Date Published: 01/01/2006
Abstract:
The C-Ring test specimen is regularly used to investigate the quality of heat treatment processes. In this study, C-Rings made of AISI 8620 steel were carburized, oil quenched, and tempered. A commercial heat treat simulation software package, DANTE® , was used to simulate the response of the C-Ring specimen to heat treatment. The model addressed furnace heating, carburization, transfer and immersion into the quench oil, and tempering. During quenching, the immersion direction was normal to the planar “C” shaped surfaces of the C-Ring, and the effect of immersion was found to be important to the final part shape. The thermal gradient between the top and bottom planes generated nonuniform distortion across the C-Ring opening in axial direction. The predicted results were validated by comparison against experimental measurements. The effect of different carburization schedules on the heat treatment response of the C-Ring in terms of dimensional change, phase and residual stress distributions are discussed in this study. Once validated, the simulation method provides a valuable tool that can be used in conjunction with selected experiments to cost effectively and accurately investigate the effects of alternative process routings on residual stress state and distortion.
Author: Zhichao Li, B. Lynn Ferguson, Xichen Sun, and Peter Bauerle
Tags: Carburized AISI 8620 steel, C-Ring test specimen, model validation, residual stress measurement, carbon profile prediction, hardness profile prediction, residual stress prediction, carbon profile measurement, hardness profile measurement, and phase transformation prediction
Process Used: gas carburization and oil quench
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