Distortion Engineering For Metals

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005
International Committee
C. Ament (Germany)
M. Bacher-Hchst (Germany)
J. Browne (Ireland)
S. Denis (France)
K. Funatani (Japan)
M. Geiger (Germany)
H. Gr (Turkey)
S. Hock (Germany)
R. J. Hocken (USA)
D. Hoemberg (Germany)
B.-R. Hhn (Germany)
F. Klocke (Germany)
B. Liscic (Croatia)
D. Lhe (Germany)
D. A. Lucca (USA)
T. Lund (Sweden)
Jiansheng Pan (China)

K. S. Pawar (UK)
T. Reti (Hungary)
J. Schneider (Germany)
R. Schneider (Austria)
S. Segerberg (Sweden)
Wei Shi (China)
P. Stolar (Czech Republic)
L. Taleb (France)
A. Thuvander (Sweden)
G. Totten (USA)
H.-J. Wieland (Germany)
M. Wildau (Germany)
H. Wohlfahrt (Germany)
R. Wood (UK)
Local Organizing Committee

Hans-Werner Zoch (IWT Bremen)
Peter Mayr (IWT Bremen)
Franz Hoffmann (IWT Bremen)
Thomas Lbben (IWT Bremen)
Carsten Heinzel (IWT Bremen)
Jens Slter (IWT Bremen)

Thomas Pretorius (BIAS)
Klaus-Dieter Thoben (BIBA).
Michael Wolff (ZETEM)
Support of Organizations and Journals for

Diffusing Information
x ASMET Austrian Society for Metallurgy and Materials (Austria)
x A3TS Association de Traitement Thermique et de Traitement de Surface (France)
x ATZK Association for Heat Treatment in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Czech
Republic)
x AWT Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wrmebehandlung und Werkstofftechnik (Germany)
x FVA Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik (Germany)
x FAT Forschungsvereinigung Automobiltechnik (Germany)
x IFHTSE International Federation of Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering
x SVW Schweizerischer Verband fr die Wrmebehandlung der Werkstoffe (Switzerland)
x VDEH Verein Deutscher Eisenhttenleute (Germany)
x
VWT Vereniging voor Warmtebehandelingstechniek (Netherlands and Belgium)
x HTM - Carl Hanser Verlag, Mnchen (Germany)

x Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik - Verlag Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (Germany)
x Traitement Thermique - PYC Edition SA, Paris (France)
Foreword
The control of distortion is one of the highest challenges in modern economic production and is
gaining in importance by current trends of downsizing or lightweight construction. Dimensional
changes caused by heat treatment have been subject of scientific and industrial research for a
very long time. Starting from pure empirical investigations, the understanding of mechanisms
and causes of distortion up to now has significantly improved, not least supported by modelling
and simulation activities.
Problem solving and optimization, however, mostly was limited to certain single manufacturing
steps or parameters, which showed the highest impact on final distortion. The new approach,
treating distortion as an attribute of the entire process chain, promises a significant advance in
meeting the target of an overall minimized distortion. This new method, the Distortion
Engineering, is subject of the Collaborative Research Center, 2001 established by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) at the University of Bremen. The Proceedings of the 1st
International Conference on Distortion Engineering will introduce the results from this research
to participants and readers together with current papers from international experts in science and
industry working in the same field. The high effort focussing on the investigation of distortion
phenomena and its control worldwide - not only in heat treatment - leads us to our intention, to
establish the Distortion Engineering Conference in Bremen as a recurring platform of
international exchange in experience and knowledge.
We hope, that the presented papers and results will help to upgrade the knowledge about this
important topic, inspire to further research and enable practical application and transfer to
manufacturing.
The structure of the proceedings was selected according to the session structure of the
conference, the session titles reflecting the steps of a production chain and revealing the
pronounced interdisciplinarity of the Collaborative Research Center.
Our speakers and all co-authors we would like to thank very much for their excellent
contributions, also the reviewers for a professional evaluation of all papers. Our special thank is
addressed to the members of the international and local organizing committee for their support
and helpful advice and to the conference office, namely Mrs. A. Klokova and Mrs. S. Mller.
We wish to thank all organisations for their friendly support to the planning and realization of
this conference, namely the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wrmebehandlung und Werkstofftechnik e.V.
(AWT), Bremen, and their corresponding European associations, the International Federation of
Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, London, the Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik
e.V. (FVA), Frankfurt, the Verein Deutscher Eisenhttenleute e.V. (VDEh), Dsseldorf and
many industrial companies.
Above all we wish to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the University of Bremen
and the Senat fr Bildung und Wissenschaft, Bremen for their outstanding support and assistance
to the Distortion Engineering project.
Thomas Lbben
Manager of Collaborative Research Center
Distortion Engineering
Hans-Werner Zoch
Managing Director of Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik
and Speaker of Collaborative Research Center
VII
Contents
Session 1: System-oriented approach to distortion phenomena
From single production step to entire process chain - the global approach of Distortion
Engineering.
Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
Experimental study of distortion phenomena in manufacturing chaines.

Olaf Kessler, Christian Prinz, Torsten Sackmann, Lutz Nowag, Holger Surm, Friedhelm Frerichs,
Thomas Lbben, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen,
Germany.
11
Uneven residual stresses in bearing rings prior to hardening and their effect on shape changes
after hardening.
Johann Volkmuth1, Steve Lane2, Michael Jung1, Ulf Sjblom3, 1SKF GmbH, Schweinfurt, Germany.
2
SKF Research & Development Company B.V. Nieuwegein, Netherlands. 3SKF Sverige AB
Gteborg, Sweden.
23
Using indicators to describe distortion along a process chain.

Dieter Klein1, Klaus-Dieter Thoben1, Lutz Nowag2, 1Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and
Applied Work Science (BIBA) Bremen, Germany, 2Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT),
Bremen, Germany.
31
Session 2: Mechanical design and steel making

Towards a Knowledge Based System (KBS) for a qualitative distortion prediction for heat
treatments.
P. Lamesle, E. Vareilles, M. Aldanondo, Ecole des Mines dAlbi-Carmaux, ALBI Cedex 09, France.
39
Systematic analysis of the relation between part geometry and distortion due to heat
treatment.
Christian Andersch1, Martin Ehlers1, Franz Hoffmann2, Hans-Werner Zoch2, 1Robert Bosch GmbH,
Schwieberdingen, Germany. 2Foundation Institute for Material Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
49
Metallurgical and production-related protocols to reduce heat-treatment distortion in the

manufacture of gear components.
Frank Hippenstiel, Edelstahlwerke Buderus AG, Wetzlar, Germany.
57
Comparison of different remelted hot-work tool steels and their distortion, residual stresses
and other properties. Experiments and simulations.
W. Schtzenhfer1, C. Redl1, H. Schweiger1, I. Siller1, N. Dickinger2, R. Schneider2, 1Bhler
Edelstahl GmbH, Kapfenberg, Austria. 2University of Applied Sciences, Wels, Austria.
65
Session 3: Steel making

Metallurgical influence on distortion of the case hardening steel 20MnCr5.
Christian Prinz1 , Brigitte Clausen1, Franz Hoffmann1, Rainer Kohlmann2, Hans-Werner Zoch1,
1
Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 2Edelstahlwerke
Sdwestfalen, Siegen, Germany.
75
Spray forming of homogenous 20MnCr5 steel of low distortion potential.

Chengsong Cui1, Alwin Schulz1, Udo Fritsching1, Rainer Kohlmann2, 1Foundation Institute for
Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 2 Edelstahlwerke Sdwestfalen, GmbH, Siegen,
Germany.
83
VIII
Session 4: Metrology of distortion related processes

Wet-state ultrasonic measurements of cylindrical workpieces during immersion cooling.
Dirk Stoebener, Gert Goch, University of Bremen, Faculty of Production Engineering,
Measurement and Control, Bremen, Germany.
95
Visualisation and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in high

pressure gas quenching cells.
Volker Heuer, Klaus Lser, ALD Vac. Tech. GmbH Hanau, Germany.
105
Noncontacting measurement of distortion by digital holographic interferometry.

Thomas Kreis, Jan Mller, Christoph von Kopylow, Werner Jptner, BIAS Bremer Institut fr
Angewandte Strahltechnik, Bremen, Germany.
115
Session 5: Modelling and simulation

Modelling and simulation technology to reduce heat treatment distortion for the advancement
of materials processing technology.
Kiyoshi Funatani, IMST Inst., Nagoya, Japan.
125
Recent development of heat treating simulation in Japan.

Tatsuo Inoue1, Youichi Watanabe2, Kazuo Okamura3, Michiharu Narazaki4, Hayato Shichino5,
Dong-Ying Ju6, Hideo Kanamori7, Katsumi Ichitani7, 1Fukuyama University, Hiroshima, Japan.
2
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Yokohama, Japan. 3Sumitomo Metals Co. LTD. Hyogo, Japan.
4
Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, Japan. 5Komatsu Co. LTD. Osaka, Japan. 6 Saitama Institute of
Technology, Saitama, Japan. 7Idemitsu Kosan Co. LTD. Ci\hiba, Japan.
133
Adaptive finite element simulations for macroscopic and mesoscopic models of steel.
Alfred Schmidt, Bettina Suhr, Thilo Moshagen, Michael Wolff, Michael Bhm, University of
Bremen, Faculty of Mathematics, Industrial Mathematics, Bremen, Germany.
141
FE determination of the effective TRIP during diffusive transformation in a volume with

randomly positioned nuclei.
Fabrice Barbe1, Romain Quey2, Lakhdar Taleb1, Eduardo Souza de Cursi1, 1LMR, INSA Rouen, BP8,
St Etienne du Rouvray, France. 2Microstructures and Processing Department, Ecole des Mines de St
Etienne, St Etienne, France.
149
Session 6: Casting and forming

Production optimisation of thin walled light metal die casting components.
E. Garcia-Sobolevski1, J. Gibmeier1, B. Scholtes1, A. Gebauer-Teichmann2, R. Herzog2, A. EgnerWalter3, E. Hepp3, E. Stark 4, 1University of Kassel, Inst. Mat. Eng., Kassel, Germany. 2Volkswagen
AG (Kassel), Baunatal, Germany. 3MAGMA GmbH, Aachen, Germany.
159
Consideration of core segregations on the formability of bearing steel.

E. Brinksmeier, R. Rentsch, T. Sackmann, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT),
Bremen, Germany.
167
Numerical and physical simulation of the post deformation cooling phase of C70S6 connecting
rods.
M. Targa1, S. Bruschi1 and T. Dal Negro2, 1DIMEG, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. 2DIMS,
University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
175
IX
Session 7: Machining and heating

Effect of machining parameters and clamping technique on residual stresses and distortion of
bearing rings.
Lutz Nowag, Jens Slter, Andr Walter, Ekkard Brinksmeier, Foundation Institute for Materials
Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
185
Manufacturing residual stress states in heat treatment simulation of bearing rings.

Holger Surm, Olaf Kessler, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for
Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
195
Explanation on origin of distortion in induction hardened ring specimens by computer

simulation.
Takashi Horino1, Fumiaki Ikuta1, Kyozo Arimoto2, Chuanrong Jin3 and Shigeyuki Tamura3,
1
Neturen Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, Japan. 2Arimotech Ltd., Osaka, Japan. 3CRC Solutions Corp.,
Tokyo, Japan.
203
Case study comparison of distortion for an AGMA quality class 10 bevel gears gas
carburizing, versus contour induction hardening.
Kelly T. Jones P.E1, Michael. R. Newsome2, Matthew D. Carter P.E2, 1The Boeing Company,
Everett Washington, USA. 2The Boeing Company, Portland Oregon, USA.
213
Session 8: Carburising
High temperature carburization-influences on distortion behavior of heavy-duty transmission
components.
Jrg Kleff1, Stefan Hock1, Ingo Kellermann1, Markus Fleischmann2, Arnim Kper2, 1ZF
Friedrichshafen AG, Friedrichshafen, Germany. 2ZF Passau GmbH, Passau, Germany.
227
Influence of carburising on distortion behaviour.

Christian Bahnsen, Brigitte Clausen, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for
235
Computation of gear distortion from case hardening with low pressure carburizing.
Anders Thuvander, Swedish Institute for Metals Research, Stockholm, Sweden.
243
Simulation of the distortion of 20MnCr5 parts after asymmetrical carburization.

Carmen Acht, Brigitte Clausen, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for
251
Session 9: Heat treatment simulation of complex geometries

C.A.S.H. - Computer Aided Simulation of Heat treatment - an overview.
J. Schwarzer1, M. Ehlers1, J. Gttler2, 1Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany. 2DaimlerChrysler
AG, Stuttgart, Germany.
261
Determination of input data for the simulation of case hardening .

Jrn Ltjens1, Volker Heuer2, Franz Knig3, Thomas Lbben1, Volker Schulze4, Nicolas Trapp4,
1
Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 2ALD Vacuum Technologies
AG, Hanau, Germany. 3Schwbische Hrtetechnik ULM GmbH & Co, Ulm, Germany. 4Institut fr
Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe, Germany.
269
Case hardening simulation of complex components by use of abstraction.

Clemens Franz1, Thomas Lbben2, Jrn Ltjens2, Frank Streicher1, Nicolas Trapp3, Michael Vogel4,
1
DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany. 2Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT),
Bremen, Germany. 3Institut fr Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe (TH), Karlsruhe, Germany.
4
Engineering Systems International GmbH, Mnchen, Germany.
281
Simulation of case hardening of complex components by use of a construction kit.

Nicolas Trapp1, Michael Fiderer2, Jrn Ltjens3, Martin Ehlers4, Volker Schulze1, 1Institut fr
Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe, Germany. 2Kistler-IGeL GmbH, Schnaich, Germany.
3
Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 4Robert Bosch GmbH,
Stuttgart, Germany.
289
Session 10: Modelling - general aspects

Simulations of Satoh test using different constitutive equations taking into account solid-solid
phase changes.
Aurore Verdure, Lakhdar Taleb, INSA/LMR, Saint Etienne du Rouvray Cedex, France.
299
Validation of material property data for quenching simulation by end-quench test and its
simulation.
Michiharu Narazaki, Minoru Kogawara, Atsushi Shirayori, Sadakatsu Fuchizawa, Utsunomiya
University, Tochigi, Japan.
307
Modelling of steel phenomena and its interactions - an internal-variable approach.

Michael Wolff, Michael Bhm, Alfred Schmidt,, University of Bremen, Faculty of Mathematics,
Industrial Mathematics, Bremen, Germany.
315
Influence of the temperature on stress-strain curves of a bearing steel and a case hardening
steel using pearlitic and austenitic structure.
Gnther Lwisch, Mnip Dalgic, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen,
Germany.
325
11. Modelling - transformation plasticity

TRIP and phase evolution for the pearlitic transformation of the steel 100Cr6 under step-wise
loads.
Michael Wolff1, Michael Bhm1, Mnip Dalgic2, Gnther Lwisch2, Jochen Rath1, 1University of
Bremen, Faculty of Mathematics, Industrial Mathematics, Bremen, Germany. 2Foundation Institute
for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
337
Transformation plasticity at different phase transformation of a bearing steel.

Mnip Dalgic, Gnther Lwisch, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen,
Germany.
347
Experimental investigation of transformation plasticity in 42CD4 steel.

Silvia Casotto, Stefania Bruschi, Paolo F. Bariani, DIMEG, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
357
Influence of TRIP on the residual stress development during heat treatment of high alloyed
cast irons.
Rainer Raberger1, Michael Brandner2, Bruno Buchmayr3, 1Graz University of Technology, Institute
for Materials Science, Welding and Forming, Austria. 2Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen R&E Weinberger
AG, Austria. 3University of Leoben, Department for Product Engineering, Austria.
365
Session 12: Compensation of distortion

Design and application of quality control strategies at the operational level of a production
process chain.
Matko Dijkman1, Christoph Ament2, Gert Goch1, 1University of Bremen, Department of Production
Engineering, Measurement and Control, Bremen, Germany. 2University of Freiburg, Laboratory for
Systems Theory Freiburg, Germany.
375
Thermal generation of residual stress fields for purpose of distortion minimization.
Thomas Pretorius, Gabriele Habedank, Jrg Woitschig, Frank Vollertsen, BIAS - Bremer Institut fr
angewandte Strahltechnik, Bremen, Germany.
381
XI
Controlling of distortion by means of quenching in adapted jet fields.

Sven Schttenberg, Martin Hunkel, Udo Fritsching, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for
389
Minimising stress and distortion for shafts and discs by controlled quenching in a field of
nozzles.
Miroslaw Brzoza1, Eckehard Specht1, Jrg Ohland2, Omar Belkessam2, Thomas Lbben2, Udo
Fritsching2, 1Otto-von-Guericke-Universitt Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. 2Foundation
Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany.
397
Session 13: Quenching

FE Simulation of steel quenching to investigate residual stresses and distortion.
Caner imir, C. Hakan Gr, Middle East Technical University, Metallurgical and Materials
Engineering Dept., Ankara, Turkey.
407
Prediction of Distortion of Cylinders without Phase Transformations.

Friedhelm Frerichs1, Darko Landek2, Thomas Lbben1, Franz Hoffmann1, Hans-Werner Zoch1,
1
Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 2University of Zagreb,
Faculty for Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia.
415
Verification of distortion characteristics in water quenched cylinders by computer simulation.

Kyozo Arimoto1, Takashi Horino2, Fumiaki Ikuta2, Chuanrong Jin3, Shigeyuki Tamura3, Michiharu
Narazaki4, 1Arimotech Ltd., Osaka, Japan. 2Neturen Co., Ltd. Kanagawa, Japan. 3CRC Solutions
Corp., Tokyo, Japan. 4Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, Japan.
425
Coupled numerical model for gas quenching and experimental validation.

J.F. Douce1, J.P. Bellot1, S. Denis1, P. Lamesle2, F. Gouhinec3, F. Chaffotte3, G. Pellegrino3,
1
LSG2M (UMR 7584 CNRS/INPL/UHP), Ecole des Mines, Nancy cedex, France. 2CROMEP , Ecole
des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux, ALBI CT Cedex, France. 3Air Liquide, Centre de Recherche Claude
Delorme, Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France.
437
Session 14: Welding and Intensive Quenching

Welding-distortion phenomena of T-joint using low-temperature transformation welding
wire.
Yasushi Morikage1, Takahiro Kubo1, Koichi Yasuda 1, Keniti Amano1, Yoshiki Mikami2, Masahito
Mochizuki2, Masao Toyoda2, 1JFE Steel Corporation, Chiba, Japan. 2Graduate School of
Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
447
Numerical simulation of welding distortions of T-joints with low-temperature transformation

welding wire.
Yoshiki Mikami1, Yasushi Morikage2, Masahito Mochizuki3, Masao Toyoda4, 1Osaka University,
Osaka, Japan. 2JFE Steel Corporation, Chiba, Japan. 3Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 4Osaka
University, Osaka, Japan.
453
New ways of decreasing distortion using intensive quenching technologies.

Nikolai I. Kobasko, Intensive Technologies Ltd, Kyiv, Ukraine, IQ Technologies Inc. Akron, USA.
461
Session 15: Quenching and tempering

Homogenization of hardness distribution and distortion in high pressure gas quenching.
Ralf Schmidt, Udo Fritsching, Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 471
XII
Distortion behaviour and mechanical properties of AlCu4Mg1 sheet components after highpressure gas quenching in comparison to liquid quenching.
Olaf Kessler1, Andre Irretier1, O. Pieper2, G. Dolatta2, Franz Hoffmann1, Hans-Werner Zoch1,
1
Foundation Institute for Materials Science (IWT), Bremen, Germany. 2Airbus, Bremen, Germany.
479
Quenching distortion of aluminium castings - improvement by gas cooling.

Andrea Rose, Olaf Kessler, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch, Foundation Institute for
487
Study and modelling of microstructural evolutions and thermomechanical behaviour during

the tempering of steel.
Yunning Wang, Benoit Appolaire, Sabine Denis, Pierre Archambault, Bernard Dussoubs, LSG2M,
Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Nancy, France.
495
Index
503
IDE 2005, Bremen, Germany, September 14th 16th, 2005
1. System-oriented approach to distortion

phenomena
From Single Production Step to Entire Process

Chain - the Global Approach of Distortion
Engineering
Hans-Werner Zoch
Foundation Institute for Material Science, Badgasteiner Str. 3, D-28359 Bremen, zoch@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
Minimizing or even avoiding of heat treatment distortion is one of the key factors in the machine industry. Although
known as a multi-parameter problem, in the past investigations had focused on single effects or isolated steps in a
process chain only. E.g. segregation patterns in raw materials, forming technologies, machining parameters and
quenching was subject of intensive research. A new global approach, treating distortion as a system attribute,
analyses the entire process chain from steelmaking to heat treatment. Optimizing distortion by this new methodology
is called Distortion Engineering, which is the name of the corresponding Collaborative Research Center,
established by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) at the University Bremen in 2001.
The investigation of distortion potential and application of compensation potential of different manufacturing
steps will lead to an intelligent control of distortion and future improvements in profitability of production.
Keywords
Distortion Engineering, Heat Treatment, Process chain, SFB 570, IDE 2005
Introduction and Motivation
Economic losses of about EUR 850 Mio. are caused by heat treatment distortion year by year
within the German machine, automotive and transmission industry [Thoben 2002]. This was
shown by an inquiry in 1995 and confirms the high need for improvements, those companies are
looking for to gain necessary cost savings in production.
Distortion, i.e. alterations in size and shape of components, usually has to be eliminated by hard
grinding, which is one of the most expensive production technologies (fig. 1).
100
Manufacturing costs
Assembly
Heat
treatment
80
Grinding / Honing
60
Turning
40
Forming
20
Raw Material
0
50
100
150
200 250 300
Bore diameter (mm)
Figure 1: Share of production costs during manufacturing of a rolling element bearing
Depending on the size of the parts, the grinding costs can amount to 30 - 40% as a former study
of a leading bearing manufacturer shows. But costs are only one aspect of distortion. Modern
design trends like downsizing or lightweight construction will first again increase the distortion
sensitivity. But additionally, a reduction in wall thickness, as a consequence of downsizing, may
lead to worse performance properties of e.g. bearing races after case carburizing. Higher amounts
of stock removal because of higher distortion require deeper carburizing, from which the case
depth to wall thickness ratio will suffer, followed by lower fracture toughness of the ring.
Therefore a high effort had and has being addressed to the control of distortion.
The phenomenon of distortion is scientifically investigated for almost 100 years, but knowledge
about and actions against distortion are still imperfect and very often limited to isolated aspects
resp. single influencing factors. The main thermal, mechanical and material related mechanisms
leading to distortion are known (fig. 2, [Hee 1997]), but the influencing factors are numerous,
sometimes exceeding the number of 200 [Volkmuth 1996].
distortion
non-thermal volume
changes
deformations
phase
changes
transformations
precipitations
plastic
deformations
exceeding
yield
strength
transformation
stresses
relaxation
and
aging
elastic
deformations
residual
stresses
thermal
stresses
Figure 2: Causes for heat treatment distortion
Although distortion mostly is recognized after the heat treatment operation first, its causes are
distributed throughout the entire manufacturing chain. The common practice was, to fight against
distortion by optimizing single production steps. The new global approach of distortion
engineering includes influencing parameters of all production steps, treating distortion as a
system attribute.
The Classical Method of Controlling Distortion
Distortion in heat treatment of steel is the result of phase transformations or precipitations and
elastic or plastic deformations, coming from thermal or transformation induced stresses. Acc. to
Wyss [Wyss 78], dimensional changes can be separated into unavoidable and avoidable shares,
the first subject to certain regularities as the specific volume increase during pearlite - martensite
formation. But most of the contributions to the overall distortion have to be treated as avoidable
i.e. based on inhomogenities in geometry or shape (different wall thicknesses), raw material
(segregations), manufacturing (fiber flow, residual stresses from machining) and processing
(heating and cooling). The main target in the past was - besides final eliminating distortion by
press quenching, hard machining or straightening - to optimize influencing parameters for those
single production steps, which empirically have been recognized of having the highest
detrimental effect on dimensional changes.
Several works dealt with segregations in continuous cast carburizing or through hardening steels
and their influence on distortion. While for carburizing grades a significant influence existed on
bevel gears [Seeger 1986, Gunnarson 1991], no correlation between out-of-roundness of bearing
race distortion and segregation cross section could be proved [Zoch 1994, Volkmuth 1995].
Obviously the interaction between base chemical composition, casting, milling and hot forming
parameters (die forging vs. ring rolling) led to different results. The general field of influencing
parameters is broad as examples of cross sections of global available concasters show (fig. 3).
bloom caster
(mostly Japanese)
Bloom heigth (mm)
400
300
200
bloom/billet caster
(mostly European)
100
square resp.
rectangular
billet caster
(mostly for wire production)
round
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Bloom width (mm)

Figure 3: Solidification cross sections of different continuous casters, selection mainly for through
hardening bearing steels
Besides the necessary total deformation ratios from billet to component (from the viewpoint of
product properties) the target setting of near-net-shape-forming will continue, which may lead to
renewed attention to segregation effects in the future, if deformation ratios are reduced. Further
different forming technologies show differing sensitivity to segregation influences, e.g. in terms
of axial vs. tangential material flow, which can change the initial segregation pattern
significantly. Typical technologies for an economic production for the wide range of ring
diameters in rolling bearing manufacturing are shown in fig. 4 [e.g. Ficker 2005].
TRENPRO
cold forming
hot forging
cold rolling
hot rolling
turning (rods)
turning (tubes)
10
cold / hot formed

100
1000
10000
Mean ring diameter (mm)

Figure 4: Production technologies for bearing race manufacturing
Differences are not only given in fiber flow but also in the process temperatures. Cold working
technologies introduce high levels of residual stresses, which are released during heat treatment
and gain relevance to distortion. One of the highest stress levels remains after cold rolling of
blanks after forging and spheroidize annealing. But because of their homogeneity in
circumferential direction, out-of-roundness is kept low. Machining of cold worked tubes is
known to reveal high ovalties of hardened rings [Volkmuth 2005]. They are caused by localized,
inhomogeneous deformations and stresses resulting from straightening operations of the finished
tubes.
Similar examples of parameters influencing distortion can be described for clamping during
turning and the heat treatment process itself, especially the quenching process. All examples
show, that actions against distortion most are limited to one production step and only a few
process parameters. This was and often still is the classical way to minimize distortion by
optimizing single material or production parameters and often did not allow transferring results
into industrial practice or generalizing them to various processes or product designs.
However, the current understanding of distortion is, that dimensional changes recognized after
heat treatment, are a consequence of the entire production chain. This leads to a new view of
treating distortion problems, which acc. to Mayr is called Distortion Engineering [Hoffmann
2002].
Distortion Engineering - the New System-oriented Approach
The central idea of distortion engineering is, that all steps of the production chain (fig. 5 [Spur
1984]) together contribute to the final distortion behavior. Also the geometrical design has a high
influence on dimensional changes [Bergstroem 88].
Joining
Casting
Milling,
Forming
Joining
Cutting,
soft
machining
Straightening
Coating
Heat
treatment
Coating
Cutting,
hard
machining
operational
behaviour
Straightening
Figure 5: Manufacturing chain for metallic components
From this point of view, every production step changes distortion relevant parameters (geometry,
surface structure, chemical composition, microstructure, texture, residual stresses), which leads
to a certain distortion potential. Those distortion potentials can cumulate, eliminate each other
or being released during later production steps (e.g. heating or austenitizing) followed by size
and/or dimensional changes, ending up with the final distortion measure.
The distortion potential therefore is defined as sum of all influences, which lead to reactions
negatively changing the size and dimensions of a component [Hoffmann 2002]. In a
manufacturing chain, each step hands its inherent distortion potential over to the next link in the
process chain at their system-interface. In the system-oriented approach of Distortion
Engineering, the optimization of the entire system, i.e. the manufacturing chain, is superior to an
optimization of single production steps and is expected to improve the distortion problems
significantly [Thoben 2002]. An excellent knowledge of the ruling mechanisms of distortion
causes is a decisive prerequisite in order to be able to separate minor from major influences
within the complex system and requires further research activities.
An improved control of distortion by this system-approach is the challenging target of the
Collaborative Research Center Distortion Engineering, which was established by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft - German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2001 at the University of
Bremen. In a joint research of many involved disciplines as Materials Science, Manufacturing
and Process Technology, Measurement and Control, Physics, Techno-Mathematics and
Production Systems the work packages of the Collaborative Research Center are structures as
shown below:

Mechanisms of generation of distortion

Measures and methods to influence distortion

Cross-functional tasks.
As fundamental approach to the complex scope of distortion engineering three model
components were chosen, reflecting the need and interest of the industry (fig. 6). Representative
for the rolling bearing industry a cylindrical ring, for the gearbox manufacturers a cylindrical
gear and a stepped-down shaft were selected, simplified for basic investigations as ring, disc and
bar. Concerning the materials involved, through hardening bearing steel 100Cr6 (SAE 52100)
and carburizing steel 20MnCr5 (~ SAE 5120) is used as continuous cast and spray formed
material to reflect different homogeneity. The heat treatment varies between conventional
hardening and tempering (through hardening steel) and blank hardening or case carburizing
(20MnCr5).
Figure 6: Manufacturing chain for metallic machine components
To determine the major factors governing the distortion mechanisms in each production step,
statistical evaluation methods are applied like Design of Experiments (DoE), to be able to handle
the numerous influencing parameters and interrelations among them.
Cause of distortion
Geometry
Cooling
Segregations
Rings of 62 mm outer diameter
Residual stresses
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
Out-of-roundness-distortion (m)
Figure 7: Main influences on distortion by heat treatment simulation of a cylindrical roller bearing of 62
mm outer diameter
The results of a similar evaluation, but only based on simulation data are given in fig. 7
[Thuvander 98], proving that residual stresses before heat treatment showed the leading
influence. This investigation covers only a certain detail of the process chain, however shows
first directions to intensify research.
High effort further is given to an in-situ measurement of heat treatment parameters and
distortion, especially during quenching. The advantages of dry quenching using gases or
compressed air to reduce distortion are known and more or less state-of-the-art in practical heat
treatment. Recent research work however showed the high flexibility of gaseous nozzle fields,
which can be used to locally adjust the heat transfer (fig. 8 [Schttenberg 2004, Brzoza 2005]).
The possibility of intentionally inhomogeneous quenching opens a new field of corrections to
distortion, which is called compensation potential within the Collaborative Research Center.
The compensation potential is described as sum of all influences, which lead to reactions
positively changing the size and dimensions of a component [Hoffmann 2002]. Flexible nozzle
fields are one way to use the compensation potential to correct distortion, e. g. nonuniform
heating parameters similarly can be used.
Figure 8: Flexible nozzle field for gas quenching of rings
The application of the compensation potential strategy requires in-situ data of the actual ring
dimensions e.g. before and during quenching. Those signals then can be used as input for a
closed control loop to adjust local quench intensities.
Simulation of production processes and heat treatment within the Distortion Engineering
project is of high importance. Simulation is the key for a later generalization of results, transfer
to different geometries, production and heat treatment parameters. The physical interrelations of
the fields of influence on the generation of deformations during heat treatment are known (fig. 9
[Hee 97]), but not all effects up to now are covered by precise and efficient models.
Furthermore, all simulation techniques require fundamental temperature and microstructure
material data, which have to be gathered for all relevant materials in the working packages.
TTA / TTT relations
latent heat
m
at
io
rm
fo
t ra
ns
s
se
es
str
al
at
m
he
er
th
ed
uc
ind
al
nic
ha
ec
C-Profile
n
st
re
st r
ss
e
es
t ra ss
ns in
fo du
rm ce
at d
ion
Phase
transformations
Temperatures
Deformations /
Stresses
Figure 9: Interactions during heat treatment of steel
Conclusion and Perspectives
Distortion as a major problem of heat treatment in machine industry has been subject of many
investigations, referring dimensional changes to only isolated effects of machining or thermal
treatment resp. single steps of the production chain. Distortion however shows a system attribute,
which requires to analyze the entire process chain. The Collaborative Research Center
Distortion Engineering will gather and evaluate necessary data on influences on distortion,
which will be examined as distortion potential of distinct manufacturing steps. Second, the so-
called compensation potential will be quantified, which allows an active distortion control by
intentionally inhomogeneous distribution of process parameters. In principle this was already
shown by flexible nozzle field quenching of rings. However, the chance to use the
compensation potential requires in-situ data e.g. of the component geometry as input for a
control loop. The development of fast and precise sensors therefore is of growing importance.
The application of such an active distortion control also has to take into account, that only a
certain process window will be usable. For the example of flexible gaseous quenching, this
process window is limited by the necessary temperature gradient in the part for the plastic
deformation (correction) of the component, but additionally limited by the minimum quenching
speed to meet the operational properties (given by the hardenability of the material). The
achievement of a certain surface hardness or hardening depth in that case may not be sufficient.
The degree of through hardening influences the diameter increase during heat treatment of
100Cr6. Low core hardness can lead to lower diameter increase and especially larger scattering
in this measure (fig. 10 [Zoch 1992]). It has to be proven, if the use of the compensation potential
is capable of controlling both, the out-of-roundness as well as the mean diameter requirements.
Diameter increase (%0)
max..
2,0
700
HV
y
1,0
600
500
-1,0
400
min.
Core hardness (HV)
800
3,0
hardness
-2,0
300
0
10
20
30
40
50
Wall thickness (mm)
Figure 10: Dimensional change of bearing rings with different wall thickness (100Cr6, 840C 30 min
salt bath 200C 240C 2h)
The new approach of Distortion Engineering requires a joint collaboration of all organizational
structures in the production line, too. An overall optimization of production costs needs
considerations beginning from the material purchasing and design department up to the heat
treatment. The Collaborative Research Center Distortion Engineering will be a useful
instrument for a general understanding and a knowledge base for future application of the
concept and transfer into industrial practice.
Acknowledgement
The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the
Collaborative Research Centre SFB 570 Distortion Engineering at the University of Bremen and the support from
all co-workers within this project.
References
Brzoza, M.; Specht, E.; Ohland; J.; Lbben, Th.; Belkessam, O.; Fritsching, U.; Mayr, P.: Dsenfeldanpassung bei
der flexiblen Gasabschreckung. HTM 60 (2005) 3, pp. 166-172
Ficker, T.; Hardtmann, A.; Houska, M.: Ring Rolling Research at the Dresden University of Technology - its
History from the Beginning in the 70s to the Present. steel research int. 76 (2005) No. 2/3, pp. 121 - 124
Gunnarson, S.: Einflu der Strangguform auf den Verzug eines einsatzgehrteten Tellerrades aus Stahl. HTM 46
(1991) 4, pp. 216-220.
10
Hee, K.; Besserdich, G.; Damaschek, R.; Ehlers, M.; Grasemann, H.-J.; Hoferer, M.; Kessler, O.; Lbben, Th.;
Majorek, A.; Miskiewicz, S.; Schmitt, G.; Thoden, B.; Volkmuth, J.; Wiedmann, D.; Zoch, H.-W.: Ma- und
Formnderungen infolge Wrmebehandlung. Expert-Verlag, Renningen, 1997
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering - Verzugsbeherrschung in der
Fertigung. HTM 57 (2002) 3, pp. 213-217
Schttenberg, S.; Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Fritsching, U.; Mayr, P.: Verzugskompensation mittels
Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern. HTM 59 (2004) 3, pp. 185-191
Seger, W.: Beeinflussung des Verzugsverhaltens von rotationssymmetrischen Schmiedeteilen durch
Erstarrungslenkung. Mnchner Umformtechnik-Seminare, 1986
Spur, G., Stferle, Th.: Handbuch der Fertigungstechnik, Carl Hanser-Verlag, 1984 (acc. to DIN 8580)
Thoben, K.-D.; Lbben, Th.; Clausen, B.; Prinz, C.; Schulz, A.; Rentsch, R.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Surm, H.;
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.; Distortion Engineering: Eine systemorientierte Betrachtung
des Bauteilverzugs. HTM 57 (2002) 4, pp. 276-282
Thuvander, A.; Hglund, L.; Melander, A.; From, A.; Jonsson, S.; Agren, J.; lund, P.; Andersson, J.-E.; Lund, T.;
Beswick, J.; Slycke, J.: Simulation of Heat Treatment Response and Distortion of Bearing Steels. In: Bearing
Steels: Into the 21st Century, ASTM STP 1327, J. J. C. Hoo and W. B. Green, Eds., ASTM 1998
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, F.; Lund, T.: Einflu von Gieverfahren und Giequerschnitt auf die Unrundheit, HTM 50
(1995) 6, pp. 352-358
Volkmuth, J.: Eigenspannungen und Verzug. HTM 51 (1996) 3, p. 145-154.
Volkmuth, J.: Immer rger mit dem Verzug? Wo er herkommt und was man dagegen tun kann. Konstruktion 7/82005, pp. 57-63
Wyss, U.: Die wichtigsten Gesetzmigkeiten des Verzugs bei der Wrmebehandlung des Stahles. In: Die
Wrmebehandlung der Bau- und Werkzeugsthle. BAZ-Buchverlag, Basel, 1978
Zoch, H.-W.: Wrmebehandlungsverfahren in der Wlzlagerfertigung. HTM 47 (1992) 4, pp. 223-230
Zoch, H.-W.; Lbben, Th.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Verzug und Stranggu - Einflu des Gieformats beim
Fixturhrten von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 49 (1994) 4, pp. 245-253
11
Experimental Study of Distortion Phenomena in

Manufacturing Chains
Olaf Kessler, Christian Prinz, Torsten Sackmann, Lutz Nowag, Holger Surm,
Friedhelm Frerichs, Thomas Lbben, Hans-Werner Zoch
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany
kessler@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
The influence and significance of several process parameters in a manufacturing chain of cylindrical bearing rings
made of steel SAE 52100 (100Cr6) on the quench hardening distortion were identified using the method of Design of
Experiments (DoE) and a statistical analysis of the results. The change in out-of-roundness can be exclusively
explained by the used clamping technique during turning, which led to characteristic residual stress distributions in
circumferential direction. Size alterations were smaller and depended also on clamping (height) resp. on clamping
and an interaction of clamping and feed (radius). Other investigated factors like stirring during continuous casting,
deformation ratio during forging and cooling after forging did not significantly influence shape or size changes.
Density measurement was found to be a simple and effective method, to check size changes. The results confirm the
necessity of concerning the whole manufacturing chain, to understand and influence heat treatment distortion. DoE
has been proven to be a useful tool in this way.
Keywords
DoE, manufacturing chain, bearing rings, SAE 52100 (100Cr6), residual stresses
Introduction
Distortion due to heat treatment is responsible for additional and cost intensive machining
operations after hardening of steel components. It is well known that heat treatment releases the
distortion potential accumulated in a workpiece passing through several operation steps, which
build the whole manufacturing chain [Doege, 2001], [Thoben, 2002]. Accordingly the
Collaborative Research Center Distortion Engineering (SFB 570) investigates the significant
influences in the individual processes and their interactions in the whole manufacturing chain
[Hoffmann, 2002], [Thoben, 2002].
To ensure the identification of significant factors and interactions on distortion the method of
Design of Experiments (DoE) is used. A DoE provides a methodology for determining
relationships between factors and their interactions affecting a process and the results of that
process. The traditional method of collecting large quantities of data by changing one factor at a
time becomes impossible as the number of factors significantly increases. More efficient is the
two-level factorial design approach. By restricting the tests to only two levels (high and low) of
each factor, the number of experiments is reduced. The factors as well as the difference between
the two levels have to be chosen carefully so that the effects on the result can be identified in a
statistic analysis procedure. If the number of potential factors is relatively large, the number of
runs can be further reduced by conducting a fractional factorial DoE, which consists of a
representative subset of a full factorial design. By reducing the number of runs, the impact of
some factors can not be evaluated independently. Higher-order interactions are superimposed
with main effects or lower-order interactions [Scheffler, 1997].
The present investigation is a continuation of a former analysis of significant factors and
interactions in the manufacturing chain of cylindrical bearing rings made of steel SAE 52100
(100Cr6). In the previous investigation [Clausen, 2004], the influence of seven different factors
12
on ring distortion were examined, which were chosen according to their high significance in the
analysis of the single process steps [Kusmierz, 2003], [Brinksmeier, 2003], [Slter, 2004]. In the
former experiments ring distortion was mainly controlled by the quenching medium. Oil and gas
quenching were used and oil quenching led to obviously higher distortion and higher scattering
of distortion compared with other factors. This has caused problems in identifying further
significant effects. Due to this reason, only gas quenching in a nozzle field was applied in the
second investigation. Excluding the strong impact of oil quenching, this technique provides a
basis for the identification of further important factors in the manufacturing chain on distortion
due to heat treatment.
2
2.1
Experimental Procedure
Manufacturing Chain
All rings were produced from the same heat of steel SAE 52100 (100Cr6), which was molten at
the steel plant Edelstahlwerke Sdwestfalen (EWS) in an electric arc furnace. The degree of
purity was adjusted by vacuum treatment. Afterwards the melt was continuously cast into
blooms of a 250 x 260 mm2 square format. Usually the melt is electromagnetically stirred within
the range of the mould to improve the homogeneity of the alloying elements distribution. To
investigate the influence of the alloying elements distribution, a part of the material was cast
without stirring. In further processing, the bloom were heated to deformation temperature, first
bloomed and afterwards rolled on six racks with the three-roll technology to bars of 60 mm in
diameter. Finally the mechanical workability was ensured by a spheroidising annealing.
For forging of the cylindrical ring blanks with the dimensions of o150 mm x i130 mm x
30 mm, the material was heated to a temperature of 1150 C. The cut samples had a mass of
1190 g 20 g. Subsequently, hot forming was conducted in the following steps: upsetting of the
semi-finished parts, pre-forming, punching, ring rolling, and sizing. All forming processes were
carried out without additional heating between the steps. Previous investigations showed, that the
deformation ratio of upsetting and the cooling conditions after hot forming have a significant
influence on the distortion behaviour of forged rings made of SAE 52100 [Kusmierz, 2003]. In
order to investigate different deformation ratios during hot forming, the diameter of the semifinished material was partly reduced to 45 mm by turning. The different diameters resulted in
different deformation ratios during upsetting of = -0.52 and = -1.10. The following
deformation steps were identical for all rings. The cooling conditions from forming temperature
were defined in two ways: symmetrically cooled rings, which were cooled in still air, and
circumferential asymmetrically cooled rings, which were cooled one-sided beneath a heated steel
plate. After forging the rings were annealed (spheroidised) again and sand-blasted.
All rings were machined in two steps to the desired dimension of o145 mm x i133 mm x
26 mm. At first the ring was clamped at its outer surface and the inner surface was machined by
longitudinal turning. In a second step the inner surface of the ring was fixed and its outer
diameter was machined by longitudinal turning as well. To change the residual stress distribution
in circumferential direction two different clamping techniques were used. To induce
homogeneous residual stresses in circumferential direction, a six jaw pendulum chuck (outside)
and a mandrel (inside) were used. To induce inhomogeneous residual stresses in circumferential
direction, a three-jaw-chuck (outside) and segment jaws (inside) were used. The inner surface
longitudinal turning process was performed with two cuts (first cut: depth of cut ap = 1 mm,
second cut: depth of cut ap = 0.5 mm, both cuts: cutting speed vc = 240 m/min, feed f = 0.3 mm).
The outer surface longitudinal turning was conducted with four cuts. For the last cut the cutting
parameter feed was changed from f = 0.3 mm to f = 0.1 mm and f = 0.4 mm, respectively, to
influence the mean value of the residual stresses [Slter, 2004]. The constant parameters cutting
speed and depth of cut were vc = 240 m/min and ap = 0.75 mm. After each set of samples, which
belong to one test variant, a new turning tool was used.
13
To eliminate effects of uncontrolled variables, the final quench hardening was not conducted in
the order of the test layout, but the rings were heat treated in a random order. The rings were
batched on three points in 120 angle distance [Surm, 2005a]. For quench hardening all rings
were heated in 10 min to 850 C in a preheated furnace with a protective nitrogen atmosphere in
the chamber. Austenitising time amounted to 25 min. Quenching was performed in a gas nozzle
field, which was optimised for the requirements of ring quenching. The gas quenching device
consisted of an inner and outer gas distributor with 36 nozzles each. The nozzles were arranged
in twelve rows circumferential with three nozzles in each row. The gas quenching device was fed
with 5336 ln/min nitrogen, which lead to gas velocities of about 100 m/s at the nozzle outlets.
The distance between nozzle outlets and ring surface was 20 mm [Frerichs, 2004].
2.2
Design of Experiments
Five main factors were considered in the DoE of the present investigation: electromagnetic
stirring during continuous casting, deformation ratio during upsetting, cooling conditions after
hot forming, clamping conditions and feed during turning (Table 1). Main effects and secondorder interactions should be evaluated separately. This can be ensured by using a 2V5-1 DoE
design, in which main effects are superimposed with fourth-order interactions and second-order
interactions are superimposed with third-order interactions. In general, higher-order interactions
are rare and can often be neglected [Scheffler, 1997]. Thus it was assumed that the observed
results are caused by the main effects or second-order interactions.
Each of the 16 variants was repeated three times, i.e. 48 experiments. The three rings of one
variant were made of different steel bars. Due to extensive documentation, the position of each
ring in the semi-finished material could be identified.
factor code
A
electromagnetic
stirring
B
deformation
ratio of upsetting
C
cooling
after forging
low -
not stirred
-0.52
symmetric
high +
stirred
-1.10
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
factor
level
run
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
E
feed
(last cut outside)
circumferential
asymmetric
D
clamping
conditions
pendulum chuck
+ mandrel
three-jaw-chuck
+ segmented jaw
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
0.1 mm
0.4 mm
Table 1: Levels of evaluated factors and fractional factorial DoE-matrix
2.3
Distortion Measurement and Analysis
Geometrical measurements were conducted on a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), type

PRIMAR MX 4. For the measurement a rotary table with tilting and centring unit was used. The
14
manufacturers specification of one-, two-, and three-dimensional length measurement

uncertainty is (length L in mm)
U2 = 1.5 m + L/300 m,
U3 = 2 m + L/300 m.
U1 = 1.2 m + L/500 m,
All rings were measured before and after quench hardening to evaluate the size and shape
alterations due to heat treatment. The measurement program involved three circle scans at
different heights at the inner and outer surface of the ring, respectively. In addition one flatness
scan was measured at the median radius at the upper and lower face surface, respectively.
According to the measurement program the following size and shape alterations were analysed:
change of radius, height alterations, and change in out-of-roundness of the inner and outer
surface. Furthermore Fast Fourier Transformations (FFT) of the radii were carried out. In case of
radius measurements with p = 2n pairs of angle Mi, radius R(Mi) with equidistant Mi+1 - Mi values
the FFT gives a trigonometric polynomial which approaches the function R(M), equation (1):
p/2
R M | a 0 2 a k cosk M M 0, k
(1)
k 1
For a circle scan the constant value a0 of the polynomial characterises the mean radius of the
scan. The coefficient of first order 2 a1 gives the deviation from the origin of the circle centre.
The higher orders k characterise deviations from an ideal ring. For example, the second order
characterises the ovality, third order a triangle shape of the ring, etc. Angles M0,k specify the
phase shifts of the corresponding trigonometric functions.
The difference between the mean results of the low and high level of DoE is called effect e. The
effect of the different factors and interactions is calculated according to equation (2) from the
mean results of each variant y j considering the algebraic sign of the variants:
e
2
m
(algebraic sign y )
j
, m = 16 variants
(2)
j 1
The standard error of the effects sd is determined from the mean value of the variance of the
experiments sj, equation (3):
sd
4 1 m 2
sj
N m j1
, N = 48 experiments
(3)
To identify significant factors and interactions on distortion behaviour of the rings, the results of
the DoE experiments were evaluated by statistic analysis. The t-testassesses, whether the means
of two groups are statistically different from each other [Kleppmann, 2001]. Three confidence
intervals of 95, 99, and 99.9 % probability: D1 = 0.05, D2 = 0.01, D3 = 0.001 are set. Given D and
the degree of freedom f, the t-value can be looked up in a standard table of significance. The
degree of freedom is calculated from the total amount of experiments N and the number of runs
m: f = N m = 32. The confidence level results from the standard error of the effects sd and the tvalue t(D,f). The comparison of the effects with the confidence interval leads to the
classification into the different significance levels: no significance (Symbol -), indifferent (*),
significant (**), and high significant (***):
sd (- t(D,f)) < e < sd (+ t(D,f))
(4)
Results of Distortion Measurement
The results of the average change in out-of-roundness of outer and inner surface, averaged over
three heights, as well as change in outer radius and change in height are documented in Table 2.
The values were averaged over all three heat treated rings within one run. In comparison to the
relatively large standard deviations for the out-of-roundness values, the standard deviations for
15
the size alterations were relative small. The results are presented in detail in the following
chapters.
run
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
change in
out-of-roundness
outer
inner
surface
surface
[m]
[m]
1116
206
49
1110
2310
1612
07
811
-215
1812
230
149
822
1516
1213
1512
518
6613
513
4019
4527
5129
4929
5518
6527
5624
533
564
5715
525
4625
5713
size alterations
outer
radius
[m]
1183
1223
1204
1184
1233
1192
1204
1201
1161
1212
1172
1145
1162
1153
1180
1203
height
[m]
452
472
452
443
474
472
483
441
442
432
453
421
462
431
421
453
Table 2: Average change in out-of-roundness of outer and inner surface,

change in outer radius, and change in height
3.1
Shape Alterations
The absolute out-of-roundness after turning amounted for runs 1-8 (pendulum chuck and
mandrel) 41r11 m outside and 33r5 m inside, respectively for runs 9-16 (segmented jaws)
272r35 m outside and 153r28 m inside. With few exceptions a positive change in out-ofroundness can be observed. In most of the 16 runs relatively large standard deviations result from
the broad distribution of the single results. Table 2 points out the strong influence of the factor
clamping conditions (D). Using a pendulum chuck and a mandrel (runs 1-8), obviously smaller
changes in out-of-roundness (up to 20 m) occurred compared to segmented jaws for clamping
(runs 9-16, up to 60 m). The statistical analysis (Table 3) confirmed the dominant influence of
the clamping conditions, because a high significance was only determined for factor D. All other
factors and interactions showed no relevant influence on the change in out-of-roundness of the
outer and inner surface.
factors and
interactions
C
AB
CDE
D
AC
BDE
BC
ADE
E
AD
BCE
BD
ACE
CD
ABE
AE
BCD
BE
ACD
CE
ABD
DE
ABC
-2.6
-
-2.2
-
-8.1
-
2.8
-
1.7
-
-3.1
-
-0.7
-
1.6
-
3.6
-
-2.7
-
change in out-of-roundness of outer surface [m]

effect
significance level
-5.1
-
0.7
-
-1.3
-
effect
significance level
-4.9
-
-1.5
-
5.0
-
0.6
-
1.0
-
0.7
-
44.9
***
0.4
-
-6.5
-
5.3
-
change in out-of-roundness of inner surface [m]

2.0
-
4.8
-
0.4
-
39.3
***
0.7
-
0.8
-
0.3
-
Table 3: Effect and significance level of main factors and interactions

concerning change in out of roundness
By FFT analysis the change in out-of-roundness can be separated in the different portions of
ovality, triangle, quadrangle, etc. In Figure 1, FFT orders (second till sixteenth order) of the two
16
levels of the factor clamping conditions are compared. For both levels, the second and third FFT
orders govern predominantly the change in roundness. The influence of the gas nozzle field can
be seen in the relative large amplitude of the twelfth order according to the twelve nozzle rows in
circumferential direction. But a significant difference between the two levels can only be
identified for the third order. The difference of the change in out-of-roundness for the two
clamping variants can be attributed exclusively to the difference in the FFT third order.
30
Amplitude [m]
clamping: pendulum chuck + mandrel

clamping: three jaw chuck + segmented jaws
20
10
0
2
8
9 10
FFT Order
11
12
13
14
15
16
Figure 1: Comparison of the FFT orders of the two different clamping conditions (factor D)
regarding the change in out-of-roundness of the outer surface (24 rings per level)
3.2
Size Alterations
In comparison to the average shape alterations, the individual effects of the factors and
interactions regarding the change in outer radius and the change in height (Table 4), were
relatively small. Nevertheless some significant factors and interactions can be identified by the
DoE analysis. The change of the outer radius of the rings was mainly influenced by the clamping
condition (D) and second order interaction of the clamping condition and the feed (DE). The use
of a pendulum chuck and a mandrel led to higher changes of the outer radius compared to the
used three jaw chuck and the segmented jaws. Regarding the change in height, the clamping
condition (D) showed a significant effect.
factors and
interactions
C
AB
CDE
D
AC
BDE
BC
ADE
E
AD
BCE
BD
ACE
CD
ABE
AE
BCD
BE
ACD
CE
ABD
DE
ABC
change in outer radius [m]

effect
significance level
0.0
-
-0.4
-
-0.9
-
0.7
-
-0.9
-
effect
significance level
-0.8
-
-1.0
-
-0.3
-
0.9
-
0.0
-
1.7
*
-3.0
***
0.7
-
0.5
-
-0.3
-
0.4
-
1.9
*
0.4
-
-0.4
-
2.5
**
0.2
-
-0.5
-
1.2
-
-0.5
-
0.8
-
1.3
*
0.7
-
change in height [m]

-0.4
-
-2.1
**
-0.2
-
Table 4: Effect and significance level of main factors and interactions concerning size alterations
3.3
Density
Concerning size distortion effects, one of the most important items is the change in density due
to the formation of martensite. The martensite formation during quench hardening is governed
not only by the austenitising parameters and the cooling rate but also by the distribution of
carbides, their sizes, and their chemical composition. The austenitising parameters and cooling
rates were not changed within the DoE. In contrast, electromagnetic stirring, deformation ratio,
and cooling condition after forging, were changed within the DoE and influence the
microstructure of the material. Thus an influence on martensite formation, sample volume and
density may be possible. In addition to the size changes detected by CMM, a direct measurement
17
density [g/cm]
of the sample density by means of the Archimedes principle is a good indicator for martensite
formation. The advantage of this method over CMM is its simplicity and the coverage of the
complete sample volume.
For most samples of the DoE the densities before and after quench hardening were measured.
The results are shown in Figure 2. The mean density after machining was 7.818 g/cm and
7.773 g/cm after quench hardening, respectively. The standard deviation of the measurements
was 0.002 g/cm, the maximal deviation from the mean value was 0.004 g/cm. These values
were within the accuracy of Archimedes method.
7.84
machined
7.82
7.80
hardened
7.78
7.76
0
10
12
14
16
run
Figure 2: Sample density before and after quench hardening
Discussion of Reasons for Distortion
Today four main distortion potentials are known, which are accumulated during the
manufacturing chain of steel components and released during the final quench hardening:
component geometry, inhomogeneous chemical composition, inhomogeneous microstructure
and inhomogeneous stresses. For the present work, component geometry can be neglected,
because rings with same dimensions have been examined. The five investigated factors from the
manufacturing chain can be divided into two groups regarding their influences on distortion
potential. Factors A (stirring), B (deformation ratio of upsetting) and C (cooling after forging)
mainly influence the homogeneity of chemical composition and microstructure, but not residual
stresses. Possible residual stresses after casting and forging will be almost completely relieved
during spheroidising annealing. Opposite, factors D (clamping) and E (feed) mainly influence the
amount and homogeneity of residual stresses, but not chemical compositions and
microstructures. This is at least true, as long as machining parameters do not induce unusual high
temperatures in the component surface.
The statistical analysis of the DoE revealed, that factors A (stirring), B (deformation ratio of
upsetting) and C (cooling after forging) did not significantly influence shape or size alterations of
the SAE 52100 (100Cr6) rings. Electromagnetic stirring (A) affects the segregation distribution
visible in the macrostructure of the hardened bearing rings, Figure 3. The chemical homogeneity
of the stirred material is higher than of the not stirred material. The variation of the deformation
ratio during upsetting (factor B) affects the segregation distribution, too, Figure 4. The
segregation lines are stronger deformed by the higher deformation ratio. That leads on one hand
to a more homogeneous material, on the other hand to a stronger curvature of the segregation
lines. Cooling conditions after forging mainly influence the microstructure inhomogeneity in
circumferential direction. Ring sections near the heated steel plate cooled slower than ring
sections in still air. Nevertheless, these factors had no significant effects. A possible explanation
is the high total deformation ratio from the continuously cast blooms to the semi-finished bars
and further to the final rings, which significantly reduces the former inhomogeneities in chemical
18
composition and microstructure. This result agrees with former investigations about the influence
of bloom shapes on ring distortion, where high deformation ratios also minimized differences in
distortion [Zoch, 1994], [Volkmuth, 1995]. Influences of casting and forging on distortion were
only found for materials with lower deformation ratio, e.g. carburizing steels [Kop, 2001] or tool
steels [Wei, 2004].
6 mm
6 mm
Figure 3: Processed image of macro etched structure Figure 4: Processed image of macro etched structure
of hardened rings (left: not stirred, right: stirred of hardened rings (left: low, right: high deformation
continuously cast steel)
ratio of upsetting; both not stirred)
The statistical analysis of the DoE further revealed, that factors D (clamping) and E (feed)
significantly influence shape and size alterations of the SAE 52100 (100Cr6) rings. The changes
in out-of-roundness of the outer and inner surface due to quench hardening were only determined
by the clamping (D). Radius changes were significantly influenced by clamping (D) and by the
interaction of clamping and feed (DE); height changes by clamping (D).
The residual stresses after machining were measured by XRD [measurement details in Slter,
2004] at the outer surface of one ring of each run. Four selected distributions of tangential
residual stresses in circumferential direction are documented in Figure 5. The choice of clamping
determines the residual stress distribution. The use of a pendulum chuck and a mandrel led to
comparatively constant tangential residual stresses in circumferential direction. In contrary, the
tangential residual stresses of the rings clamped with the three-jaw-chuck and the segment jaws
show a triangle shape. The FFT-analysis regarding the tangential residual stresses clarifies this
difference (Figure 6). According to the change in out-of-roundness, a significant difference
between the two levels of the clamping conditions can only be identified for the third order. In
addition, the feed influenced the average value of the residual stresses. Higher tensile residual
stresses were measured with increasing feed. But the change in out-of-roundness can be mainly
attributed to the difference in the residual stress distribution in the third FFT order, which was
determined by the used clamping technique.
800
feed: 0.4 mm
Residual Stress [MPa]
800
19
600
400
200
feed: 0.1 mm
feed: 0.4 mm
600
400
200
feed: 0.1 mm
0
0
60
120
180
240
300
360
60
Circumferential Angle []
120
180
240
300
360
Circumferential Angle []
a) clamping: pendulum chuck + mandrel
b) clamping: three-jaw-chuck + segmented jaw
Figure 5: Influence of clamping conditions (factor D) and feed (factor E) on the residual stresses in
tangential direction of the outer surface after machining
75
Amplitude [MPa]
clamping: pendulum chuck + mandrel

clamping: three jaw chuck + segmented jaws
50
25
0
2
8
9 10
FFT Order
11
12
13
14
15
16
Figure 6: Comparison of the FFT orders of the two different clamping techniques (factor D) regarding the
residual stresses in tangential direction of the outer surface after machining
(eight XRD-measurements per level)
To explain the influence of inhomogeneous residual stresses on quench hardening distortion of

SAE 52100 (100Cr6) rings, different mechanisms are possible.
1. During heating below A1-temperature, residual stresses are relieved by plastic deformation
due to the decreasing yield strength of the steel. The relief of inhomogeneous residual
stresses may cause inhomogeneous plastic deformation and thereby shape changes
[Volkmuth, 2000]. This mechanism is currently investigated by heat treatment simulation of
components with inhomogeneous residual stresses [Surm, 2005b].
2. During heating above A1-temperature, the still existing amount of residual stresses (equal to
yield strength at high temperatures, approx. 20 MPa at 850 C) may influence the
transformation kinetics of ferrite + carbides to austenite and thereby volume changes due to
transformation.
3. Further these remaining residual stresses may induce a transformation plasticity effect.
Inhomogeneous residual stresses still existing above A1-temperature may cause locally
inhomogeneous transformations and locally inhomogeneous transformation plasticity.
The influence of inhomogeneous residual stresses on ring shape is strong (about 40 m) and
significant in the statistical analysis of DoE and can at least partly be explained by the above
mechanisms. The influence of inhomogeneous residual stresses on ring size is also significant,
20
but weaker (only a few m) than on shape. The almost constant ring volumes after quench
hardening of the different variants have been proven by density measurements. The possible
mechanisms regarding size distortion are not understood in detail and must be further
investigated.
Regarding the influence of residual stresses on distortion, it must be considered, that only
tangential residual stresses on the outer surface have been discussed until now. Axial and radial
residual stresses as well as residual stress depth profiles must be further included. Especially
residual stresses on the inner ring surface must be measured, too. This demands complex residual
stress measurements or the use of machining simulation as well as heat treating simulation.
Summarizing, for steel components with high deformation ratio from bloom to semi-finished
material to final geometry and with soft annealing treatment after forging, all factors from
casting and forging, which influence homogeneity of chemical composition and microstructure
can be almost neglected regarding quench hardening distortion. For such components, factors
from machining, which influence the residual stress state are mainly responsible for distortion.
Of course quench hardening itself contributes to distortion, too. But this work has focussed on
the manufacturing chain and has intentionally (and successfully) kept quench hardening
conditions as constant as possible.
Conclusions
The influence and significance of several process parameters in a manufacturing chain of

cylindrical bearing rings o145 mm x i133 mm x 26 mm of steel SAE 52100 (100Cr6) on the
quench hardening distortion were identified using the method of Design of Experiments and a
statistical analysis of the results. The change in out-of-roundness can be exclusively explained by
the used clamping technique during turning. Clamping with a three-jaw-chuck (outside) and a
segmented jaw (inside) caused higher changes in out-of-roundness of up to 60 m and a typical
triangle shape. This was explained by the residual stress distribution in circumferential direction
(outer surface) which also showed a typical triangle shape. Different mechanisms for the
influence of inhomogeneous residual stresses on shape changes were discussed and must be
further investigated, especially the influence of the residual stress state of the inner ring surface.
Size alterations were smaller and depended also on clamping (height) resp. on clamping and an
interaction of clamping and feed (radius). Other investigated factors like stirring during
continuous casting, deformation ratio during upsetting and cooling after forging did not
significantly influence shape or size changes. Density measurement was found to be a simple and
effective method, to check size changes. Summarizing, for steel components with high
deformation ratio from bloom to semi-finished material to final geometry and with soft annealing
treatment after forging, all factors from casting and forging, which influence homogeneity of
chemical composition and microstructure can be almost neglected. For such components, factors
from machining, which influence the residual stress state are mainly responsible for distortion.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the financial support of the projects A1, A3, A4,
A5, A6 in the Collaborative Research Center 570 Distortion Engineering.
References
Brinksmeier, E.; Walter, A.; Nowag, L.; Slter, J.: Einfluss der Drehbearbeitung auf den Verzug von 100Cr6
Ringen. HTM 58 (2003) 5, pp. 266-270.
Clausen, B.; Lbben, Th.; Frerichs, F.; Klein, D.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Prinz, C.; Surm, H.: Prozesskettenbergreifende Analyse der Verzugsentstehung am Beispiel von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 59 (2004) 1, pp. 3544.
Doege, E.: Einflu der Umformung auf das Verzugsverhalten in der Gesamtfertigungskette - Abschlubericht der
Vordringlichen Aktion 19 "Beherrschung von Wrmeprozessen im Fertigungsablauf". Universitt Bremen in
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Kooperation mit Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik Bremen, Selbstverlag, ISBN 3-88722-506-6, 2001,
pp. 96 124.
Frerichs, F.; Lbben, Th.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Einflu von gezielt asymmetrischen Fertigungsbedingungen auf
den Verzug infolge von Abschreckprozessen, HTM 59 (2004) 3, pp. 176-184.
Hoffmann; F., Keler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering" - Verzugsbeherrschung in der
Fertigung. HTM 57 (2002) 3, pp. 213 217.
Kleppmann, W.: Taschenbuch Versuchsplanung. Munich, Vienna: Carl Hanser Verlag, 2001.
Kop, T.A.; Sietsma, J.; Von der Zwaag, S.: Anisotropic Dilatation Behaviour during Transformation of Hot-rolled
Steels Showing Banded Structure, Materials Science and Technology 17 (2001) 12, pp. 1569-1574
Kusmierz, R.; Rentsch, R.; Brinksmeier E.: Verzugsverhalten von geschmiedeten Lagerringen aus 100Cr6.
HTM 58 (2003) 5, pp. 276-281.
Scheffler, E.: Statistische Versuchsplanung und auswertung. Dt. Verl. F. Grundstoffindustrie, Stuttgart, 1997.
Slter, J.; Nowag, L.; Rocha, A.; Walter, A.; Brinksmeier, E.; Hirsch, T.: Einfluss von Maschinenstellgren auf
die Eigenspannungszustnde beim Drehen von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 59 (2004) 3, pp. 169 175.
Surm, H.; Kessler, O.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Effect of Machining and Heating Parameters on Distortion of AISI
52100 Steel Bearing Rings, Int. J. Materials & Product Technology, 2005, in press.
Surm, H.; Kessler, O.; Hoffmann, F.; Zoch, H.-W.: Manufacturing residual stress states in heat treatment simulation
of bearing rings, Proc. 1st International Conference on Distortion Engineering, 14.16. September 2005,
Bremen, Germany, in press.
Thoben, K.-D.; Lbben, T.; Clausen, B.; Prinz, C.; Schulz, A.; Rentsch, R.;Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Surm, H.;
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering": A System-Oriented View on the
Distortion of Component-Parts. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Quenching and Control of Distortion, 22.-23. Nov.
2003 in Beijing, China. Jiansheng, P.; Totten, G. E. (Hrsg.), Chinese Heat Treatment Society, CMES, Beijing,
2003, pp. 325-331.
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, F.; Lund, Th.: Einflu von Gieverfahren und Giequerschnitt auf die Unrundheit, HTM
50 (1995) 6, pp. 352-358.
Volkmuth, J.; Sjblom, U.; Slycke, J.; Thuvander A.: Effect of uneven residual stresses on dimensional changes
and variations of through hardening bearing steel rings. Heat Treating. Vol. 1. Including: Advances in Surface
Engineering: An Internat. Symp. in Honour of Professor Tom Bell and Professor Jerome B. Cohen Memorial
Symp. on Residual Stresses in the Heat Treatment Ind., Proc. of the 20th Conf., 9-12 Oct. 2000, St. Louis
(USA), p. 455-460, 2000.
Wei, J.; Keler, O.; Hunkel, M.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.:Anisotropic distortion of tool steels D2 and M3 during
gas quenching and tempering, Steel Research International, 75 (2004) 11, pp. 759-765.
Zoch, H.-W.; Lbben, Th.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Verzug und Stranggu Einflu des Gieformats beim
Fixturhrten von Wlzlagerstahlringen, HTM 49 (1994) 4, pp. 245-253.
22
23
Uneven residual stresses in bearing rings prior

to hardening and their effect on shape changes
after hardening
Johann Volkmuth1, Steve Lane2, Michael Jung3, Ulf Sjblom4
1
SKF GmbH, Gunnar-Wester-Str. 12, 97421 Schweinfurt, Germany, johann.volkmuth@skf.com
SKF Research & Development Company B.V., Kelvinbaan 16, 3439 MT Nieuwegein, Netherlands,
steve.lane@skf.com
3
SKF GmbH, Gunnar-Wester-Str. 12, 97421 Schweinfurt, Germany, michael.jung@skf.com

4
SKF Sverige AB, von Utfallsgatan 4, 41550 Gteborg, Sweden, ulf.sjoblom@skf.com
Introduction
Mostly, the presence of uneven residual stresses in bearing components, such as rings, prior to
hardening is a fact. They are inevitable and the logical consequence of the manufacturing steps
applied. Their magnitude and distribution varies from step to step and from one component to the
next. Unfortunately, in daily practice both the location and the magnitude of such uneven
residual stresses are not known. This publication deals with the influence of manufacturing steps
on the dimensional variations of bearing rings due to hardening. Where appropriate, its influence
on the dimensional changes is covered as well.
Causes of uneven residual stresses
In general, residual stresses are generated by interactions between time, temperature,

deformation and microstructure. The development of such stresses is influenced by material or
material-related characteristics like elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, plasticity, heat capacity,
thermal conductivity/expansivity, transformation plasticity, thermodynamics and kinetics of
transformations and mechanisms of transformation [Badhesia, 2003].
Uneven residual stresses are caused by inhomogeneous elastic and elastic-plastic deformations
[Hirsch, 2003]. More or less all of the today's applied manufacturing steps from steel making to
hard machining contribute to the formation of local and inhomogeneous elastic and elasticplastic deformations. Processes including a heating-up or cooling cycle (e.g. casting, annealing,
hardening) result in inhomogeneous elastic-plastic deformations as well.
During the manufacturing process of a component, residual stresses can be generated but also
relaxed (at least to a certain extent). The different possibilities of process combinations will form
a residual stress state, which can be typical for the production history. Unfortunately, a
quantitative knowledge about the actual residual stress state over the complete volume of a
component is unknown (except that the total sum of the residual stresses is zero).
24
Possibilities to determine the influence of residual stresses
3.1
Methods for measuring residual stresses
There are many methods and techniques available to measure residual stresses. They can be
divided in destructive, semi-destructive and non-destructive methods. An overview is given in
Table 1.
Destructive
Semi-destructive
Non-destructive
Ring parting-off
Blind hole drilling
X-ray diffraction
Ring slitting (saw cutting)
Ring coring
Neutron diffraction
Material removal
Indentation method
Ultrasonic velocity
Annealing/normalizing tests
Barkhausen noise analysis
Table 1: Examples for the different methods for residual stress measurement
Most of the methods described are very expensive and time consuming. In addition, experience
is needed to select the proper method, the measuring location etc.
3.2
Problems observed
According to own experience, residual stress profiles vary within the same component and from
component to component. Usually, this makes it necessary to measure stress distributions at
many locations per component and to establish both the magnitude and the distribution of the
stress fields of several components.
Next to that, there is a discrepancy between stress relaxation type methods (such as ring slitting,
saw cutting and annealing) and the X-ray diffraction / blind hole drilling methods. This is related
to the discrepancy of volumes tested per method, which is not the same. Whereas the more
practical stress relaxation type methods more or less cover the bulk of the material or at least the
whole cross section, the other methods mentioned just take care for 0.5 mm or 1.0 mm distance
from the surface respectively.
On the other hand, it is known that the residual stress profiles caused by manufacturing processes
show a shallow depth ( 1 mm) and a relatively steep gradient [Hirsch, 2003/Ruud, 2003].
However, as long as the semi- or non-destructive stress measuring method and location is
selected carefully, it makes sense to apply such methods.
4 Example for the influence of several manufacturing routes on the distortion of

bearing rings
4.1
Basic data
Knowing that the various manufacturing steps can have a distinct influence on the dimensional
changes and variations of bearing rings, an extended project was initiated in-house. It was the
objective to find out which manufacturing route shows the best results regarding the distortion of
the rings after hardening. Material grade 100Cr6 (one heat only) was applied for the manufacture
of deep groove ball bearing outer ring, type 6310. The ovality, the mean diameter and the out-ofroundness (Least Square Circle method) were measured for 50 rings at various stages during the
manufacturing process.
In total 14 different manufacturing routes, which included hot rolled tubes / turning of rings, cold
rolled tubes / turning of rings, hot rolled tubes / turning of blanks / cold rolling of rings, bars /
forging / turning of rings.
In addition to that, peeling and straightening of tubes were tested as well. The hardening was
performed in a standard roller hearth furnace using the same heat treatment cycle.
4.2
25
Residual stress state
Residual stresses were determined by X-ray diffraction (Mo-K) at the centre of the outer
diameter of the rings. Just two examples for the soft condition shall be shown in Figure 1, which
represent the best and the worst case. There, the locations for the measurements were spaced
apart 120 . As to be expected, after hardening, the residual stress state of the rings evened out.
Some tensile residual stresses in the range of 50 to 100 MPa were present then for all of the
tested rings, independent of their manufacturing route.
Tangential residual stress MPa
400
Measuring location
(spaced apart 3 x 120)
300
200
Worst case
100
0
Best case
-100
0
0,1
0,2
0,3
Distance from the surface mm
0,4
0,5
Figure 1: Range and location of residual stresses (examples)
4.3
Clamping during turning
In order to find out, if and how the type of clamping has an influence on the OOR of bearing
rings, a new type of chucking system (five jaw chuck) was compared with the standard one. For
all of the rings, the same heat was applied, as well as the same manufacturing and hardening
conditions (except the clamping). When looking at the polar diagrams of the rings after turning,
normalizing and hardening, it was obvious to recognize the five-cornered shape of the rings, see
Figure 2. The share of the amplitude of the harmonic of the 5th order (=H5) in the range of 13 14 m was present already after turning and did not change during the further process steps. The
rings have been plastically deformed during the clamping. The peaks represent the contact
locations, where an elastic change of the shape took place after releasing the clamping forces.
Turning
Normalizing
Hardening
'r = 59 m
'r = 96 m
'r = 119 m
H2 = 16 m
H5 = 14 m
H3 = 5 m
H2 = 33 m
H5 = 13 m
H3 = 5 m
H2 = 45 m
H5 = 13 m
H3 = 5 m
Figure 2: Clamping during turning.
4.4
Changes in the ring shape
As the rings were marked before the out-of-roundness measurements, it was possible to refer the
shape changes of the rings during normalizing and hardening to the shape present in the softmachined conditions. Three examples, representing

a ring turned from a cold rolled tube (Fig. 3)

a cold rolled ring made from hot rolled tube blank (Fig. 4)

a ring turned from a cold drawn tube (Fig. 5)
26
shall demonstrate the changes in the ring shape during normalizing and hardening.
The ring in Fig. 3 showed an out-of-roundness (r) of 53 m after turning. This was mainly due
to a high share of the harmonic of the 2nd order (H2). After normalizing this ring, the r was
lower than before, as the ovality was reduced considerably. After hardening, the r was
increased, as all shares of the harmonics were increased as well. Next to that, the shape of the
ring relative to the position after turning was changed. The direction of the maximum ovality was
shifted by about 60 in anti-clockwise direction.
Reference point
Magn. 100:1
Soft machining
Normalizing
Hardening
'r = 53 m
H2 = 23 m
H3 = 3 m
H4 = 1 m
'r = 37 m
H2 = 13 m
H3 = 4 m
H4 = 2 m
'r = 65 m
H2 = 25 m
H3 = 6 m
H4 = 3 m
Figure 3: Example for the change of ring shape (ring turned from cold rolled tube)
For Figure 4, the shape of the ring after cold rolling was nearly ideal. Nevertheless, even during
normalizing, the r was increased by a factor of four and the ring shape itself has changed to a
more oval one. The hardening operation itself did not change the shape to a great extent, just the
r was further increased.
Reference point
Magn. 100:1
Soft machining
Normalizing
Hardening
'r = 18 m
H2 = 2 m
H3 = 5 m
H4 = 2 m
'r = 68 m
H2 = 24 m
H3 = 10 m
H5 = 2 m
'r = 87 m
H2 = 32 m
H3 = 11 m
H4 = 2 m
Figure 4: Example for the change of ring shape (cold rolled ring made from hot rolled tube blank)
In Figure 5, the shape of the ring was determined by the share of the harmonics of the 3rd order
(H3), both for the soft machined and for the normalized condition. Whereas the share of H3
remained the same after hardening, the share of the ovality got dominating.
Reference point
Magn. 100:1
Soft machining
Normalizing
Hardening
'r = 46 m
H2 = 5 m
H3 = 14 m
H4 = 3 m
'r = 37 m
H2 = 8 m
H3 = 11 m
H4 = 3 m
'r = 90 m
H2 = 34 m
H3 = 12 m
H4 = 2 m
Figure 5: Example for the change of ring shape (ring from cold drawn tube)
Assuming that the normalizing just represents the heating-up phase and the holding at
austenitizing temperature, these few examples show that at least a certain part of the uneven
residual stresses was released during the heating-up phase. Their magnitude was sufficient to
27
exceed the hot yield strength and to create the shape changes of the rings. For sure, during
quenching both the thermal and the transformation stresses did superimpose and led to the final
ring shape after hardening.
4.5
Comparison of the out-of-roundness (OOR)
The evaluation of OOR data of the rings in the soft machined, the normalized and the hardened
condition offers the possibility to compare manufacturing routes. One example is given in Figure
6, where rings (100Cr6), forged and cold rolled are compared with rings from cold drawn, not
straightened tubes. The OOR was very low - as expected - for the cold rolled rings (SM). After
normalizing (N), the average OOR was increased by about 80 %. Next to that, the spread in
OOR was doubled. A further increase for both was present after hardening (H).
For the other manufacturing route (rings turned from cold rolled tubes) differences can be
observed. The average OOR in the soft-machined condition was higher and the same was true
for the spread in OOR. Just a slight increase of the average OOR was present after normalizing,
but the spread was doubled. On the other hand, the changes during hardening were less
pronounced. Even if the average OOR was lower as compared to the first variant, the turned
rings from cold rolled tubes showed a higher maximum OOR. This level is decisive for the
setting of the grinding allowances and, thus, important. The increase in spread during
normalizing indicates that the behaviour of the individual rings was indifferent. This was proven
by a direct comparison of the OOR data of the individual rings after soft machining and after
normalizing. The correlation co-efficient was about r 0,05.
Such evaluations can also be used for the calculation of the contribution of both the hardening
operation as such and of the complete manufacturing history before hardening. When setting the
average OOR after hardening as being 100 %, the shares of soft machining, normalizing and
hardening can be compared, see Figure 6. The reason for the share after soft machining is the
sum of the influences of the earlier manufacturing steps plus the soft machining itself. However,
during normalizing an additional part of the uneven stresses resulting from the manufacturing
route was released, as the yield strength of the material was lowered.
As a consequence, the shares of the soft machining plus normalizing represent the total influence
of the manufacturing route (except hardening) on the final OOR after hardening. Comparing the
two manufacturing routes in Figure 6, the contribution of the hardening operation as such was
26 % and 45 % respectively. This is a clear evidence, that the main part of the OOR was caused
here by the manufacturing route beforehand. A comparison of the OOR data just before and after
hardening would not reveal this.
Out of roundness 'r m
150
125
Rings from cold drawn

tubes, not straightened
Forged rings,
cold rolled
Maximum
100
75
Average
50
25
Minimum
0
SM
SM
Figure 6: Out-of-roundness after soft machining (SM), normalizing (N) and hardening (H) for rings from
two different manufacturing routes
28
Forged rings, cold rolled
Hardening
26 %
Hot rolled tubes, cold rolled rings
Soft machining
43 %
Soft machining
33 %
Hardening
45 %
Normalizing
22 %
Normalizing
31 %
Figure 7: Origins of out-of-roundness (examples). Shares are based on the average of 50 rings per test.
4.6
Comparison of the shares of the out-of-roundness
The Fast-Fourier-Transformation (FFT) analysis of the OOR offers the possibility to find out the
main contributing factors for it. The roundness and waviness analyzer applied calculated the
three main harmonics and their amplitude per ring. Summing-up these three amplitudes and
multiplying it by two results in the actual OOR with a good accuracy.
Considering the 50 rings per test, their contributing shares to the harmonics can be found, e.g. for
the average OOR. One example is shown in Figure 8, where the variants hot rolled tube / turned
blank / cold rolled ring and cold rolled, straightened tube / turned ring are compared. For the first
variant, the share of the harmonic H2 (= ovality) was very low for the soft machined condition,
the H3 (= triangularity) did dominate. However, whereas the shares of H3 remained the same for
the conditions "normalizing" and "hardening", the shares of the ovality increased by a factor of
eight. In this case, the inherent energy (stresses are nothing but moments per volume unit) to
create oval rings was hidden in the soft-machined condition. During normalizing and hardening
this energy, probably in the form of directed uneven residual stresses, led to an increase of the
share of the ovality. The release of such stresses after soft machining more or less depends on the
present yield strength after soft machining.
Out of roundness (average) 'r m
80
60
Forged rings,
cold rolled
Others
H5
H4
H3
H2
40
20
Rings from cold

drawn tubes
0
SM
SM
Figure 8: Shares of the OOR depending on the manufacturing route
For the second variant, the rings were already oval after the soft machining operation. The share
of the ovality was dominating here already and did not change considerably after normalizing
and hardening. The other shares of harmonics more or less remained the same. As to be
expected, here the hardness of the soft-machined ring was lower as compared to the first variant.
These examples demonstrate that such evaluations are of utmost importance for finding the
sources for the dimensional variations of the rings concerned.
4.7
Influence of the manufacturing routes
How important the selection of a manufacturing route can be for dimensional changes and
dimensional variations is shown in Figure 9. The results for the best and for the worst case out of
29
the different manufacturing routes are mentioned for ovality, mean diameter, ring width and
conicity.
Spread (after hardening) m
400
300
Best case
Worst case
200
100
0
Ovality
Mean
diameter
Width
Conicity
Figure 9: Importance & potential of the manufacturing routes
Factors in the range of about 3 for ovality, 8 for mean diameter, 6 for ring width and 7 for
conicity can be expected for the spread of these parameters by just selecting the manufacturing
route! This example clearly demonstrates the importance of the selection of a proper
manufacturing route including the hardening operation. It is a short-sighted approach to optimise
the hardening operation as long as the complete manufacturing chain is disregarded.
4.8
Observations regarding dimensional changes
As up to five measuring locations per ring were considered, the relevant diameter changes could
be observed as well. Depending on the manufacturing route, the diameter change behaviour
differed. Figure 10 shows two examples for different manufacturing routes. Whereas the
diameter of the rings from variant A grew in a consistent way, the diameter growth behaviour
was uneven for variant B. In average, the outer diameter (locations 1 and 2) grew more than the
shoulder diameter (locations 3 and 4). Just a minimum growth was observed for the raceway
diameter (location 5).
Diameter change (average) m
300
200
2
5
A
B
100
0
1
Measuring location
Figure 10: Dimensional change per location
How the manufacturing route can influence the mean diameter changes during hardening is
given in Figure 11. Rings made of cold pilgered tubes did hardly grow, but cold rolled rings
(made of blanks from hot rolled tubes) grew considerably. Forged rings showed a growth
behaviour in between the two a.m. variants. Rings from hot rolled tubes resulted in an
inconsistent growth, which produced a large spread of the diameter changes.
30
Change in diameter (average) m

300
250
Max.
200
150
100
50
0
Tube
cold pilgered
Min.
Tube
hot rolled
Forged
ring
Ring
cold rolled
-50
Semi-finished products for ring manufacturing
Figure 11: Manufacturing routes and ring growth
As the hardening process and equipment were the same for all of the rings, effects like textures
and uneven residual stresses seem to be responsible for the differences in the growth behaviour.
For example, it is known from practice that rings from cold pilgered or rolled tubes grow more in
width than in diameter.
Conclusions
Uneven residual stresses present in bearing components prior to hardening seem to be the main
reason for dimensional variations after hardening. They are released to a large extent during
heating-up to austenitizing temperature, if the local hot yield strength is exceeded. This leads to
non-reversible plastic deformations of the components, even before they are quenched. As a
consequence, the dimensional changes (e.g. in mean diameter) and the dimensional variations
(e.g. ovality, OOR, conicity) present after hardening are not only determined by the hardening
operation as such. The whole manufacturing process needs to be regarded [Volkmuth,
1996/Hoffmann, 2004]. In order to do this, the actual residual stress state per manufacturing step
should be known, especially the one before hardening.
There are possibilities to estimate the negative influence of uneven residual stresses in advance.
In combination with properly selected metrology, they can help to find main causes for the
distortion of bearing components and, thus, to initiate corrective actions, e.g. the selection of
proper manufacturing routes or the application of suitable heat treatment equipment and
processes. If successful, this will lead to a reduction of the dimensional variations and to a
homogenization of the dimensional changes.
References
Badhesia, H. K. D. H.: Material Factors, in: Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel (eds.: G.
Totten, M. Howes and T. Inoue), ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio (2003), pp. 3-10.
Hirsch, T.: Entwicklung von Eigenspannungszustnden in Fertigungsprozessen. HTM 58 (2003), 3, pp. 110-126.
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, T.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering" - Distortion Control during the
Production Process Heat Treatment of Metals (2004), 2, pp. 27-30.
Ruud, C.: Measurement of Residual Stresses, in: Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel (eds.: G.
Totten, M. Howes and T. Inoue), ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio (2003), pp. 99-117.
Volkmuth, J.: Eigenspannungen und Verzug. HTM 51 (1996), 3, pp. 145-155.
31
Using Indicators to Describe Distortion Along a

Process Chain
Dieter Klein1, Klaus-Dieter Thoben1, Lutz Nowag2
1
Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science (BIBA), Hochschulring 20, 28359
Bremen, Germany, {kln, tho}@biba.uni-bremen.de
2
Foundation Institute for Material Science (IWT), Badgasteinerstr. 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany,
nowag@iwt.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
The objective of the Collaborative Research Center3 SFB 570 Distortion Engineering is the control of distortion of
component parts. The overall challenge is developing suitable concepts and methods which can describe and predict
distortion of a workpiece along the entire process chain. The objective to control distortion is to determine the mechanisms of distortion from the basic material up to the finished component part. Because of the complexity of the production chain of component parts, not all relationships between cause and effect are known so far. Therefore, manufacturers
of component parts do not have continuous planning possibilities along the process chain to guarantee that the chosen
material and the manufacturing steps lead to little distortion after the last process step quenching.
A solution for this problem may be a prognosis model for distortion along the process chain in order to support the planning process. The inputs of this model should be indicators in terms of significant input parameters which are able to
predict distortion. Current elaborations of how far indicators can be used for predicting distortion are presented by the
example of the production of bearing rings in the SFB 570.
Keywords
Distortion, Process Chain, Indicator, Process Planning, Machining
Introduction
From the design via the manufacturing of the materials up to the final process, each step of the overall process influences the dimension and shape of a component part [Mayr, 2001]. To describe distortion from a holistic point of view the entire process chain has to be considered (Fig. 1).
Figure 1: Process chain to manufacture bearing rings of 100Cr6 (SAE 52100)
Due to the complexity, no analytical function is available until now to calculate distortion along the
process chain.
Up to now, the simulation of manufacturing processes is limited to the consideration of individual
process steps. In this connection the basic material of a workpiece or a tool is assumed to have a
homogeneous equation of states. This includes, e.g., that no history of the material from the process
step forging (cf. Fig. 1) in the form of logarithmic strains or stresses is present for the process step
machining. A continuous numeric simulation of process cycles and changes of characteristics of the
materials from raw material to the component part is currently being researched [Messner, 2004],
[Lbben, 2004].
32
Usually, solutions without regarding numeric simulation refer to individual process steps and do not
offer the planning of process chains. This will be shown by two examples. The distortion behavior
due to the heat treatment is assumed by means of a Decision Support System (DSS) in [Ma, 2003].
This Decision Support System gives assistance in the form of guidelines. A comparison between
measured values and the use of artificial neural networks to predict critical cooling velocities of
Bainite start transformation is described in [You, 2003]. Finally, it can be stated that there is neither
a prognosis model for distortion of component parts along the process chain, nor another simulation
model.
Objective and solution
The objective is to anticipate distortion over the entire process chain to support process planning for
the selection of manufacturing resources, tools and manufacturing steps, as well as tool parameters
and manufacturing parameters. In the first step, an approach for a prognosis model for distortion
will be presented. In the next step, process planning in machining will be discussed. Finally, it will
be pointed out how the prediction for distortion by a prognosis model can be integrated into a process planning for the machining.
Prognosis model
The baseline for the prognosis model is the consideration of process planning for distortion control
along the process chain from a system-oriented point of view. Process planning for distortion control means that all used manufacturing resources, tools, process parameters etc. need to be determined in order to achieve a minimum in distortion at the end of the process chain. From a systemoriented point of view the description of the distortion along the entire process chain can be seen as
a complex system.
According to [Reither, 1997] a system can be seen as complex, if it is
x
unclear (many elements and variables)
x
networked (various interactions)
x
self-dynamical (Independent development)
x
intransparent (often only symptoms are well-known)
x
depending on probability (cause and effect adhere to statistic laws)
x instable (slight changes in a subarea lead to dramatic reactions within other areas).
For the solution of complex systems two procedures are differentiated [Daenzer, 2002]:
x the Top-Down-Approach and
x the Bottom-Up-Approach.
The numeric simulation corresponds to a Bottom-Up-Approach. Since previous Bottom-UpApproaches to predict distortion of the process chain are not available, the possibility will be discussed to allow process planning using the Top-Down-Approach. A suitable model structure to understand the behavior in complex systems by means of the Top-Down-Approach is given by black
box models [Daenzer, 2002]. Starting point in the description of black box models is the relationship between a certain behavior of an input and output value of a system element (here, e.g., a process step, see Fig. 1). By creating a black box model one tries to achieve a mathematical correlation
between the available input and output values without the use of detailed physical correlations or
knowledge of the inside of the system element. The model parameters of the mathematical functions are determined in such a way that the model behavior sufficiently describes the input and output behavior of the system. The physical model parameters are no longer explicitly present, hence, it
33
is not possible to assign them a direct physical meaning. The model parameters represent only numerical values, where the functional correlation with the physical model elements is unknown. The
internal conditions of the knots of the system model remain unknown. This procedure of description
of a model opens a comprehensive range of application since the black box model does not require
a physical analysis. However, an extensive data set becomes necessary to create this model
[Schacht, 2002].
The inputs of the black box model should be indicators in terms of significant input parameters
which are able to predict distortion. The term "indicator" descends from the Latin word "indicare",
which means "indicate". An indicator is an aid which refers to certain conditions or developments.
While an indicator can be directly observed, its changes allow a conclusion on a not directly observable phenomenon. Indicators are quantitative or qualitative factors which can summarize criteria in order to facilitate an evaluation. They can illustrate single factors as elementary indicators and
summarize several single factors and their interactions as complex indicators. An important characteristic of indicators is to make a complex system such as distortion understandable and noticeable.
An indicator for distortion is, e.g., the depth of cut (see Fig. 2). Now the question arises, how and to
what extent such indicators can support continuous process planning, so that manufacturers of component parts can estimate if the chosen material and the manufacturing steps lead to little distortion
after quenching.
For the determination of distortion along the process chain, experiments were carried out with the
method of Design of Experiments (DoE). At first the subprocess-specific indicators were selected
for each process step (primary shaping, forging etc., cf. Fig. 1). Afterwards, the indicators of the
individual subprocesses were integrated into an experimental design which considers the entire
process. Fig. 2 shows the black box view of the current experiment of manufacturing bearing rings
by the SFB 570.
Figure 2: Black box of the process chain of bearing rings
The indicators are evaluated with respect to their relevance on distortion by measurements. In the
present analysis phase of the experiment it was shown that the clamping system has a significant
influence on distortion. The procedure for the reduction and selection of the indicators, e.g., by
means of sensitivity analysis is discussed for a previous experiment in [Clausen, 2004]. The following will demonstrate how to design a model for prognosis if the system offers a black box characteristic (cf. Fig. 2). Model types that are often used to describe black box models are [Fishwick, 1995]:
1. Linear or Nonlinear Regression Models
2. Artificial Neural Network Models
3. Fuzzy Logic Models
Regression models can be derived directly from the method of DoE [Scheffler, 1997]. From the
experiment the input, output and the significant effects in the testing area are known. In order to use
the method of DoE for prediction, a system of equations can be set up in the form of regression
polynomials. New values of an input variable which are unknown for the system can be used for the
34
prognosis in this system of equations. Significant input variables related to distortion can be used as
indicators for process planning.
Artificial neural networks (short: ANNs) essentially contain suggestions for the computer-aided
simulation of neural switching operation, as can be observed in the brain. ANNs have their main
application field compared with other areas of artificial intelligence where a computer has to learn
something. In our case, the ANN has to be trained by the indicators first in order to predict distortion afterwards.
Fuzzy Logic is a departure from classical two-valued sets and logic, that uses "soft" linguistic
(e.g., little, medium, much) system variables and a continuous range of truth values in the interval [0,1], rather than strict binary (True or False) decisions and assignments. A typical fuzzy system consists of a rule base, membership functions and an inference procedure. The task to use fuzzy
logic consists of creating a suitable set of rules to predict distortion.
In [Czenkusch, 2000] these three model types were analyzed regarding the grinding process. For
that purpose it was investigated which of these model types reproduced best the experimental data.
Additionally, it was shown which of the model types supplied satisfactory results when using few
experimental data. In the end it was demonstrated how to support process planning and optimization
if applying these models types.
For this reason, these three model types can be seen as suitable for a prognosis model to predict
distortion of a workpiece. In the following an example of a todays process planning in machining
will be described. Afterwards, it will be discussed how to integrate the prognosis model in process
planning.
4 Example of process planning in machining and integration of the prognosis

model
The information on the input parameters from the experiment can be used for process planning for
the determination of manufacturing resources, tools and manufacturing steps, as well as tool parameters and manufacturing parameters. This is shown by the example of process step machining.
As an special example process planning for deep groove ball bearings of 100Cr6 (SAE 52100) is
described. In our case, due to the experience in production, the manufacturing steps and the machining tools are already determined and are independent from the manufactured geometry of deep
groove ball bearings. To identify the machining center, the machining parameters and the tool parameters, the process planner has to consider the workpiece geometry, the batch size and the forging
blank geometry (see Fig. 3).
Figure 3: Simplified process planning of deep groove ball bearings in machining
Fig. 4 shows the simplified process of process planning in our case.
35
Figure 4: Example for process planning in machining
The machining center is selected by the inner diameter of the ring as well as the batch size. The tool
parameter, which is in our case the clamping force, is determined by the wall thickness of the ring.
On the basis of the forging blank geometry the machining parameters are selected.
This simple example shows by which criteria and indicators process planning in machining could be
carried out. Since approximately the same indicators in view of distortion (clamping system/clamping force, depth of cut) were investigated in the experiments of the SFB 570 it is possible
for the process planner by means of the previous discussed prognosis model and by changing the
indicators to evaluate distortion by tendency (Fig. 5). This will be an additional decision support for
process planning for distortion control by the selection of better indicator values.
Figure 5: Integration of the prognosis model into the process planning in machining
36
Conclusion and outlook
Further investigations have to be carried out to verify which approach (regression, ANNs or fuzzy
logic) for a prognosis model is most appropriate. Furthermore, it has to be examined how far the
results of a special geometry (e.g. a ring) can be transferred to similar geometries such as smaller
and bigger rings or deep groove ball bearings. If these results are suitable for process planning for
distortion control the other geometries such as shaft and gear wheel which are also investigated in
the SFB 570 can be described by a prognosis model. Finally, it should be resolved if expert knowledge which is not directly represented by the experiments can be additionally integrated in the
prognosis model to improve the prediction.
Acknowledgement
The work on this paper was accomplished within the Collaborative Research Center SFB 570 Distortion Engineering
at the University of Bremen. The authors acknowledge the financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Details on the SFB 570 can be found at the internet site (www.sfb570.uni-bremen.de).
References
Clausen, B.; Lbben, Th.; Frerichs, F.; Klein, D.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Prinz, C.; Surm, H.: Prozesskettenbergreifende Analyse der Verzugsentstehung am Beispiel von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 59 (2004) 1, S. 35-44.
Czenkusch, C.: Technologische Untersuchungen und Prozemodelle zum Rundschleifen. VDI Verlag, Dsseldorf,
2000.
Daenzer, W. F.; Huber, F. (Hrsg.): Systems Engineering: Methodik und Praxis. 11. Auflage, Industrielle Organisation,
Zrich, 2002
Fishwick, P. A.: Simulation Model Design and Execution. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1995.
Lbben, T.: Schon Siegfrieds Schwert war krumm. Highlights 7 (2004) 13, S. 22-25.
Ma, S.; Varde, A. S. ; Takahashi, M.; Rondeau, D. K.; Maniruzzaman, M.; Sisson, R. D. Jr.: QuenchingUnderstanding, Controllino and Optimizing the Process. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Quenching and Control of Distortion, 20.-23.05.2003 in Beijing, China. Jiansheng, P.; Totten, G. E. (Hrsg.), Chinese Heat Treatment Society,
CMES, Beijing, 2003, pp. 187-192.
Mayr, P.; Hoffmann, F.; Walter, A.: Beherrschung von Wrmeprozessen im Fertigungsablauf. Abschlussbericht
Vordringliche Aktion 19, Bremen, 2001.
Messner, G.; Straube, A. M.: Einblicke in die Materialhistorie Prozesskettensimulation verrt Bauteileigenschaften.
TOOLS 11 (2004) 3, S. 6-7.
Reither, F.: Komplexittsmanagement Denken und Handeln in komplexen Situationen. Gerling Akademie Verlag,
Mnchen, 1997.
Schacht, Ralph: Entwurf und Simulation von Makromodellen zur transienten Simulation von thermo-elektrischen Kopplungen in einem Netzwerksimulator. http://edocs.tu-berlin.de/diss/2002/schacht_ralph.pdf, 2002.
Scheffler E.: Statistische Versuchsplanung und auswertung Eine Einfhrung fr Praktiker. Deutscher Verlag fr
Grundstoffindustrie, Stuttgart, 1997.
You, W.; Fang, H.; Bai, B.: Predicting the Critical Cooling Velocities of Bainite Start Transformation Using Artificial
Neural Networks. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Quenching and Control of Distortion, 20.-23.05.2003 in Beijing, China.
Jiansheng, P.; Totten, G. E. (Hrsg.), Chinese Heat Treatment Society, CMES, Beijing, 2003, pp. 157-162.
2. Mechanical design and steel making
37
38
39
Towards a KBS for a qualitative distortion

prediction for heat treatments
P.Lamesle, E.Vareilles, M.Aldanondo
Ecole des Mines dAlbi-Carmaux, Route de Teillet, 81 013 ALBI Cedex 09, France
pascal.lamesle@enstimac.fr, elise.vareilles@enstimac.fr, michel.aldanondo@enstimac.fr.
Abstract
The distortions control and prediction are a critical challenge from many years. FEM programs have been developed
and allow to obtain at design stage quantitative prediction of the distortions. However these tools are time consuming
and difficult to use within todays context of smaller production series and the high reactivity of the market.
Therefore, the goal of this work is to design a software able to operate with the know-how of heat treatment experts
and to predict distortions in qualitative way. In order to design this knowledge-based system, knowledge have been
extracted from heat treatment experts and a reasoning model able to predict distortions has been designed. It is shown
how this reasoning model can be considered as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) and set up in aiding decision
software.
Keywords
Distortions, heat treatment, expert know-how, knowledge-based system, Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP)
Industrial context.
In order to assure a high quality and reliability of steel components, cars, mechanical equipment
and tools, manufacturers perform heat treatments. Of all the manufacturing operations of the
component, the heat treatment is the most sensitive and least controllable operation, since it can
drastically alter the shape by inducing excessive and uncontrolled distortion. This is the case of
quenching and carburizing.
Prediction of distortions relies mostly on the know-how from heat treatment experts. This
prediction can be only qualitative and numerous feedback loops (trial and error method) are
needed before obtaining net shape parts. This lead to a high rate of non-conforming products and
manufacturers have to employ corrective operations, such as grinding and straightening, to
satisfy the customers requirements, together inducing considerable economic and time losses and
waste material. The situation is getting even more difficult within todays context of smaller
production series and the high reactivity of the market.
The uncontrolled distortions problem could be taken into account at two different levels, during
the design of the part and for the heat treatment parameters choice.
For the steel part designers, the main concern, in order to assure more efficient production, is to
be able to take into account this distortion effect at the design stage so that the final shape after
heat treatment is achieved without the need for corrective operations or at least to identify as
soon as possible the expected deformation. For the heat treatment providers, the goal is to
identify potential problems earlier in the heat treatment manufacturing chain and to optimize its
process.
But until now, no or few tools are available to lead a non-heat treatment expert to minimize
distortions. A few FEM programs (DANTE, Sysweld, DeformHT, HEARTS, ASTER,
GRANTAS, Forge3TTT, etc.) have been developed and allow to obtain at design stage
40
quantitative prediction of the distortions. These codes are only based on the resolution of the
Metallo-thermo-mechanical field, taking into account the chemical composition and all the
thermal, metallurgical and mechanical interactions. However these tools are time consuming,
limited to rather simple shapes and it is not possible to use them directly today for on-line
thermal treatment in real time. The FEM approach is impacted by the complexity of the process,
which is defined by a huge number of parameters (process, alloy, environmental, etc.) out of
which some are not fully quantified. Most of the time FEM programs produce precise results but
unfortunately too often not realistic. This is due to a lack of knowledge on input parameters. Too
often, some physical parameters required by the model are not available. In addition, today's
FEM software are designed to be used by highly skilled operators in an R&D environment rather
than in industry.
Changes in shape and dimension of parts during heat treatment are influenced by parameters
which can be related to the pre-treatment stage, part design of course, furnace loading,
metallurgical history of steel, and none of these parameters are taking into account in a FEM
simulation.
However, the knowledge is available through the experience of many experts. But this
knowledge is scattered. The aim of this work is to define a methodology to collect, analyse and
to set up this know-how in order to built a reasoning model which will be able to predict in
qualitative way the distortions.
This approach doesnt claim to compete with FEM codes but it is a complementary tool.
Description of the Global Reasoning Model.
The main idea of this model is to define a Potential distortions and modulate this first
evaluation by all process parameters and part parameters influences.
2.1
Definition of the Potential distortions
The Potential Distortions are inferred from the global geometry of the analysed part. This
hypothesis is the base of the Global Reasoning Model and the most important step to evaluate the
final distortions. It comes to draw up the list of all possible distortions. For each geometry family
(shafts, gears, rings, .), the associated potential distortions list are specific. The number of
components of one family is unlimited and must describe the distortions as far as possible.
Example of potential distortions associated to geometry families are described in Table 1.
Geometry families
Type of Potential Distortions
Shafts
Discs (rings and gears)
Spool/barrel distortions
Roudness
Banana distortions
Flatness
Spacing/tightening distortionss
Concentricity
Ovalization
Ovalization
Umbrella distortions
Shrinkage
Table 1: Examples of Potential distortions for various geometry families.
But for the use of this tool, it is necessary to guide the user for each step. In order to class part in
one family, rules have been written. For example, the rule used to part shafts and discs families is
the ratio diameter/length value (>2 for discs family and <0,5 for shafts family).
For each family, this classification must be complete by a quantification of the potential
distortions fixed by an interval. The quantification of the interval bounds is done in accordance
with one or several parameters (combination of process parameters and/or part geometry
41
singularities). Score 1 corresponds to No distortions and maximal distortions corresponds to

20.
Table 2 shows influence of various combinations between 2 process parameters and one
geometry particularity on the banana distortions in the case of shaft family.
_Quenching_Fluid_Direction_
a_Gravity_direction
a_main_dissymmetry
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
perpendicular to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis
parallel to axis and suspended

parallel to axis and supported
perpendicular to axis and good chock
perpendicular to axis and bad chock
no
no
no
no
no
no
no
no
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
Dist_banan_Pot_Int
1,0
1,0
2,3
4,3
7,6
8,9
10,2
12,8
6,2
7,6
8,9
11,5
14,1
15,4
16,7
18,7
1,0
2,3
4,3
6,2
8,9
10,2
11,5
14,1
7,6
8,9
10,2
12,8
15,4
16,7
18,7
20,0
Table 2: Examples of influence on banana type Potential distortions of 2 processes and 1

geometry parameters combination.
2.2
Evaluation of the Final distortions
The Final distortions is calculated from the Potential distortions interval and modified by several
modulation coefficients (or Multiplying factors).
Many parameters influence the Potential Distortions. The difficulty of this work was to collect all
of them and to take care to work with any restrictions. The next step after the exhaustive analyse
of influent parameters is the filing in groups. In opposition to the Potential Distortions, all groups
are equivalent for all geometry families (shafts, gears, rings, .). In the initial model, 6 groups
with a quantitative influence evaluation are built :
x Geometry : the parameters of this group are related to symmetries and thickness variations.
The influence of this group was evaluated to 15%. This low score is consistent with the
strong influence of geometry parameters take into account in the potential distortions
evaluation.
x Metallurgical characteristics : this group brings together all information about steel
trempability, carbon content of core steel, carburized depth (only for carburizing heat
treatment). The hardenability is estimate with the Jominy curve evolution. The influence of
this group was evaluated to 15%.
x History of steel before heat treatment : several parameters as microstructure description,
forming process used, residual stress, relaxation heat treatment, decarburized zone, play a
high influence on final distortions. The influence of this group was evaluated to 10%.
x Load arrangement : usually, heat treatment is carried out on several parts and the
symmetry around the part, the distance between, parts play a significant role. The influence
of this group was evaluated to 20%.
x Heating cycle : this group corresponds to the furnace thermal homogeneity and steps
during the thermal cycle. The influence of this group was evaluated to 5%.
x Quenching fluid characteristics : the last but most important group compiles all
parameters concerning the quenching fluid characteristics and its use. The influence of this
group was evaluated to 35%.
As potential distortions families, each group is a set of tables, which are combination of
process parameters. For example for the Quenching fluid characteristics group, the process
parameters taken into account are Quenching fluid type (gas, oil, polymer, water),
42
Characteristics temperature of fluid (gap between Furnace temperature and Leidenfrost

temperature, gap between boiling-convection transition temperature and Ms), Quenching fluid
temperature before quenching, Quenching fluid overheating during quenching, Agitation
(turbulent or oriented and quenching fluid speed), Quenching fluid orientation in relation to part
axis orientation, Atmosphere between furnace and quenching zone and Pressure.
Seven tables with one parameter or a combination of parameters compose this group. For each
value or for each combination of values of parameters, the experts defined a multiplying factor.
Table 3 shows an example of table where multiplying factors are translated in interval in order to
be compatible with the Potential distortions intervals.
c_Quenching_fluid_type
c_Furnace_temp_minus_q1
c_Pressure
c_QF
min
Liquid
Liquid
Liquid
Liquid
Liquid
Liquid
gas
gas
gas
no value
< 120
< 120
> 120 and < 300
> 120 and < 300
> 300
no value
no value
no value
Atm
Atm
Partial pressure (vacuum)
Atm
Atm
Atm
High
max
1,00
1,08
1,17
1,25
1,30
1,37
1,08
1,00
1,25
1,08
1,17
1,25
1,30
1,37
1,47
1,17
1,08
1,30
Table 3 : Examples of combination of 3 parameters with corresponding multiplying factor.

Each combination in each table for each group are multiplied together in order to obtain the final
multiplying factor (Multfinal). 26 tables compose the actual model.
Multfinal = 3u=1 to 26.Multu
Then, each potential distortions is multiplied by the final multiplying factor :
Final-dist i = Potential-dist i * Multfinal
Each Initial distortions are quantified in an interval >1, 20@ and the product of the 26 tables is
quantified in an interval >1, 50@. Consequently, the Final distortions are quantified in an
interval >1, 1000@. 1000 is the maximal distortions risk.
3
3.1
Application of the Global Reasoning Model to a shaft geometry.

Potential distortions for shaft geometry
Five types of Potential Distortions were defined in the case of shaft geometry as showed in
Figure 1.
Spool
Barrel
Ovalization
Banana
Tightening / Spacing
Umbrella : right handle / left handle
Figure 1: Potential distortions on shaft geometry
The opportunities to observe these Potential Distortions are not equivalent and depend on some
geometry, material and process parameters.
3.2
43
Evaluation of potential distortions with part properties and process influence
3.2.1 Geometry influence.

Figure 2 shows the potential distortions in accordance with the geometry influence. For example,
Tightening/Spacing distortions could be observed only in case of shaft with hole and sufficient
wall thickness, Spool/Barrel distortions are more important on full cylinder. The ratio between
the part thickness and the internal diameter is used to define the potential distortions with a
quantitative evaluation.
Dist.
Dist.
Spool / Barrel
Ovalization
Creep
(banana)
Spacing / Tightening
Tube
Th>0
Th/Di
Cylinder
Th, Di=0
Tube
Th>0
Th/Di
Cylinder
Th, Di=0
Figure 2 : Influence of part thickness (Th) / Internal diameter (Di) ratio on distortion range.
Technological rules are used in this model. One of them is called opposite surface rule. A heat
treatment induces most of time compressive residual stress in the part. The final shape is reached
when the residual stress are in equilibrium. If two opposite sides of a part have quite different
surface area, the larger surface will compress the smaller one (Figure 3 a and b).
>
Upper-area
Spacing Amplified
by umbrella
distortion
Lower-area
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 3 : Examples of application of the opposite surface rule (a) and (b) and potential distortions
interactions (c)
Geometry interaction could also modify the potential distortions. For example, the
Spacing/Tightening on one side could be modulate by an umbrella distortions (Figure 3 c)
3.2.2 Steel grade influence.
In the case of shaft geometry, the steel grade has only influence on the spool/barrel distortions.
The advantage to take into account basic distortions is the wealth of experimental results in term
of distortions results versus lot of steel grades and heat treatment conditions [Oliveira 1986]
[Socit Suisse 1969] [Pierer 2002 ]. This knowledge could be complete by FEM simulation
results [Thuvander 1999] [Thuvander 2002].
3.2.3 Process influences.
The main process parameters are furnace temperature, quenching fluid type, chocking of the part
and quenching fluid direction (Example in table 2).Evaluation of final distortions with the
influence of all process and material parameters
3.2.4 Influence of part geometry
Symmetry of part is an influent parameter. To quantify this parameter, the model take into
account the number of symmetry plans containing the rotation axis. The distortions are minimal
if the number of symmetry plans is high.
44
A second evaluation is based on the thickness variation. Wall thickness or diameter change
induces thermal gradient in the part. Then the delay in phase transformation induces local stress
and distortions. Figure 4 shows the rule used to evaluate the influence of thickness variation.
D1
D2
'x
D2-D1/'x
Small
Large
Distortion Risk
Low
High
Figure 4: Quantitative evaluation of thickness variation influence.

3.2.5 Influence of process parameters
In the actual model, the multiplying factors used for the Final multiplying factor calculation is
the same for all geometry families. The multiplying factors evaluated with all the process
parameters are used to calculate the final distortions from the potential distortions.
Considering distortions prediction as a constraint satisfaction problem
Previous sections have shown that in order to conduct distortions reasoning, it is necessary to
deal with : (i) parameters that describe the heat treatment, (ii) potential and final distortions that
qualify each component of the distortions and (iii) multipliers that permit to compute final
distortions. Parameters allow to quantify, thanks to tables of combinations of values (Tables 2
and 3), potential distortions and multipliers. Final distortions is computed as the product of
potential distortions with the multipliers (formulae of section 2.2).
A Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) [Tsang 1993] can be defined a set of variables Vi
defined on a set of domains Di linked by a set of constraints C. Constraints can be defined in
extension with allowed combinations of variable values or in intension with mathematical
formulae. Once a value is selected for a variable, a mechanism called constraints propagation
or constraint filtering reduces the definition domain of all the variables with the respect to the
constraints [Debruyne 2001].
In order to see how distortions prediction can be considered as a CSP, the following simplified
problem is described in Figure 5:
vp_1
Yes
No
vp_2
1
2
vp_3
A
B
[1,2]
[2,3]
[3,4]
Potential-dist
[2,3]
[1,2]
Mult
[1,12]
Final-dist
Figure 5 : CSP example
- 3 parameters with definition domain, vp_1 with {yes, no}, vp_2 with {1, 2} and vp_3
{A, B},
- 1 distortion component with relevant definition domain, Potential-dist with [1, 4], and Finaldist with [1, 12],
- 1 multiplier Mult with [1, 3]
- 1 constraint c1 between parameters: (vp_2, vp_3) = {(1, A), (2, B)},
45
- 2 constraints between parameters and distortions attributes: c2 (vp_1, vp_2, Potential-dist) =

{(yes, 1, [3, 4] ), (no, 1, [2, 3] ), (no, 2, [1, 2] )} and c3 (vp_3, Mult) = {(A,
[1,2]), (B, [2,3]) ,
- 1 numerical constraint between distortions attributes: c4 Potential-dist * Mult = Final-dist.If the
user inputs No for vp_1, propagation of c2 => Potential-dist = [1, 3] then propagation of c4 =>
Final dist = [1,3]* [1, 3] = [1, 9].
Then if the user inputs B for vp_3, propagation of c3 => Mult = [2,3], then propagation of c1
=> vp_2 = 2, then propagation of c2 => Potential-dist = [1, 2], then propagation of c4 => Final
dist = [2,3]* [1, 2] = [2, 6].
As the parameters vp_1, vp_2 and vp_3 have their domain restricted to a single value, the
problem is completed and final distortions are restricted to [2, 6].
Distortions prediction for the shaft geometry operates exactly as this example except that around
sixty parameters (vp_i) twenty-six multipliers (Mult) and five distortions components (potentialdist, final-dist) are present in the model. One interest of CSP is that there is no specific inputs
and outputs", it is the user who selects the variable that he wants to reduce. He can therefore
input a restriction on a final distortions component and see the consequences on the parameters,
for example if the user inputs [1,3] on final-dist he will see that parameter vp_1 must be equal to
No. An other interest lies in the fact that final distortions are progressively reduced after each
user input, therefore the user can understand the consequences of each of parameter instead of
getting a result at the end that could be very hard to understand.
This model and relevant filtering algorithms have been set up in a software available at
http://iena.enstimac.fr:20000/cgi-bin/vht.pl that is now in a validation step.
5
5.1
Efficiency and limits of this tool.

