WO2024136765A1 - Method of heat treatment of materials with control of spatial arrangement - Google Patents

Method of heat treatment of materials with control of spatial arrangement Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024136765A1
WO2024136765A1 PCT/SK2023/050030 SK2023050030W WO2024136765A1 WO 2024136765 A1 WO2024136765 A1 WO 2024136765A1 SK 2023050030 W SK2023050030 W SK 2023050030W WO 2024136765 A1 WO2024136765 A1 WO 2024136765A1
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Prior art keywords
heat
heat treatment
treated
volume
materials
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PCT/SK2023/050030
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Peter Pavol Monka
Katarína Monková
Original Assignee
Technická Univerzita V Košiciach
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Priority claimed from SK50104-2022U external-priority patent/SK10019Y1/en
Priority claimed from SK50069-2022A external-priority patent/SK500692022A3/en
Application filed by Technická Univerzita V Košiciach filed Critical Technická Univerzita V Košiciach
Publication of WO2024136765A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024136765A1/en

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Classifications

    • 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
    • C21D1/06—Surface hardening
    • C21D1/09—Surface hardening by direct application of electrical or wave energy; by particle radiation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
    • 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
    • C21D1/18—Hardening; Quenching with or without subsequent tempering
    • 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
    • C21D1/34—Methods of heating
    • 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
    • C21D6/00—Heat treatment of ferrous alloys
    • 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
    • C21D8/00—Modifying the physical properties by deformation combined with, or followed by, heat treatment
    • C21D8/02—Modifying the physical properties by deformation combined with, or followed by, heat treatment during manufacturing of plates or strips
    • C21D8/0205—Modifying the physical properties by deformation combined with, or followed by, heat treatment during manufacturing of plates or strips of ferrous alloys
    • 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
    • C21D2221/00—Treating localised areas of an article

