L. Zhang, Y. Rong, R. Purushothaman, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA; J. Kang, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Steel quenching is a heat treatment operation which results in the change of the microstructure and properties. In this paper, this process is modeled and simulated with an self-developed analytical tool, “Computerized Heat Treating and Planning System for Quenching and Tempering”, i.e., CHT-q/t, which is to predict the temperature profile of load in batch as well as continuous furnaces during heating, quenching and tempering of steels, then to provide information about the mechanical properties as quenched. The system can be also used to optimize the heat treatment process design with the aim to save energy and reduce cost. The microstructure/phase transformation is predicted by solving Avrami-Johnson-Mehl equations through comparing cooling curves against materials TTT diagrams. The hardness of the workpiece is estimated as a distribution of the load, by considering the contribution of microstructure and carbon contents. The results are verified through running JOMINY end-quench harden ability tests. The calculation is a combination of numerical simulation and empirical equations. This tool is suitable for commercial and captive heat treaters for quality control and process optimization.
Summary: In this paper, the steel quenching process is studied by an self-developed analytical tool, “Computerized Heat Treating and Planning System for Quenching and Tempering”, i.e., CHT-q/t, which is to predict the temperature profile of load in batch as well as continuous furnaces during heating, quenching and tempering of steels, then to provide information about the mechanical properties as quenched. The system can be also used to optimize the heat treatment process design with the aim to save energy and reduce cost. The microstructure/phase transformation is predicted by solving Avrami-Johnson-Mehl equations through comparing cooling curves against materials TTT diagrams. The hardness of the workpiece is estimated as a distribution of the load, by considering the contribution of microstructure and carbon contents. The results are verified through running JOMINY end-quench harden ability tests. The calculation is a combination of numerical simulation and empirical equations. This tool is suitable for commercial and captive heat treaters for quality control and process optimization.
