| Abstract: | A visco-elastic-plastic mathematical model that also incorporates transformation plasticity has been used to determine the thermal stress and strain generation in quenched plates of various thicknesses. An increase in plate thickness produced an increase in the maximum amount of absolute strain introduced during the quench. This was associated with an increase in the residual strain at the end of a water quench, but the residual strain was reduced in the case of an oil quench. Former results were in agreement with the experimental data obtained from 20 and 40 mm thick specimens. In contrast, the level of residual absolute stress at specific points in water quenched plates fell as the thickness increased, mainly on account of the amount of stress-relaxation in the later stages of the cooling process, as the temperature in the interior of the thicker sections fell to ambient. This effect did not agree well with the experimental results and casts some doubt on the viscous flow data used at longer times and lower temperatures. The agreement between calculation and experiment was much better in the case of the oil quenched material. |