Distortions prediction for industrial cases
The reasoning model was applied to an industrial part shown on Figure 6 to analyse process
parameters.
15
Industrial part
10
12
10
10
40
10
30
80
120
Steel grade : 30CrNiMo8
50
20
150
200
Figure 6: Industrial part used for model testing
Figure 7 shows the estimate influence of quenching fluid orientation (a) or the evolution of
distortions with oil or gas quenching (b).
This evaluation shows that the tightening distortions are very low, the quenching fluid direction
has a high influence on umbrella distortions and for all case, gas quenching minimize distortions.
These results are not surprising but show the efficiency of the global reasoning model built
during this work.
Several test on industrial parts are carried out and lead to comparable results as heat treatment
experts predictions. The next step of validation will be comparisons with experimental results.
46
120
120
Umbrella left handel
Tightening right
Umbrella left handel
Banana
Banana
Quenching fluid :
80
right to left
left to right
60
40
Final distortions level
Quenching fluid direction :
Final distortions level
Tightening right
100
100
80
Oil
Gas
60
40
20
20
(a)
(b)
Figure 7: Distortions prediction on industrial part. Influence of Quenching fluid direction (a) and use of
gas or oil (b) on the evolution of 3 distortions types (Umbrella, Tightening and Banana).
5.2
Limits and expected evolution of this tool
The actual mock-up contains only knowledge about shaft geometry and must be complete before
a public use. However, it is already a good tool for educative application.
One original way to use this software is to minimize the final distortions and the software
provide the most sensitive parameters (geometrical, process or material) to control. In this case,
the best solution, for distortions reduction, is to avoid the heat treatment. This result is quite right
in term of reasoning but no suitable for heat treatment providers. The next step of this work will
be the introduction of the hardness evolution and the interaction of this mechanical property with
all parameters take into account in the model.
The actual limit of the results is interpretation of the interval values of the final distortions. The
score 1 means there is no distortions and score 1000 means that distortions risk is maximum. But
the higher score 1000 is never achieved. User with basic knowledge in heat treatment will choose
consistent parameters and the final score not often overstep 200. These results could be use as
relative results as comparison between different heat treatment conditions. But sensitive studies
are needed in order to translate the final distortions level in absolute data.
Conclusion and future evolution
The aim of this work was to show the feasibility of CSP approach to predict heat treatment
distortions. All results obtained on industrial parts are in accordance with experts forecasting. No
new knowledge is available but the great benefit of this work is to formalize and to collect a
scattered knowledge.
This tool could be a complementary tool with FEM codes and allows use and reactivity needed
for SME.
Acknowledgement
This work has been partly funded by the European Commission through IMS Project (VHT project n G1RD-CT2002-00835)). The authors wish to acknowledge the Commission for their support. We also wish to acknowledge our
gratitude and appreciation to all the VHT project partners (specially EMTT (France), SCC (France), Metalografica
(Spain) and IWT (Germany)) for their contribution during the development of various ideas and concepts presented
in this paper.
47
References
[Debruyne 2001] Debruyne R. et Bessire C. (2001) :Domain filtering consistencies : Journal of Artificial
Intelligence Research, Vol. 14, pp. 205-230.
[Oliveira 1986] M.M. Oliveira, A. Moreira, A.P. Loureiro, S. Denis, A. Simon : Effet du mode de refroidissement
sur les deformations produites par la trempe martensitique. International Congress on 5th Heat Treatment of
Materials, Budapest, Hungary, October 20-24, 1986, Proceedings Vol III, p. 1814-1821
[Pierer 2002 ] R. Pierer, R. Schneider, H. Hiebler : The behavior of two new tool steels regarding dimensional
change. 6th International Tooling Conference, Karlstad University, Sweden, 10-13 september 2002 [Socit
Suisse 1969]Socit Suisse des traitements thermiques : Le traitement thermique des aciers de construstion et
des aciers outils. Chapitre 22, MICROTECNICS, Scriptar S.A., 1001 Lausanne (Suisse), Vol XXIII, No 7,
1969, p.1-6
[Thuvander 2002] A. Thuvander : Numerical simulation of gas quenching of tool steels and the influence of
hardenability on distortions. 6th International Tooling Conference, Karlstad University, 10-13 september 2002
[Thuvander 1999] A. Thuvander, A. Germidis : Numerical prediction of heat treatment distortion of high speed
steels Importance of pro-eutectoid carbides. 3rd International Conference on Quenching and Control of
Distortion, Prague, Czech Republic, 24-26 March 1999
[Tsang 1993] E. Tsang Foundations of constraints satisfaction - Academic Press, London, 1993.
48
49
Systematic analysis of the correlation between

part geometry and distortion due to
heat treatment
Christian Andersch1, Martin Ehlers1, Franz Hoffmann2, Hans-Werner Zoch2
1
Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Str. 2, 71701 Schwieberdingen,

Germany,{Christian.Andersch,Martin.Ehlers}@de.bosch.com
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen,

Germany,{hoffmann,zoch}@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
Part distortion occurring during hardening combined with narrow tolerances often requires post heat treatment
machining. Since corrective machining is expensive, distortion must be kept as low as possible. The current work
demonstrates the relevance of the part geometry for distortion. First of all, the physical effects that make the part
geometry a significant carrier of distortion potential are outlined. Secondly, the degree to which the part geometry
can influence distortion is illustrated on a complex automotive part. Finally, a method is presented that helps to
identify the design features of a part that are responsible for crucial deformations following heat treatment.
Keywords
heat treatment, distortion, geometry, correlation
Introduction
Continuing developments of automotive products have brought with them ever increasing
requirements concerning cost, strength and accuracy. Single-piece constructions are often the
consequence. Fewer parts mean less cost-intensive logistics and fewer probably failing
mechanical connections. Furthermore, single-piece constructions reduce the add up of tolerances,
which in turn raises a products overall accuracy. However, the substitution of sectional design
by design of the integral type results in more complex part geometries, which tend to carry a high
potential for distortion. To keep the distortion of these types of parts at a low level, advanced
knowledge of the correlation between part geometry and distortion seems to be essential.
Besides causing distortion itself, the hardening process mainly releases the distortion
potential which is accumulated during the whole product creation process. Today three carriers
of distortion potential are known [Hoffmann, 2002]:
1. part geometry
2. distribution of the microstructure and alloying elements
3. distribution of residual stresses
Apart from physical aspects, which will be discussed later, economical aspects also make the
part geometry very important for the reduction of distortion. Part design suitable for heat
treatment does not necessarily cause any additional production costs. This distinguishes design
optimization from many other measures taken against distortion. By replacing low alloy steels by
high alloy steels, for example, cooling rates can be decreased, which is usually accompanied by a
reduction of distortion. However, the overall production costs may rise due to higher material
costs, if they exceed possible savings in hard machining.
50
The intent of this work is to systematically analyze the influence of part geometry on distortion
due to heat treatment. This is done by giving the physical background as well as examples.
Furthermore, an approach is presented to analyse the geometrys contribution to the overall
distortion caused by heat treatment.
Influence of the part geometry on distortion due to hardening
To understand what makes the part geometry an important carrier of distortion potential, it is
necessary to look at the physical processes occurring during heat treatment. Fig. 1 outlines the
connections between part geometry and distortion. The lower part of the diagram shows the
generally accepted system of thermal, metallurgical and mechanical couplings within workpieces
during (case-)hardening [Inoue, 1988]. The upper part of the diagram illustrates how the
components of the coupled system are influenced by the part geometry via different physical
processes, effects and part properties (a-j). The degree to which the individual processes, effects
and properties are relevant for the overall part distortion is, among other factors, dependent on
the type of part. However, the part stiffness (j) generally plays a major role in the distortion
process. This is because of the direct link between the part stiffness and the mechanical state of
the part during heat treatment.
part geometry
heat exchange
part surroundings:
convection (a)
radiation (b)
conduction (c)
mass exchange
part surroundings:
adsorption (e)
mechanical contact (f)
active forces (h)

reaction forces (i)
part stiffness (j)
diffusion within the part (g)
conducting heat transfer

within the part (d)
temperature
DEFORMATION/stress
chemical
composition
phase transformation
state of workpiece
Figure 1: Influence of the part geometry on distortion due to hardening.
The following three subchapters outline the couplings between the workpiece geometry and the
state of workpiece during heat treatment.
2.1
Coupling between workpiece geometry and thermal state of workpiece
During the heat treatment process, the heat exchange between parts and their surroundings takes
place in three different ways:
convection (a)
51
radiation (b)
conduction (c)
The convective heat transfer (a) between the parts and the heat treatment medium is largely
determined by the parts surface areas, as well as the heat transfer coefficient. The local heat
transfer coefficient is extremely dependent on the part geometry. As far as gaseous media are
concerned, this is because of the influence of the part geometry on the flow field close to the part
surface. In the case of vaporizing media, different part shapes exhibit different wetting
behaviours, which result in different heat transfer coefficients [Ehlers, 2000].
The thermal radiation (b) between bodies is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann relation:
A i Fij i Ti4 - Tj4 = P
(Eq.1)
where Ai , i, , Ti, Tj , P respectively are the surface area of the radiator, the emissivity of the
radiator, the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, the temperature of the radiating surface, the temperature
of the receiving surface and the radiation power striking the receiving surface. The influence of
the part geometry on the radiation process is represented by the shape factor Fij, which is a
geometrical factor determined by the shapes and relative locations of the involved surfaces.
Steady heat transfer by conduction across mechanical joints (c) is given by
[Savija, 2002]:
(h

+ h g + h r A a T = Q
(Eq.2)
where hc, hg, hr are the conductances of the microcontacts, interstitial substances and radiation.
Among other factors, these conductances depend on the contact pressure. Aa represents the
apparent contact area and T is the temperature difference between the interface surfaces. In heat
treatment mechanical contacts occur among workpieces and between workpieces and furnace
fixtures. Obviously, the part geometry affects both, the contact pressures and contact areas.
The calculation of the transient heat conduction within the part (d) rests on the solution of
Fouriers differential equation. On the part level two components of the equation, the thermal
conductivity and the heat capacity, are significantly influenced by the part geometry.
2.2
Coupling between workpiece geometry and chemical composition of workpiece
Several heat treatment processes (case hardening, nitriding, ) aim at changing the chemical
composition of workpieces. The mathematical descriptions for mass transfer and diffusion
resemble the mathematical descriptions for heat transfer and conduction. Thus, the part geometry
plays an important role again.
In the case of low pressure carburizing, for example, more hydrocarbon molecules adsorb
on protruding sections of a part than on surfaces of deep blind holes (e), which finally results in
differing carbon profiles.
The influence of the part geometry on diffusion (g) during case hardening is discussed in
[Melber, 1990].
2.3
Coupling between workpiece geometry and mechanical state of workpiece
During heat treatment the mechanical state of parts is affected by the part geometry via:
active forces (h)
reaction forces (i)
part stiffness (j)
52
Weight and aerodynamic forces are the major active forces (h) applied on a part during heat
treatment. Both are functions of the parts shape and dimensions.
The reaction forces (i) that occur during heat treatment result from the active forces.
They appear at the joints between the parts and the furnace fixture. The area and position of these
joints depend, among other factors, on the part shape. In the case of random load patterns,
however, reaction forces also appear among parts.
The part stiffness (j) describes the relation between loads and deformations. Apart from
material properties, the stiffness is predominantly influenced by the part geometry. Geometrical
moments of inertia and torsional rigidities of simple geometries show how sensitive the part
stiffness is to geometrical variations.
Distortion of a fuel-injection pump housing due to case hardening
In the following paragraphs, the degree to which the part geometry can influence distortion will
be demonstrated on a complex automotive part.
Fig. 2 shows a cut through a fuel-injection pump housing made of 20MnCr5. After
machining, the pump housing is case hardened. To determine the distortion due to heat
treatment, pump housings were measured with a coordinate-measuring-machine at defined
locations both before and after heat treatment.
The following aspects concerning the distortion of the pump housing will be discussed in
the next two subchapters:
sensitivity of distortion to the parts position in the batch
sensitivity of distortion to geometric modifications

It will be shown that part distortion is more significantly influenced by modifications to the part
geometry than by the parts position in the batch, which underlines the importance of the part
geometry for distortion.
3.1
Sensitivity of distortion to the parts position in the batch
Both, numeric simulations and measurements, make clear that pump housings with different
positions in the batch undergo differing temperature profiles during heat treatment. The question
that arises is what does this mean for the part distortion.
The measurements did not reveal any clear correlation between the parts position in the
batch and their distortion. To illustrate this, several pump housings, placed either in the upper or
lower layer of the batch, are compared in fig. 2 regarding the distortion of a certain hole. All
parts show a common characteristic change of shape and dimension. The sector of the hole that
exhibits the biggest shrinkage due to heat treatment coincides with the thin-walled area on the
parts top side. In addition, the distortion is asymmetric relative to the holes x-z-plane, just as is
the material distribution around the hole (fig.3).
3.2
Sensitivity of distortion to geometric modifications
In fig. 3 two geometrically simplified versions of the pump housing are displayed. Different to
the wings of version 1, the wings of version 2 do not incorporate piston guides. Otherwise, the
two versions of the pump housing are almost identical. Nevertheless, their distortion behaviours
differ significantly, which is illustrated in fig. 3. As far as version 2 is concerned, the correlation
between the part geometry and the distortion of the large central hole is obvious. The three wings
of the pump housing coincide with the local maxima of r(), the change of radius due to heat
treatment. On the other hand, the holes, which are necessary for machining the piston guides
coincide with the local minima of r(). The asymmetric distortion exhibited by version 1 can be
53
explained by the fact that the piston guides as well as the holes necessary for their machining, are
not positioned in the center of the wings (fig.3).
location of
measurement
thin-walled area
90
z
structure of batch:
0
y
vgas
layer A
x
layer B
layer C
upper layer (A):
lower layer (C):

90
90
120
60
0.00
-0.03
30
150
-0.06
-0.09
180
-0.09
-0.06
-0.03
330
210
0.00
240
300
change of radius
due to heat treatment [mm]
change of radius
120
60
0.00
-0.03
30
150
-0.06
-0.09
180
-0.09
-0.06
-0.03
330
210
0.00
240
300
270
270
location of strongest shrinkage

due to heat treatment
Figure 2: Sensitivity of the distortion of the pump housing to its position in the batch.
version 2 (without piston guide):
version 1 (with piston guide):

eccentricity
piston guide
w1
location of
measurement
90
90
h3
h2
w2
w3
h1
w: wing h: hole
120
0.04
0.00
90
60
30
150
-0.04
0
180
-0.04
0.00
0.04
330
210
240
300
270
change of radius r()


90
120
0.04
0.00
60
w2
150
h3
30
-0.04
180
h1
w1 0
-0.04
0.00
210
h2
w3
0.04
240
300
270
Figure 3: Sensitivity of the distortion of the pump housing to geometric modifications.
330
54
Correlation analysis between part design and distortion
The preceding paragraphs made clear that the part distortion is significantly influenced by the
part geometry. In order to qualify and quantify this influence a mathematical method had to be
found. It turned out that cross correlation is a suitable method to analyze the relation between
part geometry and distortion.
Cross correlation is a standard method of estimating the degree to which two functions
are correlated. The following paragraphs refer to the discrete version of the cross correlation.
Consider two series x(i) and y(i) where i=1,2,n. The cross correlation series r at delay d is
defined as [Press, 1988]:
[(x (i) x )( y(i d) y)]

rxy (d ) =
( x (i) x ) 2 ( y(i d) y) 2
i
(Eq.3)
where x and y are means of the corresponding series. The denominator serves to normalise the
correlation coefficients such that rxy (d) lies between -1 and 1, inclusively. While the bounds
indicate maximum correlation, 0 indicates no correlation.
Fig. 4 illustrates the principle of the correlation analysis between part geometry and
distortion by means of a simple fictitious example. To apply equation 3 both the nominal
geometry of the part and its distortion need to be described as functions with a common
independent variable. The local wall thickness can be used as dependent variable of the geometry
function. The dependent variable of the distortion function has to be some kind of local deviation
of the deformed part from the nominal geometry.
The geometry and distortion of the part are discretized in two respects. The geometry is
split into cross sections with markedly inhomogeneous material distributions. The distortion is
studied along different lines. In addition, every geometry and distortion function is discretized
itself. Finally, each geometry function is correlated with all distortion functions using equation 3.
The results give an idea, which cross sections or geometrical features have a significant influence
on the distortion of the part.
Fig. 5 shows the results of a correlation analysis applied on the simplified version 2 of
the pump housing already introduced in fig. 3. The four distortion functions used for the
correlation analysis are identical to the ones at the bottom right corner of fig. 3. The description
of the parts cross section marked in fig. 5 was obtained from a discretized 3D model. The
maxima of the four cross correlation series shown in fig. 5 lie between 0.79 and 0.83. This
confirms and quantifies the high correlation between the parts pattern of wings and holes and
the distortion of the large central hole, which was already pointed out in fig. 3. Hence,
modifications of the marked cross section can be expected to be very effective for the reduction
of distortion in the area of the large central hole of the pump housing.
55
distorted geometry:
z
nominal geometry:
ws(x,y)
x
at(x,y)
underside area S
fitted plane P of
underside area S
locations of measurements
on the underside area S:
x
cross section 1
cross section 2
line 1
line 2
..
.
NOMINAL GEOMETRY
DISTORTION
a) finding a common
independent variable
e.g.: x (see above)
e.g.: x (see above)
b) finding a dependent
variable
e.g.: wall thickness ws(x,y)

(see above)
e.g.: deviation at(x,y) of points of the

underside area S from the fitted plane
P (see above).
1. DESCRIPTION OF
c) discretisation
w1
cross section 1 (see above):
a1
line 1 (see above):

i
w2
i
cross section 2 (see above):
a2
line 2 (see above):
..
.
2. CROSS CORRELATION BETWEEN NOMINAL GEOMETRY AND DISTORTION

rwsat (d)
(see Eq.3)
Figure 4: Principle of correlation analysis between part geometry and distortion.
location of
distortion
measurement
description
of nominal
geometry
(cross section)
56
n
ctio
s se
s
o
cr
description
of the distortion
of 4 parts
40
30
20
10
0.6
0.3
0.0
-0.3
-0.6
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
[ ]
-50 -25
25 50
delay

50
cross correlation series rrw ()
wall thickness w
in radial direction [mm]
cross correlation
0.9
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
-0.01
-0.02
-0.03
0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
[ ]
Figure 5: Cross correlation between simplified pump housing design (without piston guide) and distortion.
Conclusion
The part geometry plays an important role for distortion due to heat treatment. Experimental
results were presented making clear that the part geometry can be the dominant influential factor
for distortion following case hardening. Thus, geometrical optimizations are promising for the
reduction of distortion. The introduced method to correlate part design with distortion helps to
identify the design features of a part that are responsible for crucial deformations following heat
treatment. Geometrical modifications aiming at the reduction of distortion should focus on these
particular design features.
To support engineers designing parts suitable for heat treatment a method will be
developed using the correlation analysis as one major tool.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to J. Schwarzer from Robert Bosch GmbH and R. Feger, M. Schrifve from IFMA (France)
for support and valuable discussions. The support provided by Robert Bosch GmbH and the German Federal
Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Ehlers, M.: Numerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Eigenspannungs- und Verzugsausbildung beim
Hrten von Stufenzylindern und Quadern in verdampfenden Flssigkeiten. Dr. -Ing. Thesis Universitt
Karlsruhe, Shaker Verlag, 2000.
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering Verzugsbeherrschung in der
Fertigung. Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen, Vol 57, No 3, 2002, p. 213-217.
Inoue, T.; Wang, Z.G.; Miyao, K.: Quenching Stress of Carburised Steel Gear Wheel. Proc. International
Conference on Residual Stresses (ICRS2), Elsevier Applied Science, 1988, p. 606-611.
Melber, A.; Preier, F.: Numerische Simulation der Aufkohlung von Stahl unter Bercksichtigung der
Bauteilgeometrie. Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen, Vol 45, No 2, 1990, p. 129-132.
Press, W.H.: Numerical Recipes in C. The Art of Scientific Computing. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Savija, I.; Culham, J.R.; Yovanovich, M.M; Marotta, E.E.: Review of thermal conductance models for joints
incorporating enhancement materials. 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada,
January 2002.
57
Metallurgical and production-related protocols

to reduce heat-treatment distortion in the
manufacture of gear components
Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Frank Hippenstiel1
1
Edelstahlwerke Buderus AG, Buderusstr. 25, 35576 Wetzlar, Germany,

Frank.Hippenstiel@edelstahl.buderus.de
Abstract
Gear components undergo heat treatment after machining, to ensure the desired functional characteristics. This heat
treatment normally involves case hardening, and cannot always avoid distorting the dimensions and shape of
components. Numerous factors are known to contribute to thermally induced distortion and these are countered
through the use of various approaches to reduce distortion in the production process completely. Potentially
distortion of dimension and shape can be minimised in the course of metallurgical operations by restricting
hardenability. Also, grain size distribution can be adjusted during the subsequent manufacturing process by using the
as-supplied pre-hardened condition with an additional benefit that this allows a further potential for minimising
distortion. The latest research results relating to micro-alloyed case hardening steels furthermore show the positive
effect of fine grain on heat treatment distortion.
Keywords
Steelmaking, pre-heat treatment conditions, micro-alloying, grain sizes
Introduction
The European standard EN 10052 defines distortion as changes in the dimension and shape of
a workpiece relative to its initial state that become evident after heat treatment. Some
distortion is due to the heat treatment (normally case hardening in the production of gear
components), which increases the specific volume relative to the initial state. Steel can in
theory be assumed to have a specific increase in volume of one percent in the quenched state.
This increase in volume depends mainly on the carbon and the quantity of martensite in the
hardening microstructure; a higher proportion of residual austenite reduces the increase in
volume. However, the distortion observed after hardening, in practice is sometimes much
greater than can be explained theoretically solely by the increase in volume due to
microstructure transformation. There are numerous other factors to be found in the literature.
Figure 1 shows various factors affecting changes in dimension and shape after heat treatment
[Hee, 1997]. This fundamentally relates to four major groups of interrelated subjects. These
include the engineering design practice, the production technology of steel users and field
service conditions and behaviour, since distortion can also arise later when the components
are in service. Steel users constantly strive to minimize the impact of production technology
on the anticipated change in dimension and shape of components, by introducing new
production methods such as high-pressure gas quenching. One classic method is to carry out
stress relieving or pre-hardening of components before hardening. This alleviates stresses,
such as those caused by machining [Liedtke, 1996].
58
Engineering
Engineeringdesign
design
Production
Productiontechnology
technology
influence
influenceof
ofgeometry
geometry
processing
processingaspects
aspects
forming
forming
machining
machining
material
materialselection
selection
joning
joning
heat
heattreatment
treatment
Steelmaking
Steelmakingand
and
steel
steelprocessing
processing
melting
melting
chemical
chemicalcomposition
composition
segregation
segregation
forming
forming
residual
residualstress
stressdistribution
distribution
surface
surfacecondition
condition
microstructure
microstructure
coating
coating
machining
machiningin
inhard
hardcondition
condition
Service
Serviceconditions
conditionsand
and
behaviour
behaviour
stress
stressduring
duringservice
service
residual
residualstress
stressdistribution
distribution
ductility
ductility
Figure 1: Factors affecting changes in the dimensions and shape of components [Hee, 1997]
The fourth large set of interrelated topics affecting change of dimension and shape is steelmaking
and steel processing - i.e. the melting and solidifying process. This involves principally adjusting
the chemical composition to achieve the desired hardenability, and the continuous casting of
steel or casting of ingots for the downstream processes. In the context of steel finishing, the
downstream processes are generally rolling and/or forging the cast steel, with subsequent heat
treatment to achieve a particular microstructure or delivery condition. It is thus possible to
modify or restrict the chemical composition and adjust certain microstructures to positively
influence changes in dimension and shape after heat treatment. This report sets out to consider
these two possibilities, and to reflect on present knowledge derived from trials in the field of
industrial gear systems.
The effect of steel production on distortion
There are various publications and studies on the effect of steelmaking on distortion. For
example, the effect of solidification symmetry in continuous cast material on the distortion of
crown wheels [Seger, 1986 und Gunnarsson, 1991] has been investigated. Other publications
deal with the effect of machining stresses arising from billet production on the distortion of
finished workpieces [Volkmuth, 1996], and the effect of pre-heat treatment states on changes
in dimension and shape [Hippenstiel, 2003]. But it seems that the effect of hardenability or
the scatter of hardenability is the largest materials-related factor as regards distortion. In a
study by [Bergstrm, 1988], hardenability is accorded an effect ranging from 20 to 30 percent.
These findings have led to the hardenability spread of case hardening steels generally being
greatly restricted by corresponding specifications. The parallel development of hardenability
calculation [Frodl, 1986] has enabled modern steel producers to satisfy these extremely close
requirements in terms of hardenability, by taking appropriate alloying measures at the melting
stage. One example of the positive effects of higher hardenability is shown in Figure 2. This
shows that the drill holes in gear wheels made of material ZF 7 B (| 20MnCrB5) do not
expand, in contrast to gear wheels made of material ZF 7 (| 20MnCr5). In addition the higher
hardenability range also appears more favourable in this case, since the greater shrinkage
behaviour gives more reproducible results [Mallener, 1990].
expanding
59
shrinking
devitation internal bore
hardness at J 10 (HRC)
Figure 2: Effect of hardenability on distortion of an internal bore [Mallener, 1990]
This trend has been confirmed in a further study, whereby a more uniform change of shape of the
flanks was observed combined with an increasing hardenability [Bergstrm, 1988], both became
increasingly independent of the oil flow. Grain sizes are directly linked to the hardenability of
case hardening steels. In investigations of the effect of melting and casting conditions on the
distortion behaviour of the steel grade 16MnCr5, the grain size effect in the case of coarser grain
showed a greater average distortion in the case hardened state [Flesch, 1998]. Investigations have
shown that existing grain sizes can also have an effect on the change of dimension and shape.
Herein it has been observed that a greater distribution of austenite grain size - i.e. lack of
homogeneity in the microstructure - can also indicate greater distortion spread in case hardened
gear wheels. Figure 3 plots the spread of the austenite grain size within a particular melt over the
percentage spread of distortion derived from the difference of the maximum and minimum
distortion divided by the average distortion [Randak, 1969]. In summary we can conclude that
steel with the most uniform possible grain size and a tight hardenability spread provides the best
conditions for a low, uniform and thus manageable distortion.
Research results
In-house research was conducted to explore the effect of grain size or microstructure on change
of dimension and shape. The program involved trials on spur gears made of material
18CrNiMo7-6. The spur gears have a pitch diameter of 314,88 mm, a module of 7, and 44 teeth.
Batches of 10 items each were made at the works of an industrial gear manufacturer, and case
hardened under constant conditions. The relevant material parameters are summarized in Table
1; the grain sizes were established by continuous sampling of the heat treatment lots.
60
scatter of austenite grain size
1 ... 9
3 ... 7
5
5
15
25
35
scatter of distortion in %
Figure 3: Correlation between the scatter of the austenite grain size and the scatter of distortion [Randak,
1969]
Pre-heat treatment /
Batch
As supplied condition
Hardenability at Al / N in ppm
11mm
Coarse grain
content
Average grain
size
isothermic annealed
43 HRC
330 / 135
3.42 %
7.55
isothermic annealed
43 HRC
330 / 135
6.48 %
7.55
pre-hardened
43 HRC
330 / 135
0.53 %
7.00
pre-hardened
43 HRC
330 / 135
4.05 %
6.88
Table 1: Relevant material parameters of the specimen spur gears, as-supplied condition, hardenability
and grain size after case hardening
The spur gears were made of forged bar stock from one melt. After the case hardening process
around 4 percent coarse grain is observed, i.e. grains of a grain size of 4 or less. This grain
growth is not unusual in industrial gear manufacture involving processes lasting a long time (16
hours at 940 C in the present case). Batch B is an exception here, with a much higher proportion
of coarse grain in the microstructure. This difference in grain size is also reflected in the
distortion behaviour of the components. Figure 4 shows the average deviation of the diameter of
the inner drill holes for the four batches. Batches A, C and D exhibit almost identical distortion
behaviour, concerning the values found and the direction of the dimensional change as well.
Only batch B shows an expansion of the drill holes. Since batch B has the same hardenability as
the other three batches, the expansion of the drill holes cannot be explained by a lower
hardenability; this marked deviation in dimensional and shape change is due to the austenite
grain size spread.
61
deviation internal bore in mm
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
- 0,1
- 0,2
- 0,3
isothermic annealed
pre-hardened
- 0,4
A
batch
Figure 4: Dimensional change of the internal bore of the spur gears investigated
Figure 5 shows the grain size distributions of batch B compared to batch C. It is clear that batch
C, with its good results in terms of dimensional and shape change, has the lower proportion of
coarse grain, as well as a lower grain size spread. The pre-hardened initial state provides a
substantially more homogeneous microstructure.
The next stage of the investigation involved examining two further batches. On the basis of the
findings relating to grain refining and spread of grain sizes with micro-alloying elements such as
Niobium or Titanium, a melt of steel 18CrNoMi7-6 was produced with an additional 40 ppm
Titanium and 370 ppm Niobium. Table 2 summarizes the further relevant parameters of the test
material. The same spur gears were made from this, but one batch (E) was carburized at 940 C,
whereas batch F was carburized at 980 C. But the process of reduction to hardening temperature
(840 C) proceeded as usual in both cases. It was found that adding further fine-grain enhancing
elements displaced the average grain size significantly towards finer values, and significantly
reduced the proportion of coarse grain.
Batch
Pre-heat treatment /
As-supplied condition
Hardenability at Al / N in ppm
11mm
Coarse grain
content
Average grain
size
isothermic annealed
43 HRC
400 / 170
0,00 %
9,50
isothermic annealed
43 HRC
400 / 170
1,67 %
9,20
Table 2: Relevant material parameters of the specimen gear wheels made of steel from the micro-alloyed
melt 18CrNiMo7-6
frequency in %
frequency in %
62
grain size number ASTM
18CrNiMo7-6, conventional:
Batch B (isothermic annealed)
6,48 % coarse grain
Gaverage = 7,55
grain size number ASTM
18CrNiMo7-6, conventional:
Batch C (pre-hardened)
0,53 % coarse grain
Gaverage = 7,00
Figure 5: Comparison of grain size distribution of batches B and C
The grain refining level achieved from the micro-alloyed melt was reflected in the distortion
behaviour. Figure 6 shows the changes in the inner drill hole dimensions compared to the results
for the spur gears in the same initial state isothermic annealed. It is evident that the spur gears
from the micro-alloyed melt are distorted only in one direction, and the dimensional variation is
reduced. This result is also attributable to the reduced austenite grain size spread; adding the
micro-alloying elements Niobium and Titanium displaces the average grain size towards finer
values by two grain-size increments. Also, despite the long carburization process that the spur
gears underwent, practically no grain growth occurred.
Further investigation of dimensional and shape change behaviour was carried out using another
component (module 6, 40 teeth, 272 mm pitch diameter). In this case the gear wheels were made
of a test material corresponding to batch C/D (conventional 18CrNiMo7-6) and batch E/F
(micro-alloyed 18CrNiMo7-6). Figure 7 shows the scatter of distortion of the internal bore of the
experimental gear wheel. This component also shows that the grain refining effect of Titanium
and Niobium additions has a beneficial effect on dimensional and shape change. The prehardened initial state of the conventional 18CrNiMo7-6 melt enabled the scatter of distortion to
be reduced to around 2.5 percent in this case. Operational experience suggests that a greater
distortion spread is to be assumed in the pre-heat treatment state for isothermic annealed
conventional case hardening steels. Despite this less favourable initial state, the spread was
successfully reduced to around 1 percent in the case of gear wheels from the micro-alloyed melt.
63
deviation internal bore in mm
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
- 0,1
- 0,2
- 0,3
isothermic annealed,
micro-alloyed
isothermic annealed
- 0,4
A
batch
scatter of distortion in %
Figure 6: Comparison of the dimensional changes in the internal bore between the conventional
18CrNiMo7-6 and the micro-alloyed 18CrNiMo7-6 in the same pre-heat treatment state
5
18CrNiMo7-6
micro-alloyed
18CrNiMo7-6
conventional
0
Pre-heat treatment state
isothermic annealed
Pre-heat treatment state

pre-hardened
Figure 7: Spread of distortion in the case of the internal bore as a function of the pre-heat treatment state
and the addition of micro-alloying elements
Conclusion
This study set out to investigate the effect of grain size or grain size scatter on distortion
behaviour, based on Randak's experimental results. Since these findings are now 35 years old,
and since it proved impossible to determine what specimen geometries or gear wheels were used
despite enquiries at the research institute, we felt it important to verify this in our own studies.
The results show that the conclusions can be substantiated. When isothermic annealed in the
64
initial state (especially in the case of steel 18CrNiMo7-6 with its low transformation rate) there is
a greater austenite grain size spread than when pre-hardened in the initial state. Here it is
necessary to consider that, under specific conditions, isothermic annealed steels are susceptible to
grain growth during subsequent carburizing process. This is undoubtedly in part attributable to
the present results, since long carburization processes are customary in industrial gear
manufacture. The distortion results of the two variants are clear. The production engineering
measure of creating and exploiting a pre-hardened initial state can offer the prospect of reduced
dimension and shape change behaviour. Compared to Randak's results, the grain size effect
appears to be independent of the component geometry. Another possible positive effect of the
pre-hardened initial state should also be noted. The established martensitic structure after
transformation gives rise to an effect on the existing hardenability. The core hardness values of
the continuous sampling results indicate that higher hardenability is generally likely, compared to
the initial isothermic annealed state.
The proven effect of grain size on change in dimension and shape suggested carrying out further
trials on the same components with a fine-grained melt. A micro-alloyed melt was used for this;
adding minute quantities of Niobium and Titanium shifted the average austenitic grain size two
increments towards finer values. Despite a more unfavourable initial state, smaller and more
even distortion was observed in the components. The metallurgical measure succeeded in
significantly influencing distortion and without changing the hardenability of the case-hardening
steel, since this trial melt had the same hardenability in the Jominy test as the melt used for the
first series of trials. The effect of the finer grain on hardenability is balanced out by the
transformation delaying effect of the Niobium. In the meantime further trials have been carried
out with industrial users; here, too, the results showed the influence determined in the case of
other components geometries and heat treatment conditions.
Acknowledgement
The author thanks Dipl.-Ing. Georg Kell of PIV Drives GmbH, Bad Homburg, for carrying out the industrial trials.
References
Liedtke, D.; Jnsson, R.: Wrmebehandlung, Expert Verlag, Renningen, 2. Auflage, 1996
Hee, K.: Ma- und Formnderungen infolge Wrmebehandlung, Expert Verlag, Renningen, 1997
Randak, A.; Eberbach, R.: HTM 24 (1969), Heft 3, S. 201 209
Erstarrungslenkung, Mnchener Umformtechnik-Seminar 25.-26.09.1986 (1986), S. 1-11
Gunnarson, S.: HTM 46 (1991) Heft 4, S. 216 - 220
Volkmuth, J.: HTM 51 (1996) Heft 3, S. 145 154
Hippenstiel, F.; Grimm, W.; Kell, G.; Jrgens, F.: HTM 58 (2003) Heft 3, S. 153 161
Frodl, D. u. a.: Stahl und Eisen 106 (1986) Nr. 24, S. 69-75
Bergstrm, C. M.; Larsso, L.-E.; Levin, T.: HTM 43 (1988) Heft 1, S. 36-40
Mallener, H.: HTM 45 (1990) Heft 1, S. 66 72
Flesch, R.; Spitzer, H.; Bleck, W.: Literaturrecherche T 701 "Feinkornstahl", Forschungsheft
Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik e. V., Heft 549, 1998
65
Comparison of different remelted hot-work tool

steels and their distortion, residual stresses and
other properties. Experiments and simulations.
W. Schtzenhfer1, C. Redl1, H. Schweiger1, I. Siller1, N. Dickinger2 and R. Schneider2
1) Bhler Edelstahl GmbH, Mariazellerstrae 25, 8605 Kapfenberg, Austria,
Christian.Redl@bohler-edelstahl.at
2) University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Wels), Roseggerstrae 12, 4600 Wels, Austria,
r.schneider@fh-wels.at
Abstract
Hot-work tool steels essential for die casting and extrusion processes must fulfill many requirements such as high
toughness, high hot strength, good machinability, excellent homogeneity and best polishability. To achieve these
properties, the materials must be produced and especially heat-treated very carefully. Materials produced by electroslag or vacuum-arc remelting are considered in this paper.
Experiments with three different hot-work tool steels and several different vacuum heat-treatments are introduced.
Results for distortion, toughness, hardness, residual stresses and microstructure are presented. The criteria for the
choice of the experimental program were, on the one hand, the comparison of a conventional, an improved and a
newly designed material for hot-work applications and, on the other hand, the comparison of conventional vacuum
heat-treatment with new technologies such as helium cooling at higher pressures (industrial application).
The short-term objective of the experiments is the verification of the accompanying models. The whole heattreatment process, consisting of austenitization, hardening and tempering, is considered. The distortion, hardness,
residual stresses and microstructure are calculated.
In the long term, simulations using these models should, on the one hand, support heat-treatment providers in
answering questions about these materials. On the other hand, the results of the calculations can be used as input data
to calculate the lifetime of tools.
Keywords
Hot-work tool steels, heat treatment simulation, experiments, residual stresses,
Introduction
Hot-work tool steels are a fast-growing market. In the majority of hot-work applications
however, products are produced in large series and tool life is one of the most important
economic factors. A longer tool life means a lower tooling cost per manufactured part.
Often, when a tool steel is required, it is selected on the basis of chemical composition only. The
route by which a tool steel is manufactured can, however, greatly affect the mechanical and other
properties of the finished material, for example the toughness, and therefore also the life of the
tool in service. Currently, most hot-work tool steels are manufactured by one of three routes; 1)
conventionally, without remelting; 2) including electro-slag remelting (ESR) or; 3) including
vacuum-arc remelting (VAR). Occasionally, hot-work tool steels are manufactured by the
powder metallurgical route. This will not be discussed in this paper, as it is currently of lesser
importance. Table 1 gives the compositions of the steels mentioned in this paper, where
ISOBLOC designates electro-slag remelted hot-work tool steels and VMR vacuum melted and
remelted hot-work tool steels [Fisher, 2001; Fisher, 2003].
66
The objective of remelting is to improve some of the key properties of hot-work tool steels such as
homogeneity, isotropy and toughness.
Materialnumber
(EN)
EN standard name
C
[%]
Si
[%]
Mn
[%]
Cr
[%]
Mo
[%]
V
[%]
Hardness
[HRc]
Bhler
W300
1.2343
ISOBLOC
X38CrMoV5-1
0.38
1.1
0.4
5.0
1.3
0.4
47
Bhler
VMR
~X38CrMoV5-1
0.36
0.2
0.25
5.0
1.3
0.45
47
~X50CrMoV5-3
0.5
0.2
0.25
4.5
3.0
0.55
54
Material
W400
~1.2343
Bhler
W360
ISOBLOC
Table 1: Chemical composition of the hot-work tool steels used
Experiments
Experiments were carried out to investigate the main properties of the three hot-work tool steels
and to validate the heat treatment models (see sections 3 and 4). Six cylinders with a diameter of
100 mm and a height of 100 mm were machined from forged blocks of each tool steel.
Afterwards, the cylinders were ground and stress-relieved, and the height and diameter were
measured using a 3D coordinate measuring system [Schtzenhfer, 2004].
The heat treatments were performed in a vacuum furnace with gas quenching. The
austenitization temperatures were 990C for W400VMR, 1030C for W300IB and 1050C for
W360IB. The following quenching parameters were used: helium 7.5 bar; nitrogen 4.9 bar; and
nitrogen 3 bar. For each combination of material and heat treatment, one cylinder was hardened
only and a second was hardened and tempered. During the heat treatment, the temperatures in the
cylinder were monitored using three thermocouples which were positioned in the center of each
face at a depth of 20 mm and in the center of the cylinder.
After heat treatment the cylinders were measured again. The differences give the change in
dimensions and distortion. Subsequently, the residual stresses, hardness and impact energy were
measured and the microstructure was investigated. The results of the microstructural examination
can be found in [Schtzenhfer, 2005], the other results are given and discussed below.
2.1
Distortion
Figure 1 shows the distortion of the different hot-work tool steel cylinders after hardening with
nitrogen 3 bar (on the left) only and after hardening and tempering (on the right).
Figure 1: Change in height of three investigated hot-work tool steels after vacuum heat treatment with
nitrogen gas cooling (left after hardening only, right after hardening and tempering three times)
67
At first sight, the different steel grades show definite differences in the change in height
compare W300IB and W360IB. The difference between W400VMR and W300IB after
hardening is caused by a difference in the level of residual stress and different amounts of
retained austenite. However after tempering, the working state, the distortion of both steels is
within the measurement error.
The distortion of the W400VMR cylinder taken from a near edge area of the forged block
(510x365mm cross section) and the distortion of the cylinder from a near centre area of the
block were exactly the same, which demonstrates the high isotropy of this hot-work tool steel.
2.2
Toughness
The impact energy and V-notched impact energy of each steel could be increased up to 20% by
increasing the cooling rate [Schtzenhfer, 2004; Schtzenhfer, 2005]. The isotropy of the
remelted steels was checked by measuring the V-notched impact energy parallel and
perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder. The mean values are nearly equal (within the
measurement error). The high homogeneity of the steel was documented by metallographic
specimens and the fact that the impact energy and V-notched impact energy of specimens taken
near to the surface and near to the core gave the same values.
2.3
Residual stress
After heat treatment the residual stresses were measured at the half radius of the top face using
the ring-core method [Bhm, 1980; Grndler, 1982]. Table 2 shows the results of the
measurements after hardening with helium 7.5 bar and tempering three times. The stresses are
very small and comparable, the differences are within the error of this method which is r20 MPa.
In addition it should be noted that residual stress measurements at these high hardness values are
always problematic. The measurements for the W360IB (working hardness 54 HRc) were
therefore carried out using an electrolytic method.
W300IB*
W360IB**
W400VMR**
radial stress [MPa]
16
34
38.5
tangential stress [MPa]
10
36
45.5
Table 2: Comparison of measured residual stresses at the mid radius of the top face in the tempered state
(hardened with 7.5 bar helium and tempered three times to working hardness; 3 mm depth)
*
electrolytic method at Eisenwerke Sulzau Werfen
**
ring-core method
Simulation
Numerical simulation is a very useful tool for the calculation of the volume fractions of phases,
distortions, residual stresses and hardness. The calculation scheme and models used are
presented below.
3.1
Calculation scheme
Figure 2 shows the calculation scheme used. In the first step, the process is analysed by using the
cooling curves measured by the thermocouples. The geometry is given, but the greatest emphasis
is on measuring the material data of each phase and the kinetics of each phase transformation.
The following phases are taken into account: ferrite, austenite, bainite, martensite, primary
carbide, proeutectoid carbide, secondary hardening carbide, tempered martensite and tempered
bainite.
68
Figure 2: Calculation scheme of heat treatment simulations
The heat treatment models were created based on the dilatometer measurements. The necessary
input data for the simulation are the linear expansion coefficient, the change in length and CCTdiagrams, which are transformed to TTT-diagrams for the FE (finite element) calculations.
Additionally, the volume fractions of different carbide types were calculated in both the stable
and meta-stable states e.g. the amount of secondary hardening carbides. The kinetics of the
precipitation of secondary hardening carbides were measured by DSC.
The calculations were carried out using the FE-programme DEFORM HT. After the first
calculations, the results had to be compared with measurements. In this verification and
validation procedure, the volume fraction of phases, the changes in dimension, residual stresses
and hardness were compared [Schtzenhfer 2003, Schtzenhfer 2005]. The first model must
often be adapted to obtain a good agreement between calculations and measurements for each of
the calculated properties. Afterwards, a reference model for heat treatment simulations of the
investigated steel is ready for parameter studies and application. Often, different geometries or
cooling strategies are tried out to minimize residual stresses. If this is the case, the heat treatment
of hot extrusion tools is simulated and the residual stresses are evaluated to obtain the tool- and
geometry-dependent residual stresses as input data for subsequent calculations of tool life-time in
the hot extrusion process.
3.2
Residual stress model
To model residual stresses, the transformation kinetics and the flow curves of each phase must be
measured as well as the thermo-physical data. Specimens were manufactured and heat treated for
this purpose, and tensile tests at different temperatures were performed on a Gleeble device.
In calculating the residual stresses, the transformation plasticity is accounted for in the following
manner:
dH ijtp
3
K ij S ij (2 (1 [ k )) d[ k
2
Hijtp:
strain due to transformation plasticity
Sij:
stress deviator
[k:
volume fraction of phase k
(1)
69
The transformation plasticity parameter Kij was taken from the literature for a chromium and
molybdenum alloyed steel with 0.4% carbon (German standard 42CrMo4, 1.7225) [Rohde
2000], but can be also obtained by dilatometer experiments. The actual value is 4.2x10-5 MPa-1.
3.3
Hardness model
The FE program used offers different methods of calculating the hardness. In this case the
hardness was calculated based on the volume fraction and hardness of each phase. The
calculation of the hardness after hardening is state-of-the-art. The validation for W360IB can be
seen in the next chapter.
A more challenging task is the calculation of the hardness after tempering. For that, an additional
phase, coarse secondary hardening carbide Ksek*, was calculated. This had to be done to take into
account the coarsening of the secondary hardening carbides due to diffusion. For the kinetics of
this coarsening and decrease in hardness, it must be connected with the tempering parameter.
The tempering parameter P was used in the following form, where T is the temperature in
Kelvin, t the time in hours, using the carbon content in percent [Liscic, 1997]:
P T >21,53 5.8 %C lg t @
(2)
Coarsening starts and ends at defined values of the tempering parameter.
Validation
As can be seen in figure 2, validation of the models is an essential step in every modelling and
numerical simulation. The validation for the heat treatment simulation of the hot-work tool steels
is given in this section.
4.1
Distortion
Figure 3 shows the change in height of W360IB cylinders after hardening with 3 bar nitrogen
and after hardening and tempering.
Figure 3: Comparison of the calculated and measured change in height of W360IB cylinders (nitrogen 3
bar; left after hardening only, right after hardening and tempering)
The calculation shows good agreement with experimental data. The maximum difference
between calculations and measurements is around 5 m over 50 mm (1/2 height). This is equal
to an error of 0.01%, which is more than precise for the technical application of such models.
70
Figure 4: Comparison of the calculated and measured change in diameter of W360IB cylinders (nitrogen
3 bar; left after hardening only, right after hardening and tempering)
The calculation of the change in diameter, in figure 4, also shows good results. The difference
between calculation and measurement is, however, slightly greater than for the change in height.
4.2
Residual stress model
The comparison of the calculated and measured residual stresses for W400VMR can be seen in
table 3. The calculated results show good agreement with the measurements.
measurement**
W400VMR
cylindrical
surface
face
calculation
[MPa]
[MPa]
axial stress
84.5
86.5
tangential stress
85.0
78.4
radial stress
38.5
44.4
tangential stress
45.5
54.8
Table 3: Comparison of the calculated and measured residual stresses for W400WMR after hardening
with helium and tempering three times (on the face at half the radius, on the cylindrical surface at half
the height; depth 3 mm)
** measurement using ring-core method [Bhm, 1980; Grndler, 1982]
4.3
Hardness model
The validation of the hardness model was carried out for W360IB. Ten dilatometer
measurements were carried out at different cooling parameters, represented by the O-value, to
generate the CCT-diagram for this hot-work tool steel. Different cooling rates lead to different
phase compositions after hardening and therefore to a different hardness of the specimen. The
hardness was calculated based on the volume fractions of martensite, bainite, pearlite (for very
slowly cooling), retained austenite and carbides. The results of the calculations are shown in
figure 5. The hardness could be calculated, with a measurement error of r1 HRc, for the whole
range of cooling rates from extremely fast (comparable to water cooling) to extremely slow
(comparable to furnace cooling).
71
Figure 5: Comparison of the calculated and measured hardness of W360IB after hardening for different
values of lambda [(time at 500C time at 800C) / 100 s]
The model used for the calculation of the tempering hardness also shows good agreement with
the measurements. Figure 6 shows that the differences are always smaller than the measurement
error.
Figure 6: Comparison of the calculated and measured hardness of W360IB after hardening (1050C) and
tempering three times at different tempering temperatures (1 to 3: oil hardening, 4 to 6: vacuum
hardening)
Conclusion
This work demonstrates the generation of complex heat treatment models for three different hotwork tool steels (W300IB, W360IB, W400VMR). The calculation scheme illustrates the
different parts of the model and their interactions. A major objective is the validation of the
model, which is exemplarily shown for the steel W360IB (for the other steels in [Schtzenhfer,
2004] and [Schtzenhfer, 2005]). The validation process shows good agreement between
calculations and measurements of the:
x
volume fraction of the phases
x
change in height and diameter
72
x
residual stresses after tempering (only for W400VMR, models for W300IB and W360IB
are in progress)
x
hardness after hardening only and after hardening + tempering
Acknowledgements
FFF and SFG for the funding of a hot extrusion project, in which the heat treatment simulation is the first step in
simulating the tool life time.
Dr. Spiradek-Hahn of ARC seibersdorf research GmbH for the TEM and SEM measurements.
References
Bhm, Wolfgang; Stckler, Erwin; Wolf, Helmut: Grundlagen und Anwendungsmglichkeiten des Ring-KernVerfahrens zum Ermitteln von Eigenspannungen Teil 1: Theorie und Grundlagen. Messtechnische Briefe, Vol
16, 1980, Heft 2, p. 36-40
Fisher, Kay; Schweiger, Herbert; Lichtenegger, Gerhard: Ingot-cast, electro-slag-remelted or vacuum-arc-remelted
material. Which is the right choice for optimal properties when selecting hot work tool steels? ICIT, Rogaska
Slatina, Slovenia, April 22nd 26th, 2001, p. 189-194
Fisher, Kay; Schweiger, Herbert; Caliskanoglu, Devrim: Neuer Warmarbeitsstahl fr die Halbwarmumformung:
Eigenschaften und Wrmebehandlung. BHM, 148. Jg., 2003, Heft 5, p. 172-175
Grndler, Otto; Wiedner, Gerhard: Betriebliche Restspannungsmessungen mit dem Ring-Kern-Verfahren. Archiv
fr das Eisenhttenwesen, Vol 53, 1982, Nr.10, p. 415-420
Liscic, Bozidar: Steel heat treatment Handbook. Eds. G. Totten and M. Howes. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York,
1997
Rohde, Jutta; Jeppsson, Anders: Literature Review of Heat Treatment Simulations with Respect to Phase
Transformation, Residual Stresses and Distortion. Scand. J. Met., 2000, p. 47-62
Schtzenhfer, Wolfgang; Wieser, Volker: Numerische Simulation der Hrte- und Anlassbehandlung des
Schnellarbeitsstahles Bhler S390 MICROCLEAN. BHM, 148. Jg., 2003, Heft 3, p. 112-116
Schtzenhfer, Wolfgang; Schweiger, Herbert; Strobl, Volker; Schneider, Reinhold: Optimierung der
Gasabschreckung bei der Vakuumwrmebehandlung des Warmarbeitsstahles Bhler W400VMR hinsichtlich
der Manderung und der Zhigkeit Experiment und Simulation. Proceedings zur Europischen Tagung
Hrten und Abschrecken. Straburg, 11. und 12. Mrz 2004
Schtzenhfer, Wolfgang; Schweiger, Herbert; Siller, Ingo; Wieser, Volker; Strobl, Volker: Einfluss der
Vakuumwrmebehandlung neuer Warmarbeitssthle auf deren mechanische Eigenschaften und Verzug
Vergleich numerische Simulation mit Messung. Presentation at 28. Hrtereitechniktagung, Vienna, November
11th 12th, 2004, Publication in: BHM, 150. Jg., 2005, Heft 3, p. 71-76
3. Steel making
73
74
75
Metallurgical influence on distortion of the

case-hardening steel 20MnCr5
C. Prinz1 , B.Clausen1, F. Hoffmann1, R. Kohlmann2, H.-W. Zoch1
1
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Bremen, Deutschland

2
Edelstahlwerke Sdwestfalen, Siegen, Deutschland
Abstract
In literature, only few works are published that make statements on influences between material properties and
distortion. There are some investigations on the influence of carbides and their distribution in the structure. Other
authors report on a distinct influence of the texture on distortion. However, the operational sequences during
solidification as well as the following deforming processes affect the homogeneity of the chemical composition.
Local fluctuations of the chemical composition lead to locally different phase transformations. As a result there will
be differences in the structure and therefore inhomogeneous distortion.
The hardenability could be suitable as an integrating parameter to describe the effect of the alloying elements as well
as their homogeneity in distribution in the structure on distortion.
Additionally, the preheating treatment of the material as well as the carburizing process can influence the size
alteration and the deformation. Therefore, in this work steel of the quality 20MnCr5 with different hardenability
grades were varied concerning their preheating treatment conditions. Three conditions were adjusted: annealing to a
specific structure, pre-aging and the condition after cooling from the hot rolling heat. The extend of distortion was
evaluated by measurements on a coordinate measuring apparatus before and after hardening.
Keywords
distortion, hardenability, preheating treatment, case hardening
Introduction
The reduction of distortion of case-hardened construction units can lead to a significant cost
reduction because hard machining after hardening will be less time-consuming. The volume of
the construction units changes during cooling from austenitisation temperature to room
temperature. The amount of volume change depends heavily on the carbon content and on the
content of martensite and residual austenite, which is nucleated during quenching. Apart from
the tension induced by these phase transformations, residual stress of the construction unit affects
the behaviour of distortion. This effect can be reduced by pre-aging or a low-stress annealing [1].
The residual stress in the construction unit is affected by forces brought in during machine
cutting, so that the machinability has influence on distortion. For good machinability, the pearlite
of the ferritic matrix should be as brittle as possible in order to reach a good surface quality and a
favourable chip shape. However, the hardenability of the case-hardening steel 20MnCr5 is so
high that in the normalized condition martensite or bainite phases can found in the structure.
Especially martensitic structures affect the machinability negatively [2]. Thats why such steel
grades are usually heat-treated before machining adjusting a ferrite pearlite structure. The
annealing process consists of the following process steps: (1) austenitisation, (2) rapid cooling to
the transformation temperature of the pearlite stage and (3) isothermal holding at this
temperature until the transformation is completed. The time necessary for a complete
transformation depends on kind and quantity of the alloying elements and on the dimension of
the semi-finished material. A high content of alloying elements will slow down the phase
transformation increasing the risk of incomplete transformation and of a unfavourable lined
arranged ferritic-pearlitic structure.
76
In steels with increased hardenability, the generation of rougher lined structure is often
inevitable. Case-hardening steels containing a high amount of alloying elements are sometimes
quenched and tempered. In this way, the machinability can be easily adjusted by the hardness.
Experimental
In the context of the Collaborative Research Center Distortion Engineering(SFB 570) three
process chains with two steel qualities were examined. On the one hand a model process chain
for the manufacturing of rings was developed using the heat treatable steel 100Cr6, on the other
hand two chains for the manufacturing of disks and of shafts respectively were generated using
the case-hardening steel 20MnCr5.
In this paper, the chain for the production of shafts is focused. On the one hand the hardenability,
on the other hand the preheating treatment condition of the semi-finished material was varied.
The hardenability of case-hardening steels can be calculated from the chemical analysis of the
melt according to Table 1. The influence of the alloying elements on the hardness of the case
hardening steel 20MnCr5 is given as a function of the end distance of a Jominy sample.
End
Distance
Factor ai of Elements
C
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Cu
0,00
1,5
60,38
2,43
3,14
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
3,0
65,02
2,35
4,15
0,00
0,00
0,00
-3,39
3,38
0,00
5,0
96,40
4,73
9,28
0,00
8,18
0,00
0,00
7,03
-194,23
7,0
117,04
7,98
13,17
0,00
13,47
16,21
0,00
10,55
-251,11
9,0
111,04
9,56
14,90
0,00
13,58
0,00
6,33
10,46
-258,53
11,0
104,87
8,37
13,81
0,00
13,97
0,00
8,45
9,19
-205,32
Table 1: Calculation of Jominy hardenability according to SEP 1664 - HRC = K(end distance) 6 ai wt%i
In evidence the hardenability is essentially affected by the content of the elements carbon,
nitrogen, manganese and chrome. However, there are partially found huge deviations between
the chemical analysis of the semi-finished material and the analysis of the melt. One reason for
these deviations are segregations which were formed during solidification.
The variation of hardenability is demonstrated in Figure 1 (left) where the Jominy curves of a
semi-finished material produced from one heat with different deformation degrees are plotted.
These curves were calculated according to the SEP 1664 using the average values of chemical
analysis of the specific semi-finished material.
The right side of Figure 1 shows the variations of the hardenability of two heats. The high stage
is in the range of the upper third of the hardenability scatter band of the standard, the low stage in
the lower third.
77
Calculated hardenability of 20MnCr5

55
diameter of 25
diameter of 73
diameter of 90
diameter of 100
hardness HRC
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
0
10
15
20
25
30
end-distance [mm]
Calculated hardenability of 20MnCr5

55
high hardenability
low hardenability
hardness HRC
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
0
10
15
20
end-distance [mm]
25
30
Figure 1: Calculated hardenability

including the
hardenability scatter band
of the standard
left side: differences in
one heat of 20MnCr5 with
different deformation
degrees
right side: the variation
high and low
hardenability
Apart from the chemical composition, phase transformations during austenitisation and
quenching are affected by the adjusted structure. The structure can be characterized among other
things through:
x
the steel type,
x
the hardenability,
x
the as-cast shape,
x
the macrostructure,
x
the grain size and its distribution,
x
the character and the distribution of the phases prior to heat treatment and
x residual stresses prior to heat treatment.

Apart from processes during solidification and hot rolling, a structure suitable for machine
cutting is achieved by an annealing treatment of the semi-finished material. Thereby a ferriticpearlitic structure is adjusted. As a variation of the pre-aged state a variant was included that was
hardened and tempered. The standard material of the SFB 570 with the high hardenability was
delivered in a normalized condition. Most investigations of the SFB 570 were done with shafts in
this prior heat treatment condition.
The annealing was accomplished in a vacuum oven at 930C 30`/ 630C 1h / oven cooling in a
charge of standing cylinders. The semi-finished material was hardened in the same way at 930C
30`/ quenching 10 bar N2 followed by a tempering at 600C 4h / 2 bar N2.
78
Afterwards the shafts were manufactured by turning the bars to a length of 200 mm and a
diameter of 20 mm.
To evaluate the accumulated distortion potential of the samples the turned cylinders were
measured on a 3D coordinate machine, hardened and measured again. The cylinders were
individual treated 15` 880C 30` / gas nozzle field 300 m/s. Individual gas quenching was chosen
instead of oil quenching because former investigations showed that the influence of a oilquenching process will cover all other effects.
In case of heat treated cylinders, the main distortion effect is a bending of the cylinders (banana
form) [3]. The bending can be described by the middle points of the best fit circles along the
axis of the cylinder. As a first approximation these middle points are laying on a circuit, Figure 2.
In case of the shafts reported in this paper, the radius of this circle was roughly 200 m. The
&
curvature itself can be described by a vector C . Consider z as the direction of the axis of the
cylinder. In that case the projection of the middle points of the roundness plots on the x-y-plane
&
form a straight line. The length of this line determines the length of the vector C and gives the
quantity of the curvature. The direction of the concave side of the curvature is given by the
&
&
direction of vector C . The change 'C due to heat treatment can be calculated by the difference
&
&
of the curvature after turning Ct and after heat treatment Ch [3]:
& &
&
(1)
'C Ch Ct
&
C
y
x
| 200 m
Figure 2: Calculation of the value and direction of the curvature
Results and discussion
Figure 3 confronts individual values of the change of curvature of shafts manufactured from
material with low hardenability in different pre-heated conditions. The direction and the amount
of the change of curvature within one heat-treatment state shows to be small. The maximal
&
standard deviation of 'C is 2m concerning the norm and 12 concerning the direction. This
deviation is within the accuracy of the used measurement method. The preferred direction of the
change of curvature could be causally determined by an observed effect in metallographic cross
sections of the hardened samples shown in Figure 4.
79
Y-coordinate [mm]
0,03
0,01
-0,01
as delivered
annealed
hardened
-0,03
-0,03
-0,01
0,01
0,03
X-coordinate [mm]
&
Figure 3: 'C of the material with low hardenability in the pre-heating conditions as delivered,
annealed and hardened and tempered
In the centre of the cross section segregations becomes visible. A square structure can be
recognized representing the as-cast shape of the continuous casted bar. Investigations show that
the orientation of the square structure does not change over the semi-finished material length
because of a torsion-free shaping of the ingots. In the longitudinal direction of the shafts (Fg. 4
right) the square structure is not visible.
However, a deviation of the curvature direction being so small was not always observed. The
reason for these differences is not understood yet and object of current investigations.
20 mm
Figure 4: Metallographic cross section and in longitudinal direction of hardened shafts,
both etched with 3% HNO3
The difference between the curvature direction of the condition as delivered and the curvature
direction of the pre-heated conditions annealed / hardened and tempered is particularly
remarkably.
The observed change of curvature is the sum of the changing during the heating to austenitisation
temperature and during quenching (equilibrium 1). For hardening, the cylinders were hardened at
880C. Therefore, it can be assumed that there were no unsolved carbides in the structure. In all
cases the quenching parameters were symmetric and equal. Thus it is to be expected that the
reason of the observed differences of the change of the shape are due to heating procedures. The
changes in dimension and shape during heating phase are caused in the releases of the distortion
80
0,04
0,03
0,02
0,01
0,00
as
annealed hardened
delivered
and
tempered
value of change of curvature [mm]
value of change of curvature [mm]
potential of the semi-finished material. Distortion potentials could be inhomogeneous chemical

composition, inhomogeneous microstructure or residual stresses.
Especially the residual stresses of the component are connected with the machining parameters
which depend on the pre-aged condition of the bars. Some interactions between metallurgical
and machining factors will be investigated in a designed experiment.
Further, it is to expect that the microstructure becomes more homogeneous because of diffusion
processes during the processes annealing and hardening and tempering. The homogeneity of
the chemical composition will be examined more exactly by WDX-measurements. In first
experiments the distribution of the most important alloying elements were measured by a new
method, called Laser-OES.
0,04
0,03
0,02
0,01
0,00
annealed
low hardenability
hardened and
tempered
high hardenability
&
Figure 5: value of 'C

left: of the material with high hardenability in the pre-heat treated conditions as delivered, annealed
and hardened and tempered
right: variations of the pre-heat treated condition of the material with high and low hardenability
The hardenability of the standard material of the SFB 570 is in the upper 1/3 of scatter band of
the 20MnCr5 standard. This material was delivered in the condition after cooling from the
rolling heat which is comparable with the normalized state. Figure 5 urgently illustrates the
strong influence of a preheating treatment on the resulting distortion both for the steels with the
high and the low hardenability. Apparently, the amount of the change of curvature can almost be
halved by accomplishing an annealing treatment. Hardening and tempering seems to cause a
further reduction of distortion. However, the differences between the annealed condition and the
hardened and tempered one are within the observed deviation.
81
Figure 6: Influence of hardenability on the shape distortion [4]
The comparison of the two stages of hardenability indicates that the resulting changes in
dimension and shape increase with decreasing hardenability, Figure 5 right side. That confirms
with results of previous investigations on case hardened steels, Figure 6 [4].
The hardenability of steels depends on the chemical composition and austenitic grain size.
Amongst others, because of segregations formed during solidification and modified by hot
rolling both the local chemical composition and the local former austenite grain boundaries are
not constant, Figure 7. It is probable that the former austenite grain size and its distribution are
modified by pre-heating treatment. This will influence the distortion potential of the semifinished material.
Figure 7: former austenite grain boundaries in the structure of the semi finished material with high
hardenability beyond and inside segregation Lines,
Summary and Conclusion
In conclusion to the presented examinations, the following points could be subsuming:

x
Distortion can be reduced by utilization of material with higher hardenability.
x
Distortion is affected by the pre-aged condition of the semi-finished material.

The observed distortion is largest with samples in the normalized condition.
The distortion is reduced by annealing.
Smallest distortion was observed at material in the hardened and tempered condition.
82
x
A dependence of the direction of the change of curvature on orientation of the shaft in the
semi-finished material is possible. The cause is not understood yet.
x
The direction seems influence able by a preheating treatment, which cannot be explained
yet.
To investigate the unexplained questions experiments at the project partner Edelstahlwerke
Sdwestfalen are planed. The aim of this experiment is the examination of the influence of
periodical procedures during the solidification of the continuous casted material. It is possible
that these procedures could explain the occurrence of preferred directions of the change of
curvature.
The influence of the distribution of the most important alloying elements on distortion will be
investigated soon.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the financial support of the project A1
metallurgical material production in Collaborative Research Center 570 Distortion Engineering and the
Edelstahlwerke Sdwestfalen GmbH for the material and their cooperation.
References
Liedke, D., Jnsson, R.: Wrmebehandlung. Expert Verlag, Renningen, 2. Auflage, 1996
Hippenstiel, F., Grimm, W., Kell, G., Jrgens, F.: ber den Einfluss von Vorwrmebehandlungen an Einsatzsthlen
auf die mechanische Bearbeitbarkeit und die Ma- und Formnderung am Beispiel des Stahles 18CrNiMo7-6.
HTM - Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen * Band 58 (2003) Heft 3, Seite 153-161
Frerichs, F., Luebben, Th., Hoffmann, F. Mayr P.: Distortion of Long Cylinders With Small Diameters Due to
Axial Symmetric Cooling. Accepted for publication in Int. Journal of Materials & Product Technology
(IJMPT) Special issue Quenching & Distortion, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bergstrm, C.M., Larsson, L.-E., Lewin, T.: Reduzierung des Verzuges beim Einsatzhrten - HTM - HrtereiTechnische Mitteilungen * Band 43 (1988) Heft 1, Seite 36-40
83
Spray Forming of Homogeneous 20MnCr5

Steel of Low Distortion Potential
Chengsong Cui1, Alwin Schulz1, Udo Fritsching1, Rainer Kohlmann2
1
SFB570 Distortion Engineering, Institute for Materials Science, University of Bremen, Badgasteiner
Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany, cscui@iwt.uni-bremen.de
2
Edelstahlwerke Sdwestfalen, GmbH, Obere Kaiserstrasse, 57078 Siegen, Germany
Abstract
Spray forming is an advanced technology for the manufacture of homogeneous material from the melt. In this study,
20MnCr5 steel, a typical case hardening steel for gear and shaft production, has been spray formed and hot worked to
semi-finished bars. Shaft-like specimens have been made from the spray-formed material for distortion investigation.
Material characteristics of the spray-formed 20MnCr5 steel have been studied. In cooperation with other projects of
the Collaborative Research Center SFB570 Distortion Engineering, evaluation of distortion behavior of the shaft
specimens after machining and heat treatment has been made in comparison with continuous cast material. Sprayformed 20MnCr5 steel shows lower distortion potential due to improved material homogeneity.
Keywords
Spray forming, distortion, 20MnCr5 steel
Introduction
Distortion, defined as a change of shape or size of a component, is one of the major problems
need to be solved in the manufacturing industry. The reasons for distortion typically are found in
every step of the manufacturing process, although it is normally recognized only after heat
treatment [Zoch, 1994], [Cook, 1999], [Hoffmann, 2004], [Clausen, 2004], [Thoben, 2004]. This
can cause severe problems, especially when a thin case hardening layer has been produced
during the heat treatment process and subsequent grinding leads to inhomogeneous thickness of
the carburized zone. Material inhomogeneity has been considered as one of the causes for
distortion due to non-uniform phase transformation and associated volume changes in heat
treatment [Gunnarson, 1991], [Cui, 2005]. Therefore, distortion potential of a component can be
reduced by using homogeneous material.
Spray forming is an advanced technology for the manufacture of homogeneous material from the
melt. In the spray forming process, a stream of molten metal is atomized by high-speed gas jets
and subsequently spray deposited on a substrate, directly forming a bulk near net shape product.
Compared with conventional processes, spray-formed materials are characterized by: 1) macrosegregation free microstructures; 2) refined, uniform, equiaxed grain structures; 3) fine, primary
phase precipitates; 4) low oxygen contents; 5) improved mechanical properties, and 6) enhanced
hot workability [Singer, 1982], [Leatham, 1993], [Grant, 1995], [Lavernia, 1996], [Lawley,
1999]. Consequently, spray forming provides a new approach for the manufacture of high quality
products of low distortion potential.
The objective of this study is to produce homogeneous 20MnCr5 steel by spray forming.
Material characteristics and distortion behavior of the spray-formed material have been
investigated in comparison with conventional cast materials.
84
Experimental
2.1
Spray forming
20MnCr5 (AISI5120), a typical case hardening steel for gear and shaft production, of which the
chemical composition is listed in Table 1, was used as the feedstock material for spray forming.
Steel
Feedstock (Continuous casting) 0.211
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
0.161
1.378
0.013
0.024
1.046
0.044
0.016
SK1-712 (Spray forming)
0.185
0.185
1.348
0.013
0.018
1.050
0.046
0.015
0.172
0.162
1.298
0.012
0.016
1.074
0.049
0.014
0.172
0.116
1.230
0.011
0.020
1.126
0.045
0.015
Table 1: Chemical composition of 20MnCr5 steel (wt.%)
The feedstock was melted at a superheat temperature of 1700 C and the molten alloy was
atomized by gas using nitrogen. To avoid too much absorption of nitrogen in the melt at high
temperature, argon was used as protective atmosphere during melting in a closed vessel. Billets
were spray-formed on a rotating steel disc at a tilting angle of 30. In order to produce a
homogeneous deposit, the cooling and solidification conditions in the center and at the periphery
of the deposit should be similar. Therefore, the heat transfer from the side surface of the deposit
to the environment should be suppressed while the heat flow directed to the substrate should be
enhanced. To modify the thermal boundary condition of a deposit during spray forming, a
thermal control system was established in the spray forming facility as illustrated in Fig.1 (left).
A preheating furnace with a maximum inside wall temperature of 700 C was mounted around
the substrate and the deposit. A gas stream was conducted to cool the base of the substrate. A
20MnCr5 billet spray-formed by means of the thermal control system is shown in Fig.1 (right).
To reveal the effect of thermal condition on the metallurgical quality of the spray-formed
material and thereafter on its distortion behavior, one of the dominating process parameters
atomizing gas pressure was adjusted from 0.2 MPa to 0.4 MPa. Accordingly the gas to metal
ratio (GMR) was changed from 1.30 to 0.64, resulting in different thermal conditions of the
spray. The main process parameters for three representative spray forming conditions (cold,
intermediate, and hot) are listed in Table 2.
5cm
Figure1: Spray forming of a billet with a thermal control system
Deposit No.
Atomizing
gas pressure
(MPa)
SK1-712
0.4
SK1-711
0.3
SK1-713
0.2
Nozzle
diameter
(mm)
Spray
distance
(mm)
400
Melting
temperature
(qC)
1700
85
GMR
Thermal
condition
1.30
Cold
0.90
Intermediate
0.64
Hot
Table 2: Spray forming parameters for 20MnCr5 deposits under different thermal conditions
2.2
Hot rolling
To eliminate the porosity in the deposits, the spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets were hot rolled at a
lab rolling mill to bars around 33 mm in diameter. Both the top and base parts of the billets were
cut away to get rid of some material with high amount of porosity (see Fig.2). The porous
surface of the billets was also removed by peeling to avoid cracking during hot rolling. For the
hot rolling procedure, the middle cylindrical parts of the billets were heated in a furnace at 12301250 C, and hot rolled in several passes to the final shape and size. The rolling temperature in
the final pass was in the temperature range of 950-920 C. The total area reduction ratio is about
9.
10cm
Figure 2: Hot rolled 20MnCr5 steel from spray-formed billets
2.3
Machining
Shaft specimens in the shape of cylinders were cut and machined from the hot rolled bars. The
dimensions of finished shafts are: diameter 20 mm, length 200 mm. Three shaft specimens,
numbered as 7XX-1/2/3 (7XX is the serial number of the billet), were obtained from each hot
rolled bar for distortion investigation. Before cutting the cylinders, a straight line was marked on
the surface of the hot rolled bars, respectively. This gives the original orientation of the shafts so
that all the subsequent bending directions of the shafts after machining and hardening can be
mapped in the same diagram and compared to each other.
2.4
Heat treatment
To separate the influence of carburization on the distortion behavior, in the first step the
machined shafts were heat treated by blank hardening. The specimens were austenitized at 880
C for 30 min in a nitrogen atmosphere. The blank hardening was carried out in a gas quenching
facility at the Institute for Materials Science, Bremen. The details about the gas quenching
process can be found elsewhere [Frerichs, 2005]. Four arrays of gas nozzles are positioned
axisymmetrically around a shaft specimen, with 12 nozzles in each array towards different height
86
of the shaft. The distance from the nozzles to the shaft surface is 20 mm. The diameter of gas
nozzles is 4 mm, and the axial distance between two neighboring nozzles is 16.5 mm. In the gas
quenching process, the gas velocity at the exit of nozzles reaches 150 m/s.
2.5
Distortion measurement
Since the change of diameter, roundness and ovality of a cylindrical 20MnCr5 specimen has
been found to be very small, the main distortion of the specimen can be evaluated by the
curvature of the cylinder [Frerichs, 2005]. The geometries of the spray-formed 20MnCr5 steel
shaft specimens after machining and after gas quenching were analyzed on a 3D-coordinate
measuring machine (Leitz PMM654). The three-dimensional coordinates of circles at the surface
of a shaft specimen were measured at 12 specific axial positions. Therefore, the diameter and the
central point of the surface circles were determined. Based on the geometrical information, the
curvature of the shaft specimen was calculated for evaluation of its distortion. The curvature of a
cylinder can be expressed by a bending vector with a certain magnitude and bending direction
[Frerichs, 2005]. Thus the distortion caused by hardening is the change of the bending vectors
before and after hardening.
2.6
Material analysis
Optical emission spectrometry (ARL, Typ34000C7B) was used to analyze the distribution of
chemical composition in the spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets. Optical microscopy (ZEISS,
Axiophot) was conducted on the spray-formed billets, hot rolled bars as well as the shaft
specimens. The etching reagent (3% Nital) was used to reveal the morphology of different
phases. Hardness distributions along the direction of the change of bending vectors and its
perpendicular direction were examined respectively on the transverse section of the as-quenched
shafts by Vickers indentation measurement.
Results and Discussion
The chemical composition was detected on discs taken from the upper region of the sprayformed billets. Representative distributions of chemical composition in the radial direction of a
billet is shown in Fig.3. It shows that the radial distributions of the main elements (C, Mn, Cr)
are very uniform in the billet. No macro-segregation has been found in the deposits, no matter
what processing condition they experienced. Since most droplets in the spray cone are partially
solidified before deposition and cool rapidly on impingement, macro-solute-redistribution that
frequently takes place in cast materials would be eliminated in the mushy zone of the deposits.
Only micro-segregation of chemical elements may occur in the rapidly solidified billets.
Figure 3: Chemical composition distributions in a spray-formed 20MnCr5 billet (SK1-711)
87
The macrostructures of the spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets under different thermal conditions are
shown in Fig.4. The different morphology of the etched surfaces reflect the different porosity
profiles of the sampled discs. It is evident that the porosity of a deposit is very sensitive to its
thermal condition. Under the cold spray condition, the etched surface is dark and shows some
kind of structure like tree rings. This indicates that the deposit was cold during spray deposition
and the depositing surface might be completely solidified and did not experience a remelting
process as the following layer deposited on. As a result, the interface between the two layers is
porous as the dark ring indicates after macro-etching. When the spray of droplets contains higher
enthalpy, the mushy zone at the top of the deposit becomes broader at higher temperature,
porosity in the deposit reduces. In the case of hot spray (SK1-713), the macro-etched disc looks
bright, i.e. the porosity has been eliminated significantly in the hot spray condition.
Figure 4: Macrostructures of spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets under different thermal conditions: (a) cold
spray; (b) intermediate spray, and (c) hot spray (disc diameter approx. 100 mm)
Figure 5 shows the microstructures of the spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets under different thermal
conditions. These billets have ferritic-pearlitic microstructures with precipitates of primary ferrite
at the equiaxed primary austenite grain boundaries. For the cold billet, the primary austenite
grains are very fine, approximately 50 Pm; for the intermediate billet, the grain
Figure 5: Microstructures of spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets (transverse section) under different thermal
conditions: (a) cold spray; (b) intermediate spray, and (c) hot spray
88
size increases to about 100 Pm; and for the hot billet, the primary austenite grains are as large as
400 Pm. This means that the primary austenite grain size in a spray-formed 20MnCr5 billet
strongly depends on the cooling and solidification condition of the deposit in spray forming.
Except the difference of grain morphology, the spray-formed billets also show different porosity
profiles for different thermal conditions. More pores have been found in the cold billet than in
the hot billet. This observation agrees with the result of macro-etching.
After hot rolling of the spray-formed billets, 20MnCr5 steel bars in diameter of about 33 mm
were obtained. Very homogenous macrostructures of the as-rolled 20MnCr5 bars are shown in
Fig.6. No center segregation has been found in the longitudinal section as that normally seen in
Figure 6: Macrostructures of as-rolled 20MnCr5 bars from spray formed billets
continuous cast material [Prinz, 2005]. Figure 7 shows the microstructures of the as-rolled
20MnCr5 bars from the spray-formed billets under different thermal conditions. These hot rolled
materials also exhibit typically ferritic-pearlitic microstructures with precipitates of primary
ferrite at the primary austenite grain boundaries, like the structures of the as-deposited materials.
The primary austenite grains in the as-rolled bar from the cold billet seems to be smaller than
those from the intermediate billet and the hot billet. Compared with the as-deposited material, the
primary austenite grain structures of the as-rolled bar from the hot billet SK1-713 are remarkably
refined. The size of primary ferrite at the austenite grain boundaries also
Figure 7: Microstructures (transverse section) of as-rolled 20MnCr5 from spray-formed billets under
different thermal conditions: (a) cold spray; (b) intermediate spray, and (c) hot spray
89
Magnitude of curvature, mm
significantly reduces for all the thermal conditions. The microstructures of the hot rolled material
are finer than the as-deposited material due to recrystallization in the hot deformation process.
0.040
0.030
0.020
0.010
0.000
SK1-712
Machining
SK1-711
Hardening
SK1-713
Deposit
Change of bending vectors
Figure 8: Distortion of shaft specimens from spray-formed 20MnCr5 steel
Magnitude of curvature, mm
0.040
Spray forming
0.030
Continuous casting
0.020
0.010
0.000
Machining
Change by hardening
Figure 9: Comparison of distortion of shaft specimens from spray-formed and continuous cast 20MnCr5
Comparison of distortion behavior of shaft specimens both from spray-formed 20MnCr5 and
continuous cast 20MnCr5 is shown in Fig.9. In the machined state the magnitude of curvature of
the spray-formed shafts is larger than that of the conventional material. However, the change of
bending vectors due to gas quenching is apparently smaller for the spray-formed shaft
specimens. The average value of the spray-formed specimens is about 10 Pm, while it is around
30 Pm for the continuous cast material. This indicates that the distortion caused by gas
quenching is influenced by material homogeneity. Spray-formed 20MnCr5 steel exhibits lower
distortion potential than conventional cast materials.
Moreover, the change of bending vectors of the spray-formed shaft specimens due to gas
quenching shows no preferred direction. As seen in Fig.10, the curvatures of the shaft specimens
from different billets are randomly distributed. This result is different from that of continuous
cast material, since a preferred bending direction has been found to correspond with segregation
of the material [Frerichs, 2005].
90
Figure 10: Changes of bending vectors of shaft specimens due to blank hardening (totally 9 shafts from
three representative spray-formed 20MnCr5 billets under different thermal conditions)
The improved distortion behavior of spray-formed material can be correlated to the material
homogeneity. The spray-formed shaft specimens after gas quenching show very homogeneous
macrostructures and microstructures, as seen in Fig.11 and Fig.12. No square or central
segregation has been shown in the transverse section of the shafts as that found in the continuous
cast specimens [Frerichs, 2005]. The as-quenched specimens from different spray-formed billets
have similar uniform microstructures, mostly bainite phases, which are also typical structures in
the conventional materials.
Figure 11: Macrostructures of shaft specimens (in diameter 20 mm) after blank hardening (from billets
under different thermal conditions: (a) cold spray; (b) intermediate spray, and (c) hot spray)
To reveal the homogeneity of phase transformation during blank hardening, hardness

distributions along the direction of the change of bending vectors and its perpendicular direction
were also examined on the transverse section of the as-quenched shafts from spray-formed
20MnCr5, respectively. The hardness distributions of three representative shaft specimens are
shown in Fig.13. It is seen that the hardness profiles along the bending direction as well as in its
perpendicular direction are uniform. A slight increase of hardness near the shaft surface is due to
faster cooling at the surface and formation of a small amount of martensite in this region. The
differences of hardness among the three specimens may derive from their different carbon
contents or different cooling rates during gas quenching. In contrary, the hardness measurement
on shaft specimens made from continuous cast 20MnCr5 shows significant fluctuation randomly
distributed along both directions. This again proves that the spray-formed shafts have
91
homogeneous microstructures and material properties, leading to uniform phase transformation

during heat treatment and resultant low distortion.
Figure 12: Microstructures of shaft specimens (transverse section) after blank hardening (from billets
under different thermal conditions: (a) cold spray; (b) intermediate spray, and (c) hot spray)
700
700
711-1
712-1
713-2
600
Hardness, HV1
Hardness, HV1
600
500
400
300
200
711-1
712-1
713-2
500
400
300
200
100
100
0
-10 -8
-6
-4
-2
Radius, mm
(a)
10
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2
8 10
Radius, mm
(b)
Figure 13: Hardness distributions along (a) the direction of the change of bending vectors and (b) its
perpendicular direction on the transverse section of the as-quenched shafts from spray-formed
20MnCr5
Conclusions
1) Spray formed 20MnCr5 billets exhibit macro-segregation free structures, although the
porosity profile and grain structure of the billets are influenced by thermal condition. The hot
rolled bars from the spray-formed billets also show highly homogeneous metallurgical quality.
There is only limited influence of the spray conditions visible in the bars.
2) The machining process plays a role on the curvature of the spray-formed 20MnCr5 shaft
specimens. Gas quenching causes small amount of further distortion on the specimens.
Compared with continuous cast material, the spray-formed specimens show lower magnitude of
curvature and no preferred bending direction after gas quenching. Spray-formed 20MnCr5 steel
exhibits lower distortion potential than the conventional material due to improved metallurgical
homogeneity.
92
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully achnowledge the financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (German
Research Foundation ) within the collaborative research center Distortion Engineering (SFB570/A2) at the
University of Bremen. We also would like to thank Dipl. Ing. C. Prinz (SFB570/A1), Dipl. Ing. L. Nowag
(SFB570/A4), Dipl. Ing. H. Surm (SFB570/A5) and Dr. rer. nat. F. Frerichs (SFB570/A6) for their cooperation of
machining and heat treatment of the spray-formed shafts specimens as well as beneficial discussion.
References
Clausen, B.; Lbben, Th.; Frerichs, F.; Klein, D.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Prinz, C.; Surm, H.:
Prozesskettenbergreifende Analyse der Verzugsentstehung am Beispiel von Wlzlagerringen. Hrterei-Tech.
Mitt., Vol 59, No 1, 2004, p.35-44.
Cook, W. T.: A Review of Selected Steel-related Factors Controlling Distortion in Heat-treatable Steels. Heat
Treatment of Metals, No 2, 1999, p. 27-36.
Cui, C.; Fritsching, U.; Schulz A.; Bauckhage K.; Mayr, P.: Spray Formed Bearing Steel Insensitive to Distortion,
Part 2: Distortion Behaviour. Journal of Materials Science, Vol 40, 2005, p.1673-1680.
Frerichs, F.; Luebben, Th.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Distortion of Long Cylinders with Small Diameters due to
Axial Symmetric Cooling. Int. Journal of Materials & Product Technology, 2005 (in print).
Grant, P. S.: Spray Forming. Prog. Mater. Sci., Vol 39, No 4-5,1995, p.497-545.
Gunnarson, S.: Einflu der Strangguform auf den Verzug eines einsatzgehrteten Tellerrades aus Stahl. HrtereiTech. Mitt., Vol 46, No 4, 1991, p. 216-220.
Hoffmann, F.; Kessler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering" - Distortion Control during the
Production Process. Heat Treatment of Metals, No.2, 2004, p. 27 - 30.
Lavernia, E.J.; Wu, Y.: Spray Atomization and Deposition, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester (UK), 1996.
Lawley, A.; Leatham, G.: Spray Forming Commercial Products: Principles and Practice. Material Science Forum,
Vol 299-300, 1999, p.407-415.
Leatham, G.; Lawley A.: The Osprey Process: Principles and Applications. Inter. J. Powder Metall., Vol 29, No 4,
1993, p.321-329.
Prinz, C.; Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.; Kohlmann, R.; Zoch, H-W.; Mayr, P.: Metallurgical influence on distortion of
the case hardening steel 20MnCr5. submitted to the 1st International Conference on Distortion Engineering,
Bremen, Germany, 14-16 September 2005.
Singer, A.R.E.: The Challenge of Spray Forming. Powder Metall, Vol 25, No 4, 1982, p.195-200.
Thoben, K.-D.; Klein, D.; Lbben, T.; Clausen, B.; Prinz, C.; Schulz, A.; Rentsch, R.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.;
Surm, H.; Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering": A System-Oriented View on the
Distortion of Component-Parts. Heat Treatment of Metals China, Vol 29, No 11, 2004, p.43-50.
Zoch, H. W.; Lbben, TH.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Verzug und Stranggu-Einflu des Gieformats beim
Fixturhrten von Wlzlagerstahlringen. Hrterei-Tech. Mitt., Vol 49, No 4, 1994, p.245-253.
4. Metrology of distortion related processes
93
94
95
Wet-state Ultrasonic Measurements of

Cylindrical Workpieces during Immersion
Cooling
Dirk Stoebener, Gert Goch
University of Bremen, Faculty of Production Engineering, Department of Measurement and Control,
Badgasteiner Str. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany, d.stoebener@msr.uni-bremen.de, gg@biba.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
An ultrasound system was developed for recording the temporally and spatially resolved wetting behaviour of
workpieces immersed in oil as quenching medium. The system is based on the measurement of the echo amplitude,
reflected from the vapour blanket, the workpiece itself or the vapour bubbles, which occur in the nucleate boiling
stage. An optically transparent oil was chosen for the experiments, so that the quenching process could be recorded
with a standard CCD-camera in order to create reference data. The comparison of the duration of the vapour blanket
stage calculated from the ultrasonic and the reference data shows a good agreement with respect to the measurement
uncertainty. Therefore, the ultrasonic system is applicable in liquid quenching media.
Keywords
wetting behaviour, ultrasound, quenching
Introduction
The industrial development requires decreasing tolerances for the dimensional accuracy of
heavily loaded metal parts. Each step of the entire production process induces different distortion
potentials in the workpiece. These potentials lead to distortion of the workpiece during the
finishing heat treatment process. Hence, a follow-up treatment (i.e. grinding) is often necessary
to reach the tolerance range of the workpiece.
Due to the high costs of the follow-up manufacturing step, an intense industrial interest exists in
solutions, which help to understand and control the effects of distortion. The collaborative
research centre (SFB) 570 of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) investigates each single step of the production chain in order to
understand their interaction and their contributions to distortion effects for representative
workpieces [Thoben, 2002, 2004], [Hoffmann, 2003], [Clausen, 2004], [Dijkman, 2004].
The heat treatment process usually ends with a quenching step in liquids or gases in order to
achieve the desired hardness of the material. During quenching in liquids, three stages of heat
removal depending on the geometry of the workpiece and on the quenching process parameters
occur (see Figure 1). Due to the Leidenfrost effect, the liquid quenchant is vaporised at the
immersion beginning and a stable film of vapour is formed around the workpiece, keeping the
surface dry (film boiling or vapour blanket stage). Subsequently, the gas film collapses and
nucleate boiling occurs at each surface point, which has cooled down below the Leidenfrost
temperature. At this time, the local workpiece surface is wet by the quenching liquid. The
nucleate boiling stage is followed by the convective heat transfer stage [Funatani, 1996], [Tensi,
1991, 1996, 2000]. All three stages can co-exist on different workpiece surface areas at the same
time.
The temporal course of the local distribution of these three cooling stages (wetting behaviour of
the workpiece) mainly determines the heat transfer from the workpiece into the fluid. The heat
96
I) vapour
blanket
stage
workpiece
a)
M_04STD04eC
transfer coefficients are crucial parameters for the distortion of the whole part. Therefore, the
measurement of the temporally and spatially resolved wetting behaviour of the workpiece is
essential for a distortion controlled quenching.
temperature T in C
I)
Tvb
II) nucleate
boiling stage
III) convective
heat transfer
stage
b)
II)
III)
t vb
time t in s
Figure 1: a) Different cooling stages on a workpiece surface (increasing workpiece surface temperature
from bottom to top); b) Temporal course of the surface temperature during quenching
A measurement technique for the wetting behaviour should be independently useable in different
quenching fluids to cover a broad field of quenching applications. As the process times range
from values below 10 seconds up to hundreds of seconds, the technique should provide a
temporal resolution of better than 1 second.
The measurement of the wetting behaviour with optically based systems (i.e. cameras) often
fails, because the most quenching oils show a strong light absorbing behaviour, which allows
only small optical path lengths. Lainer and Tensi [Lainer, 1996] describe a quantitative laser
shadow technique, which was successfully applied to immersion cooling in aqueous polymer
solutions to investigate the vapour film thickness. A laser light band is perpendicularly directed
to the surface of a submerged cylindrical workpiece. In the liquid around the vapour film, a
thermal boundary layer exists, where high temperature gradients and thus high index of
refraction gradients can be found. Due to these gradients the laser light is deflected away from
the workpiece. A camera, positioned behind the workpiece, registers the width of the shadow
produced by the workpiece and resulting from the deflection of the laser light band. The shadow
width is then converted into the vapour film thickness.
Another published method to investigate the wetting behaviour in liquids is the measurement of
the electrical conductance between the workpiece and a counter electrode placed in the liquid
[Tensi, 1987, 1989, 1995]. During the vapour blanket stage, the conductance between workpiece
and counter electrode is low because of the high electrical resistance of the vapour surrounding
the workpiece. When the surface of the workpiece is partially wetted by the liquid, the resistance
decreases according to the portion of the wetted surface. The conductance reaches its maximum
when the entire surface is wetted. This method can be used in every conducting quenching
liquid. It ascertains the integral portion of the wetted surface but doesnt provide any information
about the local distribution of the wetted area.
2
2.1
Theory and experimental setup

Ultrasonic measurement of wetting behaviour: principle of operation
The ultrasound system to be described is based on the pulse-echo technique. A transducer sends
ultrasound signals towards the workpiece and captures the reflected sound signals. It is
positioned perpendicular to the workpiece, so that the sound wave front lies almost parallel to the
workpiece surface. In the vapour blanket stage, the interface between liquid and vapour reflects
the major part of the sound wave back to the transducer (see Figure 2). The only difference in the
convection cooling stage is the reflection of the sound wave by the interface between liquid and
workpiece. In both cases the amplitude of the reflected signal is high. At the beginning of the
nucleate boiling stage a lot of bubbles are generated at the workpiece surface. They scatter the
97
ultrasound signal in almost all directions due to their small radii (see Figure 3). Thus, only a
small portion of the sound signal is reflected back towards the transducer and the amplitude of
the captured signal is low.
vapor blanket
vapor blanket
bubbles
transducer
M04_STD07eB
workpiece
workpiece
transducer
M04_STD08eB
Figure 2: Sound reflection from the vapour blanket Figure 3: Sound reflection during nucleate boiling
Hence, the transition from the vapour blanket stage to the nucleate boiling stage is detectable by
an abrupt amplitude decay of the reflected sound signal [Stbener, 2004].
2.2
Experimental setup
The ultrasound system consists of a signal generator, a fast electronic switch, a transducer, an
amplifier and a computer to capture the electronic signals from the generator and the transducer
(see Figure 4). The components are synchronised by an electronic clocking device, which is not
shown in the figure. The signal generator sends a burst of 20 sine wave periods to the switch,
which directs the burst to the transducer. The transducer converts the electronic signal into a
sound wave. It also converts the reflected sound wave back into an electronic signal, which is
directed by the switch via the amplifier to the computer. The measurement area covers 2-3 mm
in diameter on the workpiece surface.
furnace
leverage
transducer
oil basin
M_03STD015eB
Figure 4: Schematic view of the ultrasound system
oil basin
M_04STD16eA
PC
workpiece
amplifier
vision panel
signalgenerator
switch
workpiece
vapor
blanket
Figure 5: Schematic view of the furnace

with leverage and workpiece (side view).
The experiments were carried out with the ultrasonic system positioned in a mount in a basin
filled with optically transparent oil (quenching oil W72D, vendor: petrofer). A tube furnace
above the basin heats cylindrical workpieces (steel 20MnCr5, length 200 mm, diameter 20 mm)
to a temperature of 880 C. The workpiece is attached to a leverage which is used to keep the
workpiece in a stable position during heating and to move it from the furnace into the basin (see
Figure 5). An immersion heater warms the oil up to the operating temperature of 60 C.
The basin is equipped with two vision panels in the basin walls. They serve to illuminate and to
observe the quenching process (see Figure 6). For an easy attachment of the workpiece to the
98
leverage, the furnace is mounted on a movable base frame. Figure 7 shows the leverage with a
workpiece attached in front of one vision panel (furnace moved adjacent to the basin).
Figure 6: Experimental setup
Figure 7: Photograph of a workpiece in

front of the oil basin
a)
camera
plexiglas
case
M_04STD06eA
workpiece
oil basin
camera
Additionally to the ultrasound system a standard CCD-camera (frame rate: 25 frames/sec) is used
to record the wetting process of the workpiece. The camera is mounted in a plexiglas case, which
is placed in the quenching liquid next to the workpiece (see Figure 8a). This arrangement ensures
small optical path lengths in the quenching oil with only minor light absorption. Therefore, the
recorded movies show a sufficient contrast to distinguish between the vapour blanket stage and
the nucleate boiling stage. The movies are synchronised with the ultrasonic measurements by the
clocking device, which is used in the ultrasound system. The measurement area of the camera
includes the measurement zone of the ultrasound transducer (see Figure 8b). Hence, the movies
serve as a reference for the results of the ultrasonic measurements.
workpiece
mirror
plexiglas case
transducer
b)
oil basin
Figure 8: Camera arrangement in the oil basin. a) side view; b) top view
99
Results and analysis
In a first set of experiments 14 workpieces have been quenched. The recorded movies as well as
the ultrasound data were analysed and compared for each workpiece.
3.1
Reference data
Each movie was manually analysed with respect to the duration of the vapour blanket stage (tvb).
Figure 9 shows some frames extracted from a movie recorded with the CCD-camera. In
Figure 9a) an intact vapour blanket can be observed. The figures b) to e) show the propagation of
the wetted surface area beginning in the middle of the left side of the workpiece (in Figure 9b
marked with an arrow). In Figure 9e) the measurement zone of the transducer is wetted.
Figure 9f) shows the completely wetted workpiece.
Figure 9: Frames of a wetting process recorded with the CCD-camera at different times.
a) stable vapour blanket stage on the entire workpiece surface; b) wetting occurs in the marked region;
c) wetted zone expands; d) wetted zone reaches boundary of measurement zone;
e) measurement zone is wetted; f) entire workpiece is wetted
The frame with the beginning of the immersion and the frame showing wetting (end of vapour
blanket stage) in front of the transducer are identified for each movie. Due to the known frame
rate of the camera and the number of frames between the beginning and the end of the vapour
blanket stage, the duration of the stage tvb can be ascertained. The uncertainty of the
determination of the end of the vapour blanket stage is about 8 frames which corresponds to a
time of 0.32 s. The resulting times tvb are listed in Table 1 in section 4.
The movies are also used to evaluate the influence of the ultrasound waves on the vapour
blanket. If the ultrasound energy is high enough, the sound waves could be able to destroy the
vapour blanket in the measurement zone, which would render the measurements useless.
Most of the movies show no indication for a premature collapse of the vapour blanket by the
ultrasonic wave, as the wetting starts far away from the measurement zone. Only few movies
show that the workpiece is wetted first in or near to the measurement zone, but it is not clear if
the wetting is induced by ultrasound or by other effects (i.e. local surface temperature, flow
conditions of the quenching liquid around the workpiece, surface contamination).
100
3.2
Processing of echo signals
Each single ultrasonic measurement lasts around 30 s and consists of almost 1400 voltage
values, sampled by the computer with a sampling frequency of 50 MHz. Figure 10 presents a
measured signal during the vapour blanket stage. The left part of the figure shows the signal
created by the waveform generator: 20 periods of a 5 MHz sine wave. The echo reflected by the
vapour blanket can be identified between 19 s and 23 s sampling time. The signal of the
waveform generator is recorded to check the functionality of the system. It is not used for the
determination of the cooling stage. Figure 11 presents a signal sampled in the nucleate boiling
stage. The signal from the generator has the same size and shape as that in Figure 10, but the
echo is hardly observable due to the strong scattering of the sound wave by the vapour bubbles in
front of the workpiece surface. The signals were measured with a repetition frequency of around
10 Hz during the entire quenching process.
80
60
echo reflected from
vapor blanket
40
20
0
-20 0
10
15
20
25
30
-40
-60
-80
-100
signal from generator
M_05STD11eA
sampling time in s
Figure 10: Signal during vapour blanket stage
amplitude in a. u.
100
80
amplitude in a. u.
100
60
40
almost no reflection due

to nucleate boiling
20
0
-20 0
10
15
20
25
30
-40
-60
-80
-100
signal from generator
M_05STD12eA
sampling time in s
Figure 11: Signal during nucleate boiling stage
As described above, an abrupt amplitude decay is a measure for the transition from the vapour
blanket stage to the nucleate boiling stage. Therefore, the amplitude of the sound echos is
calculated by a Fast-Fourier-Transformation-algorithm for each sampled signal.
3.3
Amplitude data analysis
The amplitudes of a complete quenching process are shown in Figure 12. First, no amplitude is
measured, because the workpiece was immersed into the quenchant after the start of the
measurement. After measurement no. 80 the workpiece reached a stable position in the oil basin
and echos reflected from the vapour blanket are measured. The amplitude decreases after
measurement no. 200 to low values. This decay indicates the transition from the vapour blanket
stage to the nucleate boiling stage. After a minimal amplitude is reached, the amplitudes increase
slowly due to the decreasing number of bubbles in front of the workpiece surface.
M_05STD01eA
amplitude in a. u.
workpiece immersed
threshold
ultrasound measurement no.
Figure 12: Calculated amplitudes of one quenching process with threshold.
101
The amplitudes in Figure 12 show a noisy variation additional to the changes due to the different
cooling stages. This noise complicates the detection of the abrupt amplitude decay. Therefore,
the amplitudes are converted into binary data. Every amplitude above a certain threshold is set
to 1 while all other amplitudes are set to 0. The threshold is the average value of the entire set of
calculated amplitudes (see Figure 12). The determination of the threshold is essential for the
analysis of the amplitude data. Different evaluation methods were tested and the described
threshold method attained the best results compared to the reference data from the camera.
The converted binary data are shown in Figure 13. Between measurement no. 80 and no. 200 a
high frequency of transitions between 1 and 0 is observable. From measurement no. 215 to
no. 260 the values are all 0. To determine the end of the vapour blanket stage, the binary data
were processed with digital filters, which are similar to filters used in digital image processing.
M_05STD02eA
1,2
binary data
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
0
100
200
300
400
500
Figure 13: Binary data calculated with the threshold shown in Figure 12.
These filters leave the position of the edge in the binary data around measurement no. 215, which
represents the change in the cooling stage, unaffected. The resulting data set is presented in
Figure 14. The duration of the vapour blanket stage is determined from this data set by
converting the number of measured points into time data. This conversion is executed by means
of the synchronisation signal (see above), which is recorded and saved for each measurement.
The times tvb obtained for each quenching process are listed in Table 1.
M_05STD03eA
filtered binary data
t vb
transition from vapour
blanket stage to
nucleate boiling stage
Figure 14: Binary data (see Figure 13) after digital filtering indicate the transition between vapour blanket
stage and nucleate boiling stage (tvb: duration of vapour blanket stage)
Discussion and conclusions
Table 1 shows the times tvb determined with the ultrasound system and with the manually
analysed camera data. Besides the times tvb also the differences t of both values are presented.
102
Nr. US: tvb in s C: tvb in s t in s
Nr. US: tvb in s C: tvb in s
10,0
10,0
0,0
6,5
5,8
t in s
0,7
10,6
10,0
0,6
10,6
10,6
0,0
10,2
10,4
-0,2
10
10,0
9,6
0,4
10,0
10,6
-0,6
11
11,3
11,5
-0,2
9,8
9,4
0,4
12
8,5
7,7
0,8
9,6
9,6
0,0
13
6,3
6,7
-0,4
6,5
6,7
-0,2
14
11,3
11,0
0,3
Table 1: Duration of the vapour blanket stages tvb determined with ultrasound (US) and camera (C) system
and differences t between both measurement systems
The average of the differences is 0.10 seconds with a standard deviation of 0.43 seconds. Hence,
the requirements for a reliable measurement technique stated in chapter 1 are fulfilled. The
ultrasound system is suitable for the examination of the wetting behaviour in liquid quenchants.
As the propagation of ultrasound is hardly influenced by the quenching liquid, it can be assumed,
that the system is also useable in non-transparent quenching oils and water.
Further developments aim at the application of multiple transducers in a sensor array. With this
arrangement, the spatial distribution of the wetted surface area shall be determined. Additionally,
the digital filtering algorithm will be enhanced to minimize the difference between ultrasound
and reference data. Further investigations regarding the influence of the ultrasound wave on the
stability and the duration of the vapour blanket will be carried out.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the DFG within the collaborative research centre SFB 570
distortion engineering at the university of Bremen.
References
Clausen, B.; Lbben, Th.; Frerichs, F.; Klein, D.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Prinz, C.; Surm, H.:
Prozesskettenbergreifende Analyse der Verzugsentstehung am Beispiel von Wlzlagerringen. HTM, Vol. 59,
2004, pp. 35-44.
Dijkman, M.; Rethmann, T.; Ament, C.; Goch, G.: Control Strategies Compensating Geometric Distortion of Parts
in a Production Process Chain. In: Sawodny, O.; Scharff, P. (Hrsg.): Proc. 49. Internationales
Wissenschaftliches Kolloquium: "Synergies between Information Processing and Automation" (Volume 1),
Ilmenau, Germany, Sept. 2004, Shaker Verlag, Aachen, 2004. ISBN 3-8322-2824-1
Funatani, K.; Totten, G. E.: Overview of Prof. Imao Tamuras Contributions to the Field of Heat Treating. In:
Totten, E.; Howes, M. A. H.; Sjstrom, S.; Funatani, K.: (eds.): Proceedings of the 2nd international
Conference on Quenching and the Control of Distorion. Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 1996, pp. 3-15.
Hoffmann, F.; Kessler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering - Distortion Control during the
Production Process. In: Proc. 4th International Conference on Quenching and the Control of Distortion.
Beijing, China, Mai 2003.
Lainer, K.; Tensi, H. M.: Determination of vapor film thickness during immersion cooling in aqueous polymer
solutions. In: Totten, E.; Howes, M. A. H.; Sjstrom, S.; Funatani, K.: (eds.): Proceedings of the 2nd
international Conference on Quenching and the Control of Distorion. Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 1996, pp. 75-82.
Stbener, D.; Frerichs, F.; Bge, M.; Dnzelmann, J.; Zoch, H.-W.; Goch, G.: Erfassung des Benetzungszustands
von zylindrischen Bauteilen mittels Ultraschallsensor. In: Tagungsband des XVIII. Messtechnischen
Symposium des Arbeitskreises der Hochschullehrer fr Messtechnik e.V. Freiburg, Okt. 2004, pp. 104-114.
Tensi, H. M.; Knzel. Th.; Stitzelberger-Jakob, P.: Benetzungskinetik als wichtige Kenngre fr die Hrtung beim
Tauchkhlen.. HTM, Vol. 42, 1987, pp. 125-132.
Tensi, H. M.; Stitzelberger-Jakob, P.: Evaluation of apparatus for assessing effect of forced convection on
quenching characteristics. Materials Science and Technology, Vol. 5, 1989, pp. 718-724.
Tensi, H. M.: Wetting kinematics. In: Liscic, B.; Tensi, H. M.; Luty, W. (eds.): Theory and Technology of
Quenching. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1991, 484 pages.
103
Tensi, H. M.; Stich, A.; Spies, H.-J.; Spengler, A.: Grundlagen des Abschreckens durch Tauchkhlen. HTM, Vol.
50, 1995, pp. 254-258.
Tensi, H. M., Totten, G. E.: Development of the Understanding of the Influence of Wetting Behavior on Quenching
and the Merits in these Developments of Prof. Imao Tamura. In: Totten, E.; Howes, M. A. H.; Sjstrom, S.;
Funatani, K.: (eds.): Proceedings of the 2nd international Conference on Quenching and the Control of
Distorion. Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 1996, pp. 17-27.
Tensi, H. M.; Totten, G. E.; Kunzel, T.: Physics and Technology of Quenching in Fluids Part I: Physics of
Quenching. In: Funatani, K.; Totten, G. E. (eds.): Heat Treating, Proceedings of the 20th Conference
Volume 2, St. Louis, Missouri, Oct. 2000, pp. 727-730.
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering: Eine systemorientierte Betrachtung des
Bauteilverzugs. HTM, Vol. 57, 2002, pp. 276-282.
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering: A System-Oriented View on the
Distortion of Component-Parts. Heat Treatment of Metals, China , Vol. 11, 2004, pp. 43-50.
104
105
Visualisation and experimental determination of

local heat transfer coefficients in high pressure
gas quenching cells
Volker Heuer1, Klaus Lser2,
1
ALD Vac. Tech. GmbH,Wilhelm-Rohn-Strasse 35, 63450 Hanau, Germany, dr.volker.heuer@ald-vt.de
ALD Vac. Tech. GmbH,Wilhelm-Rohn-Strasse 35, 63450 Hanau, Germany, dr.klaus.loeser@ald-vt.de
Abstract
A new experimental technique for the determination of heat transfer coefficients during high- pressure gas-quenching
was applied for the examination of different heat treatment batches.
This technique uses the analogy between heat- and mass-transfer. It is used for the visualisation of local heat transfer
coefficients of gas-quenched parts. The technique offers the possibility for qualitative and quantitative determination
of local heat transfer coefficients. The visualisation uses a chemical reaction with a change of colour on the surface of
the parts.
The local heat transfer coefficients from several heat treatment batches consisting of gear wheels, synchron rings and
gear-shafts were determined. Results from batches with hanging gear-wheels and lying gear-wheels are presented.
Differences in the local heat transfer coefficients on one single part and in the whole batch could be detected by using
the visualisation technique.
This offers new opportunities for a further improvement of the gas-quenching technology. The experimentally
determined heat transfer coefficients can be used as input-parameters for numerical simulations of heat treatment
processes.
Keywords
heat transfer coefficient, experimental determination, gas-quenching, automotive components, furnace technology
Introduction
Vacuum-heat-treatment in combination with high-pressure-gas-quenching has been established

into industrial practice over the past few years. Typical vacuum-heat-treat-processes are vacuum
hardening, vacuum carburising, or plasma carburising. The main advantages of gas-quenching
compared to conventional oil- or salt-quenching are [Schmidt, 1999]:
x clean surfaces of the parts after heat-treatment, no washing of the parts needed
x integration of heat-treatment into the production-line
x heat-treat distortions can be reduced for many applications
x no surface-oxidation.
The most important physical parameter for gas-quenching is the heat transfer coefficient D. The
heat-flux-density q is given as:
(1)
q
D Tsurface Tgas ,
[D] = W/(m2K) and [T] = C
where Tsurface is the temperature on the surface of the part and Tgas is the temperature of the gas.
106
Depending on the height and the local distribution of the Dvalue on the surface of the parts,
different results in terms of hardness, microstructure and distortion will be achieved after
quenching. Therefore, a method is needed to determine the local distribution of D around a single
part and the local distribution of D in the heat-treatment-batch, for a
x further improvement of gas-quenching-cells, heat-treat-fixtures and batch-design

x quantitative determination of D as input-parameter for numerical simulations of heattreatment-processes.
State of knowledge
The current favourite method for the determination of D-values is the use of thermocouples. The
thermocouples are placed inside the parts and the cooling curves inside the parts and the gas
temperatures during quenching are measured. However the D-values can be measured only at
certain locations on the parts with this method. Additionally these D-values represent only an
average D-value that derives from the different faces of the parts. In most cases the local
distribution of the D-values cannot be determined by using thermocouples.
Another possibility for the determination of D-values is the use of computational fluid dynamics
(cfd). However this can be problematic since
x the boundary conditions are often unknown

x the computational effort for the simulation of complex 3D-batches can be huge
x many times a validation of the simulation results is not done.
3
3.1
Experimental procedure of the new visualisation technique

Test apparatus
The tests were performed in a 1:1 aerodynamic model of the quenching cell of the current ALDfurnace-system ModulTherm. Figure 1 shows schematically the gas flow pattern in this
quenching cell. The cells are equipped with 2 external fans and 2 heat exchangers, one placed
above and the other one placed below the batch.
Figure 1: Gas quenching cell (part of the modular furnace system ModulTherm from ALD)
A picture of the 1:1 aerodynamic model is shown in Figure 2. The model is equipped with
original fan-wheels and with original heat-exchanger tubes.
107
Figure 2: The 1:1 aerodynamic model of the ModulTherm quenching cell
3.2
Visualisation technique
The visualisation technique is based on earlier works of Kottke et al. [Kottke, 1978,
1977A,1977B] and was further developed by ALD for the special needs of gas-quenching
technology. The D-visualisation technique uses the analogy between convective mass transfer
and convective heat transfer [Khne, 1991].
Before the start of a visualisation trial, the parts are covered with a special gel (MnCl2 + H2O2).
After preparing the batch, the gas-circulators are switched on and the gas circulates through the
model. The trials are performed at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. After reaching
stable flow conditions, a small dose of ammoniak (NH3) is injected into the gas-stream. The
ammoniak is injected through a nozzle-system directly under the batch. Therefore the ammoniak
is homogenously distributed in the gas-stream before the ammoniak hits the top layer of the
batch. The colour of the gel is changed by a chemical reaction between the gel and the NH3, see
Fig. 3. The change of the colour of the gel indicates the intensity of the mass-transfer.
Reaction:
NH3 + H20
2NH4 OH + MnCl2
NH4OH
NH4 + OH
2NH4Cl + Mn(OH)2
O2
H2 02
MnO2
(brown colour )
Fig. 3: Chemical reaction of the DVisual-Technique
For quantitative determination, the samples are covered with a special paper. The change of the
brightness of the paper can be evaluated by optical data processing (using a scanner and a special
software). Then solving local balances allows the determination of local mass transfer
coefficients. And the local heat transfer coefficients can be determined by using the analogy of
heat and mass transfer. Fig. 4 shows an example for the application of the paper-technique.
It is not necessary to perform the trials with a hot batch, since it was shown in many studies (for
example in [Thuvander, 1999]) that D does not vary significantly with the temperature of the
parts. And it is not necessary to perform the trials at full quenching pressure either. The gas
velocities in the quenching chamber do not change with the pressure and the flow patterns are
always fully turbulent, even at atmospheric pressure. That is why there is no significant
difference in flow patterns between atmospheric pressure and full quenching pressure.
108
The Dvalues, which are measured at atmospheric pressure can be easily used to determine the
Dvalues at higher pressures [for example in: Lohrmann, 1996]
(2)
k v 0, 7 U 0,7 d 0,3 K 0,39 c 0p,31 O0,69
with k = constant, v = gas velocity, U = gas density, d = diameter of the part, K = dynam.
viscosity, cp = spec. heat capacity of the gas and O = thermal conductivity of the gas.
Tip of tooth
Gear root
Fig. 4: Visualisation by using the paper-technique; VOLVO gear wheel from the bottom layer of the batch
The most effective way of applying Dvisualisation is to use first the gel technique to get an
overview about the global distribution of D and to identify the most interesting faces of the
specimen. After this, the paper technique should be used to get quantitative data.
3.3
Validation and calibration
The homogeneity of the ammoniak-distribution in the gas-stream was checked in a pre-trial. 11

discs with a diameter of 25mm were evenly distributed on the top layer of an empty batch and
examined with the paper-technique. The variation of brightness-values of the discs correlated
directly to the gas-velocities in the top layer of the empty batch. This proofed the homogeneity of
the ammoniak-concentration in the gas-stream.
After verifying the ammoniak-distribution, the reproducibility of the paper technique was
checked by the authors on a batch of gear wheels [Heuer, 2004]. This batch, consisting of 4
layers of VOLVO gear wheels, was analysed two times. The set-up of the batch is shown in Fig.
4. For each part of the batch, the D-values of characteristic positions of the part such as tip of
the tooth or gear root were determined. Comparing the values of these two trials, an average
deviation of the brightness of 2,5 % and a maximum deviation of 6,5% was detected.
A calibration-curve between the relative brightness-values (determined by using the papertechnique) and the heat transfer coefficient D was derived by the authors and is described in
detail in [Heuer, 2004]. For quenching with nitrogen at 1 bar and 1500 r.p.m. the curve is
described by
(3)
199,1 b 2 439,74 b 240,64
with D = heat transfer coefficient and b = relative brightness.
109
To get the D-values for higher gas-pressures, higher gas velocities and other gases (such as
Helium for example), the values from equation 3 have to be used as input data for equation 2.
4
4.1
Results
Results on gear wheels (parts lying)
The distribution of D-values in a batch consisting of 4 layers of lying Volvo gear wheels (outer
diameter OD=196mm) was determined. Fig. 5 shows the results on the teeth of one wheel from
the middle of the top layer and one wheel from the corner of the bottom layer. First the D-values
for 1 bar N2 were determined from the brightness of the paper-strips and then the values for 18
bar He were derived by using equation (2). The D-values were determined for characteristic
positions on the part like tip of tooth, gear root etc. The wheels have an angular gearing. The
flank which is hit by the gas stream directly will be called front flank in the following while
the flank which lies in the wake of the stream will be called wake flank. For the determination
of each D-value at least 2 neighbouring teeth are examined and each trial is repeated at least 2
times. Then the average value for each characteristic position is calculated. Comparing the Dvalues it is obvious that
x the differences between the various positions on one wheel are much bigger than the
differences from layer to layer on identical faces.
x D-values are slightly reduced from the top layer down to the bottom layer (parts in the top
layer are hit directly by the gas-flow, while the other layers lie in the wake of the flow).
x there is a very low D-value between the teeth (gear root).
x the tip of the tooth has a very high D-value.
x for the upper part of the teeth the front flank has a higher D-value than the wake flank.
1200
alpha / W/(m2K)
1000
800
600
400
Top layer
Bottom layer
200
0
Tip of tooth
Front flank
Wake Flank
Gear root
Fig. 5: D-values on lying VOLVO gear wheels (for 18 bar He and 3000 rpm)
Similar characteristic results were observed for other wheels with helical gearing as well. All
wheels showed slightly smaller D-values in the bottom layer compared to the top layer and the
values on the tip of the tooth were much higher than the values on the gear root.
110
4.2
Results on gear wheels (parts hanging)
A batch consisting of hanging RENAULT-wheels (OD=63mm) was examined as well.
= Tip of tooth (TT)
Gear wheel top layer;

middle:
Gear wheel middle layer;

middle:
Gear wheel, bottom layer;

front, right corner:
12:00h-position
12:00h-position
12:00h-position
15:00h-position
15:00h-position
15:00h-position
18:00h-position
18:00h-position
18:00h-position
Fig. 6: D-visualisation applied for a batch of hanging RENAULT gear-wheels
Three hanging wheels were examined. For each wheel, the paper was attached to the top of the
wheel (teeth at 12:00h-position), to the right side of the wheel (15:00-position) and to the bottom
of the wheel (18:00h-position). Fig. 6 shows the paper-strips after the trial. There is a tendency
that the D-values decrease from the top layer down to the bottom layer and in most cases the Dvalues decrease from 12:00h to 15:00h and to 18:00h.
4.3
Results on gear shafts
A batch consisting of 104 RENAULT gear-shafts (h=280mm ; OD=60mm) is shown in Fig. 7.

Gas- flow direction
Fig. 7: Batch with RENAULT-shafts; the white shaft in the 2nd row from the front is examined
111
Top shaft; D = 1070 W/(m2K)
Shaft2; D = 947 W/(m2K)

Shaft3; D = 923 W/(m2K)
Tooth root;
Front flank;
D = 504 W/(m2K)
D = 898 W/(m2K)
Tip of tooth; D = 886 W/(m2K)
Wake flank;
D = 738 W/(m2K)
Fig. 8: D-values of a RENAULT-shaft from the 2nd row (values for 18bar N2 and 3000 rpm)
The D-distribution on the surface of the teeth of the shafts shows similarities to the distribution
on gear wheels:
x a very low D-value between the teeth (tooth root)

x the tip of the tooth has a very high D-value
x for the upper part of the teeth: the front flank has a higher D-value than wake flank
The areas of the shaft without teeth were examined as well. The distribution of D-values around
the diameter in these areas is very homogenous. Furthermore no significant differences between
the shafts from the front row and the shafts inside the batch were detected.
4.4
Results on synchron rings

1. trial:
repeated
trial:
top layer:
bottom layer:
Fig. 9: Examination of the outer diameter of synchron rings
A batch consisting of 7 layers with synchron-rings (OD=95mm) from DaimlerChrysler was

examined. Fig 9 shows the paper-strips which were attached to the outer diameter of the rings. A
darker colour (meaning higher D) can be seen for the two circumferential bars
112
and above the bars. Below the circumferential bars the brightness is higher (meaning less D).
This is caused by the wake of the gas-flow below the bars. Furthermore it can be seen that there
is no significant difference of D-values of the parts from the top layer and from the bottom layer
of the batch
Again the heat transfer coefficients were determined from the brightness-values of the paper. The
resulting local distribution of relative D-values is shown in Fig 10. These values have to be
multiplied with a factor of 1300 to get the D-values for quenching with 18 bar N2. For a
numerical simulation of the quenching-process the time dependence of the D-values caused by
the flooding of the cell (at the start of the quench) needs to be taken into account as well.
Detailed information is given in the publication of Ltjens et al [Ltjens, 2005].
0,49
1,05
1,06
0,29
1,35
0,62
0,80
0,49
0,94
0,49
1,47
1,02
1,47
0,73
0,73
1,25
Gas flow direction
Fig. 10: Relative distribution of D-values around a synchron-ring
Additionally the area between the two circumferential bars around the whole outer diameter of
the part was examined. The max. range was determined to be 20% of the average D-value.
However, no systematic pattern could be found for the distribution of max- and min-values in
this area.
The results on synchron rings shown in this paper have been achieved in the german research
project C.A.S.H. [Schwarzer, 2005], which is presented in a special session at IDE 2005.
Conclusions
A new experimental method for the determination of local heat transfer coefficients during high
pressure gas-quenching was presented. This method is using the analogy between convective
mass- and heat-transfer and it is based on a chemical reaction with change of colour on the
surface of the parts.
Results from several heat treat batches were shown. The trials on gear-wheels and gearshafts
both with helical gearing showed similar results for the surface of the teeth. In both cases, rather
low D-values between the teeth (tooth root) and very high D-values at the tip of the tooth were
detected. The values on the front flank were higher compared to the values on the wake
flank. Only a small dependence of D from layer to layer in the batch was shown for the gearwheels and the gear-shafts.
113
These results can be used as input parameters for the numerical simulation of heat treatment and
for further improvement of the gas quenching technology. The experimental method presented in
this paper was filed for a patent by ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH [Heuer, 2003]. ALD is
now offering its customers the examinations of heat treat batches by using this new method.
Acknowledgement
The investigations presented in this paper were conducted as part of the European Research Project DECOMAG
(project nGRD1 1999 11005) which was funded by the European Commission. The authors gratefully acknowledge
the supply of test-parts from RENAULT (France), VOLVO-TRUCK (Sweden) and DaimlerChrysler (Germany).
The development of the visualisation-method was supported by Hr. Prof. Kottke und Hr. Dr. Gschwind from
University of Hohenheim. The examination of synchron rings were conducted as part of the German BMBF-research
project C.A.S.H. (project nr. 02PD2290, accompanied by the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (PTKA)).
References
Heuer, V., Dr.; Lser, K. Dr.; Verfahren zur Sichtbarmachung von Grenzflchenphnomenen an der Oberflche
eines Bauteils; zum Patent angemeldet DE 103 19 943.8, Anmeldung am 2.5.2003
Heuer, V., Lser, K.: Experimentelles Verfahren zur Ermittlung von Wrmebergangskoeffizienten bei der
Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung. In: Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen 59 (2004), S. 432-438
Khne, H.: Energie- und Stofftransport II, Vorlesungsscript der RWTH-Aachen, 1991, S. 24ff.
Kottke, V., Blenke, H.: Memethoden konvektiver Stoffbertragung. In: Chem.-Ing.-Tech. 50 - Nr. 2 (1978), S. 8190
Kottke, V., Blenke, H., Schmidt, K.G.: Eine remissionsfotometrische Memethode zur Bestimmung rtlicher
Stoffbergangskoeffizienten bei Zwangskonvektion in Luft. In: Wrme- und Stoffbertragung 10 (1977), S.
9-21
Kottke, V., Blenke, H., Schmidt, K.G.: Messung und Berechnung des rtlichen und mittleren Stoffbergangs an
stumpf angestrmten Kreisscheiben bei unterschiedlicher Turbulenz. In: Wrme- und Stoffbertragung 10
(1977), S. 89-105
Lohrmann, M.: Experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen zur Vorausbestimmung des Wrmebehandlungsergebnisses beim Hochdruckgasabschrecken, S.8. Dissertation, Universitt Bremen, 1996
Ltjens, J., Heuer, V., Knig, F., Lbben, Th., Schulze, V., Trapp, N.: Determination of input data for the
simulation of case hardening. In: proceedings of the 1st int. conf. on Distortion Engineering (IDE) 2005,
Bremen 14-16.9.2005
Schmidt, G., Hgele, E., Preier, F., Heilmann, P.: Getaktete Vakuum-Durchlauf-Wrmebehandlungsanlage mit
Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung. In: Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen 54 (1999), S. 39-44
Schwarzer, J., Ehlers, M., Gttler, J.: C.A.S.H.-Computer Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment An Overview. In:
proceedings of the 1st int. conf. on Distortion Engineering (IDE) 2005, Bremen 14-16.9.2005
Thuvander, A.: Deliverable D12: Calculation of hardening distortion. Internal report of the European Research
Project DECOMAG (project nGRD1 1999 11005); Figure 12
114
115
Noncontacting Measurement of Distortion by

Digital Holographic Interferometry
Thomas Kreis, Jan Mller, Christoph von Kopylow, Werner Jptner
BIAS Bremer Institut fr Angewandte Strahltechnik, Klagenfurter Str. 2, D 28359 Bremen, Germany,
kreis@bias.de
Abstract
Digital holographic interferometry is a coherent-optical method for noncontacting measurement of full field
deformations in the micrometer-range. While deformations in the range of the wavelength of the used laser-light are
determined by comparison of the phases of the wave fields reconstructed from the recorded holograms, for larger
deformations the form of the object surface has to be measured by a holographic interferometric contouring method,
followed by numerical comparison of two such measured contours. Here we present such methods for determining
the distortions of hot moving components leading to a concept for an in-process distortion measurement enabling
early interaction with e. g. the quenching process to control the resulting distortion.
Keywords
Distortion measurement, noncontacting metrology, holographic interferometry, digital holography, optical methods
Introduction
An effective control of distortion in its early formation stage requires a noncontacting

measurement process capable of registrating full-field deformations in the micrometer range.
Such a metrologic method is offered by holographic interferometry which in the last decade
became more flexible and applicable to much more problems than before by the introduction of
digital recording of the holograms and numerical reconstruction of the complex wave fields
called digital holography [Kreis, 2004]. This enables a numerical comparison of the
reconstructed phase fields, thus measuring the deformation of a rough surface between two
recordings. If not the deformation between the recordings is changed but the geometry of the
optical arrangement, then the phase differences, which can be depicted as sawtooth fringes,
indicate the contour of the object.
If digital holographic interferometry is engaged in measuring the distortion of the object during
e. g. a gas quenching process, some special conditions have to be considered [Alsen, 2004]. The
objects to be measured are hot and moving. Thus optical noncontacting methods are necessary,
furthermore the recording must be fast, so pulsed lasers have to be used.
In this paper we present the optical and digital methods for holographic measurement of
deformation and contours, give the holographic interference patterns, point out the use of pulsed
lasers and indicate the critical points in the measurement process. Self-luminescence of the hot
components and process speed are issues to be recognized. Finally this leads to a concept for inprocess distortion measurement, enabling an early interaction with the quenching process to keep
the resulting distortion under control.
Digital Holography
Digital holography consists of digital recording of the holographic pattern by CCD-arrays, whose
spatial resolution is much less than that of holographic film, photothermoplast or photorefractive
116
crystals. To obtain sufficiently spaced holographic microinterference fringes, one must employ
small object sizes, or one must place the object far away from the CCD, or the object field is
reduced in size by a properly placed lens [Schnars, 1994] [Schnars, 1995]. Also the reference
wave must come from nearly the same direction as the object wave field, so an often used
reference wave is the plane wave impinging normally onto the CCD-array. For digital
reconstruction of the wave field the recorded and stored hologram h([,K) is multiplied with a
numerical model of the reference wave r([,K), which in the case of the normally impinging plane
wave can be modeled as r([,K)=1. The field in the image plane, b(x,y), represents the
reconstructed real image of the recorded wavefield. It is calculated by the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld
diffraction formula
bc( xc, yc)
1
iO
h([ ,K ) r ([ ,K )
exp{ikU }
d[ dK
where
U
d c 2 ([ xc) 2 (K yc) 2
k=2S/O denotes the wave number, and O is the used wavelength. Here d is the distance between
the CCD-array and the image plane. There are two methods to solve the diffraction integral: by
Fresnel approximation or by the convolution approach [Kreis, 2000]. In the Fresnel approach the
U in the exponential is expanded into a binomial series, of which only the constant and the linear
terms are retained. With Q=x/(dO) and P=y/(dO) we obtain
b c(Q , P )
exp{ikd c} exp{iSd cO (Q 2 P 2 )}
iS
2
2
h([ , K ) r ([ , K ) exp d cO ([ K ) exp^2iS ([Q KP )`d[ dK
iOd c
which in discrete form is

bc(n, m)
N 1 M 1
kn lm
iS 2 2 2 2
A h(k'[ , l'K )r (k'[ , l'K ) exp
( k '[ l 'K ) exp 2iS
d cO
k 0 l 0
N M
with a factor A that does not depend on the recorded hologram. The stored digital hologram
consists of N x M discrete values, each recorded by a pixel of size '[ x 'K. So number and size of
the elements of the CCD array define the discretization.
As an alternative to the Fresnel approximation the convolution approach uses the fact that the
diffraction integral viewed as a superposition integral represents a linear shift-invariant system
that can be written as a convolution [Goodman, 1996]
bc( x c, y c)
h([ ,K ) r ([ ,K ) g ( x c [ , y c K )d[ dK
with the kernel

g ( x c, y c)
2
2
2
1 exp{ik d c x c y c }
iO
d c 2 xc 2 y c 2
Now we can invoke the convolution theorem, which states that the convolution of the product hr
with the impulse response g is the inverse Fourier transform of the product of the individual
Fourier transforms of hr and g
bc AcF 1 ^F^h r` F^g ``
where F denotes the Fourier transform. The Fourier transforms are effectively calculated by the
FFT-algorithm. The reconstructed field b generally represents a complex wave field. Its
intensity and phase distributions can be calculated by
I (n, m)
b c(n, m) b c (n, m)
and
M (n, m)
arctan
Im>b c(n, m)@

Re>bc(n, m)@
117
While for the Fresnel-reconstruction the pixel sizes are 'x=dO/(N '[) and 'y=dO/(M 'K),
for reconstruction by convolution they are 'x= '[ and 'y= 'K.
Digital Holographic Interferometry
In optical holographic interferometry the two wave fields to be compared interferometrically are
reconstructed simultaneously resulting in an interferogram, i. e. the object surface is overlayed
with dark and bright fringes. The interference phase, that is related to the deformation field, has
to be determined by fringe tracking or Fourier-transform evaluation or is calculated from
multiple phase-shifted interferograms [Kreis, 2004]. However, in digital holography we have
direct numerical access to the phase distributions of the wave fields. If two wave fields are
individually reconstructed from their resp. digital holograms and their phase distributions are
M1(n,m) and M2(n,m) are calculated as shown above, then the interference phase 'M(n,m) modulo
2S is determined by
Re[b1c (n, m)] Im[b2c (n, m)] Re[b2c (n, m)] Im[b1c (n, m)]
'M (n, m) arctan
Re[b1c (n, m)] Re[b2c (n, m)] Im[b1c (n, m)] Im[b2c (n, m)]
arctan

Im[b2c (n, m) b1c (n, m)]

Re[b2c (n, m) b1c (n, m)]
Without the detour via the intensity, which destroys the sign information due to cos(-M) = cos(M),
here the calculated interference phase is sign-correct: increasing as well as decreasing phases in
any direction are correctly detected. From the interference phase distribution the deformation
field of the surface under investigation can be calculated taking into account the data about the
geometry of the holographic arrangement.
If the contour of a surface is to be measured (not its deformation) by digital holographic
interferometry, the object remains unchanged, but another parameter determining the
interference phase is varied between the two recordings [Kreis, 2004]. A first option is to use
different wavelengths O1 and O2 for recording the holograms. In optical reconstruction with a
single wavelength the two simultaneously reconstructed images first have different positions and
size. This must be corrected by tilting the reference beam. But now in digital holography each
numerically reconstructed image has the same size and position, because each one is
reconstructed with its own wavelength. After subtraction of the phases interference fringes occur
which are intersections of the surface with a set of ellipsoids having the mutual distance
O1O2/[2(O2-O1)]. The focal points of the ellipsoids are illumination source point and observation
point (normally the central point in the hologram).
A second option is a shift of the source point of the illumination wave. Now the fringes are the
intersections of the surface with a set of hyperboloids, whose focal points are the two
illumination source points.
A third way of contouring is the immersion method, where the object is immersed into a
transparent liquid whose refractive index n1 is changed to n2 between the recording instants of
the digital holograms. A surface point P having in air a distance of d from the wall of the
transparent container appears at P1 the distance d1=d/n1 apart from the wall. By changing the
refractive index, a virtual deformation of the object is performed. Now P appears at P2 the
distance d2=d/n2 from the containers wall.
118
Applications
In first experiments digital holographic deformation measurements at a red-hot axle undergoing a

gas-quenching process have been performed. The axle was heated up in a circular kiln for stress
relief annealing. After this the axle was quenched by nitrogen flows having flow velocities up to
300 m/s. A vibration isolation of the quenching stand was not possible, so a pulsed laser had to
be used. Here a frequency doubled Nd-YAG-laser with a pulse length 8 ns, a repitition rate of
10 Hz and a pulse energy up to 300 mJ was employed. Due to the high energy no conventional
beam splitter and also no spatial frequency filter in front of the laser was used. Fig. 1 shows the
optical arrangement with a wedge plate BS1 acting as the beam splitter between object- and
reference wave. The 4%-reflex at BS1 is used as the reference wave, the other part illuminates
the object. A narrow-band interference filter with passband 532 r 10 nm in front of the camera
stops the broadband light coming from the glowing object and only allows to pass the
wavelength of the laser light. Beam-splitter BS2 combines reference- and reflected object waves,
their superposition forms the hologram on the CCD target. There is no objective in front of the
target of the Kodak ES1.0 camera. The TTL signal delivered by the laser was used to trigger the
camera and the frame grabber. So digital holograms have been taken in series up to 30 frames
with a frequency of 2 Hz. A photograph of the object in the quenching stand is given in Fig. 2a,
the whole holographic arrangement is seen in Fig. 2b.
Figure 1: Arrangement for digital holographic interferometry at quenching stand
As a result of these first experiments we noticed, that the rough surface of the red-hot axle does
not change its micro-structure rapidly, so succesive holograms still correlate and yield good
interferograms. The phase difference map modulo 2S of two succesively recorded digital
holograms is shown in Fig. 3a. After demodulation this gives the continuous deformation map of
Fig. 3b. In this plot we recognize two indentations whose distance correlates to the distance
between two nozzles (2 cm) in the quenching stand. The deformation in the area of the nozzles is
in the direction contrary to the gas flow. So the axle contracts near the nozzles, waistlines appear.
But these waistlines will vanish during the ongoing quenching process. A strong effect of
119
irregular refractive index fields due to the gas flows and temperature gradients is not observed,
this is caused by the steady and not turbulent flow of gas.
Figure 2a (right): Object in quenching stand; 2b (left): Holographic arrangement
Figure 3a (right): Phase difference modulo 2S; 3b (left): Deformation field
In a second series of experiments, digital holographic contouring has been employed, which is
more feasible if the deformation is in the range of more than some tens of micrometers, say one
tenth to one millimeter. An interferometric deformation measurement would lead to very dense
fringes, which are not resolvable any more. So of the described contouring methods the one
using two illumination directions is used, the others are not applicable since there is no laser
available emitting simultaneously two wavelengths, on the other hand there is no way to put our
specific object into a transparent liquid. The two illumination directions are used simultaneously
and the two digital holograms are captured by two cameras after separating the wave fields by
orthogonal polarizations, Fig. 4. This separation is performed by a polarizing beam splitter (PBS)
and properly oriented polarizers acting as analyzers in front of the CCD-arrays. The interference
phase map modulo 2S, Fig. 5a, displays the intersections with the equidistant hyperboloids in
120
space. From this phase map the form of the object surface in an oval window where the fringe
contrast is sufficient - is determined, Fig. 5b, which here closely resembles the cylindrical form
of the axle. The difference of two such forms recorded at different time instants during the
quenching process gives the deformation in the sub-millimeter range and thus allows to judge the
distortion the object is undergone.
Objekt
L2
L1
PBS
M1
BS2
M3
P2
CCD2
P1
BS1
CCD1
La
se
L3
M2
Figure 4: Holographic arrangement for contouring with two illumination waves
Conclusions and Outlook
The presented experiments have shown that digital holographic interferometry is a versatile tool
for in-process measurement of the distortion of technical components at the example of a gasquenching process. Small deformations can be measured with direct holographic interferometry
while larger distortions can be determined by holographic measurements of the 3D contour of
the component and subsequent comparison of these contours regarding to various states of the
process. The feasibility of the contouring with two illumination directions has been proven. The
next steps will be the numerical comparison of such measured contours, the application of this
metrology to red-hot self-luminescent surfaces in the presence of gas-flows and without vibration
illumination as well as the implementation of a control process for varying the gas flows
dependent on the measured deformation to minimize the distortion.
121
Figure 5a (right): Phase difference modulo 2S; 5b (left): Contour of object surface
Acknowledgement
The work reported here was partly funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in Sonderforschungsbereich 570
Distortion Engineering which is gratefully acknowledged. Parts of the experimental work have been performed by
Marc Sandner, a student working temporarily at BIAS.
References
Kreis, Thomas: Handbook of Holographic Interferometry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2004.
Alsen, Jens; von Kopylow, Christoph; Jptner, Werner: Digital Holography used for Measurement of Deformation
during Gas Quenching Process. In : Optical Metrology in Production Engineering, Proc. SPIE, vol. 5457,
2004.
Schnars, Ulf: Direct Phase Determination in Hologram Interferometry with Use of Digitally Recorded Holograms.
Journ. Opt. Soc. Amer. A, vol. 11, no. 7, 1994, p. 2011-2015.
Schnars, Ulf; Kreis, Thomas; Jptner, Werner: Digitally Recording and Numerical Reconstruction of Holograms:
Reduction of the Spatial Frequency Spectrum. Opt. Eng., vol. 35, no. 4, 1995, p. 997-982.
Kreis, Thomas: Digital Holography for Metrologic Applications. In Jacquot, P.; Fournier, J.-M.: Interferometry in
Speckle Light. Springer 2000, 205-212.
Goodman, Joseph: Introduction to Fourier Optics. 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996.
122
5. Modelling and simulation
123
124
125
Modelling and simulation technology to reduce

distortion for the advancement of materials
processing technology
Kiyoshi Funatani
IMST Inst., Shogetsu-cho 3-3, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Japan, bzy03260@nifty.com
Abstract
The present article presents few selected aspects of modelling, simulation technologies and validation regarding heat
treatment distortion. After the description of the state of the investigation in Japan, several proposals are given, which
enable the usefulness of the simulation technology in the near future to reduce distortion problems. Comparing
actually effective distortion control measures with input factors to simulation and validation results, their capability
and limit are discussed.
Over the generic understanding of the importance of database both of materials and heat transfer coefficient (HTC),
both of the data base construction processes contain few important problems to be solved in the near future.
In spite of the limit existing in the modelling, simulation and data base, the technology seems to play a very
important role to reduce the time to develop materials and processing technology, and also to construct integrated
processing technologies of the 21st century.
Introduction
There are many factors which influence the heat treatment distortion that causes engineers
suffers in reducing of distortion problems. Since several past decades the models like HEARTS
[Inoue, 1992] and simulation methods have made progress through the basic studies related with
transformation kinetics, mechanical and physical properties of metals and efforts to construct a
database to enable an effective use of simulation works. However, there still exists considerable
gap between calculated results and measured distortion, so the way to fill the gap should be
discussed to understand and advance simulation technology. Beside the development of
simulation model and tools, the construction of the database of material properties and heat
transfer coefficient of cooling media is quite important. Because there is a large gap between
scientific side of technology and input data and actual heat treatment operation which results in
misfit of calculated results and heat treatment distortion.
Not only to estimate the calculation results but also stepwise analysis during cooling is very
important to investigate the process to cause residual stresses and distortion that add the value of
simulation technology. [Yamanaka, 1998], [Takasaki, 2000] Estimated value and necessary care
should be discussed through the observation of actual distortion problems and facts enabled by
simulation results.
Factors influencing distortion
The state and properties of quenching media are the most important factors that affect the
distortion. There are many quenchants such as hot and cold oils, cold, hot and sprayed water and
aqueous solution, molten salts, metallic dies and pressurized gasses, which should be selected to
minimize distortion. Also, the cooling condition such as flow rate and volume, uniformity,
temperature and pressure of quenchant and tank, quench table flow guide of quench tank, design
and mass of used trays, positioning jigs have a large effect on distortion.
126
Additionally, each of those factors changes during cooling or quenching process and makes it
difficult to understand the reason of misfit.
On the other side, the properties and distortion of heat treated materials vary not only because of
the difference of the metal grade but also caused by the changes influenced by variation of
chemical composition directly and in-directly related with hardenability and physical,
mechanical and thermal properties. Also, the mass and design of components, residual stresses
results from previous processing, design and operation of quenching and cooling mechanisms
have a considerable influence on distortion. However, those factors are difficult to input into
simulation condition and causes the misfit of calculated value and measured distortion. [Funatani,
2000]
Distortion Control measures and Computer Simulation
Starting from the selection of steel grade and specification through process balance it is quite
important to introduce quality and allowable distortion products via the precise process design
pre-heat treatment, machining and through. Case hardening operation should be designed to
enable fabrication of quality products in economical, efficient and environmentally friendly
manner.
However, heat treatment process contains the most important part of low distortion components
fabrication.. Many methods are investigated and used to reduce distortion. The cooling power of
quench media is very important as widely known. Improvement of cooling methods and media
such as quench oils, water and water base aqueous solution and salts, and press or plug quench
and die quenching are used to reduce distortion.
Especially, oil quenching is one of the most popular methods and various types of quench oils
are produced. Their properties change themselves during use in long period and deterioration is
the result of many causes. In Japan quench oil study has been started long time ago and World
oldest National standard JIS K-2242, 2526 & 2527 for quench oils was approved in 1965 that
was investigated and developed by Prof. I. Tamura. It was reviewed several times and new
improvement was finished last year with the addition of new Silver probe, developed for
measurement of cooling curve of aqueous solution [Funatani, 1996].
The main part of distortion control generally concerns the cooling speed control. The
measurement of cooling power by cooling curve analysis is important, so as heat transfer
coefficient calculated from cooling curve is necessary for computer simulation.
Martemper hot oil, Salt bath quench (single or double baths), QSQ (quick slow and quick)
quenches, reduced pressure quench, press or die quenching is actually used in industry [Funatani,
2000].
Hot martemper quench oil can reduce distortion to some extent via the reduction of temperature
difference before martensite transformation. Pressure control during quench can control vapour
blanket zone during the first step of cooling and reduce temperature difference occurred on the
very early stage of quenching. Sometimes agitation during boiling stage can reduce distortion of
components. Followed are some examples of distortion control measure used in mass production
process.
Influence of steel hardenability [Funatani, 1967].
Hardenability of steel is influenced by its chemical composition and grain size. Even within a
grade of steel, the chemical composition differs depend on melt lot. Higher hardenability steel lot
is more easily hardened than lower hardenability lot, therefore core hardness and effective case
depth increase if the hardenability is higher. Simultaneously distortion increases as core hardness
increases even if the heat treatment is exactly the same.
a) Module 3 transmission gears (SCr420H)
127
b) Hypoid ring gears (SCM 420H)
[Takahashi, 1990]
[Funatani, 1966]
Fig. 1: Influence of steel hardenability on gears distortion

Influence of shaving condition [Takahashi, 1990].
Machining operation is necessary to shape gears and shafts. Especially, precise gear tooth
forming needs shaving at the final machining. The sharpness of cutting tool has a direct influence
on tooth surface finishing, which introduces residual stress and micro-flow near the surface. The
deformed surface layer at the surface influence the tooth distortion and increases over ball
diameter as deeper the surface deformed layer. Therefore, a precise tooth distortion control needs
a careful control of cutting tool sharpness.
Comparison of jig design to reduce pin bore distortion [Funatani, 1996].
Jigs have a direct influence on distortion. The typical example was observed in a small pin bore
diameter of latchet case, hardened by gas carburizing furnace. The pin bore diameter decreases
by hardening and becomes oval, if it is directly quenched into oil. The ellipticity of a pin bore
diameter was improved by increase of jigs mass under the pin area of the latchet, which
decreased the cooling speed of the pin bore area. The other part of the latchet is cooled more
rapidly than the bore.
Influence of setting jigs on gear distortion [Takahashi, 1990].
Jig design has a large influence on gear distortion and various selection and improvement of jig
design is a popular measure in the case of automotive gears hardening. The direction of quench
oil flow influences on the types of distortion in a quite complicated manner. Mainly giving
uniform oil flow to both sides of gear is favoured. However, stacked gear setting is often selected
and gives satisfactory results, even in the case when the oil flow at lower side and upper side
becomes different. This type of cooling condition is difficult to model into the computer
simulation work at this moment.
Use of massive cap enables to reduce distortion of constant velocity joints [Funatani, 1996].
Constant velocity join has a cup shape and case hardening of the components is very difficult to
prevent large widening of the cup. This cup end widening was successfully reduced by a
massive cover set over the joint cup. This jig design reduced the cooling speed at the cup end and
simultaneously restricted the widening of a cup diameter.
Hopefully, such massive jig design factor may be taken into account of the computer simulation
technology.
128
Control of vapour blanket stage influence distortion [Sugiyama, 1985], [Ogino, 1995].
Characteristics of cooling curves are different in quench media. Quench oil has a rather long
vapour blanket stage and has a considerable influence on heat treatment distortion. The vapour
blanket stage has low cooling speed and causes different cooling speed by position. However, the
vapour blanket stage can reduce distortion in case if the parts have a large difference of mass in
one component. There are some examples, with reduced distortion, such as steering sector shafts
which shaft warp was reduced by the application of longer vapour stage oil.
The length of a vapour blanket stage and peak cooling power can be adjusted by an oil additive
and also by the control of oil surface pressure and enable reduced distortion. This technology is
quite effective to control cooling power even by the use of one grade oil in vacuum or reduced
pressure heat treatment, which is almost impossible by other quenching methods. [Kanamori,
1996] This type of distortion control measure is comparable with the control of characteristic
temperature of quench oils by special additive.
Fig. 2 Influence of oil surface pressure on tooth distortion of transmission gears [Asada, 1996]
Modelling and computer simulation technology
There are many models and softwares developed and used today as shown in Table 1.
HEARTS [Inoue, 1992] was one of the first sole models developed for heat treatment
simulation taking transformation, thermal condition and stress and strain into simulation model.
This model is used to make an effective estimation of heat treatment distortion, and various
estimation works such as validation of the influence of transformation plasticity has been done in
Japan. [Inoue, 1992], [Yamanaka, 1998] Commercially available software for heat treatment
other than HEARTS are GRANTAS [Shichino, 1993], ABAQUAS0Trast [Javstrat, 1993],
SYSWELD [Denis, 1996], Deform-HT (USA) [Arimoto, 2000], DANTE (USA) [Ferguson,
2003] and others. SYSWELD and ABAQUS are modified to be used for the purposes of heat
treatment simulation. Many independent models and software is investigated and developed by
e.g. Prof. J. Pan at Shanghai Jiatong University [Pan, 2003] and some examples are studied in
EC-15 report [AWT, 1999].
Modelling and computer simulation results should be validated and need actual heat treatment
tests. So various efforts are being devoted at institutes and in industry.
1951
129
1st paper on Studies on Quenching Media by Prof. M. Tagaya and I Tamura.

