Faculty Publications
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Item Assessment of wetting kinematics and cooling performance of select vegetable oils and mineral-vegetable oil blend quench media(Trans Tech Publications Ltd ttp@transtec.ch, 2015) Pranesh Rao, K.M.; Prabhu, K.Quench hardening is a process where an alloy is heated to solutionizing temperature and held for a definite period, and then rapidly cooled in a quenching medium. Selection of quenchant that can yield desired properties is essential as it governs heat extraction process during quenching. In the present work, the cooling performance of vegetable oil and mineral-vegetable oil blend quench media was assessed. The vegetable oils used in this work were olive oil, canola oil and rice bran oil. The mineral-vegetable oil blends were prepared by blending 10 and 20 vol. % of rice bran and canola oil in mineral oil. Inconel probe of 12.5mm diameter and 60mm height, instrumented with thermocouples were used to characterize quenchants. The probe was heated to 850°C and quenched in the oil medium. The cooling curves at different locations in the probe were used to study wetting kinematics. Inverse modelling technique was used to estimate spatially dependent metal-quenchant interfacial heat flux. It was found that the vegetable oils exhibited very short vapour blanket stage compared to mineral oil and blends. Faster wetting kinematics obtained with blends resulted in uniform heat transfer compared to that of mineral oil. The temperature distribution in the probe quenched in vegetable oils and blends was more uniform compared to that in mineral oil. It is expected that the parts quenched in vegetable oils and blends would lead to better hardness distribution compared to mineral oils. © (2015) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.Item Characterization of metal-PCMs for thermal energy storage applications(Trans Tech Publications Ltd ttp@transtec.ch, 2015) Sudheer, R.; Prabhu, K.In recent years phase change materials have emerged to be ideal energy storage materials for their higher energy density over sensible heat storing materials. Use of phase change materials (PCM) have been successfully implemented at lower temperature applications with various organic compounds. On the other hand, high temperature applications have been solely dominated by various salts, their eutectics and mixtures as phase change materials. This work discusses the suitability of metals and alloys for thermal energy storage applications as the phase change material. Metals offer superior thermal conductivities with considerable energy density compared to salts. Here, two alloys namely, Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu (SAC) solidifying over 212-224°C and ZA8 (Zn-8%Al) solidifying over 378-405°C have been studied. Thermal analysis of PCMs using Computer Aided Cooling Curve Analysis (CA-CCA) and DSC technique were performed to predict the solidification path. In addition to this, Newtonian technique was employed to estimate the latent heat of fusion for these phase change materials. Cooling rate curves and Fraction Solid curves offered a better insight into their ability to receive and discharge heat over the concerned temperature range. © (2015) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.Item Heat flow at the casting/mold interface was assessed and studied during solidification of Al-Cu-Si (LM 21) alloy in preheated cast iron molds of two different thicknesses, coated with graphite and alumina based dressings. The casting and the mold were instrumented with thermocouples connected to a computer controlled temperature data acquisition system. The thermal history at nodal locations in the mold and casting obtained during experimentation was used to estimate the heat flux by solving the one-dimensional inverse heat conduction problem. The cooling rate and solidification time were measured using the computer-aided cooling curve analysis data. The estimated heat flux transients showed a peak due to the formation of a stable solid shell, which has a higher thermal conductivity compared with the liquid metal in contact with the mold wall prior to the occurrence of the peak. The high values of heat flux transients obtained with thin molds were attributed to mold distortion due to thermal stresses. For thin molds, assumption of Newtonian heating yielded reliable interfacial heat transfer coefficients as compared with one-dimensional inverse modeling. The time of occurrence of peak heat flux increased with a decrease in the mold wall thickness and increase in the casting thickness. © ASM International.(Casting/mold thermal contact heat transfer during solidification of Al-Cu-Si alloy (LM 21) plates in thick and thin molds) Prabhu, K.; Chowdary, B.; Venkataraman, N.2005Item Effect of thermal conductivity and viscosity on cooling performance of liquid quench media(Maney Publishing Suite 1C, Joseph's Well, Hanover Walk Leeds LS3 1AB, 2014) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.In this present work, the effect of the thermophysical properties of quenchants on its cooling performance was investigated. Water, brine solutions, polymer solutions and mineral oils were chosen to have quench media with varying thermophysical properties. Cooling curve analyses were carried out by using standard ISO/DIS 9950 quench probe. Grossmann H quench severity of the quench media was determined from the relation of H and cooling rate. Cooling curve analysis results showed that the change in thermophysical properties of the quench media had significant effect on the cooling history of the quench probe. The viscosity of the quenchant used for immersion quenching is the most important factor that controls the cooling performance of the quenchant compared to thermal conductivity of the quench medium. © 2014 IHTSE Partnership.Item Wetting kinetics, kinematics and heat transfer characteristics of pongamia pinnata vegetable oil for industrial heat treatment(Elsevier Ltd, 2014) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.The suitability of pongamia pinnata vegetable oil as cooling medium for quench heat treatment was investigated. Wetting kinetics, kinematics and heat transfer characteristics of pongamia oil during immersion quenching of hot Inconel probe were determined and compared with palm and mineral oils. A comparison of the relaxation of contact angle indicated early attainment of equilibrium contact angle for pongamia oil droplet on Inconel substrate. The equilibrium contact angle value of pongamia oil was in between mineral and palm oils. However, the spreading kinetics was faster with pongamia oil. Pongamia oil showed the formation of a stable vapour film on the probe surface during quenching. This phenomenon was not observed in palm oil and other vegetable oils reported in literature. Pongamia pinnata oil exhibits uniform nature of wetting front, intermediate rewetting temperature and less variations in rewetting temperatures during quenching. The hardening power of pongamia oil was higher than palm and mineral oils and the cooling of the probe was more uniform during quenching in pongamia oil. The heat transfer characteristics of pongamia oil were found to be superior to palm and mineral oils after film/transition boiling. Pongamia oil showed lower heat transfer but more uniform cooling during film boiling. