This article presents the fundamentals and nomenclature of polymer quenchants and provides a detailed discussion on the polymers used for quenching formulation. The article describes the effect of polymer structure on the quenching mechanism. It also presents the factors affecting polymer quenchant performance. The article details the use of polymer quenchants for intensive quenching and then focuses on the wire patenting processes and polymer quenchant analysis. The article presents the application of polymer quenchants for induction hardening. Finally, it provides details on cooling curve analysis of polymer quenchants.

This article describes various quenchants, namely, water and inorganic salt solutions, polymers (polyvinyl alcohol, polyalkylene glycol, polyethyl oxazoline, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and sodium polyacrylates), quench oils, and molten salts, which are used for heat treatment of ferrous alloys. It also provides information on the steps for controlling quenching performance for polymer quenchants and oils with an emphasis on measuring quenchant performance, safety measures, and oxidation.

This article, with the aid of illustrations and curves, describes an experiment used to understand the cooling characteristics and transformation behavior of steel wires during patenting. The two aqueous polymer quenchants used as alternatives for lead baths, are carboxymethyl cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol. A small amount of polymer additive in spraying could modify the physical properties of the spray medium and improve atomizing status. The concentration-fog flux effect further improves the flexibility of spraying and makes it easier to control the cooling process.

The fundamental objective of quenching is to preserve, as nearly as possible, a metastable solid solution formed at the solution heat treating temperature, by rapidly cooling to some lower temperature, usually near room temperature. This article provides an overview of the factors used to determine a suitable cooling rate and the appropriate quenching process to develop a suitable cooling rate. It discusses the three distinct stages of quenching: vapor stage, boiling stage, and convection stage. The article reviews the factors that affect the rate of cooling in production operations. It discusses the quenchants that are used in quenching aluminum alloys, namely, hot or cold water and polyalkylene glycol. The article also describes the racking practices for controlling distortion and the level of residual stresses induced during the quench.