Cooling curve analysis methods and observation of the cooling process.
1961
Handbook for Heat Treatment of JSHT was published

Estimation of residual stress. Manual calculator works.
1965
JIS K-2242 for quench oil and cooling power analysis methods were standardized.
1980
JIS K-2242 1st review.
1982
Simulation of transformation kinetics by Prof. I. Tamura and Umemoto
1984
First Conference on Simulation in Sweden. Inoue, Richmond, Beck, Ericksson, Raniecki.
1988
Prof. I. Tamura presented a talk on Cooling curve analysis methods and change of cooling power of
quench oils in Europe.
NASTRAN, ANSYS, MARC CAE technologies for 90s
Finite Element Procedure in Engineering Analysis by K. J. Bathe
1990
Simulation model HEARTS released; 3D//7 papers.
1991
ASM Europe Modelling and Simulation; 10 papers. (Not a full model)
1992
ASM 1st Quenching and the Control of Distortion (QCD). Simulation; 15 papers (2 full models)
IFHT 92 in Kyoto- Modelling; 13 papers. Prof. T. Inoue et al, (Gear distortion HEARTS),
H. Shichino; (Gear distortion & validation)
1993
ASM Europe; Modelling 16 papers (Process and partial model)
1994
ASM Conference; Modelling 10 papers. JIS K-2242 2nd review started.
1995
ISO-9950: 1995(E), INCONEL probe. JSHT 1st QCD group organized. ASM Conf. Carburizing
and Nitriding; Modelling 5 papers. ASM 16th Conf. Quench process modelling 5 papers.
1996
ASM 2nd QCD; Prof. I. Tamura memorial symposium. HEARTS (3), NCMS (4) etc., 18 papers.
ASM-HTS 17th Conf.; Modelling 19 papers. JIS K-2242 reviewed.
1997
ASM-HTS 17th Conf. HT and IH: 5 modelling sessions; 12 papers.

JSHT 2nd QCD group was organized.
1998
ASTM: D-6482 99. ASM 18th HT Conf.; Modelling 5 papers.

11th IFHT & 2nd ASM Europe conf.; Modelling 18 papers.
1999
3rd ASM Europe Conf.; Modelling, Simulation of distortion 26 papers. 7th IFHTSE Seminar;
Modelling 17 papers. ASM-HTS 3QCD Conf.; Modelling 2 sessions, 7 papers.
JSHT 3rd QCD group was organized.
2000
1st TPMCS (Shanghai) 53 papers. 20th ASM-HTS Conf.; Modelling 20 papers. 3rd ASM HTS
Europe; Modelling 8 papers. 12th IFHTSE Cong.; Modelling 4 papers.
2001
21st ASM-HTS conf.; Modelling 12 papers. 1st Asian Conf. on Heat treatment of Metals; Modelling
3/10. 13th IFHTSE Seminar; Modelling 10 papers.
JSMS MATEQ database released.
JSHT & JSMS Simulation & QCD joint seminar. JSHT 4th QCD group was organized
1st Distortion control seminar in Osaka.
2002
ASM-IFHTSE Conf.; Modelling 8 papers. JSHT 2nd Distortion control seminar in Osaka.
2003
Auto. HT; Thailand, 2nd TPMCS; Nancy, 4th QCD Beijing, ASM-HTS 2003
2004
JSMS & JSHT joint simulation & QCD seminar; Kyoto, JIS K-2242 review for a new probe,
14th IFHTSE Conf. Shanghai
TPMCS: Thermal Process Modelling and computer Simulation.

ASM: ASM International.
IFHTSE: International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Modification.
Table 1: Historical Background of Modelling, Simulation and JIS standard and JSHT study group
130
The general phenomena and tendency of heat treatment distortion are almost explained through
the observation of cooling process, but distortion of the calculated data does not fit perfectly. Not
only the state of materials database but also of the database of heat transfer coefficient are not
enough to get precisely fit results.
4.1
Database
It is well known that computer simulation needs a database for an input to calculate estimation
results. However, many data are necessary to estimate microstructure, hardness, and residual
stresses of the investigated materials. Physical, mechanical and thermal properties are functions
of composition of the materials. Acquirement of such data takes long time, much money,
materials and research efforts and not enables the construction of a perfect database. Iron or
steels, aluminium alloy or any materials used today are different by country and producer and
make a complicated problem to construct a universal database.
Also composition and manufacturing process of cooling and quenching media vary by product
and the change of their properties during use is quite difficult to know.
Materials database
Materials database is necessary for an input of the simulation model in order to estimate heat
treatment results. Partly, mechanical, physical and thermal properties of materials are
investigated and used for simulation work.
They are: Elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, Flow stress, Density, Specific heat, Latent heat,
Thermal conductivity, Thermal expansion coefficient, and Carbon and Nitrogen diffusion rate.
Transformation Kinetics with TTT and CCT diagram are important also.
However, every property change depends on its chemical composition and data represented by
few investigation results is only useful to make a rough estimation. Because every melt lot of
metals has a different chemical composition and effects the estimated results to some extent.
x Stress-strain diagram of materials.
The strength of materials varies depending on temperature, which is necessary for estimation of
distortion. However, the stress - strain diagram data covering all of the heat treatment
temperature range are quite scarce. It needs quite large amount of time, money and effort to
construct such a database.
Therefore, there are strict needs and merit to construct such a chemical composition based
material database over the internationally collaborative system.
Materials database MATEQ of Japan society for Materials Science [Inoue, 2000].
In 2002, Japan Society for Materials Science and Constructed Materials Database for Compute
simulation and considerable advancement were completed. [Inoue, 2002] However, those data
represent only some parts of the steel grade and are not perfect to get precisely fit data.
There is a need to construct materials database via the estimation of each necessary property
according to the chemical composition of the material itself.
Another issue, also quite important, is a relation between the chemical composition of materials
and their properties. Even if we have typical materials database for considerable types of
standardized steels, it doesnt qualify accuracy when those data are used for computer simulation
of different chemical composition.
As explained in the latter section, the case and surface hardenability changes depend on their
chemical composition, and also give a great influence on distortion.
It suggests us the needs to construct thermo dynamic models to estimate properties of the
chemical composition of materials.
131
Database of heat transfer coefficient
Database of heat transfer coefficient is also necessary, but it is directly related with the
measuring method of cooling curve and calculation model of HTC (heat transfer coefficient).
Up to day each country or institute is trying to construct a database, but international
collaboration seems to be necessary for accumulation of data and development of calculation
model to advance and increase the reliability of estimated results.
The heat transfer coefficient data are usually calculated by a cooling curve. Several issues are to
be solved to increase accuracy of computer simulation technology such as follow:
Difference of cooling curve measuring methods has a considerable influence on the calculated
heat transfer coefficient.
The test probes are made of Silver (JIS and old AFNOR), INCONEL (ISO), Iron and Steel and
influence the cooling curve itself. Probe size and shape, test methods also influence the accuracy
and HTC value [Funatani, 1999].
x Fact database on LBE and application tools.
Apart from above explained data, there is another serious gap between data input to computer
simulation and heat treatment condition in actual heat treatment operation.
The accumulated technology for distortion control should be studied by computer simulation
model to explain how such distortion changes occurred. For realization of such estimation work
it is necessary to expand the model capacity and to develop tools for calculating the effect of
distortion control measures.
Materials processing technology
Ecology and environment in materials processing technology.
Environment, ecology, quality and efficiency targets should be solved with green friendly design
and operation. Through process design is necessary that necessitate the use of simulation
technologies as far as possible. Although the International joint study as IMS (Intelligent
Manufacturing System) is trying to establish an advanced system for future industrial activities,
it is not easy to solve basic problems, originated by the difference of materials standard,
simulation models and calculation methods. It is necessary to notice and to solve hidden basic
problems as material properties data and cooling curve analysis methods that differentiate the
data itself. To overcome additionally the difference of national standard of each country
scientific property measurement methods and fundamental definitions should be discussed in the
international collaborative manners.
Summary -The future of modelling and simulation technology.
Further theoretical investigation and improvement of existing software models and data base
construction have to be done to get better fit with validation results that directly or indirectly
encounter technical capabilities at the shop floor.
Computer simulation technology enables the advancement in understanding the process causing
deformation and distortion, and stepwise analysis is important to detect key periods to improve
heat treatment process [Yamanaka, 1998], [Takasaki, 2000]. The LBE knows how it must be
explained by the proven phenomena during cooling and the improvement of process can be
designed basing on the estimated results.
Modelling and simulation technology is effective to minimize duration and investment is
necessary for the development of ecological and efficient heat treatment processes and
equipments.
132
However, as mentioned previously, the variation of quenching and cooling condition of each part
differ from each other and misfit between calculated and validate results seems to be natural. For
the improvement of fitness between simulation and validation it is necessary to accumulate heat
transfer data, which enables to fill the gap between actual heat treatment namely quenching and
the condition of computer estimation.
Materials and heat transfer coefficient database should be constructed in the international
collaboration; because of the complexity of the problem in accumulating fact data and also it
needs a huge amount of investment to acquire sufficient data, and also the model to calculate
heat transfer coefficient has to be investigated and standardized.
One of the new approaches in heat treatment is the development of the more simple process to
heat treat piece by piece or small lot parts so as their heat treating condition is more controllable
and reduces scatter of cooling condition like induction heat treatment [Funatani, 2000].
References
Inoue, T., Arimoto, K., and Ju, D. Y.: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Quenching and Control
of distortion, ASM (1992), p. 205-212.
Yamanaka S, Sakane T, Yoshii S, Kozuka S and Inoue T: Proc. of 18th Conf. ASM-HTS Oct. 1998, p. 657-664.
Takasaki N: 20th Conf. ASM-HTS 2000 p.680 687.
Funatani, K: Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Thermal Process Modelling and Compute
Simulation, Shanghai (2000), p. 35-41.
Funatani K: ASM #2 IC on Quenching and Control of Distortion, 1996, p.
Funatani K, Narazaki M, Tanaka M: Proc. 19th Conf. ASM-HTS, Nov. 1999, Cincinnati, p. 255.
Funatani, K: Relation between Steel Hardenability and Distortion of Differential Hypoid Gears, Toyota
Engineering V.18 (1967), N. 1, p. 11.
Takahashi A, Morishima T, Yamada H: J of JSHT V. 30 (1990), N. 6, and p. 301.
Sugiyama M: Kinzoku, May (1985), p. 65-71.
Ogino M: Automobile and Heat Treatment, JSIF Feb. (1995), p. 20.
Jarvstrat N, Sjostrom S: Proceedings. ABAQUAS Trast (1993), p.273.
Shichino S, Nagasaka Y, Takahashi T: Komatsu Engineering V. 39 (1993), p. 46-56. GRANTAS
Arimoto K, Li G, Arvind A and Wu W. T: Proc. ASM 18th Heat Treating Conf. (1998), p. 23-30.
Denis S, Archambault P, Gautier E, Simon A, Beck G: Prod. 3rd International Conf. Quenching and the Control of
Distortion. ASM-Europe, March 1999, p. 263. (SYSWELD)
Ferguson B. L, Petrus G. J, Pattok T: Proc. 3rd IC Quenching and the Control of Distortion, (2003), p. 188.
Pan J, Jianfeng G, Dong T, Ruan D, Totten G, Chen X: Proc. 3rd Quenching and the Control of Distortion, (2003),
p. 251- 259.
AWT Expert Committee 15: HTM V. 54 (1999), N. 4, and p. 201. (EC-15)
Inoue, T., Okamura, K.: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Quenching and Distortion Control
2000, p. 51.
Kanamori H, Nakamura E, Uchida H, Koyama S, Inoue T: J of JSHT V36 (1996), p. 390.
133
Recent Development of Heat Treating

Simulation in Japan
Tatsuo Inoue1, Youichi Watanabe2, Kazuo Okamura3, Michiharu Narazaki4, Hayato Shichino5,
Dong-Ying Ju6, Hideo Kanamori7 and Katsumi Ichitani8
1
Fukuyama University, Fukuyama 729-9292, Hiroshima, Japan, inoue@fume.fukuyama-u.ac.jp
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Tsurumi-ku230-0053, Yokohama, Japan, you-watanabe@mail.nissan.co.jp

3
Sumitomo Metals, Amagasaki 660-0891, Hyogo, Japan, okamura-kzo@sumitomometals.co.jp
Utsunomiya University, Utsunomiya, Japan,321-8585, Tochigi, Japan, narazaki@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp

5
Komatsu Co. Ltd, Hiratsuka, 254-8567, Kanagawa, Japan, hayato_shichino@komatsu.co.jp

6
Saitama Institute of Technology, Okabe369-0293, Saitama, Japan, ju@sit.ac.jp
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd, Ichihara 299-010, Chiba, Japan, hideo.kanamori@si.idemitsu.co.jp
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd, Ichihara 299-010, Chiba, Japan, katsumi.ichitani@si.idemitsu.co.jp
Abstract
Interim summary of Japanese IMS-VHT activity (Virtual Heat Treatment tool for monitoring and optimising HT
process) is briefly introduced. This motivates to develop virtual tools for computer simulation to optimize the heat
treatment condition and to support decision for HT operation by knowledge based database in addition to process
simulation. As one of the undergoing activities, a benchmark project with the cooperation of the Society of Materials
Science, Japan and the Japan Society for Heat Treatment on the simulation of carburized quenching process of a
cylinder, disc, and ring as well as a helical gear by use of common data of materials properties and cooling
characteristics by use of several simulation programs.
Keywords
Benchmark project, Simulation, Material database, Heat transfer database, Experimental verification, IMS-VHT
Introduction
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, IMS, is an industry-led, international research and
development program established to develop the next generation of manufacturing and
processing technologies [IMS International, Web site]. Companies and research institutions from
the European Union, Japan, Korea, Canada, USA, Switzerland and Norway participate in this
program. The next generation of advanced manufacturing and processing technologies will be
expensive to produce, and no one entity has all the expertise needed. Cooperative R&D to share
costs, risks, and expertise is the order of the day. Properly managed international cooperation in
advanced manufacturing R&D can help improve manufacturing operations, enhance
international competitiveness, and lead to technology breakthroughs via market-driven R&D.
Nearly 300 companies and 200 research institutions currently active in IMS research consortia.
The authors and their organizations of the present paper are the partners of a project termed as
VHT (Virtual Heat Treatment tool for monitoring and optimising HT process) and also carrying
out domestic activity in Japan [IMS Japan, Web site].
The purpose of this project is to predict distortion qualitatively, and to optimize time and
operating condition of heat treatments. The final goal is to evaluate and decide optimum HT
process virtually by using computer. The work plan is divided into several workpackages such as
databases development (material and generic databases as well as cooling characteristics), FEM
adaptation (modification of the physical models in developed codes), design of the KBS
134
(Knowledge Based System), KBS development (collection of knowledge, real industrial cases
and FEM input), integration in the DSS (Decision Support System) of the KBS, databases and
FEM controls and industrial validation of the DSS.
To do so, the authors have been worked to pile up material property data and construction of the
database of thermophysical and mechanical properties, and so on for 4 kinds of typical steel,
which are cooperated with the Subdivision of the Society of Materials Science, Japan. Special
attentions are paid to collect the data at high temperature levels and for each phases induced
during heat treatment.
Heat transfer property of quenchants is another substantial data necessary to simulate the HT
process, and by the collaboration with the Division of Quenching and Simulation, the Japan
Society of Heat Treating Technology, standard heat transfer properties data of some kinds of
quenchants are collected using cylindrical silver specimens. Heat transfer coefficients of several
kinds of typical quenching oils used for industry are also accumulated as the database.
Benchmark Project and the Problems

As one of the activities of Japanese VHT project, the authors proposed to organize a
benchmark simulation with other people in the cooperation with both societies of JSMS and
JSHT. The summary is as follows [Inoue, Watanabe, Okamura, Narazaki, Shichino, Ju,
Kanamori and Ichitani, 2004];
1. Carburized quenching process is focused.
2. Material treated is a chromium steel (JIS-SCr420H).
3. Works treated are a cylinder, disc, ring for a gear and helical gear.
4. Common data of the material and cooling characteristics are propounded.
5. Programs to solve the problems are at the disposal of each member. Finally, HEARTS,
GRANTAS, QUESS, SYSWELD, DEFORMHT and COSMAP joined in the project.
All programs are available for coupled metallo-thermo-mechanical simulation [Inoue,
Nagaki, Kishino and Monkawa,1981].
6. Data of experiments for temperature change, residual stresses, distortion and hardness are
presented to verify the results of simulation.
1.1
Benchmark problems
The works for simulation and experiment are

1. Cylinder with diameter D=20mm and length L= 60mm.
2. Disc with diameter D=30mm and thickness t=10mm.
3. Ring to be used for helical gear but without teeth, so in complicated shape shown later in
Figure 8; outer diameter D=76.6mm, inner diameter d=26mm, face width w=22.2mm.
4. Helical gear; same dimension as the ring, but with teeth of module m=1.77.
Temperature
1223K
1073K
C p = 0 .8 5 %
C p = 1 .1 %
1 2 0 m in
C a rb u riz in g
1 4 0 m in
D iffus in g
3 0 m in
Q u e n c h in g
373K
Still
K e e p in g
Ti
Figure 1: Heat pattern for carburized quenching process
135
Heat pattern including carburizing is depicted in Figure 1. Here, the chemical potential of
carbon environment in carburizing period is kept constant as Cp = 1.1 and 0.85% respectively
in carburizing and diffusing/keeping period.
1.2
Material data
A chromium steel (JIS-SCr420H; 0.21%C, 0.2%Si, 0.2%Mn, 0.016%P, 0.017%S, 0.02%Ni,

1400
250
M artensite
Bainite
Pearlite
Austenite
150
0.2
(M Pa)
200
100
Stress,
Young's M odulus (GPa)
1200
Pearlite,Bainite,
M artensite
Austenite
50
1000
800
600
400
200
200 400 600 800

Tem perature (C
1000
Figure 2: Youngs modulus
15
10
5
0
Term alconductivity (W /m K)
Hardening coefficient,H'(GPa)
M artensite
Bainite
Pearlite
Austenite
20
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Pearlite,Bainite,
M artensite
Austenite
0
0
500
Tem perature,T (C)
1000
Austenite
a [10-9]
b [10-6]
a [10-9]
b [10-6]
Carbon content (wt%)

0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
6.56 6.89 7.22 7.59
12.2 11.9 11.7 11.3
1.42 1.42 1.42 1.41
20.7 20.7 20.7 20.7
Table 1: Linear thermal expansion coefficient

defined as = aT+b (1/C)
Ferrite-Pearlite Kp
Bainite Kb
Martensite Km
1310-5
8.510-5
7.410-5
Table 2: Transformation plasticity coefficient from

austenite (1/MPa)
Ferrite-Pearlite
Bainite
Martensite
36
75
84
Table 3: Latent heat from austenite [kJ/kg]
1000
Figure 5: Thermal conductivity
0.012
Transform ation dilatation (-)
Pearlite,
Bainite,
Martensite
Coefficient
500
Tem perature (C
Figure 4: Hardening coefficient

Phase
1000
Figure 3: 0.2% proof stress
30
25
500
Tem perature,T (C)
0.01
M artensite
0.008
0.006
Bainite
0.004
Pearlite
0.002
0
-0.002
Austenit
e
-0.004
0
0.5
Carbon content (wt%)
Figure 6: Dilatation due to transformation

(material data depends on carbon content)
136
1.15%Cr, 0.01%Mo) is focused. The material characteristics data employed for the simulation
are basically quoted from the database MATEQ (MATErial database for Quenching)
accumulated by the Subcommittee of Material Database, JSMS [Inoue and Okamura, 2000].
They are Youngs modulus, Poisons ratio and stress-strain curves including yield stress and
hardening modulus as temperature dependent mechanical properties, thermal conductivity,
specific heat and latent heat as thermophysical properties, and TTT/CCT diagrams and
temperature- dilatation curves as phase change characteristics. However, some data are still
needed for more sophisticated simulation, and so some experiments are carried out to identify
the material data in this project. Considering that the carbon content closed to the surface
increases in the carburizing process, other series of experiments for other materials with
different carbon content are carried out to know the carbon dependent material data. Some
examples of the data provided are depicted in Figures 2~6 and Tables 1~3.
1.3
Heat transfer coefficient
Coolant used for quenching process after carburization is a cooling oil HI-TEMPOIL A
(Idemitsu). By applying the lumped-heat-capacity or inverse calculation method to the
cooling curves measured by silver rod probe based on JIS K 2242 and the improved method,
the heat transfer coefficient is identified as the function of temperature of the surface of the
body [Narazaki, 2004]. As is well known, however, the cooling characteristics depend on the
Upper
Upper
Side
upper
upper
Lower side
Side
Bottom
(Enlarged corner)
Side
Node
1800
Element
1702
Lower
Side
Heatt
ransf
ercoef
fci
ici
ent h
Heat
transf
er
coeffi
ent
h (W
(W/m
/m
K)
K)
4000
Figure 7:
Lowerside
Silver rod (10 m m dia.)
4000
3500
3500
3000
3000
2500
2500
2000
2000
1500
1500
1000
1000
500
500
0
0
00
100
Upper side
Side
Upper side
Bottom
Ag
250 400 500 600 750

200
800
Temper
perature T
Tem
T (C )
Bottom
1000
1000
Temperature and location dependent heat transfer coefficient --- Cylinder

Ag
Inside
Upper
Bottom
Outside
Inside
22.
Outside
26
Bottom
38.
3
Figure 8:
Heat transfer coefficient h

(W /m K)
5000
Upper
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
200
400
600
800
Tem perature T (C )
1000
Temperature and location dependent heat transfer coefficient --- Ring
location of a body in the case of immersion quenching, especially upper and lower surfaces.
Then modifying the identified heat transfer coefficient, the data presented in Figures 7 and 8
137
are respectively used in the case of cylinder and ring. The availability of the data is confirmed
by conducting the simulation of Jominy end quench process compared with the experiments.
Results of Simulation and the Verification
The benchmark problems of No.1, 3 and 4 for a cylinder, ring and helical gear are tried to be
solved by several programs; HEARTS [Inoue, Arimoto and Ju, 1992],[Inoue and Arimoto, 1997]
GRANTAS [Nagasaka, 1993], QUESS [Okamura and Kawashima, 1989], SYSWELD
[Porzner, 2000], DEFORM-HT [Arimoto, Lambert, Li, Arvind and Wu, 1998], COSMAP [Ju,
Ito and Inoue, 2003], and another software by cooperating member. Some results are illustrated
in the followings [Inoue, Watanabe, Okamura, Narazaki, Shichino, Ju, Kanamori and Ichitani,
2004];
3.1
Cylinder
Volum e fraction ofm etallic structure,

(-)
Figure 9(a) represents an example of simulated pattern of carbon content in the cylinder in the
final stage. In spite of members disposal to introducing boundary condition for carbon
absorption, the results by several programs give the similar pattern. Typical mode of quenched
distortion is illustrated in Figure 9(b). Martensite fraction after quenching calculated by
several programs, named as A, B, C and D is overplotted in Figure 10, and distortion along
outer surface with measured data is summarized in Figure 11. There are some scatters among
the employed programs, which is to be carefully discussed in future.
1.2
M artensit
Bainite
1
0.8
0.6
Retained austenite
0.4
Code-A
Code-B
0.2
Code-C
0
0
(a) Carbon Profile
(b) Distortion
Figure 10: Cylinder --- Martensite fraction

from surface on the middle section
Figutre 9: Cylinder --- Distribution of diffused

carbon and distortion
Change ofdiam eter[m m ]
2
3
4
Distance from surface (m m )
0.02
0.01
A
B
C
D
m easured-1
m easured-2
m easured-3
0
-0.01
-0.02
-0.03
-0.04
0
20
40
60
Distance from lowerend [m m ]
Figure 11: Cylinder --- Comparison of quenched

distortion with experiment
138
3.2
Ring in gear shape without teeth
Another axisymmetric problem is for a ring shaped body before rough cutting teeth of helical
gear, shown in Figure 8.
Figure 12 depicts the results of simulation of distortion (a), carbon content (b) and martensite
fraction (c) and residual stress in tangential direction (d) by use of the boundary condition
stated in Figure 8. Comparison of the distortion with measured profile is also shown in Figure
13.
3.3
Helical gear
20
900
M easurem ent
Code-A
Code-B
Code-C
M easurem ents
Code-A
Code-B
Code-C
800
700
Hardness (Hv)
Distance from the bottom (m m )
25
15
10
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
-0.2
0
-0.1
0.1
Change ofradius on outersurface (m m )
Code-A
Code-B
Code-C
0.5
1.5
Distance form surface (m m )
(b) Hardness distribution

Hoop stress (M Pa)
Carbon concentration (wt%)
(a) Variation in the change of

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.5
1
1.5
Distance form surface (m m )
500
400
300
200
100
0
-100
-200
-300
-400
-500
Code-A
Code-B
Code-C
2
4
Distance from surface (m m )
(c) Carbon profile

(d) Distribution of hoop stress
Figure 12: Comparison of simulated results by some codes --- Ring
Before carburizing and quenching
M easurem ents
Code-A
Code-B
Code-C
0.1
Figure 13: Comparison of simulated data of distortion with

experimental result---Ring
139
Since this helical gear is not in axisymmetric shape, full 3-D simulation or pseudo 3-D
approximation with periodical boundary condition is to be applied. The results shown in
Figures 14 and 15 are examples of the former simulation using over 21,000 nodes and 16,000
elements (computing time for coupled calculation is approximately 100hrs by PC with
2.8GHz processor). In these figures, left illustrations correspond to the vertical cross section,
while the right to horizontal. Figure 16 depicts a simulated result of residual stress. We are
happy to have the conclusion that the simulation gives fairly reasonable results in practical
sense.
Martensite
Martensite
Bainite
Bainite
(a) A tooth model
(b) Entire gear model
CPU time:255min
CPU time:2562min
Figure 14: Calculated microstructure after carburized quenching

Tip
1000
Pitch point
M easured
Root
Hardness,Hv
800
Calculated
Tip
Pitch point
Root
Root
Pitch point
Tip
600
400
200
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Distance from surface,m m
Figure 15: Measured and calculated hardness distribution after carburized quenching
- 461MPa
(a) A tooth model Axial ( z)
- 451MPa
(b) Entire gear model
Axial ( z)
Figure 16: Calculated residual stress after carburized quenching
140
Concluding Remarks - Future Works
Current progress of our project on IMS-VHT project is briefly introduced, and the interim
situation of the benchmark project of carburized quenching process is reported. The project
motivates to examine the applicability of available programs for quenching simulation by use of
common data.
The results obtained in this stage are rather limited; all problems have not been solved by all
participating programs, and focussed materials is only SCr420. Further works are expected to
solve the problems in wider range.
The results will be open for other cooperating members from JSMS and JHTS, and ask to join in
this project.
Future works are also expected for international cooperation. The authors will willingly provide
our data and problems to potential people who want to simulate the problems by other programs.
Acknowledgement
This project is cooperated also by members of Subdivision of Material Database, the Society of Materials Science,
Japan and the Division of Quenching and Simulation, the Japan Society of Heat Treating Technology, to whom the
authors express their hearty gratitude.
Acknowledgment is also due to international partners joining in IMS-VHT program. Special thanks are for IMS
Japan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries, Japan, for sponsoring this project.
References
IMS International: Web site; http://www.ims.org/
IMS Japan: Web site; http://www.ims.mstc.or.jp/english/index3.html
Inoue, T., Watanabe, T., Okamura, K., Narazaki, M., Shichino, H., Ju, D.Y., Kanamori, H. and Ichitani, K.: A
Cooperative Activity on Quenching Process Simulation --- Japanese IMS-VHT Project on the Benchmark
Analysis and Experiment, Transactions of Materials and Heat Treatment, Vol.25, No.5 (2004) pp 28-34.
Inoue,T., Nagaki,S., Kishino, T.and Monkawa, M.: Description of transformation kinetics, heat conduction and
elastic-plastic stresses in the course of quenching and tempering of some steels Ingenieur-Archiv, Vol.50,
No.5(1981) pp. 315-327.
Inoue T. and Okamura K: Material database for simulation of metallo-thermo-mechanical fields, Proceedings of 5th
International Symposium on Quenching and Distortion Control, ASM, St Louis, October, 2000, pp.753-760.
Narazaki, M: Estimation of heat transfer coefficients in quenching, Reports in Joint Meeting of JSMS and JSHT on
Benchmark Project on Quenching Simulation (in Japanese), July, 2004, pp.9-14.
Inoue, T., Arimoto, K. and Ju, D.Y.: Metallo- thermo-mechanical simulation of quenching process --- Theory and
implementation of computer code HEARTS", Proceeding of International Conference on Quenching and
Control of Distortion, ASM International, Vol.1, (1992) pp.205-212.
Inoue, T. and Arimoto, K.: Development and implementation of CAE system "HEARTS" for heat treatment
simulation based on metallo-thermo-mechanics, J. Materials Engineering and Performance, ASM
International, Vol.6, No.1 (1997) pp.51-60.
Nagasaka, Y.: Mathematical model of phase transformations and elasto-plastic stress in the water in the water spray
quenching of steel bars, Metallurgical Transactions A, 24A (1993) pp.795-808.
Okamura, K and Kawashima, H.: Analysis of residual deformation of a gear during quenching, 32nd Japan
Congress on Material Research (1989) pp.323-329.
Porzner, H.: Predictive simulation of welding and heat treatment simulation, Pam User Conference in Asia, PUCA
MM, 2 (2000) pp.579-613.
Arimoto, K., Lambert, D., Li, G., Arvind, A., and Wu, W.T.: Development of heat treatment simulation system
DEFORM -HT, Proc. 18th ASM Heat Treatment Society Conference and Exposition (1998) pp.23-30.
Ju, D.Y, Ito, Y. and Inoue: T., Simulation and verification of residual stresses and distortion in carburizingquenching process of a gear shaft, Proc. of 4th International Conference on Quenching and Control of
Distortion, 23 25, (2003) pp.291-296.
141
Adaptive Finite Element Simulations for

Macroscopic and Mesoscopic Models of Steel
Alfred Schmidt, Bettina Suhr, Thilo Moshagen, Michael Wolff, Michael Bhm
Zentrum fr Technomathematik, Fachbereich 3, Universitt Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany,
{schmidt, bsuhr, moshagen, mwolff, mbohm}@math.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
During heat treatment and other production processes, gradients of temperature and other observables may vary
rapidly in narrow regions, while in other parts of the workpiece the behaviour of these quantities is quite smooth.
Nevertheless, it is important to capture these fine structures during numerical simulations. Local mesh refinement in
these regions is needed in order to resolve the behaviour in a sufficient way. On the other hand, these regions of
special interest are changing during the process, making it necessary to move also the regions of refined meshes.
Adaptive finite element methods present a tool to automatically give criteria for a local mesh refinement, based on
the computed solution (and not only on a priori knowledge of an expected behaviour).
We present examples from heat treatment of steel, including phase transitions with transformation induced plasticity
and stress dependent phase transformations. On a mesoscopic scale of grains, similar methods can be used to
efficiently and accurately compute phase field models for phase transformations.
Keywords
Adaptive methods, finite element simulations, heat treatment of steel, transformation induced plasticity
Need for local mesh refinement - adaptive finite element methods
During production processes like heat treatment, fine structures like narrow regions (boundary or
interior layers, e.g.) with high (and rapidly varying) gradients of temperature, concentration, or
phase fraction fields appear, while in other parts of the workpiece the behaviour of these fields is
quite smooth. It is important to capture these structures during numerical simulations, as they
influence the local or global material properties during and after the process. So, a fine mesh is
essential, but using a globally fine mesh can be prohibitively expensive, especially in 3D. Local
mesh refinement in these regions is needed in order to resolve the behaviour in a sufficient way,
while keeping the overall calculation feasible.
Adaptive finite element methods present a tool to automatically give criteria for a local mesh
refinement, based on the computed solution (and not only on a priori knowledge of an expected
behaviour). These method were introduced and studied by engineers and mathematicians starting
in the late 1970s (see [Babuka, 1987], [Zienkiewicz, 1978], e.g., and [Ainsworth, 2000] for an
overview). For model problems, mathematical bounds for the error between approximate and
true solution can be shown, as well as quasi-optimality of the meshes generated by the adapive
method. In adaptive methods, regions for local refinement are selected based on local error
indicators, which estimate the error contribution of single mesh elements. They are computed
from the discrete solution on the current mesh and known data of the problem (like material
parameters and boundary values). All mesh elements where these indicators are large must be
refined, while elements with very small indicators may be coarsened. The latter is important
especially in time dependent simulations, when local structures may move or even vanish after
some time. We show here the application of adaptive finite element methods to both macroscopic and mesoscopic models for phenomena during the heat treatment of steel.
142
Macroscopic model: Thermo-elasticity with phase changes
The linearized model of thermo-elasticity with phase transformations (for small and quasi-static
deformations) including temperature T , deformation u , and phase fractions pi is given by the
following differential equations.
UcT div(kT ) U L p
(1)
div(V ) 0
p i f i ( p, T )
with stress
(2)
O tr (H ) I 2P H (3O 2P ){D (T T0 ) ( U0 U ) 3U}I
and strain H 12 (u u T ) . f i is the law of phase change, and U , c, k , Li , O , P , D , T0 , U 0 denote

material parameters, most of them depending on temperature and/or phase. Initial and boundary
conditions are defined for this system. The partial differential equations are numerically solved
by a finite element method. As we want to focus in this article on aspects of the numerical
methods, the model is kept simple here; for more elaborate models see, for example, [Wolff,
2005b]. In the remainder of this section, we show the advantages of adaptive methods in two
different situations.
2.1
Boundary layers during heat treatment
We consider the temperature boundary layer during cooling of a rectangular steel workpiece in
2D. A steel model from [Wolff, 2000] was used. Being initially at a constant high temperature,
the sample is cooled from outside, where one side of the rectangle is cooled stronger than the
others. Figure 1 shows temperature graphs and corresponding meshes from two different times.
In the beginning, the temperature is lowered mainly near the edges, leading to boundary layers.
The temperature reduction near the stronger cooled side is much stronger than near the others. A
good resolution of the temperature profile is required for example in order to approximate a
temperature-dependent phase transformation with appearance of different constituents (pearlite,
bainite, martensite, e.g.) and predict local material properties after the heat treatment. In order to
numerically resolve the temperature profiles well, the mesh has to be quite fine near the
boundary layers. An adaptive method based on local error indicators automatically refines the
mesh where it is needed.
Figure 1: Quenching of a hot steel workpiece (2D): Graphs of temperature and corresponding adaptive
meshes at two different times
143
After some time, heat diffusion leads to much smoother temperature profiles, and thus coarser
meshes are sufficient to resolve the temperature near the boundary. But now a finer mesh is
needed also in the interior, as temperature is no longer nearly constant there.
Naturally, similar effects occur during heat treatment of more complicated workpieces. Figure 2
shows a simple 2D and 3D geometry of a cog wheel. The simulation assumes a stronger cooling
rate at the cog tips. Again, a finer mesh is essential at these places in order to approximate the
temperature boundary layer and stronger deformation sufficiently well.
Figure 2: Heat treatment of a (simple) cogwheel in 2D and 3D, with stronger cooling of the cog tips:
Adaptive meshes with emphasized deformations.
2.2
Interior layers due to phase transition in a layered material
In dilatometer experiments with heat treatment cycles for a low alloy Mn-Cr steel with banded
chemical inhomogeneities, an anisotropic dilatation behaviour is observed [Hunkel, 2005]. A
possible explanation is given by local effect of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP), due to
internal stresses from different phase transition laws in different layers.
A common model for TRIP (compare [Mitter, 1987], [Leblond, 1989], [Fischer, 1996], e.g.) is
given by splitting the total strain H into its thermoelastic part and the one produced by TRIP,
H H te H TRIP , together with an evolution law for the latter like
HTRIP
3
2
N V *I c( p ) p ,
H TRIP (0) 0
where I denotes a saturation function and V * the stress deviator. In contrast to (2) above, the
stress is now V O tr (H H TRIP ) I 2P (H H TRIP ) (3O 2P ){D (T T0 ) ( U 0 U ) 3U}I and
depends only on the thermoelastic strain. N is a material parameter which can be determined by
simple experiments [Wolff, 2005a]; see [Dalgic, 2003], [Dalgic, 2004] for data. Again, the
model is kept simple here, see [Wolff, 2004], [Wolff, 2005d] for more complex models,
including back stress e.g., discussion and literature. The numerical method used here was
described in [Schmidt, 2003b].
As a model problem, we consider here a small cuboid (length:width:height
2 : 1 : 1 ) piece of
material with 3 or 5 equally wide layers of alternating phase transition properties, for an
austenite-pearlite transition during cooling. The phase transition in the even layers occurs at a
higher temperature, and thus earlier during cooling, than in the other layers. Due to different
densities of the constituents, high stresses appear near the inner band boundaries during the phase
transitions. This leads to strong TRIP effects. The cooling conditions are uniform over the whole
boundary, so there are no asymmetries due to the boundary conditions.
144
Figure 3 shows adaptive meshes and deformations (emphasized by factor 100) from a cooling
simulation (from 750C to 600C in 50 seconds, approximately). The final triangulation has
approximately 300000 tetrahedra. In Figure 4, the final (emphasized) deformed 3D geometry is
shown.
Figure 3: Simulated heat treatment of layered material: Adaptive meshes and deformation (scaled by
factor 100) at times t=25s, 30s (top) and t=35s, 40s (bottom).
Figure 4: Simulated heat treatment of layered material: Final 3D geometry (3 and 5 layers).
Figure 5: Simulated heat treatment of layered material. Left: Relative length changes in longitudinal and
transversal directions (for 3 layers). Middle: Comparison of 3 and 5 layers. Right: Experimental data.
The anisotropic length changes during the simulation are presented in Figure 5. The values
shown here express the TRIP effect and are computed by
H xa
H x (H x H y H z ) 3 ,
H ya
H y (H x H y H z ) 3 ,
where H x , H y , H z are the relative length changes in x, y, z directions, evaluated at a vertex of the
geometry. Due to symmetry, H y
H z . These curves are nearly independent on the actual size of
the cuboid, we ran simulations for lengths 8mm, 0.8mm, and 0.08mm; the different curves
145
would not be distinguishable from each other. For more layers, the anisotropic TRIP effect gets
stronger, see the middle of Figure 5, which shows H x curves for 3 and 5 layers.
At least qualitatively, these results are quite similar to the experiments in [Hunkel, 2005], see
right hand of Figure 5 (due to the layered geometry, our y, z directions correspond to the
longitudinal one in the experiment). Thus, TRIP effects are a possible explanation for these
anisotropic deformations. For quantitative studies, further investigations with material
parameters corresponding to the steel considered there will be done in the future.
Mesoscopic modelling of transformation phenomena
As empiric macroscopic models for phase transition and related effects are still not satisfactory,
the derivation of new macroscopic (or multi-scale) models from mesoscopic considerations,
models, and simulations may lead to better agreement with experiments. In the macroscopic
models considered above, mixtures of different constituents are possible and their relative
amount is given by phase fraction functions pi ( x, t ) . Looking at the mesoscopic scale of single
or multiple grains, one observes pure phases in (parts of) grains with (relatively) sharp phase
boundaries.
For such phase transitions, sharp-interface or diffuse-interface models are appropriate. While
sharp-interface models are problematic when the interface changes topology, like in case of
phase nucleations, diffuse-interface models can easily handle such topology changes. Phase field
models are based on the assumption of a smooth phase variable, which varies rapidly between
nearly constant values, representing pure phases, in a narrow transition region of width O(G ) .
This transition region represents a diffuse interface, which is moving during phase transition.
Here we aim at phase field models for solid-solid phase transitions in steel, including the
influence of stress on the phase transformation. In the phase field model, the ordinary differential
equation p f (T , p) in (1) is replaced by a partial differential equation
G ( p a 'p)
<c( p)
f ,
where G is a small parameter and < is a potential with two minima at 0 and 1, the values for the
pure phases. We use a double obstacle potential [Blowey, 1993]. Depending on the model, the
right hand side f may depend on concentration, temperature, and stress or strain. For this
example, we consider a simple temperature-driven phase transition with a modification which
allows for a stress-dependent transformation (compare [Paret, 2001], e.g., for a purely stressdependent model).
f J T c V : V .
For c ! 0 , the negative sign in front of the stress term leads to an accelerated phase transition.
Numerical (very preliminary) results show that it is possibile to include stress dependent effects
into the mesoscopic transformations by such a simple modification of the underlying energy
functional. For some (macroscopic) ideas of more elaborate stress dependencies, see [Wolff,
2005c]. We want to simulate the temperature- and stress-driven phase transition in a single 2D
six-sided grain. Cooling from the left side results in the nucleation of the new phase in the left
corner. Temperature gradients and density changes leads to interior stresses, which accelerate the
phase transition when c ! 0 . For phase variable and stress, we assume for this simple test case
here the natural (homogeneous) boundary conditions on the grain boundary.
146
Figure 6: Comparison of volume fractions over time for different influence of stress (different c ).
We use a finite element discretization and an adaptive method based on error indicators from
[Chen, 2005], [Schmidt, 2003a]. In Figure 6, we show the evolution of the relative volume of the
growing phase inside the grain. Three curves show the phase transitions for c 10-24 , c 10-25 ,
and c 0 . The figure shows that, depending on the parameters, such models can lead to very
strongly accelerated phase transitions.
Figure 7: Graphs of phase variable and corresponding meshes at time t=0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7.
Figure 8: Comparison of simulations without ( c 0 , left) and with stress ( c

Phases at time t=0.6 and corresponding meshes.
147
10-25 , right):
Figure 7 shows values of the phase variable (corresponding to the untransformed phase) and
corresponding finite element meshes from a simulation with influence of stress ( c 10-25 ). In
Figure 8, we compare phase distributions at the same time from simulations without ( c 0 ) and
with ( c 10-25 ) strain. Under influence of strain, the phase boundary has moved farther.
The adaptive method automatically refines the mesh in the moving transition region, where the
phase variable is not constant, so that it can be approximated well. This highly refined region is
coarsened again, when the transition region has moved forward. Additional refinement is due to
variations in the temperature and deformation fields. These simulations are still part of a work in
progress. Multi-grain configurations and more elaborate and realistic parameters and boundary
conditions will be considered in the future.
Conclusion
We have shown some examples, where local phenomena like boundary layers, interior layers,
and phase transition regions appear naturally in models and simulations for the heat treatment of
steel. The adaptive finite element method presents an automatic tool for numerical simulations,
and produces locally refined meshes where needed for accurate computations. Especially in 3D,
computations of similar accuracy would be too costly when not using local refinements, but a
globally refined mesh.
Acknowledgement
This work has partially been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via the Collaborative
Research Centre SFB 570 Distortion Engineering at the University of Bremen.
All numerical simulations presented in this article were performed using the adaptive finite element toolbox
ALBERTA [Schmidt, 2005]. The 2D and 3D figures were produced with the package Grape [Grape, 1995].
We thank one of the referees for valuable comments and hints.
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149
FE determination of the effective TRIP during

diffusive transformation in a volume with
randomly positioned nuclei
Fabrice Barbe1, Romain Quey2, Lakhdar Taleb1, Eduardo Souza de Cursi1
1
LMR, INSA Rouen,BP8,Av de lUniversite, 76801 St Etienne du Rouvray, France, {fbarbe, ltaleb,
souza}@insa-rouen.fr
Microstructures and Processing Department, Ecole des Mines de St Etienne, MMF, 158 Cours Fauriel,
42023 St Etienne, France, quey@emse.fr
Abstract
This paper presents an original numerical approach of the modeling of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP). As
currently proposed micromechanical models, it takes into account the random character of the positions of the nuclei
in the medium to be transformed. But as no other micromechanical model except those resorting to field
representations like finite elements computations, the heterogeneities in stresses and strains inside a single phase due
to the local interactions with the other phase are considered for the determination of the effective TRIP. To our
knowledge, it is the only approach to combine local field heterogeneities and random distribution of nuclei. One is
essential for the study of the experimentally observed effects of pre-deformation of the parent phase [Barbe et al.,
2005]. The other is, as shown in this paper, crucial for a good accordance with experimental results in basic tests
without loading history.
Keywords
Phase transformation, transformation induced plasticity, micromechanical modeling, diffusive transformation
Introduction
The solid-solid transformation of metals under a constant loading stress can be accompanied by a
permanent volume and shape change of the product material even though the applied stress is
small as compared to the yield stresses of the constituents. This transformation induced plastic
strain (TRIP) cannot be predicted with classical models of plasticity; several micromechanical
models have thus been developed with this objective [Leblond, 1989], [Fischer, 1990], [Taleb
and Sidoroff, 2000], [Fischer et al, 2000]. They provide rather good predictions of transformation
plasticity in simple cases of loading history, uniaxial as well as biaxial [Coret et al., 2005].
However, they fail to reproduce experimental curves in cases where the parent phase has been
strain hardened before the transformation [Taleb and Petit-Grostabussiat, 2002]. For this reason,
alternative numerical approaches [Barbe et al., 2004, Meftah et al., 2004] have been developed
on the basis of the numerical models presented respectively in [Ganghoffer et al, 1993],
[Ganghoffer and Simonsson, 1998], for diffusive and displacive (or martensitic) transformations,
respectively. They consist in modeling a macroscopic medium submitted to a phase
transformation under externally-applied stress by the finite elements technique. Only the main
physical consequences of phase transformation are involved in the modeling: a change in
elastoplastic properties and a change in specific volume and/or shape from the parent to the
product phase. The present work deals with diffusive transformations. By opposition to nondiffusive ones, namely martensitic transformations where plates with particular orientations form
quasi-instantaneously, the diffusive transformation considered consists of two steps: nucleation
of one or several nuclei then growth of the product phase zones.
150
In section 2 we recall the model of [Ganghoffer et al, 1993] and present the improvements made
on this basis, the most important one consisting in considering randomly positioned nuclei
instead of periodically distributed ones. Then, in section 3, a justification of these improvements
is made from a comparative analysis of the main results. We also address the question as to how
the computed transformation plasticity may be affected by the number and spatial distribution of
nuclei in the macro-volume, and by the number of elements in the mesh.
Modeling
As in the six micromechanical models referenced above, the material properties are supposed to
be homogeneous in each of the two phases, which means that the crystalline character of the
medium is not taken into account. This is justified by considering that each phase represents a set
of grains having different crystallographic orientations, shapes, sizes and neighbours: as in selfconsistent modeling of polycrystalline media, with a large enough number of individual grains
representing a phase, each phase can be supposed to have the mean properties of all its individual
constituents and to interact with a homogeneous medium.
The diffusive transformation is modeled in a cubic macro-volume: its size is taken so large as
compared to the heterogeneities it contains initially (the nuclei) that its mean (apparent)
properties can undoubtedly be considered as representative of the macroscopic scale. The
volume is discretized into identical finite elements with cubic shape.
All the product phase nuclei appear at the beginning of the transformation, and all of them grow
at the same rate and isotropically. This leads to successive changes in the material properties of
the elements, layer of elements after layer, prescribing new mechanical properties and the
transformation strain (specific volume change) while controlling the morphology of the new
phase (cubic, spherical or polyhedral).
The volume is subjected to a constant axial stress on one of its faces while the other faces are
imposed to remain planar (with the necessary kinematic condition of null displacement in the
direction of load for the face opposite to the loading face).
The resulting total strain tensor Etot is decomposed as follows: Etot = Eel + Etr + Etp where Eel is
the elastic strain due to the applied tensile stress, Etr is the transformation strain and Etp is the
transformation plasticity that corresponds to the plastic strain provided by the FE computation.
The choice on the type of hardening is especially of great importance for the study of (i) the
effect of pre-deformation of the parent phase on transformation plasticity and of (ii) the
transmission of hardening from the parent to the product phase. Accordingly, as this present
paper deals only with cases without pre-deformation, we have restricted our field of investigation
to a bilinear elastoplastic law with isotropic hardening. The parameters correspond to those of
austenitic and bainitic phases in a 16MND5 steel (used in French nuclear reactor vessels; ASTM
norm: SA508C13); they have been identified from experimental tests [Petit-Grostabussiat et al.,
2004], which main result in term of transformation plasticity is systematically compared to
computed results in the following. This will allow to observe a good agreement even though the
bainitic transformation cannot be considered as purely diffusive and accompanied by dilatation
only. The main characteristics on parameters and load are:
x
Young modulus and Poisson coefficient for austenite and bainite: 200000 MPa and 0.3
x
Yield stress: 107 MPa for austenite and 433 MPa for bainite.
x
Hardening coefficient: 2800 MPa for austenite and 4500 MPa for bainite
x
Axial tensile stress: 24 MPa
x Transformation strain: Etrii = 0.0055 for i=1,2,3 ; Etrij = 0 if i differs from j

All computations have been performed with the Finite Element software ZeBuLoN developed at
the Ecole des Mines de Paris and ONERA [Besson et al., 1998], on standard Linux PCs.
2.1
151
Periodic pattern of nuclei
In the approach proposed by [Ganghoffer et al., 1993], the nuclei are assumed to be distributed
along a cubic array, and, at any instant of the transformation, the new phase is represented by a
set of cubes with a single size regularly distributed in the medium. This periodicity allows to
restrict the domain of study to a single cubic cell with a single nucleus at its middle, and to
reduce further to one eighth of the cell with a cubic geometry according to the symmetry of the
problem. The nucleus is then located at one corner of the reduced cell as can be seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Distribution of transformation plasticity at two instants on the external contour of the domain of
study in the case of regular pattern of nuclei. The tensile stress is applied on the right face.
Transformation starts from the bottom left front corner. (Left): intermediate step where 17 layers of
elements have been transformed (volume fraction of the new phase equals 173/243 where 243 is the total
number of elements in the cube). (Right): at the end of the transformation. The deformation of the mesh
has been amplified in order to allow a clear distinction between phases.
The evolution of transformation plasticity as a function of the product phase volume fraction for
this configuration is given on Figure 2a. It shows an important effect of the mesh size as soon as
50% of the volume has been transformed. That means that there is no mesh size effect as long as
the product phase is far enough from the external contour, after what, for higher volume
fractions, plastic strain increments seem to evolve in close relation with volume fraction
increments: the higher the volume fraction increment from a step to another, the higher the TRIP
increment.
152
Figure 2: (Top): Predicted transformation plasticity as a function of the volume fraction of the product
phase in the case of a regular pattern of nuclei, obtained with different mesh sizes. (Bottom)
Transformation plasticity computed in 100 microstructures with 4 randomly-positioned nucleates and
the corresponding ensemble average result (filled diamonds)
It has also been proposed in [Ganghoffer et al., 1993] that the nuclei be distributed randomly in a
cubic cell of investigation. But as can be seen on Figure 2b with 100 computations all differing
by the positions of the nuclei, the transformation plasticity is drastically dependent on the
positions, which means that the domain of study is very far from being representative of a
macro-volume, so far that a supposedly representative volume could a priori not even be
computed with large computing resources as parallel computers. Still, as seen on Figure 2a with
ensemble averaged transformation plasticity, this configuration with a fixed number of randomly
positioned nuclei presents a new interesting feature: instead of having a decrease in the
transformation plasticity while cell size is increased as observed with a single central nucleus, the
pseudo-random configuration leads to an increase. That is why we have proposed an extension of
this pseudo-random configuration that takes into account the full character of randomness in the
nuclei positions: the number of nuclei in a domain of computation is no more arbitrarily fixed but
determined from a Poisson distribution of nuclei in a macro-volume. This is explained in the
following sub-section.
2.2
Random pattern of nuclei
This approach is inspired from other works for the determination of the effective properties of
elastic heterogeneous materials [Kanit et al, 2003]. It is based on the assumption that the medium
is ergodic, which means that an ensemble average over a quasi-infinite number of small volumes
leads to the same properties as those obtained by a volume average over a quasi-infinite volume.
Accordingly, instead of computing a single large volume, we compute several hundreds of small
randomly positioned sub-domains which are extracted from the macro-volume with
153
predetermined nuclei: they have previously been set by a Poisson process of nucleation. This
allows to know analytically what is the proportion of sub-domains without any nucleus, the
proportion of sub-domains with 1 nucleus, the proportion with 2 nuclei Then an ensemble
averaging that takes into account these proportions is performed over all the sub-domains. The
result is expected to be representative of a macro-volume with a given density of nuclei. Since a
significant part of the sub-domains may not contain any nucleus, the possibility for the new
phase to grow in a sub-domain from one or several external nuclei has also been implemented, as
seen on Figure 3.
Figure 3: Growth of the product phase during the three first steps of the transformation in a sub-domain
initialy containing 2 nuclei, and final step at which all the sub-domain has been transformed.
One of the two most important benefit of the approach with random microstructure as regard to
the modeling of a periodic microstructure concerns the evolution of the volume fraction of the
product phase with the successive computation steps. Let us remind that the growth starts from a
set of elements randomly distributed in the macro-volume and progresses element after element
with this rule: any element of the parent phase having a neighboring element constituted of
product phase will be transformed at the following step. At the beginning of the transformation,
when the probability for two nuclei to be very close to the other is very small (typically of the
order 10-4-10-3, the mean density of nuclei per element in our computations, as in Figures 4 and
5a,b), the volume fraction of the product phase (z) increases proportionally to n3, n being the step
number of the complete transformation of the macro-volume (cf Figure 4). Then, as the
probability for product phase regions to intersect with each other increases in the random
microstructure whereas it remains null in the periodic microstructure, volume fractions of these
two models depart from each other: it continues to evolve proportionally to n3 in the periodic
microstructure and it increases exponentially in the random microstructure. The complete
evolution of z with n in a random microstructure naturally evolves as the integrated form of the
Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model for isothermal diffusional growth and an initial
simultaneous nucleation: z=1-exp(-(n/8.5)3.3) is for example the fit for a mean density of nuclei
set at 244*10-6 (see for example [Weinberg et al., 1997] for details on the integrated form of the
JMAK equation). At the final steps, the transformation in the random microstructure progresses
slower and slower because of isolated regions of parent phase far from any nucleus whereas it is
completed at its highest volume fraction rate in the periodic medium. These major differences on
the kinetics of transformation in the two media are strongly suspected to be at the origin of the
differences in transformation plasticity evolutions. Comparing the curves of Figure 5a for
different mean density of nuclei per element to those of Figure 2, one should note that the lower
the volume fraction increment or growth rate-, the higher the TRIP. This is confirmed on Figure
5b where TRIP decreases as the growth rate increases. But the experimental TRIP remains in
between the two models predictions, the beginning (z<0.18) being better represented by a
periodic medium and the end being in particularly good quantitative agreement with the
transformation plasticity in a random macro-volume.
154
Figure 4: Evolution of the product phase volume fraction as function of the transformation steps in a
macro-volume, for nuclei distributed regularly or randomly.
Figure 5: Evolution of TRIP during the complete transformation of a macro-volume with randomly
positioned nuclei. (Top) Effect of the morphology of the product phase and effect of the mean density
per element. (Bottom) Effect of the growth rate and of the sub-domain mesh size
The second important improvement with the computation of random microstructure concerns the
significant lowering of the mesh size effect: as seen on Figure 5b, for a same mean density of
nuclei per element, the transformation plasticity is nearly independent on the sub-domains size.
This result is consistent with the ergodicity hypothesis: would have not it been observed that it
would have raised doubts about the nature of our numerical model. A second necessary condition
155
for the ergodicity hypothesis to be valid is obtained by considering the distributions of all subdomains TRIP for different mean densities of nuclei, on Figure 6: the dispersion of the responses
gets smaller as the number of nuclei in the macro-volume is increased; this means that the
apparent properties of a domain tend to a single limit when the number of nuclei it contains is
increased, as if the size of the domain was increased.
Figure 6: Distributions of the TRIP, at the end of transformation, in all the sub-domains taken from
macro-volumes with different mean density of nuclei per element
Conclusion
This paper presents a numerical modeling dedicated to the prediction of transformation plasticity
during diffusive transformation, for classical TRIP tests as well as for the study of the effects of
the pre-deformation of the parent phase which has been observed experimentally in [Taleb and
Petit-Grostabussiat, 2002] and [Petit-Grostabussiat et al., 2004] and which could not be
reproduced by current micromechanical modelings of TRIP. As has been emphasized in this
paper, it distinguishes from previous finite elements modelings especially by the kinetics of the
product phase: by considering randomly positioned nuclei in a quasi-infinite volume instead of a
periodic pattern of nuclei or equivalently a volume with a single central nucleus, the volume
fraction evolution of the product phase takes the form of the JMAK equation for isothermal
diffusional processes, which corresponds much more to experimental observations than the
kinetics in a volume with a single central nucleus. This improvement has been shown to be of
major importance for a better accordance with experimental measures of transformation
plasticity, particularly at the end of the transformation. There still remain to work on the
processes of nucleation and growth at the lights of our results in order to obtain a better
quantitative agreement with experiments at the beginning of the transformation as well.
References
Barbe, F., Quey, R., Taleb, L.: Numerical determination of diffusional transformation plasticity from computations
of random microstructures, 21st ICTAM, Warsaw, Poland, August 2004
Barbe, F., Taleb, L., Souza de Cursi, E.: Numerical simulation of an interaction between classical plasticity and trip
for diffusive transformation, Int Symp. Plasticity 2005, Kauai, Hawai, January 2005
Besson, J., Leriche, R., Foerch, R., Cailletaud, G.: Object--Oriented Programming Applied to the Finite Element
Method. Part II. Application to Material Behaviors, Revue Europeenne des Elements Finis 7(5), 1998, p. 567588
Coret, M., Calloch, S., Combescure, A.: Experimental study of the phase transformation plasticity of 16MND5 low
carbon steel induced by proportional and nonproportional biaxial loading paths, Eur J Mech A/Sol 23, 2004,
p. 823-842
156
Fischer, F.D.: A micromechanical model for transformation plasticity in steels, Acta Metall Mater, 38, 1990, p.
1536
Fischer, F.D., Reisner, G. , Werner, E. Tanaka, K., Cailletaud, G., Antretter, T.: A new view on transformation
induced plasticity (TRIP), Int J Plasticity 16, 2000, p. 723
Ganghoffer, J., Denis, S., Gautier E., Simon, A., Sjostrom, S.: Finite element calculation of the micromechanics of
a diffusional transformation, Eur J Mech, A/Solids 12(1), 1993, p. 21-32
Ganghoffer, J., Simonsson, K.: A micromechanical model of the martensitic transformation, Mechanics of
Materials 27, 1998, p. 125-144
Kanit, T., Forest, S., Galliet, I., Mounoury, V., Jeulin, D.: Determination of the size of the representative volume
element for random composites: statistical and numerical approach, Int J Sol Struct 40, 2003, p. 3647-3679
Meftah, S., Barbe, F., Taleb, L., Sidoroff, F.: Numerical analysis of the interaction classical plasticity - TRIP, 21st
ICTAM, Warsaw, Poland, August 2004
Leblond, J.B.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels. II. Coupling with strain hardening
phenomena, Int J Plasticity 5, 1989, p. 573
Petit-Grostabussiat, S., Taleb, L. and Jullien, J.: Experimental results on classical plasticity of steels subjected to
structural transformations, Int J Plasticity, 20, 2004, p. 1371
Taleb, L., Petit-Grostabussiat, S.: Elastoplasticity and phase transformations in ferrous alloys: some discrepancies
between experiments and modeling, J Phys IV 12, 2002, Pr11-187-194
Taleb, L. and Sidoroff, F.: A micromechanical modeling of Greenwood-Johnson mechanism in transformation
induced plasticity, Int J Plasticity, 19, 2003, p. 1821
Weinberg, M.C., Birnie III, D.P., Shneidman, V.A.: Section 2. Crystallization. Crystallization kinetics and the
JMAK equation, J Non-Crystalline Solids 219, 1997, p. 89-99
6. Casting and forming
157
158
159
Production Optimisation of Thin Walled Light

Metal Die Casting Components
E. Garcia-Sobolevski 1, J. Gibmeier 1, B. Scholtes 1, A. Gebauer-Teichmann 2, R. Herzog 2,
A. Egner-Walter 3, E. Hepp 3, E. Stark 4
1
University of Kassel, Inst. Mat. Eng. , Mnchebergstr. 3, D-34125 Kassel, scholtes@uni-kassel.de

2
Volkswagen AG (Kassel), Postfach 1451, D-34219 Baunatal, ralf2.herzog@volkswagen.de

3
MAGMA GmbH, Kackerstr. 11, D-52072 Aachen, info@magmasoft.de
MECO Eckel GmbH, Christian-Balzer-Strae 18, D-35216 Biedenkopf-Wallau, info@meco-eckel.de
Abstract
Integrative functional die casting components are of increasing importance e.g. for automotive industry. Compared to
traditional fabrication of light metal chassis the die casting process is an efficient and economical technology, which
provides the fabrication of complex parts with closer tolerances. On the other hand new problems are found
concerning distortion and crack sensitivity particularly in thin walled die casting components. In this context residual
stresses induced by the manufacturing process play a decisive role. Within the frame of a collaborative research
project supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) an investigation of basic
problems dealing with strength and distortion of thin walled die casting components is carried out. The research
group is formed by Volkswagen AG (Kassel), Institute of Materials Engineering (University of Kassel), MAGMA
GmbH (Aachen) and MECO Eckel GmbH (Biedenkopf). The general aim of the project is to develop and improve
innovative die casting technologies for competitive automotive lightweight constructions.
One main objective of this project is the minimisation of distortions as a consequence of the die casting and
subsequent heat treatment process in order to provide structural components with minimal dimensional variations
and to avoid straightening operations. For this purpose some selected model chassis parts are systematically
investigated covering the measurement of material parameters of the alloys used, the analysis of the distortion as well
as of residual stresses distributions. Relevant process parameters were analysed and the die casting process was
simulated with the objective to optimise individual steps of the manufacturing process and the geometry of the
casting mould. In this paper the project topics are introduced and characteristic contributions of the project partners to
the general aims of the project are presented and discussed.
Keywords
Lightweight structures, residual stresses, die casting, finite element simulation
Introduction
In the automotive industry new concepts of consumption reduction have to be developed.

Possibilities for the reduction of energy consumption are e.g.:
x reduction of the vehicles mass
x reduction of the rolling resistance
x reduction of the aerodynamic resistance
x increasing of the axis efficiency.
In this context lightweight construction represents a basic factor [Friederich, 2001]. As an
estimate for the reduction of fuel consumption about 0.3 0.5 l/100 km for a mass reduction of
about 100 kg can be assumed. For an average motorised car approximately 75% of the fuel
consumption is affected by the automotive mass [Friederich, 2002]. There is no doubt that
lightweight construction is a core competence in automotive engineering and further developments of lightweight concepts and materials are essential.
160
One realised implementation is the aluminium spaceframe technology and its derivatives.
Various aluminium components are assembled in auto body construction. Increasingly
aluminium as well as magnesium components processed by die-casting come into operation.
They provide the opportunity for forming complex geometries (see Figure 1). Extrusion moulded
profiles and sheet metals are used for geometric simple components.
Casting
Profiles
Sheet
Metal
Figure 1: Audi A8 Aluminium Space Frame with components of diverse production
In the range of thin walled lightweight die casting components currently new methods are
adopted, which actually lead to new problems. Beside the generation of hot tearing, distortion of
thin walled structural components is a great challenge, limiting the application of this innovative
casting technology. In general straightening of the components is cost-intensive and interferes
the manufacturing process chain. It is well known that specific distortion capabilities can be
assigned to specific manufacturing processes interacting within the entire manufacturing process
in a complex way. Thus distortion is a characteristic system property of a manufacturing chain
[Hoffmann, 2002]. Size alterations as well as shape deviations are generally caused by
manufacturing relevant residual stresses, phase transformations or precipitation processes
[Macherauch, 1983], [Volkmuth, 1996]. Distortion control implies systematic investigations of
the mechanisms of distortion development including the analysis of residual stresses for each
process step. Due to the variety of parameters simulations of the processes should be combined
with experimental investigations.
The determination of distortion and its cause is required for each process step. Based on the
results the casting process and the subsequent heat treatment have to be optimised. This implies:
x identification of distortion relevant process data in the cast material
x distortion minimisation strategies
x optimisation of the die-casting tool
x analysis of the variables affecting the development of hot tearing
x distortion limiting heat treatment of thin walled structural components.
Within the scope of a collaborative research project supported by the German Federal Ministry
of Education and Research (BMBF) an investigation of basic problems dealing with strength and
distortion of thin walled die casting components is carried out. The research group is formed by
Volkswagen AG (Kassel), Institute of Materials Engineering (University of Kassel), MAGMA
GmbH (Aachen) and MECO Eckel GmbH (Biedenkopf). The general aim of the project is to
develop and improve innovative die casting technologies for competitive automotive lightweight
constructions. Starting from the determination of the current status of the serial die casting
process and simulations considering variations of the relevant process parameters, optimisations
of the die-casting tool as well as the casting process have been worked out. In the subsequent
producibility analysis the implementation of the measures have been audited.
161
For the realisation of the main objective, i.e. to obtain die casting components with reduced
residual stress and distortion, systematically interlocked investigations have been carried out
within the project on:
x casting tests and thermographic as well as geometric measurements (Volkswagen Kassel)
x determination of material parameters and residual stress analysis (University of Kassel)
x simulation of casting processes and the formation of residual stresses (Magma GmbH,
Aachen)
x construction and manufacturing of optimised die-casting tools (MECO Eckel GmbH,
Biedenkopf).
The required residual stress analysis on the thin walled components of complex shape requires
investigations about the feasibility of the conventional stress analysis methods. Justified by its
relatively simple instrumentation and the flexible application during production the incremental
hole drilling technique has been applied here. Its application is limited by restrictions resulting
from the dimension of technical components e.g. the distance of the hole from free edges or
simply the thickness of the parts. Systematic investigations on the geometric boundary
conditions of the incremental hole drilling method have been carried out within the project.
Material and die casting components
Within the project two different aluminium die-casting components are investigated, an
automotive door element (C-pillar) and a front chassis part. The geometry of the components is
presented in Figure 2.
a.)
b.)
Figure 2: Investigated components: (a) automotive door element (C-Pillar) (VW-Phaeton) and (b) front
chassis part (Audi A8)
Si
Mn
Mg
Fe
Sr
Ti
Al
9.5-11.5
0.45-0.65
0.26-0.35
0.14-0.22
0.008-0.018
0.03-0.09
balance
Table 1: Chemical composition of the investigated Al-alloy (in Ma-%)

T [C]
Rm [MPa]
Rp0,2 [MPa]
A [%]
Youngs-Modulus [GPa]
RT
195
143
6.3
81.2
100
180
131
14.0
83.7
200
136
114
29.9
74.7
300
87
72
34.7
66.0
Table 2: Mechanical properties of the investigated Al-alloy, age hardened state (T6)
162
A T6 heat treated age-hardening aluminium alloy was used. Table 1 gives the nominal range of
the chemical composition of the investigated alloy. In Table 2 some mechanical properties at
room temperature as well as elevated temperatures up to 300C are listed for the age hardened
state.
Modelling
Finite element simulations of the die casting process were carried out by using the FE-package
MAGMASOFT (Magma GmbH, Aachen). The material model used within the simulations uses
a thermo-elasto-plastic formulation. For the validation of the model results of thermo-mechanical
tests were used. Quasistatic tensile testing at room temperature and elevated temperatures up to
300C as well as creep testing for various temperatures between 200C and 470C and loads
ranging between 4 MPa and 130 MPa for the investigated age hardening aluminium alloy were
carried out at the University of Kassel.
The contact algorithm implemented in the FE software uses a contact condition against a rigid
surface. The contact is considered for being frictionless. Various contact formulations (e.g.
Penalty, augumented Lagrange) are tested in order to achieve the best possible agreement with
experimental data.
Results
4.1
Distortion analysis
In general all casting components are distorted during the cooling process (Figure 3) due to the
evolution of the temperature distribution within the casting process. In case of die-casting
structural components it can be distinguished between three phases within the cooling process.
First the die-casting component shrinks within the casting tool. Here complex contact conditions
between the die-casting component and the tool exist and the definition and the implementation
of a suitable contact algorithm is one main aspect within the collaborative research project. After
ejection of the die-casting components unhindered shrinkage proceeds. This phase can accurately
be numerically described (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Temperature distribution of the cooling of a car door element (C-Pillar, VW-Phaeton) one
minute after ejection, comparison between thermographic measurements with simulation results
Figure 4 illustrates that the temperature gradient within the cooling phase strongly affects the
distortion of the C-pillar. The qualitatively displayed distortion of the component shows a good
accordance of the simulation data with experimental results recorded on a 3D co-ordinate
measuring system.
163
Regions of last cooling are

at the inner side of the arch
measurement
feed-head side
simulation
simulation
measurement
Figure 4: Temperature gradient within the sample during the cooling process and outline of the qualitative
distortion of the C-pillar (VW-Phaeton)
Furthermore the third phase within the casting process i.e. the cutting-off of the feed-head and
the corresponding stress transformation can be reliably simulated.
4.2
Residual stress analysis
Residual stress measurements were carried out for the validation of the casting simulations by a
comparison of experimental data with simulation results. Furthermore residual stresses induced
by a straightening process were monitored. In order to avoid dissection of the large-area
structural components for residual stress analysis, the incremental hole drilling method [ASTM
E837, 1999] was chosen. A dissection would certainly result in a rearrangement of the current
residual stress state. Apart of this, the incremental hole drilling method has the advantage of
being less cost intensive than other conventional residual stress analysis techniques as e.g. the
diffraction methods. Furthermore one measurement offers a complete depth distribution of the
macro residual stresses up to several tenth of a millimetre [Hauk, 1997], [Kandil, 2001].
pre-loading = distortion
H = 1,5 %
u = 3 mm
straightening
Figure 5: 4-point bending device for in-situ straightening experiments (left) and schematic illustration of
the pre-loading and the straightening of the Al-alloy samples
The stress measurements on the die casting components were supplemented by X-ray stress
analysis on laboratory specimens (sampled from the structural components) subjected to defined
load situations in order to simulate the residual stress evolution during the straightening process
[Eigenmann, 1996]. The in-situ straightening tests were carried out using a 4-point bending
device, which can be mounted on the diffractometer for performing X-ray stress analysis on the
tensile stressed side of the bending bars as well as on the compressive side (Figure 5).
164
Within the straightening simulations three variants were considered, which differ by the process
sequence of the T6 heat treatment steps (a) solution treatment / quenching, (b) tempering and (c)
straightening. It is distinguished between the sequences a-b-c, a-c-b and c-a-b. X-ray stress
analysis on the sheet metal samples were carried out before and after each process step in order
to monitor, for which sequence the lowest residual stress values can be measured. It came out
that in general the residual stresses are rather small. Maximum residual stress amounts of
approximately 55 MPa were determined for the distorted samples. Furthermore the straightening
simulations have shown that straightening in between the heat treatment steps (variant 2: a-c-b)
as expected results in the lowest residual stress values at the end of the process sequence. Here
residual stresses amounts of less than 10 MPa have been observed. This justifies the process
sequence carried out in the actual production. Thus the investigations have shown that the reason
for distortions of structural components during the heat treatment procedure is in general the
consolidation of the parts as a consequence of the gravity during the solidification treatment. The
simulation of the heat treatment of the Al-alloy components determining the creep of the
components at elevated temperature is an appropriate tool for the construction of suitable
supports for the minimisation of the distortion.
Simulations of the die casting process indicate that it has to be distinguished between the states
before and after cutting-off of the feed-head. Right after the die casting process residual stresses
of approximately 115 MPa in magnitude occur within the C-pillar (see Figure 6). In the region
accessible for the hole drilling technique stress magnitudes of approximately 60-70 MPa exist.
The cutting-off of the feed-head results in an extreme relieve of the residual stresses, which was
shown both by simulation results as well as experimental data.
calculated residual stresses
after the die casting process
stress X
[MPa]
Figure 6: calculated residual stresses after the die casting process in X-direction of the model
In addition to the small residual stress quantities the complex shape of the structural components
leads to further uncertainties. According to literature the proper application of the incremental
hole drilling method is subjected to geometric restrictions as the distance of the hole to free edges
or to pitches, the thickness of the component as well as the surface curvature [Knig, 1991],
[Schwarz, 1996]. For the minimisation of the geometry effects systematic investigation have
been carried out by means of experimental investigations and finite element simulations. As an
example Figure 7 shows calculated strain relaxation in load direction vs. the drilling depths for
samples of various thicknesses varying between 1.5 and 6 mm being subjected to an uniaxial
tensile load of 160 MPa.
The diagram presents differences of the strain relaxations referred to a sufficiently thick sample
being unaffected by the geometry effect. The reference strain relaxation for a hole depths of
1 mm is approximately 190 m/m. The distributions illustrate that only for sample thicknesses in
the range of the hole diameter (and smaller) remarkable deviations occur due to the samples
165
geometry. For thicker samples the deviations are negligible and range within the measuring
uncertainty of the strain gauge technique.
4.0 mm
3.0 mm
6.0 mm
diff. strain relief 'H0 [m/m]
4
0
-4
2.5 mm
-8
-12
2.0 mm
-16
-20
sample thickness
1.5 mm
-24
-28
-32
0.0
FE - Simulation
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
drilling depth [mm]
Figure 7: Differences in the strain relaxations during the incremental drilling of the hole for different
samples thicknesses with respect to a sample being unaffected by the thickness
4.3
Tool lifetime
A further main objective of the collaborative project is the optimisation of the die-casting tool
with respect to its lifetime. In addition, the (over-)compensation of the distortion of the die
casting components is considered.
Figure 8: Stress distribution at selected locations of the casting tool during solidification process (bottom)
and after spraying for rapid cooling (top)
For the lifetime of the tools the residual stress situation is a limiting factor. In general two main
reasons for the generation of residual stresses in the die-casting tools exist. Beside stresses
caused by the machine pressure and the internal pressure of the melt, non-uniform, time
dependent temperature cycles induce specific residual stresses inside the die-casting tool. The
latter ones can be determined by casting simulations and subsequently be used for lifetime
predictions of the tools. As an example Figure 8 presents the stress distribution at selected
locations of the die-casting tool. In the marked region maximum compressive stresses of about
680 MPa occur right after the solidification of the die-casting component (bottom). At the same
location rapid cooling during the spraying results in a tensile stress of up to 390 MPa. The
166
simulation results can thus be used for the prediction of stress concentrations. Based on this,
suitable optimisation measures can be initiated.
Conclusions
The results determined within the collaborative project can be excellently transferred on
applications of light metal structural components in all branches of automotive technique were
light-weight construction is demanded.
In general residual stresses within the structural die-casting components are rather small after
cutting-off of the feed head. This has been determined by means of experimental investigations
as well as simulation data. For the proper determination of the residual stress state of complex
components further efforts have to be done. The incremental hole drilling method, being the best
choice concerning the residual stress analysis on the structural parts without its dissection, will
be improved in order to carry out stress analysis within regions were the limiting geometric
boundary conditions are violated. The final aim is to propose a procedure using case sensitive
calibration functions. Here experimental investigations as well as finite element simulations of
the hole drilling are in progress.
In particular the investigations have shown that the good agreement between simulation data
with experimental results justifies the use of die casting simulations of the systematically
occurring distortions. This distortion can be minimised or compensated by a proper geometry of
the casting tool. In principal this procedure is not new, since volume shrinkage is precompensated by casting tools since long. However, distortion compensation is by far more
complex than the compensation of volume shrinkage.
Acknowledgement
The authors (Volkswagen AG, TZ Kassel, FKZ 02PD2141 / University of Kassel, Institute of Materials Engineering,
FZK 02PD2143 / Magma GmbH, Aachen, FZK 02PD2141 / MECO Eckel GmbH, Biedenkopf, FZK 02PD4142) are
grateful to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) respective Forschungszentrum
Karlsruhe for financial support.
References
ASTM Designation E837-99 N.N. Standard Test Method for Determining Stresses by the Hole-Drilling StrainGage Method, 1999
Eigenmann, B.; Macherauch, E.: Rntgenographische Untersuchung von Spannungszustnden in Werkstoffen Teil III. Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstofftechnik 27, 1996, pp. 426-437
Friedrich, H. E.; Gnsicke T.: Werkstoffe und Bauweisen fr innovative Fahrzeugkonzepte; 19. VDI/VWGemeinschaftstagung Fahrzeugkonzepte fr das 2. Jahrhundertautomobiltechnik, Nov. 2001, Wolfsburg
Friedrich, H. E.: Herausforderungen der Werkstofftechnik fr Fahrzeugkonzepte des Niedrigstverbrauchs; DGMTagung 2002, Aachen
V. Hauk, V.: Structural and residual stress analysis by nondestructive methods: evaluation, application, assessment,
Elsevier Science, 1997
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: (2002). Distortion Engineering Verzugsbeherrschung in der
Fertigung, HTM 57-3, 2002, pp. 213-217
Kandil, F. A.; Lord, J. D.; Fry, A. T.; Grant, P. V.: A Review of Residual Stress Measurements Methods A Guide
to Technique Selection, NPL Report MATC(A)04, Feb. 2001, Teddington (GB): NPL
Macherauch, E.; Hauk; V.: Eigenspannungen: Entstehung Messung Bewertung, DGM, 1983
Knig, G.: Ein Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung teilzerstrender Eigenspannungsmessverfahren, Techn.-wiss. Bericht
MPA Stuttgart, Heft 91-02, Stuttgart MPA, 1991
Schwarz, T.: Beitrag zur Eigenspannungsermittlung an isotropen, anisotropen sowie inhomogen, schichtweise
aufgebauten Werkstoffen mittels Bohrlochmethode und Ringkernverfahren. Dissertation, Universitt Stuttgart,
1996
J. Volkmuth, J.: Eigenspannungen und Verzug, HTM 51-3, 1996, pp. 145-154
167
Consideration of Core Segregations on the

Formability of Bearing Steel
E. Brinksmeier, R. Rentsch, T. Sackmann
Foundation Institute for Materials Science, Manufacturing Technologies
Abstract
In this paper the influence of core segregations on the formability of workpieces made of bearing steel is analysed
and discussed on the basis of compression tests. First the necessary material properties and flow curves, taken at
different regions of the bar stock material, were investigated. The core segregation material shows significantly
higher flow stress at higher strain rates than the surrounding segregation-free material. Further a strong influence of
the forming temperature on the flow stress was found. On basis of these findings an FEM-model was developed, that
considers the core segregation properties, its shape and position. The results of the compression simulation with this
model show a clear impact of the inhomogeneous material properties on the stress distribution.
Keywords
Forming, Simulation, Segregation
Introduction
Within the Collaborative Research Center Distortion Engineering (SFB 570) founded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the entire manufacturing process for a finish-turned part,
from the casting of the workpiece material to the hardening of the turned component-part, is
taken into consideration in order to analyse the various reasons for distortion [Tho 02]. It is well
known that the hardening process only releases the distortion potential accumulated in a
workpiece passing through several operation steps building the whole manufacturing process
[Doe 01]. Experimental results suggest that the material properties of the cast iron and rolled
steel rods play a significant part in the distortion of forged and hardened rings [Kop 91].
Each manufacturing step in the process chain can change or cause changes of the visible
properties (geometry and workpiece surface) and internal properties (structure, texture, chemical
composition and residual stress). Besides the intended changes of the geometry, in particular the
changes of the internal properties form and build up a potential of distortion (fig. 1) [Hof 02].
Fig. 1: Influences on the distortion
168
An influence of an asymmetrical residual stress distribution, which was already present in the
workpiece before hardening, on the workpiece distortion after hardening was analyzed in
[Vol 89]. Investigations of [Seg 86, Gun 91] show, that distortion also results from asymmetrical
distribution of residual stress, if inhomogeneities in the forming process appear as consequence
of segregations in the workpiece. Both investigations were carried out for forged and casehardened gear wheels. A smaller error of roundnesses was observed when using round casting
cross-sections. An influence of the casting process or casting cross-sectional shape on the
roundness of hardened rings made of bearing steel (100Cr6) could not be confirmed by
Volkmuth et al. [Vol 95]. They assume that the high strain applied to the workpieces is
responsible for the observed homogenization of the material in their work.
FEM simulation is a tool to get access to a better understanding of the deformation behavior and
flow characteristics. Furthermore an analysis of the development of stress distribution in the part
during the manufacturing process is possible [Bit 01].
Material
For the investigations a non-stirred 100Cr6 steel was selected. The specification of the chosen
material is characteristic for the application in the bearing industry. Its chemical composition is
listed in table 1.
elements
C
melt non-stirred
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Al
Cu
0.975 0.205 0.429 0.011 0.004 1.483 0.091 0.238 0.002 0.102
Table 1: Chemical composition of the selected 100Cr6 steel (mass %)
In order to determine possible type and size of inhomogeneities a metallographic analysis of the
bar stock cross-section was made. Fig. 2 shows on its left side the surface etched material of
non-stirred 100Cr6.
A core inhomogeneity with a diameter of approx. 7mm was identified, which differs clearly from
the off-core regions. The reason for this inhomogeneity can be the microstructure banding, the
chemical composition or the occurrence of precipitations.
To determine the deformation properties of the core material and to compare them with the offcore region properties the sample preparation was realized like it is shown on the right side in
fig. 2.
Fig. 2: Sample preparation for the compression tests
169
Forming Experiments
Compression tests were performed to investigate the deformation behavior of 100Cr6 steel using
a dilatometer. Based on the forming forces and the length variations, the flow curves were
calculated. The flow curves were used to simulate the forming behavior of the bar stock material.
Since the strain rate and the temperature have a significant influence on the forming process,
they were varied in the experiments. Table 2 lists the variation of the process parameters used in
the forming experiments.
strain rate
forming temperature
M
[1/s]
[C]
material
100Cr6
non-stirred
0.1
1100
core and off-core
1100
core and off-core
0.1
1000
core and off-core
1000
core and off-core
Table 2: Process parameters for the forming experiments (dilatometer)
First the samples were heated up to forming temperature in 180 seconds, afterwards the
temperature was held constant to ensure a homogeneous temperature distribution before the
forming operation started. Following to the forming operation the samples were cooled down
rapidly. The time-temperature characteristics are illustrated in fig. 3.
Fig. 3: Time-temperature settings in the dilatometer
170
Results
In the following the results of the compression tests for non-stirred 100Cr6 specimens will be
introduced and discussed. The strain rate was varied from 0.1 s-1 to 1.0 s-1 (table 2). Figure 4
shows the flow curves for both types of specimens of the non-stirred material at two strain rates
and a forming temperature of 1100oC.
Fig. 4: Influences of the strain rate on the flow curves of 100Cr6 at a temperature of 1100C
For both types of specimens, the core and the off-core one, the flow stress for the compression at
a strain rate of 0.1 s-1 rises steeply to its maximum at small strain (II = 0.14) and decreases
slightly at further increasing strain. The comparison of the two types of the bar stock material
specimens shows no significant difference in the deformation behavior.
Increasing the strain rate leads to higher levels of flow stresses. A distinct maximum of the flow
stress could not be identified in these experiments. In opposite to the runs at the lower strain rate,
an influence of the sample location in the bar stock on the flow curves was detected. The core
region shows higher values of flow stresses over the whole stroke.
The analysis of the flow curves shows solidification and work softening mechanisms of the
material. The softening mechanism could be recovery or recrystallization. Before the softening
mechanism can start, deformation energy must be stored in the material. This is the reason for
the increase of the forming forces at small strains and their slight falling-off at further increasing
strains in the compression test at lower strain rate. A reduced dislocation mobility at higher strain
rates is responsible for the higher flow curve levels observed by increasing the strain rate and the
missing of well defined flow stress maxima at these conditions.
The forming temperature was the second parameter in this investigation, varied between 1000C
and 1100C (table 2).
171
Fig. 5: Influences of the strain rate on the flow curves of 100Cr6 at a temperature of 1000C
The overall course of the flow stress curves of the selected material at the lower temperature is
similar to those observed by the compression tests at the higher temperature, but they run at
higher level. By reducing the forming temperature from 1100oC to 1000oC, the flow stress level
rises significantly. For example the maximum flow stress of the core material at a strain rate of
0.1 s-1 increases from approximately 85 N/mm2 (fig. 4) to approximately 130 N/mm2.
Simulation of the Forming Behavior
The flow curves recorded in the dilatometer have been used in the following, in order to simulate
the forming behavior of the material. The goal of these investigations is to obtain a better
understanding of the deformation of inhomogeneously structured workpieces. The compression
test is selected as forming operation, because it represents a process step which is usually
accomplished first in forging. In this case a 2D rotationally symmetric model has been applied,
hence the simulation was carried out considering the symmetry of the compression specimens.
For the simulation the following assumptions were made:
x
full plastic deformation behavior
x
shear friction factor of 0.5 between die and workpiece
x
1050C forming temperature
x
25 mms-1 die velocity
x no heat transfer into the environment

From the die velocity and the current height of the workpiece the strain rate can be calculated
according to the following equation:
. vdie
(4.01)
M= h
strain rate
with: M
die velocity
vdie
h
current high
The increasing strain rate resulting from this relationship over the logarithmic strain is
represented in fig. 6. Considering these assumptions, the global strain rate is between 0.1/s and
172
1/s over the entire range of stroke, for which the flow stress curves were determined in the
compression tests using the dilatometer (table 2).
Fig. 6: Strain rate characteristics for the simulation
With the made assumptions two different simulations were carried out. For the first simulation,
the flow stress curves for the entire workpiece model were defined using the recorded data for
the off-core material. As quantity of interest the v.Mises effective stress was selected. These
stresses are calculated according to the following equation for the 3D case:
_
1
2
2
2
=
(1 - 2) +( 2- 3) +( 3- 1)
2
_
(4.02)
effektive stress
with:
1,2,3 principal stresses
The result of this simulation is represented in fig. 7. The forging cross, well-known from practice
and literature, is formed by the wider region of higher effective stress in the workpiece center.
The effective stress reaches values up to 550 N/mm2 in the center of the material.
Fig. 7: Simulation result with homogeneous material properties
173
To investigate the influence of material inhomogeneities on the compression forming, two

different ranges were defined in the original workpiece and two different material properties
were assumed (fig. 8, upper right sketch). The material properties of the outer bulk region
correspond to the previously applied homogeneous material properties. The flow curves for the
core region, determined in the compression tests, were assigned to the center of the material.
Fig.8 shows the distribution of the effective stress in the model with an inhomogeneity in its core
at the end of compression.
The outside ranges of the compressed workpiece show a same behavior, like in the previous
simulation (fig. 7). Regarding the center of the material, the forging cross is obviously effected
by the presence of the central inhomogeneity. The effective stresses in the center rise to almost
700 N/mm2. Thus the values of the effective stress are approx. 150 N/mm2 higher than before.
Thereby the material inhomogeneities are promoting forming inhomogeneities which affect the
distortion and the properties of the resulting component-part. Since the segregation distribution
in the forged and rolled rings is not necessarily axis symmetric, subsequent simulations will
consider 3D FEM-models. The goal of these simulations is to evaluate the influence of
segregations on the distortion of forged component-parts and to determine the distortion potential
that will be past over to the turning operation as the next manufacturing step.
workpiece with inhomogeneity
Fig. 8: Simulation result with an inhomogeneous material definition
Summary
For the analysis of the influence of different local deformation behavior on the compression
forming of bearing steel, compression tests and FEM-simulations were carried out.
For material of two different regions, from the core (with segregation) and the off-core one
(without segregation), the flow stress was determined in compression tests in a dilatometer at two
different strain rates and two different temperatures. In opposite to the courses at lower strain rate
(0.1 s-1), an influence of the sample location in the bar stock on the flow curves was detected at
higher strain rate (1s-1) for both forming temperatures. The core region with the segregation
shows higher values of the flow stress over the whole stroke.
The flow curves recorded in the dilatometer are used to simulate the forming behavior of the
workpiece. Two different simulations were carried out. First the flow stress curves , recorded in
the dilatometer for the off-core region, were defined for the entire workpiece. In the second
simulation two different areas were defined in the original workpiece model. The material
174
properties of the outside area correspond to the previous ones. The flow curves of the core
region, determined in the compression tests, were assigned to the center of the material.
The comparison of the simulation results showed for the outside area of the compressed
workpiece the same forming behaviour results. But the effective stress in the center rises from
approx. 550 N/mm2 to almost 700 N/mm2. Thereby the material inhomogeneities are promoting
forming inhomogeneities which affect the distortion and the properties of the resulting
component-part.
Acknowledgement
The investigations were performed within the scope of the Collaborative Research Program SFB 570 Distortion
Engineering at the University of Bremen, Germany. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the
German Research Foundation (DFG).
References
Bitter, S.; Falk, B.; Geiger, M.: FE Simulation of warm forming processes, Internat. Conf. On Advances in
Materials & Processing Technologies, 2001, pp. 679 684.
Doege, E.: Einflu der Umformung auf das Verzugsverhalten in der Gesamtfertigungskette, Abschlubericht der
Vordringlichen Aktion 19 "Beherrschung von Wrmeprozessen im Fertigungsablauf".
Universittsbuchhandlung Bremen, January 2001, pp. 96 124.
Gunnarson, S.: Einflu der Strangguform auf den Verzug eines einsatzgehrteten Tellerrades aus Stahl, HTM 46
(1991) 4, pp. 216 220.
Hoffmann; F., Keler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: "Distortion Engineering" - Verzugsbeherrschung in der
Fertigung, HTM 57 (2002) 3, pp. 213 217.
Kopp, R.; Wiegels, H.; Lieb, A.; Pll,H. A.; Nicoll, R.: Verbesserung der Przision und der Werkstoffeigenschaften
beim Ringwalzen. Stahl und Eisen, Vol. 111 (1991) 8, pp. 87 93.
Erstarrungslenkung, Mnchner Umformtechnik-Seminar, 25.-26. 9. 1986, pp. 1 11.
Thoben, K. D.; Lbben, T.; Clausen, B.; Prinz, C.; Schulz, A.; Rentsch, R.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Surm, H.;
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering: Eine systemorientierte Betrachtung
des Bauteilverzugs. HTM 57 (2002) 4, pp. 276 282.
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, F.: Einflu des Ausgangsmaterials auf den Verzug bei der Wrmebehandlung von
Massenteilen, HTM 44 (1989) 2, pp. 89 94.
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, F., Lund, Th.: Einflu von Gieverfahren und Giequerschnitt auf die Unrundheit,
HTM 50 (1995) 6, pp. 352 358.
175
Numerical and physical simulation of the post

deformation cooling phase of C70S6 connecting
rods
M. Targa1, S. Bruschi1 and T. Dal Negro2
1
DIMEG, University of Padova, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy,

(matteo.targa, stefania.bruschi)@unipd.it
2
DIMS, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38050, Trento, Italy

tommaso.dalnegro@unitn.it
Abstract
The paper presents an innovative approach in simulating the conrods manufacturing process coupling numerical and
experimental techniques. This approach allows to investigate the influence of the different process variables on the
fracture zone microstructure without interferring with the actual process and thus causing production loss. Numerical
simulations of both the deforming and cooling phases are carried out together with physical simulation experiments
on a Gleeble system replicating the industrial forging and cooling conditions. The validation of both the techniques
is fulfilled through temperature measurements carried out during the whole industrial process and through
comparison between microstructures of the conrod in different moments of the process and of the Gleeble samples.
It is proved that a good agreement is achieved between the industrial data, the physical and the numerical
simulations.
Keywords
Forging, Cooling, Conrods, Microstructure
Introduction
The modern automotive industry strongly requires products meeting higher quality together with
shorter production time. New precision forging processes and innovative equipment are
necessary to achieve these results [Wang and He 2004]. Nowadays, connecting rods for
automotive applications are typically manufactured by forging from either wrought steels or
powder metals. The use of powder metals has the advantage of producing near net shape
components, thus reducing material waste. However, the cost of the whole process is high due to
both material cost and sophisticated manufacturing. Before the advent of crackable steels, all
connecting rod cap ends were sawn and machined apart to enable the bearing inclusion and the
subsequent attachment to the crankshaft. The use of crackable steels provides the advantages of
lower costs to separate the cap end; the separated surfaces mate better and more accurately when
reassembled and the tolerances on the cap end internal diameter can be closer. These advantages
may be achieved using the crackable forging steel C70 which shows a cleavage fracture surfaces
similar to powder forged materials, but being much cheaper [Repgen 1998]. At the same time,
high mechanical properties (e.g. fatigue resistance) during the conrod service life have to be
guaranteed. Therefore, the accurate prevision of the material microstructure in the fracture zone
is essential to be able both to keep the crack propagation under control and to assure good
resistance and fatigue limits.
The objective of the paper is to present an innovative procedure capable to reproduce in a
controlled laboratory environment the forming and the cooling phases of C70S6 conrods
production [Bariani, Bruschi et al. 2004]. The procedure involves the joint use of numerical and
176
physical techniques and assures an accurate microstructure prediction in the conrod fracture zone
[Park, Ko et al. 2003] without interferring with the industrial process and thus causing
production losses.
The paper presents in its first part the reference industrial process for the conrods production,
together with all the data acquired during the process. The physical simulation experiments are
then introduced with the aim of investigating the material microstructure during and after the
cooling phase. They involve hot compression tests followed by controlled cooling, suitably
calibrated with the process data. The numerical analysis consists of 2D and 3D FE simulations of
the deformation steps and the cooling phase by using a model accurately calibrated through data
from the industrial acquisitions and from laboratory experiments [Grass, Krempaszky et al.
2003]. Finally, the conrod microstructure prediction in the fracture zone is presented, showing
that a full microstructure evaluation in terms of phases proportion and grain size at room
temperature is achievable through the integration of numerical and experimental techniques.
The industrial process
The industrial forging process of C70S6 connecting rods includes the billet heating in an
induction furnace up to 1230 C, deformation through two main steps and then cooling to room
temperature (Figure 1). The two deformation steps consist in a stretch rolling process of four
passes, performed to obtain a preform, and in a multistage forging process, carried out on a
mechanical press, followed by trimming and hollow punching. During the cooling phase, the
conrods are first positioned on a transfer belt and then put in a container until room temperature.
Table 1 reports C70S6 chemical composition.
The process temperatures on the fracture zone surface were acquired using an optical pyrometer.
The temperature just out the induction furnace is approximately 1225 C, drops at 1210 C at the
first rolling step, while before the first forging step it is about 980 C. Table 2 reports the values
of temperatures acquired in three different moments during the cooling phase (A-C in Figure 1);
at the same instants, a conrod was taken from the conveyor and immediately water quenched, a
forth conrod was taken at room temperature (state D). Specimens were cut from the quenched
rods to perform microstructural observations on the fracture zone. In cases A and B, the
specimens were treated following the McQuaid-Ehn procedure (ASTM E112-96) to reveal the
prior austenite grain while specimens C and D were etched with Vilella and Nital reagents to
show the different phases . The amount of ferrite at room temperature was evaluated in a
maximum of 10% in a pearlite matrix [Milanolo 2003].
Temperature
1220/1230 C
A
B
C
1200/1220 C
970/990 C
910/920 C
820/830 C
660/670 C
Time
Induction
furnace
Chute
Transfer
Chute Belt 1 Belt 2
Shape Forging (4 steps)
rolling
Trimminga nd
(4 steps) Hollow Punching
Figure 1: T-t diagram of the industrial process with indication of temperature measurements and conrods
quenches.
Element
wt. %
Si
Mn
Cr
0.70
0.15
0.55
0.02
0.15
0.02
177
Table 1: C70S6 chemical composition.

A
10
30
155
910-920
820-830
660-670
Time [s]
Temperature [C]
Table 2: Surface temperatures acquired during cooling on the fracture zone (time counting starts after the
fourth forging step). A-C refer to the different quenching points reported in Figure 1.
Physical simulation experiments
Physical simulation experiments reproducing both the deforming and cooling phases of the
conrod production were carried out on the thermomechanical simulator Gleeble 3800, capable
to assure very accurate strain and strain rate control along the whole deformation stroke, and
temperature control during the whole process. These experiments were performed on cylindrical
samples of C70S6, 12 mm diameter and 14 mm long, machined from a round bar. The average
amount of strain in the fracture zone during the multistage forging process is about 2, while the
average value of strain rate was about 15 s-1. As the maximum amount of strain reachable in hot
compression tests can be in the range between 0.8-1, the strain and strain rate influence on the
average prior austenite grain size was first evaluated.
C70S6 samples were heated up to 980 C (corresponding to the industrial surface temperature
just before the multistage forging process), held at this temperature for 30 s, compressed at
constant strain rate, cooled down for 10 s (to reproduce thermal conditions A in Figure 1) and
finally water quenched. Table 3 reports the experimental plan with indication of the chosen
values of strain and strain rate for the sensitivity analysis.
Strain rate [s-1]
Strain
0.4
10
20
30
0.6
10
20
30
0.8
10
20
30
10
20
30
Table 3: Experimental plan to evaluate the prior austenite grain size sensitivity to strain and strain rate.
80
Grain size [ P m]
Grain size [ P m]
80
60
Strain
40
0.4
0.6
20
0.8
60
40
Strain Rate [s-1]

10
20
20
30
1
0
0
0
10
20
Strain Rate [s -1]
(a)
30
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Strain
(b)
Figure 2: Prior austenite grain size as function of the strain rate (a); prior austenite grain size as function of
the amount of strain (b).
178
The prior austenite borders were underlined using the McQuaid-Ehn procedure (ASTM E11296); the austenite grain size tends to be smaller at the increase of the strain rate at the same
deformation level; the increase in the amount of strain (after the beginning of dynamic
recristallization phenomena), instead, tends to increase the grain size, with a stabilization over
0.6 of strain (balance between hardening and recrystallization) [Sellars 1980; Doherty, Hughes et
al. 1997]. However, these variations become smaller as the amount of strain increases. Moreover,
the comparison of the conrod microstructure in A (Figure 3 on the left) with the sample
processed at strain rate equal to 15 s-1 to H 0.8 (Figure 4 on the left) shows a very similar
average austenite grain size. These last values of strain and strain rate were then chosen and kept
constant during the deformation phase for all the cooling experiments.
To complete the comparison with the industrial process, other samples were water quenched at
moments corresponding to B and C thermal conditions (Table 2), after having followed the
industrial cooling rate. The industrial microstructure evolution during the cooling phase is in
good agreement with the physical simulation experiments as well as the material microstructure
in terms of phases proportion at room temperature (microstructure in Figure 4 on the right to be
compared with the one in Figure 3 on the right).
Figure 3: Prior austenite grain in the fracture zone of conrod state A (a); conrod microstructure in the
fracture zone at room temperature state D (b).
Figure 4: Microstructures from physical simulation experiments calibrated on the industrial process: prior
austenite grain size corresponding to point A (a); phases proportion at room temperature (b).
179
The numerical model
3D and 2D thermal-plastic coupled FE analyses were carried out to simulate both the deforming
and the cooling phases by using the commercial codes Forge2 and Forge3 . The 3D
simulations of the 4 stretch rolling steps (Figure 5 a) gave accurate indications of the thermal
field in the conrod fracture zone just before the beginning of the forging operations. During the
multistage forging process, the material flow in the fracture zone is almost entirely along cross
sectional direction: plane strain conditions then prevail and a 2D analysis of this zone proves to
be well appropriate. 2D FE analysis were therefore carried out to simulate the 4 forging steps
(Figure 5b), followed by trimming and hollow punching. The thermal field in the conrod fracture
zone at the end of the forging sequence was finally taken as the starting point for the subsequent
2D simulation of the cooling phase.
To obtain feasible results from the numerical simulations, an accurate calibration of the FE
model is strongly required. Significant attention was paid to those parameters that showed to
significantly affect the process. In particular, both data collected from the industrial trials (2)
and data obtained through laboratory experiments allowed a proper calibration of the whole FE
model.
Hot torsion tests at constant strain rate were carried out to obtain the C70S6 rheological
behaviour in hot forging conditions. The rheological constants A, m1 , m2 , m3 , m4 of the
constitutive equation (1) implemented in the FE code were calculated at DIMEG through nonlinear regression analysis [Icarelli 2004]. The C70S6 sensitivity to strain rate is reported in
Figure 6.
m4
Vf
Ae m1T H m2 H m3 e H
(1)
The boundary conditions that mostly affect the accuracy of the numerical results are the heat
transfer coefficients (HTC) and the friction factor at the die-workpiece interface. The HTC
during the forming phase is identified by matching industrial temperatures with the numerically
calculated ones. An average value of HTC equal to 5000 W/m2K was found to best fit the
industrial temperature readings. The constant friction law was used and a friction factor equal to
0.4 was assumed. To perform trimming and hollow punching, the Cockroft and Latham fracture
criterion was used.
Figure 5: Thermal field in the conrod fracture zone during the stretch rolling (a); the forging process (b).
To accurately represent the cooling phase and the C70S6 phase transformations, the material
TTT curves were implemented in the FE model [Orlich, Rose et al. 1973]. The austenite grain
size at the cooling starting was kept constant in all the section of the fracture zone and assumed
180
equal to the average one observed in the conrod microstructure (point A Figure 1). The model
utilised to identify the start of phase transformation from austenite to ferrite + pearlite is the
Scheil model [TRANSVALOR 2004]; the Johnson Mehl Avrami growth model represents,
instead, the evolution of the fraction of the transforming phase. A variable heat transfer
coefficient during cooling was assumed to match the temperatures acquired during the industrial
process on the conrod fracture zone surface with the numerically calculated ones.
Temperature 1100C
120
Stress [MPa]
100
80
60
40
Strain-rate 1 [1/s]
Strain-rate 10 [1/s]
20
Strain-rate 20 [1/s]
0
0
10
Strain
Figure 6: C70S6 sensitivity to strain rate at Tnom=1100C.
900
Temperature [C]
800
700
Industrial Cooling
HTC 30
600
500
200
HTC 100
HTC 500
HTC 900
HTC 2500
100
HTC 4500
400
300
0
0.01
0.1
10
100
Time [s]
1000
10000 100000
Figure 7 : Simulated cooling routes on the conrod fracture zone surface compared to the industrial one
(HTC values in W/m2K, P=pearlite region, F=ferrite region).
The conrod microstructure prediction
The calibrated FE model of the whole manufacturing process was utilised to investigate the
cooling rate influence on phases proportion and distribution in the conrod fracture zone at room
temperature. Cooling phase simulations were performed by assuming different values of HTC
with air reports the C70S6 CCT diagram with the superimposition of the simulated cooling
routes together with the industrial one, whose HTC in this portion of the diagram was found
equal to 60 W/m2K. The obtained results in terms of microstructure show a progressive reduction
181
in the ferrite amount and a complementary rise of pearlite with increasing of the cooling rate
(Table 4). The maximum cooling rate that can be applied to the process is then limited to the one
leading to the martensite formation.
On the other hand, physical simulation experiments of the cooling phase were conducted with
the twofold objective of (i) evaluating the cooling rate influence on the fracture zone grain size at
room temperature, and (ii) validating the numerical results in terms of microstructural
constituents at room temperature. Four different cooling rates were applied to the C70S6 samples
in a range avoiding the martensite formation. Samples cooled at the fastest rate (utilising
compressed air) exhibit a pearlite matrix with finer grains and a smaller amount of ferrite (Figure
8).
%
austenite
Cooling
%
ferrite
%
pearlite
%
bainite
%
martensite
HTC 4500
0.02
90
1.2
6.77
HTC 2500
2.3
97.6
0.01
0.05
HTC 900
94
HTC 500
7.3
92.7
HTC 100
10.3
89.7
HTC 30
11.7
88.3
Industrial
10.9
89.1
Table 4: Phases proportion at room temperature for the cooling routes represented in Figure 7 (HTC
values in W/m2K).
2.5 C
3.8 C
Slow cooling
(a)
(b)
Fast cooling
38 C
9 C
s
(c)
s
(d)
Figure 8: Microstructures at room temperature obtained with different cooling rates by physical
simulation experiments.
182
Conclusions
The approach developed in this work has presented the joint use of numerical and experimental
techniques and it has proved to be a successful tool in predicting the conrod microstructure in the
fracture zone at room temperature after the whole manufacturing process. Numerical simulations
of the cooling phase by using a proper calibrated model give an accurate evaluation of the conrod
microstructural constituents in the fracture zone while microstructure analysis in terms of grain
size can be performed on samples processed by physical simulation experiments. The integration
of the two techniques then assures a fast answer without interferring with the industrial process.
The developed approach is general enough to be applied to the new generation of steels to be
utilised for the conrods production and characterised by the significant increase of mechanical
properties during service life.
Acknowledgements
The work on which this paper is based is a part of a scientific co-operation between TEKFOR S.p.A. and DIMEGUniversity of Padova. The Authors wish to thank TEKFOR S.p.A. for collaboration in analysing the microstructural
results and conducting the industrial trials and validation. The Authors wish to thank also Mr. Roberto Icarelli for
conducting the hot torsion tests.
References
Bariani, P. F.,Bruschi, S. and Dal Negro, T.: Integrating physical and numerical simulation techniques to design the
hot forging process of stainless steel turbine blades. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture,
44, (9),2004,pp. 945.
Doherty, R. D.Hughes, D. A.Humphreys, F. J. et al.: Current issues in recrystallization: a review. Materials Science
and Engineering A, 238, (2),1997,pp. 219.
Grass, H.,Krempaszky, C.,Reip, T. et al.: 3-D Simulation of hot forming and microstructure evolution.
Computational Materials Science, 28, (3-4),2003,pp. 469.
Icarelli, R.: Reological analysis of C70S6, 2004, Report n 04-083
Milanolo, A.: Steel C70S6 Metallurgical Report, 2003, Report n 03-0821
Orlich, J.,Rose, A. and Wiest, P.: Atlas zur Warmebehandlung der Stahle, Verlag Stahleisen m.b.H., (1973).
Park, H.Ko, Y. S.Jung, S. C. et al.: Development of Fracture Split Steel Connecting Rods, SAE Technical Papers,
2003, Report n 2003-01-1309
Repgen, B.: Optimized Connecting Rods to Enable Higher Engine Performance and Cost Reduction, SAE
Technical Papers, 1998, Report n 980882
Sellars, M. C. The Physical Metallurgy of Hot Working. Hot Working and Forming Processes, The Metals Society
of London, (1980),3-15.
TRANSVALOR, S. A. (2004). FORGE2 V4.0 User's maual.
Wang, Q. and He, F.: A review of developments in the forging of connecting rods in China. Journal of Materials
Processing Technology, 151, (1-3),2004,pp. 192.
7. Machining and heating
183
184
185
Effect of Machining Parameters and Clamping

Technique on Residual Stresses and Distortion
of Bearing Rings
Lutz Nowag1, Jens Slter1, Andr Walter1, Ekkard Brinksmeier1
1
University of Bremen
Abstract
Results from turning experiments addressing residual stresses and workpiece distortion are presented in this paper.
The influence of cutting speed, depth of cut, feed and nose radius on roundness of 100Cr6 (SAE 52 100) rings was
analysed. Additionally two different clamping techniques were used. The residual stresses show a periodicity of three
around the ringscircumference when clamping with segment jaws. A linear distribution can be seen when using a
mandrel for clamping. The mean values for the residual stresses are similar for both clamping cases. Finally the level
of the residual stresses can be influenced by varying cutting parameters. Coordinate measurements and a fourier
analysis show a major effect of the clamping techniques on the roundness, whereas the cutting parameters have only
a small effect on the roundness since rings have a closed shape.
Keywords
Manufacturing, Machining, Residual Stresses, Distortion
Introduction
In order to fulfil tight production tolerances in machining it is necessary to understand the basic
mechanisms leading to form deviations during machining. The major causes for form deviations
in machining are the workpiece clamping, the process forces and the generation and removal of
residual stresses.
Before machining, the workpiece is fixed by a clamping system. The applied clamping forces
introduce elastic deformations of the workpiece. As a consequence the effective depth of cut
along the tool path varies during machining and leads to permanent form deviations. With
decreasing wall thickness the out-of-roundness of rings after machining increases, since the
moment of inertia decreases [Bahrke, 1998]. The magnitude of elastic deformations also depends
on the clamping forces and the clamping system applied to the workpiece [Spur, 1973],
[Brinksmeier1, 2003]. The clamping forces decrease with increasing rotational spindle speed due
to centrifugal forces of the clamping jaws [Spur, 1998].
The machining process generates a near surface layer of plastically deformed material which acts
as a source for the residual stresses over the whole workpiece cross section [Tnshoff, 1966].
These stresses have a major effect on the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of the
surface layer of the workpiece [Brinksmeier, 1982]. During machining plastically deformed
material from previous manufacturing steps is removed which might also cause workpiece
deformations [Bumann, 1991]. In subsequent manufacturing steps, e. g. hardening, the induced
residual stresses and the form deviations can influence workpiece distortion. Moreover the
workpiece clamping affects the distribution of surface residual stresses as shown in the case of
rings [Brinksmeier2, 2003], [Slter, 2004].
Process forces can also cause form deviations, especially when thin walled workpieces are
machined [Weinert, 2002].
186
From a system-oriented point of view the geometrical changes of the workpiece caused by
machining and the induced residual stress state are a so-called distortion potential which is
passed from the machining to the heat-treatment [Hoffmann, 2002], [Thoben, 2002]. Therefore
the objective of the presented work was to compare and analyse the effect of different chuckings
and the machining parameters on the residual stresses (cf. Chapter 3) and on the form deviations
of machined workpieces (cf. Chapter 4). Coordinate measurements of machined and heat treated
rings provide information about the effect of induced residual stresses during machining on the
form deviations after hardening. The presented work is part of the collaborative research centre
Distortion Engineering, SFB 570, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG).
Design of Experiments
To determine the resulting form deviation and residual stresses due to machining, rings made of
100Cr6 (SAE 52100) were machined on a lathe. Rings from the 1st of 2 batches were taken from
a tube that was hot-rolled and spheroidized. Rings from batch 2 were forged and also
spheroidized. The final external diameter of the rings after machining was 145 mm and their
inner diameter 133 mm.
2.1
Analysis of the clamping technique
In order to analyse the influence of the clamping technique on the form deviations and residual
stresses of machined rings, the two batches of rings were machined under different conditions.
The rings were machined in two steps. At first they were clamped at their outer diameter with a
six jaw pendulum chuck and the rings inner diameter was machined by longitudinal turning. In
a second step the inner diameter of the batch 1 rings were fixed by segment jaws and their outer
diameter was machined by longitudinal turning as well (cf. Figure 1).
batch 1
batch 2
external
clamping
internal longitudinal
turning with standard
parameters
pendulum chucks
pendulum chucks
internal
clamping
external longitudinal
turning with varied
parameters
workpiece
segment jaws
mandrel
f
vc
tool
rH
ap
Figure 1: Clamping technique (batch 1: segment jaws, batch 2: mandrel)
2.2
187
Analysis of the machining parameters
For the experiments with rings from batch 1, one parameter was varied and the others were kept
constant. Each parameter was changed on four levels (cutting speed vc = 200, 240, 275, 300
m/min, feed f = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 mm; depth of cut ap = 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5 mm). The constant
parameter values were vc = 240 m/min, f = 0.4 mm and ap = 0.75 mm. Rings from batch 2 were
turned applying a fractional factorial design of experiments. Eight experiments were necessary to
investigate the influence of the cutting speed, depth of cut, feed and nose radius on the residual
stresses and the form deviations. The parameters were varied on two levels (-1; +1) (cf. Table 1).
Each experiment was conducted 8 times. The mandrel was used, because the influence of
clamping on form deviation was assumed to be little. Therefore the fractional factorial
experiments combined with the mandrel were performed to determine the cutting parameters
which have the highest influence on form deviation respectively residual stresses.
vc
rH
ap
Experiment No.
f
vc rH ap
-1
-1
-1
-1
2
3
+1
-1
-1
+1
-1
+1
-1
+1
+1
+1
-1
-1
-1
-1
+1
+1
+1
-1
+1
-1
-1
+1
+1
-1
+1
+1
+1
+1
- 1 level
200 m/min
0.8 mm
0.7 mm
0.3 mm
+ 1 level
300 m/min
1.2 mm
1.2 mm
0.6 mm
Table 1: Design of experiments and cutting parameters for batch 2 experiments.
For both batches the longitudinal turning process was performed with four cuts. If the depth of
cut for the last cut was varied, the last but one cut had to be adapted too, because the sum of all
four cuts had to be constant for each variation.
After machining, the form of the rings were measured on a coordinate measurement machine and
residual stresses around the rings circumference were measured in tangential direction by using
the X-ray diffraction method. Afterwards the residual stresses were released by stress relief
annealing and the resulting roundness of rings were measured again. Additionally the influence
of martensitic-phase transformations on the form deviations were analysed by hardening selected
workpieces after machining. Rings from batch 1 were quenched in oil whereas rings from batch
2 were gas quenched.
In the following the results of the experimental investigations are presented. At first the influence
of the clamping technique and the machining parameters cutting speed, depth of cut, feed and
nose radius on the residual stresses of machined rings are presented. The second part describes
the influence of the above mentioned parameters on the form deviations of rings.
3 Influence of the Workpiece Clamping and the Machining Parameters on

Residual Stresses
3.1
Influence of Clamping
Figure 2 shows the surface residual stresses in the tangential direction of two rings, one ring from
each batch. The residual stresses of the ring clamped with segment jaws (batch 1) are varying
188
with a periodicity of 3 around the circumference. In contrast to that, the residual stresses of the
ring clamped with a mandrel (batch 2) are almost constant. The mean value of the residual
stresses for the different rings are nearly equal and are around 600 MPa. Since machining
parameters for both batches are nearly the same this indicates that the clamping technique rather
affects the residual stress distribution than their mean value.
f
[mm]
ap
[mm]
240
0.3
0.75
Tangential
residual stresses Vt
vc
[m/min]
800
MPa
cooling:
emulsion
3%
N
[]
95
cutting tool: TiN

