Industrial Processes Bulletin #OS00

Fire System;
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE PROTECTION -

co2 Heat Treating Faci lities

Part 1: Enclosed Quench Tanks

This is the first of two bulletins describing the application of CO, to

protect the oil quenching equipment used in heat treating. This bulletin
covers the enclosed or integral quench tank; Part 2 covers open or
detached quench tanks.

The integral quench tank is part of a special atmosphere furnace that

is covered by NFPA Standard No. 86C.

After proper heating in the furnace, the product is quenched by

submersion in an oil bath. The purpose of quenching is to control the
normal metallurgical transformation that occurs on cooling, thereby
producing the desired hardened micro-structure called Martensite. The
cooling rate is critical for each composition desired. The cooling rate of
a water quench could be substantially in excess of the critical rate for
many materials; oil is used in these cases.

The drawing on page 4 shows a batch furnace. Material moves

down through the furnace at the rate needed for the material to reach the
desired temperature. The atmosphere in the furnace is controlled and
circulated around the material to provide even heating. When it reaches
the end of the furnace, the furnace door opens and the material is moved
out onto an elevator that lowers it into the oil bath.

When the quenching cycle is completed, the material is raised, the

quench vestibule door opened, and the material moved out onto a roller
conveyor (the most common arrangement).

This arrangement is used extensively in the automobile industry in

carburizing operations. Parts are loaded in baskets and heated to about
4801 Southwick Drive 1900F. A chain drive or pusher moves the baskets; the lowering mech-
Third Floor anism is often an air hydraulic cylinder.
Matteson, IL 60443
Telephone: 7081748-I 503
Fax: 7081748-2847
Q 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (g/96)
CnEmETROn
Fire System;
Industrial Processes Bulletin #OS00
Once in the lowered position, propellers force the
quenching oil through the material at oil flow rates
up to 7,500 gallons per minute (gpm) or more.
(One recently protected system design had 3,600
gallons of oil that were circulated through the mate-
rial at 15,000 gpm.) The oil flow rate and submer-
sion time are preset to produce the desired results.
The quench tank is usually insulated to permit the
use of hot oil. The quantity of oil and the use of
heat exchangers maintain proper oil temperature.
The tank is normally equipped with an overflow, a
level indicator, and low oil level alarm. A water
detector is advisable.
Fire Hazards
Fires are most commonly caused by overheating
the oil, loss of system integrity, or introduction of
water into the oil, which causes the oil to boil over
(froth) and spread outside the quenching system
itself where it can be ignited.
Fires in hoods and ducts, where oily deposits
were ignited, have also occurred. The oil that runs
off from the material baskets into catch pans below
the roller conveyor is another hazard where fires
have been reported.
Statements have been published that the enclosed
quench tank itself should not be protected with CO,.
While we do not recommend discharging directly
into the internal quench tank vestibule, protection
of the balance of the quenching system is important
to continued production and is essential in high
production type installations. Providing sprinklers
for protection against catastrophic loss is appropri-
ate, but not a substitute for the fast, dry, clean, three
dimensional fire suppression that CO, provides. The
CO, discharge leaves no residue requiring clean up
or oil reprocessing.
CO2 Application Bulktin
A serious condition also exists when material gets
hung up in the door and must be manually dis-
lodged. CO, can be of great value in this event (see
the top paragraph on page 3 for further information).
Pro tee tion S ys tern Arrangement
The protection system illustrated provides for
CO2 local application on the hood and roller con-
veyor outside the quench vestibule. The vapor
exhaust ducts are totally flooded. The CO, will
usually back up and flood the quenching enclosure
itself with a gentle action. (CO, is not discharged
directly inside the quench vestibule.) The oil equip-
ment adjacent to the furnace is protected by local
application; any pit areas adjacent to the tank area
are flooded with CO,.
The discharge nozzle system protecting the con-
veyor area should be designed so that a level of pro-
tection is provided on the floor at the front of the
quench vestibule in case of boil over. Based on a
bad fire, one of our customers had his CO, system
extended to a series of nozzles mounted on the adja-
cent wall covering the entire floor area in front of an
entire line of furnaces.
Another customer was successful in controlling
a boil over fire by using Low Pressure CO, hose-
reels. The typical system shown has hosereels on
the adjacent wall with one located between each
furnace. The system allows for simultaneous use of
two hose lines on a floor fire.
These CO2 protection systems are invariably
manually released. The chance is slim that a detector
will automatically actuate the system before it is
manually tripped by an operator, regardless of the
location of the detector. (If the system is to be auto-
matic, detectors should be placed at the ceiling or on
the hood above the equipment rather than on the
equipment).
CHEmETROn
Fire Systems
Industrial Processes hlietin 9~1500
You will note that on this system there is a
second CO, discharge line to the furnace serving
nozzles directed at the quench vestibule door.
This provides protection for use by the operators
if a fire should occur while they are trying to free
a jammed basket or elevator. The recommended
discharge rate at the door opening is 10 pounds of
CO, per square foot per minute.
With a low pressure CO, system, the Spurt
control that is needed for this protection is easily
accomplished. Otherwise, a separate CO, cylinder
supply with appropriate controls is needed.
co2 Application Bulktin
Page 3
A high pressure CO, system may be the most
cost effective for an installation with just a fur-
nace or two. (In Bulletin #0505, ...Purt 2: Open
Quench Tanks, the illustrated typical system is
high pressure). It should be recognized that if the
facility has other uses for CO,, dual purpose (fire
protection and industrial use) systems can be
designed using low pressure storage to serve both
needs.
 EXHAUST TO
SELECTOR FUME CONTROL

DUCT NOZZLES
- ABOVE 8 BELOW
DAMPER FIRE DAMPER
RELEASE

NOZZLES COVERING _-
NOZZLE FLOODING
CO2 HOSE RE HOOD __/---
DUCT AND VESTIBULE __--
,,-
NOZZLES COVERING
CONVEYOR FURNACE

ROLLER CONVEY SCREENING NOZZLES

WITH DRIP PAN FOR QUENCH VESTIBULE DOOR

NOZZLES COVERING /

m
/
OIL COOLERS S PUMP _/
_/
__/

\ _I 0
N

D
u
u
=:
CO2 STORAGE UNIT NOZZLES IN PIT
E
g
ONE BETWEEN EACH
HEAT TREAT LINE
\\I\ \I\&/
/
,
CO, Fire Protection for \\ ,, COVEREDQUENCHTANK
IN PIT
\ /,
Heat Treating Facility \
\ I
\
W
with Enclosed Quench Tank
CHEmETROn
Industrial Processes Bulletin #OS05

Fire System<
CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE PROTECTION -

Heat Treating Facilities

co
2 Part 2: Open Quench Tanks

In Part 1 we discussed the application of CO, to protect the oil

quench equipment associated with enclosed (integral) quench tanks. In
Part 2 we will discuss the protection of open or detached quench tanks.

At this writing the subject hazard is covered by Para. 9.1 of NFPA

Standard No. 34 Dipping and Coating Pnxesses Using Flammable or
Combustible Liquids.

In one open quench tank configuration, the material is heated in the

furnace as it is conveyed (by conveyor, pusher or shaker) to the end of
the furnace, where it drops down a chute into the oil bath and onto a
conveyor submerged under the oil. As the conveyor moves the materi-
al out of the oil, the oil drains off back into the tank while the material

a
is conveyed to a tote bin. As required, the tote bin is moved with the
material to the next production stage. This arrangement is illustrated
on the accompanying drawing.

In another arrangement generally used for larger pieces, material

handling equipment such as a crane, hoist, or manipulator picks up the
heated piece and lowers it into the oil bath. At the end of the quench-
ing cycle the piece is lifted from the oil, allowed to drain while hanging
over the tank, and then moved to the next production stage. Photo-
graphs illustrate this arrangement.

CARDO!X The gun barrels of the Navys battleships, such as the lowa, were
produced and oil quenched in such a manner in a facility protected by
Low Pressure CO,.

4801 Southwick Drive The oil in open quench tanks is usually kept at about 100F to
Third Floor 200F (38C to 93C) and is cooled by agitation, oil recirculation, or
Matteson, IL 60443 water cooling with submerged coils or external coolers.
Telephone: 708/748-l 503
Fax: 7081748-2847
0 1996 CHEMETRON FIRE SYSTEMS, all rights reserved. (g/96)
CnEmETROn
Fire System6
Industrial Processes Bulletin #OS05
The same protective devices mentioned in Part
l- overflow, temperature alarm, low level alarm
and water detector - are needed.
External to the quenching system and not shown
in either bulletin is a central storage reservoir of
quench oil. CO, protection for this is usually not
needed.
General area sprinklers for catastrophic loss
protection are appropriate. While other types of
special hazards fixed protection (dry chemical or
foam) will provide fire suppression for quench tanks,
the clean, dry, three dimensional characteristics of
CO, give it a decided advantage in protecting the
continuity of production.
Fire Hazards
An increased fire hazard in the oil can occur if
the viscosity of the oil increases to a point where it
overheats, or there is a loss of thermal stability in
the oil and low flash point fractions are produced.
For many quenching operations, special quenching
oils are formulated. They are much more subject to
contamination, and thus benefit even more from CO,
fire protection. CO, will not contaminate the oil.
Water in the oil causes the same problem of
frothing and boil over in open quench tanks as de-
scribed for enclosed quench tanks.
When the hot metal is submerged in the oil, the
oil surrounding the material is vaporized and rises to
the surface. It will flame up, at least momentarily,
if above the auto-ignition temperature.
In the type facility where the material is manu-
ally lowered into the oil, it is common for the sur-
face oil to flame up around the piece as it is being
submerged. Circulation of cooler oil to the surface
will reduce this flare up. (Use of CO: to control
flaming is discussed later.)
co 2 Application Bulktin
Page 2
Most often, fires occur when the material hangs
up and is only partially submerged, or when the oil
temperature rises too high due to inadequate cooling
or excessive production (production beyond that for
which the system was designed).
If a sprinkler discharge were to occur when the
oil temperature was over 212F (lOOC), any water
that penetrated the oil surface would flash to steam
and cause boil over. Therefore, the use of CO, as
the ptimary fire protection of the facility has signifi-
cant advantages. However, the installation of a
backup sprinkler system ensures against a catastroph-
ic loss in case other fire prevention and protection
methods all fail. They are both needed.
In older facilities the fumes driven off during
quenching were allowed to rise and exit through the
roof. In newer facilities the fumes are captured by
hoods and exhausted properly. If the hood is located
close enough to the oil quench tank so as to be
considered a part of the tank hazard, the underside
surface needs local application CO, protection and
the exhaust system should be flooded with CO,.
Pro tee tion S ys tern Arrangement
The protection system illustrated in the drawing
on page 4 provides for CO, local application on the
oil surface and on the drainboard. The oil coated
material on the drainboard is protected by the drain-
board discharge. CO, is calculated rate-by-area.
Nozzles are placed so as not to interfere with
operation and maintenance of the quench tank, i.e.,
off to the side directed in at the tank.
In the illustrated system, the quench tank surface
requires eight (8) spot nozzles for complete cov-
erage. The conveyor, where it is more than two feet
from the oil surface, requires two (2) more. The oil
surface under the conveyor must also be protected
and the system has nozzles that are placed to do so.
 CHEillETROn
I
Fire Systems
Industrial Processes t?ulletin #OS05
The oily pieces in the tote bin, as well as any
oil accumulation on the bin bottom, are protected
by local application. Calculation is rate-by-volume.
The oil handling equipment (pumps, filters, etc.)
is also covered by local application - either rate-
by-area or volume, depending on configuration.
In the illustrated system, the quench tank is
situated in an open pit. Open pits more than 4
feet deep are covered by local application at the
rate of 4 pounds per minute per square foot.
The exhaust system (if part of the hazard) is
protected by local application on the hood with
total flooding in the ducts. (If necessary, the
exhaust system could be treated as a separate
hazard arranged for simultaneous discharge with
the quench tank.)
The other configuration of an open quench
tank, as illustrated by the photographs, presents
- some unique problems.
First, as the freshly quenched piece hangs
over the oil, it constitutes part of the hazard and
coverage by the CO, discharge is mandatory. If the
piece extends more than 2 feet from the surface,
it is usually calculated with the rate-by-volume
method and requires additional nozzles. It will
not be covered by the nozzles directed at the tank
even though it would appear to be enveloped in a
test discharge. The CO, to protect same must be
calculated independently and nozzles provided to
direct the CO, onto the material.
Next, the material handling is not a continu-
ous fixed process that allows for selection and
placement of the discharge nozzles near their most
efficient location. Nozzles and piping must be
completely clear of cranes or the material manipu-
lator.
-
co2 Application Bull&in
1
Page 3
Therefore, in the photo illustrated systems,
low pressure storage was selected so that projec-
tion nozzles could be used. These nozzles have
the ability to discharge a significant distance - 25
to 30 feet - so they can be placed totally out of
the way, as shown.
A low pressure system using overhead projec-
tion nozzles can also be very helpful in dealing
with the problem mentioned earlier concerning the
oil flaming up as large pieces are submerged. Sev-
eral customers experienced excessive flaming due
to elevated oil temperatures at the end of larger
than normal production runs. Before each quench,
they used the spurt feature of the COZ system to
lay a blanket of heavy CO, vapor (held in by the
freeboard of the tank) on the oil surface. This
substantially reduced the flaming and resultant
smoke.
As indicated in Part 1, most of these systems
are manually operated. If automatic operation is
used, the actuation setting of the fire detectors
must be slightly lower than that of any fire sprin-
klers in the same area, allowing the primary COD
protection system to discharge and suppress the
fire before the sprinkler system activates.
It is good conservative design practice to set
the CO, discharge time at longer than the mini-
mum 30 seconds of equilibrium COZ flow to allow
for additional cooling. (Remember, this would be
natural cooling since the cooling capacity of the
CO, in this type application is inconsequential.)
As mentioned in Part 1, the selection of either
a high pressure system (as shown here) or a low
pressure system (as shown in Part 1) is based on
determining the protection configuration required
and a cost/benefit analysis. Some quench facilities
obviously call for one type or the other, but good
CO: fire protection can be provided by either.
CHEmErRon
Fire Systems co2 Application Bulktin
Industrial Processes Bulletin #O/105

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