Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing worked example

Atmosphere Gas Usage with atmosphere gas flow of 130 scfh: a worked example

This worked example runs the atmosphere gas usage numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: atmosphere gas flow of 130 scfh instead of the typical 250 scfh. Estimate atmosphere gas run cost from nitrogen, argon, endothermic gas, hydrogen blend, or purge flow, runtime, and delivered gas cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Atmosphere gas flow: 130 scfh (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 250)
  • Gas flow runtime: 10 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Delivered gas cost: 0.02 $ / scf (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Atmosphere gas consumed = atmosphere gas flow × gas flow runtime.
  • Atmosphere gas run cost works out to 23.4 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Atmosphere gas consumed works out to 1,300 scfh at these inputs.
  • Gas flow runtime works out to 10 hr at these inputs.
  • Delivered gas cost works out to 0.02 $ / scf at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where atmosphere gas flow sits at 250 scfh and the headline result is 45 $, this scenario comes in 48% below the baseline at 23.4 $.
  • Use it when quoting a heat-treat cycle, evaluating a flow-rate reduction, or building the consumables line of a furnace operating cost model. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Atmosphere gas run cost: 23.4 $ (headline result)
  • Atmosphere gas consumed: 1,300 scfh
  • Gas flow runtime: 10 hr
  • Delivered gas cost: 0.02 $ / scf

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Atmosphere Gas Usage calculator, set atmosphere gas flow to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.