Progress On The Development Of a Comprehensive Heat Transfer Model For Industrial Liquid Quenching Processes

Three dimensional numerical models have been developed to simulate almost all steps in the thermal processing of metals with the notable exception of the quenching operation. There, the surface heat flux rates are frequently based on limited experimental thermocouple data and inverse generated heat flux rates, or general correlations for similar shapes.

CFD tools provide an efficient framework for the analysis of heat flux rates in actual industrial quenching situations, though most CFD codes lack an appropriate boiling heat transfer model. Using data generated in a boiling quench facility, a new set of boiling heat transfer approximations have been developed that provide the required accuracy for use as a predictive tool while being computationally efficient enough for application to industrial heat treating applications. An overview of the algorithm is presented along with several examples.