Numerical Simulation of Metal Surface Layer Modification Using High-Frequency Induction Heating

Abstract

Thermal processes of modifying the surface layer of a metal in a moving substrate with continuous induction heating of a rectangular substrate region by a high-frequency electromagnetic field have been studied using numerical simulation. The distribution of electromagnetic energy over the substrate surface is considered uniform, and over its volume, it is described by empirical formulas. It is assumed that, during the melting of the metal, the nanosized particles of the refractory compound inside of it are evenly distributed over the volume of the liquid metal and act as crystallization centers during its cooling. The boundary of the melting region is determined in the Stefan approximation, and the boundaries of the solid phase growth region are computed within the framework of the Kolmogorov theory of the metal crystallization. In the quasi-stationary distribution of the temperature field approximation, the size of the melting and crystallization zones was estimated and the growth kinetics of the solid phase was calculated. The characteristics of induction heating that make it possible to reduce the surface treatment time were determined. Calculated estimates of the specific power of the electromagnetic field were obtained that ensures that the melting region remains unchanged at the substrate velocity in the range of 1–3 cm/s.