US20060048868A1 - Rapid cooling method for parts by convective and radiative transfer - Google Patents

Rapid cooling method for parts by convective and radiative transfer Download PDF

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Publication number
US20060048868A1
US20060048868A1 US10/511,785 US51178505A US2006048868A1 US 20060048868 A1 US20060048868 A1 US 20060048868A1 US 51178505 A US51178505 A US 51178505A US 2006048868 A1 US2006048868 A1 US 2006048868A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
mixture
gas
cooling
heat transfer
composition
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Abandoned
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US10/511,785
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English (en)
Inventor
Linda Lefevre
Didier Domergue
Florent Chaffotte
Aymeric Goldsteinas
Laurent Pelissier
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LAir Liquide SA pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
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LAir Liquide SA a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
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Application filed by LAir Liquide SA a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude filed Critical LAir Liquide SA a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
Assigned to L'AIR LIQUIDE, SOCIETE ANONYME A DIRECTOIRE ET CONSEIL DE SURVEILLANCE POUR L'ETUDE ET L'EXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE reassignment L'AIR LIQUIDE, SOCIETE ANONYME A DIRECTOIRE ET CONSEIL DE SURVEILLANCE POUR L'ETUDE ET L'EXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CHAFFOTTE, FLORENT, DOMERGUE, DIDIER, LEFEVRE, LINDA, GOLDSTEINAS, AYMERIC, PELISSIER, LAURENT
Publication of US20060048868A1 publication Critical patent/US20060048868A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C21—METALLURGY OF IRON
    • C21D—MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING
    • C21D1/00—General methods or devices for heat treatment, e.g. annealing, hardening, quenching or tempering
    • C21D1/56—General methods or devices for heat treatment, e.g. annealing, hardening, quenching or tempering characterised by the quenching agents
    • C21D1/613—Gases; Liquefied or solidified normally gaseous material
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C21—METALLURGY OF IRON
    • C21D—MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING
    • C21D1/00—General methods or devices for heat treatment, e.g. annealing, hardening, quenching or tempering
    • C21D1/74—Methods of treatment in inert gas, controlled atmosphere, vacuum or pulverulent material
    • C21D1/767—Methods of treatment in inert gas, controlled atmosphere, vacuum or pulverulent material with forced gas circulation; Reheating thereof
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C21—METALLURGY OF IRON
    • C21D—MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING
    • C21D2241/00—Treatments in a special environment
    • C21D2241/01—Treatments in a special environment under pressure

