Analysis of Geometry Orientation in the Calculation of Transient Heat Fluxes during Immersion Quenching of Hollow Cylinder

Quenching of large and complex geometries such as landing gear components often involves surfaces with different orientation with regards to the quench bath. Previous work by the authors includes the characterization of industrial quenching facilities with specially design quench probes. The study herein explores the influence of quenching a hollow cylinder in a horizontal set up as it would replicate a condition frequently faced in the industrial application of interest where large tubular geometries are quenched in a similar orientation. The study considers the required air transfer step before immersion that produces non-homogeneous condition of the heat-treated load even before its immersion.

The work in this study includes the analysis of experimentally acquired thermal history at different angular and azimuthal locations of a hollow cylinder. Then, the inverse heat transfer problem is solved to compute the transient surface heat fluxes around the outer surface and bore surface of the tested geometry. Findings capture the evolving condition on both surfaces, including the gradient before immersion due to the aforementioned air transfer as per process constraints and the thermal gradient once the body is immersed demonstrating the uneven cooling of the test specimen and its influence on the resulting geometry after quenching. Results in the form of transient heat fluxes are compared with previous findings from fully horizontal plates as well the hollow cylinder condition quenched on a vertical orientation.