Annealing simulator

• Subject Area: Materials Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465876869

The proposed annealing simulator which, in addition to simple heat treatment by means of time-temperature cycles, is equipped with various additional functions. The functions include a gas mixing station for introducing protective and reactive gases to observe surface effects on the specimens. Furthermore, the annealing simulator is equipped with a strip tension unit, which allows heat treatments of sheets under tensile stress to be carried out and thus influence texture development, for example. By integrating very powerful infrared emitters, it is possible to vary the heating rate up to 100 K/s. The cooling rate can be adjusted by means of a control unit. Adjustment of the cooling rate is possible with pure nitrogen up to approx. 100K/s. The combination of these parameters makes it possible to develop very complex heat treatments for new material concepts. Due to the size of the annealing simulator, it is possible to apply a homogeneous temperature distribution of 150 x 300 mm² to sheet samples of up to 200 x 400 mm² in order to subsequently take samples for tensile testing or sheet testing, for example. The proposed annealing simulator is of substantial significance for ongoing and future research work, as it is a useful and complementary addition to the existing equipment at the IEHK Steel Institute and enables cross-faculty use at RTWH Aachen University.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Glühsimulator
• Instrumentation Group: 8400 Kammeröfen, Muffelöfen, Rohröfen
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Krupp