Heat treatment of steels: prediction of microstructure, residual distortion and residual stress

摘要

This paper describes the formulation and verification of an efficient finite element code to simulate heat treatment. The code (SIMQUENCH) incorporates the effects of phase transformations, latent heat generation, and temperature and microstructure dependent material properties to predict microstructure, residual stress, and distortion during quenching. Circular plate samples are carburized to produce a non-symmetric carbon profile in order to amplify distortion during quenching. Three separate carburizing treatments were used to produce different case profiles. These plates were quenched and the resulting distortion was compared to predictions obtained from FEM simulations. Comparison of predicted and measured residual stress and distortion leads to discussion of possible improvement in material models.