Design Improvements to a Short Time Dilatometry Testing System as Applied to High Carbon Steels

Dilatometry test systems are commonly used for characterizing the transformation behavior in steels using induction heating for the heating source and gas flow for the cooling source. In these systems, the steel test article is assumed to have a uniform temperature throughout the sample. The accuracy of this assumption depends on the design of the induction heating and gas cooling systems, as well as the time scales for heating and cooling. Previous papers by the authors have shown the variations in temperature that occur during heating and cooling for a TA Instruments DIL805 dilatometer (dilatometer).

Development of an improved heating/cooling system for this dilatometer was performed using electromagnetic and thermal analyses for the induction coil and CFD analyses for the high-pressure gas cooling system. The simulations predict improved sample temperature uniformity in the dilatometer throughout the heating and cooling process. Plans for validation of the models will be discussed.