A multi-physics approach to model a Die Assisted Oil Quenching process

Quenching processes consist of drastically cooling down a nearly finished mechanical part from a high temperature in order to achieve the expected material performances. The rapid cooling changes material microstructures by typically enhancing mechanical properties but inducing distortions and residual stresses too. The Die Assisted Oil Quenching technique allows the heat treatment of a steel mechanical component though the use of a quickly cooled die, which applies a pressure on the part during the quenching. Through an accurate control of the cooling conditions, this process lay-out permits the reduction of distortions. A challenging task is the modelling of the Die Assisted Oil Quenching process with the usage of a multi-physics approach including heat exchange, fluid dynamics, metallurgical aspects, volume variations and the prediction of residual stresses. The paper presents an investigation concerning a multi-physics model implementation of the Die Assisted Oil Quenching process. The simulated components were discs and rings characterized by specific diameter ratios. The tuning and validation of the model was achieved by comparing calculated displacements with real measurements.