Definitions

  • the invention concerns volume-targeted heat treatment of technical materials in the solid state, for which it is possible to change properties by thermal processes.
  • Heat treatment occurs over time by a controlled thermal gradient (from very slow to abrupt changes in temperature over time) during both heating and cooling.
  • the material achieves the desired operating properties which significantly increases the utility value of the product by this transformation.
  • AMS Heat Treater's Guide it is possible in a simplified form to define heat treatment for suitable materials as a thermal process during which the heat-treated object in a solid state (as a whole or only its surface) is heated in a controlled manner (from a slow temperature change to sharp), it then remains at the reached temperature for a certain time and finally cools down in a controlled manner in order to transform its original properties into the required operational properties.
  • the specific thermal process is chosen so that the properties of the technical material in question are transformed by its natural characteristics.
  • the change in properties is mainly achieved through diffusion processes, which, in addition to changes in physical properties, can also be manifested by changes in structure and chemical properties. Achieving the desired properties is usually controlled through hardness, strength, ductility, plasticity, and machinability.
  • Heat treatment is most often used for iron-based alloys (approximately 80% of heat-treated objects), but in many cases heat treatment is also necessary for objects made of titanium, aluminium, nickel, copper, brass, etc.
  • heat treatment can be performed in only two ways: (i) the heat-treated object is heated as a whole and then subjected to heat treatment, or (ii) on the heat-treated object, through a hard method of heat transfer (flame, laser, plasma, electric induction, etc.) heats the desired surface, which is subsequently subjected to heat treatment.
  • a hard method of heat transfer flame, laser, plasma, electric induction, etc.
  • the invention is focused on the use of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation for the distribution of energy into the determined volumes of heat-treated objects.
  • Energy distribution can be realized in a precisely determined volume due to the ability of this radiation to penetrate into the depth of the material, i.e. without limiting the existing methods for heat transfer from the surface of the object to its interior through the ability of the processed material to conduct heat.
  • the nature of the invention consists in the controlled flow of energy through several beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation into the determined volumes of the processed material in a solid state to achieve the desired thermal process in order to transform the original material properties into the required ones.
  • this invention enables: • achieving the required thermal process with the minimization of the supplied energy, because the energy required for heating is distributed only to the volumes in which the required heat treatment is to be achieved;
  • the wavelength of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - determines the energy of photons of penetrating radiation and thus the ability to penetrate to greater depths in materials with greater absorption of this type of radiation - is in the spectral range of 100 picometers to 10 nanometres (IO' 10 to 10' 8 meters);
  • Type of heat-treated material all known technical materials in a solid state
  • Proton number and relative content of all chemical elements forming the components of the processed material determines the appropriate wavelengths of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation for heat treatment of the given material
  • the thermal conductivity of the processed material - as one of the most important physical characteristics - determines the characteristics of the thermal process to achieve the required properties through heat treatment;
  • the depth at which heat treatment is to be performed in the material - determines the appropriate wavelengths of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation from the point of view of its absorption by a specific material;
  • the energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - defines the amount of delivered energy related to the area of the beam perpendicular to the direction of its axis - is in the range of 10 2 Wcm' 2 (typical lower threshold for plastics with a low melting temperature) - 10 7 Wcm' 2 (typical upper threshold value for ceramic materials);
  • Subcritical energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - is a defined energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation, which in the processed material (defined by its thermal conductivity and absorption of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation) will not cause the phase transformation temperature to be reached at a given speed of the beam movement;
  • Control dimension of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation the largest dimension of a beam of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation in the direction perpendicular to its axis, determining the size of the volume in which the supercritical value of heat supplied by all beams is concentrated - for most materials, a control dimension in the range of 0.1 to 10 is suitable mm (10' 4 - 10' 2 m)
  • Fig. 1 shows a typical arrangement of the process - several beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation 3 are focused on the material element of the heat-treated object 1.
  • the material of the heat-treated object 1 is characterized by the chemical elements that make it up and together contribute to the material properties essential for the process - especially absorption electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation operating in a given wavelength and thermal conductivity.
