Qualitative Analysis of the Heat Transfer in a Package of Square Steel Sections.

During the heat treatment of square or rectangular steel sections, a heated charge, arranged in regular packages, is placed inside a furnace. This type of charge forms a porous medium through which a complex heat flow occurs during heating. Several heat transfer mechanisms act simultaneously within this medium: conduction through the section walls, conduction and natural convection within the gas, thermal radiation between the section walls, and complex heat transfer (mainly contact conduction) at the joints between the adjacent sections.