Effect of Inflow Mode and Parameters on Temperature and Phase Transition of Wires During Isothermal Quenching in Molten Salt Bath

The salt bath can quickly cool the wire rods from austenitizing temperature, followed by isothermal heat treatment to achieve sorbitization. Precise control of the cooling conditions within the salt was crucial for improving wires’ mechanical properties. Molten salt mixtures were employed as a quench medium in the salt heat treatment for moving wires, facilitating the achievement of isothermal phase transition. However, simulating the movement of wires within the salt was challenging. To address this, we have developed an innovative two-step method to simulate isothermal quenching between the wire rods and salt. In the first step, a three-dimensional model incorporating the salt and wires was established to obtain the heat transfer coefficients on the surface of the wires. In the second step, a slicing model incorporating the latent heat and heat transfer was established, and by programming the heat transfer coefficients obtained in the first step, we successfully simulated the dynamic process of the wires. Additionally, the influence of salt temperature and flow rates on the wires’ temperature was investigated. The simulation results demonstrated good agreement with experimental measurements. Consequently, this model can be employed to study the isothermal transition process, and predict the wire rods’ temperature.