  • Each of the beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation 3 is characterized by a wavelength, the controlling dimension of the beam and the energy density, which must be in a subcritical value for each individual beam.
  • the sum of the energies supplied by the individual rays occurs and the temperature field 2 necessary for the heat treatment process is created.
  • mutual relative movement is ensured so that the temperature field 2 gradually moves along trajectories creating heat-treated volumes in the required arrangement.
  • Fig. 2 shows typical basic arrangements of heat-treated volumes in the volume of the heat- treated object.
  • fig. 2 a shows the object without heat treatment.
  • heat treatment can be carried out in very flexibly adaptable shapes of the volume of the processed object.
  • These basic arrangements are presented by way of illustration and not limitations of the solutions. These arrangements define that the heat-treated volume of the processed obj ect can be from complete heat treatment of the entire obj ect through heat treatment in the form of a continuous three-dimensional network (e.g. cellular structures - regularly and irregularly arranged), spatial formations discontinuously located in the volume of the object (e.g.
  • Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 g) can be placed in the volume of the processed object multiple times and in different orientations, and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
  • Heat treatment procedure i - heating of a discrete microvolume of heat-treated material by means of a group of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation (position 3 in Figure 1) by creating a temperature field (position 2 in Figure 1) with reaching the temperature necessary to achieve the austenitic structure; ii - interruption of the energy supply, resulting in a rapid cooling of this microvolume by heat transfer to the surrounding cold material (position 1 in Figure 1) and thus the formation of a martensitic structure; iii - repeating steps i and ii in the next microvolume, which is at a sufficient distance from the previous one, so that the temperature of the processed object is maintained at the level of the ability to rapidly dissipate heat for the formation of a martensitic structure; iv - gradual, sophisticated placement of heat-treated microvolumes (position 2 in Figure 1) in the volume of the heat-treated object.
  • This method of heat treatment can be used according to all the schemes shown in Figure 2, while the heat-treated volume can be continuous, or in the form of a three-dimensional network, which can be continuous or discontinuous.
  • Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 h can be placed multiple times in the volume of the processed object and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
  • Heat treatment procedure i - heating of a discrete microvolume of heat-treated material by means of a group of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation (position 3 in Figure 1) by creating a temperature field (position 2 in Figure 1) with reaching the temperature necessary to achieve the austenitic structure; ii - maintaining a discrete volume at the austenitizing temperature for the time specified in the material sheet; iii - controlled cooling with the temperature process specified in the material sheet.
  • This method of heat treatment can be used for heat-treated volumes according to all schemes of the heat-treated object shown in Figure 2, while the volume heat-treated by annealing can be continuous, or in the form of a three-dimensional network, which can be continuous or discontinuous.
  • Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 h) can be placed multiple times in the volume of the processed object and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
  • Heat treatment procedure i. Spatial scanning of the distribution of individual structural components in the volume of the object is carried out using one of the appropriate technologies - e.g. computed tomography - and this distribution is recorded for further use in the form of a spatial map of the distribution of structural components; ii.
  • the thermal process is controlled - when creating equilibrium structures by further supplying the necessary amount of heat with the energy of the beams, when creating unbalanced structures by immediately interrupting the supply of energy for a given volume of the structural component
  • This method of heat treatment can be used to eliminate the unfavourable properties of the selected structural component found in the material. Considering the need for a very expensive device for sensing the spatial distribution of components and the use of this spatial map for controlling the heat treatment process, its use is justified especially for components and structures with high value intended for critical applications - e.g. energy, aviation, cosmonautics, etc.
  • Heat treatment by electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation can be used for all technical materials that use heat treatment according to the current state of the art.
  • the invention creates new possibilities for thermal processing in precisely defined volumes falling within the volume of the thermally processed object, which was only partially possible with the previous methods - on the surface of the processed object.
  • the volume of the heat-treated object it is possible for the volume of the heat-treated object to contain volumes with different types of heat treatment
  • the invention enables the definition of the grain size in the determined volumes of the heat- treated object through the selection of the size of the temperature field used during the heat treatment.
  • a new possibility that the invention creates for industrial use is the controlled heat treatment of specific components of multi-component materials - for example, composite materials, layered materials, two-phase materials, and the like.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Heat Treatment Of Articles (AREA)

