Modelling of Induction Heating of Steel Work Piece for Forging of Crankshaft

Vanadium microalloyed steel forgings provide high performance and cost effective solutions for automotive components in powertrain and chassis of modern cars and trucks. The majority of these forgings are produced from medium carbon steel with small additions of vanadium, manganese and sulphur to provide precipitation strengthening of the cooled ferrite-pearlite microstructure. This article deals with modelling of induction heating of steel billet prior to forging for automotive applications using COMSOL Multiphysics. The main aim of computer modelling was to evaluate the temperature distribution in billet since precise temperature control is required to prevent process-induced defects such as overheating or insufficient heating. Obtained numerical results for development of induction heating of steel billets have represented eventual increase of effectiveness by reducing of operation time.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.24.3.18313