Effect of Section Thickness on Heat Transfer during Quenching in Vegetable Oils

In the present work, mineral, sunflower, karanja, and neem oil were used as quench media. 304 stainless steel probes with diameters of 25 mm and 50 mm were quenched in these oils to assess the effect of section diameter on heat transfer during quenching. Cooling curve analysis was carried out by instrumenting the probes at various locations with thermocouples. The heat extraction ability of oil quench media was quantified using an inverse heat conduction method. Thermal data and the predicted hardness values showed the suitability of nonedible vegetable oils as potential quenchants to heat treat steels. The predicted hardness was higher during quenching in karanja oil compared to other oil media.