Inverse Heat Flux Problem in Quenching

Abstract

The quenching process is an important heat treatment method used to improve material properties. However, the heat transfer during quenching is particularly difficult to analyze and predict. To collect temperature data, quench probes have been used in controlled quenching experiments. The process of determination of the heat flux at the surface from the measured temperature data is the Inverse Heat Conduction Problem (IHCP), which is extremely sensitive to measurement errors. This paper reports on an experimental and theoretical study of quenching which is carried out to determine the surface heat flux history during a quenching process by an IHCP algorithm. The inverse heat conduction algorithm is applied to experimental data from a quenching experiment. The surface heat flux is then calculated, and the theoretical curve is compared with experimental results.