Can a tube furnace be evacuated? How to evacuate?

Tube furnace is a heating device that can be evacuated and protected by atmosphere, widely used in materials science, metallurgy, electronics, glass, chemical industry, machinery, refractory materials, special materials and other fields. By vacuuming, the pressure inside the tube furnace can be reduced to a very low level, avoiding adverse reactions between materials and oxygen or other gases in the atmosphere at high temperatures. Let’s take a detailed look at the steps of vacuuming below!

1600 ℃ Atmosphere Tube Furnace (Click on the picture to view product details)

The specific operation steps for vacuuming a tube furnace are as follows:
1. Connecting devices:
Connect the tube furnace to a vacuum pump and an inert gas (such as nitrogen or argon) cylinder.

2. Preliminary vacuuming:
Close all valves.
Start the vacuum pump and open the vacuum valve.
Observe the pressure gauge and wait for the vacuum degree to stabilize (e.g. negative pressure of -0.1MPa), then close the vacuum valve and vacuum pump.

3. Fill with inert gas:
Open the valve of the inert gas cylinder and slowly fill it with gas.
Observe the pressure gauge and wait for the furnace pressure to return to normal before closing the gas valve.

4. Repeat the process of vacuuming and inflating:
Repeat the above steps of vacuuming and inflating to further improve the purity of the inert gas in the furnace and eliminate residual oxygen. According to experimental requirements, this process may need to be repeated multiple times.

5. Prepare for heating:
After confirming that there is no residual oxygen in the furnace, heating operations can begin. Before heating, it should be ensured that the gas can flow smoothly through the furnace tube, and heating should be carried out after the ventilation is stable.

The precautions for vacuuming a tube furnace include:
1. Ensure sealing:
Before vacuuming, it is necessary to check whether the various connection parts of the tube furnace are well sealed to avoid gas leakage.

2. Control pressure changes:
During the process of vacuuming and inflating, close attention should be paid to the reading of the pressure gauge to avoid damage to the equipment caused by rapid pressure changes.

3. Choose the appropriate vacuum pump:
Select the appropriate vacuum pump and vacuum degree according to the experimental requirements to avoid the impact of excessively high or low vacuum degree on the experiment.

4. Safe operation:
During the operation, safety operating procedures should be followed to avoid accidents. For example, avoid opening the furnace door in a vacuum state to prevent sudden influx of air that could damage the sample or equipment.

5. Regular maintenance:
Regularly maintain the tube furnace, including replacing heating elements, cleaning the vacuum system, checking power lines, etc., to ensure the normal operation and service life of the equipment.

Multi temperature zone rotary tube furnace that can be used to process powder materials (click on the image to view product details)

In general, tube furnaces can not only be evacuated, but also achieve atmosphere protection by filling inert gases, meeting the needs of various high-temperature experiments. In practical operation, the vacuum extraction method and parameters should be reasonably selected based on experimental requirements and equipment performance to ensure the safety and smooth progress of the experimental process.Click to learn more tube furnaces! Or click on online customer service to learn more about product information!