J
D
O
rH
[] [] [] [mm]
-7
-7
0.8
vc
[m/min]
f
[mm]
ap
[mm]
cooling:
emulsion
200
0.3
0.7
3%
batch 2
mandrel
Vt = 612 MPa
600
500
0
batch 1
segment jaws
Vt = 600 MPa
50
100
150
200
250
360
Circumference angle M
Figure 2: Residual stress distribution around a rings circumference, depending on the clamping technique.
The reason for a varying distribution of residual stresses for the ring that was clamped with
segment jaws (batch 1) is described in the following. Each segment features an angle of nearly
120 degrees. However the real contact between the ring and the segment is limited to a small
area in the middle of each segment. Therefore most of the clamping forces are induced at three
spots around the rings circumference. At these points the ring bulges. For that reason there is a
varying elastic stress around the circumference of the ring. If the ring is machined there is also a
varying depth of cut for the first cut around the circumference. So there is an additional induction
of varying residual stresses by the first cut. After the first cut the ring has an ideal roundness just
depending on machine tolerances, because the segment jaws hold their position. For the
following cut there is no change of the depth of cut around the circumference and the induced
varying residual stresses are removed respectively covered with non-varying residual stresses.
After releasing the ring, the elastic varying stresses disappear and finally leave varying residual
stresses at the surface of the ring.
3.2
Influence of Cutting Parameters
The influence of cutting parameters on residual stresses were investigated for rings that were
clamped with a mandrel (batch 2). Four cutting parameters were examined: cutting speed, nose
radius, depth of cut and feed, by applying a fractional factorial design of experiments (cf. Table
1). The influence of the machining parameters on the tangential residual stresses are displayed in
Figure 3. The residual stresses are tensile for all parameter settings. The increase of the feed and
the nose radius leads to higher residual stress values. With increasing depth of cut and cutting
speed the mean residual stresses decrease significantly.
In general tensile residual stresses derive from thermal influences due to the turning process.
Most of the cutting power (product of cutting speed and cutting force) is dissipated as heat into
the chip, the workpiece and the coolant. The more heat flows into the workpiece, the higher the
tensile residual stresses are. On the other hand there is a mechanical effect on the surface that
induces compressive residual stresses. There is also the tendency that higher mechanical
189
influences on the workpiece induce higher compressive residual stresses. Moreover thermal and
mechanical influences on the workpiece superimpose in a nonlinear manner.
mean tangential
residual stresses Vt
650
vc
[m/min]
f
[mm]
ap
[mm]
varied
varied
varied
cooling:
emulsion
3%
cutting tool: TiN

N
J
D
O
[] [] [] []
95
-7
-7
MPa
feed f
550
nose radius rH
rH
[mm]
varied
500
depth of cut ap
450
cutting speed vc
vc= 200 m/min
rH= 0.8 mm
ap= 0.7 mm
vc= 300 m/min

rH= 1.2 mm
ap= 1.4 mm
f = 0.3 mm
f = 0.6 mm
-1
levels
Figure 3: Main effects of cutting speed, nose radius, depth of cut and feed on mean residual stresses in
tangential direction at the surface for rings clamped with a mandrel.
With increasing feed the cutting power also rises but the related cutting power (cutting power
divided by depth of cut and the feed) is lowered. The related cutting power is an important factor
that influences the power that is induced in the shear plane and therefore might lead to a thermal
influence of the surface zone. For that reason the residual stresses should decrease if one assumes
that the heatpartition into the chip and the workpiece is constant. As mentioned before there is
also a mechanical influence on the workpiece which can be described as a rolling effect. The
rolling effect is affected by two factors, the overrun ratio and the related surface load (due to the
Hertzian pressure and the thrust force). The overrun ratio was introduced in [Slter, 2004] and it
describes the density of overruns along a constant distance. This overrun ratio has higher values
for lower feeds, which leads to an induction of higher compressive residual stresses. Besides, the
related mechanical surface load stays constant in the case of increasing feed. As a result the
overall induced compressive residual stresses due to mechanical effects increase with decreasing
feed. Therefore tensile residual stresses are shifted towards lower values.
Regarding the nose radius a similar effect can be identified. With a rising nose radius the related
cutting power is lowered as well, but the residual stresses rise. It seems that the mechanical effect
has also more influence. Although the overrun ratio has a lower value for a lower nose radius, the
related surface load is higher which in sum leads to a shift of the tensile residual stresses to lower
values.
The same mechanisms are also valid for a variation of the depth of cut. In contrast to the feed
and nose radius, an increase of the depth of cut leads to lower residual stresses. The overrun ratio
rises, the related surface load stays constant.
Finally the reason for less tensile residual stresses with increasing cutting speed is, that more heat
dissipates into the chip than with lower cutting speeds [Loewen, 1954].
190
4 Influence of the Workpiece Clamping and the Machining Parameters on Form

Deviations
4.1
Influence of the Workpiece Clamping
In order to analyse the influence of the clamping technique on workpiece deformation, the
geometry of rings made of SAE 52100 was measured on a coordinate measuring machine. The
measured radii as a function of the angle were then transformed by a fourier transformation.
Finally the absolute values of the fourier coefficients were calculated and plotted for the different
orders. Figure 4 shows the first 6 coefficients and their mean absolute values calculated from 6
machined rings, 3 machined and stress relief annealed rings and 3 machined and hardened rings.
Additionally the according to [DIN ISO 1101] calculated out-of-roundness, Ront, is written into
the bars. The machined rings were clamped with a mandrel at the inner circumference. The 1st
order coefficient represents the shift of the rings centre relatively to the centre of the coordinate
system of the coordinate measuring machine and has in this case no meaning for the form
deviations. The 2nd order coefficient is a measure for the rings ovality and has a higher influence
on the form deviations than the 3rd order coefficient. Overall it is obvious that clamping the ring
from the inside with a mandrel leads to rather small form deviations after machining. This is the
result of an almost perfect distribution of the clamping forces over the whole circumference of
the ring. It is assumed that the small variations of the absolute values of the fourier coefficients
of hardened rings are the result of the gas-quenching process where a homogeneous heat transfer
coefficient is achieved over the whole workpiece surface.
m
100
vc
[m/min]
f
[mm]
ap
[mm]
200
0.3
0.7
cutting tool: TiN

N
J
D
O
emulsion [] [] [] []
cooling
3%
95
-7
rH
[mm]
0.8
-7
80
machined
machined and stress relief annealed
20
machined and hardened
Ront = 55 m
40
Ront = 47 m
60
Ront = 44 m
mean absolute value of

fourier coefficients
140
0
1
order of fourier coefficient
Figure 4: Fourier coefficients of machined rings clamped with a mandrel, stress relief annealed rings and
hardened rings
The form deviations due to clamping with segment jaws are much higher compared to those
received by clamping with a mandrel (cf. Figure 5). The mean absolute values were calculated
from 8 machined rings, 4 machined and stress relief annealed rings and 4 machined and
hardened rings. In this case the 3rd order coefficient dominates the form deviations of machined
rings. It is also worth noting that the value of the 3rd order fourier coefficient after machining
does not change substantially if subsequent heat treatments are performed.
Fixing the workpiece with clamping jaws leads to elastic deformations of the ring with a
periodicity of 3. As a consequence the depth of cut along the tool path varies with this
periodicity. Therefore the out of roundness errors after machining are the result of an uneven
distribution of the rings wall thickness. It is obvious that this uneven distribution is not changed
substantially by a subsequent heat treatment.
This also applies for the 2nd order fourier coefficient (ovality) when machined and stress relief
annealed rings are compared. However, hardening has a considerable effect on rings ovality.
191
Additionally variations of the absolute values of the 2nd order fourier coefficient are much higher
for hardened rings. These results indicate that hardening in particular quenching in oil - mainly
affects the rings ovality whereas triangularity is caused by the applied clamping technique in
machining.
140
vc
[m/min]
100
80
Ront = 355 m
20
Ront = 292 m
60
40
f
[mm]
cooling
ap
[mm]
emulsion
0.75
3%
240
0.3
cutting tool: TiN
Ront = 257 m
mean absolute value of

fourier coefficients
N
[]
J
[]
D
[]
O
[]
rH
[mm]
95
-7
-7
0.8
machined
0
1
order of fourier coefficient
Figure 5: Fourier coefficients of machined rings clamped with segment jaws, stress relief annealed rings
and hardened rings
4.2
Influence of the Machining Parameters
The effect of machining parameters on the form deviations of machined workpieces also
depends on the applied clamping system during machining. When using an almost perfect
clamping system, i. e. clamping the external diameter with pendulum chucks and the inner
diameter with a mandrel, no significant effect of the cutting speed, depth of cut and feed was
observed. The absolute values of the fourier coefficients of all machined rings from batch 2 are
very similar to those shown in figure 4. The same holds for the stress relieved and hardened
rings. Since rings have a closed rotationally symmetric shape the induced residual stresses cannot
lead to additional form deviations, even if the rings are stress relief annealed or hardened.
Additionally the effect of the nose radius on the form deviations of rings was analysed. Again,
there was no significant effect on workpiece distortion within the range of analysed nose radii of
rH = 0.8 mm and rH = 1.2 mm.
From the cutting experiments performed with rings from batch 2 it can be concluded that within
the investigated parameter range the highest volume rates should be used in order to optimise
production efficiency. The almost optimal clamping guarantees low form deviations of the
workpiece even for high feed rates, cutting speeds and depths of cut.
The variation of the feed f, when machining rings from batch 1, had a slight effect on the form
deviations of machined rings. The absolute value of the 3rd order fourier coefficient increases
with increasing feed f (cf. Figure 6). Most likely this is due to the increase of the thrust force with
increasing feed. Additionally the mean values of the measured out-of-roundness are written into
the bars.
192
machined
f
[mm]
ap
[mm]
240
varied
0.75
3%
95
-7
-7

rH
[mm]
0.8
m
120
Ront = 337 m
Ront = 302 m
Ront = 266 m
Ront = 355 m
Ront = 292 m
Ront = 257 m
Ront = 304 m
Ront = 251 m
40
Ront = 240 m
60
Ront = 294 m
80
Ront = 256 m
100
Ront = 223 m
absolute value of the

3rd order fourier coefficient
160
vc
[m/min]
cutting tool: TiN

N
J
D
O
[] [] [] []
20
0
0.1
mm
0.2
0.4
feed f
Figure 6: Effect of the feed f on the form devations of machined, stress relief annealed and hardened rings
However, the variation of the cutting speed and the depth of cut had no significant effect on the
form deviations of rings within the analysed parameter space. Obviously a significant effect of
the machining parameters on the form deviations of rings can only occur for a non optimal
clamping of the workpiece.
Conclusion
In this paper the influence of the workpiece clamping and cutting parameters (cutting speed,
depth of cut, feed and nose radius) on residual stresses and distortion of rings made of 100Cr6
(SAE 52100) were investigated by turning experiments. Two clamping techniques were
analysed: Rings from batch 1 were clamped with segment jaws and rings from batch 2 with a
mandrel at the inner diameter. The results show that the clamping of the workpiece with segment
jaws leads to varying residual stresses with a periodicity of 3 around the outer circumference.
Clamping the workpiece with a mandrel has no such effect. With the clamping strategy it is
possible to alter the residual stress distribution around the rings circumference, but not the mean
value. The mean value can be influenced by the machining parameters. The experiments show
that with rising feed and nose radius the surface residual stresses increase. In contrast to that the
residual stresses decrease with a higher depth of cut and increasing cutting speed.
Clamping the ring from the inside with a mandrel leads to very small form deviations after
machining. The form deviations due to clamping with segment jaws are much higher, compared
to the ring clamped with a mandrel. Rings fixed with segment jaws have their highest value for
the fourier coefficient at the 3rd order, which describes the triangularity. The significant value for
the ring clamped with a mandrel is achieved at the 2nd order, which is a measure for the ovality.
No significant influence of the cutting speed, depth of cut, nose radius and feed on distortion was
observed, within the range of analysed parameters, when using an almost perfect clamping
system (mandrel). If the ring is clamped with segment jaws, the variation of the feed had a slight
influence on the form of machined rings. The absolute value of the 3rd order fourier coefficient
increases with increasing feed. A variation of the cutting speed and the depth of cut had no
significant influence on the form deviations of rings within the analysed parameter range.
Stress relief annealing has no significant effect on the absolute values of the fourier coefficients.
In contrast to that, hardening has a significant influence on the 2nd order fourier coefficient if the
rings are quenched in oil.
193
The results of the investigations show that the residual stress distribution can be altered by the
clamping system and the mean value by the cutting parameters. Moreover it is assumed that a
significant influence of the machining parameters on the form deviations of rings can only occur
for a non optimal clamping of the workpiece.
Future work will focus on the influence of higher cutting speeds on the form deviations of
machined rings. Additionally the effect of non symmetrical machining on workpiece distortion
and the generation of residual stresses will be investigated.
Acknowledgement
This work was carried out within the Sonderforschungsbereich 570, Distortion Engineering. The authors
appreciate the financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
References
Bahrke, U.: Werkstckspannsysteme aus faserverstrkten Kunststoffen fr die
Hochgeschwindigkeitsdrehbearbeitung. Phd Thesis, Techn. Universitt Berlin Berichte aus dem
Produktionstechnischen Zentrum Berlin, Berlin 1999.
Brinksmeier, E.; Cammett, J. T.; Knig, W.; Leskovar, P.; Peters, J.; Tnshoff, H. K.: Residual Stresses
Measurement and Causes in Machining Processes. Annals of the CIRP. 2000, 31 (2), pp. 491 510.
Brinksmeier1, E.; Heinzel, C.; Nowag, L.; Slter, J.: Simulation der Werkstckdeformation beim Spannen von
Ringen. HTM 58 (2003) 5, pp. 271 275.
Brinksmeier2, E.; Walter, A.; Slter, J.; Nowag, L.: Einfluss der Drehbearbeitung auf den Verzug von 100Cr6Ringen. HTM 58 (2003) 5, pp. 266 270.
Bumann, W.: Formfehleranalyse beim Planfrsen gehrteter Bauteile. PhD Thesis Universitt Hannover, 1991,
VDI-Verlag Dsseldorf.
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, T.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering - Verzugsbeherrschung in der Fertigung.
HTM 57 (2002) 3, pp. 213 217.
Loewen, E. G.; Shaw, M. C.: On the Analysis of Cutting-Tool Temperatures. Transactions of the ASME, pp. 217231, 1954.
N. N.: DIN ISO 1101. Beuth-Verlag, Berlin 1985.
Slter, J.; Nowag, L.; de Rocha, A.; Walter, A.; Brinksmeier, E.; Hirsch, T.: Einfluss von Maschinenstellgren auf
die Eigenspannungszustnde beim Drehen von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 59 (2004) 3, pp. 169 175.
Spur, G.; Eggert, J.: Spannung von Drehteilen. Spannmglichkeiten. Bauformen und Schmierung. Maschinenmarkt
79 (1973) 86, pp. 1916 1920.
Spur, G.; Mette, U.: Gripping-Force Optimization For High-Speed Turning. Proceedings of the International
Seminar on Improving Machine Tool Performance. Vol. 1, 6th 8th of July, 1998, San Sebastian, pp. 151
160.
Thoben, K.-D.; Lbben, T.; Clausen, B.; Prinz, C.; Schulz, A.; Rentsch, R.; Kusmierz, R.; Nowag, L.; Surm, H.;
Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Klein, D.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering: Eine systemorientierte Betrachtung
des Bauteilverzugs. HTM 57 (2002) 4, pp. 276 282.
Tnshoff, H. K.: Eigenspannungen und plastische Verformungen im Werkstck durch spanende Bearbeitung. PhD
Thesis Universitt Hannover, 1966.
Weinert, K.; Peters, C.; Schulte, M.: Simulation der spanenden Bearbeitung dnnwandiger Profile. ZWF 97 (2002)
12, pp. 649 651.
194
195
Manufacturing Residual Stress States in

Heat Treatment Simulation of Bearing Rings
Holger Surm, Olaf Kessler, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch
surm@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
In this paper a method for generating realistic residual stress states by the use of artificial thermal strain in a presimulation step is presented. By changing the thermal strain distributions a wide range of residual stress distributions
in a component can be generated. A typical residual stress distribution after machining was generated in a bearing
ring. The calculated residual stress profile was in good agreement compared to XRD-measurement. Also uneven
residual stress distributions in circumferential direction of the ring can be induced. In a second simulation step the
local development of stress relieving during heating was observed. Stress relieving can be attributed to local plastic
deformation and rearrangement of stresses.
Keywords
residual stress, stress relieving, simulation, heating, bearing ring
Introduction
In the project Distortion compatible heating during heat treatment of the Collaborative
Research Center 570 Distortion Engineering the mechanisms of distortion development during
heating are analysed. The factors of the austenitising process influencing distortion during heat
treatment are investigated in experiments as well as with computer simulations.
From the multitude of parameters which influence the distortion due to heat treatment [Hee,
2003], the residual stress state prior to heat treatment is one of the main sources [Kern, 1985],
[Volkmuth, 1989], [Cook, 1999], [Thuvander, 2002]. Uneven residual stress states may be
generated and stored in the workpiece up to the local yield strength of the material. The
distribution of the residual stress state depends on various process parameters of all
manufacturing steps in the complete process chain. For example, turning changes the residual
stress state of a workpiece by superposition of thermal and mechanical loads which typically
results in high tensile stresses at the surface and a small area with compressive stresses at a
distance of some hundred micrometers under the surface [Jacobus, 2000]. The residual stress
depth profile is mainly influenced by the machining parameters like feed, cutting depth, and
cutting velocity [Slter, 2004]. The distribution of the residual stresses in circumferential
direction is also influenced by the clamping technique used during turning [Hirsch, 2003].
Residual stresses can be relieved by the application of thermal energy [Vhringer, 1982]. The
elastic residual strains associated with the residual stresses via Hookes law are converted into
plastic strains by exceeding the lowered yield strength. For example, a ring with uneven residual
stresses in circumferential direction after machining tends to get higher out of roundness during
heating because the actual resistance against plastic deformation of the material (creep resistance,
yield strength) is lowered with increasing temperature [Volkmuth, 2000].
Although the general influence of residual stress state after machining on distortion due to heat
treatment is known, it is rarely taken into account in heat treatment simulations. A simulation of
complete process chains, including forming, turning, and heat treatment, is complex and cannot
196
be realized in a satisfactory manner with one software. But the use of different simulation
software may lead to interface problems during data transfer between the simulation programs.
Thuvander succeeded in overcoming these problems by using the commercial finite element
code ABAQUS in combination with DistSIMR. He investigated the influence of stress relieving
on the distortion of rings (SAE 52100): In a first simulation a ring was deformed axially on a
small segment, which generated a stress pattern. This stress pattern produced a significant out of
roundness distortion during the subsequent stress relieving heat treatment [Thuvander, 1997]. In
another paper the relieving of internal stresses in experiments and simulations, including three
point bending of a tube to insert residual stresses, ring turning with cut off from the tube, and a
soft annealing heat treatment for stress relieving was investigated. A considerable change in out
of roundness in the last two steps was found [Thuvander, 2002].
The out of roundness distortion of bearing rings after heat treatment is of large importance. In the
present work a simple method for introducing residual stress states prior to heat treatment into
heat treatment simulation is presented. Residual stress states after turning of a ring are generated
by local and temperature dependent as well as direction dependent thermal strains. This method
to introduce residual stresses in heat treatment simulation was developed by Andersch
[Andersch, 2004] and improved in this work. Afterwards the relieving of the residual stresses
during heat treatment is examined by simulation.
Simulation Procedure
The influence of residual stress relieving on heat treatment simulation was analysed at a ring of
the bearing steel AISI 52100 with the following dimensions: ra=72.5 mm; ri=66.5 mm;
h=26 mm. In a 2D-simulation the generation of residual stresses was tested and the development
of stress generation was studied. The influence of uneven residual stresses in circumferential
direction of the ring were analysed in a 3D-simulation. All simulations were done with the
commercial program SYSWELD Version 2004, ESI-group. For mesh generation of 2D and 3Dsimulation a fine mesh at the surface had to be considered in order to reproduce the high stress
gradients. This led to a comparatively large number of elements, in particular in 3D-simulation
(115,000 elements). The used coordinate systems and meshes in the 2D- and 3D-simulations are
documented in Figure 1.
The simulation procedure was divided into two steps: In the temperature range from 0 to 20C
the pre-heat treatment residual stress distribution was generated by local and temperature
dependent as well as direction dependent thermal strains. In a second step the simulation of the
heat treatment itself was done until 730C because the major part of the residual stresses are
released at this temperature [Vhringer, 1982]. In the following chapters details of both
simulation steps are explained.
It is important to note that for the generation of the pre-heat treatment residual stress distribution
artificial thermal strains had to be chosen, which cannot be compared with the real thermal
strains of the material. All other material data of the present steel AISI52100 are listed in Table
1. Since no phase transformations had to be taken into account in heat treatment simulation
below 730C only the properties of the spheroidized material were required. The temperature
dependent yield strength plays the most important role in the generation and relieving of stresses.
For the calculation of the strain hardening phenomenon the kinematic model was used. No viscoplastic effects were considered in the simulation.
K
197
[
z
M
y
y
x
a) 2D-Simulation
b) 3D-Simulation
Figure 1: Coordinate systems and meshes used in 2D- and 3D-simulations

0C
200C
400C
600C
800C
thermal conductivity [W/mK]
43.8
41.0
35.8
29.5
23.4
specific heat
466.6
529.7
612.6
752.6
986.7
[kJ/kgK]
3
density
[kg/m ]
7.850
7.793
7.725
7.648
7.607
thermal strain
[%]
-0.02
0.18
0.47
0.79
1.14
Youngs modulus
[MPa]
214215
202000
186000
166000
142000
0.283
0.291
0.299
0.307
0.315
403
274
179
99
28
Poissons ratio
yield strength
[MPa]
Table 1: Material input data (AISI 52100, spheroidized)
2.1
Simulation Procedure: Generation of Residual Stresses
In the axially symmetric 2D-simulation the cross-section of the ring (x-z-plane) was selected to
generate similar residual stress depth profiles compared to the XRD-measurements from Slter
[Slter, 2004]. The thermal strains in radial and axial direction (x- and z-direction) were set to
zero. The thermal strain in tangential direction (y-direction) was calculated depending on the
radius r of the ring (equal to x-direction) by addition of two exponential functionsHth,y,1 (r) and
Hth,y,2 (r). The sum was multiplied with a constant value FH to control the residual stresses. The
distribution Hth,y (r) was symmetric to the median radius rm:
for r < rm: 'r = ri r and r > rm: 'r = r ra
H th ,y ,1 (r )
a y ,1 e
(1)
'rp y ,1
H th ,y , 2 (r ) a y , 2 e
(2)
'rp y , 2
Hth,y,r (r) = [Hth,y,1 (r) + Hth,y,2 (r)] FH
(3)
(4)
198
The parameters of the functions Hth,z,1(r) and Hth,z,2(r) were chosen in a way (see Figure 2a), that
the resulting distribution of thermal strain was similar to the residual stress depth profiles from
XRD-measurement.
To avoid numerical problems and to verify a consistent calculation during the following heat
treatment simulation a temperature dependent factor FT was introduced (see Figure 2b): Abrupt
changes in the thermal or mechanical loads may cause numerical problems. This factor FT
increases from 0 to 1 between 0 and 10 C and decreases from 1 to 0 between 10 and 20C. An
important constraint for a consistent calculation is, that the thermal strains return to the initial
thermal strain of the material at the start temperature of the following heat treatment simulation:
Hth (T = 20C) = 0. The resulting local and temperature dependent thermal strain in tangential
direction was calculated according to equation 5:
Hth,y (T,r) = FT (T) Hth,y,r (r)
(5)
1.2
0.035
Generation of Residual Stresses
Factor Temperature Dependence
Hth,y,1(r)FH
0.025
Thermal Strain
Hth,y,r(r) =[Hth,y,1(r)+Hth,y,2(r)]FH
0.015
Hth,y(r)
0.005
-0.005
Hth,y,2(r)FH
-0.015
ra
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.025
71.5
72
Radius [mm]
72.5
a) local thermal strain in tangential direction Hth,y,r (r)
10
15
Temperature [C]
20
25
b) temperature dependence of thermal strain
Figure 2: Thermal strain distribution during generation of residual stresses
In the 3D-simulation the influence of uneven residual stresses in circumferential direction (x-yplane, Figure 1b) was analysed. A new cylindrical [,K - coordinate system was defined.
According to the 2D-simulation the thermal strain in axial direction (z-direction) and in radial
direction ([-direction) was set to zero. For generating the residual stresses the tangential
component of the thermal strain was used. The thermal strain distribution in K - direction Hth,K,r (r)
is equal to the thermal strain in tangential direction Hth,y,r (r) in the 2D-simulation (see equations
1-4). To generate uneven residual stresses in circumferential direction a thermal strain
distribution depending on angle M is defined:
Hth,K,M (M) = (1 - aK,3) + aK,3 cos (fK,3 M)
(6)
The final thermal strain distribution in tangential direction results from equation 7:
Hth,K (r,M) = Hth,K,r (r) H th,K,M (M) FT (T)
(7)
Uneven residual stresses in circumferential direction were generated by variations of the

constants aK,3 and fK,3.
2.2
199
Simulation Procedure: Relieving of Stresses
The time-temperature sequence used during following heat treatment simulation corresponded to
its experimental examination [Kessler, 2004]. Five rings (AISI 52100, a=145 mm; i=133 mm;
h=26 mm) in one batch were loaded in a pre-heated multi-process bell-type furnace, type SOLO.
The measured furnace and ring temperatures are documented in Figure 3. The calculated ring
heating curve was fitted to the measured ring heating curve by adjusting the heat transfer
coefficient.
1000
Temperature [C]
800
600
400
furnace (exp.)
200
ring (exp.)
ring (calc.)
0
0
200
400
Time [s]
600
800
Figure 3: Measured furnace and ring temperature compared to calculated ring temperature
Results: Generation of Residual Stress States
The 2D development of the calculated stress in tangential direction is given in Figure 4a. During
increasing the thermal strain, stress distributions with high compressive stresses at the surface
and maximum tensile stresses in a certain distance from the surface were obtained. According to
the temperature dependence of the thermal strain (Figure 2b) the maximum amounts of these
compressive and tensile stresses were reached at a temperature of 10C. During decreasing of the
thermal strain (10 20C) a rearrangement of the stresses can be observed which resulted in a
residual stress distribution with tensile stress at the surface and compressive stress in a certain
distance from the surface. At a distance of 0.25 mm the residual stresses were of negligible
magnitude. The calculated residual stress distribution in tangential direction is in good agreement
with the XRD stress measurement (see Figure 4a). The axial residual stress distribution was
similar in appearance but with smaller values. The radial values of the residual stresses were of
negligible magnitude across the ring section.
The local equivalent stress had to exceed the yield strength of the material to obtain residual
stresses at the end of the generation step due to plastic deformation. At first the local equivalent
stress was below the yield strength. At a temperature of 2.5C the local equivalent stress at the
surface (Figure 4b, r = 72.48 mm: position of maximal tensile stress at 20C) exceeded the yield
strength of the material, which resulted in plastic strains. Due to the decrease of the thermal
strain the equivalent stress went below the yield strength again until new plastic deformation was
generated when the yield strength was reached for the second time. The development of the local
equivalent stress depended on the thermal strain distribution Hth,y (r). At r = 72.34 mm (position
of maximal compressive stress at 20C) the local equivalent stress exceeded the yield strength
only once in the temperature range from 8 to 10C. During the decrease of the thermal strain the
equivalent stress remained in the elastic region.
200
500
600
400
yield strength
5C
400
15C
200
Stress [MPa]
Tangential Stress Vy [MPa]
10C
0
20C
-200
calc.
-400
300
200
100
exp.
equivalent stress
at r = 72.34 mm
ra
-600
72
equivalent stress
at r = 72.48 mm
72.25
72.5
Radius [mm]
a) tangential stress
10
15
Temperature [C]
20
b) equivalent stress
Figure 4: 2D-Development of a) tangential stresses and b) equivalent stresses at two different positions
during stress generation in the temperature range from 0 20C (z = 0 mm)
In 3D-simulation, different residual stresses in circumferential direction were obtained by

variations of the constants aK,3 and fK,3 (Figure 5). The resulting residual stress distribution is
similar to the according thermal strain distribution in circumferential direction. The number of
maxima can be controlled by factor fK,3. For example, with fK,3 = 2 the residual stress in
tangential direction had a stress maximum at M = 0 and a stress minimum at M = 90. The
difference between stress maximum and minimum can be controlled by factor aK,3. A maximum
stress range in circumferential direction of about 460 MPa can be generated by factor aK,3 = 0.5.
1.25
500
aK,3=0; fK,3=1
Thermal Strain Hth,K,M (M)
aK,3=0; fK,3=1
1
0.75
aK,3=0,125; fK,3=2
aK,3=0,15; fK,3=4
0.5
0.25
450
aK,3=0,15; fK,3=4
400
aK,3=0,125; fK,3=2
350
aK,3=0.5; fK,3=2
aK,3=0.5; fK,3=2
0
300
0
30
60
Angle M []
a) thermal strain in tangential direction
90
30
60
90
Angle M []
b) residual stress in tangential direction
Figure 5: Different variants of a) thermal strain and b) resulting residual stresses in tangential direction
during stress generation in the temperature range from 0 20C (r=72.5 mm; z = 0 mm)
201
By changing the constants of the thermal strain distributions a wide range of residual stress
distributions can be generated in a component. But to get realistic residual stress distributions an
extensive knowledge of the real stress distribution in the component has to be determined by
measurements, which is a costly and time-consuming work.
Results: Relieving of Stresses during Heating
The development of tangential stress distribution as a function of radius is given in Figure 6a.
Large relieving effects were observed at the surface. Stress relieving was reduced with increasing
distance from surface. At a temperature of 730C, this caused a higher absolute value of the
compressive stress below the surface compared to the value of the tensile stress at the surface.
At the beginning of the heating process, stress relieving at the surface was initiated by plastic
deformation, because the local equivalent stress exceeded the temperature dependent yield
strength of the material (Figure 6b, r = 72.48 mm). According to the demand of stress
equilibrium, stress relieving at the surface led to a rearrangement of the stress distribution in the
complete ring, which resulted also in a reduced equivalent stress at r = 72.34 mm. Above a
temperature of about 250C the local equivalent stress at the surface did not reach the yield
strength. The difference between equivalent stress and yield strength increased obviously at a
temperature of about 450C. In contrast to the development at the surface, the equivalent stress at
r = 72.34 mm converged to the yield strength with increasing temperature and reached it at a
temperature of about 720C.
600
500
20C
400
400
250C
200
Stress [MPa]
Tangential Stress Vy [MPa]
ra
485C
730C
300
200
equivalent stress
at r = 72.48 mm
100
yield strength
equivalent stress
at r = 72.34 mm
-200
72
72.25
Radius [mm]
a) tangential stress
72.5
250
500
Temperature [C]
750
b) equivalent stress
Figure 6: 2D-Development of a) tangential stress and b) equivalent stress during heating in the
temperature range from 20 730C at the outer surface of the ring (z = 0 mm)
Summary
The residual stress state in a component prior to heat treatment is important for the distortion
during heat treatment. But it is rarely taken into account in heat treatment simulation so far. With
the presented method residual stress states can be generated in pre-simulation step by an artificial
thermal strain distribution. By changing the thermal strain distributions, a wide range of residual
stress distributions in a component can be generated. But an extensive knowledge of the real
202
stress distribution of the component has to be determined by measurements to fit realistic

residual stress distributions.
During following heating simulation the expected relieving of the residual stress could be
observed. Residual stress relieving could be attributed to plastic deformation if the local
equivalent stress approached the temperature dependent yield strength, which resulted in a
rearrangement of the residual stress distribution in the complete component.
The analysis of the influence of an uneven residual stress state on the out of roundness distortion
of rings is the next step.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the financial support of the project A5 in
Collaborative Research Center 570 Distortion Engineering.
References
Andersch, C.: unpublished work, 2004.
Cook, W. T.: A review of selected steel-related factors controlling distortion in heat-treatable steels. Heat Treatment
of Metals 26 (1999) 2, p. 27-36.
Hee, K. et. al.: Ma- und Formnderungen infolge Wrmebehandlung von Sthlen. 2. berarbeitete Auflage.
Renningen: expert-Verlag, 2003.
Hirsch, T.: Entwicklung von Eigenspannungszustnden in Fertigungsprozessen. HTM 58 (2003) 3, p. 110-126.
Jacobus, K; DeVor, R.E.; Kapoor, S.G.: Machining-Induced Residual Stress: Experimentation and Modeling.
Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 122 (2000) Feb., p.20-31.
Kern, R.: Distortion and Cracking. I. Residual Stresses and Heating. Heat Treating 27 (1985) 2, p. 30-32.
Kessler, O.; Surm, H.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Influence of the Heating Parameters on the Distortion of Quench
Hardened AISI 52100 Steel Bearing Rings. Jinshu Rechuli / Heat Treatment of Metals, China, 29 (2004) 10,
p. 56-61.
Slter, J.; Nowag, L.; Rocha, A.; Walter, A.; Brinksmeier, E.; Hirsch, T.: Einfluss der Maschinenstellgren auf die
Eigenspannungszustnde beim Drehen von Wlzlagerringen. HTM 59 (2004) 3, p. 169-175.
Thuvander, A. et. al.: Simulation of Heat Treatment Response and Distortion of Bearing Rings. In: Proceedings of
the 5th Int. Symp. on Bearing steels: into the 21st century. New Orleans, USA, Nov. 1997; ASTM, p. 265278, 1997.
Thuvander, A.: Out of roundness distortion of bearing rings owing to internal stresses from tube bending. Materials
Science and Technology March (2002) 18, p. 312-318.
Vhringer, O.; Wohlfahrt, H.: Abbau von Eigenspannungen. In: Eigenspannungen und Lastspannungen. Moderne
Ermittlung Ergebnisse Bewertung. Hauk, V.; Macherauch, E., Carl Hanser Verlag, Mnchen, 1982, p.
144-155.
Volkmuth, J.: Eigenspannungen und Verzug. HTM 51 (1996) 3, p. 145-154.
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, E: Einflu des Ausgangsmaterials auf den Verzug bei der Wrmebehandlung von
Massenteilen. HTM 44 (1989) 7, p. 89-94.
Volkmuth, J.; Sjblom, U.; Slycke, J.; Thuvander A.: Effect of uneven residual stresses on dimensional changes
and variations of through hardening bearing steel rings. Heat Treating. Vol. 1. Including: Advances in Surface
Engineering: An Internat. Symp. in Honour of Professor Tom Bell and Professor Jerome B. Cohen Memorial
Symp. on Residual Stresses in the Heat Treatment Ind., Proc. of the 20th Conf., 9-12 Oct. 2000, St. Louis
(USA), p. 455-460, 2000.
203
Explanation on Origin of Distortion in Induction

Hardened Ring Specimens by Computer
Simulation
Takashi Horino1, Fumiaki Ikuta1, Kyozo Arimoto2, Chuanrong Jin3 and Shigeyuki Tamura3
1
Neturen Co., Ltd., ka, 254-0013 Kanagawa, Japan, {t-horino, f-ikuta}@k-neturen.co.jp

2
Arimotech Ltd., Asonaka, Kaizuka, 597-0081 Osaka, Japan, arimo@arimotech.com
CRC Solutions Corp., Minamisuna,Koto-Ku, 136-8581 Tokyo, Japan, {c-jin, s-tamura}@crc.co.jp
Abstract
Explanation of the distortion mechanism is important for realizing the low-distortion and distortion-adapted
induction hardening processes. Two of our authors applied computer simulation to examine distortions of ring
specimens induction hardened on their outer side and also tempered. Simulated deformations agreed well with the
experimental results. In this study, a simulation for the same experiment was carried out by the more enhanced
modelling techniques. The possibility of explaining the origin of distortion in induction hardened ring specimens was
shown clearly from simulated distribution changes of temperature, metallic structures, stresses and strains.
Keywords
distortion mechanism, heat treatment simulation, induction hardening
Introduction
Induction hardening is quite beneficial to achieve clean, rapid heating and inline processes. Since
components are treated individually in this process, their heating and cooling patterns can be
controlled easily. Therefore this technique is considered suitable for realizing low-distortion and
distortion-adapted heat treating. The heat treatment distortion is a complicated phenomenon that
involves various factors due to temperature and phase transformation changes during heating and
cooling, and also includes occurrences of strain and stress. In order to control the heat treatment
distortion precisely, it is essential to understand the distortion mechanism thoroughly.
For explaining the mechanism of heat treatment distortion, a computer simulation was applied
again to the induction hardening test of ring specimens, which were recognized as a relatively
good example [Inoue, 1996]. This test was performed using ring specimens made from several
steel samples with different inside diameters for measuring the distortion after quenching and
tempering. However, one experimental condition was selected in this simulation work for the
sake of simplicity.
This study showed that the origin of distortion in the induction hardened ring after quenching
and tempering can be explained by analyzing simulated stress and strain changes in detail.
Technique for Simulating Heat Treatment Distortions
The simulation of heat treatment distortion in this study has been achieved by the coupled
analysis method incorporating phase transformation models in the finite element modules of heat
conduction and elastic-plastic problems. This method has been proven in studies by Denis et al.
[Denis, 1985], Ericsson [Ericsson, 1991] and Melander [Melander, 1985]. For modeling phase
transformations in the cooling process, the KJMA (Kolmogorov [Kolmogorov, 1937] - Johnson
& Mehl [Johnson, 1939] - Avrami [Avrami, 1939]) equation based on the TTT diagram is used
204
for the diffusion type transformation of ferrite and pearlite, and the Koistinen - Marburger
equation [Koistinen, 1959] is used for the martensite transformation. In the austenite
transformation, dissolution of carbides from the ferrite-and-cementite mixture and the
subsequent solution and diffusion of carbon atoms are involved. This transformation is modeled
using the KJMA equation based on the TTA diagram as employed by Melander [Melander,
1985].During tempering, the following three stages are identifed according to experimental
studies [Krauss, 1980]:
x
Stage I (100250 C): From martensite to low-carbon martensite and carbide.
x
Stage II (200300 C): From retained austenite to tempered bainite.
x Stage III (250350 C): From low-carbon martensite and carbide to ferrite and cementite.
For modelling these stages of tempering, a pair of similar curves to the TTA diagram has been
created from transformation expansion data by Averbach et al. [Averbach, 1946] for the stage I
and Balluffi et al. [Balluffi, 1951] for the stage II and III, all of which are used for the KJMA
equation.
For the transformation plasticity phenomenon, the model reviewed comprehensively and
proposed by Denis et al. [Denis, 1985] was used and then the system has been verified using
experiments by Rammerstorfer et al. [Rammerstorfer, 1981]. For thermal properties and density,
the data book of BISRA [BISRA, 1953] and empirical equations by Jablonka et al. [Jablonka,
1991] and Miettinen [Miettinen, 1997] were used. The stress and strain characteristics were
determined based on experimental data of similar steel samples.
Test Method and Simulation Conditions
3.1
Test Method
Figure 1 shows the shape and dimensions of the ring specimen and induction coil as well as their
installation conditions. Specimen dimensions are 100 mm in outside diameter, 25 mm in inside
diameter and 24 mm in height, and its material is 0.45% carbon steel, standardized as JIS-S45C
in Japan, which chemical compositions are shown in Table 1. The induction coil with rectangular
section, 20 - 14 mm, was installed slightly askew from the rotational axis of the ring specimen as
shown in Figure 1.
100
25
2.5
Inside-Top
Outside-Top
Inside-Middle
Outside-Middle
7.5
24
14
110
150
Figure 1: Shape and dimensions of
Figure 2: Finite element model of
ring specimen and induction coil.

Material
Carbon steel (JIS-S45C)
the upper half of cross section.
Cr
Ni
Mo
Si
Mn
0.47
0.14
0.07
0.23
0.69
Table 1: Chemical compositions of carbon steel, (mass %).
Quenching conditions were determined so that the depth of the hardened layer becomes about
2 mm. It can be shown in detail as frequency: 30 kHz (150 kW), heating time: 4.0 s, cooling
delay time: 0.6 s, cooling time: 15.0 s and revolution: 663 rpm. The specimen was quenched by
water spray from the outer surface and tempered by the processes; heating to 270 C in an
205
electric furnace, maintaining for one hour, and cooling gradually in air. Dimensional change,
hardness and residual stress in the ring after processes were measured in this test.
3.2
Simulation Conditions
The hatched cross section in Figure 1, above the transverse symmetry plane, was modelled by
axis symmetric finite elements, 2040 elements and 2150 nodes, using the symmetry of the ring
shape as shown in Figure 2.
The heat generation due to the eddy current during induction heating should be obtained by
analyzing the electromagnetic phenomena in detail [Melander, 1985]. Here, a simplified method
of directly specifying the empirical heat generation was used because of the simplicity of the ring
shape. The internal power density of 3.23109 W/m3 was determined by a trial-and-error method
for causing the maximum temperature, 980 C, in 4 s at the outer surface, and then uniformly
specified to a region of 2 mm in depth from the surface.
The heat transfer coefficient of 20,000 W/m2K was uniformly applied to the outer surface for the
heat transfer boundary condition of water spray cooling. The gradual temperature change during
tempering was described by a time function of temperature, which was specified to the whole
model. The specimen was therefore heated to 270 C in 5700 s, maintained for 3600 s and then
cooled to room temperature in 6000 s uniformly.
Comparison between Experimental and Simulated Results
4.1
Distortions after Quenching and Tempering
Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show the simulated distorted shapes of the ring with contour of martensite
volume fraction after quenching and tempering, respectively. The vertex of the triangle symbol
indicates the measured dimension change in the outer, inner diameters and height. Also, the
measured and simulated dimensional changes, in m, are shown in [ ] and ( ), respectively.
[ ] : Measured
[ 73 ] ( 81 )
[ ] : Measured
[ -22 ]
( -26 ) [ -5 ]
( -6 )
( ): Simulated
[ -12 ]
( -4 )
[ 43 ] ( 60 )
[ -12 ]
( -20 )
( ): Simulated
[ -8 ] [ -10 ]
( -5 ) ( -6 )
[ -18 ]
( -5 )
0.0
0.5
(a) After quenching.
1.0
[ -3 ]
( -8 )
0.0
0.5
1.0
(b) After tempering.
Figure 3: Distortion of ring specimen with contour of martensite volume fraction.
The tendency of the ring distortion after quenching can be described by the inner and outer
diameters decreasing and the height of the top surface increasing near the outer surface from the
experimental and simulated results as shown in Figure 3(a). The distortion change between
before and after tempering indicates that the height rise of the top surface decreases in both
measurement and simulation as shown in Figure 3(b). However, there is a discrepancy between
the measured and simulated diameter changes.
Two of our authors [Arimoto, 1994] reported that the decreased diameters were observed in both
measurement and simulation after tempering in a ring, which has the same dimensions as this
study except for 50mm in the inner diameter that was hardened under very similar process
conditions. Also Takamura [Takamura, 1992] describes the tendency of the decreased diameters
after tempering from experiments of a ring, which has the same dimensions as this study and was
treated under the very similar conditions. The discrepancy of the distortion tendency between
206
measurement and simulation after tempering, shown in Figure 3(b), has not been clarified in this
study.
4.2
Martensite Volume Fraction and Hardness after Quenching and Tempering
Figures 4(a) and 4(b) indicate the distributions on the transverse symmetry plane of both
simulated martensite volume fraction and measured hardness after quenching and tempering,
respectively. It can be observed that increases of both martensite volume fraction and hardness
occur in the region of 2 mm in depth from the outer surface after quenching. The same quantities
uniformly decrease by tempering from the state after quenching as shown in Figure 4(b).
800
0.6
600
0.4
400
0.2
200
0.0
0
10
15
20
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
1.0
1000
Simulated: Martensite
Measured: Hardness (HV)
0.8
800
0.6
600
0.4
400
0.2
200
0.0
0
10
50
Hardness, HV
0.8
Hardness, HV
1000
Simulated: Martensite
Measured: Hardness (HV)
Volume fraction
Volume fraction
1.0
15
20
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
50
Figure 4: Distribution of martensite volume fraction and hardness (HV).
4.3
Residual Stress after Quenching and Tempering
Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show the residual stress distributions on the transverse symmetry plane
after quenching and tempering, respectively. Solid, broken and heavy lines indicate simulated
results. On the other hand, symbols show measured results by the X-ray diffraction method. It is
clear that axial and circumferential stresses are in compression at the outer surface after
quenching and their absolute values decrease after tempering in both the experiment and
simulation. However, there are discrepancies between absolute values of the stress from the
simulation and measurement. Also, the magnitude of circumferential and axial components is
reversed between measured and simulated results.
Simulated: Circum. stress
Simulated: Axial stress
Measured : Axial stress
Simulated: Radial stress

Measured: Circum. stress
Simulated: Circum. stress

Simulated: Axial stress
Measured : Axial stress
Simulated: Radial stress

Measured: Circum. stress
600
400
200
0
-200
-400
-600
-800
Stress, MPa
Stress, MPa
600
400
200
0
-200
-400
-600
-800
10
15
20
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
50
10
15
20
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
50
Figure 5: Residual stress distribution on the symmetry plane.
4.4
Temperature and Metallic Phase Changes
Figure 6(a) depicts the simulated temperature changes on the transverse symmetry plane during
quenching. Temperature at the outer surface becomes the maximum, 980 C, at the end of
heating, 4 s. Thereafter, water spray cooling decreases it rapidly. On the other hand, the
207
maximum temperature is observed during cooling in the region from the inner surface to 45 mm
in radius.
Figure 6(b) indicates the simulated martensite volume fraction changes on the transverse
symmetry plane. Martensite transforms from 5.1 s to the final cooling state toward the centre in
the region of 2 mm in depth from the outer surface. Simulated volume fractions of martensite
and retained austenite at the outer surface have become 97 % and 3 %, respectively, after
quenching. Metallic phases from tempering transformations were considered in this simulation
as described in chapter 2, although their simulated results have not been shown here.
1.5s
5.1s
250.s
4.0s
6.6s
4.6s
10.1s
800
600
400
200
4.6s
10.1s
5.1s
250.s
1.0
Volume fraction
Temperature, C
1,000
4.0s
6.6s
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
10
15
20
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
50
10
15
20
(a)Temperature.
25 30 35
Radius, mm
40
45
50
(b)Martensite.
Figure 6: Temperature and martensite volume fraction changes during quenching.
4.5
Dimensional Changes
Figure 7 shows simulated displacement changes at four positions shown as the arrows in Figure
2, two radial displacements at the intersections of the outer and inner surfaces with the transverse
middle symmetry plane, abbreviated as Outside-Middle and Inside-Middle, and two axial
displacements at the intersection of the top surface with the outer and inner surfaces, abbreviated
as Outside-Top and Inside-Top.
Displacements at Outside-Top and Outside-Middle reach their maximum at the end of heating of
4 s and decrease by cooling as shown in Figure 7(a). On the other hand, the displacements at
Inside-Top and Inside-Middle vary slightly during heating and cooling. Therefore, it is clear that
the outside volume in the ring changes more than the inside during heating and cooling.
Outside-Middle
Outside-Top
Outside-Middle
Outside-Top
Inside-Middle
Inside-Top
Displacement, mm
Displacement, mm
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
Inside-Middle
Inside-Top
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
0.0
1.5
4.0
4.6 5.1
Time, s
(a)Quenching.
6.6
10.1 250.0
960
3000
5700 9300
Time, s
11000 15300
(b)Tempering.
Figure 7: Displacement changes at four positions in ring model.
Displacements at all evaluated positions reach their maximum at the end of temperature
maintaining, 9300 s, during tempering as shown in Figure 7(b). After cooling, these
displacements become smaller than they were before tempering.
208
5
5.1
Considerations to Distortion Mechanism

Relationship between Distortion and Stress-Strain
At any points in solids during heat treating, the equilibrium equation of strains is established at
the time t as:
t
H ij
H ij E tH ijTH tH ijTR tH ij P tH ijTP
(1)
where, tH ij is total strain that corresponds to actual solid distortion directly. tH ij E , tH ijTH , tH ijTR , tH ij P
and tH ijTP in the right-hand side of the above equation refer to elastic, thermal, phase
transformation, plastic and transformation plastic strains, respectively. Strains in the right-hand
side except the elastic are accumulated from the initial state to the time t.
Thermal and transformation strains are isotropic quantities because they represent volumetric
changes. Therefore a total amount of them is convenient for evaluations and is designated as
thermo-phase transformation strain in this study. Strains shown in eq. (1) will be used for
explaining the mechanism of heat treatment distortion in the ring specimen in the following
paragraphs.
5.2
Strain Changes during Quenching
Here, distortion in the ring during quenching will be examined using the simulated
circumferential, radial and axial strain changes. Figure 8 shows the simulated circumferential
strain changes on the transverse symmetry plane during quenching. The thermo-phase
transformation strain takes a large positive value in the outside region during heating as shown in
Figure 8(a). After cooling, the strain becomes positive in the limited region of 2 mm in depth
from the outer surface due to the martensite transformation expansion.
0.015
Circumferential strain
0.010
0.005
0.000
-0.005
-0.010
-0.015
1.5s
4.0s
4.6s
5.1s
6.6s
10.1s
250.s
10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(a)Thermo-phase trans.
(b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 8: Time changes of circumferential strain during quenching.
It can be described from Figure 8(e) that distributions of the circumferential total strain are
shown as more horizontal than other strains at any time. This means that circumferential
expansion and contraction in the ring are restricted by its own characteristics of the ring shape.
Also considering the strain equilibrium condition of eq. (1), local increases in the thermo-phase
transformation strain have to be absorbed by changes in other strains.
This absorption is clarified by the fact that the plastic strain on the outside region becomes a
large negative during heating. The maximum fall at the end of heating is shown in Figure 8(c).
This strain decreases its absolute value during cooling, and becomes positive in the limited range
of 2mm in depth. On the other hand, the plastic strain in the deeper depth region, from 35 mm to
209
47.5 mm in radius, is still negative at the final cooling state. Contributions of elastic and
transformation plastic strains are also meaningful in the balance with other strains, as shown in
Figure 8(b) and 8(d), respectively.
Circumferential total strains at the outer and inner surfaces after quenching become almost zero
with a small negative value, respectively. Using a general relationship between circumferential
total strain and radial displacement, the inner and outer diameter changes shown in section 4.1
can be calculated from the total strains. Therefore, the mechanism of ring diameter changes has
been explained by analyzing simulated circumferential strain changes.
0.030
Radial strain
0.020
0.010
1.5s
4.0s
4.6s
5.1s
6.6s
10.1s
250.s
0.000
-0.010
-0.020
10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(a) Thermo-phase trans.
(b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 9: Time changes of radial strain during quenching.
Secondly, simulated radial strain changes on the transverse symmetry plane during quenching
are shown in Figure 9. The plastic strain shown in Figure 9(c) becomes positive near the surface
at the end of heating, and has a smaller distribution range than the thermo-phase transformation
strain. During cooling, plastic and transformation plastic strains are in negative and positive,
respectively, near the outer surface as shown in Figures 9(c) and 9(d).
Considering the total strain changes shown in Figure 9(e), it can be derived that radial expansion
and contraction are restricted less by its own shape of the ring than circumferential. The averaged
radial total strain along the radial axis at the end of quenching may be nearly zero, although it has
the maximum and minimum points in the outside part. It means the contribution of the radial
strain to the radial displacement is minimal.
Finally, simulated distribution changes of axial strains on the transverse symmetry plane during
quenching are described in Figure 10. The plastic strain near the outer surface varies in between
negative and positive during heating and cooling processes as shown in Figure 10(c). Total strain
shown in Figure 10(e) is positive at any time in the outside part; on the other hand it changes
from negative to slightly positive in the inside part during heating and cooling. These strain
changes correspond to the height changes described in the section 4.1 on the top surface of the
ring. Therefore, the mechanism of the ring height changes has been explained clearly using the
axial strain changes.
210
0.015
Axial strain
0.010
1.5s
4.0s
4.6s
5.1s
6.6s
10.1s
250.s
0.005
0.000
-0.005
10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 10: Time changes of axial strain during quenching.
5.3
Strain Changes during Tempering
Distortion in the ring during tempering will be considered using the same approach as quenching.
Figure 11 shows simulated circumferential strain changes on the transverse symmetry plane
during tempering. It is described from Figure 11(e) that the total strain distribution after
tempering, at 15300 s, is similar to before tempering, at 0 s, except that its level is shifted very
slightly toward the negative side.
The thermo-phase transformation strain decreases after tempering by the effect of volumetric
contraction due to tempering transformations in the region of 2 mm in depth from the outer
surface, as shown in Figure 11(a). It is clear from Figure 11(c) that the plastic strain distribution
does not change at all before and after tempering. However, the transformation plastic strain
becomes more negative near the surface than before tempering.
As mentioned earlier, the circumferential total strain has a strong tendency to maintain a flat
distribution. Also considering the strain equilibrium condition of eq. (1), the decreased thermophase transformation strain near the outer surface will be absorbed by changes in other strains. It
is shown in Figure 11(b) that the elastic strain changes in order to keep the balance in strains.
This is the reason that the total strain is shifted in a negative direction, and hence a very minute
contraction of the outer and inner diameters is induced as described in the section 4.1.
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
0s
960s
3000s
5700s
9300s
11000s
15300s
-0.006
10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
Figure 11: Time changes of circumferential strain during tempering.
(e) Total.
211
Secondly, simulated radial strain changes on the transverse symmetry plane during tempering are
shown in Figure 12. The total strain shown in Figure 12(e) depicts a very slight increase or
decrease after tempering along the radial axis. Since these changes are compensated along the
radial axis, they may hardly contribute to the distortion in the radial direction after tempering.
0.010
Radial strain
0.005
0.000
0s
960s
3000s
5700s
9300s
11000s
15300s
-0.005
-0.010
10
20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 12: Time changes of radial strain during tempering.
Finally, simulated axial strain changes on the transverse symmetry plane during tempering are
shown in Figure 13. It is described from Figure 13(e) that the total strain decreases by tempering
in the region from 42 to 50 mm in radius. On the other hand, the thermo-phase transformation
strain falls in the region of 2 mm in depth from the outer surface by tempering transformations,
as shown in Figure 13(a). This strain fall produces a decrease of the total strain near the outer
surface. As a result, the decrease of the axial total strain contributes to the drop in the height at
the intersection abbreviated as Outside-Top after tempering as described in the section 4.1.
0.010
0.008
Axial strain
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
0s
960s
3000s
5700s
9300s
11000s
15300s
10 20 30 40 50 10
Radius, mm
20 30 40 50 10
Radius, mm
(b) Elastic.
20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
(d) Trans. plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 13: Time changes of axial strain during tempering.
Conclusions
Heat treatment simulation was applied to the induction hardened and tempered ring specimen,
and its distortion mechanism was examined based on the simulated results. The results derived
from this study are summarized as follows:
212
1.
It has been clearly shown that the mechanism of heat treatment distortion in the ring
specimen can be explained by the simulated distribution changes of thermo-phase
transformation, elastic, plastic, transformation plastic and total strains.
2. The technique suggested for analyzing the distortion mechanism in this study is utilized
for reducing and controlling heat treatment distortions in production components.
3. It is obvious from this study that nonlinear strains such as thermo-phase transformation,
plastic and transformation plastic strains are produced limitedly in the heat affected range
by the illuminating mechanism. Therefore, the induction hardening method is considered
suitable for the low-distortion and distortion-adapted processes.
4. In order to improve the accuracy of the heat treatment simulation, further studies are
needed to create enhanced models by verifications of many examples and collect data for
describing models accurately.
The thermal process simulator, FINAS/TPS, developed by CRC Solutions Corp., was used for
the simulation in this study.
References
Arimoto, K.; Ikuta, F.; Inoue, T.: Coupling Simulation of Distortion during Induction Hardening and Tempering
Using Finite Element Method. Netsu Shori, Vol 34, 1994, p. 332-338, (in Japanese).
Averbach, B. L.; Cohen, M.: The Isothermal Decomposition of Martensite and Retained Austenite. Trans. ASM,
Vol 41, 1946, p. 1024-1060.
Avrami, M.: Kinetics of Phase Change. I, II, III. J. Chem. Phys., Vol 7, 1939, p. 1103-1112, Vol 8, 1940, p. 212224, Vol 9, 1941, p. 177-184.
Balluffi, R. W.; Cohen, M.; Averbach, B. L.: The Tempering of Chromium Steels. Trans. ASM, Vol 43, 1951, p.
497-525.
The British Iron and Steel Research Association: Physical Constants of Some Commercial Steels at Elevated
Temperatures. Butterworths Scientific Publications, London, 1953.
Denis, S.; Gautier E.; Simon A.; Beck, G.: Stress-Phase-Transformations-Basic Principles, Modelling, and
Calculation of Internal Stresses. Mats. Sci. Tech., Vol 1, 1985, p. 805-814.
Ericsson T.: Principles of Heat Treating of Steels. in ASM Handbook, Vol 4, Heat Treating, ASM International,
Materials Park, Ohio 1991, p. 3-19.
Inoue, T.; Inoue, H.; Uehara, T.; Ikuta, F.; Arimoto, K.; Igari, T.: Simulation and Experimental Verification of
Induction Hardening Process for Some Kinds of Steel. Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Quenching and Distortion, ASM
International, 1996, p. 55-62.
Jablonka, A.; Harste, K.; Schwerdtfeger, K.: Thermomechanical Properties of Iron and Iron-Carbon Alloys: Density
and Thermal Contraction. Steel Research, Vol 62, 1991, p. 24-33.
Johnson, W. A.; Mehl, R. F.: Reaction Kinetics in Processes of Nucleation and Growth. Trans. AIME, Vol 135,
1939, p. 416-458.
Krauss, G.: Principles of heat treatment of steel. ASM, 1980, p. 200.
Koistinen, D. P.; Marburger, R. E.: A General Equation Prescribing the Extent of the Austenite-Martensite
Transformation in Pure Iron-Carbon Alloys and Plain Carbon Steels. Acta Met., Vol 7, 1959, p. 59-60.
Kolmogorov, A. N.: Statistical Theory of Crystallization of Metals. Izvestia Akademii Naul SSSR, Vol 1, 1937, p.
355-359.(in Russian)
Melander, M.: Computer Predictions of Progressive Induction Hardening of Cylindrical Components. Mats. Sci.
Tech., Vol . 1, 1985, p. 877-822.
Miettinen, J.: Calculation of Solidification-Related Thermophysical Properties for Steels. Met. Mat. Trans. B, Vol
28B, 1997, p. 281-297.
Rammerstorfer, F.G.; Fischer, D. F.; Mitter, W.; Bathe, K. J.; Snyder, M. D.: On Thermo -Elastic -Plastic Analysis
of Heat-Treatment Processes Including Creep and Phase Changes. Computer & Structures, Vol 13, 1981, p.
771-779.
Takamura, M: Quench Distortion due to Induction Hardening. Proc. Conf. Quench Distortion, Japan Soc. Heat
Treat., 1992, p. 5.1-5.10, (in Japanese).
213
Case study comparison of distortion for an

AGMA quality class 10 bevel gears gas
carburizing, versus contour induction hardening.
Kelly T. Jones P.E1, Michael. R. Newsome2, Matthew D. Carter P.E3,
1
The Boeing Company, Everett Washington, USA, Kelly.t.jones@boeing.com
The Boeing Company, Portland Oregon, USA, Michael.r.newsome@boeing.com

3
The Boeing Company, Portland Oregon, USA, Matthew.d.carter@boeing.com
Abstract
Paper will examine the impact on distortion of the two processes using traditional gear measurement techniques.
Paper will discuss design considerations involved with switching from gas carburizing to contour induction. Core
property considerations will be reviewed. Impact of a conversion from gas carburize to contour induction in terms of
production flow and cost will be discussed.
Keywords
Bevel Gear, Induction, Gas Carburizing, Distortion, Performance.
Summary
The aircraft industry is facing some of the most difficult financial challenges in the
history of aviation. Much work has been put into cost reduction efforts in the last few
years. The authors were members of a team within Boeing Commercial Airplanes that
were able to show a significant cost reduction for the manufacture of straight bevel gears
without sacrificing design requirements. A review of the manufacturing methods for
straight bevel gears indicated that significant cost was associated with the carburizing
process. These costs included touch time, process time and cost, and unacceptable scrap
rates.
Overview of the 3633 Straight Bevel Gear

The 3633 straight bevel gear is used in the trailing edge flap drive system of the 737. The
3633 gear is used in the angle gearbox noted in Figure 1. The gear has a shaft angle of
about 162 degrees and a diametral pitch of 8.5 (2.99 module) and a Coniflex1 tooth flank.
The gear is over hung mounted (outboard of the two shaft support bearings) in an
aluminum gearbox and transmits about 40 Hp under maximum load. The drive system
operates about 8 times per flight with a total run time of about 1 minute in both the
extend and retract directions with a variable opposing load in each direction. The gear is
manufactured to approximately AGMA2 Quality 10 tolerances.
214
Figure 1: Schematic of the 737 Flap Drive System
The gear is case carburized 9310 steel per AMS 6265 and heat treated to a 36-41 HRC
core hardness. Case is 58 HRC minimum, with a depth of 0.64mm to 0.90mm.
Straight bevel gears have been traditionally used on large transport aircraft because they
can be manufactured in one piece for straddle mounted applications (gear mounted
between bearings). This affords a significant weight savings over multi-piece spiral or
Zerol1 bevel gear straddle mounted designs. Non-straddle mounted applications, such as
the 3633 gear, continue to use straight bevel gears for reasons of machine tool
commonality.
3
3.1
Design Considerations
Contact Pattern
The performance of bevel gears is significantly influenced by the relative contact
between mating gear pairs. This relative contact is represented by the contact pattern or
bearing, which is simply the wear pattern left on each of the two gears when coated with
a marking compound, then run together under load in a bevel gear tester. Figure 2. shows
a typical contact pattern of a bevel gear similar to the 3633 gear. A good contact pattern
runs from the heel to the toe of the flank of the tooth and from nearly the root to the tip
under maximum operating load. In general, a good contact pattern does not run off the
edge of the tooth in any direction under any expected load. (There are exceptions but
they are out of the scope of this paper.) Gears with poor contact patterns are noisy and
subject to dynamic loads and vibrations. Poor contact patterns also tend to cause
unwanted load concentrations, which in turn may overload portions of the tooth leading
to durability failures, premature wear, and or edge chipping. Close control of the contact
pattern also allows parts to be interchangeable rather than manufactured as matched sets,
which allows reduced inventory costs.
215
Figure 2: Typical straight bevel gear contact pattern.
Perfectly machined straight bevel gear teeth would exhibit end loading distress in
much the same way a cylindrical roller would under high load. And, like cylindrical
rollers, straight bevel gear teeth are machined with a crowned lead, or Coniflex 1, along
the length of the tooth. The total amount of Coniflex machined into a tooth varies with
the operating requirements and the physical and metallurgical properties of the gear, but
usually amount to only a few hundredths of a millimeter. Control of the amount and
location of the Coniflex is critical to achieving an acceptable contact pattern.
Unfortunately, unlike other bevel gear forms, straight bevel gears cannot be economically
ground after heat treatment in order to correct distortion because the Coniflex tooth form
is incompatible with the kinematics required for grinding. The gear teeth must therefore
be cut to anticipate the expected distortion during heat treatment in order to meet the final
tolerance requirements.
3.2
Case Considerations
Case carburizing and heat treatment was originally selected for the 3633 bevel gear to
ensure maximum wear and pitting resistance of the gear tooth while maintaining the
maximum possible ductile core for bending strength and impact resistance. The
carburized case depth was selected to ensure that the material strength exceeded the
expected sub-surface shear stress associated with surface contact throughout the duty
cycle. The same criteria must be applied to selecting an induction hardened case depth.
Carburizing a gear tooth results in two distinct types of distortion. The first is the local
distortion of the profile of the tooth from the desired theoretical form, both along the
profile and along the lead. This distortion comes from both the diffusion of carbon into
the surface and changes to the microstructure due to heat treatment. Both of these
mechanisms change the local volume of the case, resulting in residual stresses and
associated material strain. The second type of distortion results from the gear blank itself,
where different parts of the gear react to the heat treatment differently. Influencing
factors include metallurgical factors (local carbon content, impurities, existing inclusions,
the presence of pre-existing residual stresses), variations in the thermal process (location
in the oven, evenness of heating and cooling, quench rates) and geometrical
considerations (size and shape of the part). This distortion tends to cause the pitch cone to
216
potato chip (local and global variations in the pitch cone angle). Both types of
distortion have detrimental effects on the contact pattern.
Through hardening would have left the core too brittle. Through hardening may also
require finish machining in the hardened condition.
Nitriding has not been popular for aircraft gears for a number of reasons. First, nitridable
steel alloys tend to have lower core strengths and therefore represent a weight increase
when compared with carburizing steels. Second, nitrided cases perform poorly near limit
strength (where most aircraft bevel gears are designed), tending to crack and flake thus
loosing the desired hardened surface and contaminating the gear box with hard particles.
Third, nitriding tends to involve long processing times which impact costs. Forth, while
nitriding involves less distortion than carburizing, some distortion still takes place and
would require similar efforts to control distortion during processing.
3.3
Strength Considerations
Composite (case hardened) metal parts tend to outperform homogenous (through
hardened) metal parts in bending strength in that they benefit from the increased outer
fiber strength associated with case hardening. Carburized parts are significantly harder
(and therefore stronger) than comparable induction hardened parts. In the design of large
commercial air transports no credit is given to this additional capability for static strength
(limit and ultimate) load conditions. It was therefore a simple matter of matching the core
strength of both the carburized and induction hardened gears for this criteria. The fatigue
criteria, however, does account for the additional strength of the case and must be
considered carefully. Laboratory testing has confirmed that the fatigue strength of
induction hardened gears is significantly less than a comparable carburized gear. The
experimental procedures and results concerning the differences in fatigue properties of
carburized gears compared to induction hardened gears are well documented in
Reference 6. In this case static strength requirements and not fatigue drove the gear
design.
Various low carbon steels are used for carburizing and AMS6265 is often used in
aerospace applications. When a part is carburized the alloy content is modified to provide
case hardening. On the other hand, induction hardening a part modifies the surface heat
treatment to provide case hardening. It is therefore important to select an alloy that meets
performance requirements at both heat treatment levels for the induction hardening
process
3.4

Metallurgical Considerations.
ANSI/AGMA 2001-D04 Fundamental Rating Factors and Calculation Methods for
Involute Spur and Helical Gear Teeth (Reference 5), provides descriptions of the desired
metallurgy of the case and core for both carburized and induction hardened gear teeth. The
carburized 3633 gear meets or exceeds all metallurgical requirements of Table 9, Grade 3
in Reference 5. The carburization process is typical for aerospace applications:
Carburization at 900C, cool to room temperature, austentise at 815C, oil quench, followed
by -80C low temperature stabilization and 165C temper. Figure 3 is a micrograph of a
carburized tooth near the heel of the tooth.
The Induction 3633 gear meets or exceeds the requirements of Table 8 Grade 2 of
Reference 5. The induction 3633 gear also meets or exceeds the applicable requirements of
Table 9 Grade 3 of Reference 5. While metallurgical properties for carburized gears of this
type are well established, induction metallurgical characteristics are less well known. The
Grade 2 description does not adequately describe the metallurgy. In this example
AMS6414 (4340) material was first heat treated to a core property of 34 to 40 HRC. An
induction case was applied followed by a 165C temper for a 56HRC minimum case
217
hardness. The induction case to core transition is very short, typically 0.03mm. The
induction case consists of fine tempered Martensite. The induction case is often not as
uniform as a carburize case. Figure 4 is a micrograph of an induction hardened tooth near
the heel of the tooth. Consideration of this condition must be given when deciding on case
depth requirements. Case depth requirements should be specified for the root and tip
separately. In this example the case depth of the induction root was less than the carburize
root and the induction tip was greater than the carburize tip.
Figure 3: Representative carburize tooth cross section, 5X.
Figure 4: Representative induction tooth cross section, 5X.
Processes
4.1
4.1.1
x
Carburize
Carburizing is a historic process that remains in wide use for case hardening gears. While
there are multiple methods for carburizing, gas carburizing is the most common and is
discussed in this paper. The steps to carburizing can be grouped into three major steps. 1)
Pre-processing, 2) Processing, and 3) Post processing. Much of the cost associated with
gas carburizing is a result of pre and post processing.
Pre-processing consists of:
Adjustments to the gear generation process to compensate for carburized distortion. The
objective is to distort the gear tooth geometry, such that after carburizing the gear has the
desired geometry. Development of the adjustments includes application of prior
218
experience and trial and error. In the case of the example gear, an offset is dialed into the
V and H axis of the bevel gear test machine. Adjustments to the gear generator are made
such that the final desired pattern is generated with this offset. The offset represents the
warpage of the carburize process.
x
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.2
Masking and stop off. In many applications it is undesirable to carburize the entire
surface of the part. Often only the gear teeth working surface are to be carburized. To
accomplish this selective carburization, it is necessary to mask the areas that are not to be
carburized with a stop off coating or copper plate. After carburizing, the stop off coating
or copper plate is removed. There can be 20 minutes of touch time per piece for
application and removal of masking. The use of copper plating also involves the use of
hazardous materials, including arsenic.
Processing Carburizing:
Time, temperature and carbon potential relationship to case depth are well established.
One of the advantages of case hardening with gas carburizing is the fact that little if any
development is needed to establish required case properties. However, the racking
technique in the carburizing furnace may require development. For some applications the
development of quench fixtures and other tools may be required. Parts are placed in a
furnace heated to the carburizing temperature for the required time. After carburization,
the parts are either direct quenched or cooled to room temperature, and subsequently heat
treated. The later method produces a more stable metallurgy.
Post Processing:
After carburization parts are cleaned and the stop off coating, e.g. copper plate, is
removed. After final machining, the contact patterns are checked with a pre-determined
load and zero offset of the V and H axis on a suitable gear testing machine. At this point
the gears are either good or scrap.
The amount of labor involved in carburizing is clearly substantial.
Induction.
4.2.1
Pre-processing:
Essentially no pre-processing is required. The induction process has been found to cause
minimal geometry changes. As a result there is no requirement to make pre-heat
treatment adjustments to the gear tooth geometry to achieve the desired contact pattern.
With induction the case hardening pattern is controlled by tooling such as the induction
coil and the power-frequency-time parameters of the induction process. There is no need
for stop off coatings such as copper plate.
4.2.2
Processing:
The induction hardening process can take significant development effort. Coil design and
power parameters can take many iterations to obtain a satisfactory case.
With modern Computer controlled work stations setting up and running an induction job
is rather simple. The coil(s) are placed on the work station, work piece holder put in place
and finally the work piece. The recipe for time and power developed prior is executed. In
seconds the case hardening operation is complete. Furnace or induction temper follows.
During induction process development critical parameters are established. For gears like
that of this study an induction power supply capable of approximately 230 kHz and at
least 400kW is necessary. In this specific example a power supply operating at two
frequencies, (~10kHz & ~230kHz), was used with 105kWs applied.
219
4.2.3
Quenching:
As with heating, quenching must be very repeatable and timed with the end of the quench
cycle. Water-glycol spray quenching is the most effective for obtaining a quench that is
fast enough without adding distortion.
4.2.4
Post Processing:
Normal cleaning is used to remove residual quenchant. Parts are inspected for contact
pattern.
4.2.5
Cost:
The flow time of an induction hardened gear is typically 40% of the flow time for a
carburized gear. This reduction is due to the simplified gear cutting setup, elimination of
masking, distortion, and other problems.
4.3
Impact of distortion:
With most gear forms (spur, helical, spiral, etc.) distortion on the finished product is
compensated for by grinding the gear to correct the final tooth geometry. Grind stock
needs to be provided. Additional time and costs are incurred for the extra set up,
grinding, and inspection steps. For straight bevel gears post case-harden grinding is not a
practical option. Excessive distortion in this situation is often cause for scraping the part.
In those cases where the distortion is not excessive (i.e. is just within the acceptable
tolerances), the assembly shop may attempt to adjust shims to meet the assembled
contact pattern requirements and additional touch time is incurred.
Comparisons of Distortions
Figure 2 shows the resulting contact pattern of a pair of bevel gears mounted in the gear
tester. In this case the pattern was checked at full load. For carburized gears the precarburize contact pattern is controlled by applying an offset to the gear tester. This
amount is determined by experience. This technique will produce the desired pattern at
zero offset after carburizing. Induction hardened gears are cut with no offset. The desired
pattern is essentially the same pre- and post- hardening.
Figure 5 shows a profile plot of a gear prior to carburize. The darker lines represent the
theoretically perfect Coniflex1 shape normalized to straight lines. The lighter lines
represent the deviation of the actual tooth form from the theoretical shape. In this case it
is expected that the heel will move in the plus direction and the toe will move in the
minus direction. In addition, there is an expectation that the pressure angle will change
during carburizing and heat treatment.
220
Figure 5: Gear tooth profile prior to carburizing
Figure 6 shows a gear generated for induction hardening. No intentional changes from
nominal have been introduced to pre-compensate for distortion or warpage.
Figure 6: Gear tooth profile prior to induction hardening
221
Figure 7 shows a gear profile after the carburizing process. Comparing it to Figure 2
shows how successful the pre-processing gear generation was in compensating for the
changes that occur in the carburizing process. The toe of the tooth has indeed moved in
the minus and the heel has moved plus. In addition some correction of the pressure angle
is evident. Much of this profile movement can be attributed to changes in the pitch cone
angle due to heat treat warpage. In this case there is still some drop off near the heel of
the tooth but this could be judged acceptable for many applications. This ability to cut a
green gear to compensate sufficiently for heat treat warpage and obtain AGMA
Quality 10 final tolerances is considered state of the art.
Figure 7: Gear tooth profile after carburizing.
Figure 8 shows a gear tooth profile after induction hardening. Variation from nominal is
the result of normal machine variation and is expected and well within the tolerances for
an AGMA quality 10 gear. This profile is essentially unchanged from the pre-induction
hardened profile.
222
Figure 8: Gear tooth profile after induction hardening.
Figure 9: Arithmetic difference between the tooth profile of a green gear prior to induction hardening
and a finished induction hardened gear.
223
Figure 9 shows the difference between the measurements of Figures 6 & 8. For all
practical purposes there is no change in the gear tooth geometry as a result of the
induction case hardening process.
5.2
Induction Process Considerations.

Induction case hardening requires several major components. An adequate power supply,
work station, induction coil(s), work piece holding and material handling are essential
components. The Power Supply operating frequency, or frequencies, must be correct for
the tooth size and desired case depth. The Power Supply must have adequate power to
heat the case quickly enough to avoid significant conductive heat transfer to the core.
This will not only deepen the case but temper back the core. Finally, the Power Supply
must be highly repeatable. The workstation must accurately control the location of the
gear. Induction coils need to be very well constructed. Dimensions and tolerances tightly
controlled, and checked before each use. Gear case hardening with induction requires
discipline and attention to detail.
Conclusion:
Based on this, and other bevel gears we have evaluated, we have found that induction
hardening allows much closer control of surface distortion (less distortion) than
conventional carburizing but sacrifices some mechanical properties. In the case of
straight bevel gear teeth, which are usually sized by static strength (for large commercial
transports) this loss of mechanical properties is acceptable.
Notes:
x
1. Trademark of the Gleason Works
x
2. American Gear Manufacturers Association
References
Rakhit, A.K. Heat Treatment of Gears A Practical Guide for Engineers, ASM International, 2000
Drago, R. J. Fundamentals of Gear Design, Butterworths, 1988
Nitralloy and the Nitriding Process, The Nitraolly Corporation, New York, 1954
Jones, K. T. Induction Hardened Gear Allowables, Internal Boeing Document, 2001
ANSI/AGMA 2001-D04 Fundamental Rating Factors and Calculation Methods for Involute Spur and Helical
Gear Teeth
DETC2000/PTG-14379, Estimating the Endurance Limit of 9310, 4340M And 4360Steel Gears, C. Wern, et al,
8th International ASME Power Transmission and Gearing Conference
224
8. Carburising
225
226
227
High Temperature Carburization Influences

on Distortion Behaviour of Heavy-Duty
Transmission Components
Jrg Kleff1, Stefan Hock1, Ingo Kellermann1, Markus Fleischmann2, Arnim Kper2
1
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, 88038 Friedrichshafen, Germany, Joerg.Kleff@zf.com

Stefan.Hock@zf.com Ingo.Kellermann@zf.com
ZF Passau GmbH, 94030 Passau, Germany, Markus.Fleischmann@zf.com Arnim.Kueper@zf.com
Abstract
The carburization of transmission components at temperatures above 950C has been discussed for more than 20
years, but a broad industrial implementation has not occurred thus far. Insufficient fine-grain stability of steels as well
as temperature-critical furnace equipment of heat treatment facilities were the major reasons for this. With the
development of microalloyed case-hardening steels and modern furnaces, both materials and heat treatment facilities
are available today for high temperature carburization.
For heavy-duty transmission components with a deeper case depth in particular, the time needed for heat treatment
can be significantly reduced by increasing the carburizing temperature. This, however, first requires extreme
consistency and minimum scatter in dimensional and shape changes to the components after case-hardening. Using a
selection of various heavy-duty transmission components the distortion-critical dimensions after case-hardening were
determined at carburization temperatures of 930, 980, and 1050C, and under varying heating and cooling profiles.
The results show that a stable distortion behavior of the components is possible even at a very high carburization
temperature and optimized temperature curve. Dimensional and shape changes are not necessarily more divergent
than with todays standard case-hardening.
Keywords
case-hardening, high temperature carburization, distortion
Potential and Limits of High Temperature Carburization
Carburization of transmission components is usually performed at temperatures below 950C.

Especially for bigger components with a deeper case depth, this may take up to 10 or 20 hours
depending on the case depth. Therefore, case-hardening is by far the most time-consuming
individual step in the whole production chain of heavy-duty transmission components. Higher
carburization temperatures will significantly decrease the process duration due to faster carbon
diffusion, e.g. 50% less carburization time for 1 mm case depth by increasing the carburization
temperature from 950C to 1050C [Grabke, 1997]. However, high temperature carburization is
an optimized heat treatment process in order to save time and money in the series production.
Potentials and limits of high temperature carburization have been discussed for more than 20
years [Grosch, 1981]. Until now just a few applications of high temperature carburization
followed by direct quenching have been published [Edenhofer, 2002]. The major restrictions of
higher carburization temperatures were insufficient fine-grain stability of case-hardening steels
as well as temperature-critical furnace equipment in heat treatment facilities. But a fine-grained
microstructure of case-hardened parts is of utmost importance to obtain the required fatigue
strength [Hock, 1999]. With the development of a grain-refining isothermal transformation after
carburization and before quenching [Clausen, 2001] or by using microalloyed case-hardening
steels with a grain stability up to 1050C [Hippenstiel, 2002] fine-grained parts can be carburized
even at higher temperatures. Also heat treatment facilities for high temperature carburization are
228
available today. Vacuum furnaces can easily provide temperatures up to 1100C but even in
atmospheric furnaces with special high temperature equipment carburization up to 1050C is
possible [Edenhofer, 2002].
In order to introduce high temperature carburization in the volume production the distortion
characteristics of relevant parts have to be determined. Extreme consistency and minimum
scatter in dimensional and shape changes are necessarily required. Systematic investigations on
the impact of the carburization temperature on the distortion characteristics have not yet been
published. During this investigation representative transmission components were case-hardened
at conventional (930, 940C), slightly (980C) and significantly (1050C) increased
carburization temperatures, and under varying heating and cooling profiles. The purpose of this
investigation was to determine the influence of carburization temperature and varying
temperature curve on distortion characteristics of heavy-duty transmission components.
Case-Hardening and Investigation of Transmission Components
For the investigation of distortion characteristics different representative transmission

components were selected (Figure 1). All components are typical parts of heavy-duty
transmissions and processed in larger quantities. Application, material, and heat treatment
specifications of these components are given in table 1. By choosing these components the two
major steel grades for larger components were investigated: 18CrNiMo7-6 (ZF1A) and
20MnCrB5 (ZF7B). Both grades were either processed as a conventional heat with Al and N or
as a modified grade with additional Ti (0,002%) and Nb (0,03-0,04%) for grain size control. For
this investigation all parts of every component were manufactured from the same heat of steel.
Figure 1: Heavy-duty transmission components a) bevel gear, b) bevel gear pinion,

c) helical gear and d) countershaft
Case-hardening was performed in a high-temperature chamber furnace by gas carburizing at

930/940, 980 and 1050C followed by cooling down to hardening temperature and oil quenching
(Table 1). Figure 2 shows the time-temperature curve for helical gears and countershafts. The
bevel gears and bevel gear pinions were case-hardened in a similar way but with respect to the
series production with a slower heat-up and longer carburization time to obtain a deeper case.
The batches for carburizing at 1050C were heated with an additional isothermal step at 800C in
order to achieve a more homogeneous temperature distribution in the part. Furthermore, another
batch of countershafts was carburized at 1050C without the additional isothermal step at 800C
while heating up (investigation still running). In the series production most batches are cooled
down from carburizing to hardening temperature and this process needs additional time but is
beneficial with respect to distortion. In order to investigate this influence, additional batches of
229
helical gears were carburized at 930, 980 and 1050C and directly quenched from carburization
temperature.
a) Bevel gear
c) Helical gear
railway
b) Bevel gear
pinion
bus
truck
d) Countershaft
truck
18CrNiMo7-6
(ZF1A)
18CrNiMo7-6
(ZF1A+Nb, Ti)
20MnCrB5
(ZF7B+Nb, Ti)
20MnCrB5
(ZF7B)
Application
Material
Specifications of ground part:

Surface hardness [HRC]

Case depth CHD610 [mm]

Core strength [N/mm2]

Grain size
60 63
1.0 1.4
1100
5 and finer (3+410% accepted)
59 63
0.6 1.0
1000
5 and finer (3+410% accepted)
+FP (ferrite / pearlite)
+FP (ferrite / pearlite)
Heat treatment:

Annealing

Case-hardening
- Carburizing temp.
- Temp. before quench
- Oil temp.
- Tempering
930 / 980 / 1050C

850C
80C
170C 2h
940 / 980 / 1050C

860C
80C
170C 2h
Table 1: Specifications and heat treatment of transmission components

1100
1100
1050C
980C
Temperature
[C]
Temperature [C]
1000
1000
930C
900
900
800
800
700
700
Material : ZF7B
Goal: CHD610 = 0.9 mm
600
600
500
500
oil quench:
80C
400
400
00
22
44
66
88
10
10
11
12
12
13
14
14
Time [h]
Time [h]
Figure 2: Time-temperature curve for case-hardening of helical gears
A single batch for each carburization variant was case-hardened for helical gears (20 parts per
batch, hanging in the fixture), countershafts (20 parts, standing) and bevel bear pinions (8 parts,
hanging). The bevel gears were case-hardened in two batches for each carburization temperature
(3 parts per batch, laying horizontally).
The distortion-critical dimensions were measured before (soft) and after (hard) casehardening for each part. Typical examples of critical dimensions are the following:
x
bevel gear
dimension of teeth (3D-grid measurement), bore and outer

diameter, radial run-out
x
bevel gear pinion
dimension of teeth (3D-grid measurement), run-out
x
helical gear
tooth profile and tooth flank, roundness and diameter of bore
x
countershaft
length
230
Metallographic investigations were performed on parts of each single batch to obtain information
on surface microstructure and hardness, case depth, carbon profile, core strength and austenitic
grain size.
Results of Metallographic Investigation
Table 2 shows the results of the metallographic investigation of case-hardened parts carburized at
different temperatures. Surface hardness, case depth and core strength meet the specification
required (Table 1). Very similar case depths for each component as well similar contents of
retained austenite in the carburized microstructure ( 15%) were achieved at different
carburization temperatures in different batches. This confirms that gas carburizing up to 1050C
can be a stable and reliable process.
Metallographic results
Surface hardness [HRC]
Bevel gear
Bevel gear pinion
Helical gear
Countershaft
61 62
60 62
61 63
59 60
CHD610 [mm] @930/980/1050C 1.3 / 1.3 / 1.3

2
Core strength [N/mm ]
1130 1170
1.1 / 1.1 / 1.5
0.9 / 1.0 / 1.0 0.9 / 1.0 / 0.9
1310 1350
1160 1220
1100 1180
Table 2: Surface hardness, case depth and core strength of parts
Figure 3 shows the distribution of austenitic grain size determined just below the case depth
which is usually the most sensitive area for grain growth. All parts carburized up to 980C meet
the required specifications. Even the conventional grades ZF1A and ZF7B are fined-grained at
this temperature. This shows that carburization at higher temperatures is also possible with
conventional grades if the N-content of the actual heat for grain size control is high enough. For
carburizing at 1050C Nb and Ti microalloyed steels are necessary to prevent grain growth. Fine
carbon and nitrogen precipitations TiN and Nb,Ti(C,N) are much more temperature-stable than
AlN in conventional steels [Hippenstiel, 2002]. But microalloying of Nb and Ti is not always a
guarantee for fine-grained parts up to highest temperatures. Coarsening and inhomogeneous
distribution of precipitates may reduce the grain size stability. Unacceptable coarse grains were
determined in bevel gear pinions (ZF1A+Nb, Ti) carburized at 1050C whereas the bevel gears
made from the conventional steel ZF1A were fine grained after similar case-hardening.
Fraction of area [%]
100
100
100
20
100
100
97
96
95
99
100
85
19
15
9
10
5+finer
13
3+4 (10%)
6
0
940 980 1050
Bevel gear
ZF1A
940 980 1050

930 980 1050
Carburizing temperature [C]
Bevel gear pinion Helical gear

ZF1A+Nb, Ti
ZF7B+Nb, Ti
930 980 1050
Countershaft
ZF7B
Figure 3: Distribution of grain size after case-hardening
2+coarser
231
Distortion Characteristics of Heavy-Duty Transmission Components
Case-hardening tests on transmission components at different carburization temperatures and

varying temperature profiles provide important information on several effects on distortion
characteristics, like the influence of carburization temperature and advantages of appropriate
heat-up to carburization temperature or cool-down from carburizing to hardening temperature
before quenching, respectively.
4.1
Influence of Carburization Temperature
The influence of carburization temperature on distortion-critical dimensions will be described by

means of some results of bevel and helical gears selected from a large number of measurements.
Bevel gears are very sensitive to distortion. Therefore, most bevel gears are carburized and
subsequently single-hardened in a fixture to control dimensional and shape changes. The bevel
gear chosen for this investigation is less critical and, therefore, it is carburized and directly
hardened by batch quenching in the series production. For this investigation a single tooth of
each bevel gear was 3D-measured by a kind of grid measurement with a sum of 90 measuring
points from the toe to the heel and from the tooth tip to the tooth root of the concave and the
convex flank. Figure 4 shows the difference between the actual position of a single measuring
point and the nominal position of the later as-ground tooth with an ideal shape for each
carburized part. The tooth is soft-machined with an individual correction dimension with respect
to the distortion characteristics and later stock removal. At this individual point of measurement
the difference to the nominal value increases after heat treatment. A similar increase could be
noticed for all parts carburized at different temperatures. Evaluating all characteristic measuring
points reveals a maximum distortion of 60 m which is less than the proposed stock removal.
The average value and the range of distortion at each single measuring point are similar for all
parts carburized at different temperatures.
Difference
to nominal value [m]
Difference to nominal value [m]
200
200
hard
100
100
soft
0
0
3D-measuring of
tooth #1:
corner toe, concave
flank, tooth root
-100
-100
tooth #1
Carburizing temperature :
940C
-200
-200
0
11
22
33
4
4
980C
5
5
6
6
77
1050C
88
16 17
17 18
18 19
99 10
10 11
11 12
12 13
13 14
14 15
15 16
PartNo.
No.
Part
Figure 4: Results of 3D-measurement of a single tooth given as a difference from the nominal value
Figure 5 shows the distortion (value hard value soft) of the radial run-out at the outer diameter
of the bevel gear as well as the distortion of bore and outer diameter for each carburization
temperature. The radial run-out is on a very small level for all bevel gears so later grinding of the
outer diameter is no problem. Both diameters show slight increase after carburizing at 940 and
980C ( 200 m) or stay constant after carburizing at 1050C. Even in case of growing there
will be no problem for later grinding with respect to the larger dimensions of these bevel gears.
At least, all bevel gears were ground after heat treatment and no part had to be scrapped due to
extensive distortion. In short, no negative influence of higher carburization temperature on
distortion characteristics of this bevel gear was determined. Therefore, high temperature
carburization is a possible process for this component in future.
232
Distortion
- soft
[mm]
distortionhard
hard - soft
[mm]
0,300
Radial run-out
at outer diameter
Outer diameter
Bore diameter
spec. 460 +0.5/-1 spec. 191.85 H6
0,200
0,100
0,000
-0,100
1
10
11
940 980 1050

940 980 1050
940 980 1050
Figure 5: Distortion of bore and outer diameter at bevel gears (average of 6 parts)
For helical gears the helix angle of the tooth flank as well as the diameter and roundness of the
bore are the most distortion-critical characteristics. Figure 6 shows the tooth flank deviation fHE
as a characteristic value giving information on the difference between the actual and the nominal
(ideal) helix angle. With respect to later grinding the correction dimensions of fHE are different
for the left and the right flank after soft machining. After case-hardening the average value for
each flank is nearly similar as before but the range between minimum and maximum value for
each measured flank increases. Carburization at 980C shows similar scatter of fHE as
carburization at 930C and no negative influence due to the higher carburization temperature can
be determined. All batches were cooled down to hardening temperature before quenching. Data
of the batch carburized at 1050C are missing because due to some furnace problems that batch
had to be scrapped.
ToothTooth
flank
flankdeviation
alignment fHEf[m]
HE [m]
100
soft
hard
distortion
75
50
25
0
-25
fHE
-50
-75
-100
L
930
980
1050
930
980
1050
930
980
1050
Figure 6: Tooth flank deviation of helical gears

(L = left flank, R = right flank, average of 20 parts and 4 teeth measured)
The roundness of the bore is shown in figure 7. The roundness was measured at two sides of the
helical gear, the side with the smaller clutch spline and the opposite side. Due to the hanging
position of the helical gear in the furnace the bore is getting slightly elliptic which deteriorates
average value and range of roundness. Helical gears carburized at 930 and 980C show similar
roundness values. Hanging of this gear is necessary to prevent extensive oil removal from the
quench bath. However, the slightly elliptic bore can be easily ground so the disadvantage due to
hanging the gears has less impact than the oil removal associated to laying the gears.
233
0,16
Bore
roundness
[m]
bore
roundness [mm]
soft
hard
distortion
0,12
soft
CS
0,08
0,04
hard
(980C)
0,00
CS OP CS OP CS OP
930
CS OP CS OP CS OP
980 1050
930
CS OP CS OP CS OP
980 1050
930
980
1050
Figure 7: Bore roundness of helical gears

(CS = side of clutch spline, OP = opposite side, average of 20 parts)
Similar to the bevel gear, there is also no negative impact of the increased carburization
temperature on distortion characteristics provided the heating rate is similar to conventional
carburization and the batch is cooled down to hardening temperature.
4.2
Influence of Cooling down to Hardening Temperature
0,3
quenched from 850C
quenched from
carburization temperature
0,2
grow
0,1
shrink
Distortion
of ofbore
diameter
Distortion
bore diameter
[mm] [mm]
When increasing the carburization temperature in order to speed up the process it is also
reasonable to ask whether cooling down to hardening temperature, which also costs time, is
definitely necessary. Therefore, helical gears were carburized at 930, 980 and 1050C and
directly quenched from carburization temperature. The results concerning distortion of teeth and
bore are compared to the results described before.
The tooth section and the bore of the gear show much more scattering of distortion-critical
dimensions when quenched directly from carburization temperature. Especially the tooth flank
deviation fHE of some individual teeth increases significantly even after quenching from 930C
- so that a deeper stock removal for grinding is necessarily required for processing. But this will
increase the costs for grinding and the risk of grinding-burn on the tooth flank is much higher.
CS
-0,1
-0,2
-0,3
CS
OP
930
CS
OP
980
CS
OP
1050
CS
OP
930
CS
OP
980
CS
OP
1050
Figure 8: Influence of cooling down before quenching on distortion of bore diameter

of helical gears (CS = side of clutch spline, OP = opposite side, average of 20 parts)
234
Figure 8 shows the influence on the distortion of the bore diameter when quenching from
carburization temperature compared to quenching from hardening temperature 850C. The
growth of the bore diameter from one part to the other scatters more when quenching from
carburization temperature and at 1050C the bore turns conical due to growth at one side of the
clutch spline and shrinking at the opposite side. Therefore, cooling down to hardening
temperature after carburizing is a necessarily required step in case-hardening of distortion-critical
components in order to achieve a good process capability.
4.3
Influence of Additional Isothermal Steps while Heating up
For all carburizing trials at 1050C the batches were heated with an additional isothermal step at
800C in order to obtain a more homogenous distribution of temperature in the parts. This
additional isothermal step may also influence the distortion characteristics of components. As
shown in figure 5, the growth of the bore and the outer diameter of the bevel gears is
significantly smaller at 1050C compared to carburization at 940 and 980C. Therefore,
additional carburizing tests on countershafts were performed at 1050C without the isothermal
step at 800C while heating up. Measuring the distortion-critical length of the countershaft will
give more information on the influence of the heating up profile. This investigation is still
running and results will be given in the future.
Summary and Outlook
Increasing the carburization temperature in the series production requires an in-depth approval of
processing and application properties of transmission components. For gears and shafts extreme
consistency and minimum scatter in dimensional and shape changes are required. Thus, the
distortion characteristics of components and possible consequences for soft and hard machining
have to be investigated. Further, a fine-grained microstructure of the case-hardened parts has to
be ensured for good fatigue strength. Even with appropriate equipment the care taken in the
maintenance and the checking intervals may certainly not be reduced when the carburization
temperature is raised.
The present investigation on distortion characteristics of heavy-duty transmission components as
well as on the grain size stability of case-hardening steels shows that two major requirements
have been met to increase the carburization temperature of the case-hardening process in order to
save time and money in series processing. Whereas the carburization temperature has less impact
on distortion characteristics of transmission components an appropriate heat-up and a cool-down
to hardening temperature before quenching has turned out necessary to obtain minimum scatter
of dimensional and shape changes of distortion-critical components.
When defining an optimum carburization temperature in the production chain of transmission
components the individual preconditions have to be considered, like heat treatment facilities as
well as the spectrum and quantity of different parts. All this is on the way to introduce high
temperature carburizing in the divisions of the ZF-group.
References
Clausen, B.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Aufkohlen bei hheren Temperaturen. HTM 56 (2001) 5, pp.363-369.
Edenhofer, B.; Handel, H.: Die Nutzung von Atmosphrenfen fr das Aufkohlen bei hohen Temperaturen. HTM
57 (2002) 5, S. 357-363.
Grosch, J. et al.: Gasaufkohlen bei Temperaturen oberhalb 950C in konventionellen fen und in Vakuum-fen.
HTM 36 (1981) 5, pp. 262-269.
Hippenstiel, F. et al.: Innovative Einsatzsthle als mageschneiderte Werkstofflsung zur Hochtemperaturaufkohlung von Getriebekomponenten. HTM 57 (2002) 4, pp. 290-298.
Hock, St.; Kleff, J.; Schulz, M.; Sollich, A.; Wiedmann, D.: Einflu von Umform- und Wrmebehandlungfol-gen
auf Korngre und Schwingfestigkeit von einsatzgehrteten Bauteilen. HTM 54 (1999) 1, pp. 45-52.
Grabke, H. et al.: Die Prozessregelung beim Gasaufkohlen und Einsatzhrten, Hrsg. AWT Fachausschuss 5
Arbeitskreis 4, 1997, Expert Verlag, Renningen.
235
Influence of carburising on distortion behaviour

C. Bahnsen, B. Clausen, F. Hoffmann, P. Mayr, H.-W. Zoch
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Strae 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany,
{bahnsen, clausen, hoffmann,mayr, zoch}@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
Case hardening is a common process to manufacture steel components with a hard surface and a ductile core. As a
result of this treatment the parts show a good wear resistance and a high fatigue strength. Heavy loaded gear wheels
can be mentioned as typical examples, being treated in this way.
The case hardening process consists of a carburising and a hardening treatment. As a consequence of the carbon
gradient in the surface a gradient in the transformation behaviour is observed . The transformation of austenite to
ferrite, pearlite and bainite is affected as well as the martensite transformation. Distortion due to these chemical
inhomogeneities is added to distortion caused by temperature gradients and temperature gradient implied
transformation stresses. In this project the effect of the carburising process on distortion behaviour is investigated.
The influence of the microstructure before carburising, the carburising depth, the surface carbon content, the course
of the process, the carburising temperature, the hardening temperature and the interaction between these parameters
on the distortion behaviour is investigated. Design of experiment methods are used to receive the effect of
interactions between the varied parameters and to reduce the number of experiments. Additional investigations are
related to parameters, which can not be varied completely without interference to the other parameters. The influence
of low pressure carburising treatments and carburising at high temperatures, for example, are analysed in a spotcheck. The aim of the investigations is to find the decisive parameters affecting distortion caused by the carburising
process.
Keywords
carburising, case hardening, distortion, process parameters
Introduction
Case hardening is a common process to produce steel components, which are characterised by a
hard surface combined with a ductile core. As a result of this treatment the parts show a good
wear resistance and high fatigue strength. Heavy loaded gear wheels can be mentioned as typical
examples, being treated in this way. It is known, that heat treatment generally contains the
danger of distortion, therefore often parts have to be hard machined after heat treatment and this
has to be considered by the dimensions of the green parts. Especially at carburising the necessary
carburising depth has to be increased dramatically due to necessary corrections of distortion by
grinding. This leads to several problems: The carburising time increases as well as the grinding
costs. If the real deformation of a component differs from the expected one, there may be a
difference to the intended hardness profile after grinding, which could lead to failure.
One aim of the Collaborative Research Centre 570 Distortion Engineering is to identify the
parameters which are responsible for distortion in consequence of carburising. This paper deals
with the detection of these influencing parameters for distortion and their interactions concerning
the carburising process. There are some reasons, which led to the assumption, that parameters
like surface carbon content and carburising depth could have a quantitative effect on
deformation. So there is an increase of volume at elevated carbon content and, for example, it is
known, that a carburised shaft tends to a barrel-like form, if the carburising depth is increased.
Phase transformations, grain structure and residual stresses should have an influence, too. One of
the points of the presented investigations is to get a survey of the participating distortion
influencing factors of the whole carburising process, starting from building up the batch up to the
quenching process. The results will be used to enhance and fine a numerical model to simulate
the heat treatment process.
236
Experimental
Case hardening experiments have been accomplished using steel grade SAE 5120. To identify
those parameters, which have the strongest effect on distortion, a design of experiments
[Scheffler 1997, Kleppmann 2003] was developed (table 1). Statistical analysis is advantageous
due to a reduced number of single experiments which has to be performed. The analysis of such
kind of plan allows to quantify not only the importance of the single parameters, but also the
relevance of interactions between them. Surface carbon content, carburising depth, the course of
the carburising process and the carburising temperature were varied as shown in table 1. Varying
the course of process means, that carburising has been done in one or two steps. In the one-step
process carbon-potential and temperature have been constant during carburising. In the two step
process, the carbon potential was increased in the first step to accelerate the carburising process
and decreased to the desired surface carbon content in the second step.
The sample geometry for the experiments is shown in figure 1.
variant
surface carbon
content
carburising
depth
course of
process
carburising
temperature
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
mm
steps
0.50%
0.6
1000
0.50%
0.6
940
0.50%
1.5
940
0.50%
1.5
1000
0.75%
0.6
940
12
0.75%
0.6
1000
14
0.75%
1.5
1000
15
0.75%
1.5
940
20
14
Table 1: Design of experiments for identifying the crucial parameters responsible for distortion, all
variants are quenched from 840 C.
100
200
Figure 1: Sample geometry of the shafts
The process chain of the experiments can be outlined as follows: The geometries of the turned
shafts were measured by a three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine (Leitz PMM654).
Afterwards the parts were carburised. Each batch of 5 samples was treated at the same time in
the carburising furnace. The samples were placed in a vertical position, hanging with the 20 mm
diameter section on top. So creep effects [Mal90] due to the decrease of yield stress at high
temperature could be minimised.
After carburising the samples were quenched in a nozzle field by a nitrogen jet. To achieve a
nearly homogeneous cooling-down of the samples a special arrangement of gas nozzles was used
(figure 2), which has been developed in the Collaborative Research Centre.
237
Figure 2: Gas quenching unit
A problem of this process step is that only one sample could be quenched at the same time. So
the five samples of a batch have to be taken out of the furnace one after the other, with the
consequence, that, by opening the furnace and removal of one part, the other samples, which are
to be quenched later, are cooling down. So an interval of about 5 minutes is necessary between
the unload of the individual samples in order to reheat the specimens to the selected quenching
temperature. During removal of the parts and reheating, the atmosphere in the furnace is
undefined because of non controlled access of air, which cannot be re-adjusted in a suitable
period of time. So the surface carbon content of the samples decreases from the first to the last
treated sample. This effect increases with the hardening temperature. Besides this, an increasing
scaling is observed. Therefore the first and the last specimen of each batch was analysed by
optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis to control the usability of the part. As a next step
the parts were tempered for 3 hours at 200 C for stress relieve and stabilizing the state of the
microstructure. So widely equal conditions were realized for all samples before their geometries
were measured again. The results of the final measurements were compared to the measurements
before the heat treatment. The analysis of the data was done using statistical methods.
Results
After case hardening surface carbon content and carburising depth of the samples were checked
by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis. Figure 3 exemplifies at the variant 12 (table 1)
the results at the first and the last of five samples, which were taken from the furnace one by one,
after they had been carburised together. Compared to the first one, the last specimen shows a
slight decarburisation near the surface and a slight shift of the carburising depth to higher values
due to longer exposure-time at high temperature. All variants reported in this paper were
quenched from 840 C. The level of decarburisation was acceptable for the statistical analysis
performed.
Carbon content [%]
Carbon content [%]
238
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0,0
0,0
0,2
0,4
Distance from surface [mm]
0,6
0,2
0,4
Distance from surface [mm]
0,6
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0,0
0,0
Figure 3: OES analysis of the first (top) and the 5th sample (bottom) of a carburised batch
The exact influence of the decarburising effects on distortion is investigated by additional

studies. Under symmetric conditions as in this investigation no significant influence was
detected. Nevertheless other conditions may change it to an influencing parameter. Although it is
not sure, that the decarburisation observed at higher quenching temperatures has any influence
on distortion, it seems to be likely, because, as it will be shown below, there is a distortion effect
on carburising depth. So a change in carbon profile by decarburisation and diffusion of carbon to
the core of a shafts cross section has probably an influence on distortion as well. The
investigations, which belong to an extended design of experiments, are currently performed. In
these investigations the distortion behaviour at quenching from 940 C and 1000 C is tested.
Parallel to decarburising by air influx into the furnace while opening, oxidation takes place,
cognisable through a slight scale layer at the surface. This influences the three-dimensional
coordinate measurement after heat treatment.
The results of the statistical analysis are summarised in table 2. Details of the way calculating the
effects can be taken from literature, [Kleppmann 2003] for example. The grey field shows the
parameters and interactions, in the columns below there are listed the effects of the carburising
process on them. Single effects are described by the number of the effect (e.g. carburising depth:
2), interactions by the combination of the numbers of the single effects (e.g.: interaction of
surface-carbon-content and carburising depth: 1-2). As to be seen, a single effect is mixed with a
3 factor effect as well as a 2 factor effect with a further 2 factor effect. In each column there are
two interactions, which cannot be separated, which is a specific problem of the used design of
experiments. However, the 3 factor effects are assumed to be small and can be ignored in the
following. Looking at the columns containing two-factor-interactions it is a little bit more
complicated to decide, which of both interactions is dominating. It has to be concluded from the
context of the participating single effects. Below the grey box, the effects of these parameters
and interactions on several geometrical values calculated from the difference of geometrical
239
measurement before and after heat treatment are listed. The significances of these effects are
evaluated depending on whether the effect reaches a confidence limit or not and are marked by
stars. One star indicates, that the effect exceeds 95 % confidence limit, what means, that there is
possibly a significance. Two and three stars reference 99 % (significant) and 99.5 % (strongly
significant) confidence limit.
The effects have been determined as follows from the raw measurement data, which give the
coordinates of the measurement points on the shafts surface:
parameters
surface
carbon
content
carburising
depth
and
course of
process
3
1-2
interactions
carburising
temperature
3-4
4
1-3
2-3
2-4
1-4
2-3-4
1-3-4
1-2-4
effect
0.2
8.6
0.7
0.0
0.5
0.5
1.6
significance
***
effect
0.006
0.049
0.040
-0.019
0.021
0.015
0.010
significance
**
effect
0.002
-0.015
0.001
-0.002
significance
***
effect
0.003
0.016
0.001
-0.002
0.002
0.001
0.003
significance
***
geometric value
1-2-3
-0.002 -0.002
-0.002
length of bending
vector / m
deviation of 14
mm axis / mm
diameter 20 mm /
mm
diameter 14 mm /
mm
Table 2: Distortion effects from the experiments. The process parameters varied (grey box) are numbered
from 1 to 4, headings like 1-2, for example, mean an interaction between parameter 1 (surface carbon
content) and 2 (carburising depth).
The points located on the middle axis of the shafts were calculated from the geometrical data
taken at different distances from the bottom of the sample. They reveal approximately a circular
curve depending on the degree of distortion. This circular curve can be approximated by a
quadratic parabola . If the origin of a local coordinate system is placed as shown in figure 4a, the
projection of the parabola onto the xy- plane can be interpreted as a vector, which describes the
degree of curvature g. The vectorial subtraction of the states before and after heat treatment leads
to the difference in curvature caused by heat treatment. The difference in the lengths of this
resulting vector before and after the heat treatment process is used for calculating the curvature
effects as shown in figure 4a. A further description of curvature calculation can be found in
literature [Hunkel, 2004].
Figure 4b defines the deviation of the middle axis at the shafts 14 mm end. It is calculated from
the angle between the z-axis and the middle axis of the shafts part, which has 14 mm in
diameter and its length. As a further parameter the slope direction of the shaft is taken into
account. It is defined as the angle between x-axis and the shaft projected onto the xy-plane and
marked with \ in figure 4b. The arrow in figure 4b is the deviation vector. The change in
deviation before and after heat treatment can be calculated from the difference of the deviation
240
vectors, the length of the resulting vector is used for calculating distortion effects related to
deviation.
Looking at the deviation of the middle axis of the part of the shafts, which has 14 mm in
diameter, the strongest effect is determined concerning the carburising depth as well. A 2-factor
interaction is observed as well, either between surface carbon content and carburising depth or
between course of process and carburising temperature. It is difficult to decide, which effect has
been detected, at the worst it is a summation of both, because there is no further single effect but
the carburising depth. So it is more probable, that an interaction between carburising depth and
surface carbon content is detected in this case.
a)
b)
z
turned shaft
z
length of the shaft
heat treatened
shaft
y
x
Projections onto
xy-flat:
turned shaft
heat treatened shaft
deviation vector
a
shaft
difference in
bending
Figure 4: Definition of effects:

a) Calculation of curvature effects. The curved shaft is approximated by a parabola, which becomes
narrower after heat treatment. The coordinate system is located at the transition between 20 mm and
16 mm diameter on the middle axis of the shaft. The projection of the approximated shaft (parabola
) onto the xy- plane can be seen as a vector. The difference of the vectors gained from the state
before and after heat treatment gives the vector, which is marked as difference in curvature.
Its length is used for quantifying curvature effects in the following.
b) Calculation of deviation from the angles between the shaft and x and z axis, respectively. The
arrow in the figure shows the deviation as a vector. The difference of the deviation vector
before and after heat treatment gives the resulting deviation vector. Its length is used for
calculating distortion effects due to carburisation.
The length of the curvature vector of the middle axis of the thinner part of the shaft is shown in
figure 5. The parameters varied are numbered from 1 to 4 as it can be taken from table 1. Bars,
which are marked with one number show single effect, whereas an underwriting like 1-2
means the interaction between parameter 1 and parameter 2, for example. Two of such
interactions share a bar in the diagram, because they cannot be separated from each other. This is
a specific problem of the statistical 24-1 plan, which has been used in the present investigations.
On the other hand, if the single effects leading to an interaction are small compared to those
building the other interaction, it may be possible to assume one of the two interactions to be
insignificant. Further experiments using a 25-1 plan, which does not have this problem, will
follow. Besides the effects, which are calculated as described in literature [Kleppmann, 2003 and
Scheffler, 1997], the confidence intervals of 95 %, 99 % and 99.5 % are shown in the diagram. If
one bar does not reach the borderlines of a distinct confidence interval, it cannot be decided,
whether an effect is real or related to statistical scatter.
241
10
8
99.9 %
99.5
effect [m]
99 %
4
95 %
-6
-8
1-2
3-4
carburising temp.
-4
course of process
-2
carburising depth
surface carbon content
1-3
2-4
2-3
1-4
Figure 5: Effects on curvature vector length at the 14 mm part of the shafts. If a bar reaches one of the
confidence limits of 95 %, there could be a significance, 99 % there is a significance, or 99.5 %
there is a strong significance.
0.006
99.9 %
99.5
99 %
0.004
95 %
effect [mm]
0.002
0
-0.002
-0.004
-0.014
-0.016
1-2
3-4
carburising temp.
-0.012
course of process
-0.01
carburising depth
-0.008
surface carbon content
-0.006
1-3
2-4
2-3
1-4
Figure 6: Change of diameter (20 mm part of the shafts)
The qualitative information is the following: The carburising depth is the dominating single
effect, followed by the carburising temperature. The surface carbon content as well as the course
of the process seems to have no influence on distortion at such symmetric parts.
Figure 6 represents the changes of the diameter at the 20 mm part of the shaft after heat
treatment. For this, the carburising depth seems to be decisive as well, it has been evaluated to be
strongly significant. No further investigated effect could be detected to be significant. The
changes in diameter of the 14 mm part of the shafts showed the same effect.
242
Discussion
Case hardening experiments have been done by varying four parameters: Surface carbon content,
carburising depth, course of process and carburising temperature. The effects on distortion have
been analysed using a statistical design of experiments. In opposition to many other
investigations the whole case hardening process is observed, not only the depth of hardening.
The most dominating effect which has been found during the reported investigations is the
carburising depth. With the exception of the roundness all geometrical parameters shown above
reveal a significant effect on this parameter. With the exception of a possibly significant
interaction (one star in table 2) between carburising depth and surface carbon content concerning
deviation there are no further indications of an interaction between carburising depth and other
parameters. This is investigated more closely by a further design of experiments, which has not
been finished yet.
Previous investigations of Mallener [Mallener, 1990] and Bomas et al. [Bomas, 1990] found a
dependency of distortion on the carburising depth as well. Wildau et al. [Wildau, 1987]
performed simulations varying the martensite fraction in the core of cylindrical samples. The
more martensite in the core area the less was the deformation. It has to be remarked, that
simulations usually started in the carburised state, just before quenching. So the behaviour at
quenching dependent on a defined carbon profile is observed, but not the influence of the
preceded carburising process. Occurring residual stresses or different grain sizes may take effect,
which cannot be neglected. So these simulations may show stronger effects, but they do not
regard all effects, which are crucial.
The next step will be the detection of residual stresses and grain structure, which should give
more insights into the reasons for the distortion phenomena observed.
Acknowledgement
This work is a part of the Collaborative Research Centre 570 Distortion Engineering of the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) at the University of Bremen, Germany. We are grateful for the support, we received.
References
Bomas, H.; Lbben, Th.; Zoch, H.-W.; Mayr, P.: Die Beeinflussung des Verzuges einsatzgehrteter Bauteile durch
Abschreckvorrichtungen. HTM, Vol. 45, No. 1, 1990, p. 188 195
Hunkel, M.; Schttenberg, S.; Frerichs, F.; Fritsching, U.; Zoch, H.-W.: Verzugskompensation mittels
Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern. HTM, Vol. 59, No. 5, 2004, p. 351 - 357
Mallener, H.: Ma- und Formnderungen beim Einsatzhrten. HTM, Vol. 45, No. 1, 1990, p. 66 72
Kleppmann, W.: Taschenbuch Versuchsplanung. Hanser Verlag, Mnchen, Wien, 2003
Scheffler, E.: Statistische Versuchsplanung und -auswertung. Deutscher Verlag fr Grundstoffindustrie, Stuttgart,
1997
Wildau, M.; Hougardy, H.: Einfluss der Einhrtungstiefe auf Spannungen und Manderungen zylindrischer
Krper aus Stahl. HTM, Vol. 42, No. 5, 1987, p. 269 279
243
Computation of gear distortion from case

hardening with low pressure carburising
Anders Thuvander
KIMAB, Drottning Kristinas vg 48, SE-114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
presently at
Uddeholm Tooling AB, SE-683 85 Hagfors, anders.thuvander@uddeholm.se
Abstract
Low pressure carburising and gas quenching was simulated using the finite element method. The capability to predict
distortion was tested by validation experiments for two variants of rings.
Variation in heat transfer coefficients on different sides of a ring was estimated from simulations and experiments.
Non-uniform distributions of heat transfer coefficients were applied on the surface of the ring in the simulation to
reproduce typical distortion.
For two types of gears, three-dimensional single tooth simulations were run. Gear deviation measures were computed
from the distorted mesh. Effects of cooling non-uniformity were tested through variation in heat transfer coefficients
over the gear surfaces.
Keywords
Distortion, case hardening, low pressure carburising, gear wheel, FEM, IDE2005
Introduction
The new case hardening process of low pressure carburising in combination with gas quenching
provides the opportunity to control the cooling in a way that has not previously been possible.
Numerical simulation of heat treatment could contribute to the optimisation of the new gear
hardening process.
Materials
A steel grade V2158 that was developed for the low pressure carburising process was used in
experiments for validation of simulations on rings and gears. Also two variants of 16MnCr5
were used in experiments for evaluation of some distortion measures. A standard grade was used
for rings and a modified variant was used for gears. Material data of the corresponding steels
were input to the simulations, although the same material data were used for both variants of
16MnCr5, taken from a previous investigation [Thuvander, 1994]. The grades had the composition shown in Table 1.
C
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Al
Cu
V2158
0.215
0.16
1.30
0.009
0.043
1.36
0.08
0.13
0.018
0.12
16MnCr5 (rings)
0.14
0.24
1.20
0.006
0.028
1.01
0.04
0.20
0.035
0.19
16MnCr5 (gears) 0.16
0.21
1.28
0.014
0.088
0.92
0.05
0.17
0.003
0.23
Table 1: Chemical composition (weight per cent) of grades V2158-60 and 16MnCr5.
244
Heat treatment model
The simulations were run with the FE code ABAQUS combined with the DistSIMR heat
treatment simulation software [Thuvander, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 2000]. DistSIMR is a system
of subroutines and help routines developed at KIMAB (previously called SIMR).
The simulations are run in three separate steps starting with the carburising. In the second step
the temperature and phase transformation histories are evaluated. Finally the mechanical
response to the previous steps is calculated. The separation of the two last steps means that the
influence of stress on phase transformation will be ignored which is believed to have a limited
impact on distortion.
In the carburising step, computing the carbon profile involves the solution of a diffusion problem
with boundary conditions set by the process. In vacuum carburising the surface carbon content C
quickly rises towards a high saturation level Cs which is here assumed to be 1.45 per cent. The
boundary condition is here formulated to give the mass flux of carbon J (mass per area and time)
as a function of the surface carbon content:
J = (Cs C)
(1)
where is a constant that gives the rate with which the surface carbon content adopts to the
saturation limit. The vacuum carburising cycle also includes diffusion steps during which the
present model assumes that no carbon exchange takes place through the surface (J = 0).
The second step provides the temperature and the phase composition inside the part as function
of time. The thermal diffusion problem includes latent heat of phase transformations.
During gas quenching the boundary condition should characterise the heat exchange between the
body and the gas. Here the heat flux density q is calculated from the heat transfer coefficient ,
the gas temperature Tgas and the surface temperature T.
q = (T Tgas)
(2)
The heat transfer coefficient is assumed to be given by the type of gas and its velocity and
pressure and in most cases also on the orientation of the surface.
Phase transformations are assumed to be either diffusion controlled or martensitic. The martensite transformation is assumed to be fully temperature controlled, following the KoistinenMarburger equation [Koistinen and Marburger, 1959]:
fm = ( fm + f )(1 exp(- (Ms - T )))
(3)
where fm and f are the volume fractions of martensite and austenite, respectively, T is temperature, Ms is the martensite start temperature and is a constant, usually set to 0.011 K-1. The
diffusion-controlled transformations are evaluated from a generalised Avrami equation [Avrami
1939, 1940 and 1941]. The original isothermal equation can be written:
f = f max (1 exp(-bt n ))
(4)
max
where f is the volume fraction of the phase, f is the maximum (equilibrium) volume fractions
of the phase, t is time and b and n are temperature dependent parameters. The equation gives the
fraction transformed isothermally after rapid cooling to the transformation temperature. The generalised version can be used for arbitrary cooling curves. The basic assumptions for the generalisation is that the cooling curve can be treated as a staircase function of small isothermal steps
and that the transformation rate is dependent on the present amount already transformed rather
than the time elapsed.
The parameters to the phase transformation equations can be evaluated from a TTT-diagram.
These data are depending on the carbon content so TTT-diagrams of different carbon contents
245
are required. The transformation data of any point of the carburised case can thus be interpolated
from the available data.
The auto-tempering of martensite during cooling is included in the present model with transformation of the martensite into a new phase. The change in microstucture was modelled in the
same way as the diffusion controlled transformation described above using the generalised
Avrami equation.
The distortion and the residual stresses of the part are computed in the final step which gives the
mechanical response to carburising and quenching. Several different types of strain occur,
including volumetric strain from thermal expansion, phase transformation and compositional
change as well as elastic and irreversible plastic or creep strain and transformation plasticity.
The constitutive equation is formulated as a pair of coupled equations that give the plastic strain
rate deq/dt as a function of the von Mises stress and a strain measure /0 representing
dislocation density.
dH eq
dt
H0 (
V n U -m
) ( )
V0
U0
d
dt
U
U0
)=
dH eq
dt
-C(
U
U0
(5)
where H eq is the equivalent plastic strain, H0 is a reference strain rate and 0, C, n and m are
temperature dependent material parameters. These parameters are evaluated for individual
phases of different carbon contents and for a range of temperatures. Thus the properties of
individual points in the model can be interpolated from the input data.
The contribution to the equivalent plastic strain from the transformation plasticity strain H tp is
calculated from the following equation:
dH tp
df
(6)
dt
dt
where K is the transformation plasticity coefficient, which may take different values for different
phases.
= 2 (1 - f) K
Validation simulation
Validation simulations were run with rings of the steel grade V2158. The two ring variants are
shown in Figure 1.
I55
I35
I75
R3
I25
40
20
20
a)
b)
I75
Figure 1: Ring variants for validation simulations. a) Simple ring. b) Stepped ring
The rings were case hardened in a two-chamber vacuum furnace. The heat treatments included
carburising at 960C for a total time of 79.5 minutes and a total of 110 minutes diffusion time.
The hardening time and temperature 22 minutes at 890C. Quenching was performed with N2
gas at a pressure of 10 or 18 bar. The gas speed was 15 m/s (vertical from top).
The result of validation simulations for simple rings is shown in Figure 2. Both the simulation
and the experiment indicate that the influence of gas pressure on the final distortion was small in
this case. The accuracy of the predicted distortion is acceptable.
246
a)
b)
Figure 2: Computed and experimental distortion of ring, quenched with a) 10 bar and b) 18 bar N2. The
displacements are magnified 50 times.
Figure 3 shows the result of validation simulations for stepped rings. In analogy with the single
ring, the distortion of these rings is not strongly influenced by cooling intensity. Also, the
agreement with experimental and computed distortion is similar for the simple rings and the
stepped rings.
10 bar
- Uniform cooling
18 bar
- Uniform cooling
Original
Original
Experimental
Experimental
Computed
Computed
50 m displacement
50 m displacement
a)
b)
Figure 3: Computed and experimental distortion of stepped ring, quenched with

a) 10 bar and b) 18 bar N2. The displacements are magnified 50 times.
5
5.1
Influence of non-uniform cooling on distortion

