Abstract: A self-contained unitary assembly for peripheral devices normally located close to a Steckel mill is provided. The assembly has a frame open at both ends to receive and pass through the steel product being rolled. Above and below the pathway for the steel product are located transversely spaced arrays of descaler nozzles and their headers and also controlled cooling nozzles and their headers. Also included within the unitary assembly is the x-ray measuring gauge or other suitable measuring instrument for measuring some characteristic of the steel product. The unitary assembly is positioned between the pinch rolls and the Steckel mill. Protective steel plates or beams are provided running both transversely and longitudinally within the frame for the assembly to provide protection for the nozzles and measuring apparatus. These protective elements also serve to minimize the amount of errant water spray that might otherwise tend to enter the coiler furnace.

Abstract: Modular roll apparatus particularly suitable for conveying hot material such as a sheet of steel being processed. Each roll has its own individual water bath and drive mechanism. A water trough isolates the bath from the bearings and drive mechanism for the roll and bathes the underside of the roll to cool it. The entire modular unit can be removed from its operating position and replaced by a similar such unit. A conveyor containing a multiplicity of such units is suitable for conveying hot sheet steel or other hot material in a processing mill.

Abstract: Coiler furnaces of the type used with reversing rolling mills are provided with a strip guide for guiding the leading edge of the incoming steel strip into engagement with the slot in the winding drum of the coiler furnace. According to the present invention, the strip guide is designed as a dual purpose strip guide provided with a cleaning element (e.g. a scraper blade or abrasive element) fixed to the distal end of the strip guide for contacting and cleaning the exterior cylindrical surface of the winding drum when the coiler furnace is otherwise idle.

Abstract: A pipe coupling or connection comprises a female coupling component and a mating male coupling component. Each component is matingly threaded for coupling engagement, and each is provided with an adjacent frusto-conical sealing surface. The sealing surface is provided with a controlled surface roughness, viz. very shallow fine surface variations, preferably formed as microgrooves at a pitch small relative to the pitch of the threads. The slope of the frusto-conical surface of the sealing surface of the male component is slightly mismatched with that of the sealing surface of the female component to simulate the bearing force vs. axial distance characteristic of shrunk-fit circular cylindrical sealing surfaces. The mismatch enables the sealing pressure to be above a design minimum throughout the entire sealing area yet higher at each end of the sealing area. As the coupling is assembled, thread interference in the vicinity of the sealing surface lags the occurrence of interference between the sealing surfaces.

Abstract: A pipe coupling or connection comprises a female coupling component and a mating male coupling component. Each component is matingly threaded for coupling engagement, and each is provided with an adjacent frusto-conical sealing surface. The sealing surface is provided with a controlled surface roughness, viz. very shallow fine surface variations, preferably formed as microgrooves at a pitch small relative to the pitch of the threads. The slope of the frusto-conical surface of the sealing area of the male component is slightly mismatched with that of the sealing area of the female component to simulate the bearing force vs. axial distance characteristic of shrunk-fit circular cylindrical sealing surfaces. The slight mismatch enables the sealing pressure to be above a design minimum throughout the entire sealing area yet higher at each end of the sealing area.

Abstract: A weather protector for the end of a pipe section, e.g. for use in a pipeline, tends to prevent the ingress of snow and rain into the interior of the pipe. The weather protector is made from a generally circular blank having peripheral tabs, a few of which are widely circumferentially spaced and are appreciably longer than the remaining tabs and extend over the edge of the pipe end. The weather protector is placed in the interior or the pipe, the tabs forming a substantially continuous cylindrical rim portion that engages the interior cylindrical surface of the pipe. The longer tabs position the weather protector in the interior of the pipe by overlapping the pipe end to prevent the weather protector from being pushed further into the interior of the pipe.

Abstract: A pipe coupling or connection comprises a female coupling component and a mating male coupling component. Each component is matingly threaded for coupling engagement, and each is provided with an adjacent frusto-conical sealing surface. The sealing surface is provided with a controlled surface roughness, viz. very shallow fine surface variations, preferably formed as microgrooves at a pitch small relative to the pitch of the threads. The slope of the frusto-conical surface of the sealing area of the male component is slightly mismatched with that of the sealing area of the female component to simulate the bearing force vs. axial distance characteristic of shrunk-fit circular cylindrical sealing surfaces. The slight mismatch enables the sealing pressure to be above a design minimum throughout the entire sealing area yet higher at each end of the sealing area.

Abstract: An austenitic steel alloy has a composition of about 6 to 13 percent aluminum, 20 to 34 percent manganese, 0.2 to 1.4 percent carbon, 0.4 to 1.3 percent silicon, and the balance essentially iron. The relative quantities of the foregoing elements are selected from these ranges to produce a volume percent of ferrite structure in the alloy in the range of about 1 percent to about 8 percent. The volume percent of ferrite is determined by the empirical formula1<VPF=32+2.6(Al %.+-.0.08)+5.2(Si %.+-.0.03)-1.6 (Mn %.+-.0.16)-8.5 (C %.+-.0.03)<8Excluded from the range of alloys of this invention are alloys of the composition (30.+-.1) % Mn, (9.+-.0.35) % Al, (1.+-.0.05) % Si and (1.+-.0.05) % C, with the balance being iron.