English
A laboratory vacuum furnace is an industrial heating device that performs heat treatment in an environment close to a vacuum. This type of laboratory vacuum furnace uses a vacuum system (including vacuum pumps, vacuum measurement devices, and vacuum valves, etc.) to reduce the pressure inside the furnace chamber to much less than a standard atmospheric pressure, thereby creating a vacuum environment. Conducting heat treatment in such an environment has many advantages, such as preventing material oxidation, decarburization, and improving heating efficiency and temperature control precision.
In a vacuum environment, heat transfer mainly occurs through radiation. In a vacuum, there are no gas molecules, so heat cannot be transferred by conduction or convection, as these two methods require a medium. Radiative heat transfer occurs via electromagnetic waves and does not require any medium, thus it can effectively transfer heat even under vacuum conditions. Heating elements, such as resistance wires, induction coils, or electron beams, convert electrical energy into thermal energy and transfer the heat to surrounding objects in the form of radiation.
The temperature range of laboratory vacuum furnaces is quite broad and can reach very high temperatures. Depending on different designs and heating elements, the maximum temperature of a laboratory vacuum furnace can vary from a few hundred degrees Celsius to several thousand degrees Celsius. For laboratory vacuum furnaces that use tungsten, molybdenum wires, or graphite as heating elements, the temperature can reach above 1600°C, and even as high as around 3000°C. For example, molybdenum wire and graphite heating elements are usually used in high-temperature applications, capable of reaching temperatures above 2200°C, while electron beam furnaces and plasma furnaces can achieve even higher temperatures.
Laboratory vacuum furnaces provide researchers with a highly controllable vacuum heating environment, which is the foundation for many cutting-edge scientific experiments to proceed smoothly. In the field of materials science, researchers can use laboratory vacuum furnaces to perform high-temperature treatments on new materials to study their phase transformation process, microstructural evolution, and performance optimization. In physics and chemistry, laboratory vacuum furnaces are often used to simulate material reactions under extreme conditions, such as chemical reactions under high temperature and high pressure, and the synthesis and performance study of quantum materials.
Laboratory vacuum furnaces not only have the ability to heat at high temperatures, but more importantly, they can achieve precise temperature control and vacuum degree adjustment. This feature allows researchers to perform fine heating treatments on materials under specific temperature and pressure conditions, thus observing the unique behavior of materials in specific environments. This precise control provides researchers with unprecedented experimental conditions, enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of the properties and behaviors of materials, thereby providing strong support for the design and development of new materials.