Ring model
In order to estimate the non-uniformity of cooling, simulations were run with rings, and the
resulting distortion was compared to experimental results. In the experiments, rings of 16MnCr5
were carburised and gas quenched. The cooling gas was helium at a pressure of 20 bar. The
carburising temperature was 940C and the hardening temperature was 890C. The ring
dimensions were: Outer diameter 72.3 mm, inner diameter 61 mm, and height 16 mm.
Two- and three-dimensional simulations were run in order to evaluate conicity and out-ofroundness, respectively.
Figure 4 shows the computed distortion as the deformed mesh of a two-dimensional simulation
in which the heat transfer coefficients on top and bottom faces differ by a factor of 2.
Figure 4: Computed distortion after gas quenching and a ratio of 2 between top and bottom heat transfer
coefficients (Displacements x 50).
247
The conicity was evaluated on the inner diameters from computations and experiments by
subtracting the lower diameter change from the upper diameter change. Figure 5 shows how the
non-uniformity in cooling influenced the conicity. The cooling non-uniformity in the computation is here expressed as the ratio of the heat transfer coefficients on the top and on the bottom of
the ring, respectively. According to the simulation the average conicity of 11 m found in
experiments corresponds approximately to a 30 per cent higher heat transfer coefficient on one
side than on the opposite side.
80
Computed conicity for ring with different heat transfer
coefficient on upper and lower surfaces
70
Experimental max
Conicity [m]
60
50
40
30
20
Experimental average
10
0
0
Heat transfer ratio, D m ax / D m in
Figure 5: Computed conicity after gas quenching as a function of the assumed non-uniformity of the heat
transfer (Ratio of max and min heat transfer coefficients on top and bottom faces).
Out-of-roundness distortion from variation in heat transfer coefficient around the ring was
evaluated in a similar way. The variation in heat transfer coefficient was set as a sine funcion of
the angular coordinate. The average heat transfer coefficient was set to a constant value 0 typical
of 20 bar He and the variation amplitude was varied.
Out-of-roundness was evaluated as the peak-to-valley radius deviation. In the experiments the
average out-of-roundness grew by 8 and 9 m at top and bottom, respectively from an initial outof-roundness of about 50 m. A somewhat larger growth of out-of-roundness could be expected
for rings of perfectly round initial shape. Figure 6 shows the computed out-of-roundness as a
function of the cooling non-uniformity and the three-dimensional mesh used in the simulations.
Final out-of-roundness [ P m]
250
D0 - 'D Heat transfer coefficient D0 + 'D
200
150
100
50
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Cooling nonuniformity 'D /D 0
Figure 6: Computed out-of-roundness (peak-to-valley radius variation) of rings after quenching as a

function of cooling non-uniformity. The simulations were run with the depicted tree-dimensional mesh.
In comparison to the experimental distortion, the simulation produced significantly larger out-ofroundness for variation amplitudes exceeding a few per cent of the average heat transfer
coefficient. This does not mean that the heat transfer variation could not be larger than a few per
cent of the average since the actual heat transfer variation might have a different appearance than
the present assumption. Anyway, the tests indicate that the variation in heat transfer coefficients
is small around the ring compared to the variation between the windward and leeward directions
of the gas flow.
248
Gear distortion
Heat treatment simulation was performed for two helical gears, here denoted A and B. Gear A
has 44 teeth, a normal module of 4 mm and a helix angle of 20. Gear B has 67 teeth, a normal
module of 2.5 mm and a helix angle of 16. A single tooth of each gear was modelled. The gear
models are shown in Figure 7.
a)
b)
Figure 7: Single tooth models of gears A and B. (Model unit highlighted and repeated for visualisation).
Several simulations were performed for both gears. The cooling gas was helium for both gears.
The gas pressure was 20 bar for gear A and 18 bar for gear B. The computed distortion of gear A
from one simulation is shown in Figure 8a. In this simulation a constant heat transfer coefficient
of 1873 Wm-2 K-1 was used.
a)
b)
Figure 8: Original mesh (filled) and outline of computed distorted shape of gears after heat treatment.
Front and side views with displacements magnified 50 times.
a ) Gear A Uniform heat transfer (Simulation with uniform heat transfer coefficient).
b) Gear B. Uniform heat transfer and dynamic quenching (Simulation RD)
One example of the computed distortion of gear B is shown in Figure 8b. The heat transfer
coefficient is here similar to the value used for gear A but some variation in heat transfer is
introduced so that leeward surfaces are given a somewhat lower heat transfer coefficient than
surfaces oriented in the windward direction. Additionally the heat transfer is modified during
quenching, a procedure here referred to as dynamic quenching. The variant of dynamic
quenching used here was cooling initially with full gas pressure but with lowered pressure after
some time in order to achieve a reduction in heat transfer coefficient just before martensite
transformation appears. The distortion in terms of the shape change of the mesh is similar to the
distortion of gear A. Gear B exhibits a somewhat larger diameter reduction, though, but on the
other hand less bending of the tooth.
From the node displacements of the mesh, three gear deviation measures were evaluated on both
flanks. These measures include the involute alignment deviation fg and the deviations from the
helix angle characterised by lead deviation fH and crowning Cb
The computed gear deviations from three simulations on gear B are displayed in Figure 9. The
three variants are one with constant and uniform heat transfer coefficient, 1873 Wm-2 K-1 on all
faces (L), one with varying heat transfer over the faces but constant during the quenching (R) and
finally the one displayed in Figure 8b (RD). The latter one includes the non-uniform heat transfer
249
coefficient as well as the dynamic quenching with reduced heat transfer at the end of the
quenching.
The lead deviation fH is clearly the most sensitive gear deviation measure to the changes in heat
transfer introduced here. According to the simulation the dynamic quenching gave a strong
reduction in lead deviation on one flank but at the same time made it increase somewhat on the
opposite flank.
Computed, Uniform cooling L
Computed, Non-uniform cooling R
Computed, Non-uniform cooling RD (dynamic quenching)
Experimental min/max
Change in parameter [m]
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
Left
-40
Right
f gD
Left
Right
f HE
Left
Right
Cb
Figure 9: Gear deviation measures of gear B. Results of three computations and range of experimental
results for fH.
In Figure 9 there is also a comparison with some experimental results on the lead deviation for
the present gear. The computed distortion appears to be of the same magnitude as the experimental data.
Discussion
The present simulations indicate that the distortion of complicated parts can be computed quite
successfully with FEM. However, the non-uniform heat transfer over the gear surface may have
a substantial influence on distortion. Unfortunately the distribution of heat transfer coefficients
cannot easily be measured.
An experimental method to visualise the variation in heat transfer coefficients over the faces of
the part was developed within the present project in a parallel activity performed by ALD
Vacuum Technologies AG [Heuer, 2003]. This method will presented during IDE 2005 as well
[Heuer, 2005]. The method requires that the part is covered with a gel and placed in full-scale
model of the furnace. The cooling gas is replaced by a gas in which a small fraction of ammoniac
is injected. When the gas hits the surface of the part, the ammoniac reacts with the gel and
changes its brightness. The surface brightness is assumed to be a measure of the heat transfer
coefficient. A method to calibrate the results was developed but was unfortunately finished after
the majority of the heat treatment simulations of this research project were performed.
Experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations that can visualise and quantify the
distribution of heat transfer are probably necessary in order to improve the heat treatment
simulations of such complicated parts as helical gears.
Conclusions
x
Experiments with low-pressure carburising and gas quenching of ring specimens indicated limited influence of gas pressure on distortion in the range 10 to 18 bar. The same
conclusion could be drawn from numerical simulation of the same heat treatments. The
simulation gave results in reasonable agreement with experiments.
250
x
Experimental average conicity and out-of-roundness distortion on thin-walled rings agree

with numerical results if the non-uniformity in cooling is set to approximately 30 per cent
variation in heat transfer coefficient between top and bottom of the ring and about 5 per
cent variation around the periphery.
x
In heat treatment simulation of gears, some of the gear distortion measures were found to
be highly sensitive to the distribution of heat transfer coefficients while other measures
were less influenced. The lead deviation exhibited the largest variation when different
distributions of heat transfer coefficients were tried.
x
The agreement between experimental and computed lead deviation was good for one of
the gears even when the simulation was run with uniform distribution of heat transfer coefficients.
Acknowledgement
This work has been partly funded by the European Commission through CSG Project DECOMAG: Development of
a Competitive Manufacturing Chain for High Performance Gears (Contract No G1RD-CT-999-00068, Project No
GRD1 1999 11005). Financial support was also supplied by NUTEK (the Swedish Business Development Agency)
and all commercial partners of the project. The author wishes to acknowledge the Commission and all sponsors for
their support. I also wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the DECOMAG project partners for their
contribution during the development of various ideas and concepts presented in this paper. The partners were
REGIENOV (Renault Recherche et Innovation), Gleason-Hurth, WZL at RWTH Aachen University, Corus, ALD
Vacuum Technologies AG, Volvo Powertrain and Sisu Diesel.
References
gren, J., A revised expression for diffusivity of carbon in binary Fe-C austenite, Scr. Met., Vol. 20, 1986, p. 15071510
Avrami, M., J.Chemical Physics, Vol. 7 (1939), 1103-1112, Vol. 8, (1940), 212-224, Vol. 9, (1941), 177-184.
Heuer, V., Deliverable D24b of EC project DECOMAG: Development of a Competitive Manufacturing Chain for
High Performance Gears, (Contract N G1RD-CT-999-00068, Project N GRD1-1999-11005), 2003
Heuer, V., Lser, K.: Visualisation and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in high
pressure gas quenching cells. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed.
H.-W. Zoch
Hildenwall, B., Prediction of residual stresses created during quenching, PhD thesis, Linkping Studies in Science
and Technology, Dissertations, No 39, Linkping, 1979.
Koistinen, D. P. and Marburger, R. E., Acta Metallurgica, Vol. 7 (1959), 59-60.
Sjstrm, S., The calculation of quench stresses in steel, PhD thesis, Linkping Studies in Science and Technology,
Dissertations, No 84, Linkping, 1982.
Thuvander, A., Calculation of distortion during case hardening of ring samples of steel DIN 16MnCr5, SIMR
Report IM-2671, 1990
Thuvander, A. and Melander, A., Prediction of distortion and residual stresses of engineering steels due to heat
treatment, Second ASM Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering Conference, Dortmund, Germany, Vol. 2,
1993, p. 641-656
Thuvander, A., Distortion during case hardening A systematic study based on experiments and computer
simulations, SIMR Report IM-3066, (In Swedish), 1994
Thuvander, A., Numerical simulation of distortion due to heat treatment, Licentiate thesis, Report KTH / AMT-143,
1995
Thuvander, A., Prediction of heat treatment distortion using numerical simulation, PhD thesis, Report KTH / AMT198, 2000
Thuvander, A., Deliverable D12 of EC project DECOMAG: Development of a Competitive Manufacturing Chain
for High Performance Gears, (Contract N G1RD-CT-999-00068, Project N GRD1-1999-11005), 2002
Thuvander, A., Deliverable D23 of EC project DECOMAG: Development of a Competitive Manufacturing Chain
for High Performance Gears, (Contract N G1RD-CT-999-00068, Project N GRD1-1999-11005), 2003
251
Simulation of the distortion of 20MnCr5 parts

after asymmetrical carburization
Carmen Acht1, Brigitte Clausen1, Franz Hoffmann1, Hans-Werner Zoch1
Foundation Institute for Material Science, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, acht@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
The carburization of steel parts changes the chemical composition in the surface. According to the change of
chemical composition, a change in density occurs. If the change in density is distributed in an asymmetrical way,
distortion can not be avoided.
In order to find out the effects of specifying factors on distortion, several finite element simulations of
asymmetrically carburized 20MnCr5 discs were carried out. All simulated activities during the carburizing process
occur at austenitization temperature. First, an analysis with several geometries with changed radii and changed
thicknesses shows, that the influence of the partial carburization on distortion decreases exponentially with
increasing thickness of the disc. Second, an analysis with four different carbon profiles shows, that a change in
carbon profile leads to different distortion behaviour.
In order to check the quality of the calculated results, the distortion of a partially carburized and afterwards oilquenched disc was measured by coordinate measurements. This result was compared with the simulated distortion
and shows a good agreement.
Keywords
carburizing, distortion, FEM simulation, steel, 20MnCr5
Introduction
If carburization of a component part is not performed 100% homogeneously, distortion can not
be avoided. The distortion starts during the carburizing process and proceeds during quenching.
Since the carbon atoms are included in the lattice of the austenite during carburization, a
difference in site alterations is a consequence. The included carbon atoms lead further on to a
change of density in surface zone. A change of density brings about a change of thermal
expansion, which is a very important influencing factor on distortion. Another reason for
distortion is a different transformation behaviour with different carbon contents.
The goal of this paper is to analyse the influencing factors like geometry, carbon content on
surface and carburizing depth on distortion of asymmetrically carburized parts during
carburization, thus at austenitization temperature.
Since it is difficult to follow up the distortion during carburizing at temperatures above 900C,
an analysis by using finite element simulations is a good instrument to find out the influencing
factors.
All simulations were done with the simple geometry disc in order not to overlay geometrical
factors by using more complex geometries.
Theory
The goal of a case hardening process is to obtain a hard surface that is resistant against abrasive
wear, and to obtain additionally an adequate ductility in the core of the part. Therefore, steels
with low carbon content (Cmax = 0,24%) are used which can reach - due to the case hardening
process - a carbon content up to 0,8 % in the surface zone [Kohtz, 1994].
252
The carburizing process is carried out at temperatures above 900C, because the face-centered
cubic lattice structure of iron has a higher solubility for carbon than the body-centered structure
at lower temperatures [Bleck, 2001].
The carburizing depth and the duration of the carburizing process can derived by Ficks second
law:
wc w
wc
(D )
wt wx
wx
where c is the carbon concentration, D the diffusion coefficient, x the distance and t the time. The
enrichment of carbon in the surface zone effects a changed material behaviour, e.g. change of
transformation behaviour, hardenability, plastic flow behaviour and density. The change of
density is an important factor by analysing the distortion during the carburizing process and leads
to a change of thermal expansion. The thermal expansion is defined as the increase of length
l(T) of a sample after heating to the temperature T divided by the length l(T0) at the lower
reference Temperature T0:
'l (T )
l (T0 )
H th (T )
Since the density is inversely proportional to l3 the following relationship exist between density
and thermal expansion:
H th (T )
U (T0 )
1
U (T )
where (T0) is the density at the reference temperature T0 [Jablonka, 1991].
Implementation in the software package SYSWELD
In order to simulate the distortion resulting from the carburizing process, the software package
SYSWELD was used. For the simulation of the diffusion process, Ficks second law is used. The
variation rate for concentration is solved by the generalized trapeze method. For the input file of
the diffusion calculation, the diffusion coefficient has to be known. The diffusion coefficient of
foreign atoms in metals is described by the following equation:
D
D0 exp( 'H / kT )
The diffusion coefficient of carbon in -ferrous at a temperature of 940C can be described by

the following formula:
D
1.6eV
7
2
0.67cm 2 / s exp
1.52 10 cm / s [Gottstein, 1998].
5
eV
K
K
8
.
62
10
/
1213
With this formula, a diffusion coefficient of 2.410-7cm2/s was assumed for case hardening of the
used steel. In order to run the mechanical calculation (that means the calculation of distortion),
the following material properties have to be considered: Youngs modulus, Poisson-ratio,
thermal expansion and yield strength.
According to Richter [Richter, 1983], the effects of alloying additions on the Youngs modulus
and the poisson-ratio are negligible. Therefore, all calculations for this paper were done with
constant Youngs modulus and Poisson-ratio. Concerning the plastic flow behaviour, Escobar
[Escobar, 2003] analysed a high carbon and a low carbon steel determining the flow stresses at
high temperatures (900-1100C) and did not find a significant influence of the carbon content. A
comparison of the flow curves of the steels C15, C35, C45 and C60, described in [Doege, 1986]
shows the same effect. Therefore, the yield strength was also supposed to be independent of
carbon concentration. At last, the thermal expansion due to the change of density remained as a
253
carbon dependend value. For these values, density measurements and dilatometrical
measurements were carried out for the steel 20MnCr5 at different carbon contents [Ltjens,
2005]. From these experimental measurements, a dependency of the thermal expansion from
carbon content and temperature was derived and was implemented in the input file of the
calculations.
4
4.1
Calculation procedure
General procedure
All simulations were done with the simple geometry disc that can be calculated twodimensional and axisymmetric. Four node elements were used. The following figure 1 shows the
simulated part of the disc with the mesh. On the right side, it is shown that all discs were
carburized from the outer diameter and the bottom side. The top side was not carburized.
carburizing
thickness
radius
carburizing
Figure 1: Geometry and carburizing procedure
In all simulations, the mechanical response to the carburizing process does not only take into
account the final carbon profile but the complete strain and stress history due to the whole
carburizing process. Possible plastic deformations are also included in the model.
4.2
Variation in geometry
For the analysis of the variation in geometry, two different radii (50mm and 100mm) were
simulated with five different thicknesses (5, 7.5, 10, 15 and 20mm). For the calculation of the
carbon profile, an experimentally determined carbon profile was chosen with a carbon content on
surface of 0.8% and a carburizing depth of 0.8mm. In figure 2, it is shown that the
experimentally determined and the calculated carbon profile agree very well.
0.9
experiment
simulation
0.8
carbon content [%]
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
distance from surface [mm]
Figure 2: Calculated and experimentally determinated carbon profile
After calculating the carbon profile, the distortion of the different discs due to the partial
carburizing process was simulated. For further analyses, the maximum value of distortion was
determined for all discs. In figure 3, the distortion of a disc with 100mm radius and 5mm
254
thickness is shown. The displacements are magnified by a factor of 50 and the legend indicates
the carbon content. The value of distortion refered to in the following figures is the maximum
value of deviation from original shape measured at the outer diameter.
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
y
x
Figure 3: Distortion of a partially carburized disc (magnified 50 times)
4.2.1 Results
In order to analyse the influence of geometry on the distortion of partially carburized discs, the
value of maximum distortion was determined. Figure 4 shows the value of maximum distortion
versus the thickness of the discs for both radii with fitted curves assuming exponential
dependency:
value of distortion [mm]
0.5
0.4
100mm
y 5.59 e x / 1.97
Radius 100 mm
Radius 50 mm
0.3
0.2
50mm
y 1.31 e x / 2.07
0.1
0.0
4
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
thickness of disc [mm]
Figure 4: Fitted curves with equation
The highest distortion amounts 446m and can be found in the disc of 5mm thickness and
100mm radius. Apparently, the value of maximum distortion decreases exponentially with
higher thickness and approximates to zero. This means, that as from a certain thickness of the
part, the change of density in the surface zone due to the carbon enrichment is negligible
regarding to the distortion. However, this statement only applies for the distortion during
255
carburizing process. By quenching a part afterwards, one has to provide for changed
transformation behaviour that will initiate another distortion behaviour. Back to the carburizing
process, the proportion between thickness and radius is also important. This becomes apparent
by regarding the difference between the two radii. All values of the smaller radius of 50mm
show smaller distortions than the values of the radius of 100mm at the same thickness. A smaller
ratio between thickness and radius leads to higher distortion.
4.3
Variation in carbon profile
In order to analyse the influence of the carbon profile on the distortion of partially carburized
discs, four different carbon profiles were applied to the discs. These carbon profiles were chosen
from experimental studies and have two different carbon contents on surface (0.8 and 0.6%) and
two different carburizing depths (1.2 and 0.8mm). The profiles were shown in figure 5.
0.7
0.7
experiment
simulation
experiment
simulation
0.6
0.5
carbon content [%]
carbon content [%]
0.6
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
0.5
1
1.5
c(%) on surface: 0.6, carburizing depth: 0.8mm c(%) on surface: 0.6, carburizing depth: 1.2mm
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.7
carbon content [%]
carbon content [%]
experiment
simulation
0.8
experiment
simulation
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.1
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
c(%) on surface: 0.8, carburizing depth: 0.8mm c(%) on surface: 0.8, carburizing depth: 1.2mm
Figure 5: comparison between calculated and experimentally determinated carbon profiles
Figure 5 shows the experimentally determined carbon profiles compared to the calculated carbon
profiles.
The comparison shows, that the experimentally determined carbon profiles agree well with the
calculated ones.
4.3.1 Results
The four carbon profiles were applied to a disc with a radius of 100mm and a thickness of
15mm. To show the effect on distortion, the displacement of the bottom nodes of the discs are
shown in figure 6.
256
displacement of bottom nodes [mm]
0.035
c(%) on surface: 0.8,
carburizing depth: 1.2mm
0.03
0.025

0.02
0.015
0.01

0.005
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
radius [mm]
Figure 6: Results of distortion
With this comparison, it is obviously that the variation with a carburizing depth of 1.2mm and a
carbon content on surface of 0.8% leads to the highest distortion of 30m. The lowest distortion
of 11m arises by using the variation with a carburizing depth of 0.8mm and a carbon content on
surface of 0.6%. By regarding the profiles with the same carbon content on surface, the distortion
of the discs with the carburizing depth of 1.2mm is twice as high as the distortion of the discs
with the carburizing depths of 0.8mm. By regarding the profiles with a carburizing depth of
1.2mm, the distortion of the disc with a carbon content on surface of 0.8% is 30% higher than the
distortion of the disc with 0.6%. Similar results are achieved with a carburizing depth of 0.8mm:
the distortion of the disc with 0.8% carbon content on surface is 24% higher than the distortion
of the disc with 0.6% carbon content on surface. To conclude the analysis, one can state that the
carburizing depth is the more dominant factor than the carbon content on surface.
Validation with experiments
To validate the calculated distortion due to the carbon enrichment of the surface zone, in situ
measurements during the carburizing process are planned in further studies. Therefore, a camera
system will be installed to record the samples during the process and to analyse the distortion
during carburizing. These in situ measurements will be compared with calculated results.
In order to check the quality of the calculated results by now, one disc of 60mm radius and
15mm thickness was partially carburized (carburizing depth 0.8mm, carbon content on surface
0.8mm) and afterwards quenched in oil. To analyse the distortion, the disc was measured by a
coordinate measurement device. On the top and the bottom of the disc, eight radial plots were
defined. In order to compare the experimental data with the simulation, it was necessary to
simulate not only the carburizing process but to add a simulation of the oil quenching process.
Data for the oil quenching simulation were available from an earlier investigation, see also IDE
paper Determination of input data for the simulation of case hardening [Ltjens, 2005]. In
figure 7, the eight measured radial plots of the bottom side of the disc are compared with the
simulated result.
257
0.18
distortion of bottom side [mm]
0.16
experiment
simulation
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
-80
-60
-40
-20
20
40
60
80
distance from center [mm]
Figure 7: Analysis of distortion by experiment and simulation
The comparison between the simulated and experimentally determinated results show a good
agreement, especially by taking into account the scatter of the measured radial plots. It can be
concluded, that the simulated results give a good description of reality.
Conclusions
In order to describe the influence of different geometries on the distortion of partially carburized
discs, a carbon profile of 0.8% carbon content on surface and 0.8mm carburizing depth was
implemented on the bottom and the outer diameter of the discs. It was shown an exponentially
decrease of distortion with increasing thickness of the discs.
By varying different carbon profiles on one disc geometry, it was shown that both, the
carburizing depth and the carbon content on surface, are influencing factors concerning the
distortion, in which the carburizing depth is the more dominant factor.
In order to validate the simulated results, one disc was partially carburized and afterwards
quenched in oil. The whole process was simulated. The comparison of simulation and
experiment shows a good agreement.
For further studies, in situ measurements during the carburizing process are planned in order to
be able to compare the simulations at carburizing temperature with reality.
Acknowledgement
This work has been produced within the scope of the SFB 570 Distortion engineering in the subproject A7 at the
university of Bremen. The authors wish to acknowledge the German foundation of research for their support.
References
Bleck, W.: Werkstoffkunde Stahl fr Studium und Praxis. Verlag Mainz, Aachen, 2001.
Doege, M.-N., Saeed: Fliekurvenatlas metallischer Werkstoffe. Hanser, Mnchen/Wien, 1986.
Escobar, F.; Cabrera, J. M.; Prado, J. M.: Effect of carbon content on plastic flow behaviour of plain carbon steels at
elevated temperature. Materials Science and Technology, Vol 19, No 8, 2003, p. 1137 1147.
Gottstein, G.: Physikalische Grundlagen der Materialkunde. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 1998, p. 155.
Jablonka, A.; Harste, K.; Schwertfeger, K.: Thermomechanical properties of iron and iron-carbon alloys: density
and thermal contraction. Steel research, Vol 62, No 1, 1991, p. 24-33.
Kohtz, D.: Wrmebehandlung metallischer Werkstoffe. VDI, Dsseldorf, 1994.
258
Ltjens, J; Heuer, V.; Knig, F.; Lbben, T.; Schulze, V.; Trapp, N.: Determination of input data for the simulation
of case hardening. International Conference on Distortion Engineering, Bremen, September 2005.
Richter, F.: Physikalische Eigenschaften von Sthlen und ihre Temperaturabhngigkeit. Stahleisen Sonderberichte,
Vol. 10, Stahleisen, Dsseldorf, 1983.
9. Heat treatment simulation of complex

geometries
259
260
261
C.A.S.H. - Computer Aided Simulation of Heat

Treatment An Overview
J. Schwarzer1, M. Ehlers1, J. Gttler2
1
Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany
DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract
The simulation of manufacturing processes is becoming more and more important in industrial applications. Despite
major interest, finite-element simulation of heat treatment is not yet widely spread. Lack of material data, incomplete
knowledge about the processes as well as limiting computational capacities and sophisticated software are only some
reasons.
Therefore, Robert Bosch GmbH initiated the research project C.A.S.H. sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of
Education and Research. Other participants were DaimlerChrysler AG, ALD Vacuum Technologies AG, ESI
GmbH, Kistler-IGeL GmbH, SHU GmbH as well as IWK I at University Karlsruhe and IWT Bremen. The aim of
this project was to enable inexperienced users to predict the state of materials and parts after heat treatment, using
commercially available software.
This is the first in a series of four papers and will give an overview of the C.A.S.H. project.
Keywords
Simulation, material data, case hardening, heat treatment
Introduction
In industrial production heat treatment is one of the last and for mechanical properties alldominant steps in component manufacturing. The heat treatment process sets the microstructure
which determines hardness, strength and ductility. It also changes the state of residual stresses.
Additionally, thermo-chemical processes such as case hardening can change the chemical
composition and may result in graded materials.
Besides these desired modifications in material state, heat treatment is accompanied by unwanted
changes in component shape and dimension. To deal with distortion, subsequent costly hard
machining is often inevitable. As a result, permanent endeavour is made to optimize heat
treatment processes to achieve hardness and strength requirements with minimal distortion and
optimized residual stresses. Within the last years modern vacuum furnace technology with high
pressure gas quenching has been established. By using gas instead of liquid quenching media,
this technology results in quenching conditions which can reduce distortion. In addition
oxidation can effectively be prevented and parts need no more cleaning after heat treatment.
With increasing knowledge about potential influences on the state of heat treated components the
basis for a numerical simulation of heat treatment was developed within the last decades.
Foundations for the simulation of heat treatment were laid by Avrami who described the kinetics
of phase change [Avrami, 1939], [Avrami, 1940], [Avrami, 1941]. In the 1970s first numerical
studies of the heat-transfer, phase changes and residual stress development were performed.
Afterwards activities concentrated on the simulation of simple geometries like rings and
cylinders [Yu, 1978], [Comini, 1974], [Graja, 1987], [Inoue, 1992], [Denis, 1996], [Majorek,
1996], [Ehlers, 2000]. In the late 90s the technique found its way to commercial application. At
this time computational capacities allowing the simulation of more or less complex threedimensional geometries became available. Finite element software companies with competence
in welding, forming etc. recognized their market opportunities and started to include packages
262
for heat treatment simulation into their software. When these software packages appeared on the
market, some crucial points arose which inhibited a wide spread in industry. On the one hand the
software was demanding and not always easy to use. On the other hand, it required extensive
material input data which wasn't available at that time.
To promote heat treatment simulation, Robert Bosch GmbH initiated the research project
"Computer Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment" (C.A.S.H.) sponsored by the German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research. The new technology of low pressure carburization with gas
quenching was the project's focus.
Aims and Project Structure
The project C.A.S.H. was a cooperative project within the field of "high performance
manufacturing processes" in the frame program of "Research for the production of tomorrow".
Participants were DaimlerChrysler AG, ALD Vacuum Technologies AG, ESI GmbH, KistlerIGeL GmbH, SHU GmbH as well as IWK I at University Karlsruhe and IWT Bremen. The
project's structure, participants and their tasks are shown in figure 1.
The aim of the project was to develop methods to predict the state of the material of components
from an industrial production chain as well as their shape after heat treatment. These methods
had to be simple enough, so that their use was not limited to material scientists. Small and mid
size companies should be enabled to implement heat treatment simulation into their development
processes.
The development of the methods was experimentally accompanied and verified by detailed
studies on the heat treatment of two components manufactured by Robert Bosch GmbH and
DaimlerChrysler AG. In detail, the experimental verification was performed on a sliding sleeve
of a transmission from DaimlerChrysler AG and the housing of a high pressure injection pump
from Robert Bosch GmbH.
Figure 1: Project partners and tasks
The method of heat treatment simulation should be used as a tool to deliver quantifying
information about the characteristic properties of critical component regions regarding previous
production steps and the initial state of material. The output information should include
microstructure, hardness and residual stress distribution as well as distortion. Geometry, the
263
initial material state and hardenability of the applied steel as well as the heat treatment process
would therefore be required as input.
As costs for modelling and computation strongly increase with the components' complexity, it is
necessary to develop methods for the simplification of complex geometries.
The obtained knowledge should serve as a basis to derive best practice for hardening under
technical, economic and ecological aspects. To transfer the knowledge, a collaborated guide had
to be developed. This guide should include different strategies to simplify complicated
geometries as well as information about input data needed for heat treatment simulation.
Additional to the methodology, a database with the complete material data for two different case
hardening steels had to be created in the project.
The project was structured in such a way that DaimlerChrysler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH
played the part of the end-user, contributed components for experiments and worked on
simulation and part measurement. The software companies ESI GmbH and Kistler-IGeL GmbH
provided two different software packages and gave software support to the research institutes
IWK I Karlsruhe and IWT Bremen. Those institutes were responsible for the simulation as well
as material and part characterization. SHU GmbH and ALD Vacuum Technologies AG were in
charge of the experimental heat treatment and the determination of heat transfer coefficients. All
companies and institutes contributed to the collaborated guide and the database which was
programmed by ESI GmbH.
Fields of Activity
To achieve the project's aims several sub-projects were defined:

x
determination of input data (material data for 20MnCr5 and 18CrNiMo7-6,

heat transfer coefficients for gas quenching processes)
x
concept of part geometry abstraction
x
concept of construction kit
x
experimental verification of numerical simulations on real components
3.1
Determination of Material Data and Heat Transfer Coefficients
Material properties necessary for heat treatment simulation were determined for two different
case hardening steels, 20MnCr5 and 18CrNiMo7-6. Since the process of case hardening was in
the project's focus, material properties were determined for three different carbon contents of
each steel. It could be shown that material properties of 16MnCr5 were comparable to those of
20MnCr5.
Not only the steel composition determines the material properties, but also the microstructure.
Therefore material properties had to be investigated for different phases, namely perlite, bainite,
martensite and austenite. These investigations covered the measurement of temperature
dependent thermo-physical and mechanical properties as well as the transformation behaviour. In
detail, the following properties were determined:

thermal conductivity and heat capacity

density

transformation enthalpy

transformation kinetics

yield stress and hardening behaviour for different phases

transformation plasticity
264
Besides material behaviour, the knowledge about the local distribution of the heat transfer during
gas quenching is essential for a realistic process simulation. ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
experimentally determined these boundary conditions with a method using an analogy between
convective heat and mass transfer. The applied technique offers the possibility for the qualitative
and quantitative determination of local heat transfer coefficients. Before the start of a
measurement the parts are covered with a special gel. Under quenching conditions ammoniak is
injected into the gas stream. The gel changes its colour due to a chemical reaction with
ammoniak. The change of colour indicates the intensity of the local heat transfer.
To handle the extensive amount of data accumulated in the project, a database was developed.
This database includes the thermo-physical and mechanical material behaviour as well as
relevant microstructures and measured heat transfer coefficients.
Detailed information about the material data and the heat transfer is published in [Ltjens, 2005]
and [Heuer, 2005].
3.2
Concept of Part Geometry Abstraction
The simulation of the heat treatment of three-dimensional components requires significantly

higher computational capacities in comparison to conventional structural mechanics. This can be
explained by the large number of thermal, mechanical and metallurgical effects which occur
during heat treatment. Regarding case hardening, the numerical consideration of the boundary
layer causes a dramatic increase in the number of necessary finite elements.
Therefore strategies had to be developed to reduce the size of simulation models by accepting a
controlled downgrade of their quality. One of these strategies is to simplify the model geometry
by minor component features. The application of this strategy leads to different levels of
component abstractions. Within the C.A.S.H. project this concept was studied in detail and was
experimentally verified [Franz, 2005].
Two parts were used for the development and verification of the method of abstraction, the
above-mentioned sliding sleeve of a transmission from DaimlerChrysler AG and the housing of
an injection pump from Robert Bosch GmbH. For each of the parts three levels of abstraction
have been created and simulations as well as case hardening experiments were carried out.
The obtained results show that the concept of abstraction can significantly ease the simulation of
heat treatment processes of complex parts. However, one has to state that an unsuitable
simplification of the part geometry can have a strong effect on distortion. In summary, the
concept of abstraction is only applicable if the simplification of the geometry doesn't affect the
regions of interest.
3.3
Construction Kit
Another approach to systematically reduce the model size is to concentrate on the regions of
interest of a complex component. To realize this, different strategies were developed and tested.
These strategies include local mesh refinement, the use of sub-models and the substitution of
irrelevant sections by suitable elements. The strategies were summarized under the generic term
"construction kit".
The first strategy is to simulate a significantly simplified geometry of the whole part and use the
results to define boundary conditions for the regions of interest. These boundary conditions are
applied in a second simulation to a detailed sub-model and substitute the missing parts.
Depending on the part geometry the number of required finite elements can be enormously
reduced using this method.
A second strategy to reduce computational costs is to substitute complete sub components by a
small layer of elements with special properties. This element layer has to provide the thermal and
mechanical behaviour of the replaced sub component.
265
Both methods mentioned above offer an tremendous potential for simplification but might be
very difficult to handle in most cases. The correct definition of boundary conditions or
substituting element layers can be supposed to be critical for complex geometries.
The last and most easy to use method is to create a coarse mesh for the whole geometry except
for the regions of interest, which are meshed very finely. This also allows for an efficient
simulation of the heat treatment of a complex component with special focus on a local feature.
Vast numerical and experimental investigations were performed to verify those strategies.
Potential advancements and risks were studied at length and guidelines for the application of the
methods were developed. The gathered knowledge about these strategies is outlined in [Trapp,
2005].
3.4
Experimental Investigations on Real Components
During the project, extensive work on simulation techniques and methodology to enhance heat
treatment simulation was performed. To gain a reliable basis for verification, the case hardening
process was studied in detail on two components, a sliding sleeve from DaimlerChrysler AG and
an injection pump housing from Robert Bosch GmbH. The components were geometrically
measured before and after heat treatment to determine distortion. To study the effect of residual
stresses on distortion, component geometries were also measured after stress relieving. The
influence of the simplification of the component geometry on distortion was analyzed by using
three different levels of abstraction. Moreover, the effect of the parts' position in the batch on
distortion was studied.
Finally, to verify the simulation, heat treated components were metallographically characterized
and residual stresses were measured.
pump
housing
level of
abstraction
original
1.7147
steel grade
40 parts
arts
10 p
stress
relieving
geom.
measurement
abstracion 1
1.7147
10 parts
geom.
measurement
1.6587
3 parts
geom.
measurement
abstraction 2
1.7147
1.6587
10 parts
geom.
measurement
3 parts
geom.
measurement
30 parts
geom.
measurement
heat treatment
case hardening
characterization
geometrical measurement +
residual stresses + metallography
Figure 2: Experimental studies on distortion of the pump housing
Exemplary, the investigations which were carried out on the pump housing will be presented in
the following. The three levels of abstraction were manufactured using two different steel grades
266
20MnCr5 (1.7147) and 18CrNiMo7 6 (1.6587). After the production the components were
geometrically measured at Robert Bosch GmbH and at IWT Bremen. At Robert Bosch GmbH
each feature was measured in its own coordinate system and compared with the nominal
geometry. At IWT Bremen all measurements were performed in one coordinate system to ease
verification .
After the geometrical measurement the components were case hardened by means of low
pressure carburizing and gas quenching. After the heat treatment the components were measured
again according to the above mentioned procedure. The experimental approach for the pump
housing is presented in figure 2.
Additionally, it was studied if stress relieving after machining has an influence on the total
distortion. Therefore one abstraction was heat-treated for stress relieving and measured
afterwards. The comparison of the measurements before and after stress relieving showed no
significant distortion of the component. This means that inherent residual stresses due to
manufacturing don't influence the distortion of the pump housing during case hardening. This
might be explained by the massive component geometry. The part might be too stiff to allow a
significant deformation while changing the residual stress state during stress relieving.
3.5
Guide to Heat Treatment Simulation
A collaborated guide was developed to help users to find suitable strategies for the simulation of
complex geometries. Advantages and disadvantages of the abstraction and construction kit
strategies are discussed and demonstrated using practical examples. The guide also provides
hints regarding the influence of initial residual stresses on heat treatment distortion. Furthermore,
it contains information about required input data for the heat treatment simulation and the way in
which such data can be determined.
In combination with the developed database, the guide gives the user all information needed to
perform heat treatment simulations of complex parts.
Summary
At the end of the 90s a widespread use of the simulation of heat treatment was slowed down by
insufficient knowledge about material data and process parameters. The lack of methodology for
an efficient simulation was another reason. The project C.A.S.H. was settled to push the
simulation of heat treatment of complex bodies. It systematically worked on eliminating limiting
factors by creating a reliable basis of data and knowledge. The final aim was to qualify the
simulation as a reliable tool for modelling case hardening of complex parts.
Sets of material data containing all relevant information for the simulation of two widely used
steels were determined. To decrease the time needed for heat treatment simulations, efficiency
strategies for modelling were developed and tested.
To check the performed numerical studies and to determine nowadays quality of the heat
treatment simulation, two typical components for case hardening were experimentally heat
treated and geometrically measured.
All the obtained results, knowledge and material data were summarized in a guide to heat
treatment simulation which is available to the public.
Acknowledgement
The collaborative R&D project C.A.S.H. (Computer Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment) was funded by the
German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) within the Framework Concept "Research for
Tomorrow's Production" (conveyor indicator: 02PD2290), and supported by the Production and Manufacturing
Technologies Project Management Agency (PFT), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe.
The responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors.
267
References
Avrami, M.: Kinetics of phase change. J. Chem. Physics 7, 1939, p. 1103-1112.
Comini, G.: Del Guidice; S., Lewis, R.W.; Zienkiewicz, O.C.: Finite element solution of non-linear heat conduction
problems with special reference to phase change. Int. J. Num. Methods Eng., Vol 8, 1974, p. 613-624.
Denis, S.; Simon, A.: Modelling of Heat Treatment of Steels: From Concepts to Process Simulation. Proc. of the
2nd International Conference on Quenching and Control of Distortion, ASM International, 1996, p. 239-240.
Ehlers, M.: Numerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Eigenspannungs- und Verzugsausbildung beim
Hrten von Stufenzylindern und Quadern in verdampfenden Flssigkeiten. Dr. -Ing. Thesis Universitt
Karlsruhe, Shaker Verlag, 2000.
Franz, C.; Lbben, T.; Ltjens, J.; Streicher, F.; Trapp, N.; Vogel, M.: Case hardening simulation of complex
components by use of abstraction. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany.
Graja, P.: Rechnerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Einflu kontinuierlicher und diskontinuierlicher
Wrmebehandlungsverfahren auf die Wrme- und Umwandlungseigenspannungen und Verzge von un- und
niedriglegierten Sthlen. Dissertation, 1987, Univ. Karlsruhe, Germany.
Heuer, V.; Lser, K.: Visualisation and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in high
pressure gas quenching cells. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany.
Inoue, T.; Yu, D.Z.; Animoto, K.: Metallo-Thermo-Mechanical Simulation of Quenching Process - Theory and
Implementation of Computer Code HEARTS. Proc. of the 1st International Conference on Quenching and
Control of Distortion, ASM International, 1992, p. 205-212.
Ltjens, J.; Heuer, V.; Knig, F.; Lbben, T.; Schulze, V.; Trapp, N.: Determination of input data for the simulation
of case hardening. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany.
Majorek, A.; Mller, H.; Macherauch, E.: Computersimulation des Tauchkhlens von Stahlzylindern in
verdampfenden Flssigkeiten. HTM, Vol 51, No 1, 1996, p. 11.
Trapp, N.; Fiderer, M.; Ehlers, M.; Schulze, V.; Lbben, T.: Simulation of case hardening of complex components
by use of a construction kit. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany.
Yu, J.-J.; Wolfstieg, U.; Macherauch, E.: Berechnung von Eigenspannungen mit Hilfe eines speziellen FiniteElemente-Programmes. Arch. Eisenhttenwesen, Vol 49, 1978, p. 499-504.
268
269
Determination of input data for the simulation

of case hardening
Jrn Ltjens1, Volker Heuer2, Franz Knig3, Thomas Lbben1, Volker Schulze4, Nicolas Trapp4
1
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Bremen, Germany

2
ALD Vacuum Technologies AG, Hanau, Germany
Schwbische Hrtetechnik ULM GmbH & Co, Ulm, Germany
Institut fr Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe, Germany
Abstract
Successful simulation of heat treatment depends indispensably on a reliable description of the material properties.
For this sake, considerable measurements and evaluations have been performed on the steels 16MnCr5, 20MnCr5,
and 18CrNiMo7-6, which were used for simulation and accompanying experiments in the project "Computer Aided
Simulation of Heat Treatment - C.A.S.H". These works include measurements on mechanical characteristics such as
for instance elastic modulus, tensile strength, transformation plasticity, strains, as well as thermo physical data. Furthermore, phase transformations have been measured and described based on a JMA and Leblond type model. Tensile tests have been performed on a novel type of testing machine, which has been developed in the course of the project. In this paper, selected results for 20MnCr5 will be presented. A major aspect is a novel evaluation method for
thermal strains extracted from dilatometry data. For the first time, this method takes into account the length change
due to carburization of the dilatometry probes, and provides practical instructions for the alignment of dilatometry
curves recorded on steels with different carbon content.
Keywords
Input data, FEM simulation, case hardening steel, thermal strains, dilatometry curve alignment
Introduction
Recent improvements in both computing power and professional FEM-software are making
simulations of heat treatment an increasingly reliable component of engineering processes. As
the requirements on simulation results rise from mere tendencies towards quantitative prediction
of size and form changes, it becomes equally more important to feed the software with high
quality material and process parameters. In the course of the project C.A.S.H., which explores
the possibilities of performing case hardening simulations with models of reduced complexity,
such data have been measured for three different base steels, 16MnCr5, 20MnCr5, and
18CrNiMo7-6, including states with increased carbon content, as well as for two specific
components of automobile production. This paper focuses on data recorded on 20MnCr5
(see Table 1). For a complete survey of the projects results, see also [Schwarzer, 2005], [Franz,
2005], and [Trapp, 2005].
element
content (wt.-%)
DIN 17210
Si
Mn
Cr
0.22
0.18
1.35
0.011
0.014
1.19
0.17-0.22
0.15-0.4
1.1-1.4
<0.035
<0.035
1.0-1.3
Cu
Mo
Ni
0.019 0.022 0.058

-
Table 1: Chemical composition of 20MnCr5 and DIN ranges.
1.1
Essential input data
Input data for FEM-simulations of heat treatment can be subdivided into four domains: thermophysical material data, mechanical material data, parameters describing phase transformation,
270
and process data (s. Table 2). The first type includes thermal conductivity, density, and specific
heat capacity. The second point comprises mainly elastic modulus, Poissons ratio, thermal
strains related to temperature and chemical composition, and plastic stress-strain behaviour.
Phase transformations are characterized by parameters governing the transformation kinetics as
such plus transformation enthalpy and transformation plasticity. Process data are component
specific, as opposed to the other three. They include information on the geometry of the
component as well as boundary conditions of the heat treatment, such as gas temperature or heat
transfer at the component surface.
thermo-physical
properties
transformation
behaviour
thermo-mechanical
properties
xthermal
conductivity
xbegin of transformation
xthermal strains
xend of transformation
xYoungs modulus
xheat capacity
xkinetics of transformation
xPoissons ratio
xdensity
xtransformation enthalpy
xstress-strain-curves
xtransformation plasticity
process parameters
xheat balance (e.g. heat
transfer, gas temperature)
xmass flux (e.g. carbon
transfer coefficient,)
x
Table 2: Overview of essential input data for heat treatment simulations.
1.2
Special requirements for case hardening simulations
During case hardening, the surface regions of the components are carburized before the actual
quenching. These comparably small regions bear a significant influence on the quality of the
final product. Therefore, knowledge of the properties of the carburized material is indispensable.
In order to obtain these data, additional specimens were produced. They were carburized in a
separate process before the actual experiments. They had to be prepared with a very small wall
thickness of 1 mm in order to enable complete carbon diffusion, resulting in a uniform carbon
level throughout the specimen.
Measurements on specimen with different carbon content were then used to simulate the
variation of physical parameters in the surface regions. This was sometimes achieved by
assigning to each element the measured values of the closest carbon level, which conforms to
applying a nearest neighbour interpolation (layer model). In other cases, the material data could
be described by continuous functional relationships respecting the carbon influence. One such
example is given in section 2.4.
Presentation of the measured input data
The simulation concepts developed in the C.A.S.H. project [Franz, 2005] [Trapp, 2005] were
investigated for two industrial components, a sliding sleeve and an injection pump housing. The
steels used for these components are 16MnCr5, 20MnCr5, and 18CrNiMo7-6. The standard heat
treatment includes low-pressure carburizing and high pressure gas quenching. The input data
presented here are thus always related to these boundary conditions.
2.1
Determination of the heat transfer coefficient
The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) is specific to the component, the furnace equipment
(quenching cell), and the type and flow of the cooling medium. It can be a function of
temperature and/or time. In the case of the sliding sleeve, the high pressure gas quenching
process can be described by a time-dependent HTC, which takes into account an intermediate
period of about 2-6 seconds of yet unstable gas flow (flooding of the quenching cell at the start of
the quench). The measurement of the HTC was achieved in a three-fold strategy. First, the
temporal quenching behaviour of the quenching cell was investigated using an austenitic Qprobe [Lbben, 1994]. With this method, a very accurate measurement of the flooding process
271
in the quenching cell is possible. Also, the HTC measurement is not affected by phase
transformation enthalpies. However, the average HTC is usually different from the real
component because of the different geometries.
In a second step, the component specific average amount of heat transfer was determined with
thermocouples placed at various positions in the sliding sleeve. The measured temperature
curves were evaluated using an approach of Newtonian cooling. Finally, the spatial variation of
the HTC was measured using a patented method by ALD [Heuer, 2003] [Heuer, 2005]. The
spatio-temporal coefficient is then calculated as the product of temporal and spatial behaviour.
The results are shown in Figure 1.
1911
1000
D Q-probe
1222
600
400
500
200
temperature [C]
D sliding sleeve
D [W/mK]
949
800
resulting D input data
1500
637
1040
806
1755
1365
637
effective gas temperature
0
-5
10
15
time [s]
20
25
1378
30
Figure 1: Description of the heat transfer coefficient for the quenching of the sliding sleeve. Left: A combination of results from different measurements (dotted lines) yields the global temporal definition of the
heat transfer coefficient (solid) for an effective gas temperature. Right: Local variation of the heat transfer
coefficient in W/mK on the sliding sleeve for an average value of 1300 W/mK.
2.2
Description of the phase transformation kinetics
The change of phase fractions during quenching severely affects the resulting size and form
changes as well as the mechanical properties of the component. Thus, a correct modelling of the
phase transformations is indispensable. As a consequence, great effort was made to this end. For
each carbon level, continuous and isothermal dilatometry experiments were performed. The
hardness and phase fractions of the specimens were then determined metallographically.
Additionally, the proportion of retained austenite was measured by means of diffractometry.
The dilatometer curves of the isothermal transformations were then approximated using the
model by Johnson, Mehl, and Avrami [Johnson, 1939] [Avrami, 1940] [Avrami, 1941],
n T
P t
i
t i

W T
P T 1 e i
i
eq
(1)
and by adaptation of the parameters Peq, n, and W for each phase i. The continuous cooling curves
were approximated using the Peq and Wparameters from the isothermal experiments and by
adaptation of the parameter F T of a Leblond-type model [Leblond, 1984].
dP i
T , T
dt
Peqi T P i
W T
i
F i T
(2)
The resulting parameters are displayed in Figure 2. The martensitic transformations were
described using the Koistinen-Marburger model [Koistinen, 1959],
272
PM T 1 e b T M S for T MS ,
(3)
750
F [-]
where M S was derived from dilatometry experiments and b was adjusted to fit the retained
austenite at room temperature.
Figure 3 compares the resulting CCT diagram obtained from a simulation module of the FEM
software Sysweld with the measured transformation regions as well as the phase proportions
of simulation and experiment for different cooling rates. The Leblond model imposes some
restrictions on the range of cooling rates that can be described by one set of parameters. First, the
transformation rate controlled by the parameter n in the JMA model (eq. (2)) is not taken into
account. A second restriction is that the dependency of the transformation start temperatures on
previous diffusion-controlled transformations is not reflected by the model. For the C.A.S.H
project, only cooling rates with t8/5 < 40 s are of interest. Therefore, the parameters have been
optimized with respect to these requirements.
750
650
temperature [C]
temperature [C]
bainite
pearlite
550
450
bainite
pearlite
650
0.75
550
0.5
450
0.25
bainite
pearlite
350
350
0.0
0
1
1.0
Peq [-]
100
10000
W [s]
0.1 1 10 100
cooling rate [K/s]
Figure 2: Parameters describing the phase transformations of 20MnCr5 from austenite to bainite and
pearlite, respectively. Left to right: Peq, Wcorrection function F.
optimized cooling rates
temperature [C]
800
optimized
cooling rates
phase proportions [%]
100
F/P
600
B
400
M
200
F/P
75
50
25
B
0
1
10
time [s]
100
1000
10
t 8/5 [s]
100
1000
Figure 3: Left: Simulated (black) and measured (grey) CCT transformation regions for 20MnCr5. Right:
Simulated (black) and measured (grey) phase proportions after continuous cooling of 20MnCr5.
2.3
Measurement of the tensile deformation
The stress-strain-behaviour as a function of temperature and phase is an important input

parameter for the mechanical calculation. For simulations of case hardening, especially in the
273
surface regions with high carbon content and reduced MS temperature, these functions must be
known also for super cooled austenite. This is a problem for low-alloy steels with fast phase
transformations. In order to obtain these curves, a testing machine for tensile tests has been
rebuilt at the IWK 1 in Karlsruhe. This machine now facilitates experiments with high quenching
velocities.
Figure 4: Left: Geometry of the specimens used for the tensile deformation measurements. Right: Sketch
of the experimental set-up, re-designed for tensile deformation measurements of austenite at high cooling
rates, located at the IWK 1, Karlsruhe, Germany.
flow stress [MPa]
The specimens used for the investigations are hollow cylinders with an inner diameter of 6 mm
and an external gauge diameter of 8 mm. Their wall thickness of only 1 mm facilitated the
carburization prior to the experiments. The austenite experiments were carried out in the
specially designed device shown in Figure 4, a modified version of the one described in
[Miokovi, 2004] [Obergfell, 2002]. The mechanical part of the device is a servo hydraulic
testing machine with a maximum proof load of 60 kN. The temperature in the working section is
determined by thermocouples. The thermal and the mechanical components are linked by a
specially developed control and recording unit. The specimens are heated by an induction coil
and cooled through the bore hole by a water-air-mixture. For the measurements of the strains, a
capacitive strain sensor is used in both longitudinal and transversal direction.
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
-5 -1
0.2 wt-% C
0.5 wt-% C
0.8 wt-% C
dH/dt = 3.5*10 s
300C
500C
700C
900C
0.00
0.02
0.04
plastic strain [-]
0.06
0.08
Figure 5: Stress-strain-curves of super cooled austenite of 20MnCr5, 50MnCr5, and 80MnCr5.
274
Figure 5 shows the smoothed recorded stress-strain-curves for sub-cooled austenite of 20MnCr5.
The diagram combines results from several carbon percentages (0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 wt.-%). For
lower carbon contents, the measurements could not be performed at lower temperatures because
of the rapid phase transformation involved. However, since the results show no differences for
varying carbon content, the results from higher C-levels seem to be usable for lower carbon
percentages too. The measurements were performed force controlled with an average strain rate
of 3.5 10 5 s 1 . From the same measurements, yield stresses have been evaluated. These are
shown in Figure 6 together with those of ferrite/pearlite (0.2 wt.-% C), bainite, and martensite,
which were carried out with a strain rate of 2.4 10 4 s 1 . As can be seen, there is a temperature
dependency as expected, plus a carbon dependency, especially for martensite. The yield stresses
decay at temperatures above 300C, which could be due to tempering or strain ageing. Figure 7
shows the smoothed stress-strain-curves above lower yield stress of ferrite/pearlite containing 0.2
wt.-% carbon. Up to 100C, the formation of Lders bands can be observed. Above 100C,
dynamic strain ageing increases the tensile strength, while thermal effects reduce it for higher
temperatures.
martensite
bainite
ferrite /
pearlite 0.2% C
austenite
1800
1600
1400
Rm [MPa]
1200
1000
20MnCr5
50MnCr5
80MnCr5
800
600
400
-4
-1
dH/dt = 2.4*10 s
200
0
0
200
400
600
800
transformation temperature [C]
1000
Figure 6: Tensile strength of 20MnCr5, 50MnCr5, and 80MnCr5.
flow stress Vtrue [MPa]
500
400
20C
100C
300C
450C
650C
300
200
-4
-1
dH/dt = 2.4*10 s
100
0
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
plastic strain Hpl, true
Figure 7: Stress-strain-curves of ferrite / pearlite of 20MnCr5.
2.4
Strains as a function of phase, temperature, and carbon content
A very important input parameter for the mechanical part of case hardening simulations are the
strains as a function of phase, temperature, and chemical composition. Temperature gradients,
275
phase transformations and residual stresses can produce plastic strains and eventually size and
form changes of the final product.
Thermal strains are often described by density at room temperature plus thermal expansion
coefficient. Both values vary with phase and concentrations of chemical elements. Input data for
FEM simulations, on the other hand, are often given in the form of H i T for each phase i with
respect to the initial state before heat treatment. These data can usually be obtained from a small
number of alpha dilatometry experiments.
For case hardening simulations, however, a higher experimental effort must be made. First of all,
the influence of the carbon content is of major importance, since the carbon level is increased in
the surface regions during the process. Secondly, some experiments cannot be performed in an
alpha dilatometer because of the need to model high temperature rates. An ideal experiment
would be made in a quench dilatometer that imitates the entire case hardening process: Heating,
carburization, and quenching. Since there is no such experimental facility today, a different
strategy is required.
2.4.1 How to obtain results for different carbon concentrations
As the dilatometer specimens cannot be carburized in situ, the thermal strains of carburized
material must be determined in two steps: carburization of the specimens and subsequent
dilatometry. Specimens with an increased carbon content can be produced either by use of a
second melting or by an intermediate carburization step. In the C.A.S.H. project, the latter
method was pursued. However, this approach necessitates an extended calibration of the
measurements. Since the dilatometer curve yields the relative length change with respect to the
initial length of the specimen, the length change due to carburization is not taken into account. In
order to produce reasonable input data for a case hardening simulation, the thermal strains of the
carburized material must be given with respect to the initial state of the non-carburized specimen.
There are basically three effects that have an influence on the length change during a
carburization cycle. The first one is the change of density produced by the additional carbon
atoms in the iron. The second one is a possible change of the microstructure due to the
temperature path of the carburization and cooling process. The third one can be observed in
specimens with segregations. During a heating cycle, the anisotropic distribution of chemical
elements, and thus of carbides, can produce anisotropic plastic deformation. As a consequence of
all three effects, it is insufficient to just use the measured length change after the carburization
step.
2.4.2 Calibration strategy for the alignment of dilatometry curves
The effects affecting the evaluation of the thermal strains can be accounted for by aligning the
curves according to a suitable reference measurement. This can for instance be a density
measurement of the microstructure that can be best compared. In our opinion, the best way is to
compare two specimens in their austenitized states with all carbon dissolved. Once there are no
carbides in the matrix, the density depends only on the dissolved carbon.
Density values for austenite can for instance be gathered by measuring the buoyancy of two
probes containing different fractions of austenite and martensite, and by cancelling out the
martensite part. Another possibility is the use of diffractometry to obtain lattice parameters,
which can be used to calculate densities as well [Lement, 1959].
After the densities of the austenitic specimens, e.g. at room temperature, have been determined,
the offset of the dilatometer curves can be calculated. By extrapolating the linear thermal
expansion from the austenite regions to room temperature, the two curves can be aligned
according to the calculated offset. In the following paragraph, the mathematical formulation is
presented.
276
2.4.3
Mathematical formulation
Let L0 be the absolute length of a specimen in its initial state. Let L*0 be the same quantity for
the carburized probe. We will first assume that these values have indeed been measured on the
same specimen, before and after carburization, and that the ratio L*0 / L0 is determined by the
changed density only. The absolute lengths as a function of the temperature shall be denominated
by L(T ) and L* (T ) , respectively. The relative changes of lengths, i.e. the strains are referred to
as H (T ) and H * (T ) (cf. Figure 8). We then have:
H (T )
H * (T )
L(T ) L0
L0
L* (T ) L*0
L*0
L(T )
>H (T ) 1@ L0 and
L* (T )
>H
(4)
(T ) 1 L*0 .
(5)
We want to express H * (T ) with respect to L0 . This will be denominated by H~ * (T ) as
H~ * (T )
L* (T ) L0
L0
(6)
L*0 L0 L*0 *

H (T )
L0
L0
(7)
'H corr 'H corr 1 H * (T )
where 'H corr
*
0
L0 / L0 .
(8)
Eq. (8) shows that the original dilatometer curve of the carburized specimen is shifted by 'H corr
and scaled by 'H corr 1 .
H (arbitrary units)
~
H* (T)
H (T)
H* (T)
c orr
'H
TE
T (arbitrary units)
Figure 8: Schematic outline of the alignment of dilatometer curves with different carbon content. At room
temperature, each curve starts by definition with H=0. However, the curve H * (T ) of a carburized probe
(dashed) should be offset against the non-carburized probe H (T ) (solid) according to the density/length
change 'Hcorr at TE, which is caused by the increased carbon content. This results in a shift and rescaling of
the carburized curve to H~ * (T ) (dash-dot).
2.4.4
Extended calibration of strains
As stated in section 2.4.1, L0 and L*0 may have no exploitable relation to each other. For
instance, they may have been measured on two independent specimens. Another reason could be
effects other than density changes spoiling the measurement. In this case, 'H corr should be
277
adjusted appropriately, e.g. by use of suitable literature values, which we will denominate by
'H lit . The actual differences between the dilatometer curves at some evaluation temperature TE
must then be corrected so that the offset becomes 'H lit . In other words, the curve of the
carburized specimen must be calibrated according to eq. (8), where 'H corr is replaced by the
difference between 'H lit and the already existing difference. This can in principle be done for
any evaluation temperature TE for which such data are available.
2.4.5 Evaluation for 20MnCr5 and results
As described above, we used a linear approximation of the austenite strains with temperature and
extrapolated it to room temperature ( TE RT ). The extrapolated strains were then aligned
according to X-ray lattice parameter measurements by [de Andrs, 1998]. These values can be
used to calculate the specific volumes V according to [Lement, 1959]. The strain offset is then
simply given by
'H lit
'V
3V
(9)
The evaluated data for 20MnCr5 are presented in Table 3. The resulting strains as a function of
temperature and carbon content are given in Figure 9. The strains at room temperature, which are
proportional to the reciprocal density, differ between D- and J-phases as expected. Furthermore,
they increase for all phases with increasing carbon content. For vanishing carbon content, the Dphases tend to converge. The thermal expansion coefficients show the greatest differences
between D- and Jphases, too. There is no significant dependency on the carbon content.
carbon (wt.-%)
lattice parameter [] specific volume[cm/g]
'H corr [-]
0.20
3.5818
0.1247
(0)
0.50
3.5917
0.1257
0.0027
0.80
3.6016
0.1267
0.0052
Table 3: Austenite lattice parameters of 20MnCr5 and its carbon enriched derivatives at room temperature
according to [de Andrs, 1998] (valid up to 2.0 wt-% C). These values have been used to calculate the
correction parameter 'H corr of the dilatometer curves for higher carbon concentrations with respect to the
base material (see text).
0.01
3000
M
F/P
B
0.00
-6
D [10 /K]
H at RT [-]
0.01
-0.01
2000
1000
-0.01
0
-0.02
0
0.5
carbon content [wt.-%]
B
F/P
microstructure
Figure 9: Results of the corrected thermal strains evaluation of 20MnCr5. Left: Thermal strains at room
temperature as a function of the carbon content for all investigated microstructures. Right: Thermal
expansion coefficient for all phases, averaged over carbon content.
278
2.4.6 Summary
To sum up, the following recommendation can be formulated for the evaluation of thermal
strains from dilatometry curves:
1. Approximate the thermal strains of austenite for both experiments, for instance as linear
functions with temperature.
2.
Calculate the strains of austenite H A RT at room temperature for both curves.
3.
Apply the correction of (8), where 'H corr is replaced by 'H lit and the already existing
difference.
Conclusions
Since the precision of FEM heat treatment simulations particularly for case hardening
simulations - relies fundamentally on exact input data, a high effort has been made in the course
of the project C.A.S.H. in order to provide input data in an unprecedented quality for the steels
20MnCr5, 16MnCr5, and 18CrNiMo7-6. Higher carbon concentrations were investigated by
carburization of the specimens.
Phase transformations were described based on the JMA model for isothermal transformations
with a very high accordance between theory and experiment. For the continuous transformations,
the Leblond model has been used. Limitations of the model required a focussing on the relevant
cooling rates in the C.A.S.H. project with t8/5 < 40 s. The modelling of the phase proportions and
the transformation kinetics was achieved with a good quality for these cooling rates. For slower
quenching processes, the differences between model and experiment are larger.
The important aspect of stress-strain-behaviour was addressed by extensive experiments,
including measurements of super cooled austenite. It was found that the carbon content has no
influence on the strain hardening of austenite.
Heat transfer coefficients have been described using a three-fold strategy to capture the
variations with time, space, and the average value separately.
Thermal strain behaviour was described based on dilatometry experiments, using a novel method
to account for the influence of the carbon content. This evaluation method increases the accuracy
of the simulations results in terms of distortion significantly. (See also [Franz, 2005] and [Trapp,
2005]).
To sum up, a broad data basis covering all essential parameter realms has been created for the
simulations in the CASH project.
Acknowledgements
References
Avrami, M.: Kinetics of phase change. II: transformation-time relations for random distribution of nuclei. J. Chem.
Phys. 8, 212-224, 1940.
Avrami, M.: Kinetics of phase change. III: granulation, phase change and microstructure. J. Chem. Phys. 9, 177184, 1941.
De Andrs, C. G.; Caballero, F. G.; Capdevila, C.; Bhadeshia, H. K. D. H.: Modelling of kinetics and dilatometric
behaviour of non-isothermal pearlite-to-austenite transformation in a eutectoid steel. Scripta Mat. 39, 6, 197796, 1998.
279
Franz, C.; Lbben, T.; Ltjens, J.; Streicher, F.; Trapp, N.; Vogel, M.: Case hardening simulation of complex
components by use of abstraction. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany,
Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Heuer, V.; Lser, K.; Verfahren zur Sichtbarmachung von Grenzflchenphnomenen an der Oberflche eines
Bauteils. Patentanmeldung DE 103 19 943.8, 2003.
Heuer, V.; Lser, K.; Visualization and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in high
pressure gas quenching cells. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.W. Zoch.
Johnson, W.A.; Mehl, R.F.: Reaction kinetics in process of nucleation and growth. Trans. AIME 135, 416-458,
1939.
Koistinen, D.P.; Marburger, R.E.: A general equation prescribing extent of austenite-martensite transformation in
pure Fe-C alloys and plain carbon steels. Acta Metall. 7, 59-60, 1959.
Leblond, J. B.; Devaux, J.: A new kinetic model for anisothermal metallurgical transformations in steels including
effect of austenite grain size. Acta Metall. 32, No. 1, 137-146, 1984.
Lement, B. S.: Distortion in Tool Steels. ASM Metal Park, Novelty, Ohio, 1959.
Lbben, T.: Zahlenmige Beschreibung des Wrmebergangs flssiger Abschreckmedien am Beispiel zweier
Hartle als wesentliche Randbedingung fr die numerische Simulation von Wrmebehandlungsprozessen.
Dissertation Universitt Bremen, VDI Fortschrittberichte, Reihe 5, Nr. 352, VDI Verlag, Dsseldorf, 1994.
Miokovi, T.; Schwarzer, J.; Schulze, V.; Vhringer, O.; Lhe, D.: Description of short time phase transformations
during the heating of steels based on high-rate experimental data. J.Phys. IV France, 120, p. 594-598, 2004.
Obergfell, K.; Schulze, V.; Vhringer, O.: Neuartiger thermisch mechanischer Prfstand. Materialprfung 44, p.
139-143, 2002.
Schwarzer, J.; Ehlers, M.; Gttler, J.: C.A.S.H.: Computer Aided simulation of heat treatment an overview. Proc.
1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Trapp, N.; Ehlers, M.; Fiderer, M.; Ltjens, J.; Schulze, V.: Simulation of case hardening of complex components
by use of a construction kit. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.W. Zoch.
280
281
Case Hardening Simulation of Complex

Components by Use of Abstraction
Clemens Franz1, Thomas Lbben2, Jrn Ltjens2,
Frank Streicher1, Nicolas Trapp3, Michael Vogel4
1
DaimlerChrysler AG, Mercedesstr. 137, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany,

{clemens.franz,frank.streicher}@daimlerchrysler.com
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3,28359 Bremen, Germany,

{luebben,luetjens}@iwt.uni-bremen.de
Institut fr Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe (TH), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany,
nicolas.trapp@iwk1.uni-karlsruhe.de
Engineering Systems International GmbH, Augustin-Rsch-Str. 23, 80935 Mnchen, Germany,
michael.vogel@esi-group.com
Abstract
The numerical simulation of production processes is widely used to ensure and to improve product quality. Today,
this tool is hardly established in industry for the evaluation of heat treatment processes. There are still several
difficulties and limitations to set up reliable simulations, e.g. the complexity of the parts of interest. Therefore two
methods for the efficient simulation of heat treatment processes were developed and tested in the project "Computer
Aided Simulation of Heat treatment - C.A.S.H". One method is the use of abstraction. In this paper selected results of
simulations using this strategy are presented, evaluated and compared with experimentally determined results at two
different complex components.
Keywords
Simulation, heat treatment, case hardening, distortion
Introduction
In todays production planning processes the digital plant is a key issue. The numerical
simulation helps to improve the production process. Therefore the simulation of heat treatment
processes like case hardening that have a big influence on the product quality are of great interest
[Denis, 1996]. At present, the tool simulation of heat treatment processes is hardly established
in industry, for it is mainly used in research and mostly at easy model geometries [Denis, 1982],
[Fletcher, 1981], [Fletcher, 1989], [Yu, 1996]. However, in the industrial practice it is necessary
to understand the development and interactions of temperature, phases, stresses and deformations
during heat treatment processes [Denis, 1985] especially at complex component geometries
[Franz, 2005]. In recent years a large progress has been made towards the heat treatment
simulation of real part geometries [Franz, 2003], but still these complex simulations can hardly
be done with todays PCs or workstations in reasonable time. Therefore methods for the efficient
simulation of heat treatment processes were developed and tested in the project "Computer
Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment - C.A.S.H" [Schwarzer, 2005] sponsored by the German
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). One method is the use of a construction
kit [Trapp, 2005]. The other method, which is presented here, is the use of abstraction. The idea
is that it is not necessary to model every tiny detail of a complex geometry to gain the desired
information. It has been investigated up to which degree of abstraction from the original
geometry this method can be used to get reasonable results by minimised effort. Simulation of
case hardening processes requires a large set of detailed input data that depends on temperature,
282
phases and carbon content. This input data is barely available from literature. Therefore a lot of
experiments were run to set up complete sets of input data of the materials used for the accounted
parts [Heuer, 2005], [Ltjens, 2005].
Parts and Abstractions
In this project two parts with significantly different complex geometries were used for the
development and verification of the method of abstraction, a sliding sleeve of a transmission
from DaimlerChrysler AG and the housing of a high pressure injection pump from Robert Bosch
GmbH (cf. Figure 1 and 2). Both parts are case hardened and significantly differ in shape and
volume. The sliding sleeve is made out of the case hardening steel 16MnCr5 (SAE 5115) and the
injection pump housing is made out of 20MnCr5 (SAE 5120).
The sliding sleeve is a thin-walled part with very fine geometrical structures. To take into
account these structures for the simulation of the real geometry (abstraction A0) at first only one
tooth was modelled before calculating a larger structure. As abstraction A1, a sliding sleeve
without teeth was chosen and for abstraction A2 additionally the outer bars were removed (cf.
Figure 1). The inner diameters of the three abstractions slightly differ to ensure equal masses of
the abstractions.
Figure 1: Sliding sleeve, abstraction A0 (left), abstraction A1 (centre) and abstraction A2 (right)
The original pump housing (abstraction A0) is a very solid part with numerous drillings. For
abstraction A1 theses drillings were neglected while keeping the essential geometrically complex
inner structure, especially the piston guide. Abstraction A2 represents the outer shape and main
drillings of the pump housing. The piston guides are neglected (cf. Figure 2).
283
Figure 2: High pressure injection pump housing, abstraction A0 (left), abstraction A1 (centre), abstraction
A2 (right)
Results
For the simulations the two leading commercially available software-packages for heat treatment
simulation, Sysweld (sliding sleeve) and Deform-HT (pump housing), where used. 2D and 3D
simulations were performed using Windows- and Linux-PCs as well as Unix-HP-Workstations.
3.1
Sliding sleeve
In a first step the carburization process was modelled and calculated. As low pressure carburizing
cannot be described by Ficks laws, an equivalent process had to be described to simulate the
carburization process. Figure 3 shows the measured and calculated carbon content in the cross
section of abstraction A1. To obtain such a good conformance it is necessary to use a very fine
mesh in the border area of the model. Otherwise the result would be a very coarse carbon
distribution which is shown below (cf. Chapter 3.2). Due to different carbon contents the
mechanical and thermal properties vary from element to element. Thus, after the simulation of
the carburization process the elements where sorted into three different layers according to their
carbon content. For the simulation of the quenching process each layer was assigned different
input data.
284
Figure 3: Measured and calculated carbon content in the cross section of abstraction A1.
The sliding sleeve is a moving part. Therefore its roundness after heat treatment is important.
Figure 4 shows the inner radius of abstraction A2 after heat treatment relating to the radius
before heat treatment in correspondence to the angle in a segment. Due to symmetry the
simulation model was a 90-segment of the part and the simulation was run with the final
experimentally determined input data. The simulation overestimates the distortion but perfectly
mirrors the out-of-roundness.
1
Exp. A2 top
Exp. A2 middle
Exp. A2 bottom
Sim. A2 top
Sim. A2 middle
Sim. A2 bottom
r/r0
0,999
0,998
0,997
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
330
360
phi []
Figure 4: Inner radius of abstraction A2 at three different heights, experiment and simulation. Radius after
heat treatment (r) relating to the radius before heat treatment (r0) in correspondence to the angle in a
segment (phi). Experimental curves are averaged over 20 curves.
285
Compared to the experimental results of abstraction A1 the simulation of A2 mirrors the

distortion but does not show the out-of-roundness. The experimentally determined out-ofroundness of abstraction A0 differs a lot from the one of abstraction A1. Therefore it is clear that
the simulation of A2 does not fit the experimental results of A0 at all (cf. Figure 5).
1
1
Exp. A1 top
Exp. A1 middle
Exp. A1 bottom
Sim. A2 top
Sim. A2 middle
Sim. A2 bottom
0,999
r/r0
r/r0
0,999
0,998
0,998
0,997
Exp. A0 top
Exp. A0 middle
Exp.A0 bottom
Sim. A2 top
Sim. A2 middle
Sim. A2 bottom
0,997
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
phi []
210
240
270
300
330
360
30
60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
330
360
phi []
Figure 5: Simulated inner radius of abstraction A2 at three different heights compared to the experimental
results of abstraction A1 (left) and A0 (right). Radius after heat treatment (r) relating to the radius before
heat treatment (r0) in correspondence to the angle in a segment (phi). Experimental curves are averaged
over 20 curves.
According to the simulations of abstractions A1 and A0 with preliminary input data the sliding
sleeve deforms in a banana-like shape (cf. Figure 6). The interesting fact of this result is that it
was obtained by two different ways. At abstraction A1 a simple 2D simulation was carried out
using a simple hexagonal mesh taking into account the necessities for carburising simulations
mentioned above. At abstraction A0 a full 3D simulation of one tooth of the much more complex
original geometry was performed. As it also can be derived from Figure 4 this banana-like shape
is not observed at simulations of abstraction A2, where we obtain a reverse V-shape. It seems
that the two outer circumferential bars are very important concerning the distortion behaviour
and therefore must not be neglected. However, the experimental results do not perfectly mirror
this banana-like shape. Here, one observes either no significant distortion (abstraction A0 and
A2) or it varies with the angle in a segment (abstraction A1), where this shape partly occurs (cf.
Figure 5). Considering the radial distortion shown in Figure 6 and regarding the r/r0-ratio we
receive values of about 0.999 for abstraction A1 as well as for abstraction A0 which is in very
good conformance with the experimental results presented in Figures 4+5.
Figure 6: Radial distortion of A1 (left, 2D simulation) and A0 (right, 3D-simulation) due to heat treatment
(distortion displayed enlarged 150 times).
286
3.2
High pressure injection pump housing
For the pump housing the carburization process is the first step in the simulation as well. Due to
the size of the part and the limitation of elements in the model the three abstractions allow three
different degrees of accuracy in modelling of details. Due to the complexity of abstraction A0
details cannot be modelled with a very fine mesh. Therefore the result of the simulation is not
very realistic. Abstractions A1 and A2 are not as detailed as abstraction A0. Therefore it was
possible to use a more refined mesh in the border area (cf. Chapter 3.1) and we obtain a much
more realistic carbon distribution (cf. Figure 7). The sharp bends in the curves are due to element
boundaries.
Figure 7: Carbon content distribution after simulation of the carburization process in the solid body from
outside (left) and in the inner piston guide (right).
In contrast to the procedure at the sliding sleeve, here the elements had not to be sorted into
different layers according to their carbon content. For the software Deform-HT is able to
interpolate the necessary data out of the given input data for the three carbon contents.
At the pump housing the roundness of boreholes is very important for the functioning because
there are other parts moving inside. Therefore all relevant boreholes were surveyed. The
measured and simulated roundness of the large borehole at abstractions A0 and A2 shows as
good conformance. The simulation at abstraction A0 gives a very good idea of change of
dimension due to heat treatment whereas the simulation at abstraction A2 reflects better the
change of shape but overestimates the distortion (cf. Figure 8).
287
Z=0 mm
Figure 8: Roundness of the large drilling (lower right). Comparison of measurement and simulation at A0
(upper left) and at A2 (upper right) as well as comparison of the simulations at A0 and A2 (lower left).
Discussion
The results of the investigations show, that the method of abstraction is a suitable tool to ease the
simulation of heat treatment processes of complex parts. However, it must be stated that it is very
important to specify the targeted measurement before starting to abstract the original geometry.
As the results of the carburization simulations show, this part of the process can be easily
calculated if the meshing with very thin layers in the border area is done correctly. The
simulation of the quenching process is much more complex as it involves not only a thermal but
also a mechanical calculation. The results of the simulated distortions of the sliding sleeve show,
that a coarse abstraction like A2 gives a very good idea about the general shape, but the results
also proof that it is very important to identify those details of the part that contribute to its
stiffness. Depending on the target of the simulation a 2D simulation will lead to the same
information as a more complex and extensive 3D simulation for highly symmetrical parts like
the sliding sleeve.
The pump housing is a completely different type of part with a large volume and a low
symmetry. Therefore it is vital to perform 3D simulations. Here it is even more important to
focus on the aim of the simulation before starting to work due to limitations on the number of
elements. For the distortion of the global shape it is more important to model the volume than
288
tiny details as large volumes contain a lot of heat which influences the cooling process and
therefore has a direct influence on phase transformation and as a consequence on distortion.
Summary
The results of the investigations on the method of abstraction prove that this is a suitable tool to
simplify the simulation of heat treatment processes. It is important to analyse the geometry of the
part to identify its crucial features before starting to abstract it. Moreover it must be determined
in advance on which detail the focus is set.
Acknowledgement
References
Denis, S.; Simon, A.; Beck, G.: Bercksichtigung des Werkstoffverhaltens eines Stahles mit Martensitumwandlung
bei der Berechnung von Eigenspannungen whrend des Abschreckvorganges. Hrterei-Technische
Mitteilungen, Nr. 37, 1982
Denis, S.; Gautier, E.; Simon, A.; Beck, G.: Stress-phase transformation interactions basic priciples, modelling
and calculation of internal stresses. Materials Science and Technology, Vol. 1, 1985
Denis, S.; Simon, A.: Modelling of Heat Treatment of Steels: From Concepts to Process Simulation. Proc. 2nd Int.
Conf. on Quenching & Control of Distortion, Cleveland, Ohio, 1996
Fletcher, A. J.; Price, R. F.: Generation of thermal stresses and strain during quenching of low-alloy steel plates.
Material Science and Technology, Nr. 8, 1981
Fletcher, A. J.: Thermal stresses and strain generation in heat treatment. Elsevier Applied Science, 1989
Franz, Clemens; Schulze, Volker; Macherauch, Eckard; Lhe, Detlef: Simulation der Wrmebehandlung von
Sthlen am Institut fr Werkstoffkunde I. Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik, Vol. 34, Nr. 1, 2003
Franz, Clemens: Experimentelle Untersuchungen und Simulationen der Eigenspannungsausbildung und des
Verzugsverhaltens bei der Durch- und Einsatzhrtung von Sthlen. Dissertation Universitt Karlsruhe (TH),
2005, ISBN 3-8322-4099-3
Heuer, Volker; Lser; K, Klaus: Visualisation and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in
high pressure gas quenching cells. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany,
Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Ltjens, Jrn; Heuer, Volker; Knig, Franz; Lbben, Thomas; Schulze, Volker; Trapp, Nicolas: Determination of
input data for the simulation of case hardening. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen,
Germany, Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Schwarzer, Jochen; Ehlers, Martin; Gttler, Jrgen: C.A.S.H. - Computer Aided Simulation of Heattreatment An
Overview. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Trapp, Nicolas; Fiderer, Michael; Ehlers, Martin; Schulze, Volker; Lbben, Thomas: Simulation of case hardening
of complex components by use of a construction kit. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005,
Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.-W.Zoch.
Yu, H.-J.; Schrder, R.; Graja, P.; Besserdich, G.; Majorek; A.; Hoferer, M.: Zur Modellierung und Simulation der
Wrmebehandlung metallischer Werkstoffe. Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen, Nr. 1, 1996
289
Simulation of case hardening of complex

components by use of a construction kit
Nicolas Trapp1, Michael Fiderer2, Jrn Ltjens3, Martin Ehlers4, Volker Schulze1
1
Institut fr Werkstoffkunde I, Universitt Karlsruhe, Germany

2
Kistler-IGeL GmbH, Schnaich, Germany
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Bremen, Germany

4
Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract
The simulation of heat treatment processes like case hardening has been done mostly at easy model geometries up to
now. In contrast to this there is the necessity from technical praxis to perform simulation on complex geometries, too,
which cannot be done with todays workstations in reasonable time. Therefore, methods for the efficient simulation
of heat treatments were developed and tested. One method developed is the use of a so called construction kit, which
may be used in three different ways. The first is to simulate the regions of interest of a complex component after a
simulation of a significantly simplified geometry of the whole part which is only used to define boundary conditions
for the regions of interest. The second strategy is to provide an easy means for the attachment of additional subcomponents to the main body by substituting the complete sub component by a small layer of elements with special
properties. The last method is to use a coarse mesh for the whole geometry except for the regions of interest, which
are meshed very finely. This also allows for an efficient simulation of the heat treatment of a complex component
with special focus on a local feature. Selected results of simulations using these strategies will be presented,
evaluated and compared with experimentally determined distributions of phases, residual stresses and distortions at
two different complex components.
Keywords
Heat treatment, submodeling, substitution, local fine remeshing
Introduction
Heat treatment simulation is on the way to become an important tool for optimisation of process
parameters and to investigate temperature, phase, stress and deformation development during
heat treatment. For simple geometries this is already well known, but real complex geometries
are difficult to simulate with an appropriate meshing. It would lead to a drastic rise of the number
of elements if all geometry details need to be considered and if the mesh showed adequate
refinement in the surface layer in order to map the carburisation process too. With todays
workstations simulation of heat treatment with a number of elements above 150,000 linear brick
elements is not possible in reasonable time.
In the context of the Computer Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment C.A.S.H.-project
[Schwarzer, 2005] sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research two
major methods were investigated. In [Franz, 2005] the abstraction of complex geometries was
described. In this paper three concepts to handle complex geometries by using construction-kits
are presented. The objective is to investigate only a local area of interest by considering the
global system.
The two software packages SYSWELD, distributed by the ESI group, and DEFORM-HT
from SFTC, distributed by Kistler-IGeL GmbH were used in the C.A.S.H.-project. All examples
are based on an injection pump housing and a synchron ring from the CASH-project both
presented in [Schwarzer, 2005] and [Franz, 2005].
290
Submodeling concept
Instead of meshing the entire model using a fine structured mesh, the idea of submodeling is to
solve the global problem by using a coarse approach with a mesh provided by an automatic mesh
module of the used finite element software package and to store the solution. The identified
region of interest is cut out and modelled separately with a refined mesh. To reproduce the
behaviour of the whole part, boundary conditions at the interface of the submodel must be
interpolated from the previous solution of the initial global geometry.
Similar concepts for mechanical simulations are implemented in several finite-element-packages,
but for heat treatment simulations this concept has not been studied yet.
By using the programming capabilities of DEFORM-HT with user-subroutines, the
submodeling-feature was partially implemented and tested for two-dimensional objects.
Figure 1: (a) Three-dimensional geometry, (b) derived global two dimensional model and (c) submodel
Figure 1a shows the fictive three dimensional finite-element model derived from the injection
pump housing. The hatched area in figure 1a shows the selected two-dimensional area for the
study of submodeling capabilities and is shown in figure 1b. This has been named the global
model. The global model was roughly meshed by means of an automatic mesh generator and is
composed of 967 4-node quadrilateral elements. The submodel is shown in figure 1c, where
2,910 quadrilateral elements were used for the refined mesh. All models were constructed under
the assumption of rotational symmetry. The material data used is presented in [Ltjens, 2005].
The simulated heat treatment process is a simple quenching process with a heat transfer
coefficient independent of geometry, time and temperature. Phase transformation was taken into
account.
2.1
Thermal analysis
First of all a global two-dimensional model (figure 1b) was constructed and analysed. After that
time-temperature-curves were extracted by a user subroutine for each node in the cutting area
marked with a thick black line in figure 1b. These results were finally used as thermal boundary
conditions for the submodel (figure 1c). These conditions were applied to each node of the
submodel in the cutting area as a function of time. On the free edges of the submodel the thermal
boundary condition were applied in accordance to the global model.
Figure 2a shows the comparison between global model and submodel with and without applied
thermal boundary conditions for two nodes. Their location is shown in figure 2c. The application
of interpolated thermal conditions on the submodel leads to a good accordance between the time
dependent thermal cooling progress of both the global model and the submodel. Figure 2b shows
the evolution of the volume fraction of martensite. It is easy to observe that by using thermal
boundary conditions the results approximate the global model much better than in the case where
291
no interpolation was considered. Especially in point number 1, which is close to the boundary
edge, there is a necessity to apply the thermal boundary conditions in order to retrieve the
behaviour of the global model.
temperature [C]
800
600
400
200
b)
1,0
0,9
martensite [vol.-%]
point nr.1 (global model)

point nr.1 (submodel)
point nr.1 (submodel with th. bc)
a)
1000
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5

0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0,0
0
0
50
100
150
200
50
100
150
200
time [s]
time [s]
Figure 2: (a) Temperature vs. time, (b) volume fraction of martensite for two points and (c) locations of
these points and the seven rigid bodies for application of the mechanical boundary conditions
2.2
Mechanical analysis
For the mechanical part of the simulation, the displacement rate of the nodes in the interface area
from the global model were stored as a function of time. As a first trial, the stored velocities were
applied as average values of a few curves on one (simulation 1), two (simulation 2) and seven
(simulation 7) rigid bodies. Figure 2c represents the case of seven rigid bodies.
'r (global model)
'r (submodel without bc)
'r (simulation with one rigid bodies)
'r (submodel with seven rigid bodies)
a)
b)
120
100
mean stress [MPa]
deflection 'r [mm]
-0,14
-0,16
-0,18
-0,20
-0,22
-0,24

point nr.2 (submodel with 7 rigid bodies)
80
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
-80
0
-0,26
0
10
15
20
25
50
100
150
200
time [s]
distance to origin [mm]
Figure 3: (a) Deflection in r-direction and (b) mean stress vs. time for node number 6
Distortion is an important value for technical heat treatment processes. Figure 2c shows the
direction of evaluation for the deflection. The origin is in accordance with the x-axis of the
diagram shown in figure 3a. The results for the deflection along the x direction are shown here.
The model with highest level of detail (seven rigid bodies) shows the best accuracy.
Figure 3b shows the development of mean stresses for node number 2. The submodel with seven
rigid bodies shows the best accuracy, too.
292
By increasing the number of rigid bodies it was possible to improve the accuracy of deflection
(figure 3a). The application of node velocities by rigid bodies as boundary condition is not yet
satisfying because it applies only an average function and velocity in y-direction is not being
taken into account.
Substitution-concept
The substitution concept attempts to facilitate the design process of a component by providing an
easy means to attach additional sub-components to the main body. This is to be achieved by a
small layer of elements with special properties that substitute the complete sub-component.
Therefore this technique is named substitution. The concept has been investigated on a synchron
ring. One of the circumferential bars was separated from the main body and replaced by a
substitution layer (s. figure 4).
The goal is to provide the tool substitution with a set of instructions on how to compute the
correct results in a fast and easy way. Up to now, rules of thumb for the manipulation of physical
parameters in the substitution layer are generated. Starting from plausible assumptions, the
effects of different manipulations are compared to the results of the complete calculation in the
element layer adjacent to the substitution layer, which shall be referred to as the boundary layer.
The better the approximation in the boundary layer, the more reliable are the results in the main
body, since the boundary conditions are then to a high degree identical to the complete
calculation.
Figure 4: Meshing of the synchron ring for simulations according to the substitution concept. (a) radial
section of the complete synchron ring (abstraction level 1 [2]). (b) The substitution layer has replaced
the sub-component. The simulation results are compared in the layer adjacent to the substitution. The
model features 2,888 elements, with 455 elements in the circumferential bar and 24 elements for the
substitution layer.
3.1
Thermal simulation
The problem can be divided into two aspects, thermo-transformational and thermo-mechanical
simulation. The thermal part has to be considered first. After that the results are utilized to
compute the mechanical behaviour of the model.
The three essential components of the thermal balance are heat capacity, heat conduction, and
heat transfer at the surface. In order to reproduce the heat balance of the complete model, the
quantities density (U), thermal conductivity (O) as well as the heat transfer coefficient (D) have
been manipulated. The results were compared as to temperature and heat flux as a function of
time.
293
In addition to the complete reference calculation, three models have been tested (table 1). The
models differ only in the manipulation of the thermal conductivity. While model 1 compensates
the reduced distance that the heat has to be transported over by the factor Lbar ,max / Lsub , where
Lbar ,max is the longest distance of the outer boundary of the bar normal to the boundary layer and
Lsub is the width of the substitution layer, models 2 and 3 use the average distance of all
boundary nodes of the bar to calculate the manipulation factor. Model 3 applies the correction in
the perpendicular direction only.
model no.
Umanipulations
Dmanipulations
1
2
3
Omanipulations
decrease by Lbar, max / Lsub
increase by Vbar / Vsub
increase by Abar / Asub
decrease by Lbar, mean / Lsub

decrease normal component by Lbar,
Lsub
mean /
Table 1: Models for the thermal calculation
Figure 5 and 6 show the resulting temperature contours and heat flux vectors at the boundary
layer at the time t1 = 2.348 s, where the largest fluxes occurred. The temporal behaviour of these
quantities is displayed for a central element as well as for a peripheral element of the boundary
layer. Figure 7 shows the heat flux through the boundary layer at t1 for the complete boundary
layer.
Figure 5: Temperature contours and heat flux vectors for the complete calculation (left) as well as for
model 1 (right) for t = 2.348s.
Figure 6: Temperature contours and heat flux vectors for the models 2 (left) and 3 (right) for t = 2.348s.
The best match was obtained with model 3.
294
900
0,4
0,3
0,2
800
750
700
650
600
550
0,1
500
0,0
-5
substitution model 1
global model
850
global model
temperature [C]
heat flux density jW

[W/mm]
0,5
10
15
20
25
time [s]
time [s]
Figure 7: Temporal behaviour of the heat flux density through a central element of the boundary layer
for the complete component and the three substitution models (left). Temporal behaviour of the
temperature in a central element of the boundary layer for the complete component and the three
substitution models (right).
900
heat flux density jW

[W/mm]
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
800
750
700
650
600
550
0,1
500
0,0
-5
global model
850
temperature [C]
global model
0,8
10
15
time [s]
20
time [s]
Figure 8: Temporal behaviour of the heat flux density through a peripheral element of the boundary
layer for the complete component and the three substitution models (left). Temporal behaviour of the
temperature in a peripheral element of the boundary layer for the complete component and the three
substitution models (right).
3.2
Mechanical analysis
The adaptation of the mechanical behaviour of the substitution models should be attempted via a
manipulation of the quantities Youngs modulus, yield stress and strain hardening. The following
preliminary considerations can be made: For components similar to the synchron ring, the
attachment of circumferential bars will effectuate a higher stability against deformations such as
roundness. This is produced by the increased flexural stiffness. The flexural stiffness of the
substitution layer is much lower than that of the complete bar. The flexural stiffness can be
expressed as the product of Youngs modulus E and the geometrical moment of inertia I with
respect to the bending axis. I can be expressed as the sum of the geometrical moments of inertia
of its sub-components as I total I i , so that it is sufficient to consider the geometrical moments
i
of inertia of the circumferential bar and of the substitution, respectively.
heat flux density jW [W/mm]
295
1,0
global model
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
3,0
distance along boundary layer [mm]
Figure 9: Profile of the heat flux density in the boundary layer at t = 2.348 s for the complete
component and the three substitution models.
In summary one can say that in a first attempt the elastic modulus should be manipulated
I bar
according to E sub
Ebar . As for yield strength and strain hardening, the following argument
I sub
is considered. Since stress is defined as force per area, and we intend to change the area of one
sub component, each stress-related quantity, i.e. the entire stress-strain-behaviour should be
rescaled accordingly. In other words, yield stress and strain hardening curves should be
multiplied by a factor of Asub / Abar .
These hypotheses are yet to be verified by FEM-simulations.
Concept of local mesh refinement
The local mesh refinement method simulates the whole geometry with a coarse mesh whereas
a local feature, which shall be investigated, features a highly refined mesh. Figure 10b shows a
60-model extracted from the finite-element model of the injection pump housing in figure 10a.
The piston guidance in the middle of the 60-model features a highly refined mesh. About
310.000 tetrahedral elements were used for the mesh. All boundary conditions are the same as
described in [Franz, 2005].
The numerical analysis has not been completed yet, but the fine mesh in the area of the piston
will allow a better match of the carbon distribution as in the models presented in [Franz, 2005].
This is essential for a good description of distortion and stress development.
Figure 10: (a) global model of the BOSCH injection pump housing and (b) 60 - cut out with local
mesh refinement
296
Summary
Three concepts for a construction-kit were presented in this paper. The submodeling method is
well established in mechanical simulation and it is an attractive concept for heat-treatment
simulation of local features in complex parts. The imposing of the boundary conditions could be
improved by a user subroutine, which would work on a node-to-node base rather than by use of
rigid bodies. Such a routine would facilitate the incorporation of the method into existing
software packages in the form of a user-friendly software tool interface. It would furthermore
enable an easy extension to three dimensional problems, which would be extremely tedious to
handle with the presented rigid body method.
The second concept, the substitution method, is a new way to simplify complex models but
demands a certain amount of users know-how. In case of development of easy globally
applicable laws, it can be an alternative to the submodeling technique.
Finally the concept of local mesh refinement is an easy and appropriate way to go for a
submodeling technique. The boundary conditions for the submodel are calculated in the model
itself and the use of complex subroutines is not necessary. Built-in functions of finite-element
software can be easily used for local fine remeshing and this method is so accessible to large
number of user.
Acknowledgement
Technologies Project Management Agency (PFT), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The responsibility for the content
of this publication lies with the authors.
References
Schwarzer, J., Ehlers, M., Gttler, J., C.A.S.H. - Computer Aided Simulation of Heat Treatment An Overview,
Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Franz, C., Lbben, T., Ltjens, J., Streicher, F., Trapp, N., Vogel, M., Case hardening simulation of complex
components by use of abstraction, Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen,
Germany, Ed. H.-W. Zoch.
Ltjens, J., Heuer, V., Knig, F., Lbben, T., Schulze, V., Trapp, N., Determination of input data for the simulation
of case hardening, Proc. 1st Int. Conf. on Distortion Engineering, 2005, Bremen, Germany, Ed. H.-W.
Zoch.
10. Modelling general aspects
297
298
299
Simulations of Satoh test using different

constitutive equations taking into account
solid-solid phase changes
Aurore Verdure1, Lakhdar Taleb1
1
INSA/LMR, avenue de l'universit BP 08, 76800 Saint Etienne du Rouvray Cedex, France
Abstract
Nowadays, it is admitted that during certain thermo mechanical manufacturing processes, solid-solid phase
transformations play an essential role in the distortion and in the creation of residual stresses. The accurate
modelling of these phase changes and particularly their mechanical consequences is an important task for an
economical point of view. Lot of works have been performed during the last two decades leading to several
constitutive equations. In this paper, we try to evaluate the effect linked to the choice of such model instead of
another model for a given phenomenon.
For this evaluation, we use the configuration of the well known Satoh test. In this process, the main phenomena
related to thermal variations and to phase transformations can be observed and, according to the chosen
constitutive equations, the residual stresses will be different. The role of the different phenomena and the
necessity of their representation by some more or less sophisticated models can be evaluated.
Keywords
Satoh test, phase transformations, transformation plasticity, recovery phenomenon
Introduction
During operations such as heat treatment or welding of mechanical structures, solid-solid

phase transformations play an essential role in the creation of residual stresses. These stresses
can have a significant influence on the life of the components. Therefore, it is very important
to succeed in modelling precisely the phase changes and more particularly their mechanical
consequences. Lot of works have been performed during the last twenty years, leading to
several constitutive equations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of the choice
of such or such model on the evaluation of the residual stress in a Satoh test considering a
bainitic transformation in a 16MND5 steel. Due to the simplicity of the problem (1D) and in
order to evaluate the most important number of models of literature, the conditions of the
Satoh test and the different constitutive equations have been programmed manually using the
software MATLAB. The following investigations have been performed.
a) Influence of the mixture rule used in order to estimate the global yield stress: by global
yield stress we mean the yield stress of multiphased material composed of different phases.
Three different mixture rules, one linear and two non linear, have been tested here.

Linear mixture rule: V y
(1 Z ) V 1y Z V y2 , where Z and V y2 are the volume fraction and
the yield stress of the product phase (bainite in this study) while V 1y is the yield stress of
the parent phase (austenite in this study).

Non linear mixture rules: V y (1 f ( Z )) V 1y f ( Z ) V y2 , where f (Z ) is a normalized

function of Z (f(Z) = 0 if Z = 0 and f(Z) = 1 if Z = 1). Two different evolutions of f (Z )
have been considered; the first one is proposed by Leblond et al. [Leblond & al., 1986]
((Z, f(Z)): (0,0); (0.125, 0.044); (0.25, 0.124); (0.5, 0.391); (0.75, 0.668); (1,1)) and the
300
second one is proposed by Grostabussiat and Taleb [Grostabussiat, 2000], [Taleb et al.,
2004]; it is given by, f ( Z ) Z 2 .
b) Influence of the elastoplastic model used in order to describe classical plasticity: two
approaches describing this phenomenon have been compared. The classical one in which
plasticity occurs when the equivalent stress (Von Mises) of the mixture reaches the yield
stress (of the mixture). The second approach has been proposed by Leblond [Leblond et al.,
1986, 1989], it is based on the assumption that, due to the micro-stresses generated by the
phase transformation [Leblond et al., 1986], classical plasticity may occur even without
applied stress.
H pc
S
3 (1 Z ) g ( Z )
V eq
1
1
E
2
)
V y (H eff
H pc
3 (1 Z ) g ( Z ) S A1
V eq in the case of kinematic hardening. g(Z) is a given function,
2
E
V 1y
if
we
assume
an
isotropic
hardening
and;
E the young modulus, S the deviatoric part of the stress tensor, V eq the Von Mises equivalent
1
stress, V 1y (H eff
) is the yield stress of the parent phase that depends on the strain hardening
1
expressed by the internal variable H eff
and finally A1 is the back stress expressing the
kinematic hardening. See the reference [Leblond et al., 1986] for more details.
In the classical approach, four models have been considered differing by the manner the
strain hardening is described: linear isotropic, linear kinematic, non linear isotropic and non
linear kinematic.
c) Effect of the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP): TRIP is the observed plastic
macroscopic strain due to the progress of the transformation under an applied stress smaller
than the yield stress. First, we will show the importance of this phenomenon by comparing
the results obtained with and without taking into account the TRIP. And after, we will
compare the results obtained by using different models to describe TRIP:
A phenomenological model proposed by Desalos [Desalos, 1981] and generalized by
3
Leblond and Giusti in which the TRIP rate is given by, H pt 2 k (1 Z ) Z S ,
2
where k is a (constant) material parameter.

A micromechanical model proposed by Leblond [Leblond & al., 1986]:

2 'H 12
3
Ln( Z ) Z S if Z ! 0.03 , where 'H 12 is the
2
transformation strain at the prescribed temperature.
Leblonds model modified by Taleb and Sidoroff [Taleb & Sidoroff, 2003]:
2'H
2'H
3
3
H pt 1 12 Ln( Z l ) Z S if Z d Z l and H pt 1 12 Ln( Z ) Z S if not
2
2
Vy
Vy
H pt
0 if Z d 0.03 and H pt
The parameter Z l is given by, Z l
V 1y
V 1y 4P 3K
where K and P respectively denote
2'H 12 9 KP
the bulk and shear elastic moduli.

d) Effect of the transformation kinetics: in this context, the results obtained using two
different functions Z (T ) have been analyzed. The first function is completely deducted
from experiments; see [Taleb et al., 2001] for details and, the second function is a linear
approximation of the first one. Note that a state law Z (T ) is sufficient in our case as we
consider anisothermal conditions (continuous cooling).
301
e) Effect of the strain hardening recovery of the parent phase during the transformation. The
model proposed by Leblond [Leblond, 1989] has been considered for this objective. The
importance of this phenomenon is quantified through a material parameter T : T 1 leads to
a complete inheritance of the strain hardening by the product phase while if T 0 , no strain
hardening will be transmitted from the parent to the product phases.
In the absence of specific indications, the simulations are performed with: a linear mixture
rule, the classical approach using a linear isotropic strain hardening for the classical plasticity
assessment, TRIP described by Desalos model, Z (T ) deducted from experiment, full strain
hardening recovery T 1 . Time effects are not considered here and therefore the behaviour
is assumed purely elastoplastic.
The paper is divided into three parts. The next one deals with the Satoh test and the
identification process of the material parameters while the last part is devoted to the
presentation of the results and their discussions.
The Satoh test and material parameters
2.1
Satoh test [Satoh, 1972]
Satoh test enables to have a simplified experimental representation of the behaviour

encountered in the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of structures during a thermomechanical
process leading to solid-solid phase changes. This test may consist in the two following
stages:
Uniform heating of a specimen until total austenitization.
Uniform continuous cooling of the specimen while its ends are rigidly fixed in order to
keep constant the length of the specimen.
In this paper, this test configuration is chosen to evaluate the consequences related to the
using of such model instead of another one. From the reasons of the choice of the
configuration of Satoh test, we can note its simplicity combined to its ability to represent the
most of the thermal, metallurgical and mechanical phenomena encountered in the HAZ in
structures. As in previous works, we have already determined all the thermomechanical and
metallurgical parameters related to bainitic transformation in a 16MND5 steel, we consider a
Satoh test with the conditions of this transformation.
2.2
Identification of parameters
x Elastoplastic parameters
The young modulus E is assumed to be the same for ferritic and austenitic phases, it is taken
from [Dupas & Waeckel, 1994].
The global strain hardening modulus h is approximated by a linear mixture rule,
h (1 Z ) h1 Z h2 where h1 and h2 are the strain hardening modulus of the austenitic
and ferritic phases. These parameters are identified from the monotonic tensile curves given
in [Petit-Grostabussiat et al., 2001]. The final equation in our case is:
(1 Z ) (3,15 T 3570) Z (0,002 T 2 7,06 T 7045)

x
Thermometallurgical parameters [Taleb, 1998]
The dilatation coefficients and J are given by:
12,35 10 6 7,7 10 9 T if T d 350qC and D D

the ferritic phases.
DD
15 10 6 if 350qC T 700qC for
302
DJ
22,6 10 6 2,52 10 9 T
qC 1 for the austenitic phase

T
The transformation deformation 'H DJref is identified considering a free dilatometric test
leading to bainitic transformation, it is equal to -0,01. Z (T ) is deducted from experiment, see
[Taleb et al., 2001] for details.
3.1
Influence of the rule used to calculate the global yield stress
Generally speaking, it seems that the effect related to the choice of the mixture rule (linear or
non linear) is rather small in the considered configuration. However it is observed that the
more the global yield stress is high, the more the plasticity is delayed and consequently, the
more the stress is high. But the difference between the obtained residual stresses does not
exceed some MPa (about 1%).
3.2
Influence of the approach used for the classical plasticity assessment

900
800
700
Sig (Mpa)
600
500
400
Epscp*30000
300
200
100
0
-100 0
200
400
600
800
1000
T (C)
Fig. 1. Evolutions of the axial stress (Sig) and the classical plastic strain H
case of a classical approach
pc
(Epscp*30000) in the
Fig. 1 shows the results obtained with the classical approach. There are two temperature
ranges where the material exhibits an elastic behaviour: ranges 1000C-955C and 595C120C, note that this last range corresponds approximately to the bainitic transformation
range. Due to the importance of the transformation deformation and the transformation
plasticity at the beginning of the transformation, the stress decreases then a period of
stabilization is observed when thermal dilation becomes of the same order as the other
components and finally, the stress increases rapidly after the transformation. In the rest of the
curve, the plasticity evolves: ranges 955C-595C and 120C-20C. In these zones, the stress
continuously increases.
Fig. 2 enables a comparison between the predictions using three approaches: the classical
one, Leblonds approach and an improved classical approach.
For Leblonds approach, one can remark that the material undergoes plasticity at all times
except during the first 45C (between 1000C and 955C). Moreover, the evolution of the
stress is rather continuous even after the transformation as observed in the classical approach
(at 120C). The stress is significantly higher in Leblonds approach (about 800 MPa instead
of 650 MPa).
In the classical approach considered above, the accumulated plastic strain (expressing the
isotropic hardening) does not include the TRIP component, in order to have an idea on the
303
effect of such approximation; an analysis is performed taking into account the TRIP
component. One can note that this modification leads to higher residual stress.
900
800
L
Cnew
C
700
Sig (MPa).
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
-100 0
200
400
600
800
T (C)
1000
Fig. 2. Evolutions of the stress obtained considering three approaches, the classical (C), the improved
classical (Cnew) and the one proposed by Leblond (L), considering an isotropic hardening
3.3
Influence of the elastoplastic model
With a linear kinematic hardening in the case of the classical approach, the obtained residual
stress is generally smaller while no significant difference is observed in the case of Leblonds
approach.
3.4
Influence of the transformation plasticity
x Case without taking TRIP into account

In this part, the effect of TRIP is evaluated through the comparison of two different analyses
considering the classical approach. In the first analysis, TRIP is taken into account while in
the second analysis TRIP is neglected (see Fig. 3).
1000
Epstp*800000
800
Sig without TRIP
Sigma (MPa)
Sig with TRIP

600
400
200
0
0,00
-200
200,00
400,00
600,00
800,00
1000,00
T(C)
Fig. 3. Evolution of the stress (Sig) with and without considering TRIP and evolution of the
transformation plasticity H pt (Epstp*800000)
The differences between the curves are located especially during the transformation where
TRIP is active while this difference is rather not significant after the end of the
transformation. We notice that without transformation plasticity, the stress value is higher, in
traction as well as in compression.
304
Considering the TRIP evolution, one can note a rapid increase corresponding to the
beginning of the transformation reaching a maximum at about 550C, the following decrease
is due to the variation of the stress from tension to compression. At the end of the cooling, the
remaining TRIP (0.00047) represents less than the quarter of the maximum value (0.0011)
that explains why the residual stress is not significantly affected by this phenomenon.
x Influence of the model considered for the description of TRIP
Fig. 4 gives the results obtained considering three different models describing TRIP.
900
800
700
D
LTS
Stress (MPa)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
-100
200
400
600
800
1000
T(C)
Fig. 4. Comparison of the predictions considering three models for TRIP: Desalos-Leblond-Giusti
(D), Leblond (L) and Leblond modified by Taleb and Sidoroff (LTS). The classical plasticity is
assessed by Leblonds approach considering kinematic hardening.
The essential difference between the three models is located in the first part of the
transformation. Concerning the model of Leblond, we can see a jump of the stress at the all
beginning of the transformation. It is due to the introduction of a threshold value (Z=0.03).
As consequence of this discontinuity one can observe the absence of compressive stress
during the transformation. Leblonds model modified by Taleb and Sidoroff [Taleb &
Sidoroff, 2003] leads to no discontinuity; moreover the stress evolves from tension to
compression during the transformation. Finally, concerning the model of Desalos-LeblondGiusti, the prediction is quite similar to the one obtained with LTS model.
3.5
Influence of the kinetics
In this part, our objective is to compare the predictions of residual stresses considering to
transformation kinetics represented by the function Z(T). Two expressions of this function
have been tested, the first one is deducted from a dilatometric test (Zreal) and the second one
is a linear approximation of the first (Zlinear).
The results given in Fig. 5 and 6 show that the prediction using the kinetics Zlinear
underestimates residual stress whatever the approach used for the classical plasticity
evaluation. This is due to the fact that the compression zone appears later in the case of
Zlinear (Beginning at 400C instead of 550C). Moreover, with Zlinear we obtain almost the
same values of residual stresses for both Leblond and classical approaches evaluating
classical plasticity. The difference is significant for the simulations with Zreal.
These results can be explained considering the evolution of TRIP given in Fig. 5. In fact, one
can note that TRIP is higher in the case of Zlinear, the relaxation of the stress is then more
important.
305
1000
Zreal
Sigma (MPa)
800
Zlinear
Epstp-linear
600
400
200
Epstp-real
0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
-200
T(C)
Fig. 5. Evolution of the stress (in bold) and the TRIP *400000 (Epstp-real and Epstp-linear)
considering two transformation kinetics Zreal and Zlinear in the case of a classical approach
evaluating classical plasticity
900
800
700
Sig (Mpa).
600
Zreal
500
400
300
200
100
Zlinear
0
-100 0
200
400
600
800
1000
-200
Fig. 6. Evolution of the stress considering two transformation kinetics Zreal and Zlinear in the case of
Leblonds approach for the classical plasticity prediction
3.6
Influence of the recovery phenomenon
No significant effect of the recovery phenomenon has been observed, the difference does not
exceed about five MPa between the approach assuming total recovery and the one neglecting
this phenomenon.
Conclusion
In this paper, several models have been considered in order to simulate the phenomena
encountered when solid-solid phase changes take place. Our main objective is to see the role
played by the choice of such or such model in place of another model to describe a given
phenomenon. The results show that this role is not the same and depends on the phenomenon
under question.
First, it is observed that the choice of the rule used to calculate the global yield stress (of
mixture austenite-bainite) doesnt play a significant role as the difference between the
simulation with a linear mixture rule and the ones using non linear mixture rules is of the
order of 1% or 2%. The same may be concluded about the role of the strain hardening
phenomenon.
306
The assessment of classical plasticity during the transformation has been performed using
two approaches: a classical one in which the plasticity occurs when the global equivalent
stress reaches the global yield stress and the approach proposed by Leblond where the
plasticity takes place during the transformation even in the absence of applied stress. It is
observed that in the case of Leblonds approach, the predicted residual stress is higher, the
difference is quite important as it is of the order of 160 MPa (about 20%).
Moreover, this paper shows the importance of the role played by the TRIP phenomenon, it
cannot be neglected in the simulations. Concerning the modelling of H pt , we remark that the
results obtained with the model of Leblond modified by Taleb and Sidoroff don't show any
singularity, contrary to the model of Leblond. However, the difference noted between the
modified model of Leblond and the model of Desalos-Leblond-Giusti is quite small.
Finally, the importance of the kinetics can be pointed out. The evolution of TRIP depends
strongly on the accuracy in the representation of the function Z(T) that has an essential role
on the prediction of residual stress.
References
Devaux, J.: Comportement plastique des aciers en cours de transformations de phase. Etude numrique des lois
de mlange et de la plasticit de transformation. Rapport SYSTUS International LDEW98/235, 1998.
Desalos, Y.: Comportement dilatomtrique et mcanique de laustnite mtastable dun acier A 533. IRSID
Report n95 34 94 01 MET 44, 1981.
Dupas, P.; Waeckel, F.: Recueil bibliographique de caractristiques thermomcaniques pour l'acier de cuve, les
revtements inoxydables et les alliages 182 et 600. Rapport EDF/DER HI-74/93/097, HT-26/93/058/A,
1994.
Grostabussiat, S.: Consquences Mcaniques des Transformations Structurales dans les Alliages Ferreux.
Thse de doctorat, INSA Lyon, France, 2000.
Grostabussiat, S.; Taleb, L.: Etude du comportement mcanique des aciers en cours de transformations
mtallurgiques. Rsultats des essais base de donnes concernant les mlanges bainitiques et
martensitiques. Contrat EDF/DER, 174/IJ6549/IMA277, 12/1997, 1997.
Leblond, J.B.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels - II. Coupling with strain
hardening phenomena. Int. J. Of Plasticity, Vol 5, pp. 573-591, 1989.
Leblond, J.B.; Devaux, J.; Devaux, J.C.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels - I. Case
of ideal plastic phases. Int. J. Of Plasticity, Vol 5, pp. 551-572, 1989.
Leblond, J.B.; Mottet, G.; Devaux, J.C.: A theoretical and numerical approach to the plastic behaviour of steels
during phase transformations. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, Vol 34, No 4, pp. 395-409 and pp. 411-432, 1986.
Taleb, L.: Sur le comportement thermomcanique des matriaux et des structures mtalliques. HDR, INSA de
Lyon, 1999.
Taleb, L.: Interprtations d'essais sur les consquences mcaniques des transformations structurales dans l'acier
16MND5. Rapport EDF/DRD I74/D28365, 2001.
Satoh, K.: Transient Thermal Stresses of Weld Heat-Affected Zone by Both-Ends-Fixed Bar Analogy.
Transactions of the Japan Welding Society, Vol 3, N 1, pp. 125-134, 1972.
Taleb, L.; Sidoroff, F.: A micromechanical modelling of the Greenwood-Johnson mechanism in transformation
induced plasticity. Int. J. of Plasticity, Vol 19, pp. 1821-1842, 2004.
Taleb, L.; Grostabussiat, S.; Jullien, J.F.: Experimental Results on Classical Plasticity of Steels Subjected to
Structural Transformations. Int. J. of Plasticity, Vol 20, pp. 1371-1386, 2004.
Taleb, L.; Cavallo, N.; Waeckel, F.Taleb, L.; Grostabussiat, S.; Jullien, J.F.: Experimental Analysis of
Transformation Plasticity. Int. J. of Plasticity, Vol 17, pp. 1-20, 2001.
307
Validation of Material Property Data for

Quenching Simulation by End-quench Test and
Its Simulation
Michiharu Narazaki1, Minoru Kogawara1, Atsushi Shirayori1, Sadakatsu Fuchizawa1
1
Utsunomiya University, Yoto, Utsunomiya,321-8585, Tochigi, Japan,

{narazaki,kogawara,shira,fuchizaw}@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp
Abstract
The accuracy of the quenching simulations of the steel parts greatly depends on the accuracy of the values of material
properties of the steel material used for the simulation. Therefore, we need a validation method for material property
data. Generally, the simulation of the quench test of a steel specimen with a simple shape (bar, disk, etc.) is useful for
the validation of the accuracy of these data. In addition, the accurate heat transfer coefficients on the surfaces of
specimen during the quenching must be known. The FEM simulation and the experiment of the end-quenching were
executed by using several steel specimens of the same size (25mm diameter by 100mm long) as the Jominy
specimen. The cooling curves, the hardness distribution, and the distortion were measured and compared with the
simulation results. It was confirmed that the simulation of the end-quench test is useful for the validation of the
accuracy of material property data employed for the quenching simulation, because the cooling during endquenching is very simple.
Keywords
quenching simulation, end-quench test, material property data
Introduction
The simulation of the Jominy end-quench is useful for the validation of the accuracy of these
data, because of its simple shape of the specimen and simple cooling method. We estimated the
heat transfer coefficient on the water-cooled end surface during the end-quenching of a steel
cylinder. The cooling curves were measured during water-cooling of the lower end of the
specimens of the same size (25mm diameter by 100mm long) as the Jominy specimen. A
stainless steel (18%Cr-8%Ni steel, JIS SUS304) specimen was used for the estimation of the
heat transfer coefficient in order to avoid the influence of the transformation latent heat. An
inverse method was used for the estimation of the heat transfer coefficient on the water-cooled
lower end surface. The coefficient on the air-cooled surfaces (the side and upper end surfaces)
was estimated by using a lumped-heat-capacity method from the air-cooling curve data of the
specimen.
Moreover, the FEM simulation and the experiment of the end-quenching were executed by using
chromium steel (JIS- SCr420H) specimen as an example of verifying. The accuracy of the
quenching simulations of the steel parts greatly depends on the accuracy of the values of material
properties of the steel material used for the simulation. The simulation software GRANTAS was
used in this study. Some of the material data was quoted from the database MATEQ (MATErial
database for Quenching), accumulated by the Subcommittee of Material Database, JSMS [Inoue,
2000]. Other data were collected from literatures or measured by experiments which were
carried out by Japanese consortium for the IMS project VHT (Virtual heat treatment tool for
monitoring and optimising HT process). In order to validate the accuracy of these material data,
the FEM simulation and the experiment of the end-quenching were executed by using several
steel specimens of the same size (25mm diameter by 100mm long) as the Jominy specimen. The
cooling curves, the hardness distribution, and the distortion were measured and compared with
the simulation results.
308
Jominy End-quench Test
2.1
Test specimen
Figure 1 show the detail of end-quenching condition for Jominy test (JIS G 0561), the shape and
dimensions of specimens, and the positions of thermocouples for the measuring of the cooling
curves. Steel cylinder specimens of the same size (25mm in the diameter and 100mm in height)
as the Jominy end-quench test specimen. In order to estimate the surface heat transfer
coefficients, the measurement of the cooling curves at the several positions were measured
during the air-cooling and the end-quenching. The sheath thermocouples of 1.6mm in the outside
diameter were inserted in the hole of the diameter 1.7mm to the center axis horizontally. These
are made at the position at 1.8mm, 5mm, 10mm, 25mm, and 50mm from the lower end.
A Stainless steel (18%Cr-8%Ni steel, JIS SUS304) specimen was used for the estimation of the
heat transfer coefficients to avoid the influence of the transformation latent heat. A chromium
steel and a carbon steel were used for the comparison of experimental result and simulated result
of end-quenching. Table 1 shows the chemical composition of the steel specimen used in this
study.
12
25
M5 0.5
12.5 0.5
65 10
100
100
25
12.5 0.5
Water spray
with specimen
Figure 1: End-quenching test condition, specimen shape and size, and positions of thermocouples
Steels
Mn
Cu
Ni
Cr
Mo
0.32
8.29
18.26
0.04
0.21
0.08
1.14
0.03
0.05
SUS304
Si
0.068 0.51
1.19
0.021
0.033
SCr420H
0.21
0.19
0.77
0.017
0.013
S45C
0.44
0.20
0.77
0.015
0.024
0.01
Table 1: Chemical compositions of steel specimen, (mass%).
2.2
Test apparatus and procedure
End-quenching of specimen was done by the jet flow water of 30 C after heating up to 860 C in
an electric furnace, and the cooling curves were detected by metallic sheathed thermocouples
attached to the specimen. Figure 2 shows the outline of the experimental apparatus for endquench test. As shown in Figure 1, the height of jet flow water is 6510mm when there is no
specimen over the jet nozzle, and the position of the lower end of specimen is 12.50.5mm from
the upper end of the jet nozzle.
309
Figure 2: End-quenching test apparatus
2.3
Measured Cooling curves
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the cooling curves of the end-quenched and air-cooled SUS304
specimen, respectively. The air-cooling curves are almost similar despite of the different
positions in the specimen. Therefore, we can use the lumped-heat-capacity method to estimate
the heat transfer coefficient on air-cooled surface. On the other hand, end-quenched cooling
curves largely depend on the distance from the lower end of specimen. We employed the inverse
method in order to estimate the heat transfer coefficient on the lower end surface.
Figure 3: Cooling curves of end-quenched

SUS304 specimen
3
3.1
Figure 4: Cooling curves of air-cooled

SUS304 specimen
Techniques for Estimation of Heat Transfer Coefficient

Lumped-heat-capacity Method
The lumped- heat-capacity method can be used if we can justify an assumption of uniform
specimen temperature during the cooling process [Holman, 1976] [Narazaki, 1997]. The heat
transfer coefficient on the air-cooled surfaces (the side and upper end surfaces) was estimated by
using the lumped-heat-capacity method from the air-cooling curve data of the SUS304 stainless
steel specimen.
310
If the specimen temperature is uniform, the heat loss from the specimen Q is equal to the
decrease in the internal energy of the specimen. Thus
(1)
Q=hA(Tp Tl)= cUV(dTp /dt)
where h is the heat transfer coefficient on the specimen surface, A the surface area of the
specimen, Tp the specimen temperature, Tl the quenchant temperature, c the specific heat of the
specimen material, U the specific density of the specimen material, V the volume of the specimen,
and t time. So, dTp /dt is the cooling rate of the specimen.
If the quenchant temperature around the specimen Tl is uniform, the next relation is derived from
Eq.1.
q=h(TpTl)= ( cUV/A)(dTp/dt)
where q is the heat flux on the specimen surface.
(2)
Here, specimen weight UV is constant, but c and A change with specimen temperature. However,
we can ignore the minimal change of the surface area of the specimen A. Consequently, we
consider only the temperature dependence of the specific heat c. Eq.2 then becomes as follows.
(3)
q=h(TpTl)= c (Tp)(UV/A)(dTp/dt)
where c (Tp) is the specific heat as a function of specimen temperature Tp.
Thus, the heat flux q and/or the heat transfer coefficient h can be directly calculated from the
cooling rate dTp/dt. Therefore, the preciseness of q and h values depends on the accuracy of the
cooling rate calculated from measured cooling curve data. In order to avoid the effect of the
noise in the measured cooling curve, our lumped-heat-capacity program LUMPPROB is using
a polynomial curve fitting method with the least-squares method for data smoothing and the
estimation of derivative of cooling curves [Narazaki, 1997] [Narazaki, 1998][Narazaki, 1999].
3.2
Inverse Method
The numerical inverse methods need some techniques that decrease the instabilities in the
solution and the excessive sensitivity to measurement errors and noise. The accuracy of the
solutions obtained by the numerical inverse methods is not guaranteed, because it greatly
depends on various conditions in a numerical calculation, for instance: time step, spatial step size,
the magnitude of noise and error in measured data, etc. Furthermore, the accuracy is not achieved
for all cooling stages in quenching, unless these conditions are appropriately set for each stage.
We developed a computer program Jominy-Inv as the improved version of InvProbe-2D,
which used both a lumped-heat-capacity method and a 2-dimensional inverse method with the
least residual method [Narazaki, 1998][Narazaki, 1999]. The detail of calculation procedure by
Jominy-Inv was reported in the reference [Narazaki, 2003].
Estimated Heat Transfer Coefficients
Figure 6 shows the estimated heat transfer coefficients. Temperature dependence of the heat
transfer coefficient on the end-quenched surface has a similarity to that during the still water
quenching. But, the values of the coefficients on the end-quenched surface are largely higher
than that during still water quenching. This arises from the high flow velocity of water jet in endquench test. We confirmed that the flow velocity of the water jet is approximately 1.1m/s that
was estimated by measured flow volume (approximately 8L/min) and the dimension of nozzle
(I.D. 12.5mm). The heat transfer coefficients in vapor blanket phase (in the higher temperature
region) and convection-cooling phase (in the lower temperature region) are markedly elevated by
the forced convection of jet water flow.
311
z
12.5
ha ir
h a ir
10
h a ir
h wa t er
(Lower end)
Elements 810
Nodes
880
0
h wa t er
Figure 5: FDM model for Jominy-Inv and FEM model
Figure 6: Estimated heat transfer coefficients
for quenching simulation with "GRANTAS"
The air-cooling heat transfer coefficient shows the simple temperature dependence. The
coefficient increases with the specimen surface temperature because of the increase of the heat
transfer by natural convection and the heat emission by radiation in the higher temperature
region.
5
5.1
Quenching Simulation of End-quenching Process of Steel Bars

Cooling Curves during End-quenching
Figure 7 shows the calculated cooling curves of S45C carbon steel specimen and SCr420H
chromium steel specimen by using the heat transfer coefficients in Figure 6 as thermal boundary
conditions of the FEM model. These curves are compared with the measured cooling curves
during end-quenching of the steel cylinders. These calculated curves are in reasonable agreement
with the measured cooling curves, in spite of the difference of the material. However, the
disagreement of the cooling curves of S45C steel specimen in low temperature region increases
especially in the long distances from the lower end. The calculated cooling is faster than
experimental result at the positions of 25mm or 50mm from the lower end. It is presumed that
such a tendency would be caused by the difference in the real values of thermal properties in the
lower temperature region and those used in FEM simulations.
312
a) Cooling curves of S45C steel specimen
b) Cooling curves of SCr420H steel specimen
Figure 6: Comparison of measured and simulated cooling curves with heat treatment simulation software
"GRANTAS".
5.2
Hardness and Microstructures after End-quenching
Figure 7 shows the phase transformation data of SCr420H used for simulation. These data are
made from the time-temperature diagram data of a literature [Vander Voort, 1991], and modified
by matching the critical cooling rate Cb for bainite by using the following equation [Kunitake,
1969],
logCb=3.274(%C)+0.046(%Si)+0.626(%Mn)+0.706(%Cr)+0.520(%Mo)+0.026(%Ni)
+0.675(%Cu)-1.818
Figure 8 shows the calculated distributions of hardness and microstructures of SCr420H
chromium steel specimen after end-quenching. These results are compared with the measured
hardness distribution of three specimens. The calculated hardness distribution is in reasonable
agreement with the measured hardness distribution. The calculated result for microstructures is
also consistent with these hardness distributions.
Figure 7: Phase transformation characteristics of SCr420H used for simulation

with heat treatment simulation software "GRANTAS".
1
Bainite
Hardness HRC
50
SCr420H
Martensite
40
0.8
0.6
Felite
30
Pearlite
20
Calculated HRC
10
Measured HRC
20
40
60
80
Distance from quenched end (mm)
0.4
0.2
0
100
Volume fraction of microstracture
60
313
Figure 8: Distribution of hardness HRC and volume fraction of microstructures after end-quenching of
SCr420H specimen, simulated with heat treatment simulation software "GRANTAS".
5.3
Distortion
Figure 9 shows the average values of the change of radius of three SCr420H steel bar specimens
and the simulated values. The portion near the quenched end contains much martensite as shown
in Figure 8 and its radius increased. On the other hand, the decrease of the radius was observed
in the portion that contains much bainite.
The calculated radius change in the upper portion than 30mm is in reasonable agreement with the
measured change. However, we confirmed that the calculated radius change in the lower portion
largely depends on the material property data, especially transformation plasticity coefficients.
Figure 9a) shows that Km (transformation plasticity coefficient from austenite to martensite)
strongly affects the radius change near the quenched end. Figure 9b) shows that Kb
(transformation plasticity coefficient from austenite to bainite) affects the radius change of the
portion that contains much bainite.
0.04
0.04
Experim ent (a
Km =2.5E-5/M Pa,Kb=8.5E-5/M Pa
0.03
C hange ofradius (m m )
C hange ofradius (m m )
Experim ent (a
0.02
Km =10.0E-5/M Pa,Kb=8.5E-5/M Pa
Km =12.5E-5/M Pa,Kb=8.5E-5/M Pa
0.01
0
-0.01
0.03
0.02
Km =7.4E-5/M Pa,Kb=11.0E-5/M Pa
Km =7.4E-5/M Pa,Kb= 3.5E-5/M Pa
0.01
0
-0.01
-0.02
-0.02
0
20
40
60
80
Distance from lowerend (m m )
a) Effect of TP coefficient Km
100
20
40
60
80
Distance from lowerend (m m )
100
b) Effect of TP coefficient Kb
Figure 9: Radius change of SCr420H steel bar and the simulated results with heat treatment simulation
software "GRANTAS" (Km : transformation plasticity coefficient from austenite to martensite, Kb :
transformation plasticity coefficient from austenite to bainite )
It is relatively easy to perform the end-quenching and the measurement of the radius of steel bar.
In addition, the simulation of end-quenching also is simple. Therefore, the comparison between
the simulated and measured the radius of a steel cylinder after Jominy end-quenching, as
314
discussed in the above example, is useful for validation or refining of the material properties data
for simulation of quenching process of steel parts made from the same steel material.
Summary and Conclusion
We estimated and evaluated the heat transfer coefficients in Jominy end-quench test by using the
cooling curve data of the SUS304 stainless steel specimen. The lumped-heat-capacity method
was used for estimation of the heat transfer coefficient on the air-cooled surfaces. The inverse
method was used for the estimation of the heat transfer coefficient on the water-cooled end
surface. By using these heat transfer coefficients as the thermal boundary condition, the
simulation of end-quenching process of a steel bar was conducted, and its result was compared
with the experimental result. From these results, we obtained the following useful conclusions:
1)
The validity of thermal properties of the steel can be evaluated by comparison between
the measured cooling curves and the simulated cooling curves of end-quenched steel
cylinders.
2)
The validity of phase transformation properties of the steel can be evaluated by
comparison between the measured hardness and the simulated hardness or microstructure of
steel cylinders after end-quenching.
3)
The comparison between the simulated and measured the radius of steel cylinders after
end-quenching is useful for validation or refining of the material properties data
Acknowledgments
A part of this research was carried out by Japanese consortium for the IMS project VHT (Virtual heat treatment tool
for monitoring and optimising HT process). Special thanks are for IMS Japan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and industries, Japan, for sponsoring this project.
The authors would like to express their appreciation to KOMATSU Ltd. and QUALICA Inc. for their cooperation
with the numerical simulation by FEM software "GRANTAS".
References
Inoue, Tatsuo;.Okamura Kazuo: Material database for simulation of metallo-thermo-mechanical fields, Proceedings
of 5th International Symposium on Quenching and Distortion Control, ASM, St Louis, 2000, pp.753-760.
Holman, Jack Phillip: Heat Transfer. McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Tokyo, 1976, pp.97-98.
Narazaki, Michiharu; Kogawara, Minoru; Shirayori, Atsushi; Fuchizawa, Sadakatsu: Analysis of quenching
processes using lumped-heat-capacity method. In: Proceedings of the 6th international seminar of IFHT, 1997,
Kyongju, Korea, pp.428~435.
Narazaki, Michiharu; Kogawara, Minoru; Shirayori, Atsushi; Fuchizawa, Sadakatsu: Accuracy of Evaluation
Methods for Heat Transfer Coefficients in Quenching. Proc. 18th Heat Treating Conference, ASM
International, 1998, pp.509-517.
Narazaki, Michiharu; Hiratsuka, Hiroaki; Shirayori, Atsushi; Fuchizawa, Sadakatsu: Examination of Methods for
Obtaining Heat Transfer Coefficients by Quenching Small Probes. In: Proceeding of the Asian Conf. on Heat
Treatment of Materials, 1998, Beijing, China, pp. 269-274
Narazaki, Michiharu: Evaluation Methods for Heat Transfer Coefficient in Quenching. In: Proceedings of the 7th
international seminar of IFHT, 1999, Budapest, Hungary, pp.207-216.
Narazaki, Michiharu; Kogawara, Minoru, Shirayori, Atsushi; Fuchizawa, Sadakatsu: Evaluation of Heat Transfer
Coefficient in Jominy End-quench Test. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Quenching
and Control of Distortion, 2003, Beijing, China, pp.97-105
Vander Voort, George F.: Atlas of time-temperature diagrams for irons and steels, ASM Internatioal, 1991.
Kunitake, T; Ohtani, H.; Calculating the Continuous Cooling Transformation Characteristics of Steel from Its
Chemical Compositon. Sumitomo Search, 1969, (2), Nov.,pp.18-21.
315
Modelling of steel phenomena

and its interactions an internal-variable approach
Michael Wolff1, Michael Bhm1, Alfred Schmidt1
1
Zentrum fr Technomathematik,Fachbereich 3,University of Bremen,D-28334 Bremen, Germany,

