Low Press Carbg and High Press QNCHG

Furnace Atmospheres No.
6
Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.
Content
Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching (Intro) 1. Low pressure carburising 1.1. History 1.1. Differentiation from other carburising processes 1.2 Carbon transfer coefficient 1.3 State of the art today 1.4. Low pressure carburising principles 1.4.1 What is low pressure carburising? 1.4.2. Benefits and drawbacks 1.4.3. Pressure range 1.4.4. Model of carbon transfer 1.4.5. Reactions 1.5. Low pressure carbonitriding 1.5.1. Principles 1.5.2. Benefits and drawbacks 1.6. Gases used for the LPC processes 1.6.1. Choice of gas for carburising 1.6.2. Purity of gases 1.7. Process parameters 1.7.1. Process design 1.7.2. Carbon mass flow 1.7.3. Gas flow rate 1.7.4. Gas type 1.7.5. Temperature 1.7.6. Pressure 1.7.6. Steel grade 1.8. Control of process parameters 1.8.1. Simulation of low pressure carburising processes 1.9. Hardware 1.9.1. Furnaces 1.9.2. Gas supply 1.10. Troubleshooting: common problems 1.10.1. Soot and tar problems 1.10.2. Near surface effect 2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4 2.4.1. 2.4.2. Quenching characteristics for gas and oil Quenching in oil Quenching in gas Temperature differences when quenching in oil and gas Cooling curves and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) The gases Mixture of gases
Page 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22
2.4.3. Gas recycle 2.4.4. The influence of gas pressure and gas velocity 2.4.5. The effect of the gas temperature 2.5. Properties of the gases 2.6. Design of the load 2.6.1. Cylinder and axle 2.6.2. Disk and gear 2.6.2.1. Horizontal position 2.6.2.2. Vertical position 2.7. Distortion 2.7.1. Gears 2.7.2. Rings 2.7.3. Axles 2.8. Interrupted gas quenching 2.9. Equipment 2.9.1. Single-chamber vacuum furnaces 2.9.2. Two-chamber vacuum furnace 2.9.3. Multi-chamber vacuum furnaces 2.9.3.1. Continuous vacuum furnace 2.9.3.2. Linked multi-chamber furnaces 2.10. Control 2.10.1. Flux Sensor 2.10.2. QC3-Sensor 2.11. Hardness of different steel grades after gas quenching 2.11.1. Hardnesses in the literature 2.11.2. Calculation of hardnesses 2.12. Environment 2.13. Quenching with high velocity gas 2.13.1. Principles 2.13.2. Heat transfer coefficient 2.13.3. Quenching a part of the component 2.13.4. Applications 3. Terminology References
Page 23 23 24 24 26 26 27 28 30 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 35 37 37 37 39 39 39 40 40 43 45 47 47 49 51 52 53 54
Of the many technologies available today to improve the performance of engineered surfaces, carburising is one of the most common. Carburising is enduringly popular because it uses a higher temperature than most thermochemical processes so that a deep hard layer can be formed in a short time. The great majority of carburising processes take place at atmospheric pressure [1] in an atmosphere containing large quantities of carbon monoxide. The parts are subsequently quenched in oil. Recent developments in vacuum furnaces and steel technology have meant that carburising can now be carried out in a more environmentally friendly way under low pressure [2-4].
Figure 1. Double chamber vacuum carburising furnace (photo courtesy of Seco/Warwick)
The process is particularly applicable to the automotive industry because of the cleanliness of the operating environment and of the finished product. As hydrocarbons are used directly as the source of carbon, the volume of the exhausted toxic and/or combustible processing gases is vastly reduced and relatively benign. The furnaces are generally more efficient than the atmospheric pressure alternative. If the steel allows, processing efficiency can be further improved by increasing the carburising temperature. The use of gas to replace oil for quenching ensures that the components emerge very clean, bright and dry, and less distorted than oil-quenched components. Improving technologies for making steel have produced carburising steels that can be quenched in 10 bar nitrogen (N2) [5]. Even the current lower hardenability carburising steels can be quenched with improved helium (He) quenching technology [6]. Vacuum carburising has also been applied to parts made by powder metallurgy (P/M) techniques [7]. Analysts predict an upward trend in vacuum carburising from 1% of the market in 2000 to 13% in 2010 [1, 8]. The single chamber vacuum furnace has largely been replaced by the double chamber unit (Figure 1) for low pressure vacuum carburising. This type of unit has the advantage that during quenching the furnace itself does not have to be cooled, thus lowering the thermal load. In addition the quenching chamber design can be optimised for the quenching task alone, rather than the combination of vacuum carburising and quenching, and there is less contamination of the quenching gas. The latter is an important consideration if the helium for quenching is to be recycled. Two-chamber furnaces are well suited for smaller throughputs and where a very high flexibility is necessary, e.g. at commercial heat treaters.
The next step is a modular vacuum carburising system such as that shown in Figure 2. The automotive industry requires a higher throughput, and two-chamber solutions are far too expensive. In this case the combination of several individual treatment chambers with one quenching chamber is very cost effective. Depending on the case depth, a combination of six to eight treatment chambers with one quenching chamber is the optimum. Small, individually controlled carburising units give maximum processing flexibility. The system is fully automated with a heat-treated load leaving it every 20 30 minutes.
Figure 2. A modular vacuum carburising system at BMW (photo courtesy of ALD)
1. Low pressure carburising
1.1.
History
The possibility of low pressure carburising in vacuum furnaces was mooted more than 40 years ago [9]. Intensive investigations started in the 70s, caused by an increase in costs of natural gas and the hope of dramatic industrial gases savings by this method. At that time low pressure carburising was unacceptable because of the heavy sooting produced in the pressure ranges used, between 100 and 600 mbar, and the difficulty of achieving sufficient evenness in the carburising results [10 14]. Reducing the process pressure to values between 3 and 20 mbar solved these problems and allowed a denser loading of furnaces [15, 16]. Besides temperature and time, atmosphere composition, number and length of boost and diffusion steps, procedures to homogenise the atmosphere and the inflow are of high importance for consistent load results [17]. In addition to propane, acetylene and ethylene were introduced as carburising gases in low pressure carburising processes [18, 19]. Plasma carburising can be seen as a variant of low pressure carburising. The first hardness profiles generated by plasma carburising had been presented by Edenhofer at Hrterei-Kolloquium, Wiesbaden, 1972 [20]. Methane is the main process gas but the use of propane or mixtures of these gases with hydrogen or argon is also reported [21 26].
1.1.
Differentiation from other carburising processes
Gas, plasma and low pressure carburising are compared in Table 1.
Table 1:
Comparison of the three different carburising methods
Gas carburising Plasma carburising Furnace atmosphere vacuum Gases gas mixtures methane containing CO, CO2, CH4, H2 and N2 Gas consumption 3 5 times furnace volume 100 l/(h*m2 load) (temperature dependent) per hour Max. temperature 1000C 1300C Furnace conditioning necessary not necessary Integration in production line? no, unshielded flames, gases yes Process management by gas composition, carburising time length of carburising segments, pulses Process control by carbon potential none Surface effects internal oxidation thermal etching Coverage to hinder carburising cover paste mechanically Carbon transfer see table 2 Drillings, blind holes limited up to L/D = 25
Low pressure carburising vacuum propane, acetylene, ethylene, and other hydrocarbons and their mixture [27] 100 l/(h*m2 load) *1 1300C not necessary yes length of carburising and diffusion segments, and gas flow rate No atmosphere CP and its control thermal etching *2 up to L/D = 30
*1 Carburising of complex parts requires higher gas flows. Grfen [28] states a required gas flow of 400 l/(h*m2) at 2 mbar and 900C to carburise blind holes. *2 The use of average cover pastes in low pressure carburising processes bear the danger that constituents of the pastes are released in the low pressure and condense in hard layers, which have to be removed after heat treatment by shot peening.
Table 2: Values of average carbon transfer coefficient in g/m2 h in the first 15 minutes for different hydrocarbons and temperatures [29] (values for carburising until the surface is saturated shown in brackets [30])
Temperature Atmosphere Endogas 900C 950C 35 1000C 1050C
Plasma Methane Propane 25 (25) 100 (70) 150 80 (110) 190 (155)
Low Pressure Carburising Methane 0 0 0 20 Propane 60 (60) 90 (90) 130 (140) 185 (195) Ethylene 55 80 120 180 Acetylene 55 (50) 79 (110) 145 (235) 200 (335)
1.2
Carbon transfer coefficient
1.4.
Low pressure carburising principles
The carbon transfer coefficient gives a measure of the velocity of carburising. It is defined as the mass of carbon diffused into a square metre surface of the carburised part per hour. It can be calculated from the weight difference of small samples or, more accurately, integrated out of carbon depth profiles. Table 2 shows values for average carbon transfer coefficients in different atmospheres and for different temperatures in comparison to gas and plasma carburising. A high carbon transfer coefficient is not necessarily an advantage, because steel surfaces can absorb only limited amounts of carbon. With high carbon mass transfers the surface of components is saturated very rapidly. Oversaturation leads to carbide formation, which should be avoided whenever possible. The only way to prevent carbide forming in processes with high carbon transfer coefficients is to shorten the carburising segments. Segments shorter than one minute, however, increase the inaccuracy of the carburising results.
1.4.1 What is low pressure carburising?

The process itself starts with evacuating the furnace, which is then filled with nitrogen and heated from 800C by convection to process temperature. The heating is completed under vacuum. When the process temperature is reached, carburising is carried out in a series of boost and diffusion segments. Figure 3 shows a schematic illustration of a low pressure carburising process. The carbon donator, e.g. propane or acetylene, adsorbs at the surface and dissociates catalytically.
carbon donator (gas) recombination of hydrogen
1.3
State of the art today
physical adsorbtion
Recent work indicates that carbide formation and dissolution in carburising and diffusion segments give rise to thermal etching effects. Therefore low pressure carburising processes are simulated with programs using carbon transfer coefficients that depend on time, temperature and carbon content to obtain optimal times for the carburising and diffusion segments. With this approach, unusually good results were achieved on low pressure carburised 18CrNiMo7-6 gears, which reached the endurance limits of shot peened gears in the unpeened state.
carbon chemiesorbtion donator (adsorbed)
dissolution of carbon
diffusion
Figure 3. Process scheme of low pressure carburising
If the carbide formation limit of the steel is exceeded, carbides can form in the outer surface of the components. The maximum length of carburising (boost) steps is therefore given by the carbide formation limit of the steel at process temperature (Figure 4).
The diffusion step is carried out until the surface carbon content has been lowered enough to attach another carburising segment of reasonable duration (<1 min.). The process ends with a diffusion step to adjust the desired carbon profile. Figure 5 gives an example for a simulated low pressure carburising process.
saturation limit
1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 800
C-Concentration %
surface carbon content
target surface carbon content
C 15 20 MoCr 4 16 MnCr 5 17 CrNiMo 6 850 900 950 Temperature C 1000 1050
time
Aufkohlungs- und Diffusionszyklen
Figure 4. Limit of carbide formation (calculated) [31]
Figure 5. Low pressure carburising process with alternating boost and diffusion steps; change of surface carbon content during the process (schematically) [31]
10
1.4.2. Benefits and drawbacks

The following advantages are often claimed for low pressure carburising processes: 1. No internal oxidation 2. Ability to carburise drillings and blind holes 3. The possibility of using high temperatures 4. No furnace conditioning required 5. A reduction in energy and gas consumption [32] 6. Clean and safe working conditions 7. The use of only oxygen-free gases like propane, hydrogen, argon, and nitrogen eliminates internal oxidation. Advantages 3 to 6 are typical features of thermochemical treatments in vacuum furnaces. Furnace conditioning is known to be useful even in vacuum heat treatments if there are frequent changes in load requirements. A drawback compared to other carburising methods is that problems can occur with masking parts of components. Compared to gas carburising, which is controllable by measurement and adjustment of the Carbon potential, the LPC atmosphere Carbon potential cannot be controlled.
1.4.4. Model of carbon transfer

The following simplified model describes the transfer of carbon at the steel surface (s) with acetylene as the carburising gas, divided into four steps [33]. Step 1: Transportation of molecules of acetylene towards the specimen. Physical adsorption on the specimens surface:
C2H2(gas)
7 3
C2H2(ad)
(1)
Step 2: Chemisorbtion of the atoms of carbon and hydrogen during dissociation of acetylene on the hot surface of the specimen:
C2H2(ad) + 4s
2(C-s)+2(H-s)
(2)
Chemisorbed atoms of hydrogen form molecules of hydrogen which are released as gas:
2(H-s)
7 3
H2(gas) + 2s
(3)
Step 3: Transfer of chemisorbed carbon atoms into a dissolved state:
(C-s)
7 3
C(diss.) + s
(4)
1.4.3. Pressure range

Low pressure carburising is nowadays carried out in the pressure range from 1 to 20 mbar.
Step 4: Diffusion of carbon into the metal lattice
11
-C 2H4
CH4
-C 2H 2
-H 2
C 3H 6
x2
-CH 4
C 3H 8
-CH 4
C 2H4
-H 2
-H 2 2x -H 2
C 2H 2
x3
C 6H 6
-3 H 2 carbon
black
+C 2H4/-C3H 6
C 2H 6
Figure 6. Network of homogeneous propane pyrolysis
1.4.5. Reactions
The reactions taking place in low pressure carburising processes are dependent on the process gas used. The following scheme shows highly simplified reactions that occur with different gases.
methane ethane propane pyrolysis at 4 mbar above 1000 C above 600 C (mainly) under 10 mbar above 700 C (mainly)
The methane produced during pyrolysis is useless for carburising because of its thermal stability (see above). Furthermore many different species of gas exist in parallel. However acetylene is the only species applicable to the carburising of steel at low pressure. The amount of propane that must be applied to provide a homogeneous carburising depends on a sufficient amount of acetylene being produced during pyrolysis. In consequence the amount of propane has to be significantly higher than the amount of acetylene.
1.5.
Low pressure carbonitriding
ethene
under 10 mbar above approx. 850 C
1.5.1. Principles
Unlike carbonitriding processes in gas atmospheres, low pressure carbonitriding is carried out as an integrated process of low pressure carburising and nitriding at low pressure. There are two different approaches to obtaining sufficient nitrogen in the surface layer. Introducing pure nitrogen, which will dissociate at temperatures above 1000 C can do the nitriding. In the majority of cases, however, ammonia is added during the last diffusion segment. It is not useful to add ammonia in earlier diffusion segments, since nitrogen will immediately effuse from the surface in low pressure segments. This follows Sieverts law, which describes the decreasing solubility of nitrogen in steels as the pressure falls. For that reason the pressure is typically increased up to at least 10 mbar during the adjacent nitriding segment to provide sufficient solubility of nitrogen in steel.
(up to 940 C mainly) acetylene complex reaction above 800 C dissociation below 800 C polymerisation
(vinyl acetylene) 4C + 2Hy (at steel surface) stability increases with T, C-availabity higher at lower T
The pyrolysis of hydrocarbons is always temperaturedependent. The equations above show that ethane and propane decompose mainly to form methane, which will not decompose at 4 mbar at temperatures below 1000C. At temperatures below 800C acetylene forms longchained hydrocarbons and aromatics. Above 800C it dissociates in a complex reaction, whose last stage needs a steel surface as a catalyst. The dissociation of propane is quite complex because a variety of different components forms during the cracking processes of pyrolysis. The existence of so many hydrocarbons and radicals leads to a complex chain of cracking and recombination, described by Graf et al. [34] and shown in Figure 6.
12
5 Propane 4 intensity 3 2 1 0 500 Methane
500
500 500 Temperature C
500
Figure 7. Thermal dissociation of methane and propane
1.5.2. Benefits and drawbacks