Abstract

A method of heat treatment of solid technical materials based on supplying energy through the penetration of two or more beams (3) of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation with subcritical energies of individual beams with a wavelength in the range of 100 picometers to 10 nanometres, while the volume of penetration of the beams (2) is completely contained in volume of the heat-treated object. The heating of determined volumes of the heat-treated volume takes place in the penetration of the rays (2), where, by connecting them, the energy required for heating to the required transformation temperature and controlling the thermal process of the transformation is achieved through the supply of energy by the rays in this heat-treated volume (1) according to the required type of heat treatment in accordance with the procedures determined by the material sheet of the specific processed material. This makes it possible to create heat treatment in discrete volumes of the heat-treated object in the necessary spatial arrangements and to use different types of heat treatment in the volume of one body. Sophisticated determination of heat-treated volumes as sets of heat-treated objects enables the selective selection of specific components of multi-component materials – for example, composites, layered materials and multi-phase materials.

Description

Method of heat treatment of materials with control of spatial arrangement
Technical Field
The invention concerns volume-targeted heat treatment of technical materials in the solid state, for which it is possible to change properties by thermal processes. Heat treatment occurs over time by a controlled thermal gradient (from very slow to abrupt changes in temperature over time) during both heating and cooling.
Background Art
Currently, the ability to transform their properties (mainly physical, but also chemical) through thermal processes carried out in the solid state is advantageously used for many metals and alloys.
The material achieves the desired operating properties which significantly increases the utility value of the product by this transformation. According to the information source AMS Heat Treater's Guide, it is possible in a simplified form to define heat treatment for suitable materials as a thermal process during which the heat-treated object in a solid state (as a whole or only its surface) is heated in a controlled manner (from a slow temperature change to sharp), it then remains at the reached temperature for a certain time and finally cools down in a controlled manner in order to transform its original properties into the required operational properties. The specific thermal process is chosen so that the properties of the technical material in question are transformed by its natural characteristics. The change in properties is mainly achieved through diffusion processes, which, in addition to changes in physical properties, can also be manifested by changes in structure and chemical properties. Achieving the desired properties is usually controlled through hardness, strength, ductility, plasticity, and machinability.
Through the control of diffusion processes, it is basically possible to move between two extremes - from the complete removal of internal stresses to the targeted induction of these stresses in the volume of the material. Heat treatment is most often used for iron-based alloys (approximately 80% of heat-treated objects), but in many cases heat treatment is also necessary for objects made of titanium, aluminium, nickel, copper, brass, etc.
The most widespread use of heat treatment in terms of the number of processed objects is for the modification of material properties by annealing after cold forming, homogenization after casting, precipitation hardening and preparation of two-phase alloy structures. However, various annealing processes for improving properties after previous technologies - for example after additive manufacturing, and hardening processes - e.g. surface hardening of shafts.
Due to the possibilities of the heating technologies used so far, heat treatment can be performed in only two ways: (i) the heat-treated object is heated as a whole and then subjected to heat treatment, or (ii) on the heat-treated object, through a hard method of heat transfer (flame, laser, plasma, electric induction, etc.) heats the desired surface, which is subsequently subjected to heat treatment.
The possibility of using only the above-mentioned methods is due to the fact that current heating methods are based on the transfer of heat by classical methods (radiation, conduction, flow, electric induction) in which heat is distributed from the surface of the object to its volume.
Disclosure of Invention
To significantly simplify and refine the localization of heat treatment in the volume of the processed material, a heating method was proposed that allows for a controlled increase, maintenance and reduction of the temperature of precisely localized (defined) volumes of processed objects without the existing physical limitation of heat distribution from the surface to the interior of the processed material. The novelty of this approach lies in the transition from current heat treatment approaches, in which it is possible to heat treat only the entire volume or the surface of individual obj ects, because the invention enables heat treatment in sophisticatedly defined volumes located in any part of the heat-treated object. The invention falls into the field of heat treatment of technical materials.
The invention is focused on the use of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation for the distribution of energy into the determined volumes of heat-treated objects. Energy distribution can be realized in a precisely determined volume due to the ability of this radiation to penetrate into the depth of the material, i.e. without limiting the existing methods for heat transfer from the surface of the object to its interior through the ability of the processed material to conduct heat.
The nature of the invention consists in the controlled flow of energy through several beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation into the determined volumes of the processed material in a solid state to achieve the desired thermal process in order to transform the original material properties into the required ones.
Compared to existing heat treatment methods, this invention enables: • achieving the required thermal process with the minimization of the supplied energy, because the energy required for heating is distributed only to the volumes in which the required heat treatment is to be achieved;
• heat treatment of sophisticatedly determined volumes by unfeasible methods so far, during which transformation may occur: o only inside the processed material; o in purposefully determined discontinuous volumes arranged as needed; o without the use of a cooling medium, where the role of lowering the temperature with the required gradient is taken over by the surrounding material;
