Computer modeling as a predictive tool for heat treating

The combination of carburization and quenching is carried out in medium alloy steels in order to increase the wear resistance and superficial hardness of a given part, while its toughness remains high enough. The optimal conditions for these treatments are normally obtained by trial and error, fortunately, development of mathematical models, which can be executed in personal computers, can be of valuable aid when a new treatment is required. Results from a diffusional and a heat transfer models which were coupled together are presented, combination of such models enable the evaluation of different effects in carburization and quenching treatments. The diffusional model calculates the enrichment of carbon as a function of the parameters set during the carburizing treatment. The second model calculates the heat flowing from pieces of different sizes, which have the carbon profiles calculated by the former one, and predicts the position at which the start of the transformation to martensite is expected to occur.