Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for cooling a moving metal belt (2) in a continuous processing line by spraying a gas, a liquid, or a mixture consisting of gas and liquid onto the belt, the processing line including a cooling section (1) followed by a downstream section (4), the inlet (4a) of the downstream section corresponding to the outlet (1b) of the cooling section, wherein according to said method: the change in the temperature cross-section of the belt between the inlet (4a) and the outlet (4b) of the downstream section (4) is evaluated; the temperature cross-section suitable for the inlet of the downstream section is deduced, on the basis of a desired temperature cross-section at the outlet of the downstream section (4), in order to obtain the desired cross-section at the outlet; and the cooling capacity of the cooling section (1) is adjusted according to the width of the belt and over the length of the cooling section, while taking into the account the temperature cross-section of the belt

Abstract: Method of making safe a heat treatment enclosure operating under a gas atmosphere, the said enclosure comprising a cooling chamber for rapidly cooling a metal strip running from an upstream chamber to a downstream chamber by means of a plurality of guide rollers, wherein said rapid cooling chamber is filled with a controlled atmosphere with a high hydrogen content and said strip is confined within said rapid cooling chamber by means of at least one pressure-balancing duct and of a plurality of gas locks placed between the various chambers, the pressures of the gas atmospheres between the chambers being balanced by means of ducts controlling the flow rates of the gas flowing through the said gas locks.