• heat treatment of metals and alloys for which heat treatment is currently impossible due to their poor thermal conductivity;
• heat treatment of non-metallic materials for which heat treatment has not been applied until now due to unsuitable properties for classical methods of heat energy transfer;
• the possibility of applying different types of heat treatment in different volumes of the heat-treated object;
• heat treatment of the specified structural component of multi-component materials, especially composite materials, two-phase materials, multilayer materials, etc.
The most important factors that need to be considered during heat treatment according to this invention are:
The wavelength of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - determines the energy of photons of penetrating radiation and thus the ability to penetrate to greater depths in materials with greater absorption of this type of radiation - is in the spectral range of 100 picometers to 10 nanometres (IO'10 to 10'8 meters);
Type of heat-treated material - all known technical materials in a solid state;
Proton number and relative content of all chemical elements forming the components of the processed material - determines the appropriate wavelengths of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation for heat treatment of the given material;
The thermal conductivity of the processed material - as one of the most important physical characteristics - determines the characteristics of the thermal process to achieve the required properties through heat treatment;
The depth at which heat treatment is to be performed in the material - determines the appropriate wavelengths of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation from the point of view of its absorption by a specific material; The energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - defines the amount of delivered energy related to the area of the beam perpendicular to the direction of its axis - is in the range of 102 Wcm'2 (typical lower threshold for plastics with a low melting temperature) - 107 Wcm'2 (typical upper threshold value for ceramic materials);
Subcritical energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - is a defined energy density of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation, which in the processed material (defined by its thermal conductivity and absorption of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation) will not cause the phase transformation temperature to be reached at a given speed of the beam movement;
Control dimension of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation - the largest dimension of a beam of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation in the direction perpendicular to its axis, determining the size of the volume in which the supercritical value of heat supplied by all beams is concentrated - for most materials, a control dimension in the range of 0.1 to 10 is suitable mm (10'4 - 10'2 m)
These factor values are the result of their practically applicable combinations for achieving the desired thermal process, which can be in a considerably wide range determined by two limit requirements for the properties after heat treatment represented mainly by internal stresses in the heat-treated volume - from reaching their minimum to inducing high values of these tension. The values of the individual factors must be chosen based on the requirements of the heat treatment result and considering the mutual complex influence of these factors on achieving the required thermal processes in the specific processed material.
Brief Description of Drawings
The method of achieving the desired material properties after heat treatment by means of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation is documented in the drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a typical arrangement of the process - several beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation 3 are focused on the material element of the heat-treated object 1. The material of the heat-treated object 1 is characterized by the chemical elements that make it up and together contribute to the material properties essential for the process - especially absorption electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation operating in a given wavelength and thermal conductivity. Each of the beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation 3 is characterized by a wavelength, the controlling dimension of the beam and the energy density, which must be in a subcritical value for each individual beam. At the point of focus of the rays 3, the sum of the energies supplied by the individual rays occurs and the temperature field 2 necessary for the heat treatment process is created. Between the object on which heat treatment is performed and the system of beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation, mutual relative movement is ensured so that the temperature field 2 gradually moves along trajectories creating heat-treated volumes in the required arrangement.
Fig. 2 shows typical basic arrangements of heat-treated volumes in the volume of the heat- treated object. In fig. 2 a) shows the object without heat treatment. It is clear from the diagram that heat treatment can be carried out in very flexibly adaptable shapes of the volume of the processed object. These basic arrangements are presented by way of illustration and not limitations of the solutions. These arrangements define that the heat-treated volume of the processed obj ect can be from complete heat treatment of the entire obj ect through heat treatment in the form of a continuous three-dimensional network (e.g. cellular structures - regularly and irregularly arranged), spatial formations discontinuously located in the volume of the object (e.g. randomly and algorithmically generated clusters, cubes, cuboids, spheres, cylinders, pyramids, regular deltahedra, non-convex deltahedra, their mutual combinations, etc.). Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 g) can be placed in the volume of the processed object multiple times and in different orientations, and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
Modes for Carrying Out the Invention
It is understood that individual embodiments of the invention are presented for illustration and not as limitations of the solutions. Those skilled in the art will find or be able to find, using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to specific embodiments of the invention. Even such equivalents will fall within the scope of protection claims.
Example 1
