Abstract: An apparatus for supporting a rotator, comprises a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, wherein at least one of a radial bearing surface, a supported surface of the rotor facing the radial bearing surface, a thrust bearing surface and a regulated surface of the rotor facing the thrust bearing surface is a rough surface having a center-line mean roughness not less than 0.3 and a surface facing the rough surface is a smooth surface having a center-line mean roughens less than 0.3.

Abstract: A continuous annealing line for annealing a cold-rolled strip of a ultra-low-carbon steel comprising a heating furnace for heating the strip which is fed continuously, with or without a soaking furnace following the heating furnace, a cooling furnace in which the heated steel strip is cooled, and a carburizing/nitriding furnace disposed between the heating furnace or the soaking furnace and the cooling furnace. The carburizing/nitriding furnace may be divided into a plurality of zones, each of which is provided with control means for controlling the carburizing/nitriding atmosphere and carburizing/nitriding temperature in the zone. The continuous annealing line may further comprise a plurality of carburizing/nitriding furnaces and have an arrangement for conducting a switching between a mode in which the carburizing/nitriding furnace is used for carburizing/nitriding the steel strip and a mode in which the carburizing/cooling furnace is used for cooling the steel strip.