Influences on development of thermal and residual stresses in quenched steel cylinders of different dimensions

In the numerical treatment of thermal and transformation stresses produced during quenching, and of the resulting residual stresses, calculations carried out using computer programs are for economic reasons restricted to simple geometries such as infinite plates or cylinders. Difficulties arise when results so obtained are applied to real components. The effects of geometric discontinuities, for example near the top and bottom of a cylinder, need further systematic investigation. In this paper, stress distributions in steel cylinders of different diameters, quenched with and without transformation effects from different temperatures, are calculated using a finite–element program; the differences revealed in the local stress states are discussed. Results of special calculations making use of different boundary conditions are introduced, allowing the important mechanical and thermal factors that influence the final residual–stress states to be assessed. These results allow the validity of assumptions necessary in the analytical computations to be estimated realistically.

MST/1