Prediction of hardness at different points of Jominy specimen using quench factor analysis method

Jominy end quench test is a standard test used to characterize hardenability of steels. There are some theories focused on correlation between cooling curves and hardness of the test specimen such as quench factor analysis (QFA). In this research it was tried to simulate the Jominy test of a steel (AISI 4130) with the method. By considering the phase transformation during quenching and material properties, cooling curves of different points were determined. Then, using time–temperature-properties (TTP) curve of 4130 steel, function constants of the curve (CT) were obtained. Finally, the QFA was derived using the simulated results and maximum and minimum hardness of the steel. The extracted results from QFA are hardness of different points of Jominy specimens. The data obtained from QFA were compared with the experimental results. The comparison showed a good agreement at the low specification but not at the high specification successfully.