Computer modeling and validations of steel gear heat treatment processes using commercial software DANTE

The heat treatment process of a gear made of AISI 9310 carburized steel is modeled using the commercial heat treatment simulation software DANTE. Both carburization and quenching processes affect the residual stress distribution and distortion of heat-treated parts, which are important to service quality and fatigue life. DANTE/VCARB is used to design the boost/diffuse schedule of a vacuum carburization process. Oil quenching is modeled following the vacuum carburization process. Thermal gradient and phase transformation are two main sources of distortion and residual stresses in quenched parts. The relation of the carbon distribution, thermal gradient, and phase transformations during quenching is studied through the gear modeling example. Because of geometry, the residual stress distribution after quenching is non-uniform along the gear surface. In general, the root fillet has higher residual compression than either the root or tooth face locations after traditional oil quenching of carburized gears. The predicted residual stresses from the oil quenching model are imported into a single tooth fatigue bending model. The gear stresses under bending load indicate the possible cracking locations during the bending fatigue test. The importance of heat treatment residual stresses during gear design is pointed out, and it is commonly ignored in the gear design and manufacturing industry.