The most significant benefit of a higher nitrogen concentration in steels is that the austenite exists at lower temperatures, which leads to a better hardenability as well as stabilised retained austenite [35]. Nitrogenmartensite, with significantly higher amounts of nitrogen, may also be formed. Carbonitrided steel with an accumulated amount of more than 1% carbon and nitrogen can provide significantly higher amounts of stable retained austenite. This can improve the mechanical properties, especially wear resistance. Two drawbacks are the high ammonia consumption of the process and the technical requirements of the vacuum furnace. Ammonia dissociates very rapidly at temperatures above 850C. Only small amounts of ammonia are left to dissociate on the load. To provide a homogeneous carbonitriding process, the quantity of added ammonia should be about 5 10 times greater than the amount of carburising gas [35]. The requirements for furnaces used for low pressure carbonitriding are related to the special conditions for using ammonia. The gas supply system and the exhaust system must be free of non-ferrous metals. Vacuum pumps without non-ferrous metals are not available at present. The use of ammonia exposes these components to a significantly higher risk of corrosion, which may shorten their lives.
1.6.
Gases used for the LPC processes
Low pressure carburising is carried out in different atmospheres: x In hydrocarbons x In a mixture of hydrocarbons and noble gases or hydrogen. For most hydrocarbons a precondition for a low pressure carburising process is the decomposition of the hydrocarbons at high temperatures. This is called cracking or pyrolysis. The decomposition reactions depend on gas type and temperature. A detailed description of possible reactions is given in the doctoral thesis of Grfen [28]. He gives an extensive compilation of relevant data for low pressure carburising.
1.6.1. Choice of gas for carburising

Low pressure carburising can be carried out with different gases depending on the application, the shape of the parts and the temperature. Methane is stable up to high temperatures. Measurements by Dorn using a mass spectrograph at IWT confirmed these results (Figure7). Methane is generally used in plasma-assisted carburising processes where local protection from carburising is needed, as this can easily be done by masking. Propane can be used over the whole temperature range, from low temperature carburising (300 400C, used for carburising of austenitic steels without loss of corrosion resistance [36]), to high temperature carburising (<1100C [27]). Acetylene offers most of its advantages between 900 950C, the normal temperature range for carburising processes. In comparison with
13
80 Low pressure carburizing
5 C-content of ceramic plate [gC/m]
80
Low pressure carburizing
5 C-content of ceramic plate [gC/m]
average C pick-up [gC/m*h]
60
average C pick-up [gC/m*h]
60
3 40 2 20
Calculated out of weight difference Integrated from C-Curve carbon content of ceramic plates
3 40 2
Calculated out of weight difference
20
Integrated from C-Curve carbon content of ceramic plates
3.5
2.5 Gas quality
mixture
N2 carrier gas
H2
Figure 8. The influence of gas quality on the average carbon pick-up and carbon content of the ceramic plates during low pressure carburising
Figure 9. The influence of gas composition (carrier gas) on the average carbon pick-up and carbon content of the ceramic plates during low pressure carburising
propane, parameters such as the density of loads and the ratio length/ diameter of blind holes can be increased. At higher temperatures there is a disadvantage: the dissociation reactions change, making less carbon available. At lower temperatures (< 800C [19]) polymerisation reactions take place. Acetylene is used at a low pressure level of 2.5 mbar to suppress the formation of soot and short-chain hydrocarbons. Otherwise, acetylene makes a high proportion of carbon available. This is the reason for its good performance in treating dense loads or complex shapes. Propane remains popular but most new systems use acetylene.
1.7.
Process parameters
1.7.1. Process design

Figure 10 shows the process design schematically with the factors on which it depends. Processes have hitherto been designed in a trial and error fashion through a reiterative cycle of simulation and result comparison. The influence and effects of the different input parameters are described in the following sections.
simulation
1.6.2. Purity of gases

IWT, Bremen has collaborated with AGA AB (member of the Linde Group) to investigate the influence of the purity of the gases. Gases of standard quality were compared with a gas mixture containing significant amounts of higher-chain hydrocarbons. To find out how much soot builds up in the furnace during the carburising processes, a ceramic plate was fixed on the most sensitive ceramic component in the furnace during each process. The Institutet fr Metalforskning, Stockholm, measured the carbon uptake of these ceramic plates using a combustion method. Figure 8 shows that there is hardly any difference in the carbon pick-up with the different gas qualities. The carbon content of the ceramic plates increases slightly as the gas quality decreases. In comparison it could be seen that, while the carbon pick-up increases by only about a third, the carbon content of the ceramic plates is about four times as high as in the results of plasma carburising processes. Figure 9 shows that, while the carbon pick-up decreases only slightly when an atmosphere containing hydrogen is used, the carbon content of the ceramic plates almost halves.
steel grade
carburizing- and diffusion segments batch (surface) gas type atmosphere gas flow rate pressure temperature
Low pressure carburizing process
carbon transfer carbon profile
Figure 10. Schematic of the low pressure carburising process
14
70
60
C2H2 t = 10 min p = 2 mbar T = 900 C 16 MNCr 5
flowrate 300 l/h 50 l/h 100 l/h 200 l/h 500 l/h
50 C-quantity g/m2h 25 l/h 40 15 l/h
30
20
10
0
Figure 11. The dependence of carbon mass flow on process gas flow rate [28]
1.7.2. Carbon mass flow

There are two sets of parameters in operation: the parameters that influence the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the parts and those that influence its subsequent diffusion into the part. The combination results in a carbon mass flow. pose by pyrolysis, carburising with acetylene is faster at the beginning of the process (Figure 12). The acetylene generated by the pyrolysis of propane is the only source of carbon. This affects how much carbon is available locally and can cause inhomogeneous surface carbon contents in the load.
1.7.3. Gas flow rate

Figure 11 shows the effect of the process gas flow rate on the average mass transfer. The mass flow of carburising gas cannot be used directly to control the surface carbon content or carburising depth, since underdosing causes a carbon flow under-supply in the load. In consequence components that interact with the gas supply first, because of their position in the load, will be carburised correctly but units further down the line will not received enough carbon. In consequence the load will not have homogeneous case depth and surface carbon content. On the other hand the aim cannot be to supply as much gas as possible, because this could result in soot formation in the atmosphere.
30
25
specific mass gain [g/m ]
20 propane 15 acetylene
10
1.7.4. Gas type

Investigations of the influence of the type of process gas used on the carbon mass flow were done by Grfen [28]. During these investigations carburising was carried out in a single process with no extra diffusion step, to allow the carburising behaviour to be characterised. No significant difference was found between the types of gas investigated, apart from methane, which does not dissociate thermally at temperatures below 1100C. Investigations by Steinbacher [38],however, did show a difference between acetylene and propane during carburising. Since acetylene carburises samples directly while propane needs to decom-
0 0 1 2 3 4 time [min] 5 6 7 8
Figure 12. Specific mass gain of a 20MnCr5 sample carburised with identical atmosphere parameters in propane and acetylene
15
30 25 20 15 10 5
3.0 mm
4.0 mm
Carburizing time h
2.0 mm
18CrNiMo7-6 Heating 3 C/min Lowering to 840 C Hold 840 C 30 min. C At = 0.28 % C R = 0.66 %
1.5 mm 1.0 mm
-35 %
0,5 mm
0 900
950
1000
1050
Carburizing temperature C
Figure 13. Process time reduction at rising temperature
1.7.5. Temperature
The process temperature during carburising affects the diffusion and solubility of carbon in steels. As Figure13 shows, an increase in temperature reduces the process time, because the carbon diffuses at a higher rate. In addition to the positive effect on the diffusion velocity, carbon also becomes more soluble in the steel, as shown in Figure 14. In consequence more carburising gas must be supplied to provide enough carbon for the higher carbon transfer (Figure 15).
C 1000 Precipitation of Cementit
950 Temperature
20MOCr4 21NiCrMo2 15CrNi6 16MnCr5 Ck15 17CrNiMo6 10Cr4
30
25 specific mass gain [g/m ]
900
20
850
15
800
10
750
S
0.20 0.40
S
1.20 1.40 %
Steel grade (DIN-EN): 20MnCr5 Gas: propane Flow rate: 10 ml/min 940 l/m2h 5 mbar Pressure:
0 1 2 3 4 time [min] 5 6 7 8
0.60 0.80 1.00 Mass % Carbon
Figure 14. Maximum carbon dissolution in austenite depending on temperature
Figure 15. Dependence of specific mass increase on carburising temperature
16
30 30Cr6 25 15Cr12 30Cr12
30
specific mass gain [g/m ]
20
20
Diffusion and carbid formation

15
15
C-saturation of surface
10
Steel grade (DIN-EN): 20MnCr5 Gas: propane Flow rate: 10 ml/min 940 l/m2h 5 mbar Pressure: Temperature: 1050 C
10
5
o m
0 0 1 2 3 4 time [min] 5 6 7 8
0 0
diffusion
2 3 4 time [min]
Figure 16. The dependence of mass gain on the grade of steel
Figure 17. Carburising of a 20MnCr5 sample: 1050C, 940 l/(m2h), propane, 5 mbar [38]
1.7.6. Pressure
The effect of gas pressure on the results of carburising parts of simple geometry is negligible. Generally for low pressure carburising a more complex geometry is linked to areas less accessible to the gas stream, like bores or blind holes and small gearwheels. Providing these areas with carbon demands a lower process pressure and a dynamic gas exchange. This is best provided by short boost and vacuum segment series. The continuous change of pressure makes it possible for the achievable process. Furthermore, as mentioned before, pressure influences soot formation and polymerisation of reaction products.
Some alloying elements have a strong influence on the diffusion of interstitial elements like carbon. Most of the alloying elements that positively influence carbide formation also lower the diffusion velocity of interstitial elements. Figure 16 shows an example for chromium alloyed steels. In consequence most alloying elements reduce the case depth and accelerate carbide precipitation. To avoid the precipitation of carbides, short boost segments should be used.
1.8.
Control of process parameters
1.8.1. Simulation of low pressure carburising processes

Simulation of gas carburising is well developed, but simulation of low pressure carburising is more difficult. On one hand, process design uses experimental data, e.g. for serial processes. On the other, institutes and furnace constructors use programs they have developed themselves. The problem with simulation is that there are few data on carbon transfer during the boost steps. How temperature, gas type, steel grade, surface carbon content and conditions of carbide formation and dissolution all depend on carbon flow are not yet precisely known. These programs are usually run with experimentally fitted data, which contain uncertainties. Todays data provided for simulation are typically obtained from the results of carburising experiments from which the carbon mass flow is integrated. This carbon mass flow is highly dependent on the length of the previous boost step. If there is a significant difference between the timing of the segments, the results may deviate from reality. A more convenient way to obtain the effect of the many different influences on mass flow data is to use thermogravimetric measurement. This method acquires the carbon mass flow by measuring a samples weight
1.7.6. Steel grade

The grade of steel has three different aspects: x maximum carbon dissolution x carbide formation x diffusion velocity The maximum amount of dissolved carbon changes with the quantity of substitution alloy elements (see Figure 14). It is generally considered that the more alloying elements present, the less carbon can be dissolved. In consequence the surface will become saturated and carbides may be formed earlier. Other issues related to the alloy content are the amount of carbides to be precipitated and the type of carbide formed. Elements like chromium, molybdenum, vanadium and tungsten, which are added to accelerate precipitation, will form carbides which can only be dissolved at higher temperatures.
17
15
mass flow [g/m2]
800

2
fitted function
600 400 200
Steel grade (DIN-EN): 20MnCr5 Gas: acetylene Flow rate: 4 ml/min 380 l/m2h 5 mbar Pressure: Temperature: 1050 C
9
Surface carbon content [weight %]
0 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 time [min]
measured weight gain

Steel grade (DIN-EN): 16MnCr5 Gas: acetylene Flow rate: 4 ml/min 380 l/m2h 5 mbar Pressure: Temperature: 940 C
0 0 1 2 3 4 time [min] 5 6 7 8
Figure 18. Fitted exponential saturation function compared with measurement: 16MnCr5, 940C, 380 l/(m2h), acetylene, 5 mbar [38]
Figure 19. Carbon mass flow and surface carbon distribution (carbon in solution) during a simulated multi-step carburising process: 20MnCr5, 1050C, acetylene [38]
change during carburising. Most significant influences like temperature, steel grade, gas type and their interrelation can be verified this way. An example of one such measurement is given in Figure 17, which shows the specific weight change of a sample of 20MnCr5 during carburising in propane at about 1050C for eight minutes. Using a fitted exponential saturation function, as shown in Figure 18, and differentiating it will give a carbon mass flow function, which can be used to describe the first boost step of a sample in a diffusion simulation. A matter of special importance is the interrelation between the accumulated carbon profile from the former boost steps and the newly arranged carbon mass flow function as shown in Figure19. In fact there are two influences that have to be considered: x Higher surface carbon content and therefore earlier saturation of austenite x Change of diffusion speed because of the accumulated profile and reduced gradients. Theoretically many experiments would be needed to obtain the exact relationships. A simpler but quite effective approach is to obtain the carbon mass flow function of the first carburising step and use it as a basis for the subsequent ones. To account for the faster saturation and slower diffusion, a coefficient can be derived, which will result in a lower mass flow using a time shift that depends on the surface carbon content.
1.9.
Hardware
1.9.1. Furnaces
Conventional vacuum furnaces are used for low pressure carburising. Furnace construction used to be based on a heating and carburising chamber made of steel, which is not the ideal choice because of the large catalytic area of the whole retort during carburising. These steel retort furnaces will need a significant higher gas supply than a furnace with an inactive retort made of ceramics or graphite. Most recent furnaces are equipped with a graphite chamber and graphite heating, which will not interfere with the carburising process by catalysing a reaction of the process gas. The only drawback of a graphite retort is that the oxygen partial pressure has to be kept low. Todays standard vacuum furnaces can be subdivided into two major groups: x Single chamber furnaces x Multi-chamber furnaces In a single chamber furnace, carburising and quenching is done in the same chamber. These furnaces are very often combined with high pressure gas quenching technology to quench the load. The drawback of the combined carburising and quenching chamber is that the chamber has to be quenched as well as the load. The result is a lower cooling rate compared with a two-chamber or multi-chamber system. The multichamber system is able to combine the flexibility of using different, even liquid, quenching media with a significantly higher heat transfer rate, because the quenching chamber is cold (see section 2.9).
18
1.9.2. Gas supply

