Effect of feed path on the spot continual induction hardening for different curved surfaces of AISI 1045 steel

Abstract

In order to analyze the effect of feed path on the spot continual induction hardening (SCIH) process for different curved surfaces, a finite element model was built for the SCIH process of AISI 1045 steel. The results show that the eddy current density decreases and its distribution becomes more uniform in the effective coverage area. The appearance position of the maximum value moves away from the center to edge of workpiece with time. The maximum temperature will reach a balance status during the SCIH process and the time and value reaching the balance status are similar in all cases. Both the feed path and workpiece shape have a certain effect on the temperature distribution uniformity. The temperature distribution uniformity decreases with increasing curvature (from concave surface to convex surface) when the feed path of inductor is horizontal but increases when the feed path of inductor is longitudinal. The simulation result of temperature is consistent with the experimental result. The maximum error between simulation and experiment results is about 5%, which indicates that the simulated model is reliable.