Heat treating of different details is a traditional area of Research at CIT. It includes analysis of coupled electromagnetic and thermal phenomena during induction heating of steels and other materials, methods of computer simulation, material properties required for simulation and development of new processes and their tests in laboratory. In recent years, we conducted a study of stress and Deformation evolution in processes of induction hardening of different parts in close cooperation with Dante Solutions. This study ranged from initial analysis of coupled electromagnetic, thermal, structural and mechanical phenomena in bodies of simple geometry to simulation of stress and deformation dynamics in the axle shafts throughout the whole process of manufacturing and service performance. Dana Corporation also participated in this study, the results of which were presented in several publications.
What Fluxtrol brings to a heat treating problem
The Centre for Induction Technology (CIT) pairs research with production experience. For heat treating customers that means three things: understanding the physics of the heating, being able to predict it with simulation, and proving it in the laboratory. The same capabilities support coil design and the computer simulation services .
Stress and deformation work
Induction heating produces a very different temperature evolution than furnace heating, and therefore different stresses, which can help service properties or reduce strength and even cause cracks. Fluxtrol’s published method couples simulation across disciplines:
- ELTA or Flux calculates the electromagnetic power density in the part.
- Dante predicts temperature distribution, phase transformations, stress state and deformation during heating and quenching.
- Cases include induction case hardening of tube, and a full-float truck axle with dwell heating of the flange and scan hardening of the shaft and spline.
The full-float axle paper names Greg Fett among the authors; Fluxtrol’s simulation page notes Dana’s chief metallurgist took part to validate results. See the related papers in the technical library .
Coil life and copper temperatures
In induction hardening, thermal fatigue is one of the main failure modes of coils. Fluxtrol’s Enhancing Induction Coil Reliability paper uses finite element analysis to quantify how cooling design variables affect it for a single-shot coil with a Fluxtrol A concentrator. A wheel hub paper revisits a coil lifetime case first studied in 2009, when simulation was beginning to allow full virtual prototyping of heat treat applications.
Melting
CIT’s heading also covers melting. In a cold crucible furnace study, simulation and laboratory tests showed that electrical efficiency, which for metals is approximately 25 to 30% or lower in typical furnaces, can be strongly improved by optimal design of the whole system with magnetic flux controllers. Theory was confirmed by laboratory mockups and industrial melting tests. Retech credits Fluxtrol concentrators and design assistance with better performance of its cold crucible melting furnaces.
How an engagement typically proceeds
Projects begin from the customer’s problem and use simulation to understand it, laboratory tests to confirm it, and design changes to resolve it, as in the coil workflows . Many R&D projects arise from industry demand and are carried out in cooperation with customers; see modeling and optimization .
Discuss your heat treating or melting challenge
Contact Fluxtrol with the part, the steel or alloy, the process and the problem.
Real-world results
Modeling Stress and Distortion of Full-Float Truck Axle
Coupled electromagnetic, thermal, metallurgical, stress and shape change modeling of dwell flange heating and scan hardening of shaft and spline.
- Multiple programs coupled
- Greg Fett of Dana among the authors
Modeling and Optimization of Cold Crucible Furnaces
Simulation and lab study showing efficiency of cold crucible furnaces can be strongly improved with optimal design and magnetic flux controllers.
- Mockup lab tests
- Industrial melting tests
Wheel hub coil lifetime
3D simulation of an automotive wheel hub and hardening coil to solve a coil lifetime issue.
- Virtual prototyping of heat treat applications