The gas supply equipment of a furnace used for low pressure carburising should contain no non-ferrous metal if acetylene is to be used for carburising. A multi-stream supply system with multiple inlets can be used to assist uniformity of carburising. If a carbonitriding process is required, the exhaust system should also be free from any non-ferrous metal.
1.10.2. Near surface effects

Internal oxidation is a well known damaging effect in gas carburising processes. It reduces the amount of dissolved alloying elements and therefore the hardenability in the outer region. The oxides formed especially on grain boundaries reduce the fatigue strength through notch effects. Components carburised at low pressure show no signs of internal oxidation, but other effects are reported, including: x Effusion of elements, especially manganese x Formation of carbides on grain boundaries, if the carburising parameters are less than optimal x Etching at austenite grain boundaries during the carburising step [39], which can be considered as notches. Recent research work indicates that element effusion and carbide formation and dissolution during the low pressure carburising process amplify thermal etch effects. Optimised simulation of the carburising process led to a marked increase in fatigue resistance [40, 41].
1.10. Troubleshooting: common problems 1.10.1. Soot and tar problems

Soot forms if there is too much carbon present in the carburising atmosphere. It can be observed that thermally dissociated free carbon is formed if the gas flow rate is too high respective to the total surface of the load. In the 1970s, when relatively high process pressures were used, soot sensors (photo sensors) were used to detect soot by measuring the adsorption of light by the soot fog [12]. The process gas flow rate was controlled as a means of controlling the rate of sooting. Soot can be minimised by adapting the flow rate to the total surface of the load and also by limiting the pressure. Tar (long chained hydrocarbons) can also form by complex polymerisation processes, which have not been sufficiently investigated up to now. Hydrocarbons and soot are often found in cold parts of plants. Processes that run continuously are reported to produce especially high amounts of tar and soot.
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2. Quenching characteristics for gas and oil
Temeperature [C]
Heat treatment operation for hardening steels consists of heating and quenching processes. Although both are important for the resulting characteristics, the quenching sequence is generally the more critical. It must be carried out at a controlled cooling rate in order to achieve the correct hardness and structure. A cooling rate that is too high generally results in higher strength and hardness. At the same time a quenching process with a high cooling rate is associated with greater distortion, and maybe even cracking. The rate of cooling must therefore be suited to the type of material and to the shape and dimensions of the component. Oil is today the most common quenchant, especially for carburised components, but the use of high pressure gas quenching, HPGQ, is increasing.
1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
25
50
Cooling rate [C/S] 75 100
Cooling rate
Vapour blanket Boiling
2.1.
Quenching in oil
The quenching process [42] in oil can be divided into three phases: x Vapour phase x Boiling phase x Convection phase Figure 20 shows a schematic representation of the three phases during quenching. The heat transfer in each phase follows a different mechanism and each phase plays its part in the final result.
Convection 0 5 10 15 20 5 Time [s]
Figure 20. Typical cooling curve for oil quenchants
In the vapour phase, the surface temperature of the component being hardened is so high that the liquid quenching media, oil, is rapidly vaporised and a thin, thermally insulating film of oil vapour forms over the entire part. This vapour phase must not last too long if undesirable phase changes to ferrite and pearlite in the steel are to be avoided. The actual length of time varies considerably, depending on factors such as the oil itself and its latent heat of evaporation, the surface condition of the component and the packing pattern of the load.
20
900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 20 Time, s 40 60
Tenmperature, C
900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Heat Transfer Coefficient, W/m2 C
Figure 21. Typical cooling curve for gas (red), in this case helium at 10 bar. For comparison the curve for a hot quenching oil is also shown (blue). [43]
Temperature, C
During the boiling phase, the oil comes into direct contact with the hot surface and is immediately boiled away, increasing the rate of heat removal. In most cases, for efficient cooling of any particular grade of steel, the rate of cooling must be highest over the same temperature range as the ferrite and pearlite nose for the material in the time temperature transformation (TTT) diagram. The convection phase begins when the surface temperature of the component falls below the boiling point of the oil. During this phase, the flow velocity and the temperature of the oil primarily determine the rate of cooling. A low boiling point results in a high cooling capacity.
2.3.
Temperature differences when quenching in oil and gas
When a component such as a cylinder [44] is quenched in oil, it is first surrounded by the vapour phase. The vapour phase collapses after a short time, and is replaced by the boiling phase. After further cooling the convection phase begins. Normally all three phases co-exist for a period, see Figure 22 at left, until finally only convection remains. The centre section of Figure 22 shows how the heat transfer coefficient, a , is calculated for oil and water. The maximum a -value for oil is almost 5000 W/m2C, which is normal for fast quenching oil. While the three phases coexist there is a large temperature difference between the surface and the core and in the axial direction of the cylinder. To the right in Figure 22 the uneven temperature within the cylinder can be seen. The maximum temperature is 750 C and the minimum temperature is less than 200 C at the surface. This uneven temperature causes stresses that deform the component and further distortion also arises because the transformation to martensite starts at a different time. Gas quenching will have a convection phase only and give a constant heat transfer coefficient e.g. 1000 W/m2C along the cylinder, see Figure 23. Because the heat transfer coefficient is constant, the axial temperature gradient within the cylinder shown to the right in Figure 23 is small. This type of quenching gives more homogenous stresses and therefore less distortion. When the gas flow is perpendicular to the cylinder, as in Figure 23, it results in an uneven heat transfer coefficient around the cylinder.
2.2.
Quenching in gas
The quenching process in gas consists of only one phase [43], the convection phase, which starts at the beginning of the quenching process (see Figure 21). During this phase, the flow velocity, pressure and temperature of the gas primarily determine the rate of cooling. In theory heat is also removed through radiation to the surrounding walls and between the components, but in practice this has very little effect compared with the convection, so it is usually ignored. Figure 21 shows the differences between the two quenching media. For most gases in common use under typical conditions the maximum heat transfer coefficient for the oil is two or three times higher than for gas. It can also be seen that the final temperature for gas quenching is lower than that for oil. That is quite natural as the gas temperature at the end of the quenching is about 30 50C while the oil temperature might be 80 120C.
21
Figure 22. Heat transfer and temperature distribution in oil quenching a cylinder
Figure 23. Heat transfer coefficient and temperature distribution with perpendicular gas quenching of a cylinder
However, during normal quenching the flow direction is parallel to the cylinder, as usually long thin cylinders are charged into the furnace vertically. Here the heat transfer coefficient decreases along the cylinder, see Figure 24.
2.4
Cooling curves and heat transfer coefficient (HTC)
As Figure 21 shows, the quenching characteristics of oil and gas are quite different, which should be remembered when reading this section. The heat transfer coefficient, HTC, is an important input parameter for simulation of the hardness, distortion and stresses of a component. It also characterises the quenching properties of quenchants. For oil, the three phases are quite distinct. For gas the HTC, after a short temperature drop, stabilises at an almost constant value, which depends on the type of gas or mixture, the pressure and gas velocity as well as the geometry of the component and its orientation.
h1
h2
h1 > h2 >
h3
2.4.1. The gases

h3
Figure 24. Heat transfer and temperature distribution during parallel gas quenching of a cylinder (where h is the heat transfer coefficient).
An average value for the HTC can be calculated from the theory and the calculation formulae developed for a heat exchanger when the gas flow is perpendicular to the tubes [45]. Figure 25 shows the HTC and how it varies with pressure and gas velocity. The curves have been calculated for the four most commonly used gases. x Argon (Ar) is used for components whose surface would react with any other gas. x Nitrogen (N2) is used most often in this context, because it is cheap and widely available. x Helium (He) has better cooling properties than N2 but is much more expensive and is therefore used less. x Hydrogen (H2) has the best cooling capacity and is cheaper than He. Because hydrogen in combination with oxygen may form a combustible mixture, however, all hydrogen installations are subject to special safety precautions and are, so far, very little used.
However, the effects of differences in the heat transfer coefficient are small in comparison to the larger differences occurring with oil quenching. Thus gas quenching normally causes less distortion. Both axial and perpendicular flows cause differences in the heat transfer coefficient along the component; sometimes it would even be more beneficial to quench in a perpendicular direction in order to get a more even heat transfer (Figure 36).
22
3000 2500 h [W/m2K] 2000 1500 1000 500 0 5 10 15 20 25 Gas velocity [m/s] 30 35
Cylinder 12.5 mm
3000 H2 h [W/m2K] He N2 Ar 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 5 10 15 20 25 Pressure [bar] 30 35

Cylinder 12.5 mm
H2 He N2 Ar
20 bar
Figure 25. Relationship between the heat transfer coefficient at 500 C for pressure and gas velocity
15 m/s
The gas speed and pressure are the main parameters affecting the cooling characteristics, as well as the gas composition. Figures 21 and 23 illustrate that quenching is done by convection only. An increase of gas pressure, and therefore velocity, means that the HTC rises. As Figure 25 shows, this results in faster quenching.
2.4.2. Mixture of gases

A mixture of gases has an optimum composition for heat transfer. Figure 26 shows the influence on the HTC of adding He to an N2 atmosphere, compared with the addition H2. For both mixtures the maximum value of the HTC is reached at about 80%.
With a mixture of He N2 the HTC will remain the same as for 100% He [46] even when the He content is 60 70%. This will reduce the cost of the quenching gas. However, when quenching with pure helium, the helium recycling system should always be implemented (see Section 2.4.3 for further details). For the H2 N2 mixture [47] the content of H2 can be 30-40%, which is comparable to 100% H2. In this case it is advisable to use a mixture of 70 80% of H2 in order to take advantage of the higher HTC, about 20 30% compared to 100% H2.
1.5 1.4 Coefficient 1.3 1.2 1.1 1 Heat-transfer-coefficient [W/m2K]
1200
900
600
300
0 N2
20
40 60 Helium content
80
100 He
20
40 60 80 Hydrogen content [%]
100 H2
Figure 26. Heat transfer coefficient for gas mixtures in a nitrogen atmosphere. For the H2-N2 mixture the points S1 to S7 indicating the different positions in the load.
23
900 800 Temperature [C] 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 30 60 75 % 25 % 100 % 90 50 % 20 bar He, 25 100 % 10 bar He, 100 %
120 150 Time [s]
180
210
240
Figure 27. A helium recycle system (photo courtesy of ALD)
Figure 28. The effect of fan speed on cooling. He at 10 and 20 bar using a 30 mm test piece of Inconel 600 with the thermocouple in its centre. Cold quenching chamber at IVF. [50]
2.4.3 Gas recycle

Recycling of nitrogen is not economically attractive, but if helium is used, experience shows that recycling can reduce the cost (Figure 27). However, careful consideration needs to be given to factors such as the purity required in the output gas, the pressure and the time available to carry out the recycle. Because of the high capital cost of the equipment and the gas losses, the amount of cost saved by the use of a properly optimised helium-based quenching system depends on the gas quality required from the recycling system. A simple helium recycling system with minimal clean-up, and hence minimal losses, on a typical vacuum carburising installation with one furnace, can reduce helium costs by at least half [48].
In a quenching chamber the gas velocity is controlled by the fan speed. A lower fan speed gives slower cooling, (see Figure 28 [50]). Cooling in He at 20 bar, with the fan running at 75% of maximum speed, provides a cooling capacity equal to that of He at 10 bar and 100% fan speed. Higher gas velocities bring more gas molecules per unit of time into contact with the surface of the component and remove heat at a faster rate. The effect of gas pressure for He and N2 on the cooling rate [51] is shown in Figure 29. When the quenching changes from N2 at 10 bar to He at 10 bar, the maximum rate increases by about 50 70%. An increase to 20 bar He gives an increase of 40% in comparison with 10 bar He. A further increase to 40 bar gives another increase of 40%. 40 bar is however not practical as yet, but is shown here as a possibility.
2.4.4. The influence of gas pressure and gas velocity

Temperature [C]
900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 25 50 Cooling rate [C/s] 75 100
The following expression shows the relationship between the HTC, pressure and gas velocity [49].
h = C . p m . vn
h= p= v= C, m, n = Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 C Gas pressure, bar Gas velocity, m/s Constants, depending on the chamber, load configuration and components. For a perpendicular gas stream, m and n are equal to 0.6 0.8
Figure 29. Cooling curves for different pressures of He and N2. Cold quenching chamber at IVF.
24
150 125 Temperature [C] 100 Gas outlet 75 50 25 0 Gas inlet Mean value of gas temperatures
20
40
60
80
100 120 Time [s]
140
160
180
200
Figure 30. Gas temperature during quenching at 10 bar He in a cold chamber.
2.4.5. The effect of the gas temperature
2.5.
Properties of the gases
The gas temperature is one of the parameters needed to calculate x The rate of heat transfer by convection is governed by: the gases the HTC. Very often a constant value is assumed, but in an indusand their thermophysical properties (see Table 3) trial quenching chamber the gas temperature varies over the time of x the body geometry quenching. The actual gas temperature at any time is needed in order x the average gas velocity, pressure and its turbulence. to get the most accurate value. However, the Table 3: Physical properties of the gases at 15C and 1 bar [53]. temperature of the inlet gas is always lower than the outlet gas as it heats up passing Properties Argon Nitrogen Helium Hydrogen through the load. The solution [52] is to use 3 1.67 1.17 0.17 0.08 Density, kg/m the average temperature between the inlet Spec heat capacity, kJ/kg K 0.52 1.04 5.19 14.30 and outlet temperature (see Figure 30). Thermal conductivity W/m K 0.017 0.026 0.154 0.191 23 x 10-6 18 x 10-6 20 x 10-6 9 x 10-6 Dynamic viscosity Ns/m2 During the starting phase of quenching the Kinematic viscosity, m2/s 0.14 0.15 x 10-4 1.19 x 10-4 1.06 x 10-4 inlet temperature rises about 40C and the outlet temperature increases by about 100C. This means that components at the top and In order to calculate the heat transfer coefficient, h, the well-known key the bottom of the load are quenched at a slightly different temperature. values such as Nusselt, Reynolds and Prandtl values must be known, The calculated HTC is however a mean value for the whole load. see formulae below.
Nu = h d / l Re = U d /u Pr =

