Numerical simulation of the surface hardening of steel

We discuss a model that is capable of describing the solid-solid phase transitions in steel It consists of a system of ordinary differential equations for the volume fractions of the occuring phases coupled with a nonlinear energy balance equation to take care of the latent heats of the phase changes. This model is applied to simulate surface heat treatments, which play an important role in the manufacturing of steel Two different technologies are considered: laser and induction hardening. In the latter case the model has to be extended by Maxwell's equations. Finally, we present numerical simulations of laser and induction hardening applied to the steel 42CrMo4.