Using Thermal Gradient Measurements to Compare Bath Temperature and Agitation Effects on the Quenching Performance of Palm Oil, Canola Oil and a Conventional Petroleum Oil

A proprietary Liscic/Petrofer cylindrical Inconel 600 probe of 50-mm diameter and 200-mm length which was instrumented with three thermocouples on the same radius of the cross-section at the middle of the length was used to determine the differences in quenching performance of two vegetable oils, palm oil and canola oil, and they were compared to a locally produced conventional petroleum oil quenchant. The cooling curves and heat transfer performance of these oils were determined at different bath temperatures and agitation rates. The work was performed at the Quenching Research Centre located at the Faculty for Mechanical Engineering, University of Zagreb, Croatia. The results of this comparative study are reported herein.