(1) (2) (3)
u r Cp / l
h = heat transfer coefficient, W/m2C d = characteristic measure, e.g. the diameter of an cylinder or axle, m l = gas thermal conductivity, W / m K U = gas velocity, m/s u = kinematic viscosity, m2/s r = gas density, kg/m3 Cp = gas specificity heat capacity, kJ/kg K
25
Kinematic viscosity x 0,000001 m2/s [C]
3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0
Kinematic viscosity x 0,000001 m2/s [C]
5,0 4,5 4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0 0 5 10 15 Pressure [bar] 20 25 30
50
100 150 Gas temperature [C]
200
250
300
Figure 31. Kinematic viscosity versus gas temperature at 15 bar nitrogen.
Figure 32. Kinematic viscosity versus pressure at 100C for nitrogen.
These three key values (1 3) have the following correlation:
Now the heat transfer coefficient is known, the time, t, it takes to quench from one temperature to another can be calculated. (4)
Nu = C Rem Prn (Pr/Prs )r
(6)
Pr is the Prandtls value in the gas volume and Prs is the value close to surface of the component. C, m, n and r are constants. These constants vary with the design of the quenching chamber, configuration of the load, position and geometry of the components and so on. Mostly the value of n is about 0.3 0.4 and value of r is around 0.25. However, the values of C and m depend on the magnitude of the Re value [54] (see Table 4). Similar results have also been reported by R. Wiberg [55].
Table 4: Constants and exponents in Equation 4
W = weight of component, kg A = surface area of component, m2 Tf = average temperature of gas T1 = start temperature for component T2 = end temperature for component
Re 1 to 40 40 to 1000 1000 to 2 x 105 2 x 105 106
C 0.750 0.510 0.260 0.076
m 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
The physical properties in Table 3 are given for 15 C and 1 bar. When the temperature and, especially, the pressure are higher, some properties will change. For a more qualified and more exact simulation it can be valuable to use the corrected values as shown in Figure 31 and 32. Figure 31 shows the variation in the kinematic viscosity with temperature at 15 bar for nitrogen. It illustrates that, for example, an increase in temperature from 20C to 100C increases kinematic viscosity by 60%. When this and other temperature-dependent changes are taken into consideration, the heat transfer coefficient decreases from 391 to 355W/m2C, a reduction of about 10%. In this case the gas velocity is 10m/s. Figure 32 shows the change in kinematic viscosity versus pressure at 100 C for nitrogen. An increase of pressure from 10 to 20 bar decreases the kinematic viscosity by about 50%. The change in the kinematic viscosity that comes with a pressure change from 10 20 bar increases the heat transfer coefficient from 355 to 480 W/m2 C.
From Equation 4 it is possible to calculate the heat transfer coefficient, h, using the suggested values for the constants n and r and the m value, which normally is ~ 0.7.
h = C U0.7 d-0.3 l0.7 u0.4 r0.3 Cp0.3
(5)
The calculated value of h is an average for a component similar to a cylinder or an axle. Its important to keep in mind that the h value varies over the surface of the component (see 2.6).
26
c
c d b a
d
b a d
b a
b a
Figure 33. The heat transfer coefficient (Nusselt numbers) along the cylinder surface. The distance a b is the front end; b c is the cylinder side; and c d is the rear. The turbulence is 0.3%. (The heat transfer coefficient is proportional to the Nusselt number.)
Figure 34. The heat transfer coefficient (Nusselt number) along the cylinder surface. The turbulence is 6.7%. The turbulence disk is seen in the front of the cylinder.
2.6.
Design of the load
2.6.1. Cylinder and axle

In the previous sections the heat transfer coefficient used was an average value around a test probe, a cylinder or a component. However, during gas quenching of any component the local heat transfer is of major importance to the final hardness, uniformity and distortion of the component. Even for a component as simple as a cylinder there is a variation both along its length and its circumference, depending on gas quenching conditions. Two major parameters are the turbulence and the Reynolds number [55]. In a test in a wind tunnel, with axial flow along a cylinder, it was shown that with a turbulence of 0.3%, which is nearly a laminar flow, the HTC had the highest value at the back part of the cylinder, see Figure 33. The same figure also shows how the heat transfer coefficient (proportional to the Nusselt number) increases with higher Reynolds numbers. The Reynolds number is proportional to the gas velocity. (Note: Nu=d/l and when Nu is known from Figure 30, then h can be calculated; d is the critical dimension, in this case 0.15 m, where the trials were made for a cylinder with a diameter of 0.15 m [56]. l is the gass heat transfer capacity, in this case 0.026 (see Table 3). The value of h is then 175 when Nu is 1000. When Re is 300 000 then the gas velocity is 30 m/s). However, with increasing turbulence up to and over 6.7% the HTC over the cylinder has shifted so it has it highest value at the front part along the cylinder surface (see Figure 33). The turbulence was increased by
inserting a disk with a diameter 1/3 of the cylinder diameter, and one diameter up in the upstream gas. Figures 33 and 34 illustrate that with increasing Reynolds number, i.e. a higher flow velocity, the HTC value also increases. With the actual parameters the HTC value is about twice as high at the front of the cylinder as it is at end of the cylinder. In industrial vacuum furnaces there is a high degree of turbulence. The normal consequence is that the front part of a cylinder surface has the highest HTC value along its length. This has also been noted in other reported results [56, 57]. A more in-depth analysis of axial flow along a cylinder has been made with different configurations [56] (see Figure 35). In configuration A there is a free flow of gas along the cylinder axis which gives a higher heat transfer at the front end of the cylinder. Figure 36 shows the heat transfer coefficient over the cylinder for all configurations. The HTC is high at leading edge of the cylinder, between 0 and 40 mm. Beyond 40mm the heat transfer is more uniform. This is in good agreement with the result in Figure 34. In configuration B where the cylinders are supported with holding bars there is an increase in the heat transfer at the supporting points at 50 and 100 mm. The heat transfer coefficient is increased locally by 25%, because turbulence is higher. In configurations C and D the heat transfer coefficient is more uniform. The heat transfer coefficient appears to vary between 0 and 40 mm from the leading edge of the cylinder. Beyond 40 mm, the heat transfer is almost uniform. In configuration C the heat transfer coefficient is somewhat higher still. This is in good agreement with results from experimentally verified tests.
27
800 Heat transfer coefficient [W/ m2] 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 20 40 60 Length [mm] 80 100 120
A B C D
a) Configuration A
b) Configuration B
c) Configuration C
c) Configuration C
Figure 35. Four quenching basket configurations are delineated. (a) No basket, the cylinders stand alone in the quenching chamber; (b) basket made of bars, currently used in industrial gas quenching processes; (c) basket made of 3 mm thick plates; (d) basket made of tube with 3 mm wall thickness.
Figure 36. Heat transfer distribution over the cylinder surface for all configurations.
When the flow of gas is perpendicular to a cylinder axis there will be an uneven HTC around the cylinder (see Figure 37). Also in this case the level of the Reynolds number has an influence. With increasing Reynolds number the HTC has a minimum at 0 degrees (see Figure 37), and will be rising towards the impingent point at an angle of 90 degrees. At the same time the HTC will also increase. Industrial tests of perpendicular gas flow against a cylinder or axle have shown a higher HTC at the cylinder surface turned into the flow in comparison with the far side. One test [56] in an industrial furnace with about 15 m/s gas flow gave 20% higher HTC at the front side. Another test [58] with a very high gas velocity gave a difference between the front and back of a cylinder of 4 6 times higher HTC at the front side.
In a load with more than one layer, the highest HTC is always found at the top layer when the gas flows from top to bottom. The highest values are found in the top layer where the cold and fast gas first impinges on the components. The heating up of the gas leads to smaller HTC in the middle and bottom layers. The reduction depends mainly on the design of the load. Examples in the literature have reported reduction values from 50% [47] and 30% [59].
2.6.2. Disk and gear

Common components that industry needs to manufacture are gears for the automotive industry. With the increasing use of vacuum carburising combined with gas quenching it is important to optimise the design of a load in order reduce distortion as much as possible. An extensive study [60] has been made, simulating gas quenching of disks and gears, both in horizontal (lying down) and vertical (hanging) positions (see Figure 38). The simulated gears were plain disks without teeth, but with a central hole. The gear has an outer diameter of 25 cm and a central hole of 15 cm. The thickness is 5 cm. This gives the gear a square cross-section with sides of 5 cm.
800 Heat transfer coefficient [Wm2K-1] 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 -90 Gas flow -90 deg. 0 deg. 90 deg. 0 deg. -60 -30 0 30 Angle [degrees]
Simulated Measured
60
90
Cross section
Figure 38. Schematic view of the configuration for two types of load
Figure 37. An example of a typical pattern for the HTC around a cylinder.
28
2.6.2.1. Horizontal position

Figure 39 shows the simulated velocity field over horizontal stacked gears (the first and fifth) with an axial distance of 5 cm between the gears. The gas velocity is 20 m/s at a pressure of 20 bar. Starting with the first gear shown in Figure 39a, the typical flow configuration is: 1. stagnation flow on the upstream surface, accelerating from the centre towards the gear corners 2. separation at the corners and change of direction to axial flow 3. fast flow over the outer and inner diameter of all the gears 4. a much slower type of circulation between the gears indicted by the dark blue arrows to the right of the shown cross-section.
If the distance between the gears is increased, the velocities between them also increase. For the first gear, the gas velocity at the corners is about 16 18 m/s, while it is lower, about 6 9 m/s, at the front side and somewhat less, 4 5 m/s, at the far side. Along the inside and outside the velocity is more uniform at about 15 19 m/s. For the fifth gear, the velocity at the front side is lower than for the first gear, at about 4 5 m/s.
a)
b)
Figure 39. Velocity field for (a) first gear upstream; (b) fifth gear. The distance between the gears is 5 cm, and the gas pressure is 20 bar at 20 m/s. The gas stream is coming from the left.
29
a)
2 5 cm 10 cm 15 cm 20 cm
b)
2 5 cm 10 cm 15 cm 20 cm
1,5 Nu x 10-4
1,5 Nu x 10-4
0,5
0,5
0,6 0,8 0,2 0,4 Distance from inner diameter
0,6 0,8 0,2 0,4 Distance from inner diameter
Figure 40. The calculated Nusselt number over the front surface, (a) for the first gear and (b) for the fifth gear.
Figure 40 shows the variation of the Nusselt value for the first and the fifth gear. The upstream surface for the first gear is shown in Figure 40a for all simulated distances between the gears. Figure 40b shows the same for the fifth gear. Figure 41a shows that the distance between the gears has no influence on the Nusselt number. The upstream gas is undisturbed when it impinges on the first gear, which is the reason the Nusselt number stays the same. The Nusselt number has a minimum almost in the middle of the surface and is about six times higher at the corners than in the middle of the front surface.
The profile of the Nusselt numbers for the fifth gear is the same over the front surface as for the first gear. The scatter for the different distances is higher but the relationship between minimum and maximum in this case is only three times. A similar pattern as in Figure 40b exists for all the other surfaces. Average Nusselt numbers have been summarised for each gear and are shown in Figure 41. The Nusselt numbers are the highest for the upstream first gear and then they drop for gears 2 to 5. However the most even Nusselt numbers are obtained with the spacing 5 cm apart from the first gear, although the Nusselt numbers are the lowest in this case. In gas quenching the differences in HTC over the surface and between gears and disks are small compared to the differences in HTC for quenching in oil, where a typical value is 10 20 times higher. This has a beneficial influence in reducing distortion. The divergence between the first gear and disk can be used in a positive way by replacing it by a thin dummy disk or spoiler, creating a more uniform gas flow downstream. This conclusion has been confirmed in other work.
10,5
Average Nu per cylinder x 10-4
10 9,5 9 8,5 8 7,5 7 6,5 0 1 2 3 4
5 cm 10 cm 15 cm 20 cm
Cylinder 1 is the first in the flow and 5 is the last

Figure 41. Area averaged Nusselt numbers for all gears and all distances.
30
9800
Average Nu per cylinder
9600 9400 9200 9000 8800 8600 0 2
5 cm 10 cm 15 cm 20 cm
Number of cylinder. 1 is the left and 3 is the right

Figure 42. Velocity plot for gears with 10 cm distance. Figure 43. Area-averaged Nusselt number for all gears and all distances.
2.6.2.2. Vertical position

For this simulation only three gears were used. Because it includes a gear located between two others and one that has only one gear next to it, the results should be adequate to describe the flow and Nusselt number behaviour for any number of parallel gears in a vertical position. In vertical flow, large differences in the flow are less likely because of the direction of the flow and the placing of the gears. Higher Nusselt numbers are reached in vertical flow, compared to horizontal position more because of the smaller amount of material, than because of the hole. This is what makes it easier for the gas to flow through the load, rather than geometrical reasons. Figure 42 shows the flow for 10 cm spacing. The eddies inside the cylinder holes, and how the direction changes and goes upstream inside the hole, can both clearly be seen. In Figure 43 the area-averaged Nusselt numbers for the three cylinders are displayed in the same way as in Figure 40. The Nusselt numbers for the three gears are much the same in comparison with gears in the horizontal position, and this results in more even hardness and lower distortions. With the exception of the gear placed in the centre in the 10 cm case, which obtains the highest value, the more separated the gears, the lower is the cooling, although the differences are very small. This is because when as the gears are separated further apart, the velocities between two adjacent gears decrease.
2.7.
Distortion
Gas quenching is often claimed to reduce the amount of distortion. While theoretically valid, this is also true in most practical cases. During quenching, oil passes through three different phases: a vapour phase; a boiling phase; and a convection phase. All three phases have different HTCs (see Figures 20 and 21). The quenched component is therefore subjected to a different HTC at different positions on the component at the same time. This leads to uneven quenching and inhomogeneous phase transformation in the steel component, which causes uneven stresses and distortions. In gas quenching, only the convection phase is present and, consequently, more homogeneous phase transformations within the quenched component can be assumed, resulting in more even stresses and less distortion. In practice, however, during gas quenching the HTC also differs around a component depending on its geometry, its position in a load and the flow conditions dictated by the performance and geometry of the quenching chamber. But, compared with oil quenching the differences in HTC are much smaller when quenching in gas. In gas quenching one factor to consider is the distortions, such as ovality and flatness, that cannot be corrected. These distortions are very critical and important to reduce. Distortion in diameters and, sometimes, in conicity can be adjusted by soft machining before hardening. However it is then important to minimise scatter.
31
Figure 44. Less distortion is a major advantage of high pressure gas quenching over oil quenching. These ovality or roundness data are for (a) 50 oilquenched and (b) 50 gas- quenched synchronizer gears.
2.7.1. Gears
Automotive transmission synchronizer gears were gas quenched, after being vacuum carburised, with 20 bar helium [61]. The load consisted of about 340 gears placed horizontally in nine layers. Compared with oil quenching, use of high pressure gas quenching provided a significant reduction in gear distortion (see Figure 44). The lower distortion values were consistent and repeatable so the soft and hard machining tolerances could be decreased. Other transmission parts such as sun gears, ring gears, pinions, and shafts have also been quenched in 20 bar helium with good results. Extensive testing with gas- and oil-quenched gears has shown [62] that gas quenching gives lower distortion. For example, a 30% reduction in out-of-flatness was recorded. Since out-of-flatness is of crucial importance to the tooth flank deviation, any improvement is particularly important. Loading the gears in a vertical position also gave a reduction of 10-20% in distortion compared to the horizontal position. It also gave slighter higher hardness. This agrees well with the simulation discussed in Section 2.6. As mentioned previously, the geometry of the gear also has a noticeable influence on distortion. With a small reinforcement of the gear the distortion decreased by a further 30%. According to Altena [35] the reinforcement of such components has a large influence, up to 50%, on the distortion and it must not be neglected. There are other published results, which also show the comparison between quenching in oil and gas where the gas gives lower distortion [44, 48].
2.7.2. Rings
The geometric forms of gears and rings are relatively similar. While most gears are made of carburising steel, most rings are made of ball bearing steel. Rings of 100Cr6 steel were quenched in gas and two fast-quenching oils [63] respectively (Figure 45). The gas was helium at 10 and 20bar in a cold chamber. The distortion was determined by comparing the diameter, ovality and conicity.
0,06
Ovality of Outer Diameter [mm]
Average and Standard Deviation
0,05 0,04 0,03 0,02 0,01 0

