Multiphysics Modeling of Induction Hardening of Ring Gears for the Aerospace Industry

Induction heating has been widely used for heat treating and especially surface hardening in a broad variety of applications, ranging from the automotive to the renewable energy market. However, the lack of precise knowledge about the interrelation between all the concurrent physical phenomena occurring within the part during the heating cycle has restricted its use to mass-production items (mostly gears). The benefits of this technology, which is clean, repeatable, and cost-effective, could boost its introduction into more conservative industry sectors, such as aerospace, where furnace-based treatments (e.g., carburizing) represent the golden standard. The major limitation is related to the optimization of the induction hardening process, which usually requires significant material know-how and can thus be very long and expensive. Computer simulation could provide a general tool for understanding and improving the critical aspects of each step of the process, thus speeding up the spreading of the induction technology into new markets.