Patent ID: 7972452

Claim:
A method for the continuous creation of a bainite structure in a carbon steel, the carbon steel being a strip steel, the method comprising the steps of: austenitizing of the carbon steel at a temperature above an austenitizing temperature of the carbon steel; introduction of the austenitized carbon steel into a bath having a quenching agent for cooling the carbon steel to a temperature lower than the austenitizing temperature, the quenching agent contacting the austenitized carbon steel in the bath for as long as until a proportion of the bainite structure of the total structure of the carbon steel has formed, the carbon steel reaching the conversion temperature for bainite in the bath; discharging the carbon steel from the bath and removing residues of the quenching agent from a surface of the carbon steel when the carbon steel exits the bath, the residues being removed from the carbon steel via action of a gas; subsequently, bringing the carbon steel into an isothermal tempering station, the isothermal tempering station having the conversion temperature of bainite so that the carbon steel is held at the conversion temperature of bainite, and remaining structure components of the carbon steel are converted into bainite in the isothermal tempering station, the conversion of the remaining structure components occurring without any deflection of the carbon steel when passing through the isothermal tempering station, the carbon steel remaining in the isothermal tempering station for as long as until the bainite structure has formed completely within the carbon steel; and then, cooling the carbon steel.