10 bar He n = 12
6 12
Oil A: Houghton Quench A Oil B: Bellini Fn 10 bar He Cold Chamber 20 bar He
20 bar He
Oil A
Oil B
Figure 45. Change in ovality for the ball bearing steel 100Cr6 with outer diameter 70 mm, inner diameter 60 mm and height 15 mm, cooled in gas and oils.
Both oils gave a higher distortion and scatter, compared with gas. Quenching at 20 bar gave less scatter, arising from the fact that the 10bar quenched rings were not fully hardened because the cooling capacity of the gas was too low. In other published results, which also show the comparison between quenching in oil and gas, the gas gives lower distortion [64, 65].
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Gas carburizing & Oil quench Vacuum Carburizing & Gas quench Frec.
20 16 12 8 4 0 1 2 3
1
Straightness / in 1000
Figure 46. Change in straightness for pinions of SAE 8260, quenched in oil and 20bar helium.
2.7.3. Axles
Gears and rings can be loaded both horizontally and vertically, but axles are normally loaded vertically. Pinions in a load of 500 kg were carburised and quenched in both oil and gas with the same charge pattern. Figure 46 reveals that the median straightness has decreased from 100 to 50 m (4/1000 to 2/1000 in), a reduction of 50%. It is clear that the scatter also is strongly reduced, which reduces subsequent grinding or straightening. In the same investigation long slender drive shafts were oil- and gasquenched. The straightness decreased by 60% when quenching in gas. A shorter and more stable axle decreased in straightness by only 15% [48].
2.8.
Interrupted gas quenching
Temperature gradients during quenching cause stresses and uneven phase transformations and hence distortion and uneven hardness. One way to control these defects is to lower temperature gradients by decreasing the HTC. This can be done either by lowering the pressure or by lowering the flow rate by reducing the fan speed. It is crucial to know when the interruption starts and by how much the HTC will be decreased. Quenching in a salt bath results in very similar cooling characteristics and low distortion. But the possibility of doing the same with gas quenching avoids the detrimental effect on the environment that salt entails.
60 50 left ank right ank
Temperature [C]
Fan stop
Fan restart
40 m 30 20 10 0
conventional dynamic
Time [s] Figure 47. Effect of interrupted quenching, by turning off ventilator for 20 s.
Quenching in oil
Conventional gas quenching
Dynamic gas quenching (20 sec. fan turn off)
33
Year 1960
10
20
40
pressure (bar) Steel Grades 3high-alloyed tool steel 3high performance cutting steel 3air hardening steel 3gas quenching of case hardening steel 3soldering processes + hot working steel 3quenched and tempered steel (medium cross section) 3cold working steel + case hardening steel 3quenched and tempered steel (larger cross section) 3low alloyed steel
1970
1980
1990
2000
100 350
1000
1600 (W/m2K)
Figure 48. Development of gas quenching technology
As a general rule the interruption in gas flow ought to start at or just above the martensite temperature, which depends on the carbon content of the steel. How much and for how long the HTC should be decreased depends on the hardenability of the steel and the dimensions of the component. The HTC for the furnace and the load configuration must be both known for the calculation. The cooling curves are calculated from the HTC to determine the optimal curves that give the correct hardness at a reduced cooling rate. Figure 47 shows the result for a gas-quenched carburised SAE 5115 (16MnCr5) gear, compared with oil quenching. The quenching was interrupted at about 350C by turning off the fan for 20 s and then turning it on again. The pressure remained unchanged. The scatter of the helix slope distortion was strongly reduced. This, in turn, reduced the subsequent grinding operation. This technique is common industrial practice used to reduce distortion. Salt bath quenching is typically used for austempering, but can be used where low distortion is needed. However, salt baths create environmental problems.
working tool steels, small cold working steel components and the rough hardening steel components in medium sizes. The use of lighter gases, such as helium and hydrogen, together with a gas pressure of 20 bar, gave a large increase in the HTC in the gas quenching development sequence. A further increase of the gas pressure to 40 bar has been tested in a small cold chamber. This further improved quenching power, but in practice today the limit is 20 bar for both technical and economical reasons. The 20 bar vacuum furnace has an HTC of more than 1000 W/m2 C, which corresponds to normal oil quenching or hot oil quenching. This gives sufficient core strength and/ or hardness for carburising steel, through hardening steels in larger dimensions, or lower alloyed steels. One goal is to develop the cold chamber and its flow pattern further to increase HTC without the need to increase the pressure.
2.9.1. Single-chamber vacuum furnaces

In single-chamber furnaces heating and quenching both take place in the same chamber. The design of a single-chamber vacuum furnace is a compromise between the demands on the heating and quenching systems. During quenching the heating elements and the wall insulation material are cooled together with the load, often to room temperature. The furnace can be built so that the flow of the gas can change direction during the quenching period as well. The drawing to the left in Figure 49 shows such a furnace where the load is quenched from below [67]. By changing the guiding plates the gas flow can be alternated from below and from above. In the drawing to the right in Figure 49, the guiding plates are adjusted so that the gas flow comes from the left. This mode is useful if the layers are tightly packed, making it difficult for the gas to flow in a vertical direction.
2.9.
Equipment
The gas quenching technique has seen rapid development throughout the last 25 years. The first vacuum furnaces were equipped with nitrogen quenching at 1 2 bar. This combined a brazing process and hardening of air hardening steel such as high alloy tool steel and high speed steel [66]. Figure 48 shows how the gas quenching technique has developed from 1960 to the present. In about 1981/82 the first singlechamber vacuum furnaces with gas quenching at 5 6 bar were developed. The improved quenching power then allowed hardening of hot
34
Figure 49. Single-chamber vacuum furnace: left, gas flow from below; right, gas flow from left [68].
In single-chamber furnaces there is lot of space between the load and the wall. As a result all the gas will not be forced to pass through the load, instead some of the gas will pass outside load, see Figure 50 [62]. The distance between the load and the wall ought to be as small as possible, but in practice the gap is usually 30 50 mm. When all other conditions are the same it normally takes less time to fill a cold chamber with gas because its volume is smaller. The filling time depends on the buffer chamber, pressure and volume, and the piping between the buffer tank and the quenching chamber, but 5 7 s is normal.
The same effect has been found through simulation, see Figure 51 [57]. The simulation also showed that the heat transfer coefficients for the outer plates on the side facing the furnace wall were 30% lower than for the three plates in the centre. The same simulation development work has also shown that the inlet duct should have the same opening area as the load itself or the quenching chamber. If the inlet duct is too small the flow pattern will be less favourable and give a less even heat transfer coefficient around the load.
Single-chamber furnace (Hot chamber)
Multi-chamber furnace (Cold chamber)
Figure 50. Differences in gas flow in single-chamber and cold chamber processes
Figure 51. Hydrodynamic effects within a quenching furnace chamber
35
Figure 52. Diagram of the jet-hardener with nozzle field (Ipsen)
2.9.2. Two-chamber vacuum furnace

If higher cooling rates, and hence heat transfer coefficients, are needed the furnace must have a cold chamber for quenching that is separate from the heating chamber. The flow conditions in the cold chamber can then be optimised because no consideration has to be given to heating. The cooling capacity increases by about 30 40% because there are no heating elements and insulation that must be cooled. A summary of the heat transfer coefficients that can be obtained is shown in Table 5 [68].
Table 5: Guidelines for heat transfer coefficients for different gas quenching systems.
The gas velocity in a cold chamber is normally about 10 20 m/s. Historically, gas velocities in the chamber have not been uniform over the whole area to be quenched. The variation in gas velocity could often be as high as 50%. This difference led to a non-uniform heat transfer coefficient and consequent variations in both hardness and distortion. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been used to simulate gas flow in order to get a more even gas distribution throughout the chamber. The simulation helps to avoid turbulence, gas backflow, gas pressure losses in heat exchangers, diversion of gas bypasses and restriction of the gas flow to the load section. Figure 53 shows one such newly developed cold chamber. In the future it is expected that the loads themselves will be simulated by CFD to find the optimal configuration.
Furnace Loading Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 C 10 bar N2 10 bar He 6 bar N2 Single-chamber Maximum 300 400 450 600 600 700 Half 350 450 500 650 700 800 Cold chamber Maximum 600 750 750 900 1000 1200 Half 600 750 750 900 1000 1200 Cold chamber Single Layer About 2000 with nozzle field A two-chamber furnace also has a higher throughput because the heating chamber remains hot throughout the cycle. The use of a cold chamber with a nozzle field allows a much higher gas velocity, and hence greater cooling intensity (see Figure 52) [69]. The gas velocity is up to 80 160 m/s. However, the gas velocity decreases with the distance from the nozzles and the chamber is therefore best suited for quenching components in a single layer.
Figure 53. New quench chamber (Ipsen).
36
The chamber has the fan mounted centrally and two heat exchangers, one on each side, for more effective gas cooling. The circulating gas cools the load from underneath. Simulations were also used to reduce the pressure loss and the energy needed for the fans so that the gas velocity could be increased and the gas more evenly distributed over the load area [70]. Building in guiding plates to steer the gas flow further reduced pressure losses (see Figure 54). When a load is quenched with the gas flow from one direction, the gas heats up while passing through the load. The parts at the gas exit side of the load are therefore quenched at a slower rate. This could result in lower hardness or in distortion. In order to reduce the scatter in quench-
ing, the quench chamber was provided with valves. With two pneumatic cylinders these valves can change position and so reverse the gas flow. The gas flow can be reversed every 10 20 s to provide more homogeneous gas quenching. A two-chamber furnace has higher production compared with a singlechamber furnace, but its productivity can be further increased. The heating chamber of the furnace in Figure 55 has been designed to carry two loads at the same time which almost doubled productivity [71]. The furnace is charged by placing the first load in the quenching chamber. This is then evacuated so the door to the heating chamber can be opened and the load transferred to the inner position. The second load is then charged in the same way but in the outer position in the heat-
Maintentance door Ventilation
Heating element
Heat exchanger
Pressure-resistent door Transporting system Pressure-resistent door
Carbonising chamber
Figure 54. Compact gas quenching chamber with optional gas reversing (ALD)
Quenching chamber
Figure 55. Design of the two-chamber furnace (ALD)
37
ing chamber. When carburising is finished the second load is moved to the quenching chamber and gas quenched. After removing this load the first load is quenched in the same way. The cold quench chamber has also started to be used with other furnaces including: a controlled atmosphere furnace; a continuous pusher type furnace; a roller hearth; and a rotary furnace [68]. Figure 56 illustrates the use of the gas quench chamber in conjunction with an atmosphere furnace. The oil quench tank on this furnace has been replaced by the gas quench chamber, which is connected to the controlled atmosphere furnace via a duct housing that incorporates the pressure-proof door.
2.9.3. Multi-chamber vacuum furnaces

These types of furnace have a higher production rate. They can be divided into two groups, the continuous vacuum furnace line and the linked multi-chamber furnace.
2.9.3.1. Continuous vacuum furnace

The continuous vacuum furnace line consists of a furnace where each load goes in at the input end and is heated and carburised through the furnace and quenched at the output end before being taken out. The quenching is done with one load at the time. These types of furnace are manufactured by Aichelin, ALD and Ipsen, but have been losing importance in favour of linked multi-chamber furnaces.
2.9.3.2. Linked multi-chamber furnaces

Linked multi-chamber furnaces consist of a number of single heating chambers and one or two quenching chambers. They are all linked together by a transport carriage on rails. Here there are also different solutions. Ipsens linked multi-chamber furnace, mult-i-cell, also has the process chambers in a line in front of a track [72]. The transport carriage has a heated vacuum chamber that moves the loads between the load/ unload station, the process chambers and the quenching chamber (see Figure 57). The transport chamber works under a vacuum so the surfaces are not oxidised. When a load has completed the carburising cycle the transport carriage, Vacmobil, connects to the chamber and transfers the load at the hardening temperature to the quenching chamber, which is the same as described in Figure 53.
Figure 56. Atmosphere heating chamber constructed with a high pressure gas quenching chamber (Ipsen)
38
Figure 57. The Ipsen mult-i-cell system with a heated transport carriage.
Figure 59. ALDs furnace consisting of process chambers along a track with a moveable quenching chamber
The mult-i-cell system can have eight process chambers with one transport carriage. Up to ten process chambers can be connected, but then two transport carriages have to be used. ECM has built its furnace around a central vacuum tunnel [73]. The different chambers are connected on both sides. A carriage inside the vacuum tunnel moves the loads between the different process chambers (see Figure 58). One chamber is the charging chamber where the loads are moved in and out of the furnace. One high pressure quenching chamber capable of operating at pressures of up to 20 bar of nitrogen or helium is placed opposite the charging chamber. The other chambers are the process chambers that can be used for carburising, carbonitriding and hardening. When a process for example, carburising is complete the carriage moves in front of the chamber and transports the hot load to the quenching chamber. Because there is a vacuum inside the tunnel the surface remains oxide free. Up to 10 12 chambers can be connected to the tunnel.
ALDs linked multi-chamber furnace, ModulTherm, consists of a number of process chambers in a line in front of a track. The carriage is the quenching chamber and is provided with a sluice (see Figure 59) [70]. When a process such as carburising is finished the quenching chamber moves in front of the process chamber and the load is transferred into the quenching chamber where it is quenched. The transfer between the moveable chamber and process chamber is done under vacuum so the surface is not oxidised. When the load is cooled the carriage moves it to a load/unload station. There are process chambers for plasma and vacuum carburising and hardening. The quenching chamber is the same as shown in Figure 54. Normally there are six chambers, but more can be added.
39
Figure 60. Flux Sensor consisting of a cylinder with thermocouples and a registration unit.
Figure 61. QC3-Sensor
2.10. Control
In order to get reproducible results for hardness and distortion it is of utmost importance to be able to control the quenching characteristics. The type of gas, its mixture, and pressure can be regulated with current control instruments. It is more difficult to control the gas speed, temperature and the distribution throughout the load itself. The Flux Sensor from Ipsen and the QC3-Sensor from ALD are two examples of sensors that can measure cooling in a gas quenching chamber.
can be calculated. The measured heat transfer coefficient for different load configurations and different gas quenching parameters are stored in a computer data file. They are then used as a basis for predicting the cooling response of loads to be treated. This information is used to establish an automatic cycle set-up for the quenching conditions.
2.10.2. QC3-Sensor
This sensor (Figure 61) was developed and is patented and marketed by ALD. Its main body is internally heated and its temperature is measured with a thermocouple. The sensor is placed in the gas inlet to the highpressure gas chamber and is fixed with the flange in position [74]. Just before the load is quenched the sensors main body is normally heated to about 750C. During quenching the cooling curve for the sensor is recorded and the l-value is calculated. The l-value represents the time taken to cool from 700 400C. The sensor can be used for three functions: 3 Process documentation of the cooling curve and the l-value. This sensor gives a general value for the cold chamber. That value gives us the assurance that the cooling characteristic of the gas will remain the same for any load with the same configuration, so that reproducibility is assured. For other loads with different components and packing patterns, a different l-value is needed to determine their cooling characteristics. 3 Process control can be used to compare the measured l-value with a set point. If there is a deviation an alarm is activated so that the reason for the deviation can be investigated.
2.10.1. Flux Sensor

