Simulation of gas quenching

Abstract

The prediction of mechanical behaviour of specimen during heat treatment by means of numerical simulation requires numerous modules e.g. for heat transfer and mechanical behaviour. The quality of predictions depend on the quality of the applied models within the modules. In this paper the strain hardening model used in the mechanical module will be investigated. For simulation of mechanical behaviour during gas quenching it is first of all necessary to calculate the interaction between gas and specimen. Using simulated flow field and temperature distribution within the gas, the heat transfer coefficient is calculated from computational fluid dynamics. The cooling and further the mechanical behaviour e.g. residual stresses and distortion of the specimen are simulated by a commercial Finite Element program. To investigate strain hardening it is helpful to choose in a first step a material that will not show phase transformations due to heat treatment. Therefore simulation of mechanical behaviour of austenitic cylinders (SAE30300) is investigated. The required thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat are taken from literature. With the exception of Poisson’s ratio the mechanical properties are measured and calculated by own investigations. For description of the temperature dependent stress strain curves the Ramberg-Osgood model is used. The simulated results are compared with experimental data in order to decide which model better describes the mechanical response, whether the kinematic or isotropic strain hardening.