Abstract: An air cooled electrode system is employed with one or more electrically heated molten salt bath furnaces. Each furnace comprises a wall enclosing a chamber which contains the molten salt bath. Electrodes are laid or located in the wall to extend through the wall into the chamber so that each electrode exposes only one face to the molten bath. The electrodes are parallel to one another and are located on opposite sides of the chamber. Each electrode has an elongated shank made from an electrical conductive material and has in one end thereof a pair of elongated holes which extend into the shank and terminates a distance from the other end of the shank. A connecting hole extends laterally into the shank to connect the inner ends of the elongated holes. The connecting hole and elongated holes form an air cooling passage which has an entrance and an exit. The air cooled electrode system includes a blower which is connected to a header for delivering air.

Abstract: In the art electric heat treat furnaces have a frame and an open top housing of refractory brick therein including a plurality of inner walls defining a chamber throughout its height adapted to receive a molten bath such as a salt bath into which metal pieces are suspended for heat treatment. The chamber has a top entrant passage of rectangular shape. Electrodes extend transversely through the housing adjacent the chamber for the passage of current through the bath between the electrodes to maintain the bath at a predetermined heat treat temperature. A transformer having primary and secondary pads includes electric connectors between the pads and the electrodes. The improvement herein comprises a plurality of vertically spaced tiers of vertically spaced electrodes arranged along the height of the chamber.

Abstract: An isothermal transformation process or method is disclosed for heat treating metals of the class which is characterized by having a time-temperature-transformation, or T-T-T Diagram or Isothermal Transformation Diagram. The process includes the steps of heating the metal workpiece at a heating source or station to a temperature above the solution treating transformation or austenitizing temperature (A.sub.