This sensor is developed and marketed by Ipsen. It consists of a cylinder,(see Figure 60), and an instrument that takes readings and makes calculations [68]. The sensor itself consists of a 50 mm diameter stainless steel cylinder 200 mm long. Three thermocouples are inserted, one at the centre and two placed 2.5 mm beneath the surface on opposite sides. The sensor is placed in the load, at the position where the cooling function is to be measured. The sensor heats up together with the load. It can be easily used in a single chamber furnace. In a twochamber furnace internal contacts that allow the probe to follow the load while taking readings are required. The registration unit relies on temperature gradients from the thermocouple to calculate the heat flux through the sensor surface during the quenching. The heat transfer coefficient can be calculated using additional readings from a fourth thermocouple, which measures the gas temperature during cooling. Once the heat transfer coefficient is known at one position in the load, the temperature sequence or the gradient for a component in the load
40
3 The process can be controlled by defining a sensor temperature at which the gas pressure or velocity will be changed it is normally reduced in order to improve the cooling sequence and reduce distortion. Knowledge or practical experience of the l-value needed for the components, depending on dimension and hardenability, allows the pressure and/or the gas speed to be adjusted. The recommended procedure involves calibrating the sensor against actual temperature measurements of the components. A further possibility is to carry out quenching of a cold load, without overpressure. For this, heated test probes are placed at different positions in the load to measure the influence of the packing pattern.
2.11. Hardness of different steel grades after gas quenching 2.11.1. Hardnesses in the literature
The hardness of components made of any grade of steel will naturally vary according to the cooling conditions. Many parameters have an influence on the hardness. The influence of the type of gas and its pressure and velocity, as well as the steel grade are well known. But, in the literature the reported hardness values for gas quenching under high pressure depend more on undefined parameters such as the design of the furnace hot chamber or the cold chamber, the load configuration and its weight and size. The design includes the flow pattern from one side or reversing flow, gas velocity, pressure drop, degree of turbulence, effectiveness of heat exchanger and so on. With so many variables it is impossible to exactly compare hardness values from different articles. Therefore, the hardness values given in the tables below must be seen as rules of thumb that illustrate what cylindrical test probes can do. Table 6 summarises the hardness values from single vacuum furnaces. Table 7 summarises the hardness values from vacuum furnaces with a separate cold chamber for cooling. An X in the right-hand column of the table indicates that the dimension is an equivalent diameter because the quenched probe is not a cylinder but a component.
41
Table 6: Core hardness in single vacuum furnaces, with hot quenching chamber
Material EN SAE Gas 16MnCr5 N2 N2 N2 N2 N2 16MnCr5 He He He 1.7218 He 1.7147 He 100Cr5 N2 100Cr5 N2 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He 100Cr5 He SS2523 N2 SS2523 He SS2523 N2 SS2523 He SS2523 He SS2511 He SS2511 He SS2511 He SS2511 He SS2541 N2 SS2541 He
Pressure, bar 10 10 10 10 10 18 18 18 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 10 10
Dimension, mm 5 10 15 20 25 20 40 60 15 15 8 16 8 16 25 30 8 16 25 8 8 16 16 25 8 13 16 25 40 60
Hardness, HRC 33 30 26 25 23 32 29 22 39 47 65 51 65 60 59 46 65 62 59 35 41 34 34 32 37 32 30 29 56 57
Ref. Dimension 76 76 76 76 76 75 75 75 75 75 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59 59
X X
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Table 7:
Core hardness in multiple chamber vacuum furnaces with cold quenching chamber.
Material EN SAE Gas 23MnCrMo5 N2 23MnCrMo5 N2 23MnCrMo5 He 16MnCr5 N2 16MnCr5 He 16MnCr5 N2 16MnCr5 He 90MnCrV8 N2 90MnCrV8 N2 100Cr6 N2 100Cr6 N2 100Cr6 N2 SAE 1045 N2 SAE 1045 He SAE 5115 N2 SAE 5115 He SAE 5115 He SAE 52100 N2 SAE 52100 N2 SAE 52100 He SAE 52100 He SAE 52100 He 9HS74 N2 9Hs74 He 20MnCr5 N2 20MnCr5 He 20MnCr5 N2 20MnCr5 He 20MnCr5 He 20MnCr5 N2 20MnCr5 He SS2506 N2 SS2506 He SS2506 He SS2506 N2 SS2506 He SS2506 He SS2523 N2 SS2523 He SS2523 He SS2523 He 20MoCrS4 N2 20MoCrS4 He
Pressure, bar 5 20 20 19 10 20 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 10 20 20 10 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 10 10 20 10 10 20 10 10 20 40 20 20
Dimension, mm 30 30 30 25 30 30 30 60 60 15 20 25 25 25 25 25 16 25 16 25 16 25 50 50 25 25 40 40 40 30 30 25 25 25 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 25 25
Hardness, HRC 36 37 42 30 30 22 29 62 60 63 60 43 19 24 24 27 31 40 63 59 64 65 57 58 36 38 32 34 36 25 30 26 26 30 20 22 26 38 41 44 47 27 33
Ref. Dimension 77 82 82 81 78 82 82 79 79 79 79 79 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 82 82 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 82 82 X X X X X X
X X
X X
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Figure 62. Calculated heat transfer coefficient
2.11.2. Calculation of hardnesses

The hardness of any gas-quenched component must be calculated in two steps. The heat transfer coefficient is calculated first, then used as an input parameter for calculation of the hardness. The heat transfer coefficient can be calculated in both theoretical and in practical ways, as summarised below: 3 Use formula 5 in Section 2.5. 3 Use the calculation tool at www.ferronova.com (see Figure 62) 3 Accept the manufacturers information about their furnaces, as shown in Section 2.9. 3 Measure the temperature cooling curve with a thermocouple in a component during quenching and then calculate the heat transfer coefficient. In a single chamber furnace this can be done by the furnace logging system or with the Ipsen Flux Sensor, which also directly shows the heat transfer coefficient. In a two-chamber vacuum furnace with a cold gas quench chamber, where the load moves from the hot to the cold chamber, a thermally insulated device such as Data Pac will follow the load through the furnace while recording the temperature. 3 A test probe with the analysis, 55Cr4 is heated and quenched together with a load. After it measures the hardness profile, the heat transfer coefficient can be calculated. The software program has been developed by IWT in a research program for AWT. The Linde Gas calculation tool calculates the heat transfer coefficient by filling in the parameters in the parameter input area to the left in Figure 62. There is a choice of axial or transverse flow against the cylinder. After choosing the cylinder diameter, cylinder temperature, gas velocity, gas pressure, gas temperature and type of gas or mixture of gases the heat transfer coefficient is displayed in the two diagrams to the right.
Once the heat transfer coefficient is decided the hardness can be calculated in different ways, and two of them are shown below: 3 Using CCT diagram from the Atlas zur Wrmebehandlung der Sthle Band 2 3 Using a heat treatment simulating software like Sysweld* To calculate the hardness at various depths, including the case depth, the Atlas zur Wrmebehandlung der Sthle can be used in combination with the gas calculation tool at www.ferronova.com. By assessing a heat transfer coefficient, the cooling curve model in the calculation tool calculates cooling curves at the surface and the core for the chosen component as well as the temperature gradient through the component. The following method is valid for case hardening. The case depth is commonly defined as the depth below the surface at which the hardness is 550 HV. For carburising steels, this normally corresponds to a carbon level 0.33 wt%. The example described simulates the cooling of a cylinder (100 mm high and 30 mm in diameter) in axial flow. The austenitising temperature is 930C and the steel is 16MnCr5. For most structural steels, rapid cooling down to 500C is important primarily to avoid a ferrite and pearlite structure. By using a CCT diagram [83] for a steel with a carbon content of 0.33 wt% (Figure 63a) it is possible to estimate that the maximum allowed cooling time to reach below 500C is about 50 seconds, resulting in a hardness of 545HV. The diagram in Figure 63b confirms that cooling down to 500C within 50 seconds will result in a hardness of ~550 HV. It also indicates that the corresponding microstructure will be about 75% martensite and 25% bainite, with no other phases present. *Sysweld = registered trademark
44
Austenitising temperature 930C Soaking time 30 min
Temperature [C]
Bain nite
Microstructure
Time [s]
Figure 63. Carbon content 0.33 %, austenitising time 30 min at 930C.
For a given set of parameters the cooling curves in Figure 64 can be calculated by the gas calculation tool at www.ferronova.com [84].
It is possible to estimate the maximum hardening depth and the surface and the core hardness for a specific steel and heat transfer coefficient. The gas cooling tool can also be used in several other ways. By inputting calculated cooling curves into CCT diagrams of different steels it is possible, for instance, to find a suitable steel for a given combination of dimension and heat transfer. It is also possible to evaluate whether a certain component could be through hardened or not. From hardness measurements in conjunction with CCT diagrams, it would be possible to estimate the heat transfer coefficient for a specific piece of equipment. The second way to calculate hardness is to use the well known Sysweld* program, which is used worldwide. With this program the hardness can be calculated at any point in the cylinder by assessing different heat transfer coefficients around a cylinder. In Figure 67 the core hardnesses for the case hardening steel 16MnCr5 is shown.
Figure 64. Cooling curves after quenching with a heat transfer coefficient of 600W/m2K.
Clicking at the bar down to the right Steel temperature gradient opens a new window shows the temperature gradient from the centre to the surface. On the basis of calculations of the resulting temperature gradient from the centre out to the surface of the component (see Figure 65) it is possible to see, that after 42 seconds, a temperature of 500C is reached at a depth of 6.65 mm below the surface. For the surface, it takes approximately 38 seconds to reach this temperature (Figure 66). Figure 63 shows that the maximum hardening depth is restricted by the cooling parameters to 6.65 mm.
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Figure 65. Temperature distribution after 42 seconds. T = 500C at 6.65 mm depth below the outer surface
Figure 66. Temperature distribution after ~ 38 seconds. T = 497C at the surface
450
Calculated hardness, HV
400
350
300
10 mm
The demand for improved environmental conditions is certain to grow, which will make it more expensive to clean up residues and dispose of them. Residues from conventional heat treating include exhaust gases, oils and waste water containing emulsified oil or salt. The cost of managing such residues is expected to increase disproportionately in the future. Vacuum heat treatment with high pressure gas quenching is considered to be more environmental friendly than oil quenching [75].
17,5 mm 25 mm 32,5 mm
250
200 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
Heat transfer coefcient W/m2C
The use of nitrogen and helium eliminates harmful waste gases, such as the vapours produced in oil quenching. In addition, there is no risk of fire because the gases are not flammable. This means that the fee for fire insurance sometimes can be reduced. Gas quenching is sometimes dubbed dry quenching because it uses no liquids. The gases used, mainly nitrogen and helium, are inert and leave no residues whatsoever on the hardened components. After gas quenching, the components are clean and even more shiny than they were before they were loaded into the furnace. When no oil is used for the quenching there is no drag out of oil and no washing machinery is needed. That is an advantage from both environmental and economic points of view, for the following reasons. There is: 3 No need to recover waste water with emulsified oil 3 No drag out of oil - which must be disposed of 3 No use of detergents 3 No investment in washing machinery 3 No specialised fire protection equipment for the furnace. The environmental evaluation of gas and oil quenching is done by carrying out life cycle analysis, (LCA), a technique used to compare the environmental load of gas versus oil quenching of steel components.
Figure 67. Core hardness calculated (with Sysweld*) for the case hardening steel 16MnCr5.
2.12. Environment
Because of their minimal gas consumption and lower emissions, lowpressure carburising processes are assumed to be more environmentally friendly than conventional gas carburising processes. Low pressure carburised and high-pressure gas quenched components require no washing after case hardening, which saves the use of washing liquids and the need to dispose of them. Furthermore, low pressure carburising processes can be integrated into process lines because there are no unshielded flames or direct emissions from the furnace.
46
The processes are shown in Figure 68. Heating of the parts is not included because the energy consumption for heating is the same in both processes.
Table 8. The materials used in quenching 1000 kg of components.
Heating
System boundary
Heating Gas quenching Tempering Grinding
Oil quenching Washing Tempering Grinding