{mwolff, mbohm, schmidt}@math.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
Stress- and strain-dependent phase transformations (PT), transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and its interaction
with classical plasticity (CP) are important phenomena in the material behaviour of steel, and they may cause
distortion of work-pieces. These phenomena are intensively studied in experiments and their modelling is a current
field of investigations. A complex model of material behaviour for simulation and distortion controlling must include
the models of relevant phenomena. It is the aim of the current paper to contribute to the formulation of such a model.
We use internal variables for describing special effects in the material behaviour in the context of macroscopic
continuum mechanics and include them in the thermodynamically consistent modelling.
Keywords
Steel, material behaviour, TRIP, interaction with classical plasticity, internal variables
Introduction
This note is a continuation of [Wolff, 2005b], where the authors have developed a macroscopic
model of the material behaviour of steel including phenomena like transformation-induced
plasticity (TRIP), stress-dependent phase transformation (PT) and the possible interaction of
classical plasticity (CP) and TRIP. Furthermore, thermodynamic consistency was proved under
appropriate conditions. Our investigations are motivated by the following aspects
x
Steel phenomena like PT and TRIP may cause distortion of workpieces. Thus,
controlling of distortion in production processes requires improved models of material
behaviour. Because of discrepancies between experiment and modelling there is a need
for extended models (see further on).
x
The simulation of real situations, heat treatment, e.g., needs a sufficiently complex
mathematical model which includes the relevant effects of material behaviour.
Furthermore, this model should be thermodynamically consistent.
x
For practical reasons such a model should be as simple as possible. Therefore, it is

important to find out the relevance of the observed aspects in material behaviour.
Continuing the studies in [Wolff, 2005b], we want to contribute to the formulation of a model of
material behaviour as described before. In particular we show that important effects of the above
mentioned phenomena can be included in this general model by means of internal variables. For
a satisfactory modelling of the complex behaviour of steel it is necessary to study single
phenomena in more or less isolated situations in order to find the basic relations (cf. [Ahrens,
2003], [Denis, 2002], [Shi, 2004], [Taleb, 2004], [Videau, 1996], [Wolff, 2004, 2005c], e.g.).
After this, it is necessary to find proposals for the free energy and for the evolution equations
ruling the internal variables. These proposals are motivated by experiments and / or theoretical
316
considerations at the micro-, meso- and macro scale (cf. [Helm, 1998], e.g.). Finally, the models
obtained have to be evaluated in experiments under complex conditions.
We note, that some aspects like TRIP under varying loads (cf. [Ahrens, 2003], [Wolff, 2004,
2005c]), influence of plastic deformation before PT (cf. [Ahrens, 2003], [Taleb, 2004]) and
stress-dependent PT (cf. [Shi, 2004]) are intensively investigated. There are open problems in
modelling, too [Taleb, 2004]. For material behaviour of steel, modelling and simulation in
general we refer to [Lemaitre, 2001], e.g. In this paper we focus on macroscopic modelling. For
approaches of dealing with some of these phenomena at the meso scale we refer to [Leblond,
1989], [Fischer, 1997], [Taleb, 2003], [Schmidt, 2005], e.g. We restrict ourselves to small
deformations. This assumption seems to be justified in the case of heat treatment of workpieces
without additional input of mechanical energy as in rolling or forging, e.g.
The continuum mechanical framework
In macroscopic modelling steel is considered as a coexisting mixture of its phases which are
regarded as constituents. In this framework entities like strain tensor H, stress tensor S,
temperature T or phase fractions pi (i = 1, , m) may be regarded as averages of the
corresponding quantities in the representative volume elements, i.e., on the mesoscale (cf.
[Patoor, 1997], [Fischer, 1997] e.g.). For these macroscopic values we have the balance
equations and the Clausius-Duhem inequality as in [Wolff, 2005b]. Furthermore we assume
carbon to be macroscopically homogeneously distributed and note, that the PT kinetics and some
mechanical properties essentially depend on the carbon concentration (cf. [Ahrens, 2003], e.g.).
In the framework of small deformations we decompose H in accordance with
H = Hte + Htrip + Hcp,
(1)
where Hte thermoelastic strain (including isotropic strain due to volume changes caused by
phase transformations), Htrip (non-isotropic) strain due to TRIP, Hcp strain due to CP. We
regard steel as a thermoelasto-plastic body with PT and use the concept of internal variables. As
in [Wolff, 2005b] we chose the following ansatz for the free energy \, for the stress tensor S, for
the entropy K and for the heat-flow vector q:
~
~ , S, K
~, ~
\, S, K, q = \
q(Hte, Hcp, Htrip, T, T, scp, strip, [, p).
(2)
The accumulated CP and TRIP strains are defined by (with suppressed dependence on x)
t
2
scp(t) :=
( 3 Hcp(W) : Hcp(W) ) dW,
2
strip(t) :=
( 3 Htrip(W) : Htrip(W) ) dW.
(3)
The (partial) time derivative is abbreviated by . In (2) the [ = ([1, , [n) ([j - scalars or
tensors) consists of additional internal variables (besides Hcp, Htrip, scp, strip) connected with special
effects in PT, CP and TRIP (see below). The phase fractions p = (p1, , pm) are also considered
as internal variables. As constitutive assumptions, the internal variables are supposed to fulfill
the evolution equations
Hcp = ~H cp(S, Hcp, Htrip, T, [, [, p),
(4)
Htrip = ~H trip(S, Hcp, Htrip, T, [, [, p, p),
(5)
[ = [(S, Hcp, Htrip, Hcp, Htrip, T, [, p),

p = ~
p(S, T, [, [, p)
with suitable initial conditions. Furthermore, we have a constraint by a yield function F:
(6)
(7)
317
F(S, [, p, T, F) d 0,
and the evolution of the classical plastic strain (4) must be in accordance with
(8)
F(S, [, p, T, F) = 0,
(9)
where F are thermodynamic forces associated with the internal variables. Modelling of material
~ and the
behaviour in a thermodynamically consistent way means, that the free energy function \
evolution equations must be chosen in such a way that the dissipation inequality is fulfilled, and,
on the other hand, that the obtained model describes sufficiently well the reality (cf. [Wolff,
2005b] for details in the context of this paper and [Helm, 2003] in the context of shape memory
~ depends only on the internal variables H , H ,
alloys). Here we assume that the free energy \
cp
trip
scp, strip and p. This implies that the same dissipation inequality as in [Wolff, 2005b] holds.
3
3.1
Description of some effects of material behaviour by internal variables

Stress- and strain dependence on PT
We show how a special PT law can be included in the general PT equation (7) after some
modifications: To this end let us consider a diffusion-controlled PT, for instance from austenite
(labelled by 1) into pearlite (labelled by 2). We focus on the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami
differential equation in the autonomous form
1
_
_
n(T(x, t))
1p2(x, t) = (p2(T(x, t)) p2(x, t)) W (T(x, t)) [ - ln(1 p2(x, t) p2(T(x, t))-1 )] n(T(x, t))
(10)
It is well-known, that (10) does not describe the PT sufficiently well in the case of varying
temperature T (s. [Bhm, 2003] for details and discussions, [Bhm, 2004] for evaluations based
on data). In (10) the notations are: p2 - fraction of the forming phase, W, n - positive temperature_
_
depending material parameters, p2 - temperature-dependent equilibrium value of p2 (p2 = 1 for
complete transformations). For the sake of simplicity the spatial coordinate x is suppressed in the
sequel. There are several proposals for modifications of (10) in order to get a better description
of the reality. One of them is the introduction of a multiplicative correction of the right-hand side
of (10) by a factor
f(T, T)
f(T, 0) = 1,
with
(11)
taking the cooling velocity T into account [Hunkel, 1999], [SYSWELD, 2000]. The practical
problem consists in finding f (cf. [Hunkel, 1999], [Bhm, 2004]). Another way to modify the
JMA differential equation (10) consists in taking the temperature history into account. Therefore,
we substitute the current temperature T(t) in (10) by a weighted mean value
t
[T(t) := D(1 e-Dt )-1

T(s) e-D(t s) ds for t > 0,
[T(0) = T(0)
(12)
with D > 0 to be found by experiments (cf. [Bhm, 2003], [Dachkovski, 2003]). Hence, we
obtain the following equation
1
_
_
n([T(t))
1p2(t) = (p2(T(t)) p2(t)) W ([ (t)) [ - ln(1 p2(t) p2(T(t))-1 )] n([T(t)).
T
(13)
First results show that the model (12), (13) gives a better description for PT under varying
temperature than the JMA model (10) without any correction (cf. [Dachkovski, 2003]). We
consider [T as an internal variable belonging to [ in (2). It is well-known, that PT may only occur
318
_
for Tstart d T d Tfinish. Moreover, the current value of p2 is not greater than p2(T). Completing (13),
we obtain:
1
_
_
n([T(t))
1p(t) = max{p2(T(t)) p2(t), 0} W ([ (t)) [ - ln(1 p2(t) p2(T(t))-1 ) ] n([T(t))
T
(14)
H(T2start T(t)) H(T(t) - T2finish),

where T2start and T2finish (shorter T2s, T2f) are the start and finish temperatures of the forming phase,
respectively, and H is the Heaviside function defined by
H(s) := 1
for s > 0
and
H(s) := 0
for s d 0.
(15)
Besides the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation with its extensions, there are some other approaches
for modelling PT under varying temperature based on the Scheil rule (cf. [Cahn, 1956], e.g.) or
on discretization (cf. [Hougardy, 1986], e.g.). Unfortunately, here is no place to go into details.
Thus, we refer to the survey [Bhm, 2003] and the references cited therin.
Up to this moment we have only considered PT without (external) load and without any a-priori
plastic deformation of the austenite. Experiments show (cf. [Ahrens, 2003]), that uniaxial tension
and pressure accelerate the PT, whereas hydrostatic pressure leads to a delay. This phenomenon
can be described by using the von Mises stress VV(S) and the mean (principal) value Vm(S),
defined by
1
Vv(S) := ( 2 Sij* Sij*)2 ,
Vm(S) := 3 tr(S),
(16)
where S* := S - 3 tr(S) I is the deviator of S, and I is the unity tensor. In [Dalgic, 2004] one can
find values for n and W for some constant temperatures and loads during perlitic and bainitic PT.
In [Shi, 2004] and [Wolff, 2005a] proposals for modelling of stress-dependent PT are given.
_
Moreover, the start and finish temperatures as well as p2 may depend on stress. Therefore, the
_
entities n, W, p2, T2s and T2f generally depend on VV(S) and Vm(S), or possibly on their time
histories. Experiments must decide, if there are possible simplifications, we refer to [Wolff,
2005a] for strategies in experimental validation. A (classical) plastic deformation of the austenite
accelerates the following PT in the absence of any stress, where a deformation caused by
uniaxial tension shows a bigger effect as by uniaxial pressure [Ahrens, 2003]. This behaviour is
referred to as strain-dependent PT. Its modelling requires additional internal variables. We
introduce the classical plastic strain of austenite and its correspondent accumulated strain by
t
(1)
Hcp (t) :=
Hcp(W) p1(W) dW,
0
(1)
scp (t) :=
( 3 Hcp(W) : Hcp(W) )2 p1(W) dW,
(17)
where the index 1 stands for the mother phase, here austenite. Similarly as in (16) we can define
(1)
a mean principal value of Hcp (t)
(1)
(1)
Hm(Hcp (t)) := 3 tr(Hcp (t))
(18)
in order to take the direction of the plastic strain in austenite into account. Again, experiments
_
must show, which of n, W, p2, T2s and T2f essentially depend on the variables in (17), (18).
Finally, let us deal with the modelling of multi-phase systems. We refer to [Bhm, 2003] for
discussion and references to many authors. In order to model a multi-phase system we rewrite
the equation (14) in the form
319
p2(t) = (1 p2(t)) J2,
(19)
where the relative production rate J2 (for pearlite) is defined as
J2 :=
_
_ -1 1 - n1
max{p2 p(t), 0} n
[
ln(1
p(t)
p
2) ) ]
W
1 - p2(t)
H(T2s T(t)) H(T(t) - T2e)
J2 := 0
(20)
for p2(t) < 1,
for p2(t) = 1,
_
where parameters n, W, p2, T2s and T2f as above. For two phases we have p1(t) = 1 - p2(t). Taking a
possible decomposition of pearlite into austenite into account, we get
p2(t) = p1(t) J2 - E2 p2(t),
(21)
where E2 t 0 is the relative production rate for austenite formed from pearlite. Now we obtain PT
equations for a system of m t 2 phases for the case, that all non-austenite phases (with the index
i t 2) dissolute into austenite:
m
p1(t) = - p1(t) Ji + Ei pi(t)

i=2
(22)
i=2
pi(t) = p1(t) Ji - Ei pi(t)
for i = 2, ..., m,
(23)
where the relative composition and decomposition rates Ji and Ei generally depend on T, [T,
(i)
(i)
(i)
VV(S), Vm(S), Hcp (or, more detailed Hm(Hcp(t)) ), scp (with i = 1, , m, according to (17), (18)) and
possible further internal variables for modelling the remaining PT.
Clearly, the system (22), (23) is a special case of (7), and it is compatible with the balance
equation of the phase fractions (cf. [Wolff, 2005b]). Furthermore, the specific material properties
of steel lead to an additional property. Austenite can only form, if the temperature T is higher
than its start temperature T1s. Each other (ferritic) phase can only form, if the temperature T is
lower than its start temperature Tis, i = 2, , m, where
Tis < T1s.
(24)
Therefore, we have the following conditions:
T < Tis
:
Ji t 0,
Ei = 0,
(25)
Tis d T < T1s
:
Ji = 0,
Ei = 0,
T > T1s
:
Ji = 0,
Ei t 0.
The temperatures Tis (i = 1, m) may depend on the same variables as the Ji and Ei. These last
conditions are important for thermodynamic consistency (cf. [Wolff, 2005b]).
We remark, that the time derivative T of the temperature in PT laws (cf. (11) or the KoistinenMarburger differential equation) must be substituted by approximations in order to obtain models
in the above framework (2), (4) (7). Thereby arise additional internal variables.
3.2
TRIP with back stress, interaction with CP
We assume an evolution equation for the TRIP strain which is an extension and a modification
of the well-known model due to Franitza / Mitter / Leblond (cf. [Fischer, 1996], [Fischer, 2000],
[Lemaitre, 2001] and the literature cited in [Wolff, 2005b], e.g.)
3
wIi
Htrip = 2 (S* Xtrip*) Ni wp (pi) max{ pi, 0},

i=1
(26)
320
where Ni and Ii are the Greenwood-Johnson parameter and the saturation function of the ith
phase, respectively, fulfilling for all i = 1, , m
Ni t 0,
I(0) = 0,
wIi
wp (p) t 0
I(1) = 1,
for all 0 < p < 1.
(27)
The formula (26) takes only the growth of a phase fraction into account. This seems to be
practicable because the decrease of one phase is compensated by the growth of (at least) one
another. An observed influence on TRIP by classical plastic deformation may be taken into
account via the TRIP back stress Xtrip and via Ni. Motivated by [Videau, 1995], we assume the
following
Xtrip := ctrip Htrip + cint Hcp,
(28)
(29)
Xcp := ccp(T, p) Hcp + cint(T, p) Htrip,
where the non-negative parameters ctrip , ccp and cint (int stands for interaction of CP and TRIP)
may depend on T, pi and possible other variables. Compared with [Wolff, 2005b] the ansatz in
(28), (29) is slightly extended. For the free energy being non negative, we assume
2
cint < ccp ctrip
for all possible arguments.
(30)
In the absense of TRIP (29) reduces to normal kinematic hardening. In case of necessity one
has to use more complicated relations than (28), (29) with additional internal variables.
The concept of a TRIP back stress generated by TRIP itself and by CP may qualitatively
describe several observed effects concerning TRIP experiments.
x
An unloading before the end of PT leads to a reduction of the TRIP strain [Ahrens 2003],
[Wolff, 2004, 2005c].
x
A PT without load after classical plastic deformation of austenite (prehardening) leads

to TRIP strain contrary directed to the predeformation (cf. [Taleb, 2004] for bainitic PT).
A load during PT contrary to the predeformation strengthens this effect.
But there are contradictory results (cf. [Taleb, 2002, 2004] for martesitic PT and [Ahrens, 2003]
for bainitic PT) with TRIP strain directed as the predeformation.
These last observations are not in accordance with the back stress assumption and require a more
complicated modelling. There are more suitable experiments needed and based on them
extended proposals. For testing strategies of proposals we refer to [Wolff, 2005a].
The Greenwood-Johnson parameters Ni depend approximately linearly on temperature and differ
essentially in different PT [Dalgic, 2004]. Moreover, a slight dependence on stress and its
direction can be observed [Ahrens, 2003]. Thus, the Ni generally depend on T, pi, VV(S), Vm(S)
(i)
(i)
(i)
and possibly on Hcp (or, more detailed on Hm(Hcp(t)) ), scp (cf. [Ahrens, 2003] for experimental
observations). We note, that there are different proposals for Ii in the literature [Fischer, 1996], a
possible dependence on the last mentioned variables has to be investigated by experiments.
Besides the above extended model for TRIP with more than one forming phase (26) it is possible
to consider another one preferred in [Leblond, 1989], [Taleb, 2004], summarizing all forming
phases in one. This approach leads to a TRIP model of the following structure
3
Htrip(t) = 2 (S*(t) Xtrip*(t)) N I( pi(t) H(pi(t) ) max{ pi(t), 0}

i=1
(31)
i=1
with collective I and N. Obviously, the models (26) and (31) coincide in case of one forming
~
phase and have the same basic structure. Thus, under our assumption, that the free energy \
depends only on the internal variables Hcp, Htrip, scp, strip and p, the arguments for thermodynamic
321
consistency of the complete model as in [Wolff, 2005b] remain valid, independently of the above
discussed special dependencies of Ni and Ii.
3.3
Classical plasticity, interaction, prehardening, recovery
As it is normal in CP, the classical plastic strain is determined by the flow rule
Hcp(x, t) = /(x, t) (S*(x, t) Xcp*(x, t)),
(32)
where / t 0 is the plastic multiplier to be determined via the yield condition (9). At first we
specialize the yield function in (8) setting
(i)
(i)
(i)
(i)
F(S, Xcp, scp, strip, Hcp, scp, T, p) := 2(S* Xcp*):(S* Xcp*) R2(scp, strip, Hcp, scp, T, p),
(33)
where R is the radius of the yield sphere in the stress space defined by
m
(j)
(j)
(i)
(j)
(j)
R(scp, T, p) := V0,i(strip, Hcp, scp, T) pi + kiso(scp, strip, Hcp, scp, T) pi,

i=1
j = 1, , m.
(34)
i=1
The ansatz in (34) means, that

x
the initial yield stress V0,i of the ith phase may depend on temperature, accumulated TRIP
strain, and on CP strain and accumulated CP strain of the remaining phases (cf. (17)).
(i)
The functions kiso characterizing the isotropic hardening of the ith phase additionally
depend on scp.
x
The radius R of the yield sphere for the mixture of m phases is expressed via a linear
mixture rule by the radii of the phases. Instead of this linear mixture rule it is possible to
use non-linear ones (cf. [SYSWELD, 2000] and [Petit-Grostabussiat, 2004].
(i)
Furthermore, as in [Wolff, 2005b] we assume, that the Vi,0 are positive, and that the kiso are
monotonically increasing functions of scp if all other variables are frozen. Thus, we do not have
(j) (j)
softening. The dependence on Hcp, scp in (34) allows to model the observation, that yield stress
and isotropic hardening of the daughter phase may be different, if the mother phase has
undergone a CP strain before PT (recovery phenomenon). While in [Ahrens, 2003] this effect
is not observed, in [Petit-Grostabussiat, 2004] the mechanical behaviour of bainite and martensite
differs essentially after a prehardening of austenite. For bainite the initial yield stress increases,
for martensite it decreases [Taleb, 2002]. In [Leblond, 1989] this phenomenon is modelled using
mesoscopic arguments and introducing a memory coefficient (cf. [SYSWELD, 2000], [Taleb,
2004]). Besides this, the setting in (29) and (34) allows a TRIP influence on CP. The authors do
not know results on it.
The thermodynamic consistency of CP can be ensured as in [Wolff, 2005b], because we have the
same dissipation inequality (cf. the end of chapter 2).
Concluding remarks and outlook

x
Based on [Wolff, 2005b] we have discussed how some specifically important phenomena
of steel behaviour (stress- and strain-dependent PT, interaction of CP and TRIP, e.g.) can
be included in the thermodynamic context using internal variables.
x
There are open questions in modelling (TRIP after prehardening in some cases, e.g.).
x
In case of right qualitative prediction by the proposed models it is necessary to validate

them based on data in order to improve them (cf. [Wolff, 2005c]) Finally, for numerical
simulation it is necessary to include these models in complex situations.
322
Moreover, investigations at the meso- and micro scale in connection with appropriate
homogenization might give indications for improved macroscopic models.
Acknowledgement
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324
325
The influence of the temperature on the stressstrain curves of a bearing steel and a case
hardening steel
Gnther Lwisch,1, Mnip Dalgic1
1
Stiftung Institut Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany,

{loewisch,dalgic}@mpa-bremen.de
Abstract
In the present paper the influence of the temperature and strain rate on the stress strain behaviour of two different
steels were investigated. Two microstructures were considered: pearlitic and austenitic. Tensile tests with the bearing
steel 100Cr6 and the case hardening steel 20MnCr5 were accomplished at various temperatures. For this purpose the
Ludwik equation was used to describe the stress-strain curve. The parameter of the constitutive equation was
determined for each steel and microstructure. Especially for the austenitic state the parameters of the used material
law were described as a function of the temperature.
Keywords
Simulation, stress, strain, microstructure, bearing steel, case hardening steel
Introduction
For the simulation of heat treatment processes not only the transformation behaviour of the
material but also the stress-strain behaviour at the transformation temperatures are important. In
fact during rapid cooling of the work-pieces thermal and transformation strains are occurring and
result in mechanical strains with corresponding stresses. It is necessary that the material
properties are known depending on the actual microstructure and temperature. During hardening
the microstructure of a steel changes from the initial one to the austenitic and finally to the
martensitic or bainitic microstructure. The stress-strain behaviour of these microstructures must
be known for the complete temperature interval at which they appear. In this interrelationship
properties of the undercooled austenite above the martensite start temperature are important
because austenite is the weaker phase during the transformation. This means that the
deformations take place in the austenitic phase.
The first aim of this investigation was to measure the stress-strain behaviour of materials
considering the temperature and the phases pearlite and austenite, respectively. Secondly the
stress-strain behaviour should be described with an appropriate model over a wide temperature
interval. Finally the determined parameters were analysed to find out the relation between them
and temperature regarding the austenitic and the pearlitic state of the material.
Material and Experimental
In this investigation two alloys were tested, the high carbon bearing steel 100Cr6 (DIN 17230,
Mat. No. 1.3505) and the low carbon case-hardening steel 20MnCr5 (EN 10084, Mat. No.
1.7147). The chemical composition is given in table 1.
326
elements
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Al
Cu
100Cr6
0.97
0.19
0.41
0.01
0.01
1.43
0.05
0.10
0.01
0.11
20MnCr5
0.21
0.17
1.36
0.02
1.08
0.04
0.13
0.027 0.12
Table 1: chemical composition of investigated steels in mass percent
For heat treatment simulation the expected plastic strain is less than 2%. For this reason the
tensile tests were carried out up to 2% strain. The tensile tests for this strain range are suitable to
investigate and to describe the stress-strain behaviour by a constitutive equation. The test were
carried out on a test machine type Gleeble 3500. These machine combines the properties of a
servo-hydraulic test machine with those of a quenching dilatometer.
The steel 100Cr6 was delivered in a spherodized condition of ferrite and carbides. The steel
20MnCr5 was mill annealed for good machinability. The microstructure consists of ferrite and
pearlite. Tensile tests with these basic microstructures were accomplished between room
temperature and Ac1. The specimens were heated up to test temperature with 6,2 K/s.
Subsequently the specimens were homogenized 10 minutes at this temperature. The tensile tests
with austenitic microstructure were done between the martensite-start-temperature and 900C. In
case of undercooled austenite the specimens were heated up to 840C (20MnCr5) or 850C
(100Cr6) respectively. They were homogenized 10 minutes at the austenitizing temperature.
Subsequently the specimens were quenched with air to the temperature at which the tensile tests
were carried out. With the same kind of specimen dilatometric tests without load were done to
determine the beginning of the phase transformation. The knowledge of the incubation time
before phase transformation is very important, because the tensile test must be closed before.
Otherwise the test is invalid. To ascertain if the phase transformation during the tensile test
begins the volume strain was calculated by using the longitudinal and transversal strain signals.
There is no volume strain during a tensile test without phase transformation. The longitudinal
strain was measured with a 6 mm gauge length. The transversal strain was measured in center of
the specimen. The control feature during the tensile tests with basic microstructure was the strain
rate. Two strain rates were used, 2,510-4 1/s and 410-3 1/s covering the range of expected strain
rates during heat treatment. During the tensile test on the undercooled austenite the control
feature was the stroke, leading to a strain rate of about 410-3 1/s.
Material laws
Material laws describe the deformation behaviour at given loading in form of relationships
between deformation rate, the stress, the temperature, and additional features which characterize
the defect structure in a given material. They combine physical mechanism, continuum
mechanical relationships, and on phenomena based information [Munz1989].
We considered the elastic and plastic strain separately, because the structural mechanisms
leading to plastic or elastic deformation are different. Consequently we used the material laws
described below only for the plastic stress-strain curves. The run of the work-hardening curve
depends on several factors. The influences are expressed in form of a function by
k f f M, M, M , T
(1).
Where M is the influence of the material as regard to chemical composition and microstructure,
M is the true strain and dM/dt is the strain rate. T is the test temperature.
For a long time attempts were made to describe the stress-strain curves analytically. Several of
these material laws are given by formulas (2) to (6).
kf
K 0 K L Mn L
kf
a b 1 e
nM
(2) [Ludwik1909],
(3) [Voce1948],
kf
C D M
(4) [Swift1952]
kf
k fc M
C R H pl
327
(5) [Nadai1931]
1 nR
(6) [Ramberg-Osgood1943]
The factors K0, KL, a, b, C, CR, D, kfc, n, nL and nR are material parameters. The parameters are
determined by fitting the formula with experimental data. Usually the stress-strain curves from
tensile tests are described with formulas according to Ludwik or Ramberg-Osgood if the workhardening is non-linear. In this paper we use the Ludwik formula to fit our experimental data.
This relation allows a good description of the flow curves of materials having a finite elastic
limit, but also for other materials, if K0 is considered as an arbitrary constant much smaller than
the actual yield point [El-Magd2004]. We used the yield strength at 0,01% plastic strain. These
laws give only the coherence between stress and strain. The influence of the strain rate,
temperature and microstructure on this parameters must be considered separately. A common
empirical relation to describe the influence of temperature on the flow stress is
Kf
K F M, M e
E
T
Tm
(7) [Ludwik1909].
Under the assumption that the influence of temperature and strain are independent of each other
one can combine the equations (2) and (7):
Kf
KL M
nL
E
T
Tm
(8)
The outcome of the equation (8) is a temperature independent hardening exponent nL. As we will
show later in this paper, this statement does not agree with the experimental results. Therefore
we used phenomenological approaches to describe the influence of the temperature on the
parameters K0, KL, and nL of the Ludwik equation (1). In this paper we try to determine the
influence of the temperature considering the initial microstructure and the austenitic phase. The
development of thermal transformation strain during heat treatment is below 5*10-2 1/s as we
know from finite element analysis [Hunkel2004]. So we did not expect a big influence of strain
rate. But we performed a number of tests to check the influence of strain rate in this range.
Experimental Results
Fig. 1 shows as an example stress-strain curves for the material 100Cr6 for two strain rates. In
view of the small change of the strain rate, the effect is not small in the investigated range. I.e.
the strain rate has to be considered during a finite element simulation of heat treatment processes.
Nevertheless we now focus on the tensile test with the higher strain rate. The influence of the
strain rate will be considered in further work.
Fig. 2 shows the 0.4% yield strength as function of the temperature for the ferritic matrix. Three
temperature ranges can be identified with different temperature dependence of yield strength: in
the range between room temperature and 200C the flow stress decreases with increasing
temperature, which is explained by the thermal activated glide at these temperatures. Between
200C und 400C the influence of the temperature on the yield stress is very small. Above 400C
(i.e. about 35% of the melting temperature) the yield stress is affected again by the temperature,
because diffusion controlled deformation processes occur [El-Magd2004].
328
600
100Cr6: ferrite with carbide
500
Stress [MPa]
400C
dH/dt=4*10-3 1/s
400C
dH/dt=2,5*10-4 1/s
400
300
500C
dH/dt=2,5*10-4 1/s
200
500C
dH/dt=4*10-3 1/s
100
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
plastic strain [%]
2,5
Figure 1: Stress-strain curves depend on temperature and strain rate
0.4% yield-strength [MPa]
600
100Cr6: ferrite with carbide
20MnCr5: ferritic-pearlitic
500
400
300
100Cr6
200
20MnCr5
100
dH/dt=4*10-3 1/s
0
0
100
200
300 400 500

Temperature [C]
600
700
Figure 2: 0.4% yield strength of the ferritic state as a function of temperature for both investigated
materials
Fig. 3 shows the 0.4% yield stress for the austenitic state. We observe a decreasing yield stress
with increasing temperature over the total temperature range. The behaviour of the austenitic
state above the martensite-start-temperature is like the behaviour of the ferritic structure above
400C.
400
100Cr6
20MnCr5
350
300
austenite
250
dH/dt=4*10-3 1/s
200
150
100
50
0
200
400
600
Temperature [C]
800
1000
Figure 3: 0.4% yield stress of the austenitic state for 100Cr6 and 20MnCr5
329
All stress-strain curves were fitted using the Ludwik equation in the form below:
kf
K 0 K L Mpl L
n
M ln 1 H pl
kf
V 1 H pl
(9)
(10)
(11)
The parameters K0, KL and nL depend on material, temperature, and strain rate. K0 is the yield
strength, we set it equal the stress value at 0.01% plastic deformation. During the fitting of the
experimental data with formula (9) only the data between 0.01% and 2% plastic strain were
taken into account. The results of the regression analysis are shown in figures 4, 5, 6 for initial
state and in figures 7, 8, 9 for the austenitic state.
For the as-received microstructure yield strength at 0.01% plastic strain is higher for the low
carbon steel 20MnCr5 than for the steel 100Cr6. It may be surprising that a steel with a lower
content of carbon has a higher yield stress. Obviously, the ferritic-pearlitic microstructure of
20MnCr5 is combined with a higher resistance against dislocation motion than the
microstructure of 100Cr6 comprising ferrite and spheroidized carbides. For both materials, the
parameters of the Ludwik law show a different temperature influence regarding to the three
temperature ranges mentioned above. Fig. 5 shows the parameter KL versus temperature for
initial microstructure. The left diagram exhibits the parameter KL for 100Cr6 and the right
diagram exhibits the parameter KL for 20MnCr5. The influence of the strain rate increases with
decreasing temperature for both materials. In view of the influence of the temperature on the
parameters, two temperature ranges can be separated. The material parameters increase linearly,
between room temperature and 300C and they decrease nearly linearly in the range between
300C and 700C for the investigated materials. Fig. 6 shows the hardening exponent nL. The
hardening exponent is obviously not constant. Formula (8) cannot describe the stress-strain
temperature behaviour for the whole temperature interval.
The deformation behaviour of the austenitic state is more homogeneous. Fig. 7 shows the 0.01%
yield strength, Fig. 8 the parameter KL and Fig 9 the parameter nL for the austenitic
microstructure. The hardening parameter of the austenitic phase (20MnCr5) may be accepted as
a constant with a small scatter (Fig. 9 right). But in case of 100Cr6 this is impossible. we observe
two temperature ranges and a transition range. We cannot explain this behaviour in this stage of
the investigation. But we suggest, that the cross slipping of dislocation becomes more easy at
higher temperatures. Micro structural barriers like remaining carbides will be bypassed, resulting
in less hardening, which corresponds to a higher hardening exponent. The 20MnCr5 has no
carbides left in the austenitic state. Therefore a change in the hardening exponent is not visible
here.
A constant hardening exponent as premised in equation (8) is obviously not real. Nevertheless
we made an attempt to determine the parameter of equation (8) with a least square root fit over
all stress-strain data. But the result give a not acceptable description of the measured curves.
330
550
0,01% dH/dt=4E-3 1/s
0,01% dH/dt=4E-3 1/s

0,01% dH/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
250
150
material : 100Cr6
ferrite with carbide
spheroidised
350
0,01% dH/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
450
350
250
Material : 20MnCr5
ferritic-pearlitic
mill annealed
150
50
50
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Temperature [C]
100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Temperature [C]
Figure 4: Yield strength as a function of the temperature for ferritic /pearlitic state.
1200
material : 100Cr6
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
de/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
de/dt=4E-3 1/s
material parameter KL [MPa]
material Parameter KL [MPa]
4000
material : 20MnCr5
ferritic-pearlitic
1000
800
600
400
dH/dt=4E-3 1/s
dH/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
200
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Temperature [C]
100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Temperature [C]
Figure 5: Material parameter as a KL function of the temperature and strain rate for ferritic / pearlitic state
material : 100Cr6
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
dH/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
dH/dt=4E-3 1/s
0,2
0,1
0
0,8
hardening exponent n L
0,8
material : 20MnCr5
ferritic-pearlitic
0,7
0,6
dH/dt=4E-3 1/s
dH/dt=2,5E-4 1/s
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Temperature [C]
100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Temperature [C]
Figure 6: Hardening exponent nL as a function of the temperature and strain rate for ferritic / pearlitic state
0,01% from fit of a single

stress-strain curve
from global fit of all data
250
200
150
100
50
material : 100Cr6
austenite
130
300
331
0,01% from fit of single

stress-strain curve
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
material : 20MnCr5
austenite
50
40
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Temperature [C]
450
550
650 750 850

Temperature [C]
950
Figure 7: Yield strength as a function of the temperature for austenitic state
1200
from fit of a single stress-strain

curve
1000
800
600
400
200
material 100Cr6
austenite
800
material parameter K L [MPa]
material parameter KL [MPa]
1400
700
600
500
400
300
material : 20MnCr5
austenite
200
100
from fit of a single stress-strain curve

0
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Temperature [C]
0
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Temperature [C]
Figure 8: Parameter KL as a function of the temperature for austenitic state
0,6
0,7
material : 100Cr6
austenite
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Temperature [C]
0,8
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
400
material : 20MnCr5
austenite
500
600 700 800

Temperature [C]
Figure 9: Hardening exponent nL for austenitic state
900
332
Regressionsanalysis
In the finite element program Sysweld which we use for the simulation of heat treatment the
deformation behaviour is described by the Ludwik equation (2). As a general description like
formula (8) is not sufficient, we tried to describe the temperature dependence of the parameters
KF, KL and nL by empirical relation. In this paper we give our results we obtained for the
austenitic state. The ferritic structure has to be considered separate for the three temperature
regime and will be the aim of further work. For the austenite microstructure we used:
E
T
Tm
KF
V0 e
KL
a bT
(12)
(13)
a
nL
T 4
a
a 0 a 1 T a 2 1 e 3
(14)
Tm is the absolute melting point of the material. Again we used a least square root fit with all
data of the stress-strain curves of one material. To obtain the parameters of the equations. The
results are given in Tab. 2.
nL
KF [MPa]
V0 [MPa]
E[-]
Tm [K]
100Cr6
601,96
4,663
1600
20MnCr5
350,36
4,104
1800
KL [MPa]
a [MPa]
b [MPa/C]
100Cr6
1426.44
-1.449
20MnCr5
1092.43
-0.9752
a0 [-]
a1 [1/C]
a2 [-]
a3 [C]
100Cr6
1.323
20MnCr5
0.08111
a4 [-]
-4.47E-3
3.80
759.14
2.264
6.15E-4
-0.1997
739.18
9.552
Table 2: Coefficient of the equation 12 to 14
5.1
Experimental and calculated results
After the coefficients related to formulas (12) to (14) were established the parameters were
calculated with the coefficients: The obtained parameter-temperature curves are plotted in Fig. 7
to 9. The determination of the parameter by the common fit over all experimental data leads to
smaller or higher weighting of the parameters. Using this general fitting one obtain clearly lower
value of the hardening exponent nL than for the fitting done with the data of a single stress-strain
curve. This effect is due to changes in the parameters KF and KL, when we do the global fit. With
the calculated parameters, the stress-strain curves were computed for several temperatures to
compare the calculated stress-strain curves to the experimentally determined ones. Fig. 10 shows
the comparison for the austenitic phase. The stress-strain curve of 100Cr6 at the temperature
550C is underestimated in the range of smaller plastic strain. In the case of the temperature
300C and 700C is correspondence quite good. For the case hardening steel 20MnCr5 the
calculated stress-strain curve at low temperature is not sufficient.
experiment 300C
experiment 550C
experiment 700C
experiment 800C
experiment 600C
experiment 500C
300
calculated 800C
calculated 600C
calculated 500C
250
400
Stress [MPa]
Stress [MPa]
500
calculated 300C
calculated 550C
calculated 700C
333
300
200
material : 100Cr6
austenite
200
150
100
50
0
100
0
0,5
1 1,5 2 2,5
plastic strain [%]
1
2
plactic strain [%]
Figure 10: Comparison between experimental data and calculated data for the austenitic microstructure
Summary and Outlook
A large number of tensile tests were done with different materials and microstructures, different
temperatures and different strain rate. All experiments could be determined with the material law
of Ludwik. Nevertheless other material laws should be tested in future work. A number of
questions occurred, which we have to investigate further. The main topics are:
x
It has to be proved, whether the change of the hardening exponent to a higher level above
500C, which we observed for the 100Cr6 austenitic state is due to more easy cross
slipping.
x
The temperature dependence of the parameter of the Ludwik equation for the ferritic
matrix has to be investigated.
x
The influence of the strain rate has to be considered.
Acknowledgement
This work has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via the Collaborative Research
Centre SFB 570 Distortion Engineering at the University of Bremen
References
El-Magd, E.: Modeling and simulation for material selection and mechanical design. Ed. By G.E. Talten, L. Xie, K.
Funatani, M. Dekher, New York 2004
Hunkel, M.: Personally notification, Department of Modelling and Simulation, IWT Bremen, 2004
Munz, D.: Anwendung von Stoffgesetzen zur Beschreibung des Verformungsverhalten von Bauteilen. In:
Festigkeit und Verformung bei hoher Temperatur. Ed.: K. Schneider, DGM Informationsgesellschaft,
Oberursel, 1989, p. 237-258
Ludwik, P.: Elemente der technologischen Mechanik. Berlin 1909
Nadai, A.: Plasticity. McGraw Hill, New York 1931
Ramberg, W.; Osgood, W.R.: Description of stress-Strain-Curves by three parameters. Technical Report, Technical
Note No. 902, NACA, 1943
Saeed, I.: Untersuchungen ber die Streuung und Anwendung von Fliekurven. ISSN 0341-1664, VDI-Verlag
GmbH, Dsseldorf, 1984
Swift, H.W.: Plastic instability under plane stress. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 1(1952)18.
Voce, E.: The relation between stress and strain for homogenous deformation. J. Inst. Metals 1948, 74, p. 537-562
334
11. Modelling transformation plasticity
335
336
337
TRIP and phase evolution for the pearlitic

transformation of the steel 100Cr6
under step-wise loads
Michael Wolff1, Michael Bhm1, Mnip Dalgic2, Gnther Lwisch2, Jochen Rath1
1
Zentrum fr Technomathematik,Fachbereich 3,University of Bremen,D-28334 Bremen, Germany,

{mwolff, mbohm}@math.uni-bremen.de , jrath@informatik.uni-bremen.de
2
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik,Bremen, Germany,{dalgic, loewisch}@mpa-bremen.de
Abstract
The investigation of complex material behaviour of steel like transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and stressdependent phase transformation (SDPT) is a large field of current research. The simulation of the material behaviour
of work-pieces in complex situations requires a knowledge as deep as possible about such phenomena. In addition,
there are effects in the case of non-constant stress which cannot be explained by the widely used Leblond model for
TRIP. Therefore, we consider a TRIP model taking into account back stress due to TRIP itself. Based on
experimental data for the isothermal pearlitic transformation of the steel 100Cr6 (SAE52100) under step-wise loads
we calculate material parameters for the extended TRIP model. Regardless of the preliminary character of the
performed tests, all experiments show a back-stress effect with a decrease of the TRIP strain after unloading.
Keywords
steel, TRIP, back stress, stress-dependent phase transformation, step-wise load
Introduction and modelling of TRIP and SDPT
In this note the authors continue there investigations of the pearlitic transformation of the steel
100Cr6 (SAE52100) under stress (cf. [Dalgic, 2003, 2004]), in particular TRIP under step-wise
loads (cf. [Wolff, 2004]). In the sequel we are dealing with
x
description of models for TRIP with back stress and for SDPT
x
calculation of the parameters of this TRIP model for the isothermal pearlitic
transformation with varying loads
x
calculation of the evolution of the pearlite phase fraction
x discussion of some consequences for further modelling

Phase transformations in steel under non-zero deviatoric stress yield a permanent volumepreserving deformation, even if the von Mises (macro) stress does not reach the yield stress. This
phenomenon is called transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and cannot be described by
classical plasticity. In the framework of small deformations TRIP can be taken into account by
an additional (linearized) strain tensor Htrip. Here we consider the case of the formation of one
phase (pearlite from austenite, e.g.) The corresponding well-known Franitza-Mitter-Leblond
model (cf. [Leblond, 1989], [Fischer, 1996], [Denis, 1997], [Lemaitre, 2001], [Ahrens, 2003],
[Taleb, 2004], e.g., for discussion of TRIP) for one forming phase in its incremental form is
d
d
3
dtHtrip(x, t) = 2 N(T(x, t)) S*(x, t) dt)(p(x, t)),
(1)
338
where T - temperature, S* - deviator of the stress tensor S, N > 0 - Greenwood-Johnson

parameter possibly depending on T, ) - saturation function, p - volume fraction of the forming
phase, i.e., pearlite in our situation, x - material point in the reference configuration, t t 0 - time.
Further, ) is assumed to be monotone, continuous on [0, 1], and continuously differentiable in
inner points with
for 0 < p < 1,
)(0) = 0,
)(1) = 1.
(2)
0 < )(p) < 1
We refer to [Fischer, 1996] for details. The model (1) works well in experimental situations with
constant load. But there are experiments [Ahrens, 2003], [Wolff, 2004] showing that it cannot
describe the effect after unloading to zero when the TRIP strain decreases. Contrary, the model
(1) predicts that the TRIP strain remains constant after unloading to zero. In order to fill this gap,
some authors introduce a back stress due to TRIP (cf. [Videau, 1994], [Fischer, 2000], [Wolff,
2005b]), which leads to
d
d
3
dtHtrip(x, t) = 2 Nb(T(x, t)) (S*(x, t) Xtrip(x, t)) dt)b(p(x, t)),
(3)
where Xtrip is the back stress tensor due to TRIP. Since Nb and )b in (3) generally differ from the
corresponding values in (1), we distinguish them. Let )b also fulfil (2), (cf. [Wolff, 2004]). The
assumption is as follows: For constant temperature and load the two models (1) and (3) describe
TRIP correctly. But in the case of varying load the model (3) shows its advantage. A possible
simple proposal for Xtrip (in the absence of classical plasticity which can influence TRIP, cf.
[Wolff, 2005b], [Wolff, 2005c]) is
(4)
Xtrip = c Htrip,
where c is a further positive material parameter. Taking the volume preservation of TRIP into
account, we get from (3) and (4) a linear differential equation for Htrip. The unique solution
corresponding to the initial value Htrip(0) = 0 reads as
3
Htrip(t) = 2
Nb(T(s)) S*(s) ds)b(p(s)) exp( - 2
c Nb(T(W))
0
d
) (p(W)) dW ) ds
dW b
(5)
(where x has been suppressed). We note that, in general, c may depend on the temperature, phase
fraction and other quantities. Later on in this work we assume only temperature dependence of c.
Clearly, in case of necessity this assumption has to be changed. The relation (5) is the starting
point for testing the model and determining the material parameters through experimental data.
Besides TRIP, a further important phenomenon is observed, namely stress-dependent phase
transformation (SDPT). An applied stress during phase transformation influences its kinetics,
where uniaxial tension and pressure generally accelerate the phase transformation (tension
slightly more than pressure). Contrary to this, isotropic pressure delays the transformation (cf.
[Denis, 1997], [Lemaitre, 2001], [Ahrens, 2003], [Dalgic, 2003], [Shi, 2004], e.g., for discussion
of SDPT). Thus, the modelling of SDPT must take the von Mises stress VV(S) and the mean
(principal) stress Vm(S) into account. These quantities are defined by
3
Vv(S) := ( 2 Sij* Sij*)2 ,
Vm(S) := 3 tr(S),
(6)
where S* := S - 3 tr(S) I is the deviator of S, and I is the unity tensor. One possibility to model
SDPT for isothermal transformations (T(t) = T0) consists in modifying the Johnson-MehlAvrami differential equation (with oppressed x, too)
1
n(T0, Vv(S(t)), Vm(S(t)))

d
1n(T0, Vv(S(t)), Vm(S(t)))),
dt p(t) = (1 p(t)) W(T0, Vv(S(t)), Vm(S(t))) [ - ln(1 p(t))]
(7)
339
where W, n are positive temperature- and stress-dependent material parameters. Values of n and W
in the case of constant loads (S(t) = S0) can be found in [Dalgic, 2003, 2004]. We remark, that in
the case of non-isothermal transformation without load, equation (7) does not describe the
transformation kinetics sufficiently well (we refer to [Hunkel, 1999], [Bhm, 2004] for
discussion). The model in (7) does not describe the possible influence of the stress history. If
required, (7) must be extended, e.g., by taking the mean values over time of VV(S) and Vm(S)
instead of the quantities itself. We note, that in the isothermal case (T(t) = T0) under constant S
the non-trivial solution to (7) corresponding to the initial value p(0) = 0 is given by
t
p(t) = 1 exp( ( W(T , V (S), V (S)) )

0 v
m
n(T0, Vv(S), Vm(S))
).
(8)
Current experiments in [Dalgic, 2003] show that for the pearlitic transformation of the steel
100Cr6 (SAE52100) the parameters n and W have a complex behaviour when varying
temperature and load. For instance, at 600qC a transformation under stress may begin earlier, but
end later. We will return to this matter when discussing the results.
Specimen and testing device
The specimen are made of the bearing steel 100Cr6 (SAE52100) which has been continuously
cast. The starting material consisted in rolled rods with a diameter of 45 mm. The chemical
composition is given in table 1.
C
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Al
Cu
Ti
0,97
0,19
0,41
0,01
0,01
1,43
0,05
0,10
0,01
0,11
<0,001
Table 1: Chemical composition of the investigated steel 100Cr6 (SAE52100) in mass percent
The specimen were taken eccentrically out of the rods in order to avoid core segregation. Further,
they were spheroidised in a vacuum furnace. The specimen had a cylindrical shape of length 140
mm with annulus-like cross section of outer diameter 8 mm and of inner diameter 6 mm. The
experiments were performed with a testing machine of the Gleeble type. This device combines
the properties of a servo hydraulic testing machine with the ones of a quenching dilatometer. The
strain measurement was taken by a receiver for transverse strain located in the middle of the
probe and by a receiver for longitudinal strain with 6 mm gauge length. The heating was by
conduction. The quenching was performed by air on the inner side of the hollow specimen. The
temperature was measured by two thermocouples, one of them was centred, the other one was
shifted by 3 mm.
Formulas for the calculation of the parameters of the extended TRIP model
As in [Wolff, 2004, 2005a] we get formulas allowing to calculate the TRIP strain and the
evolution of the forming phase (here pearlite) via the measured data. The following two formulas
connect the longitudinal strain HL, the transversal strain HD and the load F in the case of constant
temperature T0:
HL(t) + 2 HD(t) =
HL(t) HD(t) =
1 - 2Q(T0)
U0 - U(T0)
F(t) + U(T ) ,
E(T0)
0
1 + Q(T0)
F(t) +
E(T0)
t
t
d
d
3
3
+ 2
Nb(T0) F(s) ds)b(p(s)) exp(- 2
c Nb(T0) )b(p(W)) dW) ds,
dW
0
s
(9)
(10)
340
where U0 and U(T0) are the densities of the austenite and of the phase mixture, resp., for the
constant temperature T0. E and Q are Young modulus and Poissons ratio at T0, resp. Using the
abbreviation
JF(t) :=
1 - 2Q(T0)
F(t),
E(T0)
(11)
we get a formula for calculating the evolution of the forming phase (here pearlite) via the
measured data (cf. [Wolff, 2004], [Wolff, 2005a]) (in the case of constant temperature), namely
p(t) =
HL(t) + 2HD(t) - JF(t)

,
HL(tf) + 2HD(tf) - JF(tf)
(12)
where the time tf is sufficiently large, so that the transformation can be regarded as finished. In
the absence of classical plasticity the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip equals the longitudinal bulk
strain HL reduced by the elastic part and by the part due to isotropic volume change caused by
phase transformation. So it can be calculated by measured data HL(t), HD(t), F(t)
F(t)
U0 - U(T0)
etrip(t) = HL(t) - E(T ) - 3U(T ) = 3 (HL(t) - HD(t)) 0

0
2 (1 + Q(T0))
F(t) ,
3 E(T0)
(13)
without using any TRIP model. Further, via (10) and (11) we get a formula for etrip using the
proposed TRIP model (5) (cf. [Wolff, 2004]):
t
t
d
d
3
N
(
T
)
F(s)
)
(p(s))
exp(etrip(t) =
b
0
b
2 c Nb(T0) dW)b(p(W)) dW) ds.

ds
0
s
(14)
For convenience, instead of etrip we often use the part Gtrip of the difference HL - HD reduced by the
elastic part defined by
Gtrip(t) := HL(t) HD(t)
1 + Q(T0)
3
F(t) = 2 etrip(t).
E(T0)
(15)
Clearly, Gtrip is purely caused by TRIP (in the absence of classical plasticity as we assume for the
whole work). From now on we assume for the parameters Nb and c in (3) and (4)
Nb = Nb(T0), c = c(T0).
Using (16), we get from (10), (14) and (15)
2F
(16)
etrip(t) = 3c (1 exp(- 2 c Nb )b(p(t))) )

F
Gtrip(t) = c (1 exp(- 2 c Nb )b(p(t))) ).
(17)
(18)
For determining the TRIP parameters of the model (3) one needs at least two experiments at
constant temperature T0: One with constant load F for all time, and another one with the same
load F up to certain moment t1 before the transformation stops and with vanishing load after this
moment. Acting as in [Wolff, 2004], we get the formulas
F
F Gtrip(t1) - Gtrip(tf)
,
c = G (t )
F
trip 1 Gtrip(tf) - G (tf)
trip
3
(19)
exp( - 2 cNb) = 1 - F Gtrip(tf),

3
(20)
c
exp( - 2 cNb )b(p(t1)) ) = 1 - F Gtrip(t1),
(21)
341
where Gtrip(t1) and Gtrip(tf) are the quantities defined in (15) for t1 (the moment of unloading) and
for tf, where the load F(t) is constant up to t1 and vanishes after that. Further, Gtrip(tf)
corresponds to the test with constant load until the end. Clearly, after calculating c via (19), one
gets the values Nb and )b(p(t1) via (20), (21). Knowing c and Nb, the values )b(p(t)) can be
determined via (18). Based on these values and (12), proposals for )b can be evaluated. We will
continue the investigations in this direction in future.
The calculations were performed with the use of the package MATLAB.
Results and discussions
4.1
Transformation-induced plasticity
We performed uniaxial tension tests with hollow probes of the steel 100Cr6 (SAE52100) (see
chapter 2 for details) under constant temperatures (T0 = 700qC and 600qC, resp.) and under
constant loads (F(t) = 27 MPa and 50 MPa, resp.). Besides these experiments with constant load
until the end of the transformation, we also performed tests with a quick (step-wise) unloading to
zero during the transformation. The experiments we performed are listed in table 2. Using the
formulas (12) and (13), we get the evolution of the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip and of the phase
fraction p of the forming phase (here pearlite) based on the measured data (see figures 1 and 2).
The data underwent a pre-processing denoising.
No.
Temperature in
qC
Load in MPa
Percent of p
when unloading
Nb in MPa-1 c in MPa
Decline of
etrip in %
700
27
100
-----
700
27
95
-----
-----
-5
6840
17.6
-5
19.6 10
700
27
37
13.8 10
3846
51,6
700
27
95
16.6.10-5
5195
21.8
700
50
100
-----
-----
-----
700
50
20
11.9.10-5
1544
21.4
96
-5
5535
14.0
-5
700
50
21,9 10
700
50
69
13.1 10
2817
27.8
600
27
100
-----
-----
-----
10
600
27
49
7.85.10-5
5097
24.4
11
600
27
66
8.39.10-5
6350
19.7
12
600
50
100
----.
-----
-----
-5
13
600
50
48
7.59 10
1071
7.0
14
600
50
73
7.68.10-5
1555
6.4
Table 2: Performed tests with constant (No. 1, 5, 9, 12) and step-wise loads (Explanations in the text).
Regardless of the preliminary character of the tests, all experiments show a back-stress effect
(see figure 1), i.e. after the quick unloading to zero the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip decreases.
The last column of table 2 gives the decline of etrip in percent, i.e. the maximal value of etrip
before unloading is regarded as 100%. After unloading this value decreases by the percentage
listed in table 1.
The percentage of the forming phase p (see the 4th column in table 2) was determined after the
experiment based on the phase evolution at the moment of unloading.
342
We note that the often used TRIP model without back stress (1) cannot describe such effect of
decreasing strain. After unloading to zero the TRIP model (1) predicts a remaining etrip at its
maximum.
The evolution of the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip in figure 1 shows the back-stress effect after
suddenly unloading to zero for the experiments 2 and 7 as listed in table 2 (solid line). The
dashed line shows this evolution for the tests 1 and 5, resp., with constant load up to the end of
transformation. On the left we see that the transformation without unloading (test 1) finishes
earlier. The curves up to the moment of unloading represent the mean values of etrip of the tests 1
and 2, resp., 5 and 7.
But it seems that there are also discrepancies. Our calculations are based on the assumption of
constant values of the TRIP parameters Nb and c for the same temperature. Contrary to this, the
values of Nb and c listed in table 2 show a deviation. Especially the values for c essentially differ
for the same load. The deviation of the values Nb is smaller. Of course, besides measuring errors
we have to pay our attension to artefacts, e.g., inhomogeneities in probe geometry, material
composition and temperature distribution. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce such disturbing
influences and to perform further experiments.
A further step in qualifying the model may be to regard c as dependent on the loading history.
Thus, the possible influence of an unloading at different moments of the transformation progress
can be taken into account. The authors will continue their investigations in this direction.
Figure 1: Evolution of the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip for experiments 1, 2 (l.) and 5,7 (r.).
In order to avoid the influence of creep effects on the calculations in the case of full load up to
the end, especially at 700qC, we determined the end of TRIP as the end of phase evolution. An
observed further evolution of the longitudinal strain after the end of the phase transformation is
regarded as caused by creep and not by TRIP. For this reason the dashed line in the left of figure
1 ends earlier as the solid one, because the load up to the end produces a quicker transformation.
4.2
Stress-dependent phase transformation
An unloading during transformation influences the evolution of the phase fraction p. Generally,
the absence of uniaxial stress leads to a slower transformation due to smaller nucleation without
stress. But it seems, that the stress history influences the continuing transformation after
unloading, because the former nucleation does not vanish with the stress.
343
Figure 2: Evolution of the pearlitic fraction p corresponding to test 8 (r.) and 10 (l.).
The solid lines in figure 2 show the evolution of p in the tests 8 (on the right) and 10 (on the left),
resp. The dashed lines correspond to the experiments 5 and 9 with load up to the end, whereas
the dotted lines give the transformation without stress (in the right) and with a small stress of 5
MPa (in the left), resp. As already mentioned at the end of chapter 1, in the left of figure 2 the
phase transformation with the smaller stress starts later but ends earlier than in the test with
larger load.
Regardless of the disturbing effects, especially in the right of figure 2, the phase-evolution curves
get a sharp bend after unloading (see the solid lines). These sharp bends in the curves suggest
that we cannot apply the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation (8) with constant parameters n and W in
the case of step-wise loading. Certainly, more tests are required for a qualified modification of
this equation for application to varying loads.
Our calculations are based on assuming a constant temperature. Therefore, deviations give the
illusion of a varying phase fraction (cf. the right graph in figure 2).
Summary and outlook
We performed tension tests for the pearlitic transformation of the steel 100Cr6 (SAE52100)
under constant temperatures and step-wise loads in order to test a TRIP model with back stress
due to TRIP itself. Based on the measured data (longitudinal and transverse strain, temperature,
stress as functions of time) we calculated the evolution of the longitudinal TRIP strain etrip (via
(17)), of the phase fraction p of pearlite (via (12)), and the back-stress effect (see table 2).
Assuming the TRIP model with back stress (3), the assumption (4), and only temperature
dependence of the TRIP parameters Nb and c (16), we determined the latter ones by the formulas
(19), (20), following from assumptions (3), (4), (16).
Regardless of the preliminary character of the tests, of measurement errors and other artefacts,
we can draw important conclusions.
x
The TRIP model with back stress (3), (4) can qualitatively correctly describe the
observed back stress effect (cf. the last column in table 2). This effect cannot be predicted
by the often used TRIP model (1) without a back-stress assumption.
x
The calculated TRIP parameters Nb and especially c may be essentially different for the
same temperature and initial load. Certainly, there is a dependence on the process history,
through the stress history or through the phase history.
344
x
The curves of the forming-phase evolution have a sharp bend at the moment of
unloading. Therefore, the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation (8) with constant coefficients n
and W cannot describe this effect, even in the case of constant temperature in our situation.
Summing up the results, there is a need for further experiments and for advanced models of
TRIP and SDPT for a better description of the reality. Such models and its implementation in
complex models of material behaviour ([Wolff, 2005b, 2005c], e.g.) are necessary for
sufficiently correct calculations of processes in work-pieces (cf. [Schmidt, 2003, 2005], e.g.),
during heat treatment, e.g.
Further, we see a perspective in using considerations on the meso and micro level of the material
behaviour for drawing consequences for the macroscopic modelling of steel phenomena (cf.
[Taleb, 2003] for discussion and references).
Acknowledgement
References
Ahrens, U.: Beanspruchungsabhngiges Umwandlungsverhalten und Umwandlungsplastizitt niedrig legierter
Sthle mit unterschiedlich hohen Kohlenstoffgehalten. Diss., Universitt Paderborn, Germany, 2003.
Bhm, M.; Hunkel, M.; Schmidt, A.; Wolff, M.: Evaluation of various phase-transition models for 100Cr6 for
application in commercial FEM programs. J. de Physique IV, 120, 2004, p. 581-589.
Dalgic, M.; Lwisch, G.: Werkstoffkennwerte fr die Simulation von Wrmebehandlungsvorgngen, In:
Proceedings of the conference Werkstoffprfung 2003, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, Dec 4-5, 2003,
ed.: Buchholz O.W., Geisler, S., Verlag Stahleisen, Dsseldorf.
Umwandlung des Wlzlagerstahls 100Cr6. HTM, 59(1), 2004, p. 28-34.
Denis, S.: Considering stress-phase transformation interaction in the calculation of heat treatment residuel stresses,
In: Mechanics of solids with phase changes, no. 368, p. 293-317, eds. Berveiller, M., Fischer, F. D., SpringerVerlag, 1997.
Fischer, F. D.; Sun, Q.P.; Tanaka, K.: Transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). Appl. Mech. Rev., 49, 1996, p.
317-364.
Fischer, F. D.; Reisner, G.; Werner, E.; Tanaka, K.; Cailletaud, G.; Antretter, T.: A new view on transformation
induced plasticity (TRIP). Int. J. of Plasticity, 16, 2000, p. 723-748.
Hunkel, M.; Lbben, T.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Modellierung der bainitischen und perlitischen Umwandlung bei
Sthlen. HTM 54(6), 1999, p. 365-372.
Leblond, J. B.; Devaux, J.; Devaux, J.C.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels I: Case of
ideal-plastic phases. Int. J. Plasticity, 5, 1989, p. 551-572.
Lemaitre, J.: Handbook of Materials Behaviour Models (Chapter 9.11-9.14), Academic Press, San Diego, USA,
2001.
Schmidt, A.; Wolff, M.; Bhm, M.: Numerische Untersuchungen fr ein Modell des Materialverhaltens mit
Umwandlungsplastizitt und Phasenumwandlungen beim Stahl 100Cr6. Report Berichte aus der
Technomathematik, FB 3, Universitt Bremen, Germany, Report 03-13, 2003.
Schmidt, A.; Suhr, B.; Moshagen, T.; Woff, M.; Boehm, M.: Adaptive finite element simulations for macroscopic
and mesoscopic models, submitted to proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Distortion
Engineering, Bremen, Germany, 14-16 September, 2005.
Shi, W.; Zhang, X.; Liu, Z.: Model of stress-induced phase transformation and prediction of internal stresses of
large steel work pieces during quenching. J. Phys. IV France, 120, p. 473-479, 2004.
Taleb, L.; Sidoroff, F.: A micromechanical modeling of the Greenwood-Johnson mechanism in transformation
induced plasticity. Int. J. Plasticity 19, 2003, p. 1821-1842.
Taleb, L.; Petit, S.: New investigations on transformation-induced plasticity and its interaction with classical
plasticity. submitted to Int. J. Plasticity, 2004
345
Videau, G. Cailletaud, A. Pineau, A.: Modlisation des effets mcaniques des transformations de phases pour le
calcul de structures. J. de Physique IV, Colloque C3, supplment au J. de Physique III, vol.4, fvrier 1994.
with back stress, proceedings of the conference IWCMM14, Goa, India, 2004, submitted to Computational
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2005, p. 604-610, 2005a.
including phase transformations, classical and transformation-induced plasticity, in Trends in Applications of
Mathematics to Mechanics (Shaker Verlag, Aachen, 2005), 591-601, eds: Yongqi Wang, Kolumban Hutter,
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approach, submitted to proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Distortion Engineering, Bremen,
Germany, 14-16 September, 2005c.
346
347
Transformation plasticity at different phase

transformations of bearing steel
Mnip Dalgic1, Gnther Lwisch1
1
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen,Germany , {dalgic,

Lwisch}@mpa-bremen.de
Abstract
Simulation of heat treatment processes presupposes that material data exist for the description of the phase
transformation. During the heat treatment transformation and thermally caused stresses develop, which affect the
behaviour of the phase transformation. The subject of this paper is an interaction between phase transformation and
internal stress. The investigations show the influence of constant tensile loading on transformation strains occurring
during the isothermal pearlitic and bainitic transformation and also the martensitic transformation of the bearing steel
100Cr6. The transformation plasticity parameter K increases during pearlitic transformation, with increasing
transformation temperature linear, but decreasing for bainitic transformation with increasing temperature.
Keywords
Bearing Steel, transformation plasticity, stress, pearlite, bainite, martensite
Introduction
The distortion of a structure is the result of the deformations applied to the component during
manufacturing processes. Within the partial processes different strains appear. These strains are
elastic (Hel), plastic (Hpl), and thermal (Hth) strain and during heat treatment, additional
transformation strain (Htr) and strain due to transformation plasticity (Htp). The total strain is given
by formula (1).
H el H pl H th H tr H tp
(1) [Besserdich93]
Finite element simulation is applied as an instrument for the prediction of the distortion during
heat treatment. Therefore material data are required for a wide range of temperatures,
microstructures, etc. It is helpful to use specific functions to describe the dependence of materials
properties on the main influencing parameters.
In this paper we focus on the description of the transformation plasticity. The transformation
kinetic, also under external load, we discussed in detail in Dalgic et al. [Dalgic2004]. The stress
strain behaviour is described in Dalgic [Dalgic2005]. The investigations were done using the
bearing steel 100Cr6 in order to obtain materials data for the simulation of the heat treatment of a
bearing ring.
Models to describe the transformation plasticity
The effects of stresses on phase transformation in steels have been investigated for a long time
and have been revealed essentially by studies on the isothermal decomposition of austenite under
applied stress. The published results, on diffusion depending transformation or displacing
transformation, show that the transformation of steel responds to external load both in change of
the kinetics and in non-isotropic deformation called transformation induced plasticity
[Ahrens2000, Besserdich1993, Denis1987, Fischer2000, Gautier1997, Lui2001 and
348
Veaux2001]. All published papers confirm that the stress accelerates the transformation and
induces phase transformation plasticity. The transformation plasticity is an irreversible
deformation which occurs if the transformation takes place under external load, for example
thermal stresses, which are not avoidable through the rapid cooling of the work-piece. On the
other way round, the transformation plasticity causes residual stresses in the quenched
component. In order to calculate the residual stress we need quantitative models, which allow to
compute the transformation plasticity. The transformation plasticity is often described in general
form by
H tp
K V f w
(2)
Where V is the applied stress; K is the transformation plasticity parameter and f(w) is a formula
describing the evaluation of the transformation plasticity depending on the amount w of the
formed phase. By definition it is f(w) = 0 for w = 0 and f(w) = 1 for w = 1. The magnitude of
transformation plasticity is zero at w = 0 and reaches the maximum at w = 1 under applied
loading. The plasticity models were established considering only one transformation: the
austenitic phase transforms into only one ferritic phase, which can be either ferrite, pearlite,
bainite or martensite [Taleb2001]. The magnitude of transformation plasticity at w = 1 is called
extent of transformation plasticity. The determined values of the extent of transformation
plasticity can be graphed versus stress. There is a linear relationship between the extent of
transformation plasticity and stress if the external stress does not cause a high plastic deformation
in austenite. This relationship is given by
K
dH tp
V o0
(3)
dV
In the published literature there are several models for the calculation of K. These models
consider the yield strength of austenite and change of the volume of the new formed phase. In
this paper only three models will be tested. The models are given by formula (4) to (6).
K
5 1 'V
6 RP V
(4) [Greenwood1965]
2 1 'V
3 RP V
(5) [Leblond1989]
3 1 'V
4 RP V
(6) [Abrassart1972]
Formula (7) gives a general form of K.

K
1 'V
RP V
(7)
Where c is a factor between 0,66 and 0,83; 'V/V is the change of the volume due to
transformation; RP is the yield strength of austenite at the actual temperature.
There are several proposals to calculate the evolution of transformation plasticity. This can be
calculated if the formulas of function f(w) related to formula (2) are known. In this paper four
models of f(w) are tested with the experimental results. These proposals are given by
f w w 2 w
(8) [Denis1987]
f w w >1 ln w @
(9) [Leblond1989]
f w 3 w 2w 3 2
(10) [Abrassart1972]
f w sin 0,5Sw
(11) [Besserdich1993]
349
w is the formed phase fraction. The models are discussed in detail by Besserdich
[Besserdich1993].
Material and testing device
For the investigation we used continuously cast bearing steel 100Cr6. The material was delivered
in rolled rods with a diameter of 45 mm. The chemical composition is given in Tab. 1.
C
Si
Mn
Cr
Mo
Ni
Al
Cu
Ti
0,97
0,19
0,41
0,01
0,01
1,43
0,05
0,1
0,01
0,11
<0,001
Table 1: Chemical composition of the investigated steel 100Cr6 in wt.-%
To obtain material properties similar to those of a forged bearing ring, the rods were heated in a
vacuum furnace with a temperature profile, simulating the forging process and the spherodising
afterwards. The specimens were taken eccentrically out of the rods in order to avoid core
segregation in the test area. In this investigation we used two shapes of the specimen. The first
one had a full cross section of 8 mm diameter, the second one had a annular cross section with an
outer diameter of 8 mm and an inner diameter of 6 mm. The experiments were performed using a
testing machine of the Gleeble 3500 type. The machine combines the properties of a hydraulic
testing machine with those of a quenching dilatometer.
In all cases the temperature was measured by two thermocouples. One of them was centred, the
other one was shifted by 3 mm. The strain measurement was carried out by a sensor for
transverse strain located in the middle of the specimen and by a sensor for longitudinal strain
with 6 mm gauge length.
The specimens were heated up with a rate of 6,2 K/s. to 850C. After reaching the austenitizing
temperature the specimens were hold for 10 minutes to obtain a homogeneous microstructure.
Afterwards the specimens were quenched using air or water. For the martensitic transformation
the quenching was done using air, cooled by liquid nitrogen, in order to get complete martensitic
transformation. In the case of pearlitic and bainitic isothermal transformation the specimens were
loaded immediately after the temperature was reached. In the case of the martensitic
transformation they were loaded at the temperature 350C.
The load has been holding constantly until the transformation was completed. Table 2 contains
the investigated temperatures and applied stresses. Furthermore it contains the yield strength of
austenite at the different temperature [Dalgic2005].
Temperature [C]
700
pearlitic
Applied stress [MPa]

2
14
25
50
Rp0,01[MPa]
75
98
650
16
25
35
50
110
transformation 600
25
50
75
100
130
575
16
25
35
50
140
bainitic
400
75
100
120
transformation 350
16
25
50
75
300
50
75
100
120
martensite start
50
72
100
140
-5
-50
-72
-100 -140 -170 -200 -230
martensitic
transformation =220C
208
100
120
170
200
217
250
Table 2: Investigated temperature and applied stress
230
350
Formulas for calculation and data analysis
Using the measured longitudinal and transversal strains (HL and HR respectively) it is possible to
calculate the volume strain during phase transformation. Considering the radial symmetry and
assuming small strains the volume strain can be computed via formula (13). One can linearize
the volume strain using the formula (14).
'V
V
1 H L 1 H R 2 1
HVL
1 H L 1 H R 2
1
(13)
(14)
Linearized volume strain, longitudinal, and transversal strain show equal courses, if the
transformation takes place without an external loading. During the phase transformation under
the influence of thermal and/or mechanical stresses, plastic deformations occur, even if the stress
is smaller than the yield strength of the weaker phase. This effect, called transformation
plasticity, appears during a diffusive transformation as well as during a non-diffusive
transformation. Due to an external tensile load we obtain an additional extension of the specimen
in longitudinal direction. Due to the constant volume during plastic deformation it follows that
the transversal strain will be smaller.
There are two possibilities to calculate the magnitude of the transformation plasticity. The first
one is to determine the difference between longitudinal strain at zero loading and the longitudinal
strain at applied load. The relationship is given by
H tp
H L T , V H L T , V
(15)
As the transformation kinetics is increased by external loading the temporal progress of the
transformation plasticity cannot be acquired with formula (15). Therefore the fraction of
transformation strain is calculated using the linearized volume strain. Then the transformation
plasticity can be calculated with formula (16).
H tp
H L T , V HVL T , V
(16)
To describe the evaluation of the transformation plasticity versus time Htp(t) was normalized
dividing it by Htp(t= f)
In this work the experiments were accomplished up to the transformation is completed in only
one phase. The fraction of formed phase accounts for zero before start and for 1 at the end of
transformation. For isothermal transformation the formed fraction w(t) can be calculated if the
volume change is normalized to 1. The formula is given by
'V
t 'V t o f
(17)
V
V
For the case of martensitic transformation we used another formula. The temporal development
of phase fraction can be computed for martensitic transformation using formula (18) according to
Koistinen and Marburger [Koistinen1959].
w t
wm
M T
1 exp s
C m
(18)
Where MS is the martensite start temperature and Cm is a material parameter.
Experimental Results
For the plot of our experimental results, we resume the formula 2 is a correct description of
transformation plasticity. Therefore we can consider the parameter K and the function f(w)
351
separately. Looking at the total extent of the transformation (i.e. when w=1) we obtained the
parameter K. As an example in Fig. 1 the extent value of transformation plasticity is plotted
versus of the applied stress for martensitic transformation. The magnitude of the transformation
plasticity was determined at the temperature -65C, in assumption that the transformation of
martensite was completed at this temperature.
0,025
compression
tension
Transf. plastic strain [-]
0,02
0,015
100Cr6
850C, 10 min
Gas -175C
0,01
0,005
0
-0,005
martensitic tranformation
-0,01
-0,015
-250
-150
-50
50
Stress [MPa]
150
250
Figure 1: Transformation plasticity as a function of stress
The linear relationship between applied stress and total transformation plasticity is visible both
for tension and compression loading. But the slope of the straight line is different for the both
loading directions. It means that equal tensile and compression stresses do not cause equal values
of transformation plasticity. The value of K was determined by separate regression analysis for
tensile and compression loading. In the same way the extent value of transformation plasticity
was established from experimental data for pearlitic and bainitic transformation but only for
tensile loading. Fig. 2 shows the relationship between K and temperature. The parameter K
depends on the kind of the transformation and on the temperature. It increases with increasing
temperature for pearlitic transformation. During bainitic transformation the parameter K
decreases with increasing temperature.
Transf. Plasticity Parameter K

[10-5*MPa]
12
10
8
6
pearlitic transformation tensile loading
bainitic transformation tensile loading

martensitic transformation tensile loading
2
0
200
martensitic transformation compression loading
MS
300
400
500
Temperature [C]
600
700
Figure 2: Parameter K depends on temperature and transformation
The second part of formula 2 is the function f(w) describing the development of the
transformation plasticity with increasing phase transformation. Dividing the value of
transformation plasticity by the total extent at w=1 we obtain a normalized transformation
plasticity versus phase fraction diagram. We calculate the run of the normalized transformation
352
plasticity for the different kinds of transformation. For pearlitic transformation we obtain a nearly
linear evolution of the transformation plasticity without significant tendency caused by
transformation temperature (Fig. 3 left). Only at high temperatures a small stress can induce
creep (see Fig. 3 left 700C). In Fig. 3 (right) the transformation plasticity during bainitic
transformation is shown for three temperatures and a constant stress respectively. The course of
the normalized transformation plasticity has a form like a bow. The amount of the transformation
plasticity depends on the temperature at equal formed phase content.
0,8
575C
0,6
600C
700C
0,4
650C
0,2
applied stress: 100 MPa

material 100Cr6
bainitic transformation
applied stress: 50 MPa

material 100Cr6
pearlitic transformation
norm transf. plasticity
norm. transf. Plasticity
0,8
0,6
300C
350
400C
0,4
0,2
0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
formed phase fraction [%]
0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

Figure 3: Transformation plasticity as function of phase fraction and stress
Fig. 4 (left) shows the normalized transformation plasticity for differently applied stresses during
bainitic transformation at 350C. There is no difference visible in the course of the normalized
transformation plasticity due to different stresses at the same temperature.
1
norm. transf. plasticity
1
0,8
25 MPa
50 MPa
75 MPa
100 MPa
120 MPa
0,6
0,4
material: 100Cr6
temperature: 350C
bainitic transformation
0,2
0
100 MPa
-50 MPa
-100 MPa
-200 MPa
0,8
0,6
0,4
50 MPa
200 MPa
0,2
material : 100Cr6
martensitic transformation
0
0
0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

Figure 4: Normalized transformation plasticity as a function of phase fraction and stress
For the martensitic transformation shown in Fig. 4 (right), we obtain a S-curve. The shape is not
significantly influenced by the magnitude of the external stress. Only a stress near the yield
strength leads to a deviation.
Discussion
The transformation plasticity of the parameter K is a function of the yield strength of austenite,
of volume change 'V/V and temperature. The parameter K can be calculated using the formulas
(4) to (6) which have different constants. The constants we used were calculated according to
formula (7). The calculated values of the constants were compared with experimental results
353
(Fig. 5). The experimental values for pearlitic and bainitic transformation are higher than the
calculated value. The differences increase with increasing temperature for pearlite and with
decreasing temperature for bainite. The experimental value of c is smaller than that of the models
for the martensitic transformation. We found out that the constant c related to formula (7) has not
the same value for all transformation temperatures.
Greenwood and Johnson
Leblond
Abrassart
c for pearlitic transformation
c for bainitic transformation
c for martensitic transformation
1,8
1,6
constant c [-]
1,4
1,2
1
0,8
0,6
0,4
200
300
400
500
600
Temperature [C]
700
Figure :5 Comparison of constant c
The function f(w) describes the dependence of transformation plasticity on the formed phase
content. Fig. 6 shows a comprising of the calculated transformation plasticity using the models
and the experimental results. The models are not applicable for pearlitic transformation. In case
of bainitic transformation formula (8) describes the experimental results best.
1
0,8
(9)
(11)
(10)
0,6
experiment
(8)
0,4
temperature: 700C
stress: 25 MPa
0,2
0
(9)
0,8
experiment
(8)
(10)
0,6
(11)
0,4
temperature : 300C
stress : 100 MPa
0,2
0
0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

Figure 6: Example for tested models experiment results; left: pearlitic, right: bainitic transformation
Fig. 7 shows the models in comparison with the experimental results for martensitic
transformation. In case of martensitic transformation formula (11) describes the experimental
result partly good.
354
norm. transformation plasticity
1
0,9
0,8
(9)
0,7
(10)
0,6
0,5
(11)
0,4
(8)
0,3
stress : 72 MPa
experiment
0,2
0,1
0
0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
Figure 7: Martensitic transformation under applied stress and models comparison
In the published literature two mechanisms to explain the transformation plasticity are described:
Greenwood-Johnsons mechanism [Greenwood1965] and Magees mechanism [Magee1966].
Both mechanisms were discussed in [Gautier1988, Liu2001, Gautier2000, Taleb2001,
Taleb2003]. Taleb [Taleb2003] summarizes both mechanisms as following:
x The Greenwood-Johnson mechanism corresponds with the micro mechanical plastic strain
arising in the parent phase from the expansion of the product phase,
x the Magee mechanism corresponds to the formation of selected martensite variants resulting
from applied stress.
The Greenwood-Johnson mechanism resumes that transformation plasticity strain results from
the plastic deformation of the weaker phase, and its magnitude is related to the yield strength of
the weaker phase and the volume expansion of transformation [Liu 2001]. The Magee
mechanism is restricted to shear processes like the martensitic or partly the bainitic
transformation. This mechanism is based on the assumption that the transformation plasticity
strain is the result of variant orientation selection of bainite or martensite plates, and its value
depends on two components of invariant plane strain: the shear component and dilatational strain
directed normal to the habit plane [Matsuzaki1994]. It is obvious, that the extend of the
transformation plasticity is affected by the hydrostatic stress, as the value K is smaller for
compressive than for tensile loading. This effect corresponds to the constraint of a shear
controlled phase transformation by hydrostatic pressure [Pyshmintsev2002]. Also the evaluation
of the transformation plasticity versus time corresponds to the model of the Magee effect:
At the beginning of the phase transformation, the ferritic phase will constitute in favourable
oriented grains. This results in a rapid development of transformation plasticity later on, when
the transformation comes to an end. The remaining grains are oriented in a way leading only to a
small transformation plasticity.
The pearlitic transformation is completely controlled by diffusion. Therefore the Greenwood
Johnson effect is responsible for observed transformation plasticity.
The transformation constant K depends on the volume strain and on the yield strength of the
parent phase. The volume strain due to transformation and the yield strength decreases with
increasing temperature. Decreasing yield strength means that the deformation of austenite during
pearlitic transformation increases with increasing temperature. This leads to higher
transformation plasticity for higher temperature. On the other hand, the decreasing
transformation strain results in a smaller amount of transformation plasticity. As K increases
with increasing temperature, the decreasing yield strength has a higher influence on the amount
of the transformation plasticity.
355
Conclusion and outlook
The present investigation was aimed at describing of the transformation plasticity depending on
applied stress and the type of metallurgical transformation. The main results can be summarised
as follow:
x There is a linear relationship between transformation plasticity and applied stress if the stress
does not exceed a limit. This limit depends on yield strength of the austenite.
x The transformation plasticity parameter K depends on temperature, type of transformation
and loading direction (tensile or compressive).
x The models to calculate K known from the literature cannot describe the experimental
results, because they assume a common constant for all cases. In fact, the factor has to be
determined for each temperature.
x The course of the transformation plasticity is depending on metallurgical transformation.
Therefore the existent models to calculate the evolution of the transformation plasticity are
applicable to a limited extent.
x The models must be modified to calculate the parameter K and the evolution of the
transformation plasticity.
Acknowledgement
This work has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via the Collaborative Research
Centre SFB 570 Distortion Engineering at the university of Bremen.
References
Abrassart, F.: Influence des Transformations Martensitiwues sur las Properties Mecaniques des Alliages du
Systeme Fe-Ni-Cr-C. These Docteur des Sciences Physiques, Universite de Nancy France, 1972
Ahrens, U.; Besserdich, G.; Maier, H.J.: Spannungsabhngiges bainitisches und martensitisches
Umwandlungsverhalten eines niedrig legierten Stahls. HTM 55(2000)6, p. 329-338
Besserdich, G.: Untersuchungen zur Eigenspannungs- und Verzugsausbildung beim Abschrecken von Zylindern
aus den Sthlen 42CrMo4 und Ck45 unter Bercksichtigung der Umwandlungsplastizitt. Diss., Universitt
Karlsruhe, Germany 1993
Dalgic, M.; Lwisch, T.: Influence of the microstructure on the stress-strain behaviour of the bearing steel.
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Dalgic, M.; Lwisch, G.: Werkstoffkennwerte fr die Simulation von Wrmebehandlungsvorgngen, In:
Proceeding of the conference Werkstoffprfung 2003, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, Dec 4-5, 2003,
ed.: Buchholz O.W., Geisler, S., Verlag Stahleisen
Dalgic, M.; Lwisch, G.: Einfluss einer aufgeprgten Spannung auf die isotherme, perlitische uns bainitische
Umwandlung des Wlzlagerstahls 100Cr6. HTM, 59(1), 2004, p. 28-34
Denis, S.; Gautier, E.; Sjstrm, S.; Simon, A.: Influence of stresses on the kinetic of perlitic tranformation during
continiuous cooling. Acta metall. 35 (1987), p. 1621-1632
Fischer, F.D.; Reisner, G.; Werner, E.; Tanaka, K.; Cailletaud, G.; Antretter, T.: A new view on transformation
induced plasticity (TRIP). Int. J. of Plasticity 16(2000), p. 723-748
Gautier, E.: interaction between stress and diffusive phase transformation with plasticity. In: Courses and lectures
mechanics of solids with phase changes. Ed. Berveiler, M.; Fischer, F.D., Springer, Berlin, 1997, p. 104-120
Gautier, E.; Zhang, X.M.; Simon, A.: Role of internal stress state on transformation induced plasticity and
transformation mechanism during the progress of stress induced phase transformation. Proc. ICRS2, ed. G.
Beck, S. Denis, A. Simon. Elsevier Applied Science 1988, p. 777-782
Gautier, E.M.; Zhang, J.; Wen, Y., Denis, S.: Effects of stress on martensitic transformation in ferrous alloys.
Experiments and numerical simulation. Phase Transformations and Evolution in materials. Ed. By P.E.A.
Turchi and A. Gonis, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, 2000, P. 291-306
Greenwood, G.W.; Johnson, R.H.: The deformation of metals under small stresses during phase transformation.
Proc. Roy. Soc. 283A (1965), p. 403-423
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Koistinen, D.P.: A general Equation prescribing the Extent of the austenit-Martensit transformation in Pure IronCarbon Alloys and plan Carbon Steels. Acta Metallurgica, 7(1959) 59/60
Leblond, J.B.; Devaux, J.; Devaux, J.C.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels I. Case of
ideal-plastic phases. Intern. J. Plasticity 5(1989), p. 551-572
Liu, C.C.; Yao, K.F.; Xu, X.J.; Liu, Z.: Models for transformation plasticity in loaded steels subjected to bainitic
and martensitic transformation. Materials Science and Technology. 17(2001), p. 983-988
Magee, C.; Transformation kinetic, microplasticity and aging of martensitic in FE31NI. PhD. thesis, Carnegie Inst.
of Technologie University, Pittsburg, PA, 1966
Matsuzaki, A.; Bhadishia, H.K.D.H.; Harada, H.: Stress affected bainitic transformation in a Fe-C-Si-Mn alloy.
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transaction A Vol. 33 A, 2002, p. 1659-16667
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17(2001), p. 1-20
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stress-dependent phase transformation in steel via simple Experiments. Computational Materials Science 32,
2005, p. 604-610
357
Experimental investigation of transformation

plasticity in 42CD4 steel
Silvia Casotto1, Stefania Bruschi1, Paolo F. Bariani1
1
DIMEG, University of Padova, Via Venezia n.1-35131 Padova, Italy

{silvia.casotto, stefania.bruschi, paolo.bariani}@unipd.it
Abstract
The paper deals with the analysis of phenomena occurring during the cooling stage following the forming step of hot
rolled rings made of 42CD4 steel. In particular, the attention has been focused on the experimental investigation of
transformation plasticity of the phases in which austenite can transform according to different cooling rates. The
obtained data have been implemented in a finite element model capable to reproduce thermal, mechanical and
metallurgical events which occur during cooling as well as the coupling between them. The calibrated numerical
model has then been validated through laboratory experiments in order to check its reliability in predicting rings
geometry and microstructure at room temperature.
Keywords
Numerical simulation, cooling, transformation plasticity
Introduction
The cooling following hot forming operations can affect steel-made components in such a way
that pieces can assume, at room temperature, geometries that can dramatically differ from the
nominal ones as well as unsuitable microstructures. The causes of such deviations can be found
in each step of the manufacturing process but, mainly, at the cooling stage with the consequence
that subsequent machining operations and/or heat treatments are necessary to correct these
defects leading to the increase of productive costs [Casotto, 2005].
Nowadays hot ring rolling process is widely used to produce seamless rings in a wide range of
materials, dimensions and section shapes. The important advantages of this technology are the
short production time, the good surface finish and the possibility to work with close geometrical
tolerances. However, one of the main limitations of hot ring rolling is the accurate control of the
cooling phase. Indeed, even for rectangular section rings, it has been remarked that up to 20% of
the material is wasted due to out-of-roundness, deviation from planarity an other geometrical
errors occurring during this step which have to be removed through expensive cutting operations.
This explains the need to work with high material allowances [Eru, 1992].
The possibility to overcome the above limitations is linked to the capability to model the cooling
phase after deformation taking into account all phenomena occurring during it, mainly nonsimultaneous phase transformations and non-homogeneous boundary conditions which have
been recognized to be the most influent factors on geometrical distortions and unsuitable
microstructure of steel-made components at room temperature [Casotto, 2005].
Several numerical models of the cooling process, mostly FE-based, are today available to predict
final shape and microstructure of components at room temperature; they can generally simulate
thermal, mechanical and metallurgical events occurring during cooling and the interrelations
between them. However, an accurate prediction requires the implementation of a great amount of
data related to the process, to the material and, especially, to the phases in which austenite can
transform during cooling [Claudinon, 2002]. Among these data, plastic properties of the phases
and, mostly, transformation plasticity significantly influence the model predictions.
358
Transformation plasticity strain can appear when a structural transformation occurs in presence
of an applied load, even if this load is lower than the yield strength of the weaker phase.
However, in most of the scientific work related to the design and optimization of the cooling step
after hot forming operations, the modelling of these phenomena classicaly treated from a
metallurgical standpoint is not required.
The objective of the paper is twofold:
1. to set up and to carry out experiments to determine transformation plasticity strain for all
the phases in which the investigated steel 42CD4 can transform during cooling from
austenitization condition;
2. to calibrate and to validate the numerical model used to estimate geometrical distortions
and microstructural constituents percentage of hot rolled rings at room temperature.
In the first part the paper presents the FE-based model developed to simulate the cooling step of
rings after hot ring rolling operations capable to take into account all phenomena occurring
during it. Then the testing procedure used to determine transformation plasticity strain of phases
(a mix of ferrite+pearlite, bainite and martensite) are presented and relevant results are discussed.
Finally, the model validation is illustrated and its predictions are compared with data obtained
through laboratory tests.
The numerical model of the cooling phase
The possibility to predict geometrical distortions and microstructural evolutions in steel

components during cooling from austenitization conditions with sufficient accuracy strongly
depends on the model capability to simulate all the events occurring during this stage of the
production process. This requires the complete understanding of all the thermal, mechanical and
metallurgical phenomena.
2.1
Modelling the cooling phase
The numerical model of the cooling phase of rings after the exit from the rolling mill has been
set-up and calibrated taking as reference a rectangular section ring whose productive process is
schematically shown in Figure 1 and whose nominal dimensions are indicated as well.
Rolling stage
Stacking
conveyor
OD
[mm]
ID
[mm]
H
[mm]
1288
1092
146
Figure 1: The reference industrial process with the reference ring nominal dimensions.
A 2D axisymmetric model of the cooling step implemented in the FEM code Forge 2 has been
chosen; such a model is feasible due to the ring rotational symmetric geometry and boundary
conditions as well as phenomena occurring during this stage. Some assumptions have been done
to simplify the calculations. In particular, at the exit from the rolling mill, the thermal field and
the ring geometry are estimated to be the nominal ones (supported by the results of 3D
simulations of the ring rolling process and from data collected during on-field measurements),
the ring microstructure (austenite grain size) is intended uniform in the section and previous
thermal and mechanical histories are considered negligible [Bruschi, 2005]. Moreover, it has
been supposed that, when rings get the stacking zone, all relevant structural transformations have
already taken place.
As the model reliability in predicting strongly depends on the accuracy of the data implemented
in the model itself, a deep calibration has involved the introduction of data related to process
359
conditions and to material properties. In particular, the calibration has been extended to those
parameters showing a more significant effect on the ring geometry and microstructure evolution
during cooling.
With regard to process conditions, a large number of on-field measurements has been carried out
to measure the geometry and the surface temperatures of rings at different instants during
cooling. A laser measuring system integrated with optical pyrometers has then been used to
perform this task. These measurements made it possible to estimate the heat transfer coefficients
with the environment through inverse analyses techniques; the obtained values (500
conveyor side and 65
W
for the
m2K
W
for the air) have then been introduced in the FE-based model to
m2K
improve its accuracy in predicting temperature evolution. Details are reported in [Casotto, 2005].
Material data about phases in which austenite can transform have been implemented as well in
the numerical model. These data include, for all the phases, thermo-physical properties (density,
thermal conductivity, specific heat and thermal expansion coefficients), elastic characteristics
(Young modulus and Poisson ratio), and plastic properties (flow stress, transformation plasticity
and parameters related to TTT curves). While some of them can be found in scientific literature,
the other ones have to be generated through complex and expensive laboratory experiments. In
order to avoid useless experimentation, a preliminary sensitivity analysis has been carried out to
focus the attention only on those parameters critical for prediction accuracy.
2.2
Sensitivity analysis results
Sensitivity analysis has the main objective to identify those parameters with the highest influence
on geometry and microstructure evolution until room temperature, in order to focus the efforts on
their experimental determination. Among them, transformation plasticity has been recognized to
play an important role in the definition of final geometry of pieces [Pascon, 2004].
The robustness of the numerical model has been tested on two rectangular-section rings of
notably different diameters. Different numerical simulations have been performed, varying the
transformation plasticity coefficient for each phase. Then dimensions and microstructure after
cooling have been recorded in some relevant zones of the section. Figure 2 illustrates main
results. The diagram on the left shows the differences between calculated and nominal inner and
outer diameters of the largest ring at room temperature in two extreme situations: in one case the
transformation plasticity contribution has been neglected, while in the other one values found in
literature have been implemented.
5
|sim- nom|
[mm]
ID
ID
OD
OD
3
2
1
0
tp=0
1
tp
2
(literature)
ID*
[mm]
OD*
[mm]
H*
[mm]
1070
1182
84
*Nominal dimensions
Figure 2: Influence of tp on ring geometrical distortions in terms of difference between calculated and
nominal internal (ID) and external (OD) diameters at room temperature.
360
From Figure 2, a significant difference can be remarked in the two different situations, proving
that the calibration of the numerical model cannot neglect the influence of transformation
plasticity strain of phases appearing during cooling.
Transformation plasticity determination
This section describes the setting up and the carrying out of laboratory experiments to evaluate
transformation plasticity strain. For all the phases, the experimentation has been performed
according to the testing procedure illustrated by [Taleb, 2001]. The study of transformation
plasticity has been extended not only to those phases obtainable during an air cooling but also to
bainite and martensite resulted from a more severe cooling.
3.1
Testing procedure
Transformation plasticity is an irreversible strain observed when a metallurgical transformation

occurs under small external stress lower that the yield stress of the weaker phase [Taleb, 2001]. It
seems important to precise what the expression external stress means. It has been demonstrated
that even during phase transformation without an external applied load, a permanent strain can
appear in the case of mixtures of austenite-bainite and austenite-martensite. This is due to the
stresses generated from the differences in the phases specific volumes appearing during
transformation [Petit-Grostabussiat, 2004]. This phenomenon can become more and more
relevant when thermal stress coming from non-homogenous temperature distributions in the
component are superimposed to these micro-stresses. From this standpoint, it can be deduced
that transformation plasticity appears each time the stress that arises can be considered external
with reference to the growing-up phase [Coret, 2002].
In order to accurately evaluate transformation plasticity strain for all phases transformations
occurring from austenitization to room temperature, according to 42CD4 CCT curves, the testing
procedure suggested from literature has been adapted to the experimental equipment available in
laboratory.
All the tests have been carried out on the thermo-mechanical simulator Gleeble 3800TM capable
to perform coupled thermal and mechanical cycles and to assure an accurate control of all testing
parameters during the experiments; temperature has been continuously monitored though k-type
thermocouples welded on the specimen surface. The adopted tensile specimen has been designed
according to ASTM E8-97 (standard test methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Materials) and
ASTM E21-92 (Standard Tests Methods for Elevated Temperatures Tension Tests of Metallic
Materials). During the test, the phase transformation starting and ending have been monitored
through a C-Gauge dilatometer [Casotto, 2004]. The testing apparatus is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Testing apparatus on Gleeble 3800TM.
The testing procedure consists of two cycles [Taleb, 2001]. First, a free dilatometric test has been
performed on the tensile specimen, which has been heated until austenitization and then cooled
until room temperature. The cooling rate has been chosen according to CCT curves to obtain the
361
desired microstructure. Then the test called transformation plasticity test has been carried out: a
mechanical cycle has been superimposed to the thermal one starting just before the beginning of
the phase transformation to investigate. At the end, metallographic analyses have been performed
to check the effectiveness of the applied thermal cycle.
The complete transformation plasticity test procedure is shown in Figure 4 where total strain vs.
temperature during the test on the mixture of pearlite+ferrite is represented.
T [C]
[MPa]
Austenitization
900C
Controlled
cooling
Ti
3C/s
Troom
ti
Time
Figure 4: Testing procedure.
The total strain can be calculated as
(1)
tot = th + el + p + tp + vp
tot
el
p
tp
vp
th
where is the total strain, while H , , , , are, respectively, thermal, elastic,
plastic, transformation plasticity and viscoplastic components.
Few assumptions permit to simplify calculations by neglecting some contributions in (1). If the
load external to the growing-up phase is lower than the yield stress of the weaker phase present
at the beginning of the structural transformation, it can be supposed that the classic plastic strain
( p ) is negligible. As Desalos [Desalos, 1981] assumed, viscoplastic strain can also be neglected
if the stress is applied between 600 and 650C, in the temperature range where creep
phenomenon is less significant.
Finally, the transformation plasticity strain can be estimated as
(2)
tp = tot - th - el
where tot and th are deduced from the dilatometric tests and el can be calculated in the
classical way.
The ratio
k=
tp
g (Z ) *
(3)
is called transformation plasticity coefficient ( k ), where is the applied stress, tp the

transformation plasticity strain and Z the volume proportion of the product phase. Z can be
estimated as:
th - 1 (T - T ) + 12T
Z=
- 1 )(T - T ) + 12T
(4)
for diffusive transformations (ferrite, pearlite and bainite) and as
Z = 1- e
[ c (M -T )]
s
(5)
362
for non-diffusive (martensitic) transformation (Koistinen-Marburger equation).
In (4) and (5), 1 , 2 and 12T are deduced from the free dilatometric tests while c is a kinetic
parameter whose value can be considered approximately 0.011 [Judlin-Denis, 1987]. More in
detail, 1 is the thermal dilatation coefficient for the phase, 2 the thermal dilatation
coefficient of phase, both considered depending on temperature, 12T the difference between
thermal strain of and phases at the reference temperature ( T D # 25qC ) and H th the thermal
strain. In the case austenite transforms in more than one phase (i.e. the case of the mixture
ferrite+pearlite), Z is intended to be the sum of the two volume proportions.
Then (4) can equivalently be written as:
th = (T - T ) + (1 - Z )1225C
(6)
where
= Z 2 + (1 - Z )1
(7)
25C
12
12 = - T -
(8)
Some values of the above mentioned coefficients are summarized in the following table.
1 [10-6/C]
D 2 [10-6/C]
25qC
'H 12
pearlite+ferrite
23.8
14.9
-0.010
bainite
23.8
14.9
-0.011
martensite
23.8
14.9
-0.012
Table 1: Values of thermal expansion coefficient and thermal strain of phases.
The procedure used to estimate tp = f (Z ) cannot be considered very accurate as it is based on

the assumption that the applied load doesnt influence the kinetics of phase transformation;
however this hypothesis can be considered valid only for low applied stresses.
The previously described procedure has been applied to the phase transformations that give
pearlite+ferrite (in the mixture of 50% for each phase), bainite and martensite.
Relevant testing parameters, as the cooling rate, the level of applied stress and the temperature at
which this stress is applied, are summarized in Table 2.
Stress [MPa]
Taust [C]
Cooling rate
[C/s]
Tappl
[C]
pearlite+ferrite
900
0.375
740
18
25
bainite
900
1.250
600
14
24
35
martensite
900
40
380
11
21
32
44
Table 2: Experimental plan to determine transformation plasticity strain.
Results from the experiments are in part illustrated in Figure 5 which gives transformation
plasticity evolution versus temperature for all phases. The applied load is always less then a
quarter of the yield stress of austenite at the temperature of load application [Taleb, 2001]. Under
this assumption, it has been proved that k coefficient versus applied stress has a linear trend. It
can be remarked that transformation plasticity strain increases faster at the beginning and, then, it
exhibits a saturation for H tp # 0.7 - 0.8 [Taleb, 2001], [Petit-Grostabussiat, 2000].
363
Validation of the numerical model
It is well known that the validation of a model is one of the most difficult task to be performed
due to those errors which normally appear during the comparison between simulation predictions
and experiments results whose reasons are not always easy to be identified.
In this application, after the implementation of experimental data in the software, the developed
numerical model has then been validated by mean of laboratory tests carried out on rectangular
and profiled-section rings made of the reference steel. These rings have been heated until
1080 C in a muffle furnace in order to reproduce the industrial process conditions at the
beginning of cooling (just after the exit from the rolling mill).
0.0030
0.0020
Pearlite+ferrite
0.0025
loa
d
tp
0.0015
loa
tp
0.0020
Bainite
0.0015
0.0010
0.0010
0.0005
0.0005
0.0000
0.0000
500
560
620
680
Temperature [C]
0.0015
740
320
380
440
500
Temperature [C]
Martensite
Transformation plasticity
coefficient
tp
lo a
d
0.0010
0.0005
pearlite+ferrite
bainite
martensite
0.0000
120
560
160
200
240
280
Temperature [C]
k [10-4MPa-1]
1
2
2.1
2.2
1.0
1.6
0.9
0.7
3
2.3
1.8
0.7
320
Figure 5: Results of transformation plasticity tests.
Then the components have been arranged on a metallic plate and the temperature evolution has
been monitored through k-type thermocouples spot welded on their surface. Their geometrical
profile has been measured on a Coordinate Measuring Machine before heating and at the end of
cooling in order to evaluate possible deviations from the nominal geometry. Later on,
metallographic analyses have been carried out in order to identify phase distribution in the
section.
Finally results from the laboratory experiments and previsions made by the numerical analysis
have been compared in order to prove the reliability of the implemented numerical model in
predictions in terms both of geometry and microstructure at room temperature. Figure 6 presents
some results of the comparison in terms of microstructure. As it can be seen, a good accordance
between numerical and experimental results has been found proving that the FE-based model can
be used to make reliable predictions of room temperature geometry of hot rolled rings made in
42CD4 steel.
Conclusions
The paper has presented the calibration of the numerical model developed to reproduce the
cooling of rings made of 42CD4 steel after ring rolling operations from the austenitization
temperature. In particular, the accurate modelling of the transformation plasticity of all the
phases in which austenite may transform during cooling has proved its importance in letting the
numerical model give reliable results in terms of geometrical distortions and microstructure at
364
room temperature. Reliable values of transformation plasticity coefficients for all the phases have
been then experimentally determined and implemented in the model. The final validation of the
numerical model through laboratory experiments reproducing controlled cooling rates has then
proved the validity of the approach and it has exhibited a good accordance both in terms of
geometry and microstructure predictions.
A
~65%
~50%
~35%
B
Laboratory
C
ID
OD
[mm]
[mm]
[mm]
60
100
30
Numerical
Pearlite percentage
Figure 6: Laboratory validation of the FE-based model.

References
Bruschi, Stefania; Casotto, Silvia; Dal Negro, Tommaso; Bariani Paolo F.: Real-Time Predicition ofGeometrical
Distortions of Jot-Rolled Steel Ring during Cooling. Accepted for publication on the Annals of CIRP.
Casotto, Silvia; Pascon, Frdric; Habraken, Anne Marie; Bruschi, Stefania: Thermo-mechanical-metallurgical
model to predict geometrical distortions of rings during cooling phase after ring rolling operations.
International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, Vol 45, 2005, pp. 657-664.
Casotto, Silvia: Internal Report. DIMEG, 07/2004, in Italian.
Claudinon, Stphane; Lamesle, Pascal; Orteu, Jean-Jos; Fortunier, Roland: Continuous in Situ Measurement of
Quenching Distortions Using Computer Vision. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol 122, 2002,
pp. 69-81.
Chuncheng, Liu; Ke-Fu Yao; Zhuang Liu; Guofeng Gao: Study of the Effect of Stress and Strain on Martensite
Transformation: Kinetics and Transformation Plasticity. Journal of Computer-Aided Materials Design, Vol7,
2000, pp. 63-69.
Coret, Michel; Calloch, Sylvain; Combescure, Alain: Experimental study of phase transformation plasticity of
16MND5 low carbon steel under multiaxial loading. International Journal of Plasticity, Vol 18, 2002, pp.
1707-1727.
Desalos, Yves: Comportement Dilatomtrique et Mcanique de lAustnite Mtastable dun Acier A 533. IRSID,
Report No 95 34 94 01, MET44.
Eru Erden; Shivpuri Rajiv: A Summary of Ring Rolling Technology-II. Recent Trends in Process Modelling,
Simulation, Planning, and Control. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, Vol 32, No3,
1992, pp. 399-413.
Judlin-Denis, S: Modlisation des interactions contraintetransformation de phase et calcul par lments finis de la
gnre des contraintes internes au cours de la trempe des aciers, Thse de doctorat, Institution National
Polytechnique de Lorraine, 1987.
Pascon, Frderic; Bls Guilhem; Bouffioux Chantal; Casotto Silvia; Bruschi Stefania; Habraken Anne Marie:
Prediction of Distortion during Cooling of Steel Rolled Rings using Thermal-Mechanical-Metallurgical Finite
Element Model. 10th International Metal Forming Conference, Krakow, September 2004, pp.457-464.
Petit-Grostabussiat, Sophie; Taleb, Lakhdar; Jullien, Jean-Franois: Experimental Results on Classical plasticity of
steels subjected to structural transformations. International Journal of Plasticity, Vol 20, 2004, pp. 1371-1386
Petit-Grostabussiat, Sophie: Consquences Mcaniques des transformations structurales dans les alliages ferreux.
Thse de doctorat, Institut National des Sciences Appliques de Lyon, 2000.
Rees, G.I.; Shipway, Philip H.: Modelling transformation plasticity during the growth of bainite under stress.
Materials Science and Engineering A Vol 223, 1997, pp. 168-178.
Shipway, Philip H.; Bhadeshia, Harshad Kumar Dharamshi Hansrasj: The effect of small stresses on the kinetics of
the bainite transformation. Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol 201, 1995, pp. 143-149.
Taleb, Lakhdar; Sidoroff, Franois: A Micromechanical Modelling of the Greenwood-Johnson mechanism in
transformation induced plasticity. International Journal of Plasticity, Vol 19, 2003, pp. 1821-1842.
Taleb, Lakhdar; Cavallo, Nathalie; Waeckel, Franois: Experimental analysis of transformation plasticity.
International Journal of Plasticity, Vol 17, 2001, pp. 1-20.
365
Influence of TRIP on the residual stress

development during heat treatment of high
alloyed cast irons
Rainer Raberger1, Michael Brandner2, Bruno Buchmayr3
1
Graz University of Technology, Institute for Materials Science, Welding and Forming, Austria,
2
Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen R&E Weinberger AG, Austria
University of Leoben, Department for Product Engineering, Austria
Abstract
Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) means the plastic flow which occurs during phase transformation of solid
materials. TRIP can be observed at stresses much lower than the yield stress. Since high alloyed cast iron is
characterized by an austenite to martensite transformation with a low martensite start temperature of approximately
550K, the austenite to martensite transformation is still in progress at ambient temperature and TRIP has a significant
influence on the final residual stress state. In this paper, two different types of high alloyed cast irons are investigated
experimentally by a modified Satoh-Test on a Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical testing machine. The results of these
experiments are discussed and compared with computer simulations based on the Leblond model. Good agreement
was only observed when the TRIP effect is taken into account numerically.
Keywords
Transformation Induced Plasticity, TRIP, Satoh-Test, alloyed cast iron, residual stress
Introduction
Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) is a phenomenon which occurs only in materials

undergoing phase transformations. Plastic deformation occurs although the applied stress is
much lower than the current yield stress of the weaker phase. This behaviour can be described
using the following equation [Leblond, 1989]:
H tr
3
K S hV e ,V yHT ln z z
2
eqn. 1
where H tr is the TRIP strain rate, K is a material constant, S is the actual stress deviator, V is
the effective stress, z is the transformed phase fraction, z the transformation rate and h is a
function depending on the yield stress of the weaker phase ( V yHT ) and the effective stress ( V e ) in
the material. Several papers deal with this phenomenon [Leblond, 1989] [Denis, 1989] [Denis,
1987] [Denis, 1985] [Abbasi, 1985] [Besserdich, 1994] [Cavallo, 1998] [Gautier, 1994] [Mitter,
1985] [Karkhin, 2001] [Enzinger, 2002].
Many TRIP models assume K to be a constant [Mitter, 1987]. Leblond suggested a formula to
evaluate K depending on the strain difference between the low-temperature and the hightemperature phase and the yield stress at a specific temperature according to:
K T
H LT H HT
V HT
eqn. 2
where V HT is the yield stress of the high-temperature phase, H LT and H HT are the thermal strains
of the low- and the high-temperature phase, respectively, and T is the temperature.
366
Thermal Strain
In order to make use of eqn. 2, H LT and H HT must be known at each temperature. In the HT and
LT single phase regions, this quantities can be determined directly from experiment. In the twophase region, i.e. during phase transformation, the thermal strains of the individual phases are
extrapolated and the overall material properties are calculated based on the intercept theorem
[Wever, 1954].
Figure 1 schematically shows an experimental dilatometer curve (dashed line) together with an
approximate description of the dilatation behaviour of the material during phase transformation.
Low-Temperature Phase
HLT
Experimental Dilatometercurve
HHT
High-Temperature Phase
AR1
AR3
AC1 AC3
Temperature
Figure 1: Dilatations of individual phases and extrapolation
In general, the K -value calculated with eqn. 2 are in reasonable agreement with experimental
data. Table 1 gives a summary of published experimental K values for different materials
compared to values calculated with the Leblond model [Enzinger, 2002]. Figure 2 shows the
Leblond values of K(T) for materials investigated in this work.
Material
Transformation
product
K experimental
[10-5]
K Leblond
[10-5]
60 NCD 11
Martensite
8.0
9.3
A533
Bainite
10.0
9.3
35 NCD 16
Martensite
5.0
7.3
FE-31 Ni
Martensite
10.0
9.4
SAE 4140
Martensite
4.2
St52-3
Ferrite, Bainite
13.0
18.0
Table 1: Experimental and Leblond K values [Enzinger, 2002]
367
18
-1
K(T) in MPa x 10
-5
16
14
Material B
12
10
8
Material A
6
4
2
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Temperature in K
Figure 2: K(T) determined using the Leblond model (eqn. 2) and intercept theorem
Experimental Details
I7
I 10
The materials are two different types of high alloyed cast irons and are designated with the letters
A and B. The thermal strains were assessed by evaluating dilatometer curves. Figure 3 shows the
specimen geometry for a Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical testing machine, which was used to
measure the temperature dependent yield strength in a so-called Satoh-Test as described in the
next chapter. Tables 2 and 3 show the chemical composition of materials A and B which are
characterised by different carbide contents of 22% (A) and 12% (B).
15
60
15
140
Figure 3: Specimen geometry for modified Satoh-Test in mm

wt-%
Si
Mn
Cr
Ni
Mo
Min
2.6
0.3
0.8
0.0
0.0
15
1.2
1.0
Max
2.9
0.6
1.1
0.2
0.1
18
1.5
1.3
Table 2: Chemical composition of material A

wt-%
Si
Mn
Cr
Ni
Mo
Min
1.6
0.6
0.6
0.0
0.0
10
1.7
1.0
Max
1.9
0.9
0.9
0.2
0.1
13
2.0
1.3
Table 3: Chemical composition of material B
2.1
The modified Satoh-Test
The influence of TRIP on the residual stress level can be investigated by clamping the ends of a
specimen undergoing thermal cycles. Such an experiment is called Satoh Test with reference
to the pioneering work of this author [Satoh, 1973], who developed it in order to gain qualitative
insight into the development of residual stresses during welding. In the original Satoh-Test the
368
specimen is fixed with clamping jaws and temperature cycles are performed. The resulting force
which affects the clamping is measured.
In this investigation, the test was modified to account for some specific requirements. Since the
simulation model just takes into account phase transformation during the cooling process, only
cooling was investigated experimentally. This is a major difference to the original Satoh-Test,
where the heating process was also considered.
In the present experiments the specimen is heated up under free expansion. When reaching the
maximum temperature, the clamping jaws are fixed before starting the cooling process. While
cooling the specimen, the force, which is caused by contraction of the specimen, is measured.
The highest temperature at the moment when the clamping jaws are fixed is 1253K. In this way
residual stress developing in the material during cooling can be watched.
Finite element model
The material properties for finite element simulations have to be given over the entire
temperature range of the simulation. In the present investigations, special modules calculate
weighted material properties between HT- and LT-Phase to characterize the different
compositions of HT- and LT-Phase [Buchmayr, 1991]. A commercial FE-software (AnsysTM) is
used, which is coupled to some user defined modules and subroutines.
Figure 4 shows the axisymmetric FE-model for the simulation of the Satoh-Test. The model
consists of different parts with different functions. For the region in the middle of the specimen,
the TRIP has to be accounted for, because in this part of the sample the temperature exceeds the
AC3 temperature. Other parts of the specimen never get hot enough to allow phase
transformation. To calculate the right temperature profile, a sufficiently large mass is introduced
to simulate the heat conduction inside the clamping. To include the finite stiffness of the testing
machine, an additional component with appropriate spring constant is added at the left end of the
simulation domain.
Ambient temperature
Heat conduction
of clamping
Spring constant
of testing machine
Part of specimen
without transformation
Part of specimen
with transformation
Axisymmetric
Figure 4: FE-model for Satoh-Test
While performing the Satoh-Test experiments, a clear dependency between the measured force
and the carbide content has been observed. A higher carbide content causes a higher force
(residual stress) measured at the end of the experiment. The reason for this phenomenon is that
carbides do not take part in the phase transformation. This behaviour is accounted for in the
simulations using the following formula:
tr
Hcar
tr
1 zcar n H tr
eqn. 3
tr
is
where H is the TRIP-strain rate after Leblond, zcar is the volume fraction of carbides and Hcar
the TRIP-strain rate used for simulation. For the exponent n , a value of 1 is used in the
simulation.
369
Results
Figures 5 and 6 compare the experimental and simulated Satoh-tests for material A and B. To
show the influence of TRIP, there are two simulation results displayed in Figure 5 together with
the temperature history of the experiment. One of the simulations is carried out with TRIP and
the other one without TRIP. In both diagrams (Figures 5 and 6) significant reduction of the
calculated and experimental force curve appears at the time when the transformation starts and
transformation plasticity takes place.
16
1600
Material A - Simulation without TRIP
Force in kN
1200
Material A - Simulation
800
400
Temperature in K
Temperature
12
Material A - Experiment I
Material A - Experiment II
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
0
2500
Time in seconds
Figure 5: Modified Satoh-Test material A experiment and simulation
Temperature
Material B - Experiment II
12
Force in kN
Material B - Experiment I
Material B - Simulation
1600
1200
800
400
Temperature in K
16
0
0
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
Time in seconds
Figure 6: Modified Satoh-Test material B experiment and simulation
During processing of these materials, various heat treatments with reheating during phase
transformation are commonly applied. Figure 7 shows such a typical temperature profile where
the sample is reheated after it has reached a certain critical temperature. By applying this heat
treatment during a Satoh-Test, the measured force decreases during reheating due to thermal
expansion. During cooling after reheating, the force increases initially; after reaching the same
force than before reheating it decreases again. The temperature at the force maximum after
reheating is the same temperature, than the one when the reheating process was started.
16
Force - (Exp.)
14
Force in kN
12
1600
1873
Force - (Sim.)
1400
1673
1200
1473
Force - (Exp.)
Temperature
1000
1273
10
800
1073
8
Force - (Sim.)
873
600
673
400
200
473
Temperature in K
370
273
0
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Time in seconds
Figure 7: Modified Satoh-Test with reheating (material A)
Figure 8 shows the development of two stress components, i.e. plastic strain and TRIP strain. At
high temperature, the yield stress is very low. Therefore, yielding is easy and plastic deformation
of the specimen occurs. At lower temperature the strength of the material increases drastically
and further plastic deformation does not occur. TRIP-strain is observed from the moment when
phase transformation starts. The TRIP strain increases, when the transformation is in progress.
The reheating process interrupts the phase transformation, so TRIP can not be observed and
TRIP strain is constant.
TRIP-Strain
Temperature
0,012
1450
1200
Strain [1]
Plastic Strain (excl. TRIP)
0,009
950
0,006
700
0,003
450
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Temperature in K
0,015
200
3500
Time in seconds
Figure 8: Simulated TRIP- and plastic strain during the Satoh-Test with reheating (material A)
Summary and conclusions
The influence of TRIP during cooling of two different high alloyed cast irons with different
carbide content has been investigated with a modified Satoh-Test on a Gleeble 1500 thermomechanical testing machine. To analyze the influence of plastic strain and TRIP strain this
experiment is accompanied by a finite element analysis using the commercial software AnsysTM.
The TRIP-model after Leblond is implemented with a user defined subroutine. Good agreement
between experiment and simulation is observed. The results clearly emphasize that for materials
with low transformation temperature, TRIP has to be taken into account for residual stress
371
simulation. If TRIP is neglected the simulation results differ significantly from experimental
observation.
Acknowledgement
This investigation was performed with ESW, Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen R&E Weinberger AG and financially
supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency Ltd (FFG).
References
Abbasi, F.; Fletcher, A.: Effect of transformation plasticity on generation of thermal stress and strain in quenched
steel plates, Materials Science and Technology, 1985, 830-837
Besserdich, G.; Scholtes, B.; Mller, H.; Macherauch, E.: consequences of transformation plasticity on the
development of residual stresses and distortions during martensitic hardening of SAE 4140 steel cylinders,
Steel Research, 1994, 41-46
Buchmayr, B.: Computer in der Werkstoff- und Schweitechnik, Fachbuchreihe Schweitechnik, Bd. 112, DVSVerlag, Dsseldorf 1991, S. 6-15
Cavallo, N.; Taleb, L.; Jullien, J.; Waeckel, F.; Wadier, Y.; Thermomechanical behaviour of a carbon manganese
steel under martensitic transformation, Fifth int. conf. Residual Stresses, Lindkping 1998, Erricson, T.; Oden,
M.; Anderson eds.; 238-243
Denis, S.; Gautier, E.; Simo, A; Beck, G.: Stress-phase-transformation interactions basic principles, modelling,
and calculation of internal stresses, Materials Science and Technology, 1985, 805-814
Denis, S.; Simon, A.: Discussion on the role of transformation plasticity in the calculation of quench stresses in
steels, Residual stresses in science and technology, 1987, 565-580
Denis, S.; Sjstrm, S.; Simon, A.: Coupled Temperature, Stress, Phase Transformation Calculation Model
Numerical Illustration of the internal stress evolution during cooling of a eutectoid carbon steel cylinder,
Metallurgical Transactions A, 1989, 551-572
Enzinger, N.: Modelling welding residual stresses with a commercial multipurpose finite element program, in:
Mathematical Modelling of Weld Phenomena 6, Edited by H. Cerjak and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia, Maney
Publishing, London, 2002, 519-537
Gautier, F.; Denis, S.; Liebaut C.; Sjstrm, S.; Simon A: Mechanical behaviour of Fe-C alloys during
transformation, Journal de Physice IV, 1994 279-284
Karkhin, V.; Kreutz, W.; Pavlova, N; Schultz, W.: Effect of low-temperature phase transformation on residual
stress distributions in laser welded joints, in: Mathematical Modelling of Weld Phenomena 5, Edited by H.
Cerjak and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia, Maney Publishing, London, 2001, 597-614
Leblond, J.B.; Deveaux, J; Deveaux, J.B.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels I: Case of
ideal-plastic phases, International Journal of Plasticity Vol. 5, 1989, 551-572
Leblond, J.B.: Mathematical modelling of transformation plasticity in steels II: Coupling with strain hardening
phenomena, International Journal of Plasticity Vol. 5, 1989, 573-591
Mitter W.: Umwandlungsplastizitt und ihre Bercksichtigung bei der Berechnung von Eigenspannungen,
Habilitationschrift, Leoben, 1987
Satoh, K: Transient thermal stresses of weld-affected zone by both-ends-fixed bar analogy, Trans. Jap. Welding
Soc. 3, 1973, 125-134
Wever, F.; Rose A.; Peter, W.; Strassburg, W.; Rademacher, R.: Atlas zur Wrmebehandlung der Sthle, Teil I;
Max-Planck-Inst. Eisenforsch. U. Werkstoffaussch. Verein Deutscher Eisenhttenleute, Dsseldorf 1954
372
12. Compensation of distortion
373
374
375
Design and Application of Quality Control

Strategies at the Operational Level of a
Production Process Chain
Matko Dijkman1, Christoph Ament2, Gert Goch1
1
University of Bremen, Department of Production Engineering, BIBA, Hochschulring 20, D-28359

Bremen, Germany, dij@biba.uni-bremen.de, gg@biba.uni-bremen.de
University of Freiburg, Laboratory for Systems Theory, Georges-Khler-Allee 103, D-79110 Freiburg,
Germany, ament@imtek.de
Abstract
This paper presents strategies for an automated control of distortion at the operational level of a production process
chain, as well as first steps towards a combined implementation in heat-treatment processes. In order to minimise the
loss of production due to quality defects, the first quality control loop will be implemented on an in-process level.
The second control loop within the reach of operational control includes the feedback of post-process measurements
of quality features. As such, the post-process control loop optimises the set-values of the in-process control loop.
Keywords
In-process closed-loop quality control, geometric distortion, heat treatment
Introduction
In the production of steel parts, every sub-process (i.e. casting, forming, hardening, cutting, etc.)
induces distortion potential, which may cause deformations of the workpiece. The collaborative
research centre Distortion Engineering (SFB570 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft,
DFG) investigates methods to reduce geometric distortion.
In the subproject B6, one of the goals is to establish an active compensation of distortion at the
operational level of the production process. For the following reasons, especially the heattreatment processes (heating and quenching) qualify for this task:
1. Usually, the distortion potential firstly becomes evident during heat-treatment of the
workpiece, as this production step emphasizes the geometric deviations due to the
distortion potential. In the previous stages of the production chain, the distortion potential
can almost only be detected using advanced, off-line measuring techniques, such as
radiography and photothermal measurements of residual stresses. By applying in-process
geometric measurements like digital holography and laser-triangulation [Stbener, 2003]
in the heat treatment processes, an on-line compensation of distortion can be realised.
2. Thermally induced geometric deviations offer a great potential to correct any geometric
distortion resulting from the distortion potential that gradually builds up along the process
chain. Therefore, special installations for a controlled furnace heating and (gas-)
quenching are being developed in the SFB 570.
To ensure an optimal efficiency in incorporating the measurements mentioned above in the heat
treatment processes, strategies for an automated quality control at different levels of the
production chain have to be established. These strategies range from common in-process control
loops to interactions between the various sub-processes [Pfeifer, 2001], [Dijkman, 2004]. The
operational level of quality control, including both in- and post-process control loops, offers
376
several challenges in regard of the applied control strategies: On an in-process level, the actual
quality feature of the workpiece (in this case the deviations in geometry) has to be compensated
instead of controlling the process parameters. Therefore, the applied hardware has to enable an
in-process acquisition and feedback of the geometry to a controller, even under extreme
circumstances (i.e. high temperatures, short process times).
Todays post-process quality control usually involves the analysis of random samples, in
combination with statistical process control, to detect quality defects. Subsequently, machine
operators adjust the process parameters suitably, relying on their process knowledge and
experience. In order to utilise the complex mechanisms of distortion in a post-process control
loop, this level of quality control has to be automated, requiring advanced concepts towards the
controller design, the analysis and the feedback of post-process measurements.
This paper presents strategies for the above mentioned quality control at the operational level of
a production process chain, in a unified view of in- and post-process control. The similarities
between the heating- and gas-quenching process (i.e. heat transfer, multiple actuators, applied
measurements) allow the development of overall control strategies for heat-treatment, which are
discussed in the next chapter. The actual implementation of the strategies in one of the heattreatment processes is described in the third chapter, using the gas-quenching process as an
example.
Strategies for Quality Control at the Operational Level
2.1
In-Process Quality Control
Both the heating and the gas-quenching processes are equipped with multiple, spatially
distributed actuators, in order to locally control the heat transfer to or from the workpiece.
Besides the workpiece geometry, the temperature distribution at the workpiece surface will be
acquired in-process as well. Therefore, the overall strategy for the dynamic in-process closedloop control consists of a cascade as shown in Figure 1.
Set
value
PIcontroller
Preliminary
filter
Actuators
Production
process
Control
variable
Measurement of
surface temperature
Inner feedback loop
State space
controller
Measurement of
geometric distortion
Figure 1: Strategy for in-process closed-loop control
The inner feedback loop controls the process parameters (in this case the temperature
distribution). To increase the dynamical behaviour, an N-by-N state space controller (N
corresponds with the number of actuators) has been designed [Unbehauen, 2000], [Fllinger,
1994]. Besides dynamical advantages, the state space controller can be mathematically adjusted
according to the process characteristics (e.g. time constants, number and position of actuators),
leaving the basic structure of the control strategy unchanged.
377
In the outer control loop, PI-controllers stabilise the geometric distortion and provide the setvalues for the inner loop. A preliminary filter converts this output into the required temperature
distribution, thus generating the appropriate set-values for the process parameters.
An experimental set-up, in which the cascaded feedback loops of Figure 1 are applied, has been
used for parameter identification (see Figure 2a). The purpose of this set-up is to test the
controller under the conditions that occur during heat-treatment (i.e. distortion due to thermal
expansion, control of surface temperature). A workpiece (500*20*20 mm3, steel) is clamped at
the upper end to a fixed plate, while the lower end can move freely. In this experiment, Peltierelements locally control the surface temperature at the fixed end of the workpiece. If an
asymmetric thermal expansion is induced in this region, defined movements of the free end of
the workpiece can be observed in a 2-dimensional plane (see Figure 2b), thus simulating
geometric distortion. Both surface temperature and the geometric deviations are measured inprocess.
Peltier-elements
peltier
elements
Workpiece
measurement
surface
temperature
steel bar
y+
x+
Camera
a.
b.
CCD-camera
Figure 2: a.) Experimental set-up; b.) Control and measurement of the simulated geometric distortion
For the inner feedback loop, a 4-by-4 state space controller has been designed. The outer loop
stabilises the workpiece distortion based on the measurements of a video camera. This strategy
demonstrated a fast and accurate response to static as well as to dynamical set-values [Dijkman,
2004].
2.2
Post-Process Quality Control
For a further optimisation of the process, the in-process control loop is superimposed by a postprocess feedback of the final process result. After each production step, a local control unit
verifies the desired quality criteria of the current workpiece k, in this case deviations in geometry
d(k), and optimises the set-values for the dynamic control loop u(k), i.e. the machine parameters
(see Figure 3). The controllers characteristics depend on diagnosed process states z(k) and
estimated inner parameters p(k). Its functional behaviour is based on cause and effect
relationships obtained by Design of Experiments (DoE) as well as by parameter studies through
FEM-analysis. Ultimately, this concept will be upgraded towards a model-based controller, thus
yielding the flexibility needed to process a greater variety of workpiece geometries.
The post-process controller is complemented by a learning algorithm, which uses radial basis
functions for the approximation and optimisation of the control function [Ament, 2001]. An
378
additional vector of set-values w(k) enables the interaction between the control unit and a future
superior level, which will link other sub-processes. In a first application of this approach, the
deviant geometry of a workpiece occurring in a turning process was successfully compensated
[Horn, 2000].
Set-values w(k)
Local control unit

Controller
Parameter p(k)
States z(k)
Learning
algorithm
Diagnosis
Setvalues
u(k)
Quality
criteria
d(k)
Machine
parameters
Measurement
Workpiece
Production step
Figure 3: Strategy for post process quality control
Application in Gas-Quenching of a Ring
The above described strategies for an operational quality control are currently being
implemented in the gas-quenching process. Alternatively to quenching in water or oil, gasquenching provides a spatially distributed control of the quenching process by applying multiple
jets. This enables an asymmetric cooling of the workpiece, which can be applied specifically for
the compensation of distortion. The SFB 570 currently features gas-quenching installations for
the basic geometries ring, cylinder and disc. The following example features the quenching of a
ring.
3.1
Process Hardware
The gas field surrounding the workpiece is divided into 8 segments (see Figure 4a)
[Schttenberg, 2004]. As the regulation of the actual flow rate would involve response times that
exceed the time constants of the quenching process, the gas jets are controlled in a pulsating
mode, using an on-off control system through magnetically driven 3/2-valves. This principle is
illustrated for one segment in Figure 4b: A global regulator establishes a constant gas flow
throughout the quenching process. The absolute amount of gas reaching the workpiece is then
varied by switching the 3/2-valve between the segment (on) and the outlet (off). To ensure
process stability, the pneumatic resistance of the outlet corresponds with that of the segment.
The in-process acquisition of the workpiece geometry will be realised using digital holography
or measurements based on speckle interferometry. Optionally, the surface-temperature of the
workpiece is acquired during quenching. The post-process measurement is performed off-line,
using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM).
379
Segment
Global gas flow

regulation
Segment
control
Workpiece
Gas
intake
3/2-Valve
Segment
Regulator
Outlet
4
3
Gas flow
a.
Gas flow
b.
Figure 4: a.) Arrangement of segments for the gas-quenching of a ring (top view); b.) Control of gas flow
3.2
Analysis of Quality Characteristics
The geometric measurements have to be transformed into quantities that enable a proper
assessment and feedback of the workpiece quality. In case of a ring, the roundness defines the
main quality criteria in regard of geometric distortion. Following the research in other subprojects of the SFB 570, a spatial Fast Fourier Transformation provides the characterisation of
the roundness [Frerichs, 2004]. As such, the amplitudes and phase angles of the various Fourier
coefficients are used as set-values for the desired quality. The phase angles determine the
orientation of a certain roundness relative to a well defined workpiece reference point. As the
main deviations in roundness result from the previous production steps (e.g. the three-jaw chuck
of the turning process), initially only the coefficients of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd order are considered.
3.3
Technical Realisation of the Control Strategy
To the benefit of the communication infrastructure between the various levels of quality control,
the entire control strategy (including the future superior level) is being developed on a
Matlab/Simulink basis. Figure 5 demonstrates the controller structure within the operational
level.
Set-values w(k)
Matlab/Simulink
Post-process
control unit
Post-process
In-process
Setvalues
u(k)
dSpace DSP Unit
Process
Workpiece
In-process
controller
Actuators
Measurement
Figure 5: Technical realization of the control strategy
The cascaded loop for the in-process control is implemented on a dSpace DSP unit. This standalone module includes multiple analogue in- and outputs to integrate the actuators and measuring
devices. Using Matlabs Target Link function, the control strategy is designed in Simulink as a
380
block diagram, which is then automatically compiled to a digital controller. During operation, the
controller allows communication with the Matlab development environment, enabling the
transfer of the set-values u(k). The post-process control unit is directly implemented in
Matlab/Simulink, as this control loop runs off-line and doesnt require real-time operation.
Summary
The control of geometric distortion in heat-treatment processes requires advanced solutions in

regard of the applied control strategies. Combining in- and post-process measurements in
automated control loops, a systematic compensation of geometric distortion can be established.
In sub-project B6 of the SFB 570, quality control strategies at an operational level of a
production process chain were developed and tested in separate applications. They are currently
being implemented in the gas-quenching process.
Future work consists of implementing the above described strategies in the entire heat-treatment
process. Subsequently, the operational level of control will be extended with a superior level,
linking the sub-processes to form an automated, overall quality control.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the DFG within the collaborative research centre SFB 570
distortion engineering at the University of Bremen.
References
Ament, Christoph; Goch, Gert: A Process Oriented Approach to Automated Quality Control. Annals of the CIRP
Vol. 50/1, 2001, pp. 251-254.
Dijkman, Matko; Rethmann, Thomas; Ament, Christoph; Goch, Gert: Control Strategies Compensating Geometric
Distortion of Parts in a Production Process Chain. Proc. 49. Internationales Wissenschaftliches Kolloquium:
"Synergies between Information Processing and Automation" (Volume 1), Shaker Verlag, Aachen, 2004, pp
286-290.
Dijkman, Matko: Konzeption und Realisierung eines Demonstrators zur Verzugsregelung in der
Wrmebehandlung. Master Thesis, Universitt Bremen, 2004.
Fllinger, Otto: Regelungstechnik Einfhrung in die Methode und ihre Anwendung. Heidelberg, Hthig, 8.
Auflage, 1994.
Frerichs, Friedhelm; Lbben, Thomas; Hoffmann, Franz; Mayr, Peter: Einfluss von gezielt asymmetrischen
Fertigungsbedingungen auf den Verzug infolge von Abschreckprozessen. HTM, Vol. 59, Hanser, Mnchen,
2004, pp. 176-184.
Horn, Frank: Konzeption und Aufbau einer lernenden, prozessdiskreten Regelung zur automatisierten
Qualittslenkung in der Drehbearbeitung. Diploma Thesis, Universitt Bremen, 2000.
Pfeifer, Tilo: Qualittsmanagement Strategien, Methoden, Techniken. Hanser, Mnchen, 3. Auflage, 2001.
Schttenberg, Sven; Frerichs, Friedhelm; Hunkel, Martin; Fritsching, Udo; Mayr, Peter: Verzugskompensation
mittels Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern Teil 1: Prozesstechnik. HTM, Vol. 59, Hanser,
Mnchen, 2004, pp. 185-191.
Stbener, Dirk; Alsen, Jens; Dijkman, Matko; Kruse, Dennis; Ament, Christoph; Jptner, Werner; Goch, Gert:
Bericht des Teilprojekts B3, Mess- und Regelungstechnik zur In-Prozess Verzugserfassung und kompensation in der Wrmebehandlung. Arbeits- und Ergebnisbericht des SFB 570 Distortion Engineering,
2001-2003, 2003, pp. 297-336.
Unbehauen, Heinz: Regelungstechnik II. Wiesbaden, Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH
Braunschweig, 8. Auflage, 2000.
381
Thermal Generation of Residual Stress Fields

for Purpose of Distortion Minimization
Thomas Pretorius, Gabriele Habedank, Jrg Woitschig, Frank Vollertsen
BIAS Bremer Institut fr angewandte Strahltechnik, Klagenfurter Strae 2, 28359 Bremen, Germany,
pretorius@bias.de
Abstract
Thermal treatments of steel components with the goal of hardening often result in distortion by releasing the residual
stresses which were brought into the specimen during the preceding processing steps. The goal of the presented work
is the minimization of this distortion. By generating definite residual stress fields and investigating the resulting
distortion, the distortion mechanism can be observed in detail. A flexible and reproducible way to generate such
residual stress fields inside a specimen is by means of local thermal treatment with a laser beam. Computer
simulations as well as experiments were carried out using an idealized tooth of a gearwheel (finger sample) as a
model system. The deformation of the samples due to the laser heat treatment and the stress fields generated inside
the samples were determined with respect to different process parameters.
Keywords
Production Process, Laser, Heat Treatment, Distortion Manipulation
Motivation
1.1
Production process chain
The correction and elimination of distortion is very costly. This means, that prevention or
compensation of the distortion already in the production process of components is preferable.
Causes of distortion can be found in every step of the manufacturing process chain. In Figure 1
the simplified production process chain [Hoffmann, 2002] of steel components (e.g. gear wheels)
is illustrated.
Figure 1: Simplified production process chain for steel components (e.g. gear wheels)
A lot of parameters have an influence on the distortion of a component [Volkmuth, 1996].

