GEAR SOLUTIONS MAGAZINE
EXTENDING GEAR LIFE IN DEMANDING APPLICATIONS
Extending Gear Life in
Demanding Applications
ISSUE FOCUS
Raw Materials
Coating/Finishing
COMPANY PROFILE:
Bevel Gears (India) Pvt. Ltd.
JANUARY 2018
JANUARY 2018
Your Resource for Machines, Services, and Tooling for the Gear Industry gearsolutions.com
HOT D. SCOTT MACKENZIE, PH.D., FASM
SEAT
SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST-METALLURGY
HOUGHTON INTERNATIONAL INC.
OIL QUENCHANTS UNDERSTANDING THE CHEMISTRY (PART I)
This installment explores the chemistry of oil quenchants and the effects of additive
packages on quenching performance, to be followed in February by a discussion of base oils.
OIL QUENCHANTS HAVE BEEN USED EXTENSIVELY TO HARDEN of cooling are required to ensure maximum mechanical properties.
steel in excess of 100 years. There are a wide variety of commercially High-speed quench oils usually have a maximum cooling rate greater
available quenchants on the market, from nearly as many different than 90° C/s (162° F/s). A comparison of the quenching speeds of the
producers. This column explores how the chemistry of the base oil different types of quench oil is shown in Figure 1.
and additive package affects quenching performance. A discussion Mar-quenching oils are a special case where the part is quenched
of the mechanism of oil degradation also will be provided. This will into a quenchant at elevated temperature, typically 100° to 200° C.
be broken into two sections: first a description of quench oils, and The work piece is held in the quenchant until temperature equi-
the second part will be a description of the oxidation of quench oil librium is established throughout the section and then air-cooled
and ramifications for the heat treater. to ambient temperature. During mar-quenching, components are
Many types of oils have been used for quenching, including veg- quenched to an intermediate temperature close to the Martensite start
etable, fish and animal oils, and particularly sperm whale oil have (Ms) temperature and held at this temperature. This eliminates the
been used for quenching operations. The first petroleum-based temperature gradients across the surface, and consequently, during
quenching oils were developed about in 1880 by E.F. Houghton in subsequent slow cooling after removal from the hot oil, transforma-
Philadelphia. Since that time, many advancements have been made tion to Martensite occurs uniformly throughout the section. This
in the development of quenching oils to provide highly specialized minimizes the generation of internal stresses and reduces distortion.
products for specific applications. Since mar-quenching oils are used at relatively high temperatures,
A wide range of quenching characteristics can be obtained through their formulation and physical properties are different from cold
careful formulation and manufacturing. High quality quenching oils quenching oils. They are formulated from carefully selected base
are formulated from refined base stocks of high thermal stability. stocks with high oxidation resistance and thermal stability. They have
Selected wetting agents, antioxidants, and accelerators are added to high flash points and viscosities and contain complex anti-oxidant
achieve specific quenching characteristics. The additions of these packages to provide long life. Selection of the mar-quenching oil is
complex anti-oxidant packages are included to maintain perfor- based on the operating temperature and quenching characteristics.
mance for long periods of continued use, particularly at elevated A minimum of 50º C should be maintained between the operating
temperatures. Emulsifiers may be added to enable easy cleaning temperature of the oil and its flash point.
after quenching.
Petroleum-based quench oils can be divided into several catego- ADDITIVE PACKAGES
ries, such as quenching speed, operating temperatures, and ease of Additive packages have two functions: first to act as a speed improv-
removal. The simplest category is operational temperature: Cold er, and second to increase thermal and oxidative stability. These
oils for operation below 90° C and mar-tempering oils used for additives can have a dramatic effect on the quenching properties.
temperatures above 90° C. The magnitude of the effect is dependent on the additive package.
Cold oils are the most widely used oils for heat-treating applica- These additive packages are usually proprietary. Depending on
tions. These oils are further broken down into rankings according the robustness of the additive package, they may tend to deplete
to speed or heat extraction. These are usually called slow-, medium-, during use. Some additive packages are prone to selective drag-out
and high-speed oils. over time. It’s generally not appropriate to mix additive packages
Normal-speed quench oils have relatively low rates of heat extrac- from different quenchant suppliers because of the unintended
tion and are used in applications where the material being quenched consequences of precipitation, increased staining, and generally
has a high hardenability. Highly alloyed steels such as AISI 4340 or unpredictable response.
tool steels are typical examples of steels quenched in normal speed Speed improvers increase the quenching rates by increasing the
oils. These oils usually have a maximum quench rate below approxi- wettability of the oil. There are different types of additives. The
mately 60° C/s (108° F/s). most common is the sulfonate-type. Barium sulfonate used to be
Medium-speed quench oils provide intermediate quenching char- the most common, but it is no longer used by most quenchant
acteristics and are widely used for medium to high hardenability suppliers. The presence of barium can cause an issue with disposal
applications where dependable, consistent metallurgical properties are and special precautions during disposal. Potassium and sodium
required. These oils have a maximum cooling rate between 60° C/s sulfonates are commonly used. These sulfonates provide excellent
to 90° C/s (108° F/s to 162° F/s). This is the most widely used group speed improvement and can double as thermal oxidation stabiliz-
of cold oils, primarily because of the wide applicability. ers. However, if oil is recovered from washers and reused (after
High-speed quench oils are used for applications such as low eliminating water), the soluble sodium sulfonates can be depleted
hardenability alloys, carburized, and carbo-nitrided components, or from the quench oil. This can lead to a greater emulsified layer of
large cross-sections of medium hardenability steels where high rates oil in the washer, contributing to poor recovery yield. It can also
24 gearsolutions.com
contribute to poorly washed
parts. Hydrocarbon based addi- Cooling Rate, °C/sec
tive packages are used in high- 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
900
end quenchants. They are robust
and have a long life and are not 800
prone to replenishment. The pri-
mary disadvantage is cost. 700
The other purpose of an addi-
tive package is to improve the 600
Temperature, °C
thermal and oxidative stability
500
of the base oil. These packages
reduce the formation of sludge 400
and minimize the formation of
organic acids upon thermal aging 300
of the oil.
200
CONCLUSIONS
100
In this column the different types
of quench oil were described, and 0
the constituents in commercially 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
available quench oil examined. Time, sec
Part 2 will address base oils,
Slow Speed Oil Medium Speed Oil Fast Speed Oil
while the oxidation of oils and
the interaction of anti-oxidants
will be discussed in upcoming Figure 1: Comparison of cooling curves of slow-, medium-, and fast-quench oils. Oils were tested at 60° C per ASTM D6200.
installments.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: D. Scott MacKenzie, Ph.D., FAS, is senior research scientist-metallurgy at Houghton International Inc.
Go online to www.houghtonintl.com.
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