New methods evaluate steel hardenability in a standard gas quench test and heat transfer coefficient variation within a furnace gas quench chamber.

A novel hot zone design featuring new graphite boards reduces heat loss and improves overall hot zone power requirements.

Data obtained from thru-process profiling is used to calculate performance against specification, investigate process problems, and optimize the heat-treating process.

This article compares heat treat processes and furnace types that are typically used to harden gears.

Integral quenching (IQ) is a widely adopted heat treatment technique known for its efficient and rapid quenching capabilities. Vertical vacuum IQ furnaces give heat treaters a larger working zone for efficient and rapid quenching. This article describes the elements of a vacuum IQ furnace line and describes its operational workflow and process control.

This article focuses on five common reasons for distortion and cracking during heat treatment and recommended remediations: (1) Nonuniform and uncontrollable heat transfer during heating and cooling; (2) Structural changes during phase transformation; (3) Residual stresses in the part that occur due to forming, welding, or machining before heat treatment; (4) Macro or micro steel structure; and (5) Fixturing and loading errors.

Because alloy steel hardenability is such an important factor in part manufacturing, the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) is conducting research through simulations and laboratory testing aimed at learning more about the performance of gas quenching systems used to harden newer alloy steels. The primary goal of the study is to establish a standard method to evaluate gas-quench steel hardenability. Heat transfer coefficients will be determined for different gas pressures and during the cooling phase.

Engineers at the Ford Motor Co. are using integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) tools, allowing them to accurately simulate the heat treatment of gears and predict phase transformation kinetics and distortion.

Heat treaters regularly seek ways to prevent and reduce rework and scrap loads by implementing procedures and tools to make sure the heat treating process meets customer expectations and specifications. One process parameter requirement is to ensure consistent atmosphere carbon content. Measuring carbon absorption into steel is commonly done to verify atmosphere consistency. This article describes an atmosphere carbon potential analyzer that provides a cost-effective way to measure carbon using a wire coil that functions in a way similar to using shim stock.

A multicomponent thermal spray coating system resists pick-up of contaminants that can cause flaws on heat treated strip surface.

Vacuum solution nitriding is a promising technique for increasing the surface hardness, load-bearing capability, and fatigue strength of martensitic stainless steels without sacrificing corrosion resistance. This article examines the effects of nitriding pressure and temperature on surface nitrogen content and case depth in four martensitic stainless steels.

The Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) was founded with the goal of bringing the industrial sector and university researchers together to find solutions to real-world problems. The Center, located at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, has 19 members from all areas of industry working together with WPI researchers to improve both heat treat and thermal processing methods worldwide. This article describes some of the current CHTE research projects.

A new method to control distortion in difficult-to-quench geometries addresses the nonuniform cooling inherent in most gas quenching processes. This article describes the development of a controlled gas quenching prototype unit design and its operation. The prototype unit constructed was able to achieve great control within the temperature range of 400 to 100°C, using varying rates of temperature change.

Aluminum components with refined microstructures produced by high pressure die casting enable manufacturers to gain energy savings via shorter production cycles—if casting and tempering parameters are optimized. This article reports on research results indicating it is possible to increase hardness of hypereutectic Al-Si alloys by optimizing the water quenching rate and duration of room temperature hold, and producing castings with finer microstructures.

The initial steps in the art of manufacturing cymbals are discussed from ancient times through the modern era, including copper smelting, alloying copper and tin, pouring the molten metal into ingots, and processing the ingots by hand-hammering or rolling a finished blank.

A quench tank must contain sufficient fluid to quench the load without an excessive rise in temperature of the quenching fluid. This brief article describes the basics of sizing quench tanks for immersion quenching and offers a methodology for sizing the temperature-control system.

This article describes a planned three-year research project at the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to help the heat treat industry better understand process parameters related to austempering of steels. This research will enable the industry to identify the potential strength, toughness, and cost benefits of bainitic steels over martensitic steels and provide guidance on the design, validation, and control of heat treating processes to produce bainitic microstructures in steels.

Automotive designers and heat treaters have many choices when it comes to the materials and processes that will meet their overall needs. This article reviews some of the major trends affecting automotive heat treating.

Manufacturing data together with heat treating knowledge can be synthesized with physics and data-based modeling approaches in a closed loop to provide insight for improving process efficiency and product quality for overall reduction in operating and energy costs. This article provides case studies of data analytics for coil batch annealing and batch carburizing.

Lithium-ion batteries are an important enabling technology for electric vehicles. This article reports on a study in which an induction melting process was evaluated to produce LiFePO 4 (LFP) ingots as well as granules from low-cost precursors. The melt casting process can provide the benefits of utilizing various precursors, rapid reaction kinetics, homogeneous liquid composition, and scale-up readiness. More importantly, this process also offers the possibility of lower-cost battery materials at a similar or better performance level as compared to solid state methods. If successful, melt synthesis of battery cathode material could offer a novel application of the conventional casting process.