Hardenability Testing and Simulation of Gas-Quenched Steel

摘要

The aim of a joint project between the Stiftung Institut fur Werkstofftechnik, Bremen (IWT), the company Ipsen International, and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FMENA), the University of Zagreb is to develop a computer program for prediction of hardness on the axial section of axially-symmetrical workpieces of any complex shape, thereupon high pressure gas quenching. The hardenability for the specimens made of tool steel grade EN-90MnCrV8 and the cooling dynamics under two gas pressures are measured using the unique facility at IWT. With developed computer simulation model, the cooling curves at different positions (J) along the end-quenched specimen are determined. Based on them, the cooling time from 800 to 500 deg C (t_(8/5)) is determined, and the curves J = f(t_(8/5)) are derived for different quenching conditions. This curves together with curves of hardness distributions along the end-quenched specimens can serve for the prediction of hardness distribution on the cross-sections of a batch of workpieces cooled in vacuum furnace.