Experimental and simulation study of stress evolution in Q1100 plate quenching process

Quenching is a heat treatment process for preparing ultra-high strength steel for construction machinery, but it introduces significant stress during the process, eventually forming residual stress that affects the service performance and lifespan of the material. In this paper, thermal simulation experiments, crack compliance method for residual stress characterization, and an independently developed phase transformation residual stress analysis software package were used to explore the influence of different cooling modes on the rolling direction stress ofplates during quenching. The results show that the phase transformation volume fraction in the first transformation zone is the key factor determining the residual stress level of the material after quenching. When the phase transformation in the second transformation zone begins, the phase transformation volume fration in the first transformation zone increases from 79% to 87%, the extreme difference of the rolling direction residual stress in the thickness direction of the material increases from 538.7 MPa to 669.4 MPa. By intervening in the cooling mode to regulate this parameter, low-stress and high-performance high-strength steel for construction mechinery can be obtained.