Steel Quenching Technology Introduction “Quenching is one of the least understood of the various heat treating technologies,” in the words of a world authority on the subject, George E. Totten of Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Co., Inc. Other dimensions of the problem are identified in the following quotes from other experts: * “Quenching is critically important, but often the neglected part of heat treating.” © “Quenching is the most critical part of the hardening process... [it] must be designed to extract heat from the hot workpiece at a rate required to © “Distortion is perhaps one of the biggest problems in heat treating... little information on the subject has been published.” ‘The subject was introduced in the previous chapter by two articles on the subject: “Causes of Distortion and Cracking in Quenching” and “Stress Relief Heat Treating.” In this section, the topic is surveyed in depth in eight articles on conven- tional quenching processes: © Air quenching © Water quenching © Oil quenching © Polymer quenching © Molten salt quenching © Brine quenching © Caustic quenching © Gas quenchingIn addition, 17 alternative methods of quenching are discussed in articles: Austempering Martempering Isothermal quenching ‘Aus-bay quenching Spray quenching © Fog quenching © Cold die quenching © Press quenching © Vacuum quenching ® Fluidized bed quenching © HIP quenching * Ultrasonic quenching © Quenching in electric and magnetic fields © Quenching flame and induction hardened parts © Sclf-quenching processing—clectron beam hardening, laser hardening, and high frequency pulse hardening eoeee References 1. George E. Totten, preface to ASM Conference Proceedings, “Quench- ing and Distortion Control,” ASM International, ‘92 2. Totten et al, “Handbook of Quenchants and Quenching Technology,” ASM International, “93Air Quenching Process Air is the oldest, most common, least expensive quenching medium, Ref 1. Characteristics of Process Air, a gas high in nitrogen, cools by extended vapor phase cooling. Operating Information As with other quenchants, heat transfer rates are dependent on flow rate—in this instance, flow rate of air past the hot part (see Figure). Cooling can be speeded up by increasing the velocity of air flow, but the accelerated rate is not sufficient to quench harden many steels. The ability of air to harden plain carbon steels drops dramatically with increasing carbon con- tent (see Figure). Application Range Air is used in quenching steel and several nonferrous metals. The comparative heat transfer coefficients of different metals as a function of surface temperature are shown in an adjoining Figure. To get optimal hardness, it is often necessary to use a more active quenching medium, such as brine or oil. Reference 1. Totten et al, Handbook of Quenchants and Quenching Technology, ASM International, 1993