Already the casting of the alloy produces a distortion potential due to an inhomogeneous
distribution of alloying elements. The following mechanical and thermal process steps have
influence on the material distribution and they induce residual stresses. Manufacturing tolerances
and temperature gradients during heat treatments are further causes of distortion potential. Near
the end of the process chain - in the hardening heat treatment - the distortion potential is released.
The final step - grinding - can only be used to correct very small distortions.
382
A detailed investigation of every step of the production process chain enables the understanding
of the development of the distortion potential and thus the development of distortion
compensation methods. Different subprojects of the collaborative research center Distortion
Engineering investigate the steps of the process chain shown in Figure 1. The gained knowledge
about the development of the distortion potential can be used to manipulate and eliminate the
distortion potential before the hardening heat treatment.
1.2
Manipulation of distortion potential
The goal of the project presented in this paper, is the development of an additional process step
that is inserted in the process chain right before the hardening heat treatment (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Process chain of Figure 1 with distortion manipulation enhancement
The inserted process step is a local heat treatment using a high power laser combined with a
scanner system that allows for a fast and flexible movement of the laser beam. The local heat
treatment modifies local stresses in the components [Hamann, 1990][Rosenthal, 1992][Geiger,
1994][Toenshoff, 1994][Vollertsen, 1997]. These stresses alter the residual stress field of the
component and can thus be used to compensate the distortion potential.
This paper investigates the local laser beam heat treatment and the effects on samples that are
stress free before the treatment. To achieve results that are both detailed and verified, computer
simulations as well as experiments were carried out.
Experiments
For the presently presented work a high power laser system combined with a scanner system was
used. This allowed a wide range of parameters for the heat treatment and therefore it was
possible to produce different types of residual stress fields.
2.1
Sample geometry
Figure 3: Geometry of the samples used in the experiments; material: 20MnCr5, dimensions in mm
383
An idealised tooth of a gearwheel (finger sample) was used as a model system. The geometry is
shown in Figure 3. The total size of the sample is: length = 60 mm, width = 17 mm and height =
17 mm. The size of the finger is: length = 40 mm, width = 17 mm and height = 5 mm. The
transition between finger and block is shaped with a radius of 0.8 mm. The material chosen for
the samples is steel (20MnCr5). This material is also used by the other subprojects of the
collaborative research center Distortion Engineering. The relevant material parameters of this
alloy will be investigated in detail in the collaborative research center.
2.2
Local laser heat treatment
The local laser heat treatment was done using a CO2 laser with maximum power of 6 kW. The
laser scanner system can move the laser beam with high velocities (1000 mm/s were used in the
experiments) over the sample. To achieve a high power transfer into the samples a graphite
coating of the samples is necessary. Further experiments will be done using a Nd:YAG laser.
With this type of laser the experiments can be carried out without any coating.
Figure 4: Schematic illustration of the local laser heat treatment
In Figure 4 the experimental setup is illustrated. The laser beam was moved parallel to the
transitional edge between finger and block. This resulted in a heat treatment line perpendicular to
the finger. The described setup allowed for systematic investigations with respect to different
process parameters (laser power, number of scans, laser beam spot size). For later attempts to
compensate the distortion potential nearly any shape of the heat treatment zone can be generated.
2.3
Geometry changes
Changes of residual stresses of first order are always accompanied by macroscopic geometrical
changes. Within the framework of this research project, three mechanisms have to be accounted
for:
x the temperature gradient mechanism (TGM)
x the residual stress relaxation mechanism (RSM)
x the martensite expansion mechanism (MEM)
In the first approach, described in this paper, no residual stresses were given in the initial
samples. Therefore, the experiments were focussed on the TGM and the MEM.
2.3.1 Temperature gradient mechanism
To investigate the influence of the laser heat treatment on the samples the outer surface of the
samples was measured before and after the laser heat treatment. The geometry measurements
were carried out using a tactile coordinate measurement system (accuracy ~2 m). At the
beginning of the measurement the coordinate system was set relative to the upper surface of the
block. The origin of the coordinate system was defined as the middle of the edge indicated in
Figure 5. It is assumed that the laser heat treatment changes only the geometry of the finger, thus
384
the geometry of the block is unchanged and can be used to define a sample coordinate system
which allows for direct investigations of geometry changes before and after the laser heat
treatment. The dark line in Figure 5 indicates the position of a coordinate line scan.
Figure 5: Schematic illustration of the position of the coordinate measurement line
Figure 6: Result of coordinate measurements; laser beam power: 1500 W,

number of scans: 320, distance between center of the laser beam and the edge of the block: 2 mm,
laser beam spot diameter: ~ 6 mm
In Figure 6 the result of coordinate measurements is shown. The fluctuations observable between
y=27 mm and y=35 mm in Figure 6 are due to scratches on the surface of the sample. The laser
heat treatment parameters for this sample are listed in Table 1. It can be seen, that the finger is
bended slightly upwards (toward the laser beam). This bending is due to thermal stresses which
were induced during the local heat treatment and cause a local plastic deformation of the surface
zone of the sample. The effect responsible for the bending is a thermal forming process: the
temperature gradient mechanism [Vollertsen, 1995][Vollertsen, 1996]. Due to the relatively large
thickness of the sample the induced stresses result only in a slight bending of the finger.
laser beam
power
[W]
1500
1900
number of
cycles
320
2 x 320
laser beam
velocity
[mm/s]
1000
1000
laser spot
distance between
diameter[
block and heat
mm]
treatment line [mm]
6
2
6
2 and 6
heat
treatment
duration [s]
20
2 x 20
Table 1: Laser heat treatment parameters
2.3.2 Martensite expansion mechanism

In Figure 7 can be observed that increasing the energy transferred to the sample by using higher
laser beam power and irradiating two lines (line 1 and line 2 in Figure 7), does not result in
higher bending angles toward the laser. This should be the result, if only the temperature gradient
mechanism would be active.
385
Figure 7: Result of coordinate measurements; laser beam power: 1900 W, number of scans: 2 x 320,
distance between center of the laser beam and the edge of the block: 2 mm and 6 mm, laser beam spot
diameter: ~ 6 mm
The higher laser beam power and the two heat treatment lines increase the temperatures reached
during the local heat treatment. This gives rise to phase transformations in the heat treated
region. The phase transformation of the surface region of the sample can be observed in Figure
8a). The microstructure of the material at the surface of the laser heat treatment zone has changed
significantly.
a)
b)
Figure 8: Micro structure at the surface of a) the laser heat treated zone
and b) of the bulk material
A phase change from austenite to martensite includes a local expansion of the material. This
overcompensates the shrinkage due to the temperature gradient mechanism and thus results in a
bending downwards (away from the laser beam). The highest geometry change can be observed
at the end of the finger (~8 m). The mechanism, i.e. martensite expansion mechanism, was so
far not considered for thermal forming, but is relevant concerning the aspects of this work.
Figure 9 illustrates schematically the bending mechanism. The grey shaded region (length lM and
thickness dM) at the top of the finger expands, due to the phase transformation.
Figure 9: Schematic illustration of the martensite expansion mechanism
The maximum geometry change at the end of the finger dy can be calculated if the stiffness of
the finger is neglected and a complete transformation of the grey zone is assumed. The
386
corresponding maximum possible bending angle can be calculated from tan Dmax = dlM/dF. The
maximum geometry results as dymax = lF sin Dmax. For the case shown in Figure 7 theoretically a
maximum change due to phase transformations of 95 m would be possible. The different
bending directions of the samples show that it is possible to induce tensile stresses into the
samples - which result in upwards bending - as well as compressive stresses - which result in
downwards bending. The magnitude of the induced stresses can be observed by X-ray
diffractometric measurements or by computer simulations of the laser beam heat treatment.
Simulation of the laser beam heat treatment
The computer simulations were used to investigate the residual stress fields - not only at the
surface - but as well everywhere inside the specimen. The simulations were done using the
software package SysWeld on a PC with two Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz processors. The calculations
done were explicitly time dependent and include the movement of the laser beam along the heat
treatment line. The temperature-dependant material parameters were determined by [Lwisch
2005].
3.1
Mesh and boundary conditions
The element mesh used for the simulations of the finger sample is shown in Figure 10. It is
locally refined in the transition region between the finger and the block and in the laser heat
treatment zone. The elements used were 8 node brick elements.
Figure 10: Element mesh of the finger sample
As boundary conditions a constant energy transfer in the actual laser spot area (with gaussian
distribution) for the laser beam was used. For the rest of the surface of the sample energy losses
due to convection and radiation were calculated (convection coefficient: 10 Wm-2K-1).
3.2
Temperature field
One result of the simulations is the time dependent temperature field. In Figure 11 the surface
temperatures after 1, 5, 10 and 20 cycles of the laser beam with a laser beam power of 1000 W,
laser beam spot diameter of 0.85 mm and a laser beam velocity of 1000 mm/s are shown. Due to
the time dependent modeling of the moving laser beam the calculation time for simulating 20
cycles (thermal and mechanical calculations) was about 34 hours.
It can be seen in Figure 11, that the temperature distribution around the heat treatment line is
nearly cylindrical. This is a result of the high scanning speed of the laser. This cylindrical shape
of the temperature distribution allows a simplification of the simulation without loss of accuracy:
It is not necessary to model the movement of the laser beam along the heat treatment line. The
energy transfer can be modelled using a line heat source without the explicit time dependency of
the moving laser beam. This will reduce the calculation time necessary for further simulations
significantly and enables the simulation of hundreds of cycles (e.g. 320 cycles as used in the
experiments).
387
Figure 11: Temperature field at the surface of the sample after 1 (a), 5 (b), 10 (c) and 20 (d) cycles of the
laser beam; laser power: 1 kW, scan velocity: 1000 mm/s, laser spot diameter: 0.85 mm
3.3
Deformation
In Figure 12a) the deformation of the sample directly after the 20th cycle of the laser beam is
illustrated. The finger is bended downwards due to the thermal expansion of the heat treatment
zone (maximum deformation: -0.23 mm). After cooling the thermal expansion diminishes and a
small upwards bending (max. 0.004 mm) remains (due to thermal bending by the temperature
gradient mechanism).
a)
b)
Figure 12: Deformation of the sample directly after the 20th cycle of the laser beam (a) and after cooling
(b); laser power: 1 kW, scan velocity: 1000 mm/s, laser spot diameter: 0.85 mm
a)
b)
Figure 13: a) Plastic strain and b) residual stress field (von Mises) after cooling of the sample; number of
cycles: 20, laser power: 1 kW, scan velocity: 1000 mm/s, laser spot diameter: 0.85 mm
388
3.4
Plastic strain and induced stresses
The plastic strain which causes the upward bending can be observed in Figure 13a). Along the
heat treatment line a small zone is plastically deformed (max. plastic strain ~0.004). Although
the deformations that remain after the cooling of the sample are every small the local heat
treatment has induced residual stresses in the sample of significant height (up to ~600 MPa,
Figure 13b). The stresses can be regarded as a distortion potential that can be induced inside the
samples in a well defined manner.
Conclusion
Local heat treatment of steel samples using high power lasers with a scanner system allows the
generation of residual stress fields. The stresses can be either tensile or compressive, due to the
respective mechanism that is activated (temperature gradient mechanism, phase transformation).
These stresses are controllable and therefore the distortion potential that is generated inside the
samples is controllable. It can be used to attempt to compensate distortion that is caused
otherwise.
Simulations which take the movement of the laser beam into account are very time consuming.
Due to the high scanning speed of the laser beam it is possible to model the heat source for the
local laser heat treatment as a line, which decreases the calculation time significantly.
In future investigations samples will be used, which include residual stresses that reside inside
the samples before the laser beam heat treatment. Then the superposition of the residual stress
field before the laser beam treatment (distortion potential) and the stresses induced by the laser
beam treatment (controllable) can be observed.
Acknowledgement
This work has been funded by the DFG (German Research Foundation) through SFB 570 (Collaborative Resaerch
Center Distortion Engineering), Subproject B8 Thermal Induced Prestressing for Distortion Minimization. The
authors wish to acknowledge the DFG for their support.
References
Geiger, M.; Glasmacher, M.; Pucher, H.-J.: Quality assurance for laser beam microbonding in electronic
production. Production Engineering 84 (1994) 1, 209-214.
Hamann, C.; Rosen, H.-G.: Relaisfederjustierung mittels gepulster Nd:YAG-LAser. Proc. Laser'89. Springer,
Berlin, 1990, 661-665.
Hoffmann, F.; Keler, O.; Lbben, T.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering -Verzugsbeherrschung in der Fertigung,
HTM 57 (2002) 3, 213-217.
Lwisch, G.; Dalgic, M.: The influence of the temperature on the stress-strain curves of a bearing steel and a case
hardening steel. In proc. of IDE 2005, Bremen, (2005), in print.
Rosenthal, A.R.: Eigenspannungsinduzierung durch Laserstrahlung in scheibenfrminge Werkzeuge. VDI-Verlag,
Dsseldorf, 1992.
Tnshoff, H.K.; Berndt, A.H.; Rosenthal, A.R.: Laser based cutting, tensioning and straightening of saw blades - a
flexible production line. In proc. of Lane'94. Meisenbach, Bamberg, 1994, 337-343.
Volkmuth, J.: Eigenspanunngen und Verzug. HTM 51 (1996) 3, 145-154.
Vollertsen, F.; Rdle, M.: Model for the temperature gradient mechanism of laser bending. Manufacturing Systems
24, 3 (1995) 223-227.
Vollertsen, F: Laserstrahlumformen - Lasergesttzte Formgebung: Verfahren, Mechanismen, Modellierung.
Meisenbach, Bamberg, 1996.
Vollertsen, F.; Geiger, M.: Laserstrahljustieren mechatronischer Komponenten. In: Laser - Von der Wissenschaft
zur Anwendung. Strahltechnik, Band 10, Jptner, W. (Edt.) BIAS-Verlag, Bremen, 1997, 309-320.
389
Controlling of Distortion by Means of

Quenching in Adapted Jet Fields
Sven Schttenberg1, Martin Hunkel, Udo Fritsching, Hans-Werner Zoch
IWT Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany
1
svenschu@iwt.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
Controlled temporal and/or spatial inhomogeneous (adapted) quenching within the heat treatment process creates the
possibility of influencing the distortion of a workpiece. Suitable heat transfer conditions at the workpiece surfaces
within the quenching process are realized by impressing and regulating of adjusted flexible flow fields on the basis of
jet arrays inside liquid or gaseous media.
For analysis of workpiece distortion in heat treatment, the locally asymmetric quenching process is analysed and
modelwise described in the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB570) "Distortion Engineering" at
the University of Bremen. Here the potential of measures for avoidance as well as reduction of distortion within the
heat treatment process is appraised on the basis of simulation models. These model calculations are verified by
experimental examinations on the asymmetric quenching of simple shaped parts like rings of SAE 52100 (100Cr6)
and cylinders of AISI 5120 (20MnCr5) in the framework of flexible quenching conditions.
Keywords
distortion, distortion compensation, distortion engineering, quenching, gas quenching
Introduction
Distortions of workpieces and components by quenching for hardening result from the
interaction of heat and transformation stresses with plastic deformations emerging. Here,
geometry and size alterations are especially evoked by locally uneven, asymmetrical cooling
conditions of the workpiece.
A composition of the essential conditions and mechanisms for the formation of measurement and
form alterations due to heat treatment was put together in [Hee, 1997]. Therefore, essential
influences on the formation of workpiece distortion in the hardening process are unequally
distribute heat transfer conditions and the resulting asymmetrical heating or cooling, or the
constructive specific geometry of the workpiece.
Quenching by means of gases instead of oil quenching often leads to better results regarding the
workpiece distortion because of the missing inhomogeneous steam formation at the workpiece
surfaces. Lower quenching intensities are reached with gas as quenching medium, rather than
liquids. Whereby the heat transfer can be controlled directly by the use of flexible quenching
facilities in certain boundaries [Gondesen, 1998; Hunkel, 2001; Ohland, 2001; Volkmuth, 2001].
This was already shown for related processes of cooling as well as drying [Gromoll, 1978;
Martin, 1977].
For the actual objectives of a quenching process, large optimisation potentials are possible.
Therefore, the cooling velocity can be adjusted by the parameters of gas quenching (pressure,
velocity, gas type and flow control). Thereby the workpiece can be cooled down as fast as it is
exactly necessary for an aimed hardening. The consequence is a workpiece with a desired
structure and with minimal distortion which leads to reduced costs for necessary machining.
Further on, cooling velocities are exactly reproducible within the process. Consequently, the
390
geometry and size alterations are in tolerance areas that are smaller by using the gas quenching
process than with liquid quenching.
However, the large potential of using gas quenching for the minimization of distortion is only
partially scooped out up to now. A reason is that the minimum necessary cooling velocities for
proper hardening are determined only through comparatively costly experimental tests, based on
the "trial and error" method. These experimental tests can be complemented by the use of
simulation calculations and are clearly reduced the complexity.
The boundary conditions necessary for the simulation (heat flows as well as heat transfer
coefficients at workpiece surfaces) can be calculated on basis of the given process and geometry
parameters. The needed process parameters for the adjustment of the desired structure can then
be determined by simulation variation. Beside the structure distribution, the measurement and
form alterations of the workpiece as well as the distribution of the residual stresses emerge with
elevated complexity of the calculation [Hee, 1997; Besserdich, 1993]. Another possibility is an
asymmetric gas quenching in flexible jet fields. This quenching method was used for the
hardening of complex cylindrical (e.g. gear shafts) and flat workpieces (e.g. cutting wheel) by
means of optimisation strategies for flexible jet arrangements for quenching [Fritsching, 2002].
Objective
In the framework of the project "distortion compensation through asymmetrical cooling

conditions" in the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 570) "Distortion Engineering" at the
University of Bremen [Hoffmann, 2004] the locally asymmetrical quenching process in gaseous
and liquid media is analysed and model-wise described for symmetrical, geometrically simple
workpieces (cylinder and cylinder rings). Based on that, the potential from measures for
avoidance as well as reduction of distortion within the heat treatment process (compensation
potential) is appraised on basis of simulation calculations and experimental work [Schttenberg,
2004]. As a starting point, the sequential description of the separate processes of the hardening
process is:
1. gaseous flow around the workpiece,
2. heat transfer at the surface of the workpiece,
3. heat distribution inside the workpiece,
4. phase transformation of the material and
5. mechanical reactions of the workpiece material.
These individual analysis modules are derived by the basis of numerical and also experimental
examinations and are subsequently linked together to a final model of the thermal-metal and
thermal-mechanical activities within the quenching process [Hunkel, 2004].
The long-term objective of the work in this project of the Collaborative Research Centre is the
in-line regulation and control, respectively, within the gas quenching process, as schematically
represented in Figure 1, for direct compensation of workpiece distortions during heat treatment.
In this paper, the focus is the experimental facility and experimental results for controlled
distortion and distortion compensation.
391
Figure 1: Schematic representation of the measurement and controlling

for quenching in a flexible gas jet field
Test facilities
The test equipment for experimental examinations of asymmetric gas quenching requires
different constructions for cylindrical and ring-shaped workpieces. For each of the individual
geometries, 8 jet segments (cylinder: 1a 4a, 1b 4b; ring: 1i - 4i, 1o 4o) or 10 jet segments
(1i 4i, 1o 6o for rings with 120 outer symmetry) may be combined. Exemplarily the field
arrangements for 8 jet segments are shown in Figure 2. The distribution of the jets on the
segments results from the geometries. The jet positions are variably adjustable in distance and
angles to the workpiece.
Figure 2: Flexible gas quenching arrangement for 8 segments: a) cylinder quenching, b) ring quenching
392
The arrangement for gas mass flow control for the segmental jet order for the cylinder and ring
quenching consists of three electronically adjustable volume flow regulators (180 m/h, 240 m/h
and 480 m/h). Through the combined adjustment of the volumetric flow rate to each regulator,
the total volume flow rate becomes pre-adjusted for the respective experiment with the jet
segments. The gas flow can directly be adjusted on separate segments, whereby a large number
of asymmetrical quenching conditions can be realized.
At the test facilities for flexible gas quenching, the local gas velocities were experimentally
investigated with a Constant Temperature Anemometer (CTA) and examinations were executed
for the local heat transfer coefficients at the workpiece surface.
4
4.1
Results
Simulation
The analyses of the quenching processes have been executed experimentally as well as
numerically. As working appliance, the tools and measuring instruments for the experimental
examination, for example flow conditions and temperature distributions, were used in
conjunction with numerical simulation tools CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and FEM
(Finite Element Method). The CFD-program Fluent was used for the numerical examination of
the flow and heat transfers inside the quenching medium, while the temperature distributions, the
analysed transformation mechanisms and the mechanical reactions of the workpiece were
analysed with the FEM-program Sysweld. The division of the analysis modules into the sections
quenching medium and workpiece behaviour is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Concept for partitioning the analysis modules of the work program
4.1.1 The quenching medium

The local flow conditions around a workpiece (gas type, velocity distribution, turbulence,...) and
the heat transfer process between gas and workpiece resulting from it are crucial influencing
parameters on the gas quenching process and the possible appearance of workpiece distortion.
For the present investigation, nitrogen was used as quenching medium. The temperature
dependency of the thermophysical properties of the gas was taken into account. In adaptation of
the experimental possibilities, gas velocities were assumed in the range between 50 m/s and
300 m/s.
The result of the simulations is a three-dimensional distribution of gas velocity, gas temperature
and flow turbulence as well as the local distribution of the heat transfer coefficients between the
workpiece and the quenching gas on the workpiece surface. The velocity conditions and the gas
mass-flows leaving the individual jets of the test facilities were adjusted to agree with
393
experimentally determined values. The heat transfer coefficients determined by the simulations
were transferred to the FEM-workpiece-simulation as boundary conditions.
4.1.2 The workpiece behaviour
From the distortion behaviour caused by experimental quenching of workpieces, realizations
were attained, from which case studies were developed for investigation of the potential of the
distortion compensation through asymmetrical quenching. Workpieces from the bearing steel
material SAE 52100 (100Cr6) show exclusively a martensite transformation within the used
quenching processes. The amount of the compensation potential is influenced by the plastic
distortion of the austenite at high temperatures and the transformation plasticity during
martensite transformation. The exploitation of this effect through a temporal control of the
quenching parameters and the suitable adjustment of the local dependency of heat transfers (heat
transfer coefficients) based on the control of the jet segments allows the aimed generation of the
largest possible compensation potential. This result was confirmed by simulation calculations
with the transaction of quenching examinations and a mutual verification.
The simulations of the workpiece behaviour were executed by the use of the program Sysweld
with the FEM. The essential boundary condition is the distribution of the local heat transfer
coefficients at the workpiece surface, which was implemented as a result of the CFD-simulations
of the quenching medium into the FEM-program. Besides the convective heat transfer, the heat
transfer by heat radiation was taken into account in the simulations. The characteristic properties
of the materials required for the simulations were taken from literature or had been investigated
in the framework of other projects in the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 570).
Based on the modular analysis of the separate processes in gas quenching, a process model was
developed for simulation of the workpiece distortion by asymmetric quenching in the gas jet
field. The process model combines the analysis modules of quenching medium and workpiece
behaviour.
In Figure 4, the successive simulation of workpiece distortion of a cylinder on basis of
asymmetric quenching conditions is represented. The analysis of the quenching medium shows
the gas velocities in the jet field and the local heat transfer coefficients at the workpiece surface.
The analysis of the workpiece behaviour delivers the temperature distributions and ultimately the
mechanical behaviour of the workpiece respectively the workpiece material and the workpiece
distortion. The modular process simulation model can be applied for different workpiece
geometries like for example the cylinder and the ring likewise.
Figure 4: Process simulation model for gas quenching of a cylinder
394
4.2
Activation of the distortion potential
The workpieces hardening distortion potential with martensite or bainite refines from the plastic
distortion by austenite and from the transformation plasticity. For hardening, the build up of a
stress distribution that results itself from the temperature gradients emerging with the cooling is
necessary for both factors. Existing stresses are overlaid after the austenitising and thermal
lengthening on the basis of chemical or structural gradients.
4.3
Compensation potential
Essential aim of the project is the evaluation of the compensation potential for the asymmetric
quenching in a gas jet field. The basis of this examination is the assumption that an asymmetric
heat treatment resulting in a workpiece distortion (distortion potential), can simultaneously be
viewed as a compensation potential of the same order. Knowledge of the compensation potential
can therefore be used for adjustment of the distortion compensation potential. The spatial and
temporal adjustment of a jet field admit a multiplicity of combination possibilities, from which
the quenching parameters should be adequately determined for delivery of a maximum
compensation potential. For this reason, simulation calculations on the basis of experimental
pilot tests for the distortion of workpieces were executed, from whose results parameter fields
that appeared meaningful to the compensation of workpiece distortions were derived.
4.4
Results on rings from SAE 52100 (100Cr6)
The examinations were executed at a ring geometry (cylinder ring with outside diameter
145 mm, thickness 6 mm and height 26 mm). Before quenching, the rings were austenized at
850C for 25 min. The fundamental jet parameters originated from experiments which varied the
gas velocity and jet control of symmetrical segmentation. Its primary result is that distortion can
be impressed on a workpiece by asymmetric quenching. The transformation plasticity is at the
moment identified as essential trigger of the distortion. Since the compensation potential should
be generated in form of a deviation of the roundness of the ring (ovality and/or triangular form),
the assumption of a symmetric (180- or 120-period) discontinuity of the jet parameters was
presupposed.
From different systematic variation calculations in the framework of simulation studies, it has
been found that significant effects can only be obtained in case of an asymmetrical outer and a
symmetrical inner quenching. To guarantee martensite through-hardening of the workpiece, a
low, symmetrical basic gas load with a gas velocity of 50 m/s was used at the inside of the ring.
This basic load should not have any considerable influence on the distortion of the ring. A result
of this examination is shown in Figure 5 for a 120-period. By increasing the gas velocities on
the outer jets, the distortion increases.
Here the fixed support in a three-jaw chuck distorted ring should be corrected in its roundness by
the choice of the gas quenching parameters in the 120-period jet field. The deviation from the
roundness in this case have been assumed as approximately 150 m before compensation. From
experiences from experiments with variable gas velocities (Figure 5a), the required velocity of
the gas jets for effective compensation was appraised. The rings were positioned in such a way
that the switched jets were directed to the maxima of the roundness. As shown in Figure 5b, the
deviation from the roundness of the rings has clearly been improved by that examination.
395
Figure 5: Comparison of roundness plots of ring surfaces for asymmetric outer (120-period)
segmentation a) for different gas velocities and b) before and after asymmetric heat treatment.
4.5
Results on stepped shafts from AISI 5120 (20MnCr5)
Stepped shafts with a total length of 200 mm, step length of 100 mm and a diameter of 20 and
14 mm (step) were examined. The austenizing time and temperature were 30 min and 880C,
respectively. The significant effect regarding the distortion after quenching shafts is the curvature
of the workpiece. The examinations at cylindrical workpieces were only executed on this effect.
An exemplary result of the experimental examinations of stepped shafts is shown in Figure 6.
Here, a distinctive distortion of more than 200 m could be caused with the selection of suitable
asymmetrical quenching parameters. The characteristic and direction of the distortion clearly
depends on the gas velocity (Figure 6b). In continuation of the examinations of the shaft
geometry in further work, this compensation potential will be used for compensating the
influence of segregations.
Figure 6: a) Projection of the centers of roundness plots in a plane and b) determination of curvature due
to gas velocity by asymmetric quenching
396
Summary
The use of flexible gas jet fields offers the possibility to adjust of asymmetric quenching
conditions to workpieces. This may be used to release distortion potentials, as well as, to
compensate workpiece distortion on the basis of the locally controlled heat transfer at workpiece
surfaces in the hardening process. On the basis of parameter studies, quenching parameters were
determined, obtaining aimed workpiece distortions, respectively compensation potentials. The
examinations were executed by means of numerical simulations on the quenching medium and
the workpiece behaviour. Experiments for determination of compensation potentials and for
impressing workpiece distortions were executed on ring and cylinder geometries. The potential
of a workpiece distortion by aimed asymmetrical quenching in a flexible gaseous jet field forms
the basis in the continuing work of the in-line compensation of workpiece distortions during
quenching processes in gaseous and in liquid media.
Acknowledgement
The present work was executed in the framework of the project "distortion compensation through asymmetrical
cooling conditions" in the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 570) "Distortion Engineering" at the University of
Bremen. The authors thank the German research foundation (DFG) for the financial support.
References
Besserdich, G.: Untersuchung zur Eigenspannungs- und Verzugsausbildung beim Abschrecken von Stahlzylindern
aus den Sthlen 42CrMo4 und Ck 45 unter Bercksichtigung der Umwandlungsplastizitt. Dissertation
Universitt Karlsruhe (TH), 1993
Fritsching, U.; Ohland, J.; Belkessam, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.; Brzoza, M.; Specht, E.: Flexible
Gasabschreckung komplexer Bauteile zur Einstellung gleichmiger Hrte und minimierter Ma- und
Formnderungen. Gaswrme International 51 (2002) 5, S. 227 231
Gondesen, B.; Heck, U.; Lbben, Th.; Fritsching, U.; Hoffmann, F.; Bauckhage, K.; Mayr, P.: Optimierung der
Einzelteilabschreckung im Dsenfeld, Teil 1: Einfluss von Dsenparametern auf Abkhlgeschwindigkeit und
Oberflchenhrte. HTM 53 (1998) 2, S. 87-92
Gromoll, B.: Experimentelle Untersuchung des Wrmebergangs an Dsensystemen senkrecht angestrmter ebener
Flchen. Dissertation RWTH Aachen, 1978
Hee, K.; Besserdich, G.; Damaschek, R.; Ehlers, M.; Grasemann, H.-J.; Hoferer, M.; Kessler, O.; Lbben, Th.;
Majorek, A.; Miskiewicz, S.; Schmitt, G.; Thoden, B.; Volkmuth, J.; Wiedmann, D.; Zoch, H.-W.: Ma- und
Formnderungen infolge Wrmebehandlung. Expert Verlag, Renningen, 1997
Hoffmann, F.; Kessler, O.; Lbben, Th.; Mayr, P.: Distortion Engineering Distortion Control during the
Production Process. Heat Treatment of Metals. (2004) 2, page 27-30
Hunkel, M.; Lbben, Th.; Belkessam, O.; Fritsching, U.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Simulation der
Wrmebehandlung von einfachen Bauteilen bei der Abschreckung im Gasdsenfeld. HTM 56 (2001) 6, S.
386-394
Hunkel, M.; Schttenberg, S.; Frerichs, F.; Fritsching, U.; Zoch, H.-W.: Verzugskompensation mittels
Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern. Teil 2: Wrmebehandlung. HTM 59 (2004) 5, S. 351-357
Martin, H.: Heat and Mass Transfer between Impinging Gas Jets and Solid Surfaces. Adv. Heat Transfer 13 (1977),
S. 1-60
Ohland, J.; Clausen, B.; Hunkel, M.; Lbben, Th.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Hrtbarkeit von Sthlen unter
Gasabschreckung. Teil 1. HTM 56 (2001) 6, S. 379-385
Schttenberg, S.; Frerichs, F.; Hunkel, M.; Fritsching, U., Mayr, P.: Verzugskompensation mittels
Gasabschreckung in flexiblen Dsenfeldern. Teil 1: Prozesstechnik. HTM 59 (2004) 3, S. 185-191
Volkmuth, J.; Hengerer, F.; Wnning, J.: Erfahrungen mit Einzel-Gasabschreckung von Ringen aus
durchhrtendem Wlzlagerstahl. HTM 56 (2001) 3, S. 179-184
397
Minimizing Stress and Distortion for Shafts and

Discs by Controlled Quenching in a Field of
Nozzles
Dipl.-Ing. M. Brzoza, Prof. Dr.-Ing. E. Specht
Otto-von-Guericke-Universitt Magdeburg; PF 4120 ISUT; 39016 Magdeburg;
E-Mail: eckehard.specht@vst.uni-magdeburg.de; miroslaw.brzoza@vst.uni-magdeburg.de
Dipl.-Phys. J. Ohland, Dr.-Ing. O. Belkessam, Dr. T. Lbben, apl. Prof. Dr.-Ing. U. Fritsching
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen
E-mail: ufri@iwt.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
A coupled gas-dynamical and thermo-mechanical model for the simulation of the gas flow, gas and specimen
temperature, phase, stress, strain, and displacement transient-fields during quenching of cutting discs and shafts of
steel is introduced. The material properties (e.g. density, conductivity, heat capacity, hardness) are obtained by
homogenization procedures. The material behaviour is described as an extension of the classical J2-plasticity theory
with the extension of temperature and phase fraction dependent yield criteria. The coupling effects such as
dissipation, phase transformation enthalpy, and transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) are considered. Simulations
were carried out for cutting discs of knives made of steel SAE 52100 with two different diameters, and for shafts
made of steel SAE 52100 with varying diameter. For the validation of the simulations, these work pieces were heated
in a roller hearth kiln up to 850C, and than quenched in a field of nozzles in which the heat transfer coefficient was
known and could be locally adjusted by the volume flow of each nozzle. The phase fractions, surface hardness,
distortion, and residual stresses were measured. The simulated and measured results fit quite well. According to
optimization-simulations the shafts were quenched with a certain heat transfer coefficient distribution. The bigger
diameter parts of the shaft were more intensively quenched by an increased gas flow so that the hardness profiles
were equalized and the residual stresses at the edges were significantly reduced.
Keywords
Steel Quenching, Residual Stresses, TRIP, Thermo-Plasticity, J2-Plasticity, Phase Change.
Introduction
In the most thermal treatment processes metals must be quenched after heating. Typical
examples are hardening processes. But the quenching causes undesirable effects. A main
problem is the distortion of the products. Other problems are the high residual tensile stresses
and an uneven distribution of the hardness on the surface [1]. For reducing the residual stresses
of the products a following temper process is necessary. For reducing the distortion the products
has to be adjusted in straightening machines. These processes need considerable efforts.
This paper deals with the possibilities of controlled quenching with a field of nozzles in
influencing the structure, stresses and distortion. These properties were simulated mathematically
for the quenching processes to find the optimised conditions. To prove these conditions, the
samples of complex geometry were quenched in an array of nozzles. The sample geometries,
which are 60 mm and 120 mm length shafts and 90 mm and 120 mm diameter discs, are shown
in Figure 1 with the field of nozzles. The gas flow of each nozzle could be controlled to adjust a
defined distribution of the heat transfer. The local distribution of the heat transfer coefficient is
known from measurements and calculations using the Computational Fluid Dynamic Program
398
FLUENT. As material the steel SAE 52100 was used because of its well known material
properties. The experiments and FLUENT calculations were carried out at the Institute of
Materials Science, Bremen, the mathematical simulations of structure, stress and strain were
carried out at the University of Magdeburg.
Figure 1: The shaft and the disc with the field of nozzle
Mathematical Model
2.1
Temperature field
The temperature field is given by the Fouriers law with two additional heat source terms. The
first additional term is for the transformation enthalpies. The second additional term is to include
the heat generation by mechanical energy dissipation which is actually a fraction of 70-95% of
the plastic work. In quenching simulations, the effect of mechanical work is negligibly small.
The integral form of the Fouriers law is
w wT
w wT
w w T
wx O w x wy O w y wz O w z dV ^U c T L `dV ^ q
n S `dS . (2.1.1)
Here, all the material constants are given as a function of temperature T and phase fractions .
The phase fraction dependency is expressed by arithmetic, geometric or harmonic mean [15]. All
symbols appearing in the equations are explained in the table at the end of the paper.
Arithmetic Mean:
AM
Z mix
n
i 1 i
[ Z i (eg. heat conductivity O , density U , heat capacity c )
Geometric Mean:
GM
Z mix
exp
n
i 1
[i lnZ i (eg. bulk modulus N , shear modulus P )
(2.1.2)
(2.1.3)
Harmonic Mean:
HM
Z mix
n
i 1
[i Z i1
1
(eg. yield stress V y )
(2.1.4)
The boundary conditions are presented by the last part of the integral equation. The heat flux in
to the body
q S H su V T 4 Tf4 D T Tf ,
(2.1.5)
399
is composed of thermal radiation and heat convection.
2.2
Microstructure Field
The mathematical description of phase transformation kinetics in the under cooling range is still
not well established. In general, time-temperature-transformation (TTT) charts, which are
derived from experimental investigations, are exploited. Isothermal transformation (IT-) charts
are mainly known. From this continuous cooling transformation (CT-) charts can be calculated
[2-7] for an arbitrary cooling process.
There are two different types of phase transformations, namely diffusional and martensitic
transformations. For diffusional transformations, the formation of the new phase is described by
the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation [8]
[i [ ieq 1 exp ai t b
(2.2.1)
eq
where [
is the equilibrium phase fraction, ai and bi are the temperature dependent
transformation parameters for each phase. After an infinitely long time, the phases achieve their
equilibrium fractions. For convenience, the limit curves of the transformation in TTT charts are
approximated by the following equation proposed by Hougardy [9]
W T d 0 exp
d1 d 2 (TU T ) n
.
T TL
(2.2.2)
TL and TU are lower and upper asymptotes. The curve parameters d 0 , d1 , d 2 are uniquely
defined when three points Pi ( ti ,Ti ) on the limit curve and the exponent n are given.
The isothermal diffusional phase transformation is bounded by two such curves. The first curve
describes the starting time of the transformation such that 1% of the new phase fraction is
formed. The second curve describes the ending time for the transformation such that 99% of the
equilibrium phase fraction is formed.
The times t S and t E for transformation start and end for continuous cooling are computed from
the IT-chart by means of Sheils additivity rule [10]
tS
W T t dt
1
0 W E T t dt
0
tE
i 1
, or discretely
't
W S Ti
't
1
i 1
W E Ti
n
(2.2.3)
The calculations are easier in martensitic transformations in which the transformation does
not depend on the time anymore and depends only on the temperature. The martensite phase
fraction is calculated according to [11]
[ M [ A ^1 exp aTMs T `.
(2.2.4)
Here, [ A is the austenite phase fraction in the beginning of martensitic transformation and TMs is
the starting temperature of the martensitic transformation.
2.3
Stress Strain Field
An isotropic thermoplastic material behavior is employed. The basic assumptions are as follows:
A1: total deformations are small,
1
2
gradu grad u and E

T
ET , E p Etrip Ee
(2.3.1)
A2: elastic and plastic behaviors are isotropic
> @
T C Ee
N tr E ET , I 2P Ec Etrip E p
(2.3.2)
400
A3: plastic deformations are incompressible tr E p 0, Ec p E p
(2.3.3)
A4: plastic and hardening behaviors are rate-independent

A5: yield condition is Mises type M (T c, H p , T , )
Tc
2
3
V y (H p , T , )
p O wM O Nc
A6: associative plastic model is exploited E
wT
(2.3.4)
(2.3.5)
A7: linear isotropic hardening behavior is assumed

HM
HM
V y V yvmix
H mix
H p , H p
2
3
(2.3.6)
For a plastic loading increment, the unknown plastic multiplier O can be solved from
consistency condition
M wwTMc T c wwHMp H p wwTM T wwM 0 .
(2.3.7)
The first term in the expression is computed from elastic law Eq.(2.3.2),
wM
E
trip E
p .
E Etrip E p 2P E
c Tc Nc 2 P
wT
(2.3.8)
For the last three terms in consistency condition Eq.(2.3.7), the Eqs.(2.3.4-6) is exploited.
Finally, the unknown plastic multiplier O is
E
trip
2 P Nc E Etrip 2 P Nc E
2P 23 H
2
3
wV y
wT
wV

T wy
(2.3.9)
Remark: the prime over a tensor represents its deviator.

In general, a linear relation between the temperature and strain rate tensor is used for the
calculation of thermal strains. This method contains a linearization [12] and sometimes requires a
conversion of the reference temperatures. An alternative method is based on the temperature
dependency of the density [13]. The thermal and transformation induced strains are spherical
tensors
ET ,
3 UR
T ,
1 I , or rate form E
n
i
d ET , wU wU
[i
T
1
w[i
dU wT
(2.3.10)
with the reference density U R and mixture density U .

The transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) is an additional irreversible deformation, which
occurs during phase transformation. The TRIP flow occurs in the stress deviator Tc direction
like mechanical plasticity, even if the global stress does not exceed the yield limit of a single
phase. The flow rate is proportional to the phase transformation rate
trip 3 / ln [ [ Tc with / i 5 U A Ui .
E
2
6 U A V yA
(2.3.11)
This equation characterizes the macroscopic material behavior which is determined by the
micromechanical processes. The proportionality factor depends additionally on the fraction of
the transformed phase and on the Greenwood Johnson coefficient / [14], which has to be
determined experimentally. Here, the density ratio is a measure for volume ratio of the
converting phases (e.g. austenite, pearlite) and V yA is the yield limit of the softer phase (mostly
austenite) at the transformation temperature.
The relationship between stress tensor T and elastic strain tensor E e is given by the elastic law
Eq.(2.2.3). The relationship between T and elasto-plastic strain tensor Eep is

2P
Cep E
ep with Cep w T
T
C
Nc N c .
(2.3.12)
ep T ,; const .
wE
1 H
3P
> @
401
Measurements and Simulations
The test facilities are shown in Figure 2. The shafts and discs were heated up to 850C in a roller
hearth kiln of the company Rollmod. With this furnace, an even heating up of the samples was
succeeded by reversing sample movements during the heating process. The samples were heated
up in a nitrogen atmosphere. After the heating, the samples were driven out and fell into a cage
which ensured the vertical centering. The sample was then cooled with nitrogen in the
surrounding field of nozzles.
roller kiln
disc
field of nozzles
gas supply with

adjustment control
of flow rate
Figure 2: The pilot plant
The calculated and measured temperatures are compared in Figure 3 for the shaft and the disc.
The temperatures were measured with thermocouples which were placed in holes drilled from
the bottom into the shaft as depicted in the figure. The points with the highest and lowest
temperature are presented in the figure. As expected, the curves fit for the given heat transfer
coefficient.
900
600
Measurement-Point 2 (M-P2)
Simulation-Point 2 (S-P2)
Measurement-Point 3 (M-P3)
Simulation-Point 3 (S-P3)
1
300
5
4
900
Temperature [C]
Temperature [C]
S-P2
M-P2
Measurement-Point 4 (MP-4)
Simulation-Point 4 (SP-4)
Measurement-Point 1 (MP-1)
Simulation-Point 1 (SP-1)
600
4
2
S-P4
M-P4
S-P1
M-P1
300
S-P3
M-P3
50
100
Time [s]
150
200
25
50
75
Time [sec]
Figure 3: The calculated and measured profiles of temperature
The profiles of distortion after the quenching are given in Figure 4. The distortion of the shaft
(i.e., the change of radius in the highlighted regions along the shaft) is very small, but the disc
had a significant distortion with a final oval shape of the hole.
402
0
(0;0;0)
r-axis
10
meas.
20
sim.
z [mm]
30
z-axis
30
I36
40
40
50
60
M = 180
36
meas.
70
M = 90
M = 270
sim.
80
M = 0
90
-0,10
-0,05
0,00
0,05
0,10
' r [%]
Figure 4: The measured and calculated profiles of distortion
Table 1 presents the calculated and measured portion of the different microstructure for the
shafts (left side) and the discs (right side). The probes were taken from the positions at the
surface given in the upper part of the figure. The difference between measurements and
simulations is always relative low.
Table 1: Results of the measuring (m) and simulations (s) of the structure
small shaft
2 4
1 3
point 1 -
point 2 -
point 3 -
point 4 -
big shaft
pearlite bainite martensite pearlite bainite martensite

[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
33 31
67
69
33 31
67
69
22 18
78
26 22
74
small disc
big disc
94 86
97 86
82 100 90
10
point 1 -
12
96
88
12 22 88
78
point 2 -
18
95
82
16 30 84
70
78 100 89
11
pearlite bainite martensite pearlite bainite martensite

[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
[%]
1 2
m s m s m
s m s m s m
s
Optimization of quenching
The former simulations (named as standard) were conducted with a nearly constant distribution
of the heat transfer coefficient of about 450 W/m2/K which is shown as dotted line in Figure 5.
Calculations were performed with variation of the local heat transfer coefficient to find the
optimal distribution to achieve low residual stresses. This optimal distribution is presented in the
figure with solid lines. Nozzle 2 and nozzle 6 need a much higher outlet velocity to increase the
heat transfer coefficient to 700 W/m2/K, the nozzles 4 and 8 until 11 must have a reduced
coefficient of only 200 W/m2/K.
Heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2K)]
800
Nozzle
8
9 10
11
700
403
600
500
400
300
200
100
standard simulation
0
0
20
40
10 11
optimization
60
Length [mm]
80
100
120
Figure 5: The distribution of the heat transfer coefficients on the shaft
Figure 6 shows the fields of temperature and internal stress in the cross section of the shaft for
the standard and the optimised case. The temperature gradient in z-axis is reduced considerably.
This results in reduced stresses especially at the edges.
Figure 6: The fields of temperature and stress Vxy at t=50s before and after the optimization
of the nozzle array
Summary
A coupled gas-dynamical and thermo-mechanical model for the simulation of the gas flow, gas
and specimen temperature, phase, stress, strain, and displacement transient-fields during
quenching of cutting discs and shafts of steel is introduced. Simulations have been carried out for
cutting discs of knives and for shafts with varying diameter. According to optimizationsimulations the shafts were quenched with a certain heat transfer coefficient distribution. The
larger diameter parts of the shaft were more intensively quenched so that the hardness profiles
were equalized and the residual stresses at the edges were significantly reduced.
Acknowledgement
This work has been funded by Bundesministerium fr Wirtschaft (BMWi) through the Arbeitsgemeinschaft
industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen e.V. (AiF-Nr. 12012 B) and attended by the Forschungsgemeinschaft
Industrieofenbau (FOGI).
404
Symbols
C , Cep
material stiffness tensors
distortion factor
volume
linearized strain tensor
identity tensor
axial direction
nA
surface normal vector
heat transfer coefficient
N
q
flow surface normal vector
D
E
G
stress deviator
T
u
Cauchy stress tensor
velocity vector
back stress tensor
area
heat flux vector
displacement vector
a, b
Avrami parameters
cp
specific heat capacity
d 0 , d 1 , d 2 , TU , TL
Hougardy parameters
flow criteria
shear modulus
enthalpy
time
temperature
TMs
thermal expansion coefficient

volume ratio, or distortion
H
H su
/
O
P
total plastic strain
X
U
internal energy density
UR
Vy
[i
V
reference mass density
HM
V
]
;
starting temperature of martensitic transformation
radiation exchange factor

Greenwood Johnson factor
heat conduction coefficient
internal heat generation density
mass density
yield stress
phase fraction of ith phase
Stefan-Bolzmann constant
HMH-equivalent stress
hardening parameter
phase fractions
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Greenwood GW, Johnson RH (1965), The deformation of metals under small stress during phase transformation.
Proced. R. S. London A283, 403- 422.
Pierard O, Friebel C, Doghri I (2004), Mean-field homogenization of multi-phase thermo-elastic composites: a
general framework and its validation. Composites Science and Technology 64: 15871603
13. Quenching
405
406
407
FE Simulation of Steel Quenching

to Investigate Residual Stresses and Distortion
Caner imir, C. Hakan Gr
Middle East Technical University, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept.
06531 Ankara, Turkey, simsir@metu.edu.tr, chgur@metu.edu.tr
Abstract
During quenching of steels, distortion, cracking and inability of obtaining desired microstructure lead to defective
products or service failure. It is not possible to predict the final state by analytical methods due to the difficulty of
combining various coupled-complex phenomena such as heat transfer, phase transformation, stress evolution. Instead
of a trial-and-error procedure, simulation of heat treatments will lead to the manufacturing of products with optimum
properties, and a considerable reduction in production time and cost.
In this study, a finite element model was developed by improving the Msc.Marc 2003 software by addition of user
subroutines for quenching of steels, especially to take into account the effect of temperature dependent convective
heat transfer coefficient on temperature and strain fields. Usage of a surface temperature dependent film coefficient
allows an indirect method for consideration of Leidenfrost effect, thus it improves the quality of prediction of
temperature field and hence, final geometry and residual stress distribution. Effect of phase transformation was
neglected because in order to completely understand the effect of phase transformation, it is firstly necessary to
examine and verify the developed model in a model where the major source of distortion is due to thermal stresses.
After verification of the model for 2-D axisymmetric case by comparing the simulation results with literature, the
model was extended to 3-D by simulating the quench behaviour of eccentrically drilled C60 steel cylinders. Such
geometry leaded to non-symmetric heat flow, and hence non-symmetric distortion, which was assumed to be the case
representing the real engineering problems. In the numerical experiments, a set of eccentrically drilled cylinders were
quenched from 720C in water at 20C, and residual stress distribution and distortion was investigated. It has been
observed that distortion was more evident near the eccentrically drilled hole. In such parts, if quenching conditions
are not optimized, the circular cross-section of drilled hole will be no more circular after quenching. Furthermore,
distortion of cross-section was not uniform along the longitudinal direction, although it is less severe in this direction.
Keywords:
Steel, Quenching, Finite Element Method, Distortion, Residual Stress
Introduction
Quench hardening is a common manufacturing process to produce steel components with

reliable service properties. The characteristic of quenching is the complicated pattern of
couplings between different physical and mechanical events. Thermal stresses in a component
are produced due to the large temperature gradients. At any point, the magnitude of thermal
stresses varies with time depending on the variation of the thermo-mechanical properties with
temperature and cooling rate. Extremely fast variation of thermo-mechanical properties inside
the specimen makes the problem severely non-linear and hard to solve even without the effect of
phase transformation. Temperature gradients cause a continuously changing internal stress field,
and in extreme cases the body could even crack. When the local yield strength is exceeded at
some temperature at any point in the part, a non-uniform plastic flow occurs. This causes a total
residual stress state at the end of quench process that can be beneficial or detrimental depending
on magnitude and sign of the stresses.
In literature, there are two main groups of publications on modelling of quenching: studies that
consider the quenching process as a whole (either with phase transformation or without phase
transformation), and those that concentrate on certain phenomena in quenching (such as heat
408
transfer problem, prediction of kinetics of phase transformation, transformation induced

plasticity). Detailed literature review may be found elsewhere [Mackerle, 2001]. Results of the
following studies were used for the verification purpose. Yu et al. have made an extensive study
on the generation of thermal stresses during quenching of steel cylinders of various diameters
[Yu, 1978-1980]. Schrder examined the effect of cylinder diameter and quench parameters on
residual stresses [Schrder,1985]. Gr developed a finite element program to analyse the
quenching of axisymmetric components, and performed numerical experiments with and without
phase transformation. Various commercial FEM programs/modules have been developed for
simulation of heat treatments, such as DANTE/ABAQUS, DANTE/KIVA, DEFORM
HT, and SYSWELD. In this study, numerical and experimental results obtained for 2-D
axisymmetric geometries were re-evaluated and verified by using Msc.Marc 2003 software.
Then, the model was extended to 3-D for investigation of distortion in real engineering parts by
simulating the quenching behaviour of eccentrically drilled cylinders. Such geometry leads to a
non-symmetric heat flow, and hence results in a non-symmetric distortion. In the numerical
experiments, a set of eccentrically drilled cylinders of C60 steel were quenched from 720C into
20C water, and residual stress distribution and distortion was investigated. Implementation of a
phase transfer effect to MSC.Marc software via user subroutines is an ongoing study by the
authors. Although, user subroutine interface of MSC.Marc is not as flexible as some of its
competitors, it has many powerful features, such as global remeshing that may allow the
extension of the problem from quenching to hot forming operations involving phase
transformations.
2
2.1
Analysis Procedure
Geometry and Boundary Conditions
The model was verified on infinitely long cylinders by repeating the studies of Gr, Yu and
Schrder. Then, quenching of eccentrically drilled cylinders with different hole-diameter and
different degree of eccentricity (Table 1) were simulated. The degree of eccentricity is defined as
the ratio of the thickest cross-section to the thinnest cross-section (S2/S1).
Sample
Eccentricity (S2/S1)
Outer diameter = 30 mm; Length = 120 mm
A3
B3
C3
D3
E3
A4
B4
C4
D4
E4
Hole diameter (mm)
12
15
18
Table 1: Set of specimens used in simulations
For computational efficiency, the symmetry part of the specimens was discretized into finite
elements (Fig.1). 10 divisions in radial and longitudinal directions were used whereas 18
divisions in angular directions. Finer elements were used near the surfaces and the thinner crosssections to improve computational accuracy. Thus, totally 1800 eight-node hexahedral elements
were used to define the problem. Full integration scheme (8 integration points/element,
Msc.Marc Element#11) was used for evaluation of the element matrices.
Besides thermal and mechanical symmetry boundary conditions, convective heat transfer
boundary condition was applied on quench surfaces (Figure 1). It was assumed that the drilled
hole is closed from both ends so that quench medium does not enter inside the hole. A surface
temperature dependent convective heat transfer coefficient was used as a non-linear boundary
condition (Table 2). For this aim, a FORTRAN user subroutine FILM.F, which runs for all
integration points on all faces defined on the convective heat transfer boundary condition, was
used. By this way, variation of surface heat transfer coefficient during different stages of
quenching (nucleate boiling, transient-stable film boiling, and direct contact with quenchant) was
409
considered. This is an indirect way to implement Leidenfrost effect in the model, and it is usually
accepted that this approach significantly improves the quality of prediction of final state of the
product. In reality, heat transfer coefficient on the quenched surfaces is mainly a function of
surface temperature, surface roughness, contact (dihedral) angle of quenchant with the specimen.
Temperature (qC)
200
h (J/m2sqC)
4350
8207
400
430
500
560
11962 13492 12500 10206
600
700
800
7793
2507
437
Table 2: Temperature dependent convective heat transfer coefficients used in simulations
Figure 1: Definition of geometry and thermal boundary conditions
2.2
Model Definition
A thermo-mechanical coupled analysis was applied. Direct coupling method was used, i.e.
coupling of temperature and strain field was performed on each step. Total quenching time was
selected as 120 s for all specimens to guarantee that the final stress distribution is the residual
stress distribution, and the geometry is the final geometry. An adaptive time stepping procedure
was used for time-walk of the process. Because of severe non-linear nature of the problem due to
temperature dependence of material properties and temperature dependent convective heat
transfer coefficient, a tight relative convergence ratio (0.001) was imposed. Time step was
increased by 20% after a sufficiently convergent time step. Adaptive time stepping allowed a
computation efficient analysis without sacrificing so much from the accuracy of the solution.
2.3
Material Behaviour
The input data for St50 [Yu, 1978], Ck45 [Schrder, 1985] and C60 [Gr, 1996] steels were
taken from the literature. Only data for C60 steel was presented for the purpose of brevity (Table
3), rest can be found from the references.
Both thermal and mechanical behaviour of materials were assumed to be isotropic. Von Mises
yield surface with isotropic hardening rule was used for definition of plastic behaviour. Strain
rate effects were neglected which may cause some errors because of some fast localized
deformation behaviour, especially at the first few seconds of quenching process.
410
T
(qC)
E
(GPa)
VY
(MPa)
H
(MPa)
210
0.28
450
1000
300
193
0.30
230
16000
600
165
0.31
140
10000
900
120
0.33
30
500
D
(P/qC)
15.3
O
(J/msqC)
CU
(MJ/m3qC)
49.0
3.78
41.7
4.46
34.3
5.09
27.0
5.74
T: Temperature, E: Elastic modulus, Q: Poissons ratio, VY: Yield strength,CU: Specific heat,
H: Strain hardening coefficient, O: Thermal conductivity,D: Thermal expansion coefficient
Table 3: Material data for C60 steel [Gr, 1996]
Verification of the Model
Several simulation and experimental results from literature that involves quenching of infinitely
long cylinders without phase transformation was used for the verification of the model. Set of
specimens used in verification are presented on Table 4. Verification of prediction of
temperature field was done by comparing cooling curves of core and surface of the cylinders.
Verification of strain field is carried out by comparing radial (r) , tangential (t) and hoop ()
stress distribution along the radial direction. Maximum absolute % deviation from current model
was used for briefly check the model, instead of using many charts of stress distribution along
radial direction (Table 4).
Reference
Gr
Steel
C60
Diameter
(mm)
Experiment
Type
Initial Temp.
(qC)
Quench Bath
Temp. (qC)
30
Simulation
720qC
0qC
600qC
St50
50
Simulation
Ck45
50
Simulation
Yu
St50
50
Schrder
Ck45
50
Ck45
50
Max. %Deviation
r
0.87
0.91
1.12
1.31
1.35
1.21
680qC
20qC
1.39
1.33
1.23
Simulation
600qC
0qC
1.43
0.98
Simulation
680qC
1.53
1.21
4.36
Neutron
Diffraction
680qC
20qC
Table 4: Verification data for the model
Major problems in quenching of steels are distortion and cracking. Moreover, type, magnitude
and distribution of residual stresses will affect fatigue performance, and may also cause
distortion problems in subsequent machining processes. Total quantitative expression of the
distortion and final residual stress distribution of a 3-D engineering component is a cumbersome
process since it requires the use of charts of nodal displacements and 3 components of residual
stress state through many cross-sections. It is also difficult to visualize those data in 3-D space.
For the purpose of brevity and comprehensibility, qualitative results in the form of figures and
contour maps were given. Both figures and contour maps were adjusted to the same scale to
make comparison process easy. In this study, distortion was investigated on centre plane along
longitudinal direction for specimens with the same eccentricity by drawing initial (geometry at
7200C, before quenching) and deformed states on the same figure (Fig.2). Black region
represents change of geometry and distortion near the drilled hole whereas dark grey region
represents the change of geometry of the outer cylindrical surface. Deformations were multiplied
by a factor of 10 for all figures to make them more visible.
4.1
411
Effect of Hole Diameter
Changes in the hole diameter at fixed eccentricity significantly affect final geometry and residual
stress distribution. For investigation of this effect, two sets of specimens with two eccentricity
ratios (2 and 4), and five different hole diameters (6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 mm) were used.
From Fig.2, it is hard to express the effect of hole diameter on distortion behaviour of quenched
specimens by a simple rule of thumb. An obvious observation is the increase of contraction on
both outer cylindrical surface and on the inner hole. However, relative contraction ratio (RfinalRinitial )/Rinitial along both directions seems to be quite constant. Nevertheless, those ratios are not a
full measure of distortion, complete shape of outer cylinder and inner hole must be known in
order to describe the curvature change.
Figure 2: Initial and distorted geometries of central cross-sections of C60 steels quenched from 720C into
water at 20C. (Eccentricity ratio = 2; all deformations were multiplied by 10)
Another process parameter that is affected by varying hole diameter is the residual stress
distribution. Residual stress state of outer surface and inner hole is important for further
machining and fatigue life of such components. To determine the dominant stress state without
presenting stress state on three global coordinate, the magnitude of the maximum principle stress
is plotted on contour maps (Fig.3). For the specimens with eccentricity ratio 2 (Fig.3), the outer
surface is on compression whereas the inner hole is on tension. This is an expected behaviour for
quenching of hollow steel cylinders without phase transformation, as long as the hole diameter is
too large. At first stage of quenching, outer surface cools very rapidly whereas the inner surface
cools slowly. This leads to contraction of surface while the core is nearly unaffected. This
phenomenon results in a tensile stress state on surface and a compressive state on inner hole.
However, at later stages of quenching, the surface is already cooled down, whereas the core is
still cooling. This leads in a reverse stress state, i.e., compression on the surface and tension on
the hole. Another observation that can be made from Fig. 3 is the extension of compressive zone
on surface and tensile zone on the inner hole as the diameter increases from 6 mm to 12 mm
(A3,B3,C3). Then, this behaviour is reversed while diameter increases from 12 mm to 18 mm
(D3,E3) since some sections get thinner.
When the eccentricity ratio is 4 (Fig.5), the behaviour describe above changes especially for
specimens with large diameters such as E4. In that case, existence of too thin sections causes
extension of inner tension zone to the outer surface in some places, whereas, compressive zone
on outer surface extends to thin wall side of the eccentrically drilled hole on some other places.
412
Figure 3: Effect of hole diameter on residual stress distribution (maximum principle stress) for central
cross-sections of C60 specimens quenched from 720oC into water at 20oC. (Eccentricity ratio = 2)
4.2
Effect of Eccentricity
Although the effect of varying hole diameter at constant eccentricity on distortion is not too
clear, the effect of eccentricity is easier to understand. Eccentricity defines the degree of
deviation from symmetry. Non-symmetric heat flow and non-symmetric variation of thermal and
mechanical material properties cause more non-uniform deformations. This yields more
distortion on quenched parts (Fig.4). However, complete simulations should be performed for
prediction of distorted geometry. Moreover, degree of eccentricity significantly affects the final
stress distribution after quenching process (Fig.5). Firstly, for a specimen with fixed inner hole
diameter, it was observed that tensile zone on the thin wall side of inner hole was enlarged both
in terms of magnitude and area. Similarly, compressive zone on thick wall side of outer surface
was enlarged in terms of both magnitude and area. Secondly, compressive zone on left-hand side
of outer surface and the tensile zone on left-hand side of inner hole start to interact for highly
eccentric specimens with large inner diameters (E4). This results in some tensile zones on outer
surfaces and some compressive zones on inner hole.
413
Figure 4: Initial and distorted geometries of central cross-sections of C60 steels quenched from 720oC into
water at 20oC. (Eccentricity ratio = 2 (top); 4 (bottom); all deformations were multiplied by 10)
(A4)
Figure 5: Residual stress distributions (maximum principle stress) for central cross-sections of C60 steels
quenched from 720oC into water at 20oC. Effect of eccentricity (at constant hole diameter) is illustrated.
414
Conclusion
In quenching of steel parts, the factors affecting the final geometry and residual stress
distribution are quite complex. After verification of the model for 2-D axisymmetric case by
comparing the simulation results with literature, the model was extended to 3-D by simulating
the quench behaviour of C60 steel cylinders of 30 mm diameter, having a hole at various
positions in the radial cross section and with various diameters. Such geometry leaded to nonsymmetric heat flow, and hence non-symmetric distortion and complex residual stress
distribution, which was assumed to be the case representing the real engineering problems. In the
numerical experiments, residual stress distribution and distortion was investigated for quenching
from 720C in water at 20C. It has been observed that distortion was more evident near the hole.
In such parts, if quenching conditions are not optimized, the circular cross-section of drilled hole
will be no more circular after quenching. Furthermore, distortion of cross-section was not
uniform along the longitudinal direction, although it is less severe in this direction.
Although it reveals certain key points in design of parts and quenching procedure, results
obtained may not be presented as simple rules of thumb because of the complex thermomechanical coupling and non-linearities in the problem. Because of those reasons, full scale
computer simulations that calculate and trace the temperature and strain fields should be
performed for prediction of as quenched geometry and residual stress distribution. Currently,
advances in computer technologies and finite element analysis software allow engineers to
perform such analyses in a fairly easy manner.
References
Gr,C.H.; Tekkaya,A.E.; Finite element simulation of quench hardening, Steel Res, Vol. 67, 1996, p. 298
Gr,C.H.; Tekkaya,A.E.; Schuler,W.; Effect of boundary conditions and workpiece geometry on residual stresses
and microstructure in quenching process, Steel Res, Vol. 67, 1996, p. 501
Mackerle J. ; Finite Element analysis and simulation of quenching and other heat treatment processes A
Bibliography, Computational Material Science, Vol 27, 2003, pp.313-332
Schrder,R. ; Untersuchungen zur Spannungs- und Eigenspannungs-ausbildung beim Abschrecken von
Stahlzylindern, Ph.D.Thesis, Univ.of Karlsruhe, 1985
Yu, H.J.; Wolfstieg,U; E.Macherauch, Arch.Eisenhttenwes, Vol 49, 1978, pp. 549
Yu,H.J.; Wolfstieg,U; E.Macherauch, Arch.Eisenhttenwes., Vol. 51, 1980, pp.195
415
Prediction of Distortion of Cylinders without

Phase Transformations
F. Frerichs1, D. Landek2, Th. Lbben1, F. Hoffmann1, H.-W. Zoch1
1
Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Strae 3, 28539 Bremen, Germany, frerichs@iwt-bremen.de

2
University of Zagreb, Faculty for Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Ivana Lucica 1,
10000 Zagreb, Croatia, darko.landek@fsb.hr
Abstract
The rule of Ameen whereby steel made cylinders with no phase transformations during quenching approach the
spherical shape is contrary to the finding of Berger, who observes an elongation of thin and long work pieces. If the
prediction of Ameen is correct, cylinders should decrease in length during heat treatment.
This paper describes a first step of broader investigation of strain hardening and distortion of cylinders during gas
quenching in a gas nozzle field. To make more general predictions about the distortion of cylinders which show no
phase transformations during heat treatment, different dimensions of cylinders (lengths 50, 100 and 200 mm,
diameters 10 mm up to 100 mm) were investigated by means of numerical and experimental methods.
The prediction of dimension and shape changes during gas quenching of steel cylinders has been performed by
numerical simulation using the commercial Finite Element Program SYSWELD. The austenitic steel SAE30300
(German grade X8CrNiS18.9) was selected as investigated material; it shows no phase transformations during
performed heating and cooling.
The investigations show a good agreement between the kinematic strain hardening model and the experimental data,
whereas the isotropic model is not in line with the experimental data. If the ratio of length and diameter is greater
than 3, the relative changes in length displayed against the Biot number give uniform curves for all investigated
geometries and heat transfer coefficients.
Keywords
Thermal strain, austenitic steel, geometry depending distortion, FEM-simulation, Biot number
Introduction
Plastic deformation due to thermal strain occurs before reaching the first phase transformation.
Therefore in a hardening process a large amount of distortion should develop in the austenitic
phase. Consequently the behaviour of austenitic steels which show no phase transformations
during cooling should be investigated. For materials without any phase transformations Ameen
[Ameen, 1940] has formulated a rule. For work pieces made out of such materials he predicts an
approach to the spherical form i.e. an increase in diameter and a decrease in length. In contrary to
that finding, Berger [Berger, 1926] reports about experiments in which cylinders made out of
brass increase in length after quenching. Similar results have been found by Frerichs [Frerichs,
2004] for austenitic steel cylinders.
To get a general insight into the distortion behaviour and to clarify the contrary statements
broader investigations of the behaviour of work pieces with no phase transformations are
necessary. Therefore the quenching process of cylinders with different ratio of length and
diameter was investigated by means of experimental and numerical studies.
For the austenitic steel SAE30300 (German grade X8CrNiS18.9) a complete set of all necessary
properties of the material was gathered [Frerichs, 2004]. For that material the agreement between
experimental results and numerical simulations using SYSWELD was very good. Therefore
SAE30300 seems to be good for the above mentioned investigations.
416
Material Properties
Estimations of the physical and mechanical properties were taken from literature [Richter, 1983],
[Nickel Deutschland, 1965] and from own experimental investigations [Frerichs, 2004]. The
chemical composition is given in table 1 and the physical properties necessary for simulation
using SYSWELD in table 2. Further on, this material will be called first melting being the base
for simulations with SYSWELD in sections 4 and 6. For experimental verifications it was
necessary in addition to use a second melting of SAE30300. The chemical analysis of this
melting is given in table 1 last line.
Elements
Si
Mn
Cr
Ni
Cu
DIN
0.1
1.0
2.0 0.045 0.15-0.35 17.0-19.0
8.0-10.0
1.0
0.11
first melting
0.057
0.37
1.70
0.027
0.271
17.7
8.68
0.15
0.021
second
melting
0.050
0.45
1.87
0.028
0.250
17.2
8.01
0.50
0.026
Table 1: Chemical composition of SAE30300

Temperature [C]
0
200
400
600
800
1000
heat capacity [J/kgK]
443.0
530.9
568.5
591.5
627.0
685.5
thermal conductivity [W/mK]
14.60
17.14
19.68
22.22
24.76
27.30
density [g/cm]
7.92
7.84
7.76
7.66
7.57
7.48
Youngs modulus [GPa]
204.0
187.2
170.4
153.6
136.8
120.0
Poissons ratio
0.276
0.288
0.300
0.290
0.250
0.240
thermal strain [10 ]
-3.22
29.0
68.0
111.0
155.0
198.0
yield strength [MPa]
186
163
140
117
93
70
-4
Table 2: Material properties of SAE30300 (first melting)

The temperature dependent strain hardening above the yield strength can be described by the
Ramberg-Osgood-Model [Ramberg, 1943]:
(1)
(T) K(T) np
where represents the stress and p the plastic strain. K(T) is a linear function of the
temperature T:
(2)
MPa
K(T) 416 MPa 0.27
T
qC
and n is constant with 0.0798 [Frerichs, 2004].
Preliminary Considerations
In case of simulation distortion effects quenching conditions, material properties, and models of
strain hardening must be taken into account. Furthermore the available performances of
numerical calculations (2D and 3D simulations) should be considered. Using the 3D mode local
differences of heat transfer coefficients due to the use of a gas nozzle field can be taken into
account. These values were calculated using the Computational-Fluid-Dynamic-program
FLUENT [Frerichs, 2004]. The resulting heat transfer coefficients depend on the mass flow rate
417
[Heck, 2001] and the arrangement of the nozzles around the specimen [Gondesen, 1998]. But,
because of the huge amount of time for 3D simulations, the major part of the calculations should
be carried out with the 2D mode. Using the axially symmetric 2D mode, only a constant heat
transfer coefficient can be applied.
To get an overview on dependencies of the change in length after cooling from 850C cylinders
200 mm in length with radii from 5 mm up to 30 mm were investigated by means of 2D FEsimulations using SYSWELD. Both the kinematic and the isotropic strain hardening model were
taken into account. The heat transfer coefficients were varied from 640 up to 1000 W/mK,
because in that range the heat transfer coefficients can be varied experimentally in the above
mentioned gas nozzle field.
relative changehhhhh
in length [m/mm]
0.3
isotropic model
2
z 2S r dr
S R 2 0
z
0.2
R
0.1
kinematic
model
0
0
10
20
30
L
-0.1
radius [mm]
2
r dz
L 0
Figure 1: Left, the range of relative changes in length for cylinder 200 mm in length (range of heat transfer
coefficient 640 1000 W/mK); right, method of determination of changes in length and in diameter
On the right hand side of figure 1 the method of calculation the change in length and diameter is
shown; the left hand side, of figure 1 represents the range in which the calculated relative
changes in length are located. Regarding elongation of cylinders below 15 mm in radius
kinematic and isotropic strain hardening models offer nearly the same values, whereas for the
cylinders with larger radii the difference between the models increases. Cylinders 25 mm in
radius are appropriate to choose the better one of the available strain hardening models, because
for that radius the differences between calculated distortion using kinematic and isotropic strain
hardening model pass through a maximum.
Sensitivity of Numerical Investigations
To get an overview about the sensitivity of distortion effects FE simulations were carried out
with variations of the material properties given in table 2. The amount of the variations given in
figure 2 was estimated by literature values [Richter, 1983] and by own investigations for yield
strength [Frerichs, 2005]. For the simulations the samples dimension was fixed. As a result of the
considerations in section 3 25 mm was selected as radius and 200 mm as length. 2D FEMsimulations were done for isotropic and kinematic strain hardening with a constant heat transfer
coefficient of 800 W/mK. In case of comparison 3D simulations using local differences of heat
transfer coefficients were compared with 2D axially symmetric simulations using the
corresponding mean value of 800 W/mK. The results of the calculations are shown in
figure 2.
418
0,3
no variation (isotropic strain hardening)
0,2
no variation (kinematic strain hardening)
simulation
2D/3D
yield
strength
5%
thermal
strain
5%
Young's
modulus
thermal
conductivity
density
0,1
heat
capacity
relative change in length [m/mm]
Both simulation modes (2D axial symmetric and 3D respectively) gave nearly identical amounts
in changes in length. This result confirms the finding for cylinders 20 mm in diameter [Frerichs,
2004]. Therefore further on in this paper only 2D axial symmetric simulations will be
considered. As shown in figure 2 the most important property is the yield strength. It has the
largest influence on the change in length of the cylinders.
2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 10%
Figure 2: Sensitivity of changes in length of cylinders on variations of material properties and

simulation modes, length 200 mm, radius 25 mm, 800 W/mK .
Experimental Verification
The work pieces of 10 up to 50 mm in diameter were produced by a turning process using a bar
stock with 60 mm in diameter which was made out of the second melting of SAE30300. All
samples were heated up to 850C in a tube heater. Cylinder up to 200 mm in length and up to
50 mm in diameter can be heat treated in that device. To rule out distortions due to
inhomogeneous cooling conditions the components were quenched with nitrogen in a gas nozzle
field [Frerichs, 2004]. The gas quenching tool consists of 4 nozzle rows with 12 nozzles each.
The quenching was done by nitrogen with mass flow rates up to 150 g/s, corresponding to gas
velocities in the near of the nozzle outlets of about 200 m/s.
Because of the large influence of the yield strength on distortion (see figure 2), this property was
checked for the second melting. The tensile tests were done at 450, 600, 750 and 850C. Figure 3
shows the dependency of yield strength on temperature and position of sampling. Primarily for
high temperatures above 700C the yield strength of the second melting material is up to 35 MPa
lower than for the first melting. For lower temperatures the yield strength was calculated using
linear extrapolation (dashed line).
To test the quality of the complete set of all simulation inputs, calculations with the yield
strength for the second melting were carried out and compared with experimental data. In figure
4 the measured changes in length are compared with calculated values. The cylinders with 10
mm in diameter were quenched with a mean value for heat transfer coefficient of 1000 W/mK,
the other components were quenched with 800 W/mK. For statistical analysis the experiments
were repeated 5 times. The agreement between the results concerning the kinematic model and
the experimental data are very good, whereas the isotropic model is not in line with the
419
experimental data. On this account further on only simulations with kinematic model will be
considered.
1. melting
2. melting near surface
2. melting center
yield strength [MPa]
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
250
500
750
1000
temperature [C]
relativ change
change in
in length
length [m/mm]
relative
[m/mm]
Figure 3: Comparison of yield strength for the first melting of SA30300 with the second melting
used for experimental verification
0.3
1000
W/mK
0.2
800
W/mK
experiment
kinematic model
isotropic model
possible deviations
due to uncertainties
of material properties
0.1
0
0
10
20
30
-0.1
radius [mm]
Figure 4: Changes in length; comparison of experimental data (n = 5) and simulated data (2. melting)
Variation of Cylinder Dimension
Concerning the rule of Ameen simulations of geometry variations were carried out. Beside
variations in heat transfer coefficient and radius, variations of length of the cylinders were
accomplished. The behaviour of 50, 100, and 200 mm cylinders was considered.
Figure 5 compares relative changes in length and diameter received from calculations with
cylinders 200 mm in length. The locations of the maxima of changes in length and diameter
depend as well as the zero-crossing on , whereas the quantities of the maxima show only weak
dependencies on .
420
0,20
0,10
0,00
0
-0,10
-0,20
10
20
30
40
50
640 W/mK
800 W/mK
1000 W/mK
1400 W/mK
relative change in radius [m/mm]
In figure 6 four examples for contour changes are shown. The simulations were done for
cylinders 100 mm in length with a heat transfer coefficient of 800 W/mK. The cylinder with a
diameter of 10 mm shows only slight contour changes and small changes in length, because no
plastic deformations occur during the heat treatment. The cylinder 30 mm in diameter offers the
largest change in length. In contrast to the contour changes of the cylinders having 30 and 60 mm
diameter, the sample with 100 mm diameter approaches the spherical shape.
0,10
640 W/mK
800 W/mK
1000 W/mK
1400 W/mK
0,05
0,00
0
10
20
30
40
50
-0,05
-0,10
radius [mm]
radius [mm]
Figure 5: Simulated changes in length and diameter for a cylinder 200 mm in length
60 mm
100 mm
L = 100 mm
10 mm 30 mm
Figure 6: Simulated contour changes for cylinders 100 mm in length after cooling with 800
W/mK (distortion magnification 1000 times)
A comparison of changes in length for cylinders with different lengths is given in figure 7. As
shown in figure 5 the location of maxima changes depends on the heat transfer coefficient,
obviously this location depends not on the length.
In figure 8 the relative changes in length are plotted against the Biot number, whereby the Biot
number is defined as:
D
(3)
where represents the heat transfer coefficient, the mean heat conductivity and D the diameter
of the cylinder. Obviously, for lower values of the Biot number the curves are uniform. For
larger values a divergence can be observed, whereby the location of the divergence depends on
the length of the cylinders. Additionally, it seems that the location of the divergence occurs for
Bi
421
higher heat transfer coefficients for higher Biot numbers. This is a hint of a dependency of the
location of divergence on diameter. For cylinders 200 mm in length the point of divergence is
located at a Biot number of 2.2, for cylinders 100 mm in length at 0.9. Using a heat transfer
coefficient of 640 W/mK the corresponding radii are 35 mm and 18 mm respectively. In
summary it seems that the ratio of length and diameter defines the location of divergence. In
figure 9 for all investigated dimensions the changes in length are represented which fulfil the
condition length/radius greater than 6.
0,20
0,10
0,00
0
10
-0,10
20
30
40
50
100 mm; 640 W/mK

200 mm; 640 W/mK
100 mm; 1400 W/mK
200 mm; 1400 W/mK
-0,20
radius [mm]
0,2
640 W/mK
800 W/mK
1000 W/mK
1400 W/mK
L = 200 mm
0,1
location of
divergence
0
0
-0,1
Biot number
Figure 7: Comparison of cylinders with 100 mm and 200 mm in length

0,2
640 W/mK
800 W/mK
1000 W/mK
1400 W/mK
L = 100 mm
0,1
location of
divergence
0
0
-0,1
Biot number
Figure 8: Biot number against the relative changes in length for cylinders with 200 mm in length
(left) and 100 mm in length (right)
The plot of relative changes in length against the Biot number offers uniform curves, if the
condition length/diameter larger than 3 is fulfilled. The curves indicate an elongation of the
workpieces, if the Biot number is located in the range between 0.4 and 3.2. In that range the
maximum is located at 1.3. For lower values no plasticity occurs, whereas for higher values a
decrease in length can be observed.
0.3
range of elongation
no plasticity occurs
relative
[m/mm]
relative change
change in
in dimension
length [m/mm]
422
0.2
0.1
prediction of
Ameen correct
relative changes in length
0
0
-0.1
-0.2
Biot number
relative changes in diameter
Figure 9: Biot number against the relative changes in length and diameter, which fulfil the
condition length/diameter greater than 3
Summary
The difference of distortion calculated with the 3D mode, taking into account the distribution of
heat transfer coefficients due to gas quenching in the nozzle field, and 2D simulations, using the
calculated mean heat transfer coefficient over the whole surface, is very small. The investigations
concerning the simulation mode (2D and 3D) confirm the finding for cylinders 20 mm in
diameter [Frerichs, 2004].
For cylinders with larger radii the influence of the strain hardening model becomes more and
more strong. For cylinders 200 mm in length and 50 mm in diameter the simulated changes in
dimension show significant differences between kinematic and isotropic strain hardening model.
A comparison with experimental data offers a good agreement with numerical results, when the
kinematic model is used.
The plot of relative changes in length against the Biot number offers uniform curves, if the
condition length/diameter larger than 3 is fulfilled. The curves indicate an elongation of the work
pieces, if the Biot number is located in the range between 0.4 and 3.2. In that range the findings
of Berger and Frerichs are confirmed. For lower values no plasticity occurs, whereas for higher
values a decrease in length can be observed. Above a Biot number of 3.2 the prediction of
Ameen is correct.
Further considerations should include broader variations in dimension and heat transfer
coefficients. To point out the influence of dimension i.e. ratio of length to diameter on the
location of divergence, higher heat transfer coefficients should be used. If the dimensions govern
the point of divergence, the corresponding Biot number for that location should increase equally
to the increase of heat transfer coefficient. Additionally, materials with different heat
conductivities should be investigated, e.g. ferritic steels and materials with considerable lower
heat conductivities.
On the other hand, the influence of mechanical properties should be investigated, in particular on
the maximum and the zero-crossing of the changes in dimension. The experimental data
published in this paper indicate the yield strength as one important parameter. Additionally it
must be clarified the influence of the other mechanical properties.
423
In this paper the behaviour of cylinders L/D ! 3 was investigated. The question comes up,
whether the behaviour of plates L/D 1/3 is analogue to the behaviour of cylinders. In addition,
on what terms is the Biot number an adequate variable for characterisation the distortion
behaviours. Furthermore, what happens, if the ratio of length and diameter is located in the
interval 1 / 3 L / D 3 ?
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the
Collaborative Research Centre SFB 570 Distortion Engineering at the University of Bremen.
References
Ameen, E.: Dimension changes of tool steels during quenching and tempering. Trans ASM Vol 28, 1940, p.472512.
Berger, F.: ber die bleibende Formnderung wiederholt erhitzter und abgekhlter Krper; Zeitschrift des Vereines
deutscher Ingenieure Vol. 72, No 26, 1926, p. 921-926.
Frerichs, F.; Lbben, Th.; Fritsching, U.; Hunkel, M.; Lohner H.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Simulation of Gas
Quenching. Proc. of the 2nd International Conference on Thermal Process Modelling and Computer
Simulation. Journal de Physique IV Proceedings, Vol 120, 2004, p. 727-736.
Frerichs, F., Luebben, Th., Hoffmann, F. Mayr P.: Distortion of Long Cylinders With Small Diameters Due to
Axial Symmetric Cooling. Accepted for publication in Int. Journal of Materials & Product Technology
(IJMPT) Special issue Quenching & Distortion, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Gondesen, B.; Heck, U.; Lbben, T.; Fritsching, U.; Hoffmann, F.; Bauckhage, K.; Mayr, P.: Optimierung der
Einzelteilabschreckung im Dsenfeld, Teil1: Einflu von Dsenfeldparametern auf Abkhlgeschwindigkeit
und Oberflchenhrte. HTM, Vol. 53, No 2, 1998, p. 87 92.
Heck, U.; Fritsching, U., Bauckhage, K.: Fluid flow and heat transfer in gas jet quenching of a cylinder.
International Journal of Numerical Methods for HEAT and Fluid Flow, 11, 2001, p. 36-39.
International Nickel Deutschland GmbH: Mechanische und physikalische Eigenschaften der austenitischen ChromNickel-Sthle bei hohen Temperaturen. Selbstverlag, Dsseldorf 1965.
Ramberg, W., Osgood, W.R., NACA Technical Note No. 902, (1943)
Richter, F.: Physikalische Eigenschaften von Sthlen und ihre Temperaturabhngigkeit. Stahleisen -Sonderberichte
Heft 10; AG Stahleisen; Dsseldorf 1983
424
425
Verification of Distortion Characteristics in

Water Quenched Cylinders by Computer
Simulation
Kyozo Arimoto1, Takashi Horino2, Fumiaki Ikuta2,
Chuanrong Jin3, Shigeyuki Tamura3, Michiharu Narazaki4
1
Arimotech Ltd., Asonaka, Kaizuka, 597-0081 Osaka, Japan, arimo@arimotech.com
Neturen Co., Ltd., Tamura, Hiratsuka, 254-0013 Kanagawa, Japan, {t-horino, f-ikuta}@k-neturen.co.jp
3
CRC Solutions Corp., Minamisuna,Koto-Ku, 136-8581 Tokyo, Japan, {c-jin, s-tamura}@crc.co.jp
Utsunomiya University, Yoto, Utsunomiya,321-8585, Tochigi, Japan, narazaki@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp
Abstract
Few measurements of both internal residual stresses and distortions in quenched cylinders are found although many
individual measurements have been performed for many years since the 1920s. A water quench test of steel cylinders
was carried out for evaluating length and diameter changes as well as axial residual stress distributions in the 1940s.
The effects of carbon content to quench distortions and residual stress distributions were identified from the test
results. However there was no explanation on relationship between distortions and stress distributions. Here
measurements of both stress and distortion in this test were referred and evaluated by computer simulation.
Simulated results verified measured distortion and stress characteristics in cylinders, and explained their relationship
and generation mechanism.
Keywords
quench distortion, residual stress, heat treatment simulation
Introduction
Some measurements for changes of both diameter and length in quench distorted cylinders,
performed by Portevin et al. [Portevin, 1927], Hattori [Hattori, 1929], and Ameen [Ameen,
1940], are known, although many experimental researches on the distortion of cylinders have
been carried out since the 1920s. Furthermore, simultaneous measurements of distortion and
residual stress were carried out by Tanaka [Tanaka, 1949] and Buhler et al. [Buhler, 1964] as far
as the authors know, although measurements for quenched cylinders were reviewed in many
texts, such as one by Hetenyi [Hetenyi, 1950].
In this study, the heat treatment simulation was applied to the quench test by Tanaka [Tanaka,
1949], and his experimental results were verified from the present viewpoint. Although Tanakas
tests were performed for many steels and heat treatment conditions, only experimental results for
two carbon steel cylinders with different diameters were selected for our simulation work.
Comparisons between experimental and simulated distortions and residual stresses were carried
out and then the causes of these generations were considered using the simulated results.
Tanakas Test for Quench Distortion of Cylinders
Tanakas extensive experiments on the quench distortion in steel cylinders from 1939 to 1946
were summarized into his report [Tanaka, 1949], which consists of three parts. Part I describes
the distortion of cylinders made from four carbon steels after quenching and tempering. Figure
426
1(a) shows the shape and also dimensions of his specimens except the diameter that was set to 5
mm for the test in part I. The V shaped notch, 0.3 mm in depth, was machined at two locations
kept 80 mm distance from each other for measuring the length before and after quenching. Four
distances between notches, L1 to L4, and two diameters, D1 and D2, shown in Figure 1(b), were
measured using Universal Measuring Microscope made by Carl Zeiss. These measurements on
the specimen were performed again after 90-degree rotation of the specimen around its rotational
axis.
(a) Shape and dimensions.
(b) Measurement locations.
Figure 1: Tanakas cylindrical specimen.
In the part II of the report, not only dimensional changes but also axial residual stress
distributions in cylinders were measured by the Heyn method [Heyn, 1914]. The nitric acid
solution was used for dissolving metal layers from the outside surface during processes of the
Heyn method. Specimens with the same shape and dimensions shown in Figure 1(a), except
diameters set to 10 mm and 22 mm, were equipped for the through and incomplete hardening
tests by cooling in water, salt or molten metal bath. The part III describes test results using
cylindrical specimens made from eight different gauge steels under the similar quenching
conditions to the part I.
In this research, only the water quench tests using specimens, 10 mm and 22 mm in diameter,
made from 0.83 %C carbon steel, in the part II of the report, were selected for the simulation
work. Specimens were through or incomplete hardened according to their different hardenability
effects.
Simulation Technique on Quench Distortion
The simulation on quench distortion in this research is performed by a coupling analysis method
incorporating phase transformation models in the finite element analysis modules for heat
conduction and elastic-plastic problems. The KJMA equation presented by Kolmogorov
[Kolmogorov, 1937], Jonson-Mehl [Johnson, 1939] and Avrami [Avrami, 1939]) has been
selected for describing the diffusion type transformations in our software based on the
comprehensive studies by Denis et al. [Denis, 1985] and Ericsson [Ericsson, 1991]. Also the
equation established by Koistinen-Marburger [Koistinen, 1959] has been used for the martensitic
transformation. Transformation plastic phenomenon has been modelled using the method
described by Denis et al. [Denis, 1985] and the results were verified by comparing with
experiments by Rammerstorfer et al. [Rammerstorfer, 1981].
About 200 axisymmetric elements were used to describe the phenomena along the radial axis in
the centre part of the cylinder. Thermal properties and the density for the elements were prepared
from data in literature and empirical equations by Jablonka et al. [Jablonka, 1991], respectively.
Stress-strain characteristic was determined based on experimental data of steels with similar
chemical compositions. The martensite start temperature, Ms, in steels was initially estimated
using experimental results of iron-carbon alloy by Digges [Digges, 1940] and compensated for
the effect of Mn according to Grange-Stewart [Grange, 1946]
427
The heat transfer coefficient on the surface during water quenching was developed by modifying
the data obtained from the cooling curve of JIS silver probe by the heat capacity method
[Narazaki, 1998]. It is difficult to ensure simulated cooling results using this coefficient because
no experimental result such as a cooling curve from the specimens was reported.
Comparison between Experimental and Simulated Results
Here, simulated results of Tanaka's quenched specimens, 10 and 22 mm in diameter, made from
0.83 %C carbon steel, will be compared with experiments by not only him [Tanaka, 1949] but
also Buhler et al. [Buhler, 1964] and Isomura [Isomura, 1996]. Chemical compositions of
specimen steels used in the experiments by Tanaka, Buhler et al. and Isomura are shown in table
1. We selected the experimental results of the 9.8 mm and 22.6 mm diameter cylinders
austenitized at 790 C from the Buhlers test, and also the 18 mm diameter cylinder austenitized
at 800 C from the Isomuras for our comparison, although they are not the same as Tanakas.
Table 1: Chemical compositions of steels, (mass%).
Steels
Si
Mn
Cu
Ni
Cr
Carbon steel (Tanaka)
0.83
0.46
0.45
0.02
0.02
C 100 W 2 (Buhler)
0.95
0.19
0.32
0.015
0.004
0.14
SKS43 (Isomura)
0.99
0.22
0.43
tr.
0.010
0.03
tr.
tr.
0.18
Tanaka-AT:850C
Simulation-AT:850C
Buhler-AT:850C
Buhler-AT:960C
Hardness
Volume fraction
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
10
20
30
40
70
65
0.8
60
0.6
55
0.4
50
0.2
45
40
10
20
30
Diameter, mm
(a) Length change.
40
Volume fraction
Length change, %
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
-0.1
-0.2
Hardness, HRC
Diameter change, %
Tanaka-AT:790C
Simulation-AT:790C
Buhler-AT:790C
Buhler-AT:910C
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Diameter, mm
Radius, mm
(b) Diameter change.
Figure 2: Normalized dimensional changes of specimens.
Figure 3: Distribution of hardness and

martensite volume fraction.
Figure 2 shows simulated length and diameter changes after quenching with the experimental
results by Tanaka and Buhler et al. The changes are normalized by the original dimensions. The
curves by Buhler et al. describes clearly that dimensional changes depend on not only its
diameter but also the austenitizing temperature that is abbreviated as AT in the figure. This
diameter dependency was experimented using specimens with nine different diameters between
8.4 and 40 mm. A virtual simulation work has been added for the 35 mm diameter specimen
quenched under the same conditions as Tanakas for the reference as shown in the figure.
Experimental and simulated results agree well in the dependency of the diameter as shown in
figure 2, although it is not enough to explain the dependency of the austenitizing temperature.
Figure 3 indicates comparisons between the measured hardness and simulated martensite volume
fraction in the Tanakas 22 mm diameter specimen. The TTT curve of 1080 steel [US Steel,
428
1951] was shifted by trial and error so that the martensite volume fraction has a similar
distribution shape to the hardness.
Simulated residual stresses in the 10 and 22 mm diameter cylinders are shown in figures 4 and 5,
respectively. These figures include the axial residual stress measured by Tanaka and Buhler et al.
using the Heyn method. Also three components of the stress measured by Isomura using the
Sachs method [Sachs, 1927] are drawn in Figure 5. Tendencies of simulated and experimental
stress distributions agree well, although experimental conditions by Buhler et al. and Isomura
differ with Tanakas slightly. In addition, Buhler et al. reported that a transverse quench crack
occurred in their 22.6 mm diameter specimen when austenitizing temperature is higher than or
equal to 850 C.
200
150
100
50
0
-50
-100
-150
-200
Stress, MPa
Tanaka
Buhler
Simulated
Simulated
Simulated
Radius, mm
(a) Axial.
Radius, mm
(b) Circumferential.
Radius, mm
(c) Radial.
Figure 4: Residual stress distribution in 10 mm diameter specimen.

1000
Tanaka
Isomura
Buhler
Simulated
800
Stress, MPa
600
Isomura
Isomura
Simulated
Simulated
400
200
0
-200
-400
-600
0
Radius, mm
(a) Axial.
10
10
Radius, mm
10
Radius, mm
(c) Radial.
Figure 5: Residual stress distribution in 22 mm diameter specimen.
5
5.1
Consideration to Mechanism of Quench Distortion

Relationship between Distortion and Stress-Strain
At any points in solids during heat treating, the equilibrium equation of strains is satisfied at the
time t as:
t
(1)
H ij tH ij E tH ijTH tH ijTR tH ij P tH ijTP
where tH ij is a total strain that corresponds to the actual solid distortion directly. tH ij E , tH ijTH , tH ijTR ,
t
H ij P and tH ij TP in the right-hand side of the above equation express elastic, thermal, phase
429
transformation, plastic, and transformation plastic strains, respectively. Strains in the right-hand
side except the elastic are accumulated from the initial state to the time t. Eq. (1) can be regarded
as the expression extend for the strains due to phase transformation phenomena from the elasticplastic deformation [Mendelson, 1968].
Thermal and transformation strains are isotropic quantities because they represent volumetric
changes. Therefore a total amount of them is convenient for evaluations and is designated as
thermo-phase transformation strain in this study. Strains shown in eq. (1) will be used for
explaining the mechanism of quench distortion in cylindrical specimens during water quenching
in the following paragraphs.
5.2
Temperature and Metallic Phase Changes
Figures 6(a) and 6(b) show simulated temperature changes in the 10 and 22 mm cylindrical
specimens quenched from austenitizing temperatures, 790 and 850 C, respectively. It is clear
that cooling in the 22 mm diameter specimen progresses slower than in the 10 mm diameter as
shown in these figures.
Simulated volume fraction changes of each phase are shown in Figure 7. It is enough for the 10
mm diameter specimen to describe only the volume fraction changes of martensite as shown in
Figure 7(a), because of its characteristics of the through hardening. The about 10 % remaining
volume fraction of martensite at the end of cooling corresponds to the share of retained austenite.
In the 22 mm diameter specimen hardened incompletely, volume fraction changes of not only
the incomplete hardened phases, a mixture of pearlite, bainite and cementite, but also martensitic
phase are needed for describing the transformation characteristics as shown in Figures 7(b) and
7(c), respectively. These figures indicate that the incomplete hardened phases transform from
5.25 s to 10 s in the centre part, on the other hand, martensitic transformation progresses from
2.25 s to the final cooling state from the surface to the centre.
900
0s
0s
800
0.3s
800
1.4s
700
0.5s
700
1.8s
0.75s
600
1.05s
500
1.4s
400
1.8s
2.25s
300
2.75s
200
final
100
Temperature, C
Temperature, C
900
2.25s
600
2.75s
500
3.3s
400
5.25s
10s
300
15s
200
final
100
0
0
Radius, mm
(a) 10 mm diameter.
9 10 11
Radius, mm
(b) 22 mm diameter.
Figure 6: Temperature changes.
430
Volume fraction
5.25s
6.8s
7.7s
10s
15s
final
1.05s
1.4s
1.8s
2.25s
2.75s
final
0.8
0.6
2.25s
2.75s
3.3s
5.25s
6.8s
7.7s
10s
15s
final
0.4
0.2
0
0
5 0
Radius, mm
9 10 11 0
(a) 10 mm diameter
(b) 22 mm diameter
-martensite.
9 10 11
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(c) 22 mm diameter
-incomplete hardened phases.
-martensite.
Figure 7: Volume fraction changes of phases.
5.3
Stress Changes
Simulated stress changes in the 10 and 22 mm diameter specimens are shown in Figures 8 and 9,
respectively. Stress distributions vary momentarily until the final cooling state, which has been
compared with experimental results in the chapter 4. These stress distributions relate directly to
elastic strains, and also affect generations of the other strains during processes.
600
0s
0.5s
1.05s
1.8s
2.75s
Stress, MPa
400
200
0.3s
0.75s
1.4s
2.25s
final
0
-200
-400
-600
0
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(a) Axial.
(c) Radial.
Figure 8: Stress changes in 10 mm diameter specimen.
1000
0s
1.8s
2.75s
5.25s
15s
800
600
400
Stress, MPa
431
1.4s
2.25s
3.3s
10s
final
200
0
-200
-400
-600
-800
-1000
0
10
10
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(a) Axial.
(c) Radial.
10
Figure 9: Stress changes in 22 mm diameter specimen.
5.4
Axial Strain Changes
Simulated axial strain changes in the 10 and 22 mm diameter specimens are shown in Figures 10
and 11, respectively. Figures 10(a) and 11(a) show the thermo-phase transformation strain that
has a horizontal distribution of about 0.01 at the austenitizing temperature, at 0 s, and then
decreases rapidly from the surface by water cooling. In the 10 mm diameter specimen, this strain
amounts to the uniform value of about 0.004 at the final cooling state due to the through
hardening. On the other hand, the strain becomes zero in the central part due to the incomplete
hardening and about 0.004 near the surface due to the martensite volume expansion in the 22 mm
diameter specimen. Therefore the distribution of the thermo-phase transformation strain does not
become horizontal in this specimen.
Virtual transverse cutting sections in the central part of the specimens are restricted as parallel
planes by the inherent characteristics of a long object, although uneven expansions and
contractions occur inside during processes. This plane maintaining effect corresponds to the fact
that the total strain has a horizontal distribution at any time as shown in Figures 10(e) and 11(e).
According to not only the above effect but also the strain equilibrium condition in eq. (1), a local
change of the thermo-phase transformation strain will be absorbed by elastic strain initially,
plastic strain when producing plasticity, and transformation plastic strain when occurring phase
transformation.
This absorption is clarified by the fact that elastic, plastic, and transformation plastic strains
change in the 10 mm diameter specimen as shown in Figures 10(b), 10(c) and 10(d), respectively.
Also the similar strain changes in the 22 mm diameter specimen are described in Figures 11(b),
11(c) and 11(d). The elastic strain vary at any time during quenching, and plastic and
transformation plastic strains change during producing plasticity and occurring phase
transformation, respectively as shown in the figures.
The total strain at the final cooling state is about 0.0024, which is slightly smaller than the
thermo-phase transformation strain in the 10 mm diameter specimen by a comparison between
Figures 10(a) and 10(e). On the other hand, in the 22 mm diameter specimen, the total strain is
about 0.0016, which is less than at the 10 mm diameter.
According to a general relationship between axial strain and displacement, the length change of
the specimen can be calculated using the axial total strain. These simulated length changes at the
final cooling state were compared with the experimental results in the chapter 4. As described
above, the mechanism of length changes in the specimen has been clarified by analyzing
simulated axial strain changes.
Axial strain
432
0.012
0.01
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.01
-0.012
0s
0.5s
1.05s
1.8s
2.75s
0.3s
0.75s
1.4s
2.25s
final
5 0
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
5 0
Radius, mm
(a) Thermo-Phase Trans. (b) Elastic.
(c) Plastic.
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 10: Axial strain changes in 10 mm diameter specimen.

0.016
0.012
Axial strain
0.008
0.004
0
-0.004
0s
1.8s
2.75s
5.25s
15s
-0.008
-0.012
1.4s
2.25s
3.3s
10s
final
-0.016
0
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(e) Total.
Figure 11: Axial strain changes in 22 mm diameter specimen.
5.5
Circumferential Strain Changes
Simulated circumferential strain changes in 10 and 22 mm diameter specimens are shown in

Figures 12 and 13, respectively. Figures 12(a) and 13(a) are completely the same as Figures
10(a) and 11(a), respectively, because the thermo-phase transformation strain is an isotropic
quantity.
Since the circumferential total strain is not restricted by the cylindrical shape so much as the
axial total strain, its distribution is influenced from the thermo-phase transformation strain as
shown in Figures 12(e) and 13(e). However it can be seen that a difference between the total and
thermo-phase transformation strain is compensated by elastic, plastic and transformation plastic
strain changes from the specific figures.
The circumferential total strain at the final cooling state becomes almost in the horizontal
distribution of about 0.004 that is similar to the thermo-phase transformation in 10 mm diameter
specimen. On the other hand, the same strain distributes in a similar curve to the thermo-phase
transformation strain in the 22 mm diameter specimen.
According to a general relationship between circumferential strain and radial displacement, the
diameter change of the specimen can be calculated using the circumferential total strain.
However simulated diameter changes shown in the chapter 4 were obtained from the nodal
displacements outputted directly at the surface at the final cooling state. The above shows that
433
the mechanism of diameter changes in the specimen can be explained by analyzing simulated
circumferential strain changes.
0.012
0.01
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.01
-0.012
0s
0.5s
1.05s
1.8s
2.75s
0.3s
0.75s
1.4s
2.25s
final
5 0
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
5 0
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 12: Circumferential strain changes in 10 mm diameter specimen.

0.016
0.012
0.008
0.004
0
-0.004
0s
1.8s
2.75s
5.25s
15s
-0.008
-0.012
1.4s
2.25s
3.3s
10s
final
-0.016
0
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(e) Total.
Figure 13: Circumferential strain changes in 22 mm diameter specimen.
5.6
Radial Strain Changes
Simulated radial strain changes in 10 and 22 mm diameter specimens are shown in Figures 14
and 15, respectively. Since the radial total strain is not restrained by the cylindrical shape more
than the circumferential total strain, its distribution changes more in response to the influence of
thermo-phase transformation strain as shown in Figures 14(e) and 15(e).
However it can be seen that a difference between the total and thermo-phase transformation
strain is compensated by elastic, plastic and transformation plastic strain changes from the
specific figures. Finally the radial total strain is distributed according to curves ranging from
0.004 to 0.006 and from zero to about 0.005 in the 10 mm and 22 mm diameter specimens,
respectively.
According to a general relationship between radial strain and displacement, the diameter change
of the specimen can be obtained as the integral of this total strain from the centre to the surface.
434
Radial strain
0.012
0.01
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.01
-0.012
0s
0.5s
1.05s
1.8s
2.75s
0.3s
0.75s
1.4s
2.25s
final
5 0
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
5 0
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
Radius, mm
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
(e) Total.
Figure 14: Radial strain changes in 10 mm diameter specimen.

