Heat transfer coefficients for quenching process simulation

Abstract
Quenching heat treatment in a liquid medium is a very complex heat transfer process. Heat extraction from the part surface occurs through several different heat transfer mechanisms in distinct temperature ranges, namely, film boiling, partial film boiling (i.e. transition), nucleate boiling and convection. The maximum heat transfer occurs during the nucleate boiling stage. Experimental study shows that, the effective surface heat transfer coefficient varies more than two orders of magnitude with the temperature during the quenching. For quenching process simulation, accurate prediction of the time-temperature history and microstructure evolution within the part largely depends on the accuracy of the boundary condition supplied. The heat transfer coefficient is the most important boundary condition for process simulation. This study focuses on creating a database of heat transfer coefficients for various liquid quenchant-metallic alloy combinations through experimentation using three different quench probes. This database is a web-based tool for use in quench process simulation. It provides at-a-glance information for quick and easy analysis and sets the stage for a Decision Support System (DSS) and Data Mining for heat-treating process.