Numerical investigation of non-homogeneous plastic deformation in quenching process

The aim of the study is to investigate the evolution of internal stresses and non-homogeneous plastic deformation in quenching by numerical simulation. This paper presents the finite element model of quenching of axisymmetric components and the results of various numerical experiments. In the simulation, first the temperature distribution is determined as a function of geometry and time, Then. a model is described to give the volume fractions of phases as a function of time for the corresponding cooling curves. Next. thermo-elastic -plastic approach is applied to describe the stress-strain response during cooling, and to predict the residual stresses of the first order. The computer program was written in Fortran, and material properties were input as a function of the individual phases and temperature. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.