Patent ID: 7550050

Claim:
A method of cooling strip or wire products subsequent to being annealed, said method comprising the steps of: providing a rotatable cooling drum immediately downstream of an annealing path, wherein the drum has a predetermined outer diameter; placing the drum in a closed housing that includes a product inlet opening and a product outlet opening; providing a shielding gas atmosphere within the closed housing and around the cooling drum, wherein the shielding gas atmosphere is provided at an overpressure relative to atmospheric pressure; winding the product around the cooling drum a plurality of turns so that the product lies in mutual juxtaposed turns on the drum; cooling the product to a desired temperature of from about 20° C. to about 50° C. below the oxidation temperature of the material; and maintaining the product as it is cooled within a curved path against the outer diameter of the drum and within the shielding gas atmosphere, wherein the drum has an outer diameter that is greater than a diameter at which a radius of curvature of the wound product is influenced mechanically by plastic deformation.