high hardness
requirements are to be met, are martempered today. The
greatest single advantage of the process is the control of
distortion. Final grinding of heat treated parts is an ex-
pensive operation, and the saving realized from even a
moderate reduction of finish grinding can easily be
greater than the total cost of heat treating. Fig. 8 illus-
trates a deep austenitizing furnace typically used for
this class of work.
344
A good deal of study and development has been de-
voted to the problem of increasing the quenching severity
of isothermal quench furnaces. Vigorous agitation of the
salt has resulted in a. distinct improvement in the rate of
cooling. A further advantage is gained by the addition of
water to the nitrate-nitrite salt mixture used in these
furnaces. The cooling power of a watered salt is noticeably
faster than a fast quenching mineral oil. Water addition
to the quenching salt has proved especially beneficial in the
heat treatment of circular saw blades, hedge shears, grass
shears, and other agricultural implements. One mech-
anized installation of agricultural implements is regularly
producing over 14 million lb of 700 different parts per
year. Typical pieces receiving the modified austempering
treatment are cultivator sweeps, tiller tines, harrow
discs, and a wide variety of plow components. Isothermal
heat treatments today account for the greatest number of
salt bath installations in operation in this country.
Annealing
Another application in which salt bath furnaces ac-
ount for important tonnage installations is the process
anneals of low-, medium-, and high-carbon steels, in the
form of wire and rod. A typical process annealing furnace
is shown in Fig. 9. This operation is generally carried out
at a temperature of 1250-1300°F for relieving cold-
working stresses. The time cycle is short, usually falling
within 20 to 30 min total time cycles. The work is cooled
rapidly in air or often quenched directly into water, and
the surface of the work is clean and free of scale.
Salt bath furnaces have been successfully applied to
the annealing of stainless steel products and of nickel-
chrome alloys. An example of annealing stainless steel
fittings is shown in Fig. 10, which is an indexing elevator
mechanized installation for stainless steel fittings. The
temperatures in this case range from 1550-2100°F, de-
pending on the analysis of stainless steel being processed.
Time cycles are short, approximately 5-30 min, and
the work is quenched directly into water following re-
moval from the furnace. The surface of the parts is only
slightly oxidized, and it is easily restored to the desired
brightness by a short acid dip and washing operation in-
corporated in the same line.
Brazing
Salt bath brazing, while a limited application, has been
an attractive one for a great number of jobs. All types of
brazing materials can be used, such as silver solder,
aluminum, brass, and copper. Both ferrous- and nonfer-
rous-base materials can be joined together or in combina-
tions thereof. The factors which normally influence joint
design in the location of the brazing alloy are the same
for salt bath brazing as experienced with other methods.
The only additional requirement is that the parts be
self-draining.
One of the most important applications in this field is
that of aluminum dip brazing. This process has found
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, MAY/JuNE 1974
Fig. 9. Process annealing of wire.
widespread application in the electronic hardware used in
a wide variety of defense related systems. Microwave
guides of all types have been successfully brazed. While
most installations are small batch-type furnaces, large
mechanized lines are also in use. One of the largest installa-
tions of this type consists of 12 mechanized lines for the
brazing of automotive air conditioner heat exchangers.
Each consists of a preheat oven, an aluminum dip brazing
furnace, a water quench, and wash tank. Production rates
through a typical line range from a low of 90 cores per
hour to a high of 150 cores per hour. In this one installa-
tion, over 5 million cores per year are presently being
processed. To date, over 25 million cores have been
processed with negligible rejects in this one installation.
At the present rate of production, the next 25 million
will be processed in the coming 5 years.
With the renewed interest in physical fitness, there has
been a resurgence in the bicycle industry in the last few
years. Copper and brass brazing of bicycle forks is very
common. Several installations have been made for brazing
of the complete bicycle frame, and several thousand
frames per hour are now being produced in salt bath
furnaces.
While thousands of salt bath furnaces are of the smaller
batch variety, automation has led to a significant nunmber
of installations and has been our industry's answer to in-
creased productivity so necessary today. Lower unit costs,
improved quality, and greater personnel safety is being
achieved by integrating suitable work handling systems
with the heat treating operations. These range from semi-
automatic devices, which provide mechanical assistance
for portions of a process, "such as monorail hoists, the
crank arm transfer, the horizontal pusher, or chain con-
veyor, to fully automatic systems, when less flexibility is
involved and heavier workloads are required. In the latter,
conveyors are provided to move the work through all of
the steps of the process and to time the work in the various
furnaces and tanks. Generally, the work is delivered to a
common load/unload station. The indexing elevator men-
ANDERSON: SALT BATH FURNACES 345

Fig. 10. Mechanized line for annealing stainless fittings.

Fig. 11. Two jack rabbit mechanisms.

346 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, MAY/JUNE 1974

Fig. 12. Crank arm transfer.

temsperature uniformity withl a typical electrode heated

salt bath furnace. However, there are an increasing num-
ber of applications requiring a closer temperature control,
especially in aluminum dip brazing and in the heat
treatment of high-speed steels. Various types of instru-
mentation have been used in order to achieve temperature
control within plus or minus 1°F. These are the saturable
core reactor, the ignitron contactor system, and the
silicon controlled rectifier. All of these systems provide
stepless power input control and essentially a straight
line temperature in the typical salt bath furnace.
Other Applications
Other interesting applications have been miiade in such
areas as descaling, desanding, and heat treatment of
pyrex ware, glass drain pipe fittings, and other ceramic
ware. In the last few years a significant number of plastic
cleaning furnaces have been installed. Fig. 13 illustrates
parts before and after plastic cleaning in a salt bath.

Fig. 13. Plastic cleaning- parts before and after.

Gordon W. Anderson (M'69) was born on

tioned earlier is typical of this type of installation. Fig. 11
illustrates two jack rabbit mechanismns, one for isothermal
annealing and the other for modified austempering of
various aircraft brake components and other parts. Fig.
12 is a view of the crank transfer, which rapidly transfers
brake discs frorm the austenitizing furnace to the iso-
thermal quench furnace. A typical transfer time is 6 s.
Instrumentation and Temperature Control
Most salt bath furnaces are equipped with on-off-type
temperature control which provides plus or minus 5°F
January 2, 1936, in Cleveland, Ohio. He
received the B.S.E.E. degree from Purdue
University, Lafayette, Ind., in 1956.
After serving in the United States Army
Corp of Engineers, he worked for one year
as an Engineer with the Lincoln Electric
Company. Presently he is a Partner of the
C. 0. Anderson Company, a firm that en-
gineers, sells, and services industrial process
heating equipment and associated controls.
Mr. Anderson is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State
of Ohio and a member of the National Society of Professional En-
gineers, the American Society for Metals, and the Cleveland
Engineering Society.