PhoenixTM recently commissioned an evaporative rotating hot-box system at Service Center Metals (SCM) in Prince George, Va. SCM cast aluminum logs for its extrusion plant. After casting, the logs are heat treated (homogenized) in a walking-beam furnace. The PhoenixTM system is attached to the log to continually measure temperatures at various depths and distances along the product. Data is stored on a thermally protected data logger and, at the same time, transmitted out of the furnace via RF so that analysis is possible in real time.

SCM will use the data from these trials for mathematical modeling and process confirmation. To keep the data logger at a safe working temperature within the hot box, evaporative technology was selected over the regular heat-sink design given the long processing time, the restriction of keeping the system within the product footprint and the fact that the system rotates with the log.