STTR Phase I:Heat treatment process modeling and simulation tools

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will establish the feasibility of commercialization of CHT (Computer-aided Heat Treatment) technology developed at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The proposed research will: (1) develop knowledge discovery based data mining tools to uncover hidden furnace model parameters and rules; (2) develop a calibration technique to enable furnace profiling for each individual furnace which will improve model accuracy; (3) develop a web-based service model to enable broad customer beta use of the tools; and (4) convert the current CHT systems into web-based systems to facilitate the service oriented business model. Heat treatment process is a manufacturing process which determines the materials properties contributing to the product quality. Under WPI Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) sponsorship, a loaded furnace modeling technique has been developed for simulating the complex thermal process and microstructure evolution for predicting material properties. The models have been validated with production data. This approach can be further used to optimize heat-treating processes, improving energy efficiency, reducing process times and production costs, and achieving zero distortion and uniformity in heat-treated parts.