During the forging process, internal stress and grain boundary degeneration may occur in the flange due to multiple heating and cooling. This will seriously affect the performance and reliability of the flange product. Therefore, proper heat treatment must be carried out during the forging process to eliminate stress and improve grain size, ensuring the quality and performance of the forged flanges. The following are the heat treatment process and an actual production case:
- Heat treatment process
(1) Tempering treatment – For flanges that have undergone hardening treatment, tempering operation is necessary to eliminate stress and increase toughness.
(2) Annealing – This heat treatment process accelerates grain coarsening and improves grain structure, reducing residual stress, hardness, and enhancing plasticity and toughness.
(3) Quenching – This heat treatment process strengthens the hardness and strength of the steel by continuous heating and rapid cooling of the flange.
- Actual production case
A forge flanges manufacturing company needed to produce stainless steel flanges. They used a vacuum furnace and gas quenching heat treatment process to process the forged flanges. In the heating process, they precisely controlled the temperature, time, and cooling rate, preventing defects such as excessive light deformation and carbide precipitation, further optimizing the flange’s microstructure and grain size. Then they used bright quenching technology to strengthen the surface of the flange and coated the surface of the product to improve its corrosion resistance.
In conclusion, the appropriate heat treatment process can improve the quality and performance of the forged flanges and provide assurance for their performance and reliability.