In this example of a specific embodiment, the case is described when heat treatment of the surface of the object (Fig. 2 c) by hardening structural steel with good thermal conductivity is required. This requires the use of a well-hardenable type of steel, which is determined by a carbon content of at least 0.35%. This material has a very good ability to form a martensitic structure by rapid cooling of discrete austenitized microvolumes by the surrounding material due to its good thermal conductivity. Heat treatment procedure: i - heating of a discrete microvolume of heat-treated material by means of a group of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation (position 3 in Figure 1) by creating a temperature field (position 2 in Figure 1) with reaching the temperature necessary to achieve the austenitic structure; ii - interruption of the energy supply, resulting in a rapid cooling of this microvolume by heat transfer to the surrounding cold material (position 1 in Figure 1) and thus the formation of a martensitic structure; iii - repeating steps i and ii in the next microvolume, which is at a sufficient distance from the previous one, so that the temperature of the processed object is maintained at the level of the ability to rapidly dissipate heat for the formation of a martensitic structure; iv - gradual, sophisticated placement of heat-treated microvolumes (position 2 in Figure 1) in the volume of the heat-treated object.
Since the martensitic structure is mostly unacceptable for practical use, there are two options for reducing the inappropriate brittleness of the thus obtained structure through electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation technology based on this invention: a) annealing to achieve a bainitic structure, which can be carried out in the classical way in a furnace, or by heat treatment by coherent penetrating radiation, as described in the following example 2; or b) controlled placement of the hardened discrete volumes at such a distance from each other that the residual heat supplied to the volume processed for clouding is removed to the vicinity of the martensitic discrete volumes from the previous steps and creates an annealing effect, that is, the whole process is controlled so that the energy from just of hardened discrete volumes is used for transformation to bainitic structure of discrete volumes clouded in the previous steps.
This method of heat treatment can be used according to all the schemes shown in Figure 2, while the heat-treated volume can be continuous, or in the form of a three-dimensional network, which can be continuous or discontinuous.
Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 h) can be placed multiple times in the volume of the processed object and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
Example 2
In this example of a specific embodiment, the case is described if it is necessary to heat treat a subset of the volume of the heat-treated object by annealing low carbon steel. Heat treatment procedure: i - heating of a discrete microvolume of heat-treated material by means of a group of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation (position 3 in Figure 1) by creating a temperature field (position 2 in Figure 1) with reaching the temperature necessary to achieve the austenitic structure; ii - maintaining a discrete volume at the austenitizing temperature for the time specified in the material sheet; iii - controlled cooling with the temperature process specified in the material sheet.
This method of heat treatment can be used for heat-treated volumes according to all schemes of the heat-treated object shown in Figure 2, while the volume heat-treated by annealing can be continuous, or in the form of a three-dimensional network, which can be continuous or discontinuous. Thermally treated volume according to the diagram in fig. 2 h) can be placed multiple times in the volume of the processed object and its shape can vary according to the needs of a specific application (cylinder, sphere, cube, and all other surface and spatial geometric shapes).
Example 3
In this example of a specific embodiment, the case is described if heat treatment of only a specified structural component of the heat-treated material is required. Heat treatment procedure: i. Spatial scanning of the distribution of individual structural components in the volume of the object is carried out using one of the appropriate technologies - e.g. computed tomography - and this distribution is recorded for further use in the form of a spatial map of the distribution of structural components; ii. Gradual heating of volumes with the appearance of a structural component intended for transformation based on a spatial map of the distribution of structural components through energy in the penetration of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation with subcritical energies of individual beams with a wavelength in the range of 100 picometers to 10 nanometres, while the volume of penetration of the beams is completely contained in the volume of the given structural component; iii. By combining the energies in the penetration of the rays, the determined volume of the structural component reaches the temperature necessary for the transformation of the structure; iv. In accordance with the procedures determined by the material sheet of the material being processed, the thermal process is controlled - when creating equilibrium structures by further supplying the necessary amount of heat with the energy of the beams, when creating unbalanced structures by immediately interrupting the supply of energy for a given volume of the structural component
This method of heat treatment can be used to eliminate the unfavourable properties of the selected structural component found in the material. Considering the need for a very expensive device for sensing the spatial distribution of components and the use of this spatial map for controlling the heat treatment process, its use is justified especially for components and structures with high value intended for critical applications - e.g. energy, aviation, cosmonautics, etc.
Industrial Applicability
Heat treatment by electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation can be used for all technical materials that use heat treatment according to the current state of the art.
In addition, this method of heat treatment is also applicable to materials for which, in the current state of the art, heat treatment was not effective, or was not possible for various physical reasons
- most often due to poor thermal conductivity, the formation of structures with high stresses, etc.
The invention creates new possibilities for thermal processing in precisely defined volumes falling within the volume of the thermally processed object, which was only partially possible with the previous methods - on the surface of the processed object. In addition, it is possible for the volume of the heat-treated object to contain volumes with different types of heat treatment
- e.g. a combination of hardened and tempered volumes and annealed volumes.
The invention enables the definition of the grain size in the determined volumes of the heat- treated object through the selection of the size of the temperature field used during the heat treatment.
A new possibility that the invention creates for industrial use is the controlled heat treatment of specific components of multi-component materials - for example, composite materials, layered materials, two-phase materials, and the like.