Figure 68. Process flow for quenching steel components
Environmental load Oil Energy Production of quenchants 6 kWh Quenching 1.5 kWh Agitationa) Washing 50 kWh Fanb) Gas recovery Raw material Raw oil 6.7 kg Nitrogen Washing water 2000 l Detergents 4 l Emission to air Oil vapour 0.2 kg Emission to water Waste oil 0.2 kg General waste Soot, washing water 0.4 kg
a) b)
Nitrogen 1 kWh
135 kWh 15 kwh
12 m3
The product characteristics are the same after each process. The functional unit is quenching and cleaning of 1000 kg of hardened components in the different quenchants (see Table 8). The components are transmission components. Transport of the waste products of oil quenching is included in the analysis.
The energy is needed for agitation oil and for maintaining a constant temperature The energy is needed for the fan during quenching and for gas recirculation
In evaluating the environmental load, Eco-indicator 99, a method developed in the Netherlands, has been used. It compares effects on the environment that destroy the ecosystem or human health for average European conditions. An analysis carried out using Eco-indicator 99 (see Figure 69) showed that quenching in oil has the highest environment load.
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1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0
1430
933
The technique can be divided into four different principal groups depending mainly on the type of components (see Figure 70). Normally, one component is quenched at a time. However, a number of components or continuously moving components can also be quenched by this technique.
452
(a) (b) (c) (d)
mPt
Oil
Nitrogen
Helium
Figure 69. Comparison of quenching in oil, nitrogen and helium using the Eco-indicator 99 method
Figure 70. (a) axle or cylinder shaped components; (b) ring; (c) plate or band/wire; (d) components continuously passing the nozzles. In Figure 70 group (a) consists of axle or cylinder shaped components being quenched with a number of nozzles surrounding them. Normally the component rotates to even out the heat transfer coefficient over the surface. Group (b) consists of ring-shaped components, such as a ball bearing ring or a gear. Gas quenching is done both from inside and outside through holes. The ring normally rotates. Group (c) illustrates gas quenching of a flat product such as a plate or a band through nozzles or holes. The band is continuously drawn through the gas quenching section. Group (d) shows how a number of smaller parts can be quenched while they are passing the quenching section lying on a conveyor belt. It is also possible to quench them as a load.
Figure 69 shows that quenching in oil generally has a load on the environment about 60% higher than quenching in gas, and that the gas consumption has only a small effect on the environmental load. When quenching in gas, the highest energy consumption is due to the fan. Grinding contributes about 10% of the total load on the environment.
2.13. Quenching with high velocity gas 2.13.1. Principles

Gas quenching of components can also be done at high gas velocities. In this case the gas is directed onto the surface of the component through nozzles or holes. The surrounding pressure of the component is at normal atmosphere pressure or just above due to the pressure from the impinging gas. The gas velocity can be up to 100 200 m/s as reported in the literature [85].
48
Table 9: Advantages and disadvantages of high velocity gas quenching
Advantages: 3 A homogeneous gas flow around the component gives even quenching compared to high pressure gas quenching thereby minimising distortion. 3 Areas of the component can be selectively quenched by different nozzles or gas velocity. 3 The gas velocity or the pressure can easily be varied during quenching to adjust the cooling characteristic.
Disadvantages: 3 Needs a high production volume. Setting up and adjusting the quenching device for just a few components is too costly. 3 The quenching cost may be high but can be justified by lower distortion.
Quenching using high velocity gas has both advantages and disadvantages (see Table 9). To achieve a high heat transfer coefficient, the angle of the gas jets should be perpendicular to the surface (see Figure 71) [86].
The gas velocity and the impinging angle must be as uniform as possible because the heat transfer coefficient depends on both. It has therefore been suggested that to maximise this effect and minimise interaction between nozzle streams that are close to each other, the distance between the orifice and the surface should be as large as possible without losing too much velocity over distance. Simulation work using Fluent v 5.0 has reproduced the complex gas stream [87]. A closer view of the velocities at the surface (see Figure 72) shows that the flow over the majority of the surface is far from optimally perpendicular. In fact it is parallel to the surface over a large part of the surface, reducing the maximum heat transfer coefficient as shown in Figure 71.
Surface to be quenched
Figure 71. Relative heat transfer coefficient as a function of the impinging angle of the cooling gas. Figure 72. A close-up view of the gas velocity profile. Observe both perpendicular and parallel flow at the surface.
49
Pressure d H
Pressure
Holes
Nozzles
Figure 73. Definition of holes and nozzles. The nozzles consist of tubes with an inner diameter, d = diameter of hole or nozzle, t = distance between centre of the holes or nozzles, H = distance between orifice and surface to be cooled.
Quenching with high gas velocity is done by gas streams through holes or nozzles. Pressure forces the gas to flow through the holes or nozzles, forming gas streams. A higher pressure gives a higher gas velocity, and therefore a higher heat transfer coefficient. In this way the gas pressure is a simple way to control the heat transfer coefficient even during quenching. A quenching system schematic is shown in Figure 73. When large surface areas are quenched the used gas, or spent flow, cannot easily escape from the hot surface [89]. The spent flow will affect the direction and velocity of the gas stream and may thus affect its cooling capability. It reduces the heat transfer coefficient only slightly but it can affect the evenness of quenching. In the middle of the quenching area the spent flow does not affect the heat transfer coefficient, but it reduces it at the edges at the circumference where all the spent flow leaves the quenching device. A common design is uses holes as shown in Figure 73. This is shown in more detail in Figure 74.
2.13.2. Heat transfer coefficient

For any diameter of hole or nozzle the gas velocity achieved at the orifice can be calculated as a function of the pressure. Figure 75 shows the result for a hole with the diameter of 1.0 mm.
160 140 Gas velocity, m/s 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 500 1000 Pressure, mbar 1500 2000
Figure 75. Calculated gas velocity versus gas pressure
(a) Holes in the plate
(b) Nozzles in the form of long tubes
Figure 74. Design of quenching device with respect to spent flow. The grey areas represent roughly the space available for the spent gas to evacuate perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing. It can be seen that much more space is available for evacuating the spent gas in configuration (b) than in (a).
The heat transfer coefficient can be calculated from the three parameters d, t and H, as defined in Figure 72, and the pressure or known gas velocity. For gas quenching with air as the quenchant, the heat transfer coefficient has been calculated, see Figure 76.
50
1200 Heat transfer coef., W/m2C 1000 800 600 400 200 0 0 50 100 150 Gas velocity, m/s
Figure 76. Relationship between heat transfer coefficient, W/m2_oC and gas velocity for the three parameters d = 1.0 mm, t = 5 mm and H = 5 mm
Seeking an optimal arrangement for d, t and H results in a continuously increasing heat transfer coefficient with lower values for the three parameters [88]. However, a certain minimal distance H, between the hole orifice and surface to be cooled, has to be used for practical reasons. When the maximum heat transfer coefficient has then been numerically calculated with different values for d and t and the optimum combination has been found: d = 0.184 . H t = 1.423 . H for staggered arrays of nozzles, or t = 1.324 . H for inline arrays of nozzles Definition of the arrays is shown in Figure 77.
The relation between the parameters [89] has been found to be within the limits from other investigations, where : d = 0.125 0.5 . H t = 4 8d (This can be expressed as t = 1.2 2.4 . H) There is an optimal combination of the three parameters and the gas velocity that gives the highest heat transfer coefficient. Figure 78 shows that the hole diameter has an optimum at about 1.3 mm which is within the limits given above; t and H are both 5 mm. With other measurements for t and H, the optimum hole diameter will be different, but can be calculated.
1000 Heat transfer coef., W/m2 K 900 800 700 600 500 400 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 Hole diameter, mm
Staggered array
In-line array
Figure 78. Optimisation of the hole diameter.
Figure 77. Definition of arrays for the pattern of holes or nozzles.
51
The relationship between the heat transfer coefficient, component dimension and steel hardenability can be seen in Figure 79. The diagram can be used in different ways depending on the available information. If the heat transfer coefficient is 1000 W/m2 K and the steel needs to be cooled down from 800 to 500C in 12 s, a cylinder can have a diameter up to 20 mm to be hardened. The time between 800 and 500C can be found in the CCT diagram for the steel being used.
2.13.3. Quenching a part of the component

One advantage of this technique is that just a part of the component can be quenched. This can be used, for example, for a carburised gear where it is possible to quench only the face and bore of the gear to produce a tough pearlitic web, see Figure 80 [90].
equivalent distance from end face J
disc thickness s
critical quenching time
Figure 79. Relationship between heat transfer coefficient, component dimension and its hardenability in the time to 500C.
cylinder diameter
Figure 80. Schematic of partial gear quenching
52
In this case the gas velocity at the face and bore are high enough to allow phase transformation to martensite and a hardened layer. At the web all the gas streams have a lower gas velocity and lower heat transfer coefficient, in order to achieve a transformation to a softer and more ductile structure. Controlled inhomogeneous quenching of a component with high velocity gas introduces the possibility of compensating for distortion [91]. Suitable heat transfer conditions at the work piece can be realised in the quenching process by applying and regulating the gas streams in an adjusted flexible flow field. Figure 81 shows a quenching device equipped with in-line measurement of the dimensions and regulation of individual nozzles so to minimise distortion.
Regulation system Regulation system
2.13.4. Applications
A type of quenching device for rings that has been in use for some years is Gas-O-Form. In this device the ring is quenched by gas streams from both inside and outside. In order to obtain a uniform heat transfer coefficient, the ring is rotated during quenching. Apart from the ring, all symmetric components, such as gears, are highly suitable for quenching in such a device. The quenching gas is normally either air or nitrogen. Thanks to the very even heat transfer coefficient achieved using gas quenching and rotation of the ring, distortion is minimal (see Figure 82). With gas quenching there is almost no distortion in comparison with oil quenching.
Standard (Oil quenching)

250 200 150 100 50 0 Out-of-roundness r m n = 25 250 200 150 100 50 0
Single port (Gas quenching)

