This paper describes the computational investigation of the fluid-solid thermal interaction of water with armored plate during a plate quench process. The paper addresses the quality of the quench process, and the control of the quench process. The techniques of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the form of the commercial CFD code, STAR-CD, are used. The quench process is modeled as a water-only process through the implementation of certain assumptions based on physically-observed behavior. Three-dimensional effects are captured in the quench jet velocity, plate temperature distribution and skin heat transfer coefficients. These are shown to be due to the supports in the quench header and could lead to buckling of the plate due to uneven heat transfer. The control of the process is illustrated by the successful application of Computational Flow Optimization (CFO) to the current problem. The process variables jet velocity and plate speed are used as design variables to automatically obtain a specified quench rate at a certain depth in the plate, thereby specifying the thickness of the hardened layer.
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