Claims

Claims
1. A method of heat treatment of materials with spatial arrangement control, characterized by the fact that it is carried out in sequence: i. Energy is supplied to the object for heat treatment from a defined material with specified requirements for volumes intended for heat treatment and types of heat treatment required through the penetration of two or more beams of electromagnetic coherent penetrating radiation with subcritical energies of individual beams with a wavelength in the range of 100 picometers to 10 nanometres , while the volume of beam penetration is completely contained in the volume of the heat-treated object; ii. Determined volumes of the heat-treated object are heated in the penetration of the rays, where their connection achieves the energy necessary to reach the temperature for the transformation of the structure; iii. The thermal process is controlled through the delivery of energy by rays in the heat- treated volume in accordance with the desired result - when the requirement to achieve an unbalanced structure of the material is met, the procedure focuses on the controlled rapid cooling from the transformation temperature to the temperature ensuring the transformation within fractions of seconds to tens of seconds, when the requirement to achieve an equilibrium structure of the material, the procedure focuses on the controlled gradual cooling from the transformation temperature to the temperature ensuring the transformation over tens of minutes to hours.
2. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that, in order to achieve non-equilibrium structures, the thermal conductivity of the surrounding material is used to remove heat in the necessary gradient for sufficiently rapid cooling from the transformation temperature, while the control of the thermal process consists in immediate interruption supplying energy by rays after reaching the transformation temperature.
3. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the control of the thermal process consists in heating to the transformation temperature and cooling, where the choice of the size of the thermal field controls the grain size of the transformed structure.
4. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement of heat- treated volumes according to claim 1, characterized in that the control of the heat process consists in directing and further supplying the necessary amount of heat to achieve the transformation temperature for the creation of heat-treated structural components in discrete volumes of material.
5. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the determined volumes of the heat-treated object are continuous and/or discontinuous.
6. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that before the supply of energy, spatial scanning of the distribution of individual structural components in the volume of the object is carried out, and this distribution is recorded for further use in the form of a spatial map on the basis of which energy is supplied to all places of occurrence of the structural component intended for transformation.
7. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that different volumes of the heat-treated object are heat-treated in different ways in order to create the required combinations of heat treatments, so that the specified volumes are gradually heated to achieve the desired heat treatment, while the volume of the required heat treatment is located in the heat-treated object.
8. A method of heat treatment of materials with control of the spatial arrangement according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that in the volume of the heat-treated object it is possible to create heat-treated volumes in the desired combinations of heat treatments applicable to the specific material being processed.
PCT/SK2023/050030 2022-12-22 2023-12-18 Method of heat treatment of materials with control of spatial arrangement WO2024136765A1 (en)

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SK50104-2022U SK10019Y1 (en) 2022-12-22 2022-12-22 Method of heat treatment of materials with space arrangement control
SKPP50069-2022 2022-12-22
SK50069-2022A SK500692022A3 (en) 2022-12-22 2022-12-22 Method of heat treatment of materials with space arrangement control
SKPUV50104-2022 2022-12-22

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Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102021102373A1 (en) * 2021-02-02 2022-08-04 Groz-Beckert Kommanditgesellschaft Process for laser hardening a clothing wire

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102021102373A1 (en) * 2021-02-02 2022-08-04 Groz-Beckert Kommanditgesellschaft Process for laser hardening a clothing wire

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
YA CHENG: "Femtosecond laser fabrication of 3D structures in Foturan glass", SPIE, PO BOX 10 BELLINGHAM WA 98227-0010 USA, 30 September 2006 (2006-09-30), XP040232503 *

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