Benefits of Horizontally Corrugated Inner Covers vs. Vertically Corrugated IC

If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of worrying that a belly band on your Inner Cover (IC) has broken, or is about to break, leading almost always to a distorted sidewall.  Perhaps it may be time to change to a horizontally corrugated IC that relies on internal integrity to maintain its shape, rather than a mechanical device.

How do we go about making this conversion?

First, and most obviously, is sizing.  This will require you, the customer, to provide our engineers with a drawing of the current IC, along with any notes regarding changes to the size that may have been made over the years.  If this drawing is not available, our staff will visit your mill and obtain the appropriate information.

Since the IC is encased within the furnace during its heating cycle, information on furnace size is also important.  Horizontally corrugated IC may expand more vertically, so we want to be certain the IC has freedom to expand without interference from the furnace.  This information will provide us with the type of heating and location of the heat source, which is important when selecting the type of materials of construction.  Unlike vertically corrugated ICs, horizontally corrugated covers offer the flexibility of having the sidewall supplied in different materials to optimize the service life.

ICs are used in many different annealing applications.  The operating parameters of your annealing cycle are important.  Knowing the annealing atmosphere and having a time/temperature curve will aid in the design process.

The method of lifting is sometimes overlooked until there is a problem in the field, and the crane operator cannot move the new IC with the same device as he was using on the old IC.  Photos and drawings are helpful to ensure trouble-free usage of your new cover.

This all sounds good, but is there a downside in converting your ICs?  The laws of thermal transfer work against the horizontally corrugated IC in that it is made of thicker material and has less surface area than the vertically corrugated unit it is replacing.  It is difficult to predict exactly how much of a change is needed to your annealing cycle, but this downside has not been an issue compared to the hours of maintenance-free operation of the horizontally corrugated IC.  If this is a concern, talk to your Alloy Engineering sales professional about additional options that are available to reduce cycle times.