Out-of-roundness r m n = 25
Measuring
Control Unit
Workpiece
Turning
Hardening
Turning
Hardening
Figure 81. Schematic representation of measurement, regulation and control for quenching in a gaseous flow field
Figure 82. Comparison of out-of-roundness data with gas and oil quenching.
53
Figure 83. Schematic drawing of a gas quenching device with optimised gas flow so the cooling rate is uniform at all parts of the component
Jet engine components that are round in shape and have a complex radial cross-section will have high residual stresses when quenched in oil after heat treating. These high stresses can cause substantial distortion of the component, particularly during subsequent machining and in use. The differences in wall thickness between thick and thin areas have a large influence because they are quenched at different cooling rates. A gas quenching device has been developed that gives a high cooling capacity at the thicker parts and slow cooling at the thinner parts (see Figure 83) [92]. The component, a disk, is quenched with many gas streams at its inner diameter the area of the disk which has the largest mass. The thinner part (labelled 22 in the diagram in Figure 83) is not quenched by gas streams. It is cooled instead in free air. The shields labelled 19 and 29 and those at tube 24 and 25 prevent any part of the gas streams reaching this thin area. Also the thin part at the top is prevented from being quenched by the shield labelled 31. The tubes are connected to an air compressor in this application and a number of holes are drilled in the tubes to direct the gas stream towards the disk. Gases other than air, such as nitrogen and argon, can be used when needed. The distance between the holes varies from 1.5 to 50 mm and the distance between tubes and disk varies from 6 to 150 mm. When the disk was quenched in oil the tensile stress was 242 ksi and the compressive stress was 208 ksi. After gas quenching these stresses were reduced to 55 and 58 ksi respectively.
3.
At0.35
Terminology
Carburising depth; Distance from surface where a carbon content of 0.35% is reached. Acetylene C 2H2 Methane CH4 CO Carbon monoxide Carbon dioxide CO2 C-Potential Carbon gauge: Measure of an atmosphere condition that produces a carbon content of this height in a pure iron foil L/D Ratio of the length to the diameter of a drilling or blind hole Indices (gas) (ad) (diss.)
gaseous adsorbed dissolved
54
References
1. D. H. Herring, Pros and cons of atmosphere and vacuum carburising, Industrial Heating, January 2002, pp.45-48. 2. K. Funatani, Heat Treating R & D in Japan - Status and Challenges, Proceedings of the 21st Conference of the Heat Treating Society CD-ROM (ASM) 2001, 00019.pdf 3. B. Edenhofer, New developments in thermo-chemical diffusion processes. Proceedings of the IFHTSE Congress, 2004, Vol.1, pp.13-19. 4. G. Prunel and B. Stauder, The advantages of low pressure carburising in the heat treatment subcontracting business, Proceedings of the 14th IFHTSE Congress, Vol.1, 2004, pp.364-369. 5. B. Lefever, Innovative steels for potential applications in the automotive industry, Proceedings of 2nd International conference on heat treatment and surface engineering in the automotive industry, Riva del Garda, 20-22nd June 2005, AIMET Milan 6. W. Grfen and B. Edenhofer, Advancement in case-hardening technology for automotive components ,Proceedings of ASTRA (ed. TS Sundrashan, G Sundararajan, GE Totten and SV Joshi), pp.49-59. 7. R. Shivanath et al., Vacuum carburization of high-performance automotive PM parts, Industrial Heating, May 2001, pp.37-39. 8. Seco/Warwick Press Release, July 2005 9. Luiten, C. H.: Wrmebehandlung mit neuartigen Vakuumfen in den Vereinigten Staaten. HTM 18 (1963) 2, S. 172-175. 10. Eysell, F. W.; Heumller, E.: Entwicklungstendenzen auf dem Gebiet der Unterdruckaufkohlung. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 34 (1979) 2, S. 83-9 11. Luiten, C. H.; Limque, F.; Bless, F.: Aufkohlen in Vakuum-fen. HrtereiTechn. Mitt. 34 (1979) 6, S. 253-259. 12. Limque, F.; Bless, F.: Erfahrungen mit berdruck-Gasabschrecken sowie Aufkohlen in Vakuumfen. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 35 (1980) 5, S. 238-244. 13. Chatterjee-Fischer, R.: Verfahrenstechnische Mglichkeiten einer randoxidationsarmen (-freien) Einsatzhrtung. FVA-Nr.14/II Abschlussbericht, FVA Forschungsheft 110, Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik e. V. (1982). 14. Chatterjee-Fischer, R.: berblick ber die Mglichkeiten zur Verkrzung der Aufkohlungsdauer. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 40 (1985) 1, S. 7-11. 15. Pourprix, Y.; Nandot, J.: La cmentation sous basse pression: un moyen dintgrer le traitement thermique dans les lignes dusinage dengrenages. Traitement Thermique 197 (1985), S. 51-58. 16. Altena, H.: Niederdruck-Aufkohlung mit Hochdruckgasabschreckung. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 53 (1998) 2, S. 93-101. 17. Hoffmann, F.; Dorn, S.; Mayr, P.: Aspekte des Unterdruck- und Plasmaaufkohlens. HTM 49 (1994) 2, S. 31-39. 18. Sugiyama, M.; Ishikawa, K.; Iwata, H.: Using Acetylen for Superior Performance Vacuum Carburising. Proceedings of 18th ASM Heat Treating Society Conference, 12.-15. 10. 1998, Rosemont, Illinois, S. 49-56, ISBN 0-87170-626-1. 19. Hayaud, C.; Jacquot, P.; Baravian, G.; Sultan, G.: Caractrisation par spectromtrie de masse de latmosphre de traitement dun four de cmentation basse pression. Traitement Thermique (1997), S. 99-107. 20. Edenhofer, B.: Karbonitrieren in der stromstarken Glimmentladung, Vortrag auf dem 18. Hrterei-Kolloquium, Wiesbaden 1972. 21. Edenhofer, B.: Fortschritte in der Prozessregelung beim Plasmaaufkohlen und Plasmanitrieren. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 44 (1989) 6, S. 339-344. 22. Yoneda, Y.; Takami, S.: Ion carburising process for industrial applications. Proceedings of Vacuum metallurgy, Science press, S. 135-156, Princeton (1977). 23. Hombeck, F.; Rembges, W.: User experience with an integral quench plasma (ion)-carburising furnace. Proceedings of Heat Treatment 84, 2.-4. Mai 1984, The Metals Society, London, S. 51.1-51.9 (1984).
24. Booth, M.: Contribution to discussion. Proceedings of Heat Treatment 84, 2. - 4. Mai 1984, The Metals Society, London, S. 52.2-52.4, London. 25. Collignon, P.; Hisler, G.; Michel, H.; Gantois, M: Study of carburising and carbonitriding by ion bombardment: Comparision with conventional processes. Proceedings of Heat Treatment 76, 6.-7. Mai 1976, The Metals Society, London, S. 65-70. 26. Pacheco, J.; Krauss, G.: Carburised steel: Microstructure and high bending fatigue strength. Heat Treating 22 (1990), S. 82-88. 27. Kula, P.; Siniarski, D.:Pietrasik, P.;Kaczmarek,L.; Korecki, M.; Adamek, A.:Vacuum nitrocarburising and efficient vacuum carburising the new options of FINECARB technology. Proceedings of the 15th IFHTSE Congress, 2006 28. Grfen, W.: Untersuchungen zur Kohlenstoffbertragung bei der Niederdruckaufkohlung. Dissertation Universitt Bremen, Forschungsberichte aus der Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik Bremen, Band 12, Shaker Verlag, Aachen (2002), ISBN 3-8322-0552-7. 29. Edenhofer, B.: Einsatzhrten Ein Prozess mit neuen Entwicklungen und Perspektiven. Hrterei-Techn. Mitt. 56 (2001) 1, S. 14-22. 30. Clausen, B.: Neue Verfahrensanstze auf dem Gebiet der Einsatzhrtung von Sthlen und deren Auswirkungen auf Bauteileigenschaften. Habilitationsschrift, Universitt Bremen (2007). 31. Lser, K.: Simulation der Niederdruckaufkohlung. Vortrag auf der AWTFachausschusssitzung FA5/AK4, 09. 04. 2003. 32. P Stratton, An Energy Audit for Carburising, Industrial Heating, June 2007, Volume LXXIV, Number 6, pages 51-54. 33. Hrz, G.; Lindenmaier, K.: Kinetik der Kohlenstoffaufnahme von Niob aus Acetylen oder Methan, 1. Versuchsdurchfhrung - Aufkohlung in Acetylen, Z. Metallkde. Bd 63 (1972) H. 2, S. 99- 102. 34. Graf, F.; Bajohr, S.; Reimert, R.: Pyrolyse des Aufkohlungsgases Propan bei der Vakuumaufkohlung von Stahl. HTM 58 (2003) 1, S. 20-23. 35. Altena, H.; Schrank, F.: Niederdruck-Carbonitrieren Prozessfhrung, Ergebnisse und Anlagentechnik. HTM 58 (2003) 4, S. 204-210. 36. Gnther, D.; Hoffmann, F.; Jung, M.; Mayr, P.: Oberflchenhrtung von austenitischen Sthlen unter Beibehaltung der Korrosionsbestndigkeit, HTM 56 (2001) 2, S. 74-83. 37. Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.: Aufkohlen bei hheren Temperaturen, HTM 56 (2001) 5, S. 363-369. 38. Steinbacher, M.; Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.; Zoch, H.-W.: Thermogravimetrische Messungen zur Charakterisierung der Reaktionskinetik beim Niederdruck-Aufkohlen. HTM 61 (2006) 4, S. 186-194. 39. Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Randschichtschdigung infolge Niederdruckaufkohlung. Europische Tagung Das Einsatzhrten, SVW/ ASTT Schweizer Verband fr die Wrmebehandlung der Werkstoffe, 3.-4. April 2003, Zrich, S. 149-172. 40. Stenico, A.; Vetterlein, J.: Einfluss der Zahnfu-kern-festigkeit auf die Zahnfutragfhigkeit von Zahnrdern. Abschlubericht FVA 425, FVAForschungsbericht Heft Nr. 792. Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik e.V., Frankfurt, 2006. 41. Steinbacher, M.; Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.; Zoch, H.-W.: Auswirkung der Hochtemperaturaufkohlung auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften mikrolegierter Feinkornsthle. Abschlussbericht FVA 448, FVA-Forschungsbericht Heft Nr. 800. Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik e.V., Frankfurt, 2006. 42. Segerberg, S and Bodin, J: Controlling the quench process for more consistent hardening. Heat Treating (1988) May p 26-28. 43. Segerberg, S and Bodin, J: Cooling Condition and Heat Transfer in Oil and high-pressure Gas Quenching of Steel Components An Overview. ASM Conf. 4-7 November, 1996, Cleveland, Ohio 44. A. Stich and H.M.Tensi, Wrmebertragung und Temperaturverteilung mit Benetzungsablauf beim Tauchkhlen, HTM 50 (1995), p. 32-35
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45. Private Communication with Torsten Holm and Nils Jacobsson, Linde Gas 46. Heilmann, P: Universal and economical the new vaccuum furnace with convective heating and gas high-pressure quenching. Durferrit_ Technical Information 47. Lbben, T et al: The Uniformity of Cooling in High-pressure Gas Quenching. Heat Treatment of Metals 2000.3 p. 57-61 48. Edenhofer, B and Bouwman, J.W., Industrial Heating 2, (1988)), p. 12-16 49. P. Stratton , Helium for gas quenching in vacuum furnaces, Proceedings of 2nd International conference on heat treatment and surface engineering in the automotive industry, Riva del Garda, 20-22nd June 2005, AIMET Milan 50. Troell, E and Segerberg, S and Holm, T: Cold Chamber Gas Cooling for Low-Pollution Hardening. 11th IFHTSE Conf., Florence 19-21Oct. 1998 51. Troell, E and Segerberg, S: Cooling in nitrogen and helium under high pressure. IVF report 95845 52. Segerberg, S and Bodin, J: Cooling Condition and Heat Transfer in Oil and high-pressure Gas Quenching of Steel Components An Overview. ASM Conf. 4-7 November, 1996, Cleveland, Ohio 53. AGA Gas handbok, p 286 (1985) 54. Faura, F et al: a mixture of Pure Gases that Produce Maximum Heat Transfer Characteristics for Quenching. Journal of Materials Eng and Performance, vol 7(3) June 1998, p.420-424 55. Wiberg, R: Convection heat transfer coefficients for axial flow gas quenching of a cylinder. 4th Int Conf on Quenching and the Control of Distortion. 20-23 May 2003, Beijing 56. Lohrmann, M et al: Abkhlintensitt von Gasen in Wrmebehandlungsanlagen und deren Bestimmung. HTM 51 (1996) 3, p 183-187 57. Macchion, O: CFD in the design of gas quenching furnace. Doctoral Thesis, Royal institute of Technology, Stockholm June 2005 58. Edenhofer, B et al: Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse beim Gasabschrecken in einer kalten Kammer mit und ohne Dsenfeld. HTM 52 (1997) 3, p 138-144 59. Troell, E and Segerberg, S: Gas cooling for hardening steel a test report. IVF-report 94873 60. Papadopoulos, D: Fluid mechanics and convective heat transfer for multiple short cylinders in axial and cross flow. M.Sc. Thesis, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm August 2003 61. Minarski, P et al: Quenching Steel Parts in 20-bar Helium. Advanced Materials & Processes, April 200 62. Altena, H: Einfluss der Abschreckparameter auf die Mass- und Formnderung von Zahnrdern bei Gas- und labschreckung. HTM 55 (2000) 5, p 312-323 63. Lser, K: Process Principles of High Pressure Gas Quenching. ALD Technical Symposium, Stockholm October 27, 2003 64. Segerberg, S and Troell, E: High-pressure Gas Quenching using a Cold Chamber to Increase Cooling Capacity. Heat Treatment of Metals 1997.1, p 21-24 65. Altena, H: Hochdruck-Wasserstoffabschreckung 66. Altena, H et al: Reduzierung der Formnderung von Getriebeteilen in Gasaufkohlungs-Durchstossanlagen durch Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung. Z. Werkst. Wrmebeh. Fertigung 60 (2005) 1, p 43-51. 67. Schlicht, R: The New Ipsen Gas Quench Module for Vacuum and Atmosphere Furnaces. Ipsen on Top 68. Edenhofer, B: State of the Art of Quenching. Ipsen on Top, No 1, 2005. 69. Edenhofer, B et al: The Use of CFD Modelling for the Development of a New High-performance Gas-quench Chamber for the Hardening of Carburised Components for the Automotive Industry. Heat Treatment of Metals 2004, no.3, p. 59-63.
70. Lser, K et al: Neue Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung. Hrterei Technische Mitteilungen 58 (2003) 2. p.74-82. 71. Ritter, K: Flexible Anlagenkonzepte fr die Vakuumwrmebehandlung mit Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung. Hrterei Technische Mitteilung 58 (2004) 2, p. 98-103. 72. Ipsen novel open mult-i-cell system. Ipsen on Top. No. 1 2003. 73. Beauchesne, D et al: Quenching after Vacuum Carburising. Heat Treating Progress. Sept/Oct 2004 74. Heuer, V et al: Entwicklung des dynamischen Abschreckens in Hochdruck-Gasabschreckanlagen. Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstoffrech. 34, (2003), p.56-63. 75. Lser, K et al: Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung mit Helium und Wasserstoff zum Hrten niedriglegierter Sthle. HTM 50 (1995) 5, p 314-321. 76. Olejnik, F: Vacuum Furnaces for the Heat Treatment of Moulds and Dies NADCA/GM Procedures, for the Heat Treatment of HSLA Steel, and for Vacuum Carburising. SECO/WARWICK Skall kolla var fredraget hlls. 77. Edenhofer, B: Case-Hardening with New Evolutions Perspectives. 78. Edenhofer B, et al: The Use of CDF Modelling for the Development of a New High-performance Gas-quench Chamber for the Hardening of Carburised Components for the Automotive Industry. 4th Int Conf on Quenching and the Control of Distortion. Chinese HTS, 23-25 November 2003, Beijing, China. 79. Schmetz GmbH, Menden: Developments in vacuum heat treatment and over pressure gas quenching. Metallurgia May 1997. 80. Troell, E et al: Gas cooling for environmentally responsible hardening Stage 4, Test piece trials and a review of the literature. IVF-report 97827, Gothenburg. 81. Korecki, M et al: Flexible vacuum carburising and gas quenching for industrial application. SHTE-conference 15-16 September 2005, Vsteras, Sweden 82. Loeser, K; Influence of materiel Hardenability in High Pressure Gas Quenching of Case Hardening Steels for the Gear Industry. ALD Technical Symposium, Stockholm October 27, 2003 83. Atlas zur Wrmebehandlung der Sthle Volume 2 84. strm, A: Possibilities and limitations of the low Pressure Carburising and the high Pressure Gas Quenching Process. 85. Stratton, P: Modelling Gas Quenching of a Carburised Gear. Heat Treatment of Metals 2002.2 p. 29-32 86. Hoffmann, F et al: Possibilities and limits of gas quenching techniques. Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen, March/April 1998, 53, (2), p. 81-86 87. Stratton, P: Modelling of high speed gas quenching. Journal of Shanghai Jiatong University. Vol. E-5, No. 1, 2000, p. 146-155 88. Ferrari, J: Studies of flow and heat transfer in gas quenching. Licentiate Thesis 2002 at Dept. of Mechanics, Faxnlaboratoriet. 89. Bergmann, U et al: Heat transfer and Cooling Characteristics of Individual Parts Gas Quenching.3rd Int Conf on Quenching and Distortion Control, Prague, March 1999. 90. Stratton, P et al: Individual Component Gas Quenching. Heat Treatment of Metals, 2000.3 p.65-68. 91. Schttenberg, S et al: Verzugskompensation mittels Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern. Z. Werkst. Wrmebeh. Fertigung 59 (2004) 3, p. 185-191. 92. Furrer, D et al: Forging the future. Advanced Materials & Processes. June 2005, p. 43 45. and US Patent 6,394,793
Getting ahead through innovation.
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Furnace Atmospheres publishings: 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 1 Gas Carburising and Carbonitriding 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 2 Neutral Hadening and Annealing 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 3 Nitriding and Nitrocarburising 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 4 Brazing of Metals 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 5 Sub-zero treatment of steels 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 6 Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching 3 Furnace Atmospheres No. 7 Tube Annealing
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Furnace Atmospheres No.

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Figure 1. Double chamber vacuum carburising furnace (photo courtesy of Seco/Warwick)

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Figure 2. A modular vacuum carburising system at BMW (photo courtesy of ALD)

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

1. Low pressure carburising

Differentiation from other carburising processes

Gas, plasma and low pressure carburising are compared in Table 1.

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Comparison of the three different carburising methods

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Temperature Atmosphere Endogas 900C 950C 35 1000C 1050C

Carbon transfer coefficient

Low pressure carburising principles

1.4.1 What is low pressure carburising?

carbon donator (gas) recombination of hydrogen

State of the art today

carbon chemiesorbtion donator (adsorbed)

Figure 3. Process scheme of low pressure carburising

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

surface carbon content

target surface carbon content

C 15 20 MoCr 4 16 MnCr 5 17 CrNiMo 6 850 900 950 Temperature C 1000 1050

Aufkohlungs- und Diffusionszyklen

Figure 4. Limit of carbide formation (calculated) [31]

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

1.4.2. Benefits and drawbacks

1.4.4. Model of carbon transfer

Step 3: Transfer of chemisorbed carbon atoms into a dissolved state:

1.4.3. Pressure range

Step 4: Diffusion of carbon into the metal lattice

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

Figure 6. Network of homogeneous propane pyrolysis

Low pressure carbonitriding

under 10 mbar above approx. 850 C

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

5 Propane 4 intensity 3 2 1 0 500 Methane

500 500 Temperature C

Figure 7. Thermal dissociation of methane and propane

1.5.2. Benefits and drawbacks

Gases used for the LPC processes

1.6.1. Choice of gas for carburising

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

80 Low pressure carburizing

5 C-content of ceramic plate [gC/m]

Low pressure carburizing

5 C-content of ceramic plate [gC/m]

average C pick-up [gC/m*h]

average C pick-up [gC/m*h]

Integrated from C-Curve carbon content of ceramic plates

2.5 Gas quality

1.7.1. Process design

1.6.2. Purity of gases

Low pressure carburizing process

carbon transfer carbon profile

Figure 10. Schematic of the low pressure carburising process

Low pressure carburising and high pressure gas quenching.

C2H2 t = 10 min p = 2 mbar T = 900 C 16 MNCr 5

50 C-quantity g/m2h 25 l/h 40 15 l/h