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Item Wetting and cooling performance of mineral oils for quench heat treatment of steels(Iron and Steel Institute of Japan, 2014) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.In the present work, wetting kinetics, kinematics and heat transfer characteristics of mineral oils having varying thermo-physical properties sourced from different suppliers were investigated using contact angle, online video imaging and cooling curve analysis techniques. The relaxation behavior of mineral oils of low viscosity and surface tension on Inconel substrate indicated improved wettability and fast spreading kinetics while mineral oils of high viscosity and surface tension showed reduced wettability and slower spreading kinetics. Further, the spreading behavior of mineral oils of lower viscosity and density showed the absence of viscous regime. During rewetting, formation of double wetting fronts and more uniform nature of wetting front were observed with mineral oils of high viscosity and flash point whereas no additional wetting front was observed for mineral oils of low viscosity and flash point. Among the convectional/fast/hot mineral oils, higher wetting front velocity and cooling rate were obtained for low viscosity mineral oil. The heat extracting capability of high viscosity mineral oils was higher during vapour and nucleate boiling and lower during liquid cooling stage. Further, highly viscous mineral oils showed uniform heat transfer compared to mineral oils having low viscosity. © 2014 ISIJ.Item Spatial dependence of heat flux transients and wetting behavior during immersion quenching of inconel 600 probe in brine and polymer media(Springer Boston, 2014) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.Cooling curve analysis of Inconel 600 probe during immersion quenching in brine and polymer quench media was carried out. Thermal histories at various axial and radial locations were recorded using a high-speed data acquisition system and were input to an inverse heat-conduction model for estimating the metal/quenchant heat flux transients. A high performance smart camera was used for online video imaging of the immersion quenching process. Solution to two-dimensional inverse heat-conduction problem clearly brings out the spatial dependence of boundary heat flux transients for a Inconel 600 probe with a simple cylindrical geometry. The estimated heat flux transients show large variation on axial as well as radial directions of quench probe surface for brine quenching. Polymer quenching showed less variation in metal/quenchant heat flux transients. Shorter durations of vapor film, higher rewetting temperatures, and faster movement of wetting front on quench probe surface were observed with brine quenching. Measurement of dynamic contact angle showed better spreading and good wettability for polymer medium as compared to brine quenchant. The solid-liquid interfacial tension between polymer medium and Inconel substrate was lower compared with that of solution. Rewetting and boiling processes were nonuniform and faster on quench probe surface during immersion quenching in brine solution. For the polymer quench medium, slow rewetting, uniform boiling and repeated wetting were observed. © 2014 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International.Item Assessment of axial and radial heat transfer during immersion quenching of Inconel 600 probe(2014) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.The time-temperature data at axial and radial locations were measured during immersion quenching of Inconel 600 probe in a mineral oil quench medium. The cooling of probe was not uniform during quenching. The variation of cooling rate along the axial direction was found to be higher than around the radial location. Inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) was solved for estimating heat flux transients from the temperature data and thermo-physical properties of the Inconel probe. Single and multiple unknown heat fluxes were assigned on the metal/quenchant boundary. The error between the estimated and measured temperatures reduced significantly with increase in number of unknown surface heat flux components. The peak heat flux was about 50% lower for assignment of single unknown heat flux compared to multiple unknown heat fluxes at the metal/quenchant boundary. A plot of isotherms indicated gradual and uniform cooling of the quench probe when single heat flux boundary was used. With increase in the number of heat flux components, non-uniform and large temperature variations in the quench probe were observed. The present work outlines the importance of estimation of spatially dependent boundary heat flux transients during quench heat treatment. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.Item Cooling performance of select mineral oil and polymer quenchants(ASTM International, 2014) Tiwary, V.; Prabhu, K.In the present investigation, quench severity was determined for industrial oil quenchants and varying concentrations of PAG polymer. Viscosity, thermal conductivity, density, flash point, and fire point were measured for all quenchants. Cooling curve parameters were determined based on cooling curve analysis ISO/DIS 9950 technique. An Inconel 600 probe was used for this purpose. Severity of quenching was determined based on the Grossmann technique. Viscosity and thermal conductivity had a significant effect on quench severity. Heat flux and HTC at the metal/quenchant interface were computed by both lumped capacitance and Inverse modeling techniques. The effect of ultrasonic and Tensi agitation on cooling curve parameters was assessed. Polymer quenchants of lower concentrations showed marginally higher heat transfer rates compared to water particularly during unagitated condition. © © 2014 by ASTM International.Item Experimental and numerical heat transfer studies on quenching of Inconel 600 probe(Springer Verlag, 2015) Ramesh, G.; Prabhu, K.The effect of heat transfer coefficient and quench start temperature on cooling behaviour of Inconel 600 quench probe was assessed by numerical experiments. A quantitative model that relates the mean cooling rate and quench start temperature of the probe with the boundary heat transfer coefficient was proposed. Computed aided cooling curve analysis was carried out by heating Inconel 600 probe to temperatures varying from 100 to 850 °C followed by quenching in water. The results of quenching experiments and the data available in the literature were used to validate the proposed model. A good agreement between the measured and estimated value was observed. The results showed that the film and transition boiling of cooling stages were significantly influenced by quench start temperature of the material while nucleate boiling and convective cooling stages were strongly dependent on the boundary heat transfer coefficient. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.