The Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded 20 years ago from the vision of the ASM Heat Treating Society’s (HTS) R&D committee. 

Rapid phase transformation and high thermal gradients that occur during quenching can cause distortion, which can lead to costly hard machining and rejection.

In this article, we focus on the simulation work being done with CarbTool© technology in the area of low-pressure carburization (LPC), also referred to as vacuum carburization.

The CHTE at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts has been working on a one-of-a-kind research project aimed at better understanding the mechanical properties and microstructural features of steels that have been gas tempered and induction tempered.

At the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, researchers are perfecting carbon-concentration profile predictions through enhancements to CarbTool©, its simulation software.

Fastener reliability and performance can only be ensured by testing. Since heat treatment can have a profound influence on final properties, it is especially important to conduct testing on the raw material, after heat treatment and on the finished product.