Hochdruck-Gasabschrecken von Einsatz- und Vergütungsstählen in kalten Kammern. Diskussion

Due to technological and environmental advantages gas quenching in vacuum furnaces has largely replaced traditional oil and salt-bath quenching-techniques for high-alloyed steels. To reach the field of low-alloyed case hardening and tempering steels the cold chamber was developed. The cold chamber is a high-pressure gas quenching modul integrated in a multichamber heat treatment furnace. Due to the optimized gas flow in the cold chamber, quenching properties far beyond those in single-chamber furnaces with integrated gas quenching are obtained. Quenching tests in a cold chamber with up to 10 bar nitrogen and 40 bar helium respectively show an enormous quenching potential. By using helium and high pressure the quenching capacity of oil is achieved, sometimes exceeded. The positive quenching properties of cold chambers with respect to hardness, microstructure and distortion on typical parts of the gear industry are demonstrated.