Definitions

  • the present invention relates in general to the heat treatment of metals and more particularly to the operation of gas hardening of steel parts having previously undergone heat treatment (such as heating before quench, annealing, tempering) or thermochemical treatment (such as case hardening, carbonitriding).
  • gas hardening operations are generally carried out by circulating a pressurized gas in a closed circuit between a charge and a cooling circuit.
  • gas quench hardening installations generally operate under pressures between 4 and 20 times the atmospheric pressure (4 to 20 bar or 4 000 to 20 000 hectopascals). In the present description, the pressure is designated by the bar, with the understanding that 1 bar is equal to 1 000 hPa.
  • FIG. 1 very schematically shows an example of a gas quench hardening installation.
  • This installation 1 contains a charge 2 to be cooled disposed in a sealed vessel 3 .
  • the charge is typically surrounded by baffle plates 4 to guide the gas flow.
  • a desired gas mixture is introduced under pressure at a gas inlet 5 , with the understanding that the cooling gases can, for example, be introduced in the form of a preformed mixture or that a plurality of distinct gas inlets can be provided for introducing various cooling gases separately.
  • a connection for placing the vessel under vacuum (not shown) is routinely provided.
  • a turbine 6 driven by a motor 7 is used to circulate the gases, for example by passing from a cooling circuit 9 to the charge to be cooled 2 .
  • the cooling circuit 9 routinely consists of pipes conveying a cooling fluid.
  • FIG. 1 The installation in FIG. 1 is only shown by way of example of one of the numerous possible and existing structures for circulating a cooling gas in a vessel.
  • the pressure is about 4 to 20 bar during the cooling phase.
  • Numerous variants are possible, as regards the disposition of the charge, the gas flow direction, and the method for circulating these gases.
  • the gas most commonly used for cooling is nitrogen, because it is an inert and inexpensive gas. Furthermore, its density is ideal for simple installations with blowers or turbines, and its heat transfer coefficient is sufficiently satisfactory. In fact, it is known, in gas hardening systems, that the temperature must be lowered as rapidly as possible for the steel transformation to occur satisfactorily, from the austenitic phase to the martensitic phase without passing through the pearlitic and/or bainitic phases.
  • nitrogen quench hardening installations are not suitable for obtaining a sufficient temperature lowering rate.
  • Hydrogen and helium quench hardening have therefore been tested.
  • a drawback of the use of these gases is that existing installations, dimensioned for nitrogen quench hardening, particularly as regards ventilation capacity, are not optimized for the use of a gas of substantially different density.
  • helium is a substantially more costly gas than nitrogen, while hydrogen incurs risks of inflammability and its use requires special precautions.
  • one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a quench hardening installation using a cooling gas that is thermally more efficient than nitrogen but is inexpensive and simple to use, allowing the cooling of the most demanding materials.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a cooling method using a gas compatible with existing installations currently functioning with nitrogen (and hence not requiring any significant change to the installation).
  • the present invention in a method for rapidly cooling metal parts using a pressurized cooling gas, provides for the use of a cooling gas which comprises one or a plurality of gases absorbing infrared radiation, selected so as to improve the heat transfer to the part by combining radiative and convective heat transfer phenomena, and so as to improve the convective heat transfer coefficient in comparison with conventional conditions of cooling with nitrogen.
  • the method according to the invention can further adopt one or a plurality of the following technical features:
  • the invention further relates to the use, in an installation for rapidly cooling metal parts using a pressurized cooling gas, which installation is optimized for operation with nitrogen, of a cooling gas comprising from 20 to 80% of an infrared absorbing gas and from 80 to 20% of hydrogen or helium or mixtures thereof, the composition of the cooling gas being adjusted so as to make significant changes to the installation unnecessary.
  • the merit of the present invention is accordingly to stand apart from the conventional approach of the prior art of simply improving the convective heat transfer conditions, by demonstrating that the proportion of radiative heat transfer in the total heat transfer is between about 7 and 10% (in the range from 400 to 1050° C.), hence very significant, and that it is therefore extremely advantageous to address this aspect of the heat transfer to account for it and to exploit it.
  • FIG. 1 previously described, shows an example of a gas quench hardening installation
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B show the convective heat transfer coefficient of various gas mixtures at various pressures, in the case of a fluid in parallel flow between cylinders;
  • FIG. 3 shows the variation in temperature as a function of time for various quenching gases used in the same conditions.
  • a quenching gas a gas absorbing infrared radiation or a mixture based on such infrared absorbing gases (designated below by absorbent gas), such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and, if required, containing one of more gases having a good convective heat transfer capability (designated below by additive gas) added to it, such as helium or hydrogen.
  • absorbent gas such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 )
  • additive gas one of more gases having a good convective heat transfer capability added to it, such as helium or hydrogen.
