A study of thermal stresses during laser quenching

In this paper a new constitutive equation considering the effects of phase transformation is proposed and the complex coupling action between temperature, phase transformation and stresses is analyzed, based upon elastoplastic theory and phase transformation. Under the circumstances of temperature and yield condition given, the results of numerical calculations show that residual stresses are formed on the surface of a laser quenched workpiece, which is beneficial to the properties of material. Therefore, it is valid to study the thermal stresses of laser quenching for securing the optimum technology.