Some aluminum forgings and castings are cold-water quenched in order to achieve the desired design minimum physical properties. When unacceptable distortion or cracking is encountered, hot water has traditionally been specified as an alternative quenchant. Approximately 30 years ago, Type I poly (alkylene glycol) copolymer quenchants were introduced as an alternative to hot water. These quenchants offered significant, often dramatic, advantages in residual stress and distortion reduction. However, even though these quenchants have been available for such a long time, there is still wide-spread misunderstanding regarding how they worky, when they should be used and how they should be monitored. The objective of this paper is to address these issues.
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