ALD’s new Velocity Gauge enables gas flow measurement during quenching
August 19, 2019
ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH, a division of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V., headquartered in Hanau, Germany, reports that its newly developed Velocity Gauge enables the gas flow in the batch chamber to be checked during gas quenching, helping to ensure the quality of gas-quenched components.
According to the company, an important process parameter in gas quenching is the flow velocity of the circulated quenching gas, as well as other parameters like quenching pressure, gas type and temperature, that determines the quenching intensity. These parameters can significantly influence the achievable component properties such as hardness, microstructure and distortion.
ALD states that it is important to ensure that these process parameters are measured and documented. Although gas temperature and gas pressure are reportedly recorded and documented by appropriate sensors, the gas velