Gas tube furnace

Gas tube furnace is a commonly used heating equipment, widely used in enterprise laboratories, university laboratories, etc. Because it can introduce protective gas, reducing gas, oxidizing gas, etc., it can adapt to various different processes. Let’s take a detailed look at the characteristics, advantages, and application fields of gas tube furnace below!

Commonly used gas tube furnaces (click on the image to view product details)

1. Definition and Principle
Gas tube furnace is a type of furnace that can heat materials by introducing specific gases. It meets the process requirements of material preparation and heat treatment by introducing protective gases (such as nitrogen, argon) or reactive gases into the furnace tube, combined with a heating system, to achieve the desired temperature of the material in a specific atmosphere environment. Its working principle is to use heating elements to generate heat, which is transferred to the materials inside the furnace tube through thermal conduction, convection, and radiation. At the same time, the introduced gas plays a role in protecting, participating in reactions, or regulating the atmosphere.

2. Structural composition
Furnace body: including furnace and furnace tubes. The furnace is generally made of materials with high temperature resistance and good insulation performance to reduce heat loss; There are various materials for furnace tubes, such as quartz tubes, corundum tubes, etc., which can be selected according to different temperature and atmosphere requirements.
Heating system: composed of heating elements (such as resistance wires, silicon carbon rods, silicon molybdenum rods, etc.) and a power control system, used to provide the energy required for heating and accurately control the heating temperature and rate.
Gas supply system: including gas source, gas pipeline, flow meter, valve, etc., used to introduce the required gas into the furnace tube and accurately control the flow rate and type of gas.
Temperature control system: Equipped with high-precision temperature sensors (such as thermocouples) and temperature control instruments, it can monitor and adjust the temperature inside the furnace in real time, ensuring the stability and accuracy of the temperature.
Vacuum system (optional): Gas tube furnaces can also be equipped with a vacuum system, which can evacuate the furnace to a certain degree of vacuum before heating, further eliminating air and impurities, and meeting special process requirements.

3. Characteristics and advantages
Controllable atmosphere: Different types and flow rates of gases can be flexibly introduced according to experimental or production needs, accurately controlling the atmosphere inside the furnace, effectively preventing materials from being oxidized, decarburized, etc. at high temperatures, and ensuring the performance and quality of materials.
Good temperature uniformity: Through reasonable furnace structure design and heating element layout, the temperature distribution inside the furnace can be uniform, ensuring consistent heating of materials and reducing quality differences caused by temperature gradients.
Flexible operation: Different heating programs (such as heating rate, holding time, cooling rate, etc.) can be set according to different material and process requirements to meet diverse experimental and production needs.
Wide applicability: It can be used for high-temperature treatment of various materials such as metal materials, ceramic materials, semiconductor materials, nanomaterials, etc. It is widely used in materials science, metallurgy, chemical engineering, electronics and other fields.

4. Application Fields
Material synthesis: In the synthesis process of nanomaterials, composite materials, etc., directional growth and structural control of materials can be achieved by controlling the atmosphere and temperature.
Heat treatment: Annealing, quenching, tempering and other heat treatment processes are carried out on metal materials to improve their mechanical properties and microstructure.
Ceramic sintering: used for sintering and forming ceramic materials to improve their density and properties.
Semiconductor manufacturing: In the preparation process of semiconductor devices, processes such as thin film deposition and doping require high control of atmosphere and temperature.

5. Key points of operation and maintenance
a. Operation points
Strictly follow the operating procedures and ensure that the atmosphere and vacuum level inside the furnace meet the requirements before heating.
Reasonably set the heating program to avoid material damage or equipment failure caused by rapid heating or cooling rates.
Regularly inspect the gas supply system and temperature control system to ensure their normal operation.

b. Maintenance points
Regularly clean the residue inside the furnace and furnace tubes to keep the furnace clean.
Check the usage of the heating element and replace it promptly if it is damaged.
Regularly calibrate temperature sensors and temperature control instruments to ensure the accuracy of temperature measurement.

Rotating tilted tube furnace with gas flow (click on the image to view product details)

6. Summary
As a commonly used heat treatment equipment in university laboratories and industrial and mining enterprise laboratories, atmosphere tube furnaces have the above characteristics and advantages. It is recommended to communicate with relevant technical personnel before purchasing, so as to customize gas tube furnaces suitable for one’s own experiments or production!Click to learn more tube furnaces! Or click on online customer service to learn more about product information!