0.016
0.012
Radial strain
0.008
0.004
0
-0.004
0s
1.8s
2.75s
5.25s
15s
-0.008
-0.012
1.4s
2.25s
3.3s
10s
final
-0.016
0
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
8 10
Radius, mm
(c) Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(d) Trans. Plastic.
8 10
Radius, mm
(e) Total.
Figure 15: Radial strain changes in 22 mm diameter specimen.
Conclusions
The heat treatment simulation was applied to the Tanakas 10 mm and 22 mm water quenched
cylindrical specimens. Simulated results were compared with experiments and used for
explaining the distortion mechanism. The results derived from this study are summarized as
follows:
1. Simulated length and diameter changes in cylinders after quenching show the similar
tendency to the experiments by Tanaka and Buhler et al.
2. Simulated residual stress distributions indicate the similar tendency to experiments using not
only the Heyn method by Tanaka and Buhler et al. but also the Sachs method by Isomura.
3. Difference of the quench distortion mechanism between through and incomplete hardened
specimens was explained by changes of thermo-phase transformation, elastic, plastic,
transformation plastic and total strains.
4. It became obvious that the simultaneous measurement of dimensional changes and residual
stresses in cylindrical specimens, performed by Tanaka and Buhler et al., is truly useful for
validating the models equipped in the heat treatment simulation.
435
5. It is necessary to repeat the experiments by Tanaka and Buhler et al. more precisely for
enhancing the heat treatment simulation.
In addition other experimental results by Tanaka and Buhler et al., using different specimens and
treating conditions, may be utilized for the similar work by us until appearing the repeated
experiments. In this research, the thermal process simulator, FINAS/TPS, developed by CRC
Solutions Corp., was used for the simulation work.
References
Ameen, E.: Dimension Changes of Tool Steels during Quenching and Tempering. Trans. ASM, Vol 28, 1940, pp.
472-512.
Buhler, H.; Herrmann, E.: Relationship between Distortion and Stress due to Heat Treatment in Tool Steels. Arch.
Eisenhuttenwes., Vol 35, 1964, pp. 1089-1095, (in German).
Digges, T. G.: Transformation of Austenite on Quenching High Purity Iron-Carbon Alloys. Trans. ASM, Vol 28,
1940, pp. 575-607.
Ericsson, T.: Principles of Heat Treating of Steels. in ASM Handbook, Vol 4, Heat Treating, ASM International,
Materials Park, Ohio 1991, pp. 3-19.
Grange, R. A.; Stewart, H. M.: The Temperature Range of Martensite Formation. Trans. AIME, Vol 167, 1946, pp.
467-501
Hattori, D.: On the Cause of Quenching Deformation in Tool Steels. Science Reports of Tohoku University, Vol 18,
No 5, 1929, pp. 665-698.
Hetenyi, M.: Handbook of Experimental Stress Analysis. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950.
Heyn, E.: Internal Strains in Cold-Wrought Metals, and Some Troubles Caused Thereby. J. Inst. Metal., Vol 12,
1914, pp. 3-37.
Isomura, R.: Heat Treatment of Steels and Its Residual Stresses-Three Components Measurements and Their
Analysis. AGNE Technical Centre, Tokyo, 1996, (in Japanese).
Jablonka, A.; Harste, K.; Schwerdtfeger, K.: Thermomechanical Properties of Iron and Iron-Carbon Alloys: Density
and Thermal Contraction. Steel Research, Vol 62, 1991, pp. 24-33.
Koistinen, D. P.; Marburger, R. E.: A General Equation Prescribing the Extent of the Austenite-Martensite
Transformation in Pure Iron-Carbon Alloys and Plain Carbon Steels. Acta Met., Vol 7, 1959, pp. 59-60.
Mendelson, A.: Plasticity: Theory and Application. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1968.
Narazaki, M.; Kogawara, M.; Shirayori, A.; Fuchizawa, S.: Accuracy of Evaluation Methods for Heat Transfer
Coefficients in Quenching. Proc. 18th Heat Treating Conference, ASM International, 1998, 509-517.
Portevin, A.; Sourdillon, A.: Contribution to Study of Some Deformations after Heat Treatment of Steels. Revue de
Metallurgie, Vol 24, 1927, pp. 215-233, (in French).
Sachs, G.: The Determination of Residual Stresses in Rods and Tubes. Z. Metallkunde, Vol 19, 1927, pp. 352-357,
(in German).
Tanaka, M.: A Study on Distortion in Heat Treated Steels. Bulletin of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ser A, No
2, 1949, pp. 1-75, (in Japanese).
US Steel: Atlas of Isothermal Transformation Diagrams. US Steel, Pittsburgh, 1951.
436
437
Coupled numerical model for gas quenching

and experimental validation
J.F. Douce1, J.P. Bellot1, S. Denis1, P. Lamesle2, F. Gouhinec3, F. Chaffotte3, G. Pellegrino3
1
2
LSG2M (UMR 7584 CNRS/INPL/UHP), Ecole des Mines, Parc de Saurupt, 54042 Nancy cedex
CROMEP , Ecole des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux, Campus Jalard - Rte de Teillet 81013 ALBI CT Cedex 09
3
Air Liquide, Centre de Recherche Claude Delorme, BP 126, 78354 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex
Abstract
A model that simulates the coupled phenomena (fluid flow, heat transfer, phase transformation, stress and
deformation) involved in a high pressure gas quenching process has been developed. The paper presents on one hand
the validation experiments performed on a laboratory gas quenching device. It is shown that the simulated results
agree well with the in situ gas flow velocity measuremements. On the other hand, the capabilities of the model for
predicting not only gas flow and heat transfers but also microstructures, residual stresses and deformations are
illustrated.
Keywords
Fluid flow, heat transfer, phase transformation, residual stresses, gas quenching
Introduction
Key advantages of gas quenching in comparison with quenching in liquid media are a better
reproducibility and an easier optimisation of the heat treatment process. However, low cooling
rates and the difficulty to get an homogeneous cooling inside a charge still limit its use. Thus, a
numerical model that predicts the final state of steel bodies (microstructure, hardness, residual
stress and distortion), knowing the quenching operating conditions, can help to better controlling
the process. Such a model, that combines the calculation of fluid flow for the gaseous phase and
of heat transfer, solid state phase transformations, stresses and deformations for the solid body
has been developed by coupling numerical codes Fluent (for the gaseous part) and Sysweld (for
the solid part).
In a former study [Douce, 2004], the model for gas flow, heat transfers and phase
transformations has been described focusing on the turbulence models and the coupling
numerical procedure. A first application to a 10 bars nitrogen quenching of a C80 steel cylinder
has been described.
In the present paper, experimental results obtained on a laboratory gas quenching device
developed at the Ecole des Mines d'Albi will be described. Helium and nitrogen quenching
experiments were performed first for nickel cylinders (in which no phase transformation occurs).
The comparisons between calculated and experimental gas velocities at room temperature will be
analysed and discussed. Finally, results of a first coupled simulation, including also phase
transformations, stresses and distortions calculations, are presented for a 20 bars helium
quenching of a 60NiCrMo11 steel cylinder.
438
2
2.1
Experimental results
Equipment
The experiments were performed on a cylindrical monocellular furnace (figure 1 arrow 1) of

0.45 m in diameter and 0.6 m in height. Heat treated pieces are put on a stand raised on a jack
(figure 1 arrow 2) moving from the furnace chamber to the quenching cell. The equipment
composed of the recirculation fan and the heat exchanger is located outside the furnace (figure 1
arrow 3). A cycle of heating and quenching is divided into three different steps:

the workpiece is heated under vacuum (eventually coupled to carburizing),

the quenching cell is quickly filled with gas up to 5 bars by using a gas capacity (7 bars),

the workpiece is moved down into the quenching cell and the fan is turned on.
A cycle is automatically operated from the command table (figure 1 arrow 4).
1
2
Figure 1 Laboratory quenching device developed at the Ecole des Mines dAlbi
The workpiece used for the experiments is a nickel cylinder of 15 mm in diameter and 80 mm in
length. In a first time, gas velocities were measured using a PIV method (Particle Image
Velocimetry) without heating the cylinder.
The quenching cell is equipped with 4 quartz windows on its periphery. Two of them are devoted
to the PIV measurements, the first one to generate a laser plane and the second one to film the
tracked particles crossing the laser plane with a high speed CCD camera.
In a second time, the cylinder was equipped with thermocouples and the velocity measurements
were coupled to temperature recording. Only the velocity measurements will be presented
hereafter though.
2.2
Measurements method and quality
The PIV is an image processing method and consists in measuring the distance covered by fine
enough particles to follow the gas path lines in-between a well-known time interval.
To achieve this, the gas is first seeded with very fine particles (diameter 3m) of ZrO2, providing
a good resistance to high temperatures. A laser block composed of two YAG lasers (pulse length
4 ns, energy 30 mJ, frequency 15 Hz) enlightens a diametric plane of the quenching cell (and of
the cylinder). Both laser pulses are spaced by a time interval (dt =40 s in our case) and are
synchronised to a video camera. Every pairs of pictures are then exported to a computer and
treated with an adequate image processing software (Insight, TSI Company). Each image is then
subdivised into small square measurements windows of 16 pixels length (dX=1.6 mm). Particle
locations are compared inside corresponding windows of both images of each pair and the most
439
probable mean particles displacement and the velocity vector are then calculated. As a result the
image processing software draws a map of velocity vectors (figure 2).
Image treatment and vector calculation

Figure 2 Example of PIV image and processing
In order to provide a good accuracy of the measurements, it is necessary to pay attention to the
parameters dt and dX:
dX has to be as small as possible to ensure a good spatial resolution for the results but
large enough to guaranty a sufficient number of particles. The ratio peak/noise resulting
from the statistical analysis allows the optimization of dX. In our case, values of this ratio
are mostly dispatched between 10 and 20 and measurements with a ratio lower than 2 have
been ignored.
dt has to be correlated to dX and to the mean (or, at the best, maximal) velocity Vmoy (or
Vmax) of the fluid flow through the dwell time relation:
dt |
1 dX
4 Vmoy
The accuracy of our results has been examined on temporal and spatial points of view. The
average velocities converge well to a stable mean value, which does not change from one to an
other gas quenching experiment performed with the same operating conditions. With more than
100 instantaneous measurements the temporal uncertainty of the mean velocity is lower than 1%.
The residuals of the continuity equation
Residuals
dX wVx wVr

Vmoy wx
wr
wVT dX (where Vi are the components of the gas velocity)
w
T
r
V
moy
have been computed for all the windows and expressed as a fraction of the mean inlet velocity
U. The mean spatial residuals are lower than 2.5% and so the assumption of axial symmetry of
the fluid flow is confirmed. However the residuals can reach higher values locally (values higher
than 10% are not taken into account). Experimental results are presented with error bars which
size varies with the location of the measurements.
2.3
Results
PIV measurements were performed for different operating conditions (nature of the gas and
pressure). Velocity distributions and profiles are presented on figure 3 for a 4.5 bars helium flow
and are representative of the fluid flows obtained for all the experiments. The mean flow (figure
3a) is quite homogeneous with velocity magnitudes principally ranging from 5 to 7 m.s-1. Low
440
velocity regions are located uphill the obstacles (cylinder and stand) where the axial velocity
(figure 3b) tends to 0 while the radial velocity raises with r and reaches its maximum near the
border of the obstacles.
a)
b)
1
A
r
x
B
c)
Figure 3 Distribution of velocity magnitudes and velocity vectors in the observed flow field (a)
and profiles of the axial (b) and radial velocity (c) along transverse and longitudinal section
respectively
Velocity vectors are preferentially oriented toward the bottom of the quenching cell (bottom of
the figure) and their radial velocity components (figure 3c) remain very low and mainly positive
(between 0 and 0.5 m.s-1) in the bulk flow. Combined to the diminishing axial velocity gradient
observed on the left border of the picture (see figure 3b), it can be deduced that the flow jet
expands with x, which is characteristic from an expected free jet flow. This expansion agrees
with the increase of the gas cross section and with the reduction of the axial velocity with x (see
for example figure 3c section 2).
Downstream the top corner of the cylinder, a detachment of the boundary layer followed by a
recirculation area is observed. The distribution of radial velocity along the section 1 (figure 3c)
allows to estimate the location of the boundary layer reattachment point and so the size of the
recirculation area (between 25 and 30 mm from the top border of the cylinder i.e. between 0.8
and 1 cylinder diameter).
3
3.1
441
Comparison with numerical results

Calculation conditions
Steady flow simulations have been performed using the CFD-software Fluent in order to solve
the continuity, momentum and energy equations in the gas phase. A k (turbulent kinetic energy)
and Z (turbulent dissipation rate) turbulence model (a variant of the k-H model) has been chosen
[Wilcox, 1998; Douce, 2004] to predict the statistical characteristics of the turbulence.
Based on the experimental results, the flow has been supposed axisymmetric reducing our
investigation to a 2D system (figure 4). The computed domain is determined as follows:
the inlet of the domain corresponds to the outlet of the furnace chamber. An uniform mass
flow inlet and an uniform turbulence intensity of 40% (estimated on the basis of
measurements) have been applied to this section,
the outflow is located at the bottom wall of the quenching cell i.e. below the stand,
A virtual wall is created to limit the domain to a radius of 12 cm (instead of 22 cm in the
real geometry). Thus, non-axisymmetric parts of the quenching cell (where the flow
balance is probably near from 0) are neglected. A zero shear stress and an adiabatic
condition have been applied to this wall,
on the other walls (wall of the quenching cell, of the cylinder and of the stand) a no slip
boundary condition has been adopted.
1 cm
WALLS
UNIFORM MASS
FLOW INLET
r
C
VIRTUALWALL :
no shear, zero heat flux
WALL
OUTFLOW
Y
L
I
N
D
E
R
Figure 4 Scheme of the simulated geometry representing

the quenching cell
STAND
SUPPORT
A particular attention has been paid to the refinement of the mesh nearby the cylinder in order to
achieve a dimensionless y+ parameter lower than 1. Finally a mesh with 12000 cells was built.
3.2
Results
Calculated results are presented on figure 5. The comparison between figure 5a and 4a shows
that the simulation represents quite well the trends of the gas flow and the order of magnitudes of
the gas velocities. Nevertheless, the calculation underestimates the jet width, especially in the
uphill flow area. As a consequence, radial velocities are overestimated in the bulk flow (figure
5a, 5c). This may result from the virtual wall assumption and/or from a bad estimation of the
turbulence transport due to the used turbulence model (as discussed previously [Douce, 2004]).
This might explain too that the simulation overestimates the recirculation zone size uphill the
stand (which could affect further heat transfer predictions).
442
Velocity profiles (figure 5b and c) show that computed axial velocities agree quite well with the
measurements, while radial velocities are generally overestimated (as mentioned before).
Calculated axial velocities uphill the cylinder (sections A and 1) are slightly overestimated but
experimental data quality is here the worst (average of +/- 6%). On the contrary, on the side of
the cylinder (sections C and 2) measurements quality is excellent and simulation results agree
nearly perfectly with measured values. Close to the outflow (sections D and 2) calculated
velocities are higher than experimental ones. This certainly results from the outflow boundary
condition approximation that actually isnt axisymmetric. But, given the relatively small error
(between 5 and 10%) and the additional calculation cost that would be induced by a 3D
calculation, the current outflow boundary condition will be kept for further simulations.
a)
b)
c)
Figure 5 Calculated velocity distributions around the cylinder (a) and comparison between calculated and
experimental axial (b) and radial (c) velocity profiles
Coupled simulations including residual stresses and distortions predictions
The coupling between Fluent and Sysweld allows to predict the kinetics of phase transformations
and the internal stresses and strains evolutions during gas quenching. In our study, the
metallurgical model developed at LSG2M and implemented in Sysweld is used [Denis, 1999]. In
this paper, as an application example we have chosen a 20 bars helium quenching of a
60NiCrMo11 steel cylinder. Indeed, the martensitic quenching of that steel has been thoroughly
studied previously from the view point of the couplings between internal stresses and phase
transformations during quenching [Denis, 1985] and here we use it as a test case for the gas
quenching simulations.
4.1
Calculation conditions
The 60NiCrMo11 steel cylinder is 30 mm in diameter and 110 mm in length and the initial
temperature is set to 1200 K. As far as the helium flow is concerned (Fluent simulation), it has
been supposed uniform with a low free stream turbulence intensity (1%) and the main direction
443
of the flow is parallel to the cylinders axis. The inlet gas velocity has been set to 25 m.s-1 and the
inlet temperature to 300 K. The gas thermophysical properties are variable with temperature and
obey to the kinetic theory of gases at an operating pressure of 20 bars.
The temperature distributions in the cylinder during cooling are calculated with Sysweld with
boundary conditions (wall heat transfer distributions) calculated by Fluent (see reference [Douce,
2004] for more details about the coupling methodology).
The coupled thermometallurgical calculation has been performed in a first step and, based on
these results, a mechanical computation has been made in a second step. A thermoelastoplastic
behaviour law of the steel, including the deformations associated with phase transformations
(volumic change, transformation plasticity). We assume here isotropic hardening with recovery
during phase transformations [Denis, 1999]. Of course, all material properties are temperature
and microstructure dependent [Denis, 1985].
4.2
Results
As an illustration, the thermometallurgical results are shown on figure 6 as well as the gas
velocity vectors and the wall heat transfer coefficient distributions at 61s after the beginning of
the quenching.
a)a)
Austenite Martensite
c)
volume fraction
t = 61.1s b)
Figure 6 : a) Temperature distributions, gas velocity vectors, wall heat transfer distributions at 61s;
b) austenite and martensite volume fraction distributions at 61s;
c)Temperature evolutions and kinetics of martensitic transformation at two
specific locations indicated on figure 6b
The flow direction (from the bottom to the top of the image) induces a faster cooling on the
bottom of the cylinder and, during cooling, the hottest area of the cylinder (near the axis) is
displaced towards the top. The presence of a recirculation bubble downhill the south face of the
cylinder induces a raise of the local heat exchanges. The maximal heat transfer coefficient on the
lateral face of the cylinder and so the highest radial temperature gradients are located at the
reattachment point of the boundary layer (where temperature evolutions with time have been
given, figure 6c). The austenite to martensite transformation logically follows the temperature
evolutions and martensite is formed first in the coolest zones of the cylinder. At the end of the
heat treatment, when temperature uniformly reaches 25C, the steel body is composed of 87% of
martensite and 13% of retained austenite.
As already described in previous work [Denis, 1985], thermal gradients and martensitic
transformation lead to large variations of internal stresses during cooling and to permanent
strains (plastic and transformation plasticity strains) that constitute the origin of the residual
stress and deformation states shown on figure 7. It can be observed that, except towards the top
444
and the bottom of the cylinder, the residual axial stress profile along the radius is characterized
by tensile stresses at the surface (maximum value about 300 MPa) and compressive stresses near
the axis. This type of profile denotes the important role of martensitic transformation in
comparison with the thermal gradients [Denis, 1985].
a) Axial residual
stresses Vz (MPa)
b)
Axis
Surface
Figure 7 Final shape of the cylinder (displacements x100) and axial residual stresses distribution (a) and
axial residual stress profiles in two sections (indicated on figure 7a)
Conclusion
In that study, we have shown that it is possible to predict microstructure, residual stress and
deformation distributions for gas quenching ofa steel body by coupling fluid flow, thermal,
metallurgical and mechanical calculations.
In addition, first results of the experimental validation campaign that has been undertaken have
been presented. It can be concluded that the numerical simulation is able to represent the main
trends and orders of magnitudes of gas velocities for different operating conditions (nature of the
gas and pressure). The discrepancies between calculated and experimental velocities have been
attributed to the experimental errors and to the model assumptions (mainly the simplified
description of the quenching cell and the turbulence model).
The further step of the study will be experimental validations including simultaneously in situ
gas velocity and temperature measurements during gas quenching of steel cylinders and in situ
distortion measurements.
References
Douce, Denis, Bellot, Chaffotte, Pellegrino, Modelling of high pressure gas quenching: from gas flow to phase
transformations , HK 2004, 60. Kolloquium fr Wrmebehandlung, Werkstofftechnik, Verfahrenstechnik
und Fertigungstechnik, Wiesbaden, 6-8 Oktober 2004 (submitted to Haerterei Mitteilungen)
Wilcox, Turbulence Modelling for Computational Fluid Dynamics , 2nd edition, 1998.
Denis, Archambault, Aubry, Mey, Louin, Simon, Modelling of Phase Transformation Kinetics in Steels and
Coupling with Heat Treatment Residual Stress Predicitons, J. Phys. IV, vol. 9, 1999, pp. 323-330
Denis, Gautier, Simon, Beck 1999, Stress-phase transformation interactions basic principles, modelling and
calculation of internal stresses, Material Science and Technology, vol. 1, 1985, pp. 805-814
14. Welding and Intensive Quenching
445
446
447
Welding-distortion phenomena of T-joint using

low-temperature transformation welding wire
MORIKAGE Yasushi1, KUBO Takahiro1, YASUDA Koichi1, AMANO Keniti1
MIKAMI Yoshiki2, MOCHIZUKI Masahito2, TOYODA Masao2
1
JFE Steel Corporation, Kawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-0835, Japan, {y-morikage,ta-kubo,koyasuda,k-amano}@jfe-steel.co.jp
Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871 Japan,
{mikami, mmochi, toyoda}@mapse.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp
Abstract
Welding-distortion during welding is an inevitable outcome of non-uniform heating and cooling in weld joints. It is
expected to develop a simulation method that can estimate the welding-distortion exactly and to decrease the amount
of welding-distortion. This paper shows the detail of the behaviour of distortion during and after welding by
experiments. The behaviour of distortion has been revealed by the laser-measuring device which measures the
amount of distortion by laser beam. Furthermore, the effect of the phase transformation temperature of weld metal on
the behaviour of welding-distortion is studied in this research. When the transformation temperature of weld metal
becomes lower and the weld metal expands at around room temperature, the amount of welding-distortion of T-joint
decreases. These results are valuable knowledge to simulate the behaviour and the amount of welding-distortion, and
to develop the method of decreasing the welding-distortion.
Keywords
Welding-distortion, T-joint, phase transformation temperature
Introduction
Welding-distortion in steel structures, for example, girder of bridges and ships, occurs during
welding. Welding-distortion is an inevitable outcome of non-uniform heating and cooling in the
weld joint, and occurs mainly because of heat shrinkage of weld metal and heat affected zone
(HAZ) after heat input. In order to construct steel structures correctly, easily and efficiently, the
estimation of welding-distortion by simulation has been studied.
On the other hand, the low-temperature transformation welding material (LTTW) which involves
10% Nickel and 10% Chromium has been developed to improve the fatigue strength of weld
joints by bringing the compressive stress into around weld toes [Ohta, 2000] [Mochizuki,
2004][Morikage, 2001]. The compressive stress has been induced at weld toes by the mechanism
that the weld metal expands around room temperature during the phase transformation (from the
face centred cubic to the body centred cubic). It is expected that the low-temperature
transformation welding material can be effective to decrease the welding-distortion.
In this study, the behaviour of the angular distortion of T-joint was measured minutely to clarify
the effect of transformation temperature of weld metal on the welding-distortion and to obtain
the data for construction of the precise welding-distortion simulation model.
Experimental procedure
In this study, the welding-distortion was evaluated as the angular distortion of T-joint made by
horizontal fillet welding. The changes in the displacement and the temperature of the T-joint
448
were measured continuously during and after welding. These measurements were performed for
the T-joints welded by using the weld materials with different transition temperatures.
First, the material, the test specimen and the welding method are explained. The welding
materials were two kinds of flux-cored wires. Table 1 shows chemical compositions of the
welding wires. YFW-50DM is the conventional welding wire and LTTW is the low-temperature
transformation welding wire. The LTTW contained 10.1% Nickel and 9.8% Chromium. The
phase transformation temperatures (Ar3) of the deposited metals are also shown in Table 1. The
transformation temperature of the LTTW was much lower than that of the conventional welding
wire.
YFW-50DM
LTTW
C
0.06
0.02
Si
0.50
0.39
Mn
1.40
0.19
P
0.013
0.01
S
0.009
0.006
Ni
10.1
Cr
9.8
Ar3
700C
205C
Table 1: Chemical composition of welding material (mass%)
Flange
Weld Metal
Second
pass
Rib
600
300
Figure 1 shows the geometry of the T-joint. The steel plate used was 9 mm thick, 490 MPa class
steel plate. The T-joint was made up of the flange and the rib. The size of the flange was 600 mm
width and 600 mm length. The size of the rib was 140 mm width and 600 mm length. Before
main welding, provisional tack welding was done at eight points on the boundary of the flange
and the rib by TIG spot welding. The weld joints were made by horizontal fillet welding on both
sides of the rib. Neither preheat nor PWHT were given. After the first pass was finished and the
T-joint was cooled down below 50C, the second pass was started. The welding direction of the
second pass was opposite to the first pass. The welding conditions were determined to get the
same leg length of the fillet weld, and were 300A-30.5V-45cpm for YFW-50DM and 220A29.5V-40cpm for the LTTW. CO2 was used as shield gas. T-joint was welded on the base plate
of the laser-measuring device and had been free from restraint until welding-distortion
measurement was finished.
300
9
First
pass
600
9 140
Figure 1: Geometry of T-joint and measuring position
Next, the measuring method of welding-distortion is explained. The welding-distortion was

measured using laser beam. Figure 2 shows the design of laser-measuring device. The lasermeasuring device consisted of the flat base made by thick steel plate, on which the T-joint was
placed, and the laser beam measuring devices. Data of displacement were recorded on personal
computer every 0.1 seconds by way of amplifier.
Figure 3(a) shows the measurement points of displacement and temperature in the T-joint. The
displacements were measured at six points on the flange plate and three points on the back of the
flange plate. The positions of the measuring points of ch1, ch2 and ch3 and those of ch4, ch5 and
ch6 were symmetrical by the rib, respectively. In this paper, the amounts of angular distortion
were expressed by the sums of the displacements at the symmetrical positions as shown in Figure
3(b). The temperatures of the T-joint were measured by thermocouples.
449
Jig
P4
P6
P5
1000
Laser displacement sensor
P1
P3
P2
Base
1000
Figure 2: Design of the laser-measuring device

A
250
250
P4
P5
Second
pass
Distortion
Temperature
50
P6
T6
T5
T4
10 25
600
270
30
50
40
9
270
First
pass
T1
T2
T3
P2
40
Displacement= d1 + d2
P3
P4
30
P1
10 25
600
9 140
(a) Measuring points
Second pass
d2
First pass
P1
d1
(b) A-A cross section view
Figure 3: Distortion and temperature measuring position of T-joint
Experimental results
The macro cross sections of each T-joint are shown in Figure 4. Both T-joints have almost equal
leg lengths (about 6 mm). Table 2 shows the chemical compositions and the transformation
temperature (Ar3) of weld metal of T-joint. The weld metal applied by the LTTW contained
6.1% Nickel and 6.1% Chromium. The transformation temperature of the conventional welding
material was 720qC, and that of the LTTW was 380qC.
(a) YFW-50DM (conventional)
(b) LTTW
Figure 4 : Macro cross section of T-joint
450
C
0.10
0.076
YFW-50DM
LTTW
Si
0.45
0.43
Mn
1.62
0.55
P
0.013
0.01
S
0.006
0.006
Ni
<0.1
6.1
Cr
<0.1
6.1
Ar3
720C
380C
Table 2: Chemical composition of weld metal (mass%)
Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show the change in displacement and that in temperature from the start of
welding for the T-joint by using conventional welding wire. The welding-distortion occurred as
soon as the first pass welding was started. Just after the first pass welding, the displacement of Tjoint was about 7 mm. On the other hand, the temperature on the plate surface increased during
welding and the maximum temperature was about 450qC. Each displacement of the T-joint was
continued to increase slightly after the first pass welding. During the second pass welding, the
displacement and the temperature increased rapidly again. The displacement of T-joint after
cooling was about 14 mm.
500
18
400
Temperature (C)
20
14
12
second pass
10
8
6
4
P1+P4
first pass
P2+P5
P3+P6
2
0
00:00
05:00
10:00
15:00
20:00
25:00
30:00
35:00
T2
T3
200
100
05:00
10:00
15:00
20:00
25:00
30:00
35:00
40:00
T4
T ime from start of welding (min:sec)
400
T5
300
T6
200
100
0
00:00
40:00
T1
second pass
300
0
50000:00
Temperature (C)
Displacement,
d1+d2
(mm)
Displacement,
d1+d2
(mm)
16
first pass
05:00
Time from start of welding (min:sec)
10:00
15:00
20:00
25:00
30:00
35:00
40:00
(b) Temperature
(a) Displacement
Figure 5: Measuring results of T-joints during welding (YFW-50DM)
Figures 6(a) and 6(b) show the change in displacement and that in temperature of the T-joint
when the LTTW was applied to welding. The welding-distortion occurred as soon as the first
pass welding was started and the temperature on the plate surface increased. The displacement
just after the first pass welding was about 7 mm and the maximum temperature on the plate
surface was about 400qC. These behaviours were almost same as those of the conventional
welding. The displacement, however, decreased continuously during cooling after the first pass
welding and reached the value of about 6 mm. Similar phenomenon was observed for the
second pass welding. This phenomenon was different from that for the conventional welding
wire. The displacement of the T-joint after cooling was about 11 mm.
500
P1+P4
P2+P5
P3+P6
16
14
12
second pass
6
4
2
first pass
0
00:00
400
05:00
10:00
15:00
20:00
(a) Displacement
25:00
30:00
first pass
T1
second pass
T2
300
T3
200
100
0
50000:00
10
Temperature (C)
Displacement,
d1+d2
(mm)
Displacement,d1+d2
d1+d2 (mm)
(mm)
Displacement,
18
Temperature (C)
20
05:00
10:00
15:00
20:00
25:00
30:00
T4
400
T5
300
T6
200
100
0
00:00
05:00
10:00
15:00
20:00
(b) Temperature
Figure 6: Measuring results of T-joints during welding (LTTW)
25:00
30:00
451
As shown above, the welding-distortion behaviour of the T-joint by the LTTW is obviously
different from that by the conventional welding wire. The welding-distortion of the T-joint by
the LTTW was about 3 mm smaller than that by the conventional welding wire.
Consideration
The experimental results showed the difference of welding-distortion behaviour between the Tjoint welded with conventional wire and that by the LTTW. In order to investigate the cause of
this phenomenon, the relationship between the welding-distortion of the T-joint and the phase
transformation of the weld metal was studied. Figure 8 shows the relationships between
elongation and temperature of both weld metals. In case of conventional welding wire, the weld
metal started the transformation at 720qC, finished it at 450 , and continued to shrink until it
reached room temperature. On the other hand, the weld metal of the LTTW started the
transformation at 380qC and finished it at 130C.
Figure 7 also shows the relationship between the angular distortion behaviour of the T-joint and
the transformation properties of the weld metal. In both Stage 1 and Stage 3, the weldingdistortion becomes larger gradually and this change occurred by shrinkage of the weld metal. In
Stage 2, the welding-distortion becomes smaller gradually and it is thought that this change
occurred by expansion of the weld metal. When the conventional welding wire is used in
welding, the welding-distortion of T-joint is larger because the weld metal continuously shrinks
below 500qC. On the other hand, when the LTTW is used, the welding-distortion of T-joint is
smaller because the weld metal expands below 380qC. It is considered that the transformation of
weld metal is one of the factors that affect the welding-distortion of the T-joint.
0.2%
0.2%
El ong ati on
El ong ati on
Stage 1 and Stage 3
Stage 3
0
200
Stage 2
400
Thermal shrinkage after weld ing
Stage 2
Stage 1
600 800 1000 1200
Stage 2
0
200
Temperature, C
Stage 1
400 600 800 1000 1200
Temperature, C
Decrease of distortion by transformation expansion
(b) LTTW
(a) Conventional(YFW-50DM)
Figure 7: Relation between elongation and temperature of weld metal on cooling

Figure 8 shows the behaviour of the welding-distortion of the T-joint welded with conventional wire and
that with the LTTW. While the T-joint welded with the conventional wire did not show a
reduction of welding-distortion, the T-joint welded with LTTW showed a reduction of weldingdistortion precisely.
10
P5
displasement, d1+d2 (mm)
Conventional
8
7
P2
6
5
4
first pass
LTTW
3
2
1
0
00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00
Figure 8: Comparison of displacement applied conventional welding wire (YFW-50DM) and LTTW
452
For the purpose of proving the relationship between the transformation of the weld metal and the
welding-distortion of the T-joint, the change in temperature of the weld metal of the T-joint
during and after welding was measured. The transition behaviour of the welding-distortion and
the change in temperature of weld metal obtained by experiment are shown in Figure 9. The
reduction of welding-distortion started at about 380qC that is the transformation starting
temperature. It was proved that applying low-temperature welding wire (LTTW) contributed to
reduce the welding-distortion of the T-joint.
1600
20
1400
18
Temperature measuring point
P3
16
displasement, d1+d2 (mm)
Displacement, d1+d2 (mm)
Temperature ( C)
1200
1000
800
600
400
Ms (Start of transformation)
0
00:00
00:30
01:00
01:30
02:00
02:30
03:00
03:30
P6
12
10
8
6
P3 +P6
Mf (Finish of transformation)
200
14
04:00
(a) Temperature of weld metal
04:30
05:00
0
00:00
00:30
01:00
01:30
02:00
02:30
03:00
03:30
04:00
04:30
05:00
(b) Displacement
Figure 9: Displacement for first welding and temperature of weld metal (LTTW)
Conclusion
The welding-distortion phenomena of the horizontal fillet T-joint welded by using the lowtemperature transformation welding wire (LTTW) was studied. Obtained results are summarized
as follows;
x
The relationship between the change in the amount of the angular distortion minutely
measured by the laser-measuring device and the change in the temperature of steel plate
was made clear.
x
It was clarified that the LTTW affected the behaviour of the welding-distortion. It was
effective to use the LTTW for lowering the welding-distortion of the T-joint, because the
expansion of the weld metal around room temperature by phase transformation made the
angular distortion small.
Acknowledgement
This work has been partly funded by the Japanese Commission through NEDO Project New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization. The authors wish to acknowledge the Commission for their support. We also
wish to acknowledge our gratitude and appreciation to all the project partners Ishikawajima-harima Heavy Industries
Co., Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Steel, Ltd and JRCM for their contribution during the development
of various ideas and concepts presented in this paper.
References
A.Ohta, O.Watanabe, K.Matsuoka, C.Shiga, S.Nishijima, Y.Maeda, N.suzuki, T.kubo: Quarterly J. Japan Welding
Soc., Vol 18, 2000, p. 141-145.
M.Mochizuki, M.Toyota, T.Kubo, Y.Morikage : Manuscript for the 2004 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping
Conference, San Diego, CA,USA
Y.Morikage, T.kubo, K.Yasuda, K.Amano, C.Shiga : Proc. of 7th Int. Symp., Japan Welding Society, 2001,Kobe,
p. 791-796.
453
Numerical Simulation of Welding Distortions of

T-joints with Low-temperature Transformation
Welding Wire
Yoshiki Mikami1, Yasushi Morikage2, Masahito Mochizuki1, Masao Toyoda1
1
Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka, Japan,

{mikami, mmochi, toyoda}@mapse.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp
JFE Steel Corporation, 1 Kawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan, y-morikage@jfe-steel.co.jp
Abstract
The welding distortion of T-joints was calculated by a numerical simulation with consideration of the effect of phase
transformation. The welding distortion, which was reproduced with high accuracy in the numerical simulation, is less
with the low-temperature transformation welding wire than that with conventional wire.
The effect of the martensitic transformation temperature on welding distortion was also investigated with a numerical
simulation. The residual distortion increased when the martensitic transformation start temperature decreased in the
range from 405C to 0C. Martensitic transformation does not finish in materials with a transformation start
temperature close to room temperature, so the reduction of the welding distortion due to transformation expansion
decreased.
Keywords
Welding distortion, numerical simulation, phase transformation, martensitic transformation, welding wire
Introduction
The construction of steel structures such as ships or bridges involves the fabrication and
assembly of each structural component. The fabrication process requires a heat process, which
often includes flame cutting or welding, so that a dimensional change occurs. The dimensional
changes due to welding are costly and a waste of time because additional working processes such
as mechanical bending and line heating are needed to straighten the component.
It is more desirable to control welding distortion and avoid straightening from the viewpoint of
cost- and time-saving. The estimation of welding distortion with an empirical formula or
numerical simulation is one of the approaches that have been studied. Although a numerical
simulation with high accuracy has become possible, the results obtained have not been fully
utilized in actual fabrication processes.
Another approach to controlling welding distortion is utilizing materials with characteristics of
phase transformation or strength at elevated temperatures. It is well known that the welding
distortion and residual stress of steels with a low-temperature transformation is relatively small.
Focusing on this fact, a low-temperature transformation welding wire was developed [Ohta,
1999]. The chemical composition of the welding wire is Ni- and Cr-rich to lower the martensitic
transformation start temperature.
It has already been shown experimentally that low-temperature transformation welding wire
causes less welding distortion than that using conventional wire. However, the relationship
between welding distortion and the characteristics of martensitic transformation has not been
determined. It is necessary to clarify the effect of the transformation and transformation
expansion on welding distortion in order to maximize the effect of the low-temperature
transformation welding wire and to use this wire in practical applications. Numerical simulations
454
of the welding distortion with varied material properties were conducted in this study in order to
determine the required characteristics of the welding wire.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the method for the numerical simulation of welding
distortion with consideration of the effect of phase transformation and to give some applications.
First, calculation of the welding distortion of a fillet T-joint was performed to demonstrate that
welding distortion could be calculated with high accuracy. Second, the effect of the martensitic
transformation start temperature on welding distortion was investigated with the numerical
simulations.
2
2.1
Method for numerical simulation of welding distortion

Overview of method for numerical simulation
Three-dimensional finite element analyses of welding distortion were conducted. Also, the effect
of phase transformation during welding was taken into consideration [Mochizuki, 2004]. In other
words, the variation in mechanical properties due to weld thermal cycles and phase
transformation was calculated from temperature- and microstructure-dependent material
properties with the rule of mixture.
The numerical simulation was performed in two steps, as follows. First, a heat conduction
analysis was performed to calculate the temperature profile. The evolution of the microstructure
corresponding to the temperature profile was also calculated based on continuous cooling
transformation (CCT) diagrams. Second, an elastic-plastic analysis using the material properties
determined with the rule of mixture was conducted to calculate the transient welding distortion.
2.2
Model of T-joint
A T-joint, shown in Figure 1, was used in the present study to evaluate the distortion during
welding. This T-joint was fabricated and the transient welding distortion was measured in
another study [Morikage, 2005]. Experimental results used in this paper came from the study.
600
30
50
540
30
P4
P6
P1
P3
1st pass
d1
d2
250
600
P5
P2
600
rib-plate
250
2nd pass
skin-plate
50
P4
P1
Plate thickness: 9mm
140
(unit: mm)
Figure 1: Configuration of T-joint.
The steel plate used was a commercial structural steel of 9-mm thickness, which meets JIS G
3106 SM490Y. The rib-plate was welded onto the center of the skin-plate. Both sides of the ribplate were welded sequentially in opposite directions with an interpass temperature lower than
50C. Welding was conducted without restraint. Two different welding wires were used:
conventional welding wire and the low-temperature transformation welding wire. The
conventional welding wire is classified as JIS Z 3313 YFW-C50DM, a commercial welding wire
for steel with a required tensile strength 490 MPa. The low-temperature transformation welding
455
wire is Ni- and Cr-rich to lower the martensitic transformation start temperature. The martensitic
transformation start temperature of this wire is 205C.
The angular distortion of the T-joint was evaluated by the vertical displacement of the skin-plate.
The vertical displacements at points located symmetrically about the rib-plate were added
together. For example, the summation of the relative vertical displacement measured at P1 and
P4 was added together as shown in Figure 1.
A numerical simulation was conducted on the T-joint described above. The conditions in the heat
conduction analysis were determined by fitting the shape of the molten zone and temperature
profile to the experimental results.
2.3
Material properties used in the numerical simulation
Measurements of the material properties used in the numerical simulation were conducted on
each material used: the steel plate, conventional welding wire and low-temperature
transformation welding wire. Representative material properties used in the numerical simulation
are continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram, Youngs modulus, yield stress and
thermal expansion curve.
It should be noted that the material properties of the welding wire were measured through
specimens extracted from the weld metal of the T-joint. This is because the properties of the
weld metal are different from those of the original welding wire due to dilution with the steel
plate. As for the low-temperature transformation welding wire, it is especially important to
consider the effect of dilution with the plate steel because of its Ni- and Cr-rich chemical
composition.
The evolution of the microstructure was calculated from the CCT diagrams shown in Figure 2.
These CCT diagrams are based on the results of the dilatometric test on the specimens extracted
from the weld metal. Note that the martensitic transformation start temperature of the lowtemperature transformation welding wire rises from 205C to 380C due to dilution with the
steel plate.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the mechanical properties, including Youngs modulus, the yield stress
and the thermal expansion curve, respectively, for the steel plate and two types of wires. The
variation in mechanical properties due to phase transformation was calculated from these
temperature- and microstructure-dependent material properties with the rule of mixture.
Examples of dilatometric curves under heating rate 10C/s and cooling rate 30C/s are also
shown in Figure 5 for each material.
1400
1000
Ac3
800
Ferrite
600
Ac1
Bainite
400
Martensite
200
0
1000
Ac3
800
Ferrite
600
Bainite
Ac1
400
200
0
10
100
1000
Cooling time from 1350oC, t (s)
1400
Conventional welding wire
1200
Temperature, T (oC)
Steel plate
1200
Temperature, T (oC)
Temperature, T (oC)
1400
Low-temperature transformation
welding wire
1200
1000
800
Ac3
600
Ac1
400
Martensite
200
0
10
100
1000
Cooling time from 1350 oC, t (s)
10
100
1000
Cooling time from 1350 oC, t (s)
Figure 2: Continuous cooling transformation diagrams.
Steel plate
200
150
100
50
0
0
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
250
200
150
100
50
0
1500
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
250
Young's modulus, E (GPa)
250
456
welding wire
200
150
100
50
0
1500
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
Figure 3: Youngs modulus dependent on temperature.

1000
800
600
Bainite
400
Ferrite
200
1200
Austenite
Bainite
600
400
Ferrite
200
Austenite
0
0
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
Martensite
1000
800
1200
Yield stress, VY (MPa)
Steel plate
Martensite
1000
1200
welding wire
800
600
400
Austenite
200
0
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
Figure 4: Yield stress dependent on temperature and microstructure.
0.02
Steel plate
D phase
0.01
0
J phase
Dilatometric curve under
heating rate: 10oC/s
cooling rate: 30oC/s
-0.01
0
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
0.03
D phase: ferrite, bainite

J phase: austenite
0.02
D phase
0.01
0
J phase
-0.01
0
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
welding wire
D phase: martensite
J phase: austenite
0.03
Thermal strain, Hth
D phase: ferrite, bainite, martensite

J phase: austenite
Thermal strain, Hth
Thermal strain, Hth
0.03
Welding wire
(without dilution)
Weld metal
(with dilution)
0.02
D phase
0.01
0
-0.01

J phase
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
1500
Figure 5: Thermal strain dependent on temperature and microstructure.
Welding distortion of the T-joint
Figures 6 and 7 show the evolution of the angular distortion during welding, obtained though the
numerical simulation and experimental results for the conventional and low-temperature
transformation welding wire, respectively. The angular distortion of the T-joint was evaluated by
the vertical displacement of the skin-plate, as explained in the preceding section.
As seen from these figures, the angular distortion of the T-joint was nicely reproduced with the
numerical simulation considering the phase transformation. In the case of the conventional
welding wire, the vertical displacement levels off after the initial increase. In contrast, in the case
of the low-temperature transformation welding wire, the angular distortion starts to decrease after
the maximum displacement is observed. The reduction of the angular distortion due to lowtemperature martensitic transformation was reproduced in the numerical simulation.
Shown in Figure 8 is the enlarged view (0-100 s) of the evolution of the angular distortion during
the first welding pass in the T-joint with the conventional welding wire. The angular distortion
starts to increase in the order of location from the starting position of the welding: P1+P4 starts
to increase first, then P2+P5, and finally P3+P5. The distortion behavior of the T-joint was also
simulated with high accuracy.
20
Numerical simulation
d2
d1
15
10
P4 P5
P6
2
P3+P6
P2+P5
P1+P4
0
0
P1 P2
P3
500
1000
1500
2000
Time from start of welding, t (s)
Total displacement, d1+d2 (mm)
457
20
Experiment
d2
d1
15
10
P4 P5
P6
2
P3+P6
P2+P5
P1+P4
0
0
P1 P2
P3
500
1000
1500
2000
20
d2
d1
15
10
P4 P5
P6
2
P3+P6
P2+P5
P1+P4
0
0
P1 P2
P3
200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Figure 6: Evolution of angular distortion in T-joints with conventional welding wire.

20
Experiment
d2
d1
15
10
P4 P5
P6
2
P3+P6
P2+P5
P1+P4
0
0
P1 P2
P3
200 400 600 800 1000 1200

20
P4 P5
15
P6
d2
1
P1 P2
d1
P3
10
P1+P4
(start)
P2+P5
(center)
P3+P6
(end)
5
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Figure 7: Evolution of angular distortion in T-joints with low-temperature transformation welding wire.
20
P4 P5
15
d2
1
P1 P2
Experiment
P6
d1
P3
10
P1+P4
(start)
P2+P5
(center)
P3+P6
(end)
5
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Figure 8: Evolution of angular distortion during first pass in T-joints with conventional welding wire.
4
4.1
Evaluation of the effect of material properties on welding distortion

Determination of required material property through numerical simulation
The welding distortion of the T-joint could be reproduced with high accuracy in the numerical
simulation in the preceding section. The T-joint with the low-temperature transformation
welding wire showed less welding distortion than that with the conventional welding wire, both
in the numerical simulation and in the experiment. However, the effect of the characteristics of
martensitic transformation on the welding distortion was not clarified. Therefore, the following
should also be investigated: the effect of transformation characteristics, such as the
transformation start or finish temperature and the transformation expansion strain, on the
welding distortion for effective utilization of the low-temperature transformation welding wire.
458
The result would contribute to the development of welding wire that is more effective in
reducing welding distortion. In this section, the effect of the martensitic transformation start
temperature on welding distortion was investigated with numerical simulations.
4.2
Simulation model and material properties
The effect of the martensitic transformation start temperature on angular distortion was
investigated with the simulation model shown in Figure 9. The steel plate has the same width and
thickness as the skin-plate of the T-joint in the preceding section, but the weld length is
shortened to 200 mm. A single bead was put on the center of the plate. The welding conditions in
the numerical simulation were defined to be comparable to those in the T-joint in terms of the
heat input to the skin-plate. The numerical simulation was conducted with half of the plate
because of symmetry.
600
200
Bead-on-plate
Plate thickness: 9
(unit: mm)
Axis of symmetry
Figure 9: Configuration of plate for bead-on-plate welding.
The material properties used were the same as those used in the numerical simulation of the Tjoint, except for the martensitic transformation behavior. The martensitic transformation start
temperature of the weld metal was varied in the range of 405C to 0C. Shown in Figure 10 are
the transformation expansion curves for the weld metal used in the numerical simulation. Each
material is denoted by its martensitic transformation start temperature, Ms. For instance,
"Ms405" indicates weld metal with the martensitic transformation start temperature 405C. Note
that the martensitic transformation of materials Ms205, Ms180, Ms120 and Ms0 do not finish
and austenite remains even at room temperature. The calculation of the welding distortion with
conventional welding wire was also performed for comparison.
0.01
Detail of A
0.03
0.02
Thermal strain, Hth
Thermal strain, Hth
Cooling rate: 30oC/s
0.01
0
Cooling rate: 30 C/s
-0.01
-0.01
500
1000
Temperature, T (oC)
Ms0
1500
Ms405
Ms380
Ms340
Ms250
Ms205
Ms180
Ms120
250
500
Temperature, T (oC)
750
Figure 10: Transformation expansion curves for various martensitic transformation start temperatures.
4.3
Effect of characteristics of martensitic transformation on welding distortion
The evolution of the angular distortion during welding is shown in Figure 11. The angular
distortion is evaluated by the vertical displacement of the edge of the plate. Curves for the lowtemperature transformation welding wire shows behavior similar to the case of the T-joint. The
459
Upward displacement, d (mm)
maximum displacement and the reduction in displacement vary with the martensitic
transformation start temperature, and consequently, the residual distortion is different. It is
notable that, in the case of Ms0, Ms120 and Ms180, the residual distortion is larger than in the
case of conventional welding wire.
6
Ms0
Ms120
Ms180
Conventional
welding wire
Ms205
Ms250
Ms340
Ms380
Ms405
5
4
3
2
d
d
Axis of
symmetry
0
0
100 200 300 400 500 600

Figure 11: Evolution of angular distortion for various martensitic transformation start temperatures.
Residual displacement, d (mm)
Figure 12 shows the relationship between the martensitic transformation start temperature and
the residual distortion at room temperature. The residual distortion increases with the decreasing
martensitic transformation start temperature in the scope of this investigation. It is not necessarily
the case that a lower martensitic transformation start temperature is effective for reducing
welding distortion. This is because the martensitic transformation does not finish in materials
with a low martensitic transformation start temperature.
6
Low-temperature
transformation welding wire
5.5
Conventional
welding wire
5
4.5
4
d
3.5
d
Axis of
symmetry
3
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Transformation start temperature, Ms or Ar3 (oC)
Residual displacement, d (mm)
Figure 12: Relationship between transformation start temperature and residual distortion.
6
5.5
Ms0
Ms120
Ms180
Ms205
4.5
Ms250
Ms340
Ms380
Ms405
4
3.5
d
Axis of
symmetry
3
100 80 60 40 20
0
Percentage of retained austenite, pJ (%)
Figure 13: Relationship between residual displacement and percentage of retained austenite.
The relationship between the retained austenite and residual displacement is shown in Figure 13.
The residual displacement linearly increases with the increase of retained austenite in materials
460
Ms0, Ms120, Ms180 and Ms205. It is suggested that completion of the martensitic
transformation is necessary in order to reduce the welding distortion with the transformation
expansion.
Conclusion
The welding distortion of the T-joint was calculated by a numerical simulation with
consideration of the effect of phase transformation. The welding distortion of the T-joint with
conventional welding wire and low-temperature transformation welding wire was evaluated. The
behavior of the welding distortion, such as the order of generation of the welding distortion along
welding direction and the reduction of the welding distortion due to transformation expansion,
was reproduced with high accuracy.
The relationship between residual distortion and the martensitic transformation start temperature
was investigated with the numerical simulation. It was shown that the maximum displacement
and the reduction in displacement are dependent on the martensitic transformation start
temperature, and consequently, the residual distortion is different. In addition, the residual
distortion of the joint with the low-temperature transformation welding wire is larger than that
with the conventional wire unless the martensitic transformation finishes at room temperature.
In this study, a numerical simulation was conducted to evaluate the effect of the material
properties on welding distortion. Only the effect of the martensitic transformation start
temperature on welding distortion was reported here because of the space limitation in this paper,
but the effect of other properties can be evaluated by the same procedure. The results obtained
would be applicable to the materials design of welding wire for reducing welding distortion.
Acknowledgment
The authors greatly acknowledge the Japan Research and Development Center for Metals (JRCM), IshikawajimaHarima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Kobe Steel, Ltd., for their kind help and
useful comments in this research. The research was done under the Japanese national project of the Innovative
Technical Program for the Global Warming, Development of Joining Techniques for Steel Structures with Energy
Saving, supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries.
This work was also supported by the Priority Assistance of the Formation of Worldwide Renowned Centers of
Research - The 21st Century COE Program (Project: Center of Excellence for Advanced Structural and Functional
Materials Design) and by the Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) No. 15760603, from the Ministry of
Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology of Japan.
References
Ohta, A; Shiga, C; Maeda, Y; Suzuki, N; Watanabe, O; Kubo, T; Matsuoka, K; Nishijima, S: Fatigue Strength
Improvement by Using Newly Developed Low Transformation Temperature Welding Material. Welding in
the World, Vol. 43, No. 6, 1999, pp. 38-42.
Morikage, Y; Kubo, T; Yasuda, K; Amano, K; Mikami, Y; Mochizuki, M; Toyoda, M: Welding-distortion
Phenomena of T-joint Using Low-temperature Transformation Welding Wire. Proceedings of 1st International
Conference on Distortion Engineering (IDE2005), to be published.
Mochizuki, M; Mikami, Y; Toyoda, M: Analytical Study on the Effects of Welding Deposition Sequence on
Microstructure and Hardness in Beam-to-column Welded Connection of Steel Framed Structures. Welding
International, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2004, pp. 103-111.
461
New Ways of Decreasing Distortion Using

Intensive Quenching Technologies
Nikolai I. Kobasko
Intensive Technologies Ltd, Kyiv, Ukraine
IQ Technologies Inc. Akron, USA
Abstract
In the paper three types of intensive quenching technologies are considered which were called IQ-1, IQ-2 and IQ-3
processes. IQ-1 and IQ-2 technologies are two step quenching. At the first step of IQ-1 technology steel parts are
quenched in oils or polymers having optimal values of the critical heat flux densities. At the second step very high
cooling rate within the martensite range and washing of steel parts are provided simultaneously. The first step of cooling
is interrupted when distortion is at its minimum. This minimum distortion is fixed at the second step of cooling by
intensive quenching. When using IQ-2 technology, at the first step martensitic transformation is delayed and
transformation and washing are occurred at the second step of continued quenching. This technology also decreases
distortion of steel parts. IQ-3 technology is one-step extremely intensive cooling where distortion of steel parts decreases
due to creation of thin shell around of steel part from the very beginning of cooling. New approaches are considered also
on the basis of using regularities of self- regulated thermal processes and press quenching technologies. The specific
examples from the practice are provided.
Keywords
Intensive quenching, distortion, optimization, service life, new methods, calculations.
Introduction
As is known, with increase in intensity of cooling during quenching not only mechanical properties
of material are increasing, but also distortion is increasing in some cases. Therefore, decrease in
distortion of steel parts in conditions of intensive quenching is extremely important. Below are
considered three ways of decrease in distortion in conditions of intensive cooling. It is made on the
basis of the review of previously published papers. The technique of calculations of optimum depth
of the quenched layer which provides the minimal distortion of steel parts after intensive quenching
is new and discussed in this paper.
2 Mathematical Models and Methods of Calculation of Thermal and Stress-Strain

State
The coupled equation of non-stationary thermal conductivity, as known, is given in the form:
wT
div ( O grad T ) V ij Hijp U I l I H I 0 .
wW
with corresponding boundary conditions for film boiling
cU
wT D f

(T Ts ) r R 0
wr
O
and initial conditions:
T (r, 0) = T0.
(1)
(2)
(3)
462
As it is well known the transition from film boiling to nucleate boiling is made when the following is
fulfilled:
qcr2 = Df (Tper-Ts)
(4)
where qcr2 = 0.2 qcr1, Df is heat transfer coefficient at film boiling, Ts is saturation temperature, qcr1
and qcr2 are critical heat flux densities.
At the stage of the nucleate boiling, the boundary conditions have the following form:
wT E m

(T Ts ) m
wr OT
T (r , W f )
r R
0,
M (r ) .
(5)
(6)
Finally, at the area of convection heat transfer, the boundary conditions are analogous to those for
film boiling.
wT D cn

(T Tc )
wr OT
0,
T (r , W nb ) \ (r ) .
(7)
(8)
At intensive quenching the main process is nucleate boiling and convection, that is, boundary
conditions (5) and (7) are used. Critical heat flux densities should be at their maximum value.
For the determination of current and residual stresses plasticity theory equations are used, which
have the following form:
Hij
Hijp Hije Hij T Hijm Hijc ,
(9)
with relevant initial and boundary conditions, where T is temperature, V ij is stress, Hij is total strain
rate, Hije is elastic strain rate, Hijp is plastic strain rate, HijT is thermal strain rate, Hijm is strain rate for
structural dilation due to phase transformations, Hijtp is strain rate for structural dilation due to
transformation plasticity, O is thermal conductivity, and c is specific heat. These equations are
described in detail in [Inoue,1997] and [Kobasko,2002, 2004].
Results of Computer Simulation and Experiments
Below results of calculations and experiments which have been published earlier and connected with
intensive quenching are discussed.
463
Figure 1: Structural composition and shape of the bearing ring profile during hardening. (a) Initial (cold and
heated state, schematic). (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) the state during cooling. The unshaded area is austenite, single
hatching indicates the area of up to 50% martensite, and cross hatching indicates 100% martensite
Authors of [Morganyuk, 1982] for the first time investigated two-step quenching by computer
simulation, using the above-stated mathematical model. They simulated the process of quenching of
a bearing ring which shape is presented in Fig.1. The quenching was carried out in oil of optimal
temperature. Cooling in oil at the first stage was interrupted during the minimal deformation. At the
second stage intensive cooling and washing were carried out simultaneously. The minimal
deformations after the second stage were when cooling in air and under intensive shower (see table
below).
Method of cooling
Conicity
In air
0.044
In oil
0.045
In circulating water
0.051
Under intensive shower
0.005
Table 1: Conicity of the bearing ring depending on the cooling conditions within the martensite range at the
second stage of cooling
Results of studies, presented in Table 1, are of practical interest. It is possible to carry out two-step
quenching so that at the second stage intensive cooling within the martensite range and washing are
combined. It allows to reduce essentially the deformation of products and to improve mechanical
properties of material.
464
Figure 2: Keyway Shaft

6.4 x 6.4 mm keyway
Keyway shaft
Bow height
Granite flat surface block
Figure 3: Keyway Shaft Distortion
Single Oil Quenching
Batch Oil Quenching
Intensive Quenching
0.20- 0.36 mm
0.25- 0.51 mm
0.08- 0.12 mm
Table 2: Measurement of shaft distortion (steel AISI 1045, diameter of shaft 25.4 mm)
The authors of [Aronov, 2001] investigated the effect of intensive quenching on part distortion of the
shafts with a keyway (Fig.2 and Fig.3). As seen from Table 2 intensive quenching causes much less
shaft distortion compared to conventional oil quenching. Results of experiments agree very well
with the results of calculation performed by the authors of [Freborg, 2002]
Parts shape
Unbounded plate
K, m2
LI
Martensite
99%
(DI), mm
465
Martensite
50%
(DI), mm
Formula
Number
S2
9.87
13.9
19.7
S2
Square plate
L2=L3=4L1
8 L2
9S 2
1.125S 2
11.1
14.7
20.08
Round plate,
4Z=D
4Z 2
Q 4S 2
Q 2 o 4S 2 11.3
14.9
21
Unbounded
cylinder
D2
2
4Q o
4Q 2 o
23.13
21.3
30.10
Unbounded
parallelepiped
L1=L2 L3=f
L2
2S 2
2S 2
19.74
19.65
27.8
Finite parallelepiped
L1=L2 L3=4L1
L2
2.06S 2
2.06S 2
20.36
20
28.2
Sphere
D2
4S 2
4S 2
39.5
27.8
39.3
S 2 4Q 2
33
25.4
35.9
3S 2
29.6
24.1
34
Finite cylinder
Z=D
Cube;
L1=L2=L 3
D2
S 2 4Q o
L2
3S 2
Note Qo is a root of Bessel function Qo|2.405

Table 3: Ideal critical sizes of various parts made of AISI 1045 steel received analytically.
Quench Process Optimization
The optimal residual stress distribution in the quenched steel part occurs in case of optimal depth of
the hardened layer. In this case high compressive stresses at the surface and less tensile stresses in
the core are observed. It is fair for any size of a part if the condition (10) is met:
DI
Dopt
const.
(10)
Where DI is the ideal critical diameter or specific size, Dopt is size of the steel part with the optimal
stress distribution. Ideal critical diameter can be calculated using equation (11):
466
DI
abW M
: ln T
0.5
(11)
a is average thermal diffusivity (m2/s);
W m is limit time of the core cooling from the austenitizing temperature to martensite start temperature,
providing the formation of 99% or 50% martensite;
:
0.48 for a bar (or cylinder);
T0 Tm
;
TM Tm
T0 is austenitizing temperature;
b is parameter depending only on form of steel part (see Table 3).
Tm is temperature of quenchant;
TM is martensite start temperature at limit time of cooling.
Optimum stress distribution on section of steel parts means high compessive stresses at the surface
and less tensile stresses at the core. Since cooling rate within the martensite range is very high during
intensive quenching, additional strengthening of the material is observed. More detailed information
about this phenomenon is discussed in [Kobasko, 2005]. High compressive stresses at the surface
and additional strengthening of material increase significantly the service life of steel parts (see
Table 4).

Quenching method
Oil
Steel grade
AISI/SAE 4340
Intensive water spray AISI/SAE 1045

cooling
Numbers of cycles to
fracture
Note
(3.8 4.6)10 5
Half-axles were
destroyed
(3.0 - 3.5)106
No fractures observed
Table 4: Fatigue tests of KrAZ truck half- axles [Kobasko, 1998]
Detailed information about optimal stress distribution, service life of truck half-axles and equipment
are provided in [Kobasko, 1998].
Discussion
Intensive quenching, as follows the above analysis, not only reduces distortion of the quenched steel
parts, but also essentially increases of their service life. The best results are reached at optimum
depth of the hardened layer and intensive cooling in conditions of BiV o f . Therefore, the new
method of calculation of the optimal conditions for quenching is of great practical interest.
Difficulties of use of the intensive methods of quenching are connected with the necessity of design
and manufacture the special equipment and strict observance of appropriate recipes. Intensive
methods of quenching have the big future and their development can be predicted as follows.
x
Developing software for the prediction of optimal distribution of residual stresses on section
of various steel parts to be quenched, calculation of optimal depth of the hardened layer and
necessary conditions of intensive cooling. Correlation of optimum depth of the hardened
layer and optimal stress distribution with the chemical composition of steel.
467
x
Designing and manufacturing of the special equipment for quenching a specific part for mass
production.
x
Full automation of technological processes on the basis of the first two items above.
x
Adjustment of industrial process conditions.
x Use of the developed technology and equipment by many companies in the world.
Such approach is dictated by the following: it is impossible to create the universal equipment for
intensive quenching various steel parts made from different materials. However, intensive quenching
methods allow to lower distortion of products, increase their durability, consume cheaper materials
and quenchants, increase labour productivity. That is why intensive quenching is very promising.
Summary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Two-step quenching (slow cooling at the first step and intensive cooling at the second step
within the martensite range) essentially reduces distortion and increases service life of steel
parts.
Intensive cooling from austenite temperature till the time of the formation of the optimal
quenched layer and the maximal compressive stresses at the surface with the subsequent
tempering of the quenched layer also reduces distortion and increases mechanical properties
of the material.
Low-hardenability steels, which provide optimal depth of the quenched layer in conditions of
intensive cooling, reduce distortion and increase service life of steel parts similarly to items 1
and 2.
The original technique of calculations of optimal conditions of quenching depending on the
shape and the sizes of parts, conditions of cooling and chemical composition of steel has
been suggested.
The software has been developed for the calculation of optimal depth of the quenched layer
depending on chemical composition of steel, shape and the sizes of parts and conditions of
intensive cooling, which is based on item 4.
At calculations of the optimal depth of quenched layer by means of software, it is possible to
use chemical compositions of steels published in Worldwide Guide to Equivalent Irons and
Steels, 4th Edition, (William C. Mack, Coordinating Editor), ASM International, 2002.
References
Inoue T, and Arimoto K., Development and Implementation of CAE System Hearts for Heat Treatment Simulation
Based on Metallo - Thermo Mechanics, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., Vol.16 (No. 1) Feb 1997, p 51 60
Kobasko N.I., Morhuniuk V.S., Dobrivecher V.V.,. Control of Residual Stress Formation and Steel Deformation During
Rapid Heating and Cooling, In Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel (G. Totten, M.Howes,
T.Inoue, Eds), ASM International, Material Park, 2002, p 312 330
Kobasko N.I., Ushakov B.K., Morhuniuk W.S., Design of Intensive Steel Quench Processes, In a Handbook of
Metallurgical Process Design, G.E.Totten, K.Funatani, Lin Xie (Eds), Marcel Dekker, New York, 2004, pp. 733764
Morganyuk V.S., Kobasko N.I. and Kulakov A.N., Predicting the Deformation of Bearing Rings During Hardening,
Metalloved. Term. Obrab. Metal. (MiTOM), No9, 1982, pp. 22-24
Aronov Michael, Kobasko Nikolai, Powell Joseph, Application of Intensive Quenching Methods for Steel Parts, Proc.
of 21th ASM Heat Treating Society Conference, 5-8 Nov.2001, Indianapolis, USA
Freborg Andrew, Ferguson Lynn, Use of Computer Simulation in Optimizing an Intensive Quenching Process,
Presentation at 13th IFHTSE Congress, Columbus, 2002, USA
468
Kobasko Nikolai, Steel Superstrengthening Phenomenon, JAI, Feb., 2005

Kobasko Nikolai, Basics of Intensive Quenching (Part 3), Advanced Materials & Processes/Heat Treating Progress,
Feb.1998, pp.36FF- 36HH
15. Quenching and tempering
469
470
471
Homogenization of hardness distribution and

distortion in high pressure gas quenching
R. Schmidt, U. Fritsching
IWT Bremen, Badgasteiner Str. 3, 28359 Bremen, RSchmidt@iwt.uni-bremen.de
Abstract
Quenching with gases rather than oil or other liquid media has the advantages of reducing the risks concerning health
and environment, while simultaneously homogenizing the quenching results and minimizing distortion due to a wide
range of possible process parameter variations and the pure convective heat transfer.
In this contribution, a coupled solution for increasing homogenization of quenching results within high pressure gas
quenching will be presented. In the first stage, an experimental test facility was set up for flow investigations and in
the second stage a numerical simulation model was generated. The numerical and experimental results of the flow
through the chamber were compared for several boundary conditions.
Finally, after complete verification of the simulation, the model may be used to assist in parameter variation for
optimization of homogeneous high pressure gas quenching.
Keywords
Gas quenching, flow homogenization, numerical simulation model, experimental flow chamber, three layer model
Introduction
In recent years, quenching with gases such as helium and nitrogen instead of oil or other liquid
media, has become more common in industrial production. The most important benefits are
[Hoffman, 1998], [Laumen, 1998], [Lser, 2003]: pure convective heat transfer due to the lack of
liquid evaporation at the interface (Leidenfrost phenomena) which results in reproduceable
quenches and lowered distortion, the possibility to adjust quenching results using the wide range
of possible process parameter variations, no cleaning of the quenched parts is necessary and the
process has a low impact to the environment and the employees. The compression of the gases to
pressures of 0.6 up to 2.0 MPa has lead to the use of gas quenching beyond the areas of tool
manufacturing. However, a faster and more uniform quenching of the whole charge has not been
achieved due to the complex flow structures inside commercial heat treatment facilities. The aim
of this work is to find a method which enables one to develop guidelines for parameter selection
to homogenize high pressure gas quenching.
1.1
Influence on homogeneity and quenching
The parameters influencing flow homogeneity and quenching results are numerous. The
following parameters may be considered and varied for optimization of the process:
x
Orientation of the charge and geometry of the quenched parts
x
Inlet and guidance of the flow inside the chamber
x
Temperature, pressure and local velocity of the gas and
x Type and ratio of components of the used gases

Until now, the work done concerning homogenization of distortion and the increased quenched
part hardness in high pressure gas quenching has mostly concentrated on single aspects of the
whole process.
472
To illustrate the potential of flow optimization, Figure 1 shows the effect of applying a reversal
gas flow on a charge load. The charge consisted of three layers, each consisting of 40 steel
cylinders (28 mm diameter and 112 mm long).
Figure 1: Influence of charge layer position on resulting heat-transfer coefficient. Left: one-direction gas
flow; right: reversals applied to gas flow direction. (Hydrogen, 10 bars) [Lbben, 2000]
The difference between the minimum and the maximum measured heat-transfer coefficient is
quite large when comparing unidirectional to alternating gas flow. Because the heat-transfer
coefficient is the key parameter for quenching, the alternating operation mode gives more
homogeneous quenching results.
1.2
Coupled numerical and experimental solution strategy
In this contribution, a coupled solution for attaining homogenization of hardness distribution and
distortion will be presented. In Figure 2 an overview of the solution strategy is given.
Figure 2: Solution strategy
The first stage involves developing a numerical model to analyse the flow inside a commercial
high pressure gas quenching chamber. Due to the complexity of the industrial used systems, a
three layer model will be introduced that allows for simplification of certain parts of the
geometry which leads to faster convergence of the numerical calculations. The second stage is to
473
verify the numerical results from the flow simulation and validate the assumptions used using an
experimental model chamber. With a flexible setup it is easy to observe constraints by the
alternation of chamber and charge dimensions as well as flow conditions. When acceptable fluid
dynamical similarity between the model and prototype is achieved a parameter variation made in
the model will be correctly displayed in the prototype. With the aid of this numerical model
optimization of the process can be achieved. In addition, the numerical results (i.e. temperature
curves and hardness measurements) of the optimized prototype will be compared with data
obtained from industrial high pressure gas quenching chambers. For this stage two commercial
facilities are available for testing at the IWT laboratories.
Setting up a model chamber
The similarity of the model to real quenching processes must be attained in order to verify the
optimization. Fluid dynamical similarity between two processes is satisfied when the
characteristic Reynolds numbers are in the same order of magnitude; that is putting the ratio of
the Reynolds numbers close to one. The Reynolds number is defined as:
Re
d v U/P
(1)
were v is velocity of the gas through the empty cross section of the chamber, d is the
characteristic dimension and U and P are the density and dynamic viscosity, respectively, of the
gas at a specific temperature and pressure. Figure 3a) shows the ratio of Reynolds-numbers
(model/prototype) depending on the volume flow in the model chamber for selected cases. The
model chamber runs with air at atmospheric pressure at approximately 50 C (introduced by the
frictional heat of the gas in the setup). It was built at a 1:1 scale to the geometries of commercial
high pressure gas quenching cambers, therefore the characteristic dimension is not considered in
the calculation of the Reynolds number ratio. Four parameter sets were selected according to
commonly used industrial configurations [Lser, 2003]: Helium at 16 m3/s and nitrogen at 10
m3/s, both at 10 and 20 bars, and an average temperature of 150 C. The maximum volumetric
flow inside the setup is assumed to be about 6 m3/s at 4300 Pa pressure drop. Figure 3a) shows
that the flow structures inside the model chamber are in good fluid dynamical similarity for
quenching with helium at 10 and 20 bars as well for nitrogen at 10 bars.
a)
b)
Figure 3: a) Comparison of Reynolds numbers of the flow through the model chamber with the real data,
b) Experimental model chamber geometries.
A schematic of the model chamber is shown in Figure 3b). Two slit-shaped rectangular inlets for
the quench gas are located on the sides of the chamber above the charge. After passing some
possible fixtures and redirection straight down through the charge, the quenchant gas leaves the
474
chamber through two outlet pipes on the side of the chamber below the charge. The setup of the
chamber is variable, that is, the walls on the side of the charge can be moved to set the spacing
and the area above and below the charge enables one to place various fixtures. The investigation
of other flow concepts and directions is possible by simply turning the charge in the required
position or by changing the connection of the pipes and the chamber supply.
A 1D hot film sensor is used for measurement of local flow velocities. Employing a two axis
computer controlled positioning system makes it possible to scan the velocity profiles with the
attached sensor traversing a specific plane inside the chamber. Qualitative information such as
flow visualization can be gathered with a smoke tracer particle probe as well as with fibres
attached to several surfaces inside the model chamber.
Experimental
Two charge setups were prepared as shown in Figure 4. Charge 01 consisted of three levels built
from gratings and represents a loose packing situation with 99 cylindrical bars ( 40 mm, height
150 mm) fixed upright. Charge 02 is based on an industrial frame, 84 discs ( 125 mm, height
25 mm) were placed horizontally on three levels with the maximum cross section blocking the
main flow direction.
Figure 4: Schematic representation and dimensions of charge 01 and charge 02 and the used model parts.
The distance between the charges and the chamber walls was set to 100 mm on both sides and on
the front / back to 25 mm (charge 01) and to 75 mm (charge 02). In the space above and below
the charge no fixtures were placed. The positioning system with the axis yT and xT was set up
downstream of the charge. A number of different fan rotational speeds were investigated,
beginning from 590 rpm up to the maximum of 3540 rpm. When the process became stationary,
the hot film measurement was started with an anemometer frequency of 100 Hz. Results are
shown in Figure 5. The dependency of the velocity profiles on the distance to the charge were
not distinct, therefore the displayed profiles were averaged over all measured yT values.
Figure 5: Velocity profile in chamber width, wake of charge 01 and 02 averaged over all yT values.
475
The measured profiles were similar in the shape for all investigated fan rotational speeds. The
wake of charge 01 exhibits the geometrical effect on the setup, showing that a part of the flow is
passing through the charge. The orientation of charge 02 caused most of the flow to be directed
to the outer edges of the chamber between the charge and the chamber wall. Below the charge
flow was relatively homogenous with a low velocity. The average deviation of the velocities
profiles was 5 %, which is also the measurement uncertainty of the hot film anemometer
system.
To investigate the velocity profile in the depth of the model chamber, the positioning system was
moved parallel in z-direction and the profiles were recorded at these positions. The results for
two different fan rotational speeds are shown in Figure 6. For clarity, the profiles were averaged
over all xT and yT values.
Figure 6: Velocity profile in chamber depth, wake of charge 01 and 02 averaged over all xT and yT values.
The velocity profile in the depth below charge 01 was almost constant. After a slight increase at
zT = - 300 mm, the velocity dropped abruptly to 20 % of its maximum value close to the wall for
both of the investigated fan rotational speeds. The profile in the wake of charge 02 exhibited a
distinct wall effect on the flow. The magnitude of the velocity drop at the measurement point
near the wall is similar to the one resulting from the flow through charge 01.
For flow visualisation, a smoke probe was placed close to the inlet of the chamber and smoke
was blown towards the main flow direction. For both charge setups and all investigated volume
flows, the injected smoke was disintegrated immediately after exiting the probe due to turbulent
flow. The redirection straight down through the charge occurs in such a manner, that neither a
retained flow at the symmetry plain emerges, nor a flow attached extremely to the wall. Some
example photographs of flow visualization are given in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Some examples for the smoke distribution a) at the inlet and b) in the redirection area.
476
Simulation
Commercial high pressure gas quenching chambers as well as the model chamber exhibit
complex geometries. A detailed modeling requires a tremendous number of computational grid
cells. For simplification, a three layer model (TLM) is introduced. Here certain parts of the
geometry may be replaced by some simple relations (e.g. black-box principle). For a consistent
simulation, the black-box is then modeled in a second step as a separated geometry with a higher
level of detail. The results of the simulations on the interface of both models are iteratively fitted
(two way) until convergence throughout the whole geometry is obtained.
For the gas quenching chamber, the modeling principle is divided in to three layers (see Figure
8). On the first layer (macro-layer), the entire chamber is modeled by replacing the charge
volume with a simple porous body. That body puts an anisotropic flow resistance representing
the effect of the parts and the frame of the charge. As a starting condition for the macro
simulation, measurements of the chamber inlet profile might be used. The flow profile data at the
interface of the charge-body is taken to the next layer (meso-layer) as boundary conditions. Here,
the charge itself is modeled, with simple geometrical bodies replacing the real parts. On the third
layer (micro-layer) the flow around these simple bodies is used as a boundary condition to
simulate the flow around real complex parts for heat treatment, e.g. to compute local heat
transfer coefficients.
Figure 8: Three layer model of the gas quenching chamber.
In this paper, the focus is on the macro layer of the quenching chamber. The modeling of the
charge as a porous body is related to the flow through packed beds [Stie, 1994]. Originally
given for an isotropic medium, for the case of an anisotropic charge resistance the following
assumption was made: The charge was examined from one direction and the projection screen in
this direction was used for converting the isotropic parameters into anisotropic properties. The
equation for the anisotropic charge resistance is given in (2), where the subscript i represents
either the x-, y- or z-direction.
'p i
1
1
2
P vi Ci U vi
Di
2
Li
(2)
where, 'pi is the pressure drop related to a length Li, vi is the velocity of the gas in i-direction
and P and U are the dynamic viscosity and density of the gas, respectively
with
Di
D pi
Hi
150 1 H i
and C i
3,5 1 H i
D pi H i
(3) & (4)
where Di is the permeability and Ci is the internal resistance factor. The anisotropic porosity Hiof
the packed bed corresponds to the open cross section of the projection screen of the charge in the
477
i-direction and the anisotropic middle diameter Dpi correspond to an equivalent diameter of the
projection screen of the bodies that build the packed bed.
The flow through different setups was modelled and numerically investigated with the
simulation code Fluent. The following constraints and simplifications were used:
x
The process is stationary with an incompressible gas that exhibits no temperature

changes.
x
The model is two dimensional (x-y) and symmetric - corresponding to the half of the
plane shown in Figure 8.
x
For the used charge setups and the existing flow velocities, the first term of (2) may be
neglected; Ci is the only variable to alter the flow.
x
A constant inlet velocity profile is used as the starting condition.
Results
The porous body model for the charge setup in the macro layer simulation should be verified and
adapted by comparsion to the experimental data. Therefore, based on the calculation of the
anisotropic charge resistance, the values used in the simulation were altered by iteratively fitting
the numerical results to the experimental velocity profiles. In Table 1 the Ci values from
calculation are compared with the best fit values from simulation. Figure 9 shows the velocity
profiles that resulted from experimental investigations compared to the results that were
computed using the charge resistance parameters fount iteratively.
charge 01 (cylinder)
Ci (3)
Ci best-fit
factor
x-direction
49 /m
12 /m
4.1
y-direction
16 /m
7 /m
2.3
charge 02 (discs)
x-direction
10 /m
2 /m
5
y-direction
135 /m
65 /m
2.1
Table 1: Anisotropic resistance for both investigated charge setups, theoretical and best fit values.
Figure 9: Experimental and numerical flow profile in the wake of charge 01 and charge 02, averaged over
all yT values. Fan rpm: 3450, simulation mass flow: 2 x 5.8 kg/s (charge 01) and 2 x 4.3 kg/s (charge 02)
Due to the agreement of experimental data with the simulations, it can be seen, that the principle
velocity profiles measured in the model chamber can be simulated on the macro scale with the
introduced model. Deviations from the experimental curves were mainly due to geometrical
details of the charge that were not modeled in the approach, and are especially significant for
charge 01. Detailed simulation of the flow through the charge and around the parts will be given
by the meso and micro scale simulation.
478
Summary and future work
In this contribution, a coupled solution strategy for the investigation and optimization of flow
homogenization in industrial high pressure gas quenching was presented.
In the first stage, an experimental 1:1 flow chamber was set up, which exhibited acceptable fluid
dynamical similarity to real quenching processes. The velocity profiles in the wake of two
different charge setups were investigated at different volumetric flow rates.
The second step was to model the whole chamber in a three layer model, using a porous body in
the macro layer to replace the anisotropic charge resistance. Numerical results from the macro
layer simulation were compared and iteratively fitted to the experimental flow profiles. The
resulting anisotropic charge resistance values for the best-fit situation were lower than the
theoretically predicted values.
Future work will include further measurement of the flow profiles at different positions in the
chamber, as well as simulation in the meso and macro layer. In addition, the behaviour of various
charge setups as well as the empty chamber may be investigated and fixtures may be introduced
above and below the charge.
One integral component of the work will be the complete and consistent simulation of the model
chamber, and overall verification using experimental data. Finally, the parameter variation of the
model to real high pressure gas quenching processes (gas temperature, pressure and velocity) is
necessary to set up a model which allows for the development of guidelines to select the optimal
quenching parameters, chamber set up and charge configuration for homogenization of hardness
distribution and distortion.
Acknowledgement
This work has been funded by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen "Otto von Guericke"
e.V. (AiF Vorhaben-Nr 13840 Strmungshomogenisierung in Wrmebehandlungsanlagen bei der HochdruckGasabschreckung) with recourses of the Bundesministeriums fr Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). The authors
wish to acknowledge for their support. We also wish to acknowledge the members of the industrial advisory council
of the FOGI.
References
Hoffmann, F.; Gondesen, B.; Lohrmann, M.; Lbben, T.; Mayr, P.: Mglichkeiten und Grenzen des
Gasabschreckens, HTM 53, Seite 81 - 86, 1998
Laumen, C.; Holm, T.; Lbben, T.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung mit Wasserstoff, HTM
53, Seite 72 - 80, 1998
Lser, K.; Heuer, V.: Neue Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Hochdruckgasabschreckung, HTM 58, Seite 74 - 82,
2003
Lbben, T.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: The Uniformity of Cooling in High-pressure Gas Quenching, Heat Treatment
of Metals 2000.3, p. 57-61
Stie, M.: Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik, Band 2, Springer Verlag, 1994
479
Distortion Behaviour and Mechanical Properties

of AlCu4Mg1 Sheet Components after
High-Pressure Gas Quenching in
Comparison to Liquid Quenching
Olaf Kessler1, Andree Irretier1, Olaf Pieper2, Gregor Dolatta2,
Franz Hoffmann1 and Hans-Werner Zoch1
1

2
Airbus, Hnefeldstrae 1-5, 28199 Bremen, Germany
Abstract
The quenching process after solution annealing of age hardenable aluminium alloys is necessary for an improvement
of the mechanical properties, but also tends to result in distortion, especially in thin or complex shaped parts, and
requires a costly reworking. High-pressure gas quenching can reduce distortion compared to liquid quenching,
because of the better temperature uniformity during quenching. A determination of the distortion behaviour of
different serial parts of the aluminium wrought alloy 2024cl (AlCu4Mg1,clad) points out, that high-pressure gas
quenching offers predominantly excellent values regarding the dimensional accuracy after quenching compared to
liquid quenchants. In comparison to the conventional heat treatment, similar values in strength, hardness and
electrical conductivity have been determined after gas quenching and aging of different aluminium alloys (2024,
6013, and 7075), Furthermore, the residual stresses have been investigated and could be clearly reduced after gas
quenching.
Keywords
Aluminium alloy 2024, Age hardening, Gas quenching, Mechanical properties, Distortion
Introduction
A supersaturated solution of alloying elements in the aluminium matrix is a necessary

requirement for the formation of fine intermetallic precipitates during aging, which improve the
mechanical properties of age hardenable aluminium alloys. Many of these alloys require high
quenching rates, which were predominantly realised in water or water-glycol quenchants to
avoid a premature precipitation of coarse particles. During liquid quenching the Leidenfrost
Phenomenon occurs: the formation and collapse of a vapour blanket around the part
[Totten, 1974]. This non-uniform cooling can cause strong distortion and higher amounts of
residual stresses especially in complex shaped parts (sheet, castings or forgings), and makes a
costly reworking necessary [Ikei, 2000].
During high-pressure gas quenching, the parts are passed by a cooling gas instead of a liquid
medium. The better temperature uniformity provides an opportunity to manufacture parts with
only slight distortion, because the Leidenfrost Phenomenon is not present. This could reduce the
costs for reworking or scrap. Furthermore, by variation of the gas pressure, gas velocity or the
gas itself, a well directed manipulation of the cooling rate is possible [Hoffmann, 1999]. In this
way, the cooling rate can be affected to produce on one hand the desired microstructure and
mechanical properties. On the other hand, cooling should be as slow as possible to reduce
distortion and residual stresses of the part. In consideration of both requirements, high-pressure
gas quenching gives a potential to reduce distortion.
480
The determination of mechanical properties of the aluminium alloys 2024-T4, 6013-T6 and
7075-T73 has already confirmed, that it is possible to obtain a sufficient strength up to a
thickness of several millimetres after gas quenching with helium at 16 bar. For thin sheets
(3 mm) nearly similar mechanical properties could be achieved after gas quenching and aging as
after water quenching and aging [Kessler, 2002-1; Irretier, 2002; Kessler, 2002-2]. In the next
step, a comparison of the distortion behaviour after gas quenching and after a conventional
water-glycol quenching should answer the question, whether less distortion and reduced residual
stresses are also achievable after high-pressure gas quenching.
Experimental
According to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, two different types of formed parts made of 2024cl (AlCu4Mg1,
cladded with pure aluminium) sheet material have been used for the determination of the
distortion. To determine the permanent deformation caused by the solution heat treatment and
the following quenching step, certain characteristics of the parts have been measured with the
help of a coordinate measuring system before and after the heat treatment processes. From
defined line-scans as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, it was possible to calculate certain angles of the
parts (e.g. angle 2/8 of part 1). The grouping of multiple line-scans which are located in one
plane permits to calculate a form value (flatness) for the relevant planes, (e.g. line 1,2,3,10,11
and 14 for plane a of part 1 resp. line 1,2,3,7 and 8 for plane b of part 2). The distortion
originated from the heat treatment could be calculated from the differences of these values before
and after the heat treatments. To obtain a statistical coverage of the distortion behaviour, the parts
were subjected to the different heat treating methods in batches. The quantity of these batches is
listed in Table 1.
7
Plane a
12
Plane b
10
10
9
14
13
11
6
2
5 cm
3 cm
Fig. 2: Line-scans on part 2 (clip)

(2024cl; sheet thickness 1,2mm)
Fig. 1: Line-scans on part 1 (frame coupler)

(2024cl; sheet thickness 1,6mm)
Quantity of parts
Quench
Water-Glycol
Nitrogen 10 bar
Part 1
Part 2
Table 1: Number of treated parts for statistical coverage
The forming process of the parts was carried out in the soft annealed state, because a direct
forming in the T4 state is not possible, due to the higher strength in the cold aged T4 condition.
After press forming the solution heat treatment at 495C for 25 min. with water-glycol
quenching resp. high-pressure gas quenching and aging for at least 200 h at room temperature
followed. Water-glycol quenching was done in a facility for serial production.
481
The electrical conductivity measurement and the Webster hardness testing are common methods
of the quality control in the aircraft industry. Therefore, these values have been determined after
the different quenching methods according to the standards ASTM-B647-84 for the electrical
conductivity and ASTM-E1004-02 for the Webster hardness and were compared with the
required values.
Further, for the alloy EN AW-2024 residual stresses were measured after water quenching and
after gas quenching at specimens with the dimensions of 70x75x20 mm. Residual stresses were
measured by x-ray diffraction (sin\-method) at nine positions parallel and perpendicular to the
rolling direction of the material.
High-Pressure Gas Quenching
Solution annealing and high-pressure gas quenching were realized in a double-chamber vacuum
furnace type IPSEN RVTC-600x400x400 (Fig. 3). The system is equipped with a heating
chamber (1) and a separated cold
cooling chamber (2). Compared to
(5)
single-chamber systems, higher
cooling rates are possible, because
(1) (3)
quenching takes place in a chamber
(4)
with ambient temperature. Thus, it
is not necessary to cool the
(2)
chamber together with the batch.
After solution annealing and
opening of the doors between the
chambers (3), the batch is
transported into the cold chamber.
The chamber is filled with the
cooling gas (Nitrogen / 10 bar) and
the
gas
is
continuously
Fig. 3: Scheme of a double-chamber vacuum furnace [IPSEN] recirculating through the chamber
and a heat exchanger (4) by a fan
(5). Both, parts 1 and parts 2 were hung-up inside the furnace according to Fig. 4 and 5.
Consequently for parts 1, the gas flow was parallel to its three planes. For parts 2, the gas flow
was parallel to two planes, but perpendicular to the third plane (lines 9,10; Fig. 2).
Fig. 4: Batch of frame couplers

for gas quenching
Fig. 5: Batch of clips

for gas quenching
482
Former investigations regarding the mechanical properties have already shown, that it is possible
to achieve the required minimum values for different aluminium alloys after high-pressure gas
quenching with helium at 16 bar. Nitrogen does not offer the same quenching capability as
helium at the same pressure, but it is considerably cheaper. A comparison of the mechanical
properties of the wrought alloys 2024cl-T42, 6013-T6 and 7075-T73 according to Table 2
shows, that the mechanical properties after high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar
also exceed the specified minimum values [Datasheet-2024, 2005; Datasheet-6013, 2005;
Datasheet-7075, 2005]. In comparison with conventional water quenching, no significant
differences can be observed for the alloys 2024cl-T42 (thickness 1,6 mm) and 6013-T6
(thickness 3 mm) . Solely for 7075-T73 (thickness 3 mm) the mechanical properties after gas
quenching are approximately 30 MPa below the comparable values after water quenching, but
still higher than the required values.
Thickness
[mm]
Nitrogen
10 bar
Water
Rm
Rp0,2
[MPa] [MPa]
A5
[%]
Minimum
values
Rp0,2
[MPa]
Rm
[MPa]
A5
[%]
Rp0,2
Rm
A5
[MPa] [MPa] [%]
2024cl-T42
1,6
305r5 449r4 16r0,7 294r2
452r2
16r0,5
262
420
15
6013-T6
3,0
389r2 412r1 14r1,5 370r2
406r1
14r0,4
317
359
7075-T73
3,0
450r2 528r2 13r1,3 421r3
497r3
11r0,5
386
462
Table 2: Mechanical properties after water resp. gas quenching with nitrogen 10 bar
for different wrought alloys in comparison with specified minimum values [ALCOA-Datasheets, 2005]
Webster Hardness
Electrical Conductivity
[MS/m]
WaterGlycol
Nitrogen
10 bar
WaterGlycol
Nitrogen
10 bar
Part 1
13,8 r0,3
14,3 r0,6
19,81 r0,05
19,92 r0,07
Part 2
15,3 r0,6
16,0 r0,0
19,19 r0,05
19,20 r0,03
Required
14,5-18,0
16,5-21,5
Table 3: Webster hardness and electrical conductivity after water-glycol resp. gas quenching
The Webster hardness and the electrical conductivity were measured after water-glycol resp. gas
quenching and aging at three parts of each batch according to Tab. 3. After gas resp. liquid
quenching and naturally aging, the Webster hardness of 2024cl in the T42 temper is slightly
below (part 1) or inside (part 2) the specification. The electrical conductivity of both batches is
also within the specification. Therefore both gas quenched batches would pass the quality control
regarding the values for hardness and electrical conductivity.
After water-glycol quenching parts 1 show a flatness change of 0,05 mm with a standard
deviation of r0,15 mm. After gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar flatness changes of -0,05
r0,05 mm have occurred. This indicates, that a more homogenous distortion of the gas quenched
batch can be achieved, because the determined scatter band is lower. A lower scattering of
distortion is more important than a lower average of distortion. A certain average of distortion
can be compensated by suitable process steps before or after the heat treatment, if the scattering
is low, whereas a high scattering of distortion complicates the compensation.
The change in bending angles of part 1 is shown in Fig. 6. The standard deviation for the
different measured angles is significantly higher for the water-glycol quenched batch, than for
483
the gas quenched batch. For the changes in bending angles of the gas quenched parts almost
negligible deviations of r0,04 can be observed. In case of water-glycol quenching especially the
angles which are spanned by the line scans 1/4, 2/5 and 3/6 feature high scattering. Under the
assumption that close tolerance bands are required for the bending angles, reworking operations
for the water-glycol quenched parts would be necessary. The narrow scatter bands after gas
quenching allow a prediction of the change in bending angles during heat treatment. This would
offer the possibility of an aimed control of the bending angles especially for serial parts, by an
adaptation of the bending angles in the corresponding forming tool.
1,60
Water-Glycol
1,20
change of angle [ ]
Nitrogen (10 bar)

0,80
0,40
0,00
-0,40
-0,80
-1,20
-1,60
10/12
11/13
1/4
1/7
2/5
2/8
3/6
3/9
Angle
Figure 6: Change of angles of part 1 after quenching
The changes in bending angles of part 2 are pictured in Fig. 7. The angles of the long leg (angles
1/4, 2/5 and 3/6) show lower scatter bands for gas quenching compared to liquid quenching. But
in case of the angles 7/9 and 8/10, remarkably high scatter bands in the same magnitude as after
water-glycol quenching were observed after high-pressure gas quenching. It is assumed, that this
was caused by the gas flow direction regarding this leg. The gas flow during quenching was
directed perpendicular to this leg so that an unhindered flow around the whole part was not
achieved. For this reason the leg can be considered as a flow resistance and the inevitable applied
force of the gas flow may cause the higher scatter bands of these bending angles.
0,80
change of angle [ ]
0,60
0,40
0,20
0,00
-0,20
Water-Glycol
Nitrogen (10 bar)
-0,40
1/4
2/5
3/6
7/9
8/10
Angle
Figure 7: Change of angles of part 2 after quenching
It has to be pointed out, that the heat treatment is not the sole reason for the appearance of
distortion. The quenching process is certainly one important factor for distortion, especially in
case of an inhomogeneous cooling of a part. In fact, it is necessary to consider all manufacturing
steps prior to the heat treatment regarding their potential to cause distortion. The heat treating
484
process itself releases the distortion potential which is accumulated in the workpiece along a
series of operations building the overall manufacturing process. Therefore, the chemical
composition, the microstructure, the component geometry and the residual stress distribution can
be classified as carriers of distortion potential [Hoffmann, 2003, Thoben, 2003]. In case of the
investigated parts, residual stresses occur as a result of the forming process. If the residual
stresses exceed the low yield strength during heating, distortion already occurs during solution
annealing.
Besides residual stresses, which will be induced during prior manufacturing processes, the
quenching step itself also induces residual stresses. Temperature gradients cause plastic
deformation in the components during quenching and thereby residual stresses after quenching.
Residual stresses after water quenching resp. high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar
are shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9.
Fig. 8: Distribution of residual stresses [MPa]

at the surface after quenching and aging
(EN AW-2024-T4; sample 70x75x20;
water 20C)
Fig. 9: Distribution of the residual stresses [MPa]

at the surface after gas quenching and aging
EN AW-2024-T4; sample 70x75x20 mm;
N2 10 (bar)
According to Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the measured compressive residual stresses after high-pressure
gas quenching and aging are within a range of -25 MPa to -50 MPa. Differences between the
measured directions were not observed. The calculated mean value of -28 MPa shows a standard
deviation of 7 MPa. In comparison, after water quenching and aging a significant higher mean
value of approx. 200 MPa with a higher standard deviation of 30 MPa was determined. The
higher compressive residual stresses, as well as the higher standard deviation after water
quenching are the result of the abrupt quenching and the Leidenfrost Phenomenon.
Summary
The determined tensile properties, Webster hardness and the electrical conductivity of the gas
quenched parts of the aluminium alloy 2024cl are at the same level as after a conventional age
hardening with water-glycol quenching. This means, that it is possible to replace a conventional
liquid quenching process by using high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar.
The Leidenfrost Phenomenon during liquid quenching provokes an inhomogeneous cooling and
causes an increased amount of distortion. Besides a higher amount of distortion, higher
compressive residual stresses in a more non-uniform distribution are present. The collapse of the
vapour blanket is different for each part in a liquid quenching batch and therefore leads to larger
scattering of distortion after water-glycol quenching of the tested aluminium parts.
485
The more homogenous high-pressure gas quenching tends to result in closer tolerance bands
especially for the determined changes in angles and flatness as well as in compressive residual
stresses.
The partial perpendicular approaching gas flow in case of part 2 causes higher scattering of
distortion also after gas quenching. It is assumed, that the approaching flow applies a force and
causes a further bending of the affected region of the part.
A lower scattering of distortion is more important than a lower average of distortion. A certain
average of distortion can be compensated by suitable process steps before or after the heat
treatment, if the scattering is low, whereas a high scattering of distortion complicates the
compensation.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Bremer Innovations-Agentur (BIA) and the Senator fuer Wirtschaft und Haefen, Bremen,
Germany for the financial support (AMST P1)
References
Datasheet-2024: ALCOA-Alloy 2024 Sheet and Plate, Mechanical Properties - Alclad 2024-T4 Sheet,
SPD-10-036, http://www.millproducts-alcoa.com/productsandalloys/alloy2024techsheet.pdf; (2005)
Datasheet-6013: ALCOA-Alloy 6013 Sheet, Mechanical Properties - 6013-T6 Sheet, SPD-10-009,
http://www.millproducts-alcoa.com/productsandalloys/alloy6013techsheet.pdf; (2005)
Datasheet-7075: ALCOA-Alloy 7075 Plate and Sheet, Mechanical Properties - 7075-T73 Sheet,
SPD-10-037, http://www.millproducts-alcoa.com/productsandalloys/alloy7075techsheet.pdf; (2005)
Hoffmann, F.; Kessler, O.; Lbben,Th.; Mayr, P.: Proc. of the 4th Intl. Conference on Quenching and Control of
Distortion, Beijing, China, November 22-25 (2003), 317-323
Hoffmann, F.T.; Lbben, T.; Mayr, P.: Heat Treating of Metals, 26 No. 3, 63-67 (1999).
Ikei, C.; Hollis, E.; Furmann, A.; Clark, D.: J. et al. Materials Science Forum, 331-337, 663-668 (2000).
Irretier, A.; Kessler, O.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr, P.: Proc. of the 1st ASM International Surface Engineering and the
13th IFHTSE Congress, Columbus, OH, USA, October 7-10 (2002)
Kessler, O.; Irretier, A.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr P.: Haerterei-Technische-Mitteilungen, 57 116-121 (2002-No.1) 2
Kessler, O.; Irretier, A.; Hoffmann, F.; Mayr P.: Proc. ICAA8, Cambridge, UK, July 2-5, (2002-No.2), 1175- 1180
Thoben K.-D. et al. : Proc. of the 4th Intl. Conference on Quenching and Control of Distortion, Beijing, China,
November 22-25 (2003), 325-323
Totten, G.E.; Webster, G.M.; Bates, C.E.: Industrial Heating, 65 No. 11, 61-66 (1974).
486
487
Quenching Distortion of Aluminium Castings

- Improvement by Gas Cooling
Andrea Rose, Olaf Kessler, Franz Hoffmann, Hans-Werner Zoch
Stiftung Institut fr Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str.3, 28359 Bremen, Germany,
rose@iwt-bremen.de
Abstract
For quenching of age hardenable aluminium alloys today predominantly aqueous quenching media are used, which
can lead due to the Leidenfrost phenomenon to a non-uniform cooling of the parts and thus to distortion. Particularly
at thin-walled or complex shaped parts local plastic deformations can occur by the uneven thermal stresses. In
relation to the conventional quenching procedures in aqueous media, gas quenching exhibits a number of
technological, ecological and economical advantages. The quenching intensity can be adjusted by the variable
parameters gas pressure and gas velocity as well as the kind of gas and thus can be adapted to the requirements of the
part. The distortion behaviour of serial production aluminium parts was researched after high-pressure gas quenching
with nitrogen and after water quenching. Aluminium castings and forgings are considered as interesting applications
of gas quenching, because of their near-net shape before age hardening. Cost savings would be possible, because of
reduced distortion and therefore less reworking.
Keywords
Aluminium alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg, precipitation hardening, gas quenching, distortion behaviour
Introduction
Quench sensitive aluminium alloys require a high cooling rate after solution annealing to avoid
premature precipitation. The supersaturated solid solution of the alloying elements is the
necessary requirement for the formation of fine intermetallic precipitates during ageing, which
improve the mechanical properties. On the other hand cooling should be as slow as possible to
reduce distortion and residual stresses of the part. In order to achieve both requirements, highpressure gas quenching and nozzle field gas quenching offer a high potential to reduce distortion
of the parts.
With high-pressure gas quenching in double-chamber facilities compared to a single-chamber
system, higher quenching rates are possible, because only the batch and not the chamber has to
be cooled down. For this reason higher temperature gradients between batch and quenching gas
exist, which can lead to heat-transfer coefficients of higher than 1000 W/mK [Edenhofer, 1999],
[Hoffmann, 1999], [Wuenning, 1993]. The quenching intensity during high-pressure gas
quenching is strongly dependent on the kind of gas and the used gas pressure and velocity. From
previous research work it is known that helium achieves satisfying results for numerous
aluminium alloys at a gas pressure of 16 bar [Kessler, 2002]. Due to the thermo-physical
properties, helium is a particularly suitable quenching gas, however it is more cost-intensive than
nitrogen.
During single part quenching in a gas nozzle field at ambient pressure, a gas flow well directed
on the part can be achieved. High gas flow rates can be realized by the variation of primary
pressure, number, shape and arrangement of the nozzles [Hoffmann, 1999], [Wuenning, 1993].
With air or nitrogen at ambient pressure heat-transfer coefficients of higher than 1000 W/mK
can be realized, which are situated in the range of the cooling efficiency of oil and salt baths.
Summarizing the state-of-the-art, the basic requirements for gas quenching of aluminium alloys
seem to be fulfilled, but the advantages regarding distortion have not been proven up to now.
488
Experimental
For the determination of mechanical properties, the aluminium cast alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg
(diameter: 22 mm, length: 240 mm) was manufactured in permanent mold casting. Three
different quenching specimen dimensions of 19 x 115 mm; 13 x 80 mm and 7 x 45 mm
have been turned from the castings. The diameters were selected exemplary as possible wall
thicknesses of aluminium cast parts. The distortion behaviour of serial production aluminium
parts was determined at the upper mounting damper of the alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg (permanent mold
casting).
Samples and parts were solution annealed (540C 8h) and quenched by the use of different
quenching methods. The parameters of solution annealing were equal to conventional
precipitation hardening for this alloy and not varied during the investigations. The applied
quenching methods were:
x High-pressure gas quenching
x Nozzle field gas quenching
x Water quenching
Solution annealing and high-pressure gas quenching were realized in a double-chamber vacuum
furnace type IPSEN: RVTC-600x400x400 (fig. 1a). In the side view, the left chamber shows the
heating chamber, in which the cylindrical samples (vertically arranged) and the upper mounting
dampers were solution annealed.
a)
b)
Figure 1: a) Scheme of a double-chamber vacuum furnace IPSEN: RVTC-600x400x400,
b) gas nozzle field with four nozzle rows (each with 12 nozzles, 4 mm)
and a specimen in the centre ( 19 mm)
The solution annealing as well as the transport of the batch into the cooling chamber has taken
place in vacuum. After solution annealing the batch was transported automatically into the
separate cold cooling chamber (fig. 1a, side view, right chamber). High-pressure gas
quenching has been accomplished with nitrogen at 10 bar and helium at 16 bar. The cooling gas
is continuously circulating through the chamber by a fan and has been re-cooled by a heat
exchanger.
Quenching of single parts in a gas nozzle field (fig. 1b) represents a further alternative to the
conventional quenching in liquid media. Solution annealing was realized in a furnace with aircirculation. After solution annealing, the specimens were dropped into the nozzle field and
quenched with nitrogen (8 nm/min, exit velocity approx. 200 m/s) at ambient pressure.
489
3.1
Quenching rate
The cooling rate of the aluminium alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg was determined with thermocouples
( 1.5 mm) in the sample centre during quenching. In figure 2 the cooling rates are pictured for
the sample diameter of 7 mm. Starting from the solution annealing temperature of 540C,
samples quenched with nitrogen at 10 bar achieve a maximum cooling rate of approx. 40 K/s.
Helium quenched samples at 16 bar achieve a maximum cooling rate of approx. 110 K/s. The
higher quenching intensity of helium compared to nitrogen is due to the better thermo-physical
properties and the higher pressure.
600
nitrogen 10 bar
500
temperature [C]
helium 16 bar *
400
water 20C
300
nozzle field 8nm/min
200
100
0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
quenching rate [K/s]
Figure 2: Quenching rates of Al-7Si-0.3Mg in the centre of sample diameter 7 mm for different
quenching media, *: measured in a comparable quenching chamber (RVTC-550-550-310)
Gas nozzle field quenching with nitrogen by a volume rate of 8 nm/min is leading to maximum
quenching rates of approx. 80 K/s. The maximum quenching rate in water (20C with agitation)
achieves clearly higher values than gas quenching. The characteristics of two maxima up to
300 K/s are due to the Leidenfrost phenomenon. This inhomogeneous cooling curve, which
further differs locally in the component, demonstrates the disadvantages of liquid quenching
regarding distortion.
3.2
Ageing behaviour
According to the results of previous work [Kessler, 2002], the ageing behaviour after gas
quenching was determined by the investigation of hardness in dependence of ageing time at
160C. Ageing of the samples has taken place without natural ageing directly after quenching.
As demonstrated in figure 3, the ageing behaviour of the alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg was determined for
high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar and for water quenching (20C with
agitation). The Vickers hardness HV10 was measured in dependence of ageing time from 6 to
48 h at 160C.
No influence of the sample diameter on the hardness was detected in the investigated range of
7 to 19 mm. The cooling rates of all quenching methods are sufficiently for all diameters
up to 19 mm. The hardness of the nitrogen quenched samples increases till an ageing time of
16 h. In comparison the hardness of water quenched samples is nearly constant over the ageing
time between 6 and 48 h.
490
Vickers hardness [HV10]
130
water quenching 20C
gas quenching nitrogen 10 bar
125
120
115
110
105
100
6h
95
16h
90
1
10
ageing time [h]
100
Figure 3: Ageing behaviour of Al-7Si-0.3Mg at 160C

It could be demonstrated that for the aluminium cast alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg an ageing time of 16 h
at 160C after gas quenching leads to similar hardness values as an ageing time of 6 h at 160C
after conventional water quenching. Therefore ageing of 160C 6 h or 16 h was chosen for water
and gas quenching respectively.
3.3
Tensile properties
After ageing of the quenching samples, five tensile specimens have been turned from each
quenching method and each diameter corresponding to DIN 50125-Form B. From the diameters
of 7, 13 and 19 mm the tensile specimens B4 x 20 mm, B8 x 40 mm and B12 x 60 mm were
manufactured. The tensile properties of the alloy Al-Si7-0.3Mg T6 (T6 = solution annealed +
quenched + artificially aged) did not significantly depend on the diameter in the investigated
range of 7 to 19 mm. Exemplary results of sample diameter 7 mm are pictured in figure 4.
After conventional heat treatment with water quenching as well as after gas quenching, the yield
strengths of all diameters exceeded the minimum value of 210 MPa according to DIN EN 1706,
whereby the yield strengths after water and gas quenching are nearly similar. The tensile
strengths after age hardening with water and gas quenching for the three diameters also reached
the minimum value of 290 MPa according to DIN EN 1706. The minimum values of 4%
elongation, which are required by DIN EN 1706 can be attained for diameters up to 13 mm. The
lower elongation of 2 to 3% for the 19 mm samples is not due to the gas quenching, because the
elongation after water quenching 19 mm also does not reach 4%.
491
350
301 298 299
Rp0,2 ; Rm [MPa] ; A [%]
300
250
250 247 251 249

210
310
290
nitrogen 10 bar
helium 16 bar
nozzle field 8m/min
water 20C agitation
minimum EN 1706
200
150
100
50
5
0
Rp0,2
Rm
Figure 4: Tensile properties of Al-7Si-0.3Mg T6 with a sample diameter of 7 mm,

depending on the quenching method
3.4
Distortion behaviour
The distortion behaviour of serial production aluminium parts was determined at permanent
mold casted upper mounting dampers of the aluminium alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg (fig. 5) after gas
quenching and after water quenching. The upper mounting dampers were measured by a
coordinate measurement machine (CMM) and then solution annealed at 540C for 8 h, highpressure gas quenched with nitrogen at 10 bar and water quenched at 20C with agitation
respectively (each with five components). After quenching and approx. 20 h temperature
equalisation at room temperature in the laboratory, several geometrical elements were measured
a second time. Subsequently all parts were aged at 160C for 16 h and again temperature
equalised for 10 h at room temperature in the laboratory before they were measured a third time.
The necessary temperature equalisation for CMM before ageing demands a longer ageing time
(16 h) after water quenching compared to the tensile samples (6 h) investigated before. It has
been proven, that a comparable hardness was achieved after water quenching + natural ageing +
160C 16 h.
Figure 5: Batch of upper mounting dampers (high-pressure gas quenching)
From the differences of geometrical measurements before and after heat treatment, distortion
after quenching respectively after ageing can be calculated. E.g. changes of flatness (large plane,
492
reinforcing rib, fig. 6), angles (tip of plane, fig. 6) and roundness (circle, fig. 6) describe the
distortion behaviour of this part.
Figure 6: CMM measuring elements of the upper mounting damper, Al-7Si-0.3Mg
0,3
0,6
0,2
0,4
0,1
0
-0,1
nitrogen 10 bar min-max
-0,2
change of angle []
change of flatness [mm]
The flatness changes of the large plane of the upper mounting damper as well as the angle
changes of the tip of the large plane after quenching with nitrogen compared to water quenching
and after ageing are shown in figure 7. The inclination of the tip of the large plane is
characterised by the normal vector of the tip.
0,2
0
-0,2
-0,4
water 20C min-max

average value
-0,6
-0,3
after
quenching
a)
after
quenching
after
ageing
after
ageing
b)
Figure 7: a) Flatness change of the large plane, b) angle change of the tip of the plane
of the upper mounting damper (Al-7Si-0.3Mg) after gas quenching compared to water quenching
The flatness of the large plane amounted about 0.4 mm in the casted state. The parts after water
quenching show flatness changes of the large plane in a range of about 0.2 mm (fig. 7a).
Compared to water quenching the range of flatness changes after gas quenching is lower, about
0.1 mm. Compensation of distortion is possible if the scatter is low. Furthermore the average
flatness change of the large plane of gas quenched parts is lower than the average flatness change
of water quenched parts. After ageing the ranges of flatness changes almost persist, the
substantial deformations were measured after quenching.
493
After gas quenching and ageing the range of angle changes of the plane tip is clearly lower than
after water quenching and ageing (fig. 7b). The changes of angle after water quenching are in a
range of about 0.7 compared to the changes of angle after nitrogen quenching in a range of less
than 0.4.
Figure 8 presents the flatness changes of the reinforcing rib and the change of roundness of the
circle of the upper mounting damper after gas and water quenching.
0,12
0,12
water 20C min-max
change of flatness [mm]
0,08
average value
0,04
0
-0,04
-0,08
change of roundness [mm]
nitrogen 10 bar min-max

0,08
0,04
0
-0,04
-0,08
-0,12
-0,12
after
quenching
a)
after
quenching
after
ageing
after
ageing
b)
Figure 8: a) Flatness change of the reinforcing rib, b) roundness change of the circle
of the upper mounting damper (Al-7Si-0.3Mg) after gas quenching compared to water quenching
In case of water quenching the scatter of flatness changes of the reinforcing rib is clearly higher
than after gas quenching (fig. 8a). In addition the average flatness change of water quenched
parts is higher than the average flatness change after gas quenching.
The roundness of the circle of the upper mounting damper amounted about 0.2 mm in the casted
state. The range of the changes of roundness with both quenching methods is similar (fig. 8b),
but the average roundness change of water quenched parts is higher than after gas quenching.
The lower scattering of flatness change (fig. 8a) and angle change (fig. 7b) of nitrogen quenched
parts after ageing compared to water quenched parts will be examined in further investigations.
Summary
The mechanical properties and the distortion behaviour of the aluminium cast alloy Al-7Si0.3Mg T6 after gas- and water-quenching were investigated.
At cylindrical samples with different diameters of 7 mm, 13 mm and 19 mm the cooling rates in
the core were measured after solution annealing for different quenching media. In comparison to
the conventional water quenching with maximum cooling rates of approx. 300 K/s, high-pressure
gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar and helium at 16 bar reached maximum cooling rates of
approx. 40 K/s and 110 K/s respectively. The quenching rate measured in a gas nozzle field with
nitrogen by a volume rate of 8 nm/min is leading to maximum quenching rates of approx.
80 K/s. But the cooling rates during gas quenching were more homogeneous compared to water
quenching.
494
For the characterisation of mechanical properties after age hardening of Al-7Si-0.3Mg T6 tensile
tests were performed. After gas quenching and adapted ageing time comparable mechanical
properties could be achieved as after conventional water quenching and ageing. The mechanical
properties of the samples after high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar, with helium
at 16 bar and in the nozzle field with nitrogen at a volume rate of 8 nm/min are nearly similar
and reached the minimum values according DIN EN 1706. In a sample diameter range from 7 to
19 mm no significant dependence of hardness and tensile properties on the sample diameter
could be determined.
Distortion measurements of various geometrical elements of serial production aluminium parts
(Al-7Si-0.3Mg T6 upper mounting damper, permanent mold casting) have shown advantages of
high-pressure gas quenching with nitrogen at 10 bar. Lower scatter and averages of characteristic
shape and angle changes were observed compared to water quenching. Summarizing, the
conditions for successful gas quenching of the cast alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg components are given.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen AiF and the
Bundesministerium fr Wirtschaft und Arbeit BMWA for financial support of this work (AiF-project 13959) and the
Fachausschuss 24 der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wrmebehandlung und Werkstofftechnik AWT for advising the work.
References
Edenhofer B. An Overview of Advances in Atmosphere and Vacuum Heat Treatment. Heat Treatment of Metals,
1999, 26: 1-5.
Hoffmann F T, Lbben T and Mayr P. Innovations in Quenching Systems and Equipment: Current Status and
Future Developments. Heat Treatment of Metals, 1999, 26(3): 63-67
Kessler O, Irretier A, Hoffmann F and Mayr P. Zukunftspotential der Hochdruck-Gasabschreckung beim
Ausscheidungshrten von Aluminiumlegierungen. Hrterei- Technische Mitteilungen, 2002, 57: 116-122
Wnning J. Einzelhrtung von Serienteilen in Gasdsenformen. Hrterei-Technische Mitteilungen, 1993, 48(3):
199-204
495
Study and modelling of microstructural

evolutions and thermomechanical behaviour
during the tempering of steel
Yunning Wang, Benoit Appolaire, Sabine Denis, Pierre Archambault, Bernard
Dussoubs
LSG2M, UMR 7584 CNR-INPL-UHP, Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Parc de Saurupt,
54042 Nancy, France, {Yunning.Wang, Sabine.Denis}@mines.inpl-nancy.fr
Abstract
A model for the evolution of microstructures and flow stress during the tempering of low alloyed steels has
been developed. The competitive precipitations of epsilon carbide and cementite are simulated. The results
are used to calculate the flow stress of the tempered martensite by a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic law that takes
into account solid solution, dislocation and precipitate hardenings. The model is applied to a 80MnCr5 steel
and the calculated results are compared with the experimental ones.
Keywords
Tempering, H carbide, Cementite, Precipitation, Thermomechanical behaviour
1.
Introduction
The tempering process may have two main objectives: on one hand to get the
microstructures that lead to service mechanical properties and, on the other hand, to
promote the relaxation of the residual stresses generated during quenching. A better
control of this process can be achieved through numerical simulation that requires two
main steps: firstly, the study and the modelling of the microstructural evolutions during
tempering and their consequences on the thermomechanical behaviour of the material at
the scale of a volume element without gradients. Secondly, these models must be included
in a finite element numerical simulation at the scale of a massive specimen (with thermal
gradients) in order to predict the residual stresses after tempering.
In this paper, we present the results at the scale of the volume element. The models for the
precipitation of carbides and the thermomechanical behaviour during tempering of
martensite are described first. A complete experimental study of the metallurgical and
thermomechanical behaviour of a 80MnCr5 steel during tempering has been associated
with the modelling work. We present here some of the experimental results, focusing on
the comparison with the calculated results.
2.
Modelling of microstructural evolutions
A model describing the precipitation during the tempering of martensite including

nucleation, growth and coarsening processes of the carbides (transition carbides as well as
cementite) has been already developed for Fe-C alloys [Wang, 2004]. This model has been
further improved by taking into account the effects of the alloying elements [Wang, 2005].
Our model is based on the models by Kampmann and Wagner [Kampman, 1984] and
Myhr and Grong [Myhr, 2000]. The nucleation rates are described by the classical
nucleation theory. For H carbide (metastable carbide with composition Fe2.4C),
496
homogeneous nucleation is assumed. Furthermore we have taken into account the

contribution of the coherent elastic strain energy to the nucleation driving force. For
cementite, which composition is obtained with the ThermoCalc software, heterogeneous
nucleation is considered.
The growth rates are calculated using the Laplace approximation for the diffusion fields of
the alloying elements, and considering the Gibbs-Thomson effect. In addition for H carbide,
the effect of elastic energy on the carbide composition is taken into account. For H carbide,
only carbon diffusion is considered. For cementite, we assume that local equilibrium holds
at the precipitate/matrix interface. These equilibrium conditions are described by a
solubility product (calculated with ThermoCalc). The main results of this model are, at
each time step (either in isothermal or continuous heating conditions), the volume
fractions of precipitate, the size distributions, the mean sizes of the precipitates and the
chemical composition of the solid solution.
3.
Modelling of the thermomechanical behaviour
3.1
Behaviour law of the material
In the literature, models can be found which predict the yield stress of tempered martensite
by taking into account the hardening effects due to different elements of the
microstructure (precipitates, dislocations) [Young, 1994]. But these models apply only
to the yield stress at room temperature. For our purpose, we need a model able to describe
the behaviour of the steel in the whole range of temperatures covered during tempering.
By the way, it must take into account not only the effect of microstructure, but also the
effects of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical behaviours.
So, we have used an additive thermo-elasto-viscoplastic behaviour law with isotropic
hardening [Lemaitre, 1988] to describe the flow stress of tempered martensite:
0 H P K P
1/ m
(1)
where V0 is the threshold stress, H the strain hardening constant, HP the plastic strain, K the
x
viscous hardening constant, P the plastic strain rate, and n, m are constants.
Generally, V0, H, K, n and m are temperature and microstructure dependent. In our
approach, we have assumed that microstructural evolutions affect only the threshold stress
but not the strain hardening and the viscous stress. Thus, the threshold stress varies with
both the microstructure and the deformation temperature; and the other parameters are
only dependent on the deformation temperature.
The terms in equation (1) are determined from the experimental stress-strain curves by
using an optimization procedure in the software ZeBuLoN [Besson, 1998], and V0 is
calculated as described in the following section.
3.2
Coupling with the precipitation
The threshold stress of tempered martensite can be expressed as the sum of different
hardening contributions:
0
Fe C SS P Dis
(2)
where VFe is the friction stress in pure Fe, VC the solid solution hardening due to carbon
atoms, VSS the hardening due to the substitutional solid solution atoms, VP the hardening
due to the precipitates, and VDis the hardening due to dislocations or martensite laths and
grain boundaries.
497
The value of VFe found in the literature at room temperature shows a large dispersion
[Smith, 1977], [Naylor, 1979], [Young, 1994], and varies from 13MPa to 218MPa
probably due to the grain size effect. We have used the experimental data from Liebaut
[Liebaut, 1988] for ferrite at high temperature to obtain the following expression:
Fe
78 0.023 u T (MPa)
(3)
K X C (MPa)
(4)
where T is the absolute temperature.

The VC is calculated as [Dilip, 2001]:
C
where is the shear modulus; K has been calculated from the data of [Speich, 1968] as
K=0.0167; XC is the molar fraction of carbon in the matrix that is calculated by the
microstructural model.
Concerning the other elements in solid solution, their contributions are generally assumed
proportional to their concentrations [Beranger, 1994]. For the steel considered in this
study (80MnCr5), the contributions of Cr and Mn to the yield stress are nearly inverse
according to [Constant, 1986]. So, we have assumed VSS=0 MPa.
The hardening contribution of precipitates depends on the interaction mechanism between
dislocations and precipitates, either shear or by-passing. The strengthening by shear is
expressed as [Dechamps, 1999]:
P
K 1 f V Rm ,
K1
0.02 M / b (MPa)
(5)
where fV is the volume fraction of precipitates, Rm the precipitate mean radius that are
predicted by the microstructural model. M is the Taylor factor and b the Burgers vector.
The strengthening by by-passing is written as:
P
K2
f V / Rm ,
K2
0.6Mb (MPa)
(6)
The transition between shear and by-passing occurs for a radius estimated as 10b [Brown,
1971].
The contribution due to the dislocations can be calculated by [Friedel, 1964]:
Dis
b (MPa)
(7)
where U is the dislocation density in the matrix, and D a coefficient that may depend on
temperature and strain rate [Kocks, 1985]. It is usually about 1/3 at room temperature
[Dieter, 1988]. In our calculation, D is adjusted as:
0.4 4.42 u 10 4 u T
(8)
where T is the absolute temperature.

During the tempering, recovery occurs in the martensite. The evolution of the dislocation
density can be estimated by [Hou, 1989]:
d
dt
C exp(Q / R g T )
(9)
where C is a constant, U the dislocation density, Q the activation energy for the moving of
defaults (134kJ/mol, the value for the pipe diffusion of iron atoms along dislocations is
used here [Gjostein, 1973]), T the absolute temperature, Rg the gas constant, and t the
tempering time.
498
By integrating equation (9), we obtain:
exp C1 exp Q / Rg T )t C 2
(10)
The constants C1, C2 have been estimated from the literature data [Hou, 1989], [Hoffmann,
1997]: C1= -2.1u10- 4 and C2= 36.84.
4.
4.1
Application to 80MnCr5 steel

Experimental procedure
The material studied is a 80MC5 steel (0.8C-1.25Mn-1.25Cr). All the samples have been
austenitized at 880C for 1 hour and quenched by gas (helium) in order to obtain a
martensitic transformation, and then cooled in liquid N2 to transform the retained austenite.
The final amount of the retained austenite is about 5%.
The tempering kinetics have been measured in isothermal conditions and during
continuous heating by dilatometry. The tests have been carried out on an in-house
dilatometer on cylindrical samples (outer diameter 4mm, inner diameter 3mm, length
30mm) under vacuum. The isothermal tests have been performed at temperatures ranging
from 100C to 600C and for holding times of 30s to 4h (heating rate was 50C/s). After
the isothermal tempering, the samples have been analysed by TEM to get the precipitate
sizes (about 200 particles for each measurement) and the matrix chemical composition (by
EDAX). For the continuous heating tests, the heating rates ranged from 10C/min to
50C/s up to 600C.
For getting the mechanical behaviour during tempering, tensile tests have been performed
in the in-house thermomechanical simulator DITHEM on samples with 3mm in diameter
and 20mm gauge length. The tensile tests have been done on one hand, at different
tempering temperatures (heating rate was 10C/s, ranging from 250C to 600C) after
different holding times (from 5min to 4 hours), and two deformation rates (10-3s-1, 10-4s-1)
have been used in order to quantify the viscous effects. On the other hand, tensile tests
have been performed at room temperature after tempering (above mentioned tempering
conditions). All the results will be discussed thoroughly in [Wang, 2005]. Hereafter, we
have chosen to present only the results for tempering at 500C.
4.2
Comparison between experimental and simulation results
The results are discussed first for the microstructural evolution (Fig. 1) and then for the
mechanical behaviour (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) for a tempering treatment at 500C characterized
with a heating rate of 10C/s and different holding times at 500C.
Microstructure evolutions
From the dilatometric test (Fig.1a), the experimental precipitation kinetics of H carbide and
cementite have been obtained [Aubry, 1997]. The calculated results are reported too on
figure 1b. ( Note that they have been normalized to the maximum volume fractions formed
(9% for H carbides and 12% for cementite) (Fig. 1c)). They show, as the experimental ones,
that the precipitation of H carbides is the first to proceed and is approximately finished
when the cementite precipitation occurs. It should be underlined that nucleation and
growth of H carbide and cementite start simultaneously (driving force is available for both
processes) but rates for cementite are much slower than for H carbide. The calculated
results show too that H carbide dissolution in the matrix is concomitant with the
precipitation of cementite (Fig. 1c).
499
It can been seen that the calculation overestimates the precipitation beginning
temperatures and the transformation rates of cementite, and to a lower extent those of H
carbides (Fig.1b). This can be attributed to the model assumptions and parameters: on one
hand, the interface and elastic strain energies (for H-carbide) that affect strongly the
nucleation rates; on the other hand the overestimation of the diffusion coefficients since
their dependencies with the concentrations of alloying elements are not taken into account.
The calculation gives also the evolution of the matrix chemical composition (Fig. 1d). The
carbon content decreases as soon as H carbides precipitate. As the mean composition of the
matrix becomes lower than their equilibrium composition, H carbides dissolve. During the
precipitation of the alloyed cementite (Fe, Cr, Mn)3C, Cr and Mn contents decrease and
remain approximately constant at their equilibrium values once the precipitation is
finished.
1
0,6
0,5
0,8
0,4
0,6
0,3
0,4
0,2
H carbide cal.
cementite cal.
0,2
0,1
H carbide, exp.
cementite, exp.
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0,15
200
300
400
500
600
0,04
Temperature
C, Cal.
Cr, Cal.
Mn,Cal.
Cr, Exp.
Mn,Exp.
0,035
500
0,03
0,1
700
Temperature (C)
600
Epsilon
Cementite
100
Temperature (C)
400
0,025
300
0,05
0,02
0,015
200
0,01
100
0,005
0
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
0
1
10
Time (s)
1 10-8
critical radius
mean radius
100
1000
104
600
1 10-7
500
8 10-8
105
Time (s)
Temperature
8 10-9
critical radius, cal.

mean radius, cal.
radius, exp.
400
6 10-8
6 10-9
300
4 10-8
4 10-9
200
2 10-9
2 10-8
100
0
0
20
40
60
Time (s)
80
0
100
0
1
10
100
1000
Time (s)
104
105
Figure 1 Evolution of microstructure during the heating and holding at 500C

(a) Dilatometric curve during heating (b) Kinetics of precipitations for H carbide and cementite (c)
Volume fractions of H carbide and cementite (d) Matrix composition
(e) Critical radius and mean radius of H carbide (f) Critical radius and mean radius of cementite
500
We can see that the measured Cr and Mn are higher than the calculated ones. This may be
explained by some experimental errors, in particular because the measured zone in the
matrix may contain some small precipitates.
Figure 2 Morphology of the particles of cementite after a tempering at 500C

(a) 1 hour
b) 4 hours
Figures 1e and 1f give respectively the evolutions versus time of the mean radii and
critical radii of H carbide and cementite. It can be seen that the coarsening of H carbide is
predicted to occur between 25s and 40s (after nucleation and growth between 0 and 25s
and before dissolution at about 40s). For cementite (Fig.1f), our model predicts that the
coarsening leads to a mean particle size of 90nm after holding at 500C for 4 hours. The
calculated sizes fit relatively well with the TEM measurements.
Figure 2 shows clearly the morphology and size evolutions for tempering at 500C
respectively for 1h and 4 hours.
Thermomechanical behaviour
As already mentioned, our methodology consists first in identifying the parameters V0, H,
n, K, and m of the mechanical behaviour law as well as Youngs modulus E. For the
tensile tests performed at tempering temperature after different holding times, the
parameters H, n, K, m and E depend on temperature, and V0 depends on tempering
temperature and holding time. According to our assumption, for the tensile tests at room
temperature, H and n are constants and V0 depends too on tempering conditions
(temperature and time). At room temperature, the viscous effects have been neglected.
The stress-strain curves at room temperature after tempering at 500C for holding times
ranging from 5min to 4h (Fig. 3a) show, as expected, a decrease of the flow stress when
the holding time increases due to the microstructural evolutions. The calculated curves,
with the parameters determined above, fit well the experimental curves (the maximum
difference is about 6%). In order to highlight the viscous effects at high tempering
temperatures, figure 3b shows the measured stress-strain curves at 500C after the holding
time of one hour for two deformation rates 10-3s-1 and 10-4s-1. We can see again a good
agreement between the calculated and experimental curves. We should mention that
considering all the results, larger discrepancies of about 10% are generally observed for
the tests at higher temperatures.
In a second step, the threshold stress V0 has been calculated including the different
hardening contributions and compared to the V0 obtained from the identifications above.
Figure 4 shows the results during either heating and holding at 500C (Fig.4a), and at
room temperature after tempering (Fig. 4b).
We can see that the contributions of the original martensite to V0 are mainly the
dislocations hardening and the carbon solid solution hardening. During the tempering
501
process (Fig. 4a), as expected, the dislocations hardening decreases with the increase of
temperature. As the precipitation of coherent H carbides proceeds, an increase of the
precipitate hardening contribution is observed that leads to a small increase of V0. Then a
rapid decrease of the carbon solid solution hardening as well as the growth of the
incoherent cementite particles lead to a large decrease of V0. When the holding
temperature of 500C is reached the variations of V0 are smaller due to the smaller
variations of the different hardening contributions with time.
At room temperature, the variations of V0 can be linked in the same way to the variations
of the hardening contributions. It comes out from the model that the relatively large
decrease of V0 that occurs after tempering at 500C for durations larger than 1 hour is
mainly due to the decrease of the dislocation density. We can notice a good agreement
between the identified V0 and the calculated one at both high and room temperatures.
1500
800
-3 -1
Strain rate=10 s
Holding at 500C, 1hour
700
600
1000
500
400
5min, Sim.
5min, Exp.
1h, Sim.
1h, Exp.
2h, Sim.
2h, Exp.
4h, Sim.
4h, Exp.
500
300
10-3s-1, Sim.
-3 -1
200
10 s , Exp.
-4 -1
10 s , Sim.
100
10-4s-1, Exp.
0,005
0,01
0,015
0,005
Strain
0,01
0,015
Strain
Figure 3 Comparisons between the stress-strain curves measured and simulated by ZeBuLoN
(a ) Tensile tests at room temperature b) Tensile tests at 500C by different strain rates
1000
600
1200
500
1000
400
800
300
600
200
400
100
200
V , Cal.
0
Temperature
800
V
V
V
600
V
V
Fe
0
200
0
10
100
1000
Time (s)
10
Fe
V ,Sim.
V , Sim.
Dis
VC
400
VC
V , Cal.
0
dis
10
10
100
1000
10
10
Time (s)
Figure 4 Threshold stresses of tempered martensite identified by ZeBuLoN (Sim.) and

calculated by the model (Cal.) with the different hardening contributions
after heating or holding for different time at 500C
(a ) Tensile tests at the actual tempering temperature
b) Tensile tests at room temperature
5.
Conclusions
A model to predict the evolutions of the microstructure and the thermomechanical

behaviour of low alloyed steels during the tempering process has been developed. It
allows to predict the precipitation kinetics of H carbide and cementite, the sizes of the
502
precipitates, the matrix composition and the flow stress of the steel using a thermo-elastoviscoplastic behaviour law that includes the solute, precipitate and dislocation hardening
mechanisms.
From the comparison with the experimental results for a 80MnCr5 steel, it comes out that
the model predicts well the mean sizes of the precipitates for the different tempering
conditions, despite some discrepancies on the global kinetics of precipitation. The
evolutions of the flow stress of the steel are also correctly predicted in the range where
experimental results are available. Finally, the main interest of the model is its ability to
quantify the hardening contributions of the microstructural evolutions.
The model is presently implemented into the finite element software ZeBuLoN in order to
predict the evolutions during tempering of the residual stress states generated by
quenching of steel parts.
Acknowledgements
Support from the French program SIMULFORGE is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Branger: Le Livre de lAcier, Technique & Documentation-Lavoisier, Paris, 1994.
Besson, Riche, Foerch, Cailletaud: Object-Oriented Programming Applied to Finite Element Method, Revue
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Constant, Henry: Les Principes de Base du Traitement Thermique des Aciers, PYC-Edition, Paris, 1986.
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503
Index
Acht, C. 251
Aldanondo, M. 39
Amano, K. 447
Ament, Ch. 375
Andersch, Ch. 49
Appolaire, B. 495
Archambault, P. 495
Arimoto, K. 203, 425
Bahnsen, Ch. 235
Barbe, F. 149
Bariani, P. F. 357
Belkessam, O. 397
Bellot, J. P. 437
Bhm, M. 141, 315, 337
Brandner, M. 365
Brinksmeier, E. 167, 185
Bruschi, S. 175, 357
Brzoza, M. 397
Buchmayr, B. 365
Carter, M.D. 213
Casotto, S. 357
Chaffotte, F. 437
Clausen, B. 75, 235, 251
Cui, Ch. 83
Dal Negro, T. 175
Dalgic, M. 325, 337, 347
Denis, S. 437, 495
Dickinger, N. 65
Dijkman, M. 375
Dolatta, G. 479
Douce, J. F. 437
Dussoubs, B. 495
Egner-Walter, A. 159
Ehlers, M. 49, 261, 289
Fiderer, M. 289
Franz, C. 281
Frerichs. F. 11, 415

Fritsching, U. 83, 389, 397, 471
Fuchizawa, S. 307
Funatani, K. 125
Garcia-Sobolevski, E. 159
Gebauer-Teichmann, A. 159
Gibmeier, J. 159
Goch, G. 95, 375
Gouhinec, F. 437
Gr, C. H. 407
Gttler, J. 261
Kopylow von, Ch. 115

Kreis, Th. 115
Kubo, T. 447
Lamesle, P. 39, 437
Landek, D. 415
Lane, St. 23
Lser, K. 105
Lwisch, G. 325, 337, 347
Lbben, Th. 11, 269, 281, 397,
415
Ltjens, J. 269, 281, 289
Habedank, G. 381
Hepp, E. 159
Herzog, R. 159
Heuer, V. 105, 269
Hippenstiel, F. 57
Hoffmann, F. 49, 75, 195, 235,
251, 415, 479, 487
Horino, T. 203, 425
Hunkel, M. 389
Mikami, Y. 447, 453

Mochizuki, M. 447, 453
Morikage, Y. 447, 453
Moshagen, Th. 141
Mller, J. 115
Ichitani, K. 133
Ikuta, F. 203, 425
Inoue, T. 133
Irretier, A. 479
Ohland, J. 397
Okamura, K. 133
Jin, C. 203, 425

Jones, K.T. 213
Ju, D-Y. 133
Jung, M. 23
Jptner, W. 115
Kanamori, H. 133
Kessler, O. 11, 195, 479, 487
Klein, D. 31
Kobasko, N. 461
Kogawara, M. 307
Kohlmann, R. 75, 83
Knig, F. 269
Narazaki, M. 133, 307, 425

Newsome, M.R. 213
Nowag, L. 11, 31, 185
Pellegrino, G. 437
Pieper, O. 479
Pretorius, Th. 381
Prinz, Ch. 11, 75
Quey, R. 149
Raberger, R. 365
Rath, J. 337
Redl, C. 65
Rentsch, R. 167
Rose, A. 487
Sackmann, T. 11, 167
Schmidt, A. 141, 315
504
Schmidt, R. 471
Schneider, R. 65
Scholtes, B. 159
Schulz, A. 83
Schulze, V. 269, 289
Schttenberg, S. 389
Schtzenhfer, W. 65
Schwarzer, J. 261
Schweiger, H. 65
Shichino, H. 133
Shirayori, A. 307
Siller, I. 65
imir, C. 407
Sjblom, U. 23
Slter, J. 185
Souza de Cursi, E. 149
Specht, E. 397
Stark, E. 159
Stoebener, D. 95
Streicher, F. 281
Suhr, B. 141
Surm, H. 11, 195
Vareilles, E. 39
Taleb, L. 149, 299

Tamura, S. 203, 425
Targa, M. 175
Thoben, K.-D. 31
Thuvander, A. 243
Toyoda, M. 447, 453
Trapp, N. 269, 281, 289
Walter, A. 187
Wang, Y. 495
Watanabe, Y. 133
Woitschig, J. 381
Wolff, M. 141, 315, 337
Verdure, A. 299
Vogel, M. 281
Volkmuth, J. 23
Vollertsen, F. 381
Yasuda, K. 447
Zoch, H.-W. 3, 11, 49, 75,
195, 235, 251, 389, 415, 479, 487
505
506

Distortion Engineering For Metals

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IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Jiansheng Pan (China)

Local Organizing Committee

Jens Slter (IWT Bremen)

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Support of Organizations and Journals for

VWT Vereniging voor Warmtebehandelingstechniek (Netherlands and Belgium)

x HTM - Carl Hanser Verlag, Mnchen (Germany)

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Experimental study of distortion phenomena in manufacturing chaines.

Using indicators to describe distortion along a process chain.

Session 2: Mechanical design and steel making

Metallurgical and production-related protocols to reduce heat-treatment distortion in the

Session 3: Steel making

Spray forming of homogenous 20MnCr5 steel of low distortion potential.

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Session 4: Metrology of distortion related processes

Visualisation and experimental determination of local heat transfer coefficients in high

Noncontacting measurement of distortion by digital holographic interferometry.

Session 5: Modelling and simulation

Recent development of heat treating simulation in Japan.

FE determination of the effective TRIP during diffusive transformation in a volume with

Session 6: Casting and forming

Consideration of core segregations on the formability of bearing steel.

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Session 7: Machining and heating

Manufacturing residual stress states in heat treatment simulation of bearing rings.

Explanation on origin of distortion in induction hardened ring specimens by computer

Influence of carburising on distortion behaviour.

Simulation of the distortion of 20MnCr5 parts after asymmetrical carburization.

Session 9: Heat treatment simulation of complex geometries

Determination of input data for the simulation of case hardening .

Case hardening simulation of complex components by use of abstraction.

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Simulation of case hardening of complex components by use of a construction kit.

Session 10: Modelling - general aspects

Modelling of steel phenomena and its interactions - an internal-variable approach.

11. Modelling - transformation plasticity

Transformation plasticity at different phase transformation of a bearing steel.

Experimental investigation of transformation plasticity in 42CD4 steel.

Session 12: Compensation of distortion

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Controlling of distortion by means of quenching in adapted jet fields.

Session 13: Quenching

Prediction of Distortion of Cylinders without Phase Transformations.

Verification of distortion characteristics in water quenched cylinders by computer simulation.

Coupled numerical model for gas quenching and experimental validation.

Session 14: Welding and Intensive Quenching

Numerical simulation of welding distortions of T-joints with low-temperature transformation

New ways of decreasing distortion using intensive quenching technologies.

Session 15: Quenching and tempering

IDE 2005, Germany, September 14th - 16th, 2005

Quenching distortion of aluminium castings - improvement by gas cooling.

Study and modelling of microstructural evolutions and thermomechanical behaviour during

IDE 2005, Bremen, Germany, September 14th 16th, 2005

1. System-oriented approach to distortion

IDE 2005, Bremen, Germany, September 14th 16th, 2005

IDE 2005, Bremen, Germany, September 14th 16th, 2005

From Single Production Step to Entire Process

Introduction and Motivation

200 250 300