  • Such a mixture offers the advantage, in comparison with conventional quenching gases or gas mixtures using gases transparent to infrared radiation, such as nitrogen, hydrogen and helium, of absorbing heat both by convective and radiative phenomena, thereby increasing the total heat flux extracted from a charge to be cooled.
  • gases transparent to infrared radiation such as nitrogen, hydrogen and helium
  • supplementary gas such as nitrogen
  • supplementary gas considered both as a simple carrier gas and in a more active role making it possible, as shown below, to optimize the properties of the gas mixture, such as density, thermal conductivity, viscosity, etc.
  • the composition of the cooling gas is adjusted so as to “optimize” the convective heat transfer coefficient in comparison with the convective heat transfer coefficients of each of the components of the cooling gas considered individually.
  • optimization should be understood accordingly as taking place at the peak of the curve concerned, or much lower (for example, for economic reasons) but in any case so as to have a convective heat transfer coefficient that is better than each of the convective heat transfer coefficients of each of the components of the cooling gas considered individually.
  • an absorbent gas mixture (and if applicable an additive gas) possibly with the addition of supplementary gases, in density conditions optimized so that hardening can be carried out in quench hardening installations normally designed and optimized to operate in the presence of nitrogen.
  • carbon dioxide is mixed, for example, with helium, used as an additive gas, so as to combine an optimization of the convective heat transfer coefficient with an average mixture density that is approximately the same as that of nitrogen.
  • Existing installations can accordingly be used with comparable ventilation rates and capacities and existing gas ventilation and deflection structures, without having to make significant changes to the installation.
  • gases absorbing IR radiation are also usable here without departing at any time from the framework of the present invention, such as saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, CO, H 2 O, NH 3 , NO, N 2 O, NO 2 , and mixtures thereof.
  • FIG. 2A shows, for pressures 5, 10 and 20 bar, the convective heat transfer coefficient kH of a mixture of CO 2 and helium, for various proportions of CO 2 in the mixture.
  • the x-axis shows the ratio of the CO 2 concentration, c(CO 2 ), to the total concentration of CO 2 and He, c(CO 2 /He). It may be observed that the convective heat transfer coefficient reaches a peak at CO 2 concentrations between about 40 and 70%, in this case about 650 W/m 2 /K at 20 bar for a concentration of about 60%.
  • the mixture not only offers the advantage of having a density close to that of nitrogen, but in addition, of having a higher convective heat transfer coefficient than that of pure CO 2 .
  • FIG. 2B shows similar curves for mixtures of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ). It may be observed that the convective heat transfer coefficient kH reaches a peak at CO 2 concentrations between about 30 to 50%, in this case about 850 W/m 2 /K at 20 bar for a concentration of about 40%. Furthermore, it shows that the convective heat transfer coefficient kH is better for a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen than for a mixture of CO 2 and helium.
  • a further advantage of the use of such a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen is that, under the usual conditions for quench-hardening steel parts, endothermic chemical reactions occur between the CO 2 and the hydrogen, thereby further accelerating the cooling. Moreover, it is observed that in the presence of CO 2 , the explosion hazard associated with hydrogen is substantially reduced, even if oxygen is inadvertently introduced.
  • FIG. 3 shows the result of calculations simulating the cooling of a steel cylinder by convective heat transfer with various cooling gases in the case of a mixture flowing in parallel to the length of the cylinders (cylinders simulating the case of long parts).
  • Curves are shown for pure nitrogen (N 2 ), for a mixture containing 60% CO 2 and 40% helium, for pure hydrogen, and for a mixture containing 40% CO 2 and 60% hydrogen. This latter mixture is observed to yield the best results, that is, the highest cooling rate between 850 and 500° C. For this latter mixture, the hardening rate is improved by about 20% over pure hydrogen and by about 100% over pure nitrogen.
  • the present invention is susceptible to a number of variants and modifications which will appear to a person skilled in the art, particularly as regards the choice of the gases, the optimization of the proportions of each gas, with the understanding that, if desired, ternary mixtures such as CO 2 /He/H 2 can be used, and that other gases could be added, called supplementary gases above.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Heat Treatments In General, Especially Conveying And Cooling (AREA)
  • Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
  • Turbine Rotor Nozzle Sealing (AREA)
  • Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)
  • Gas Separation By Absorption (AREA)
  • Waste-Gas Treatment And Other Accessory Devices For Furnaces (AREA)
  • Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
  • Crystals, And After-Treatments Of Crystals (AREA)
  • Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
  • Radiation Pyrometers (AREA)
  • Furnace Details (AREA)
US10/511,785 2002-09-20 2003-01-09 Rapid cooling method for parts by convective and radiative transfer Abandoned US20060048868A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR02/11680 2002-09-20
FR0211680A FR2844809B1 (fr) 2002-09-20 2002-09-20 Procede de refroidissement rapide de pieces par transfert convectif et radiatif
PCT/FR2003/000053 WO2004027098A1 (fr) 2002-09-20 2003-01-09 Procede de refroidissement rapide de pieces par transfert convectif et radiatif

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US20060048868A1 true US20060048868A1 (en) 2006-03-09

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US10/511,785 Abandoned US20060048868A1 (en) 2002-09-20 2003-01-09 Rapid cooling method for parts by convective and radiative transfer

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US (1) US20060048868A1 (pt)
EP (1) EP1543170B8 (pt)
JP (1) JP4490270B2 (pt)
KR (1) KR100953818B1 (pt)
CN (1) CN100567516C (pt)
AT (1) ATE380256T1 (pt)
AU (1) AU2003216799A1 (pt)
BR (1) BRPI0314597B1 (pt)
CA (1) CA2498929C (pt)
DE (1) DE60317912T2 (pt)
ES (1) ES2297138T3 (pt)
FR (1) FR2844809B1 (pt)
MX (1) MXPA05002716A (pt)
WO (1) WO2004027098A1 (pt)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20070289678A1 (en) * 2004-11-11 2007-12-20 Anders Astrom Device for cooling long objects

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2890979B1 (fr) * 2005-09-16 2007-11-02 Air Liquide Methode pour se premunir de la formation de monoxyde de carbone lors d'une operation de trempe gazeuse
DE102006012985A1 (de) * 2006-03-21 2007-10-11 Linde Ag Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum schnellen Abkühlen von Werkstücken
CN107275251B (zh) * 2016-04-08 2020-10-16 上海新昇半导体科技有限公司 降低预抽腔体中芯片温度的方法及芯片降温装置
AU2018297399B2 (en) 2017-07-07 2024-02-15 Eni S.P.A. Method for transferring the heat contained in a gas, and heat exchanger for this purpose
KR102080934B1 (ko) 2018-04-18 2020-02-24 (주)알룩스메뉴펙처링 알루미늄 합금 실린더블록 및 실린더헤드의 급속 에어냉각장치
CH715527A2 (de) * 2018-11-08 2020-05-15 Eni Spa Verfahren zum Betrieb eines Receivers und Receiver zur Ausführung des Verfahrens.

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5173124A (en) * 1990-06-18 1992-12-22 Air Products And Chemicals, Inc. Rapid gas quenching process
US5452882A (en) * 1992-03-17 1995-09-26 Wunning; Joachim Apparatus for quenching metallic ring-shaped workpieces
US5798007A (en) * 1996-03-13 1998-08-25 Stein Heurtey Process and apparatus for the continuous heat treatment of a metal strip travelling in a different atmosphere
US5938866A (en) * 1995-06-22 1999-08-17 Aga Aktiebolag Method and an apparatus for the treatment of components by a gas mixture
US6428742B1 (en) * 1999-09-24 2002-08-06 Ispen International Gmbh Method for heat-treating metallic workpieces
US20020104589A1 (en) * 2000-12-04 2002-08-08 Van Den Sype Jaak Process and apparatus for high pressure gas quenching in an atmospheric furnace

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19709957A1 (de) * 1997-03-11 1998-09-17 Linde Ag Verfahren zur Gasabschreckung metallischer Werkstücke nach Wärmebehandlungen
DE19920297A1 (de) * 1999-05-03 2000-11-09 Linde Tech Gase Gmbh Verfahren zur Wärmebehandlung metallischer Werkstücke
GB0029281D0 (en) * 2000-11-30 2001-01-17 Boc Group Plc Quenching Method & Apparatus

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5173124A (en) * 1990-06-18 1992-12-22 Air Products And Chemicals, Inc. Rapid gas quenching process
US5452882A (en) * 1992-03-17 1995-09-26 Wunning; Joachim Apparatus for quenching metallic ring-shaped workpieces
US5938866A (en) * 1995-06-22 1999-08-17 Aga Aktiebolag Method and an apparatus for the treatment of components by a gas mixture
US5798007A (en) * 1996-03-13 1998-08-25 Stein Heurtey Process and apparatus for the continuous heat treatment of a metal strip travelling in a different atmosphere
US6428742B1 (en) * 1999-09-24 2002-08-06 Ispen International Gmbh Method for heat-treating metallic workpieces
US20020104589A1 (en) * 2000-12-04 2002-08-08 Van Den Sype Jaak Process and apparatus for high pressure gas quenching in an atmospheric furnace

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20070289678A1 (en) * 2004-11-11 2007-12-20 Anders Astrom Device for cooling long objects
US7497984B2 (en) 2004-11-11 2009-03-03 Linde Aktiengesellschaft Device for cooling long objects

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP4490270B2 (ja) 2010-06-23
EP1543170B8 (fr) 2008-04-23
JP2005539142A (ja) 2005-12-22
CN100567516C (zh) 2009-12-09
DE60317912T2 (de) 2008-06-12
ES2297138T3 (es) 2008-05-01
BR0314597A (pt) 2005-08-09
DE60317912D1 (de) 2008-01-17
MXPA05002716A (es) 2005-11-17
KR100953818B1 (ko) 2010-04-21
ATE380256T1 (de) 2007-12-15
EP1543170A1 (fr) 2005-06-22
KR20050084565A (ko) 2005-08-26
WO2004027098A1 (fr) 2004-04-01
BRPI0314597B1 (pt) 2015-06-09
FR2844809A1 (fr) 2004-03-26
AU2003216799A1 (en) 2004-04-08
CA2498929C (fr) 2011-04-19
CA2498929A1 (fr) 2004-04-01
WO2004027098A8 (fr) 2005-09-29
FR2844809B1 (fr) 2007-06-29
EP1543170B1 (fr) 2007-12-05
CN1681947A (zh) 2005-10-12
AU2003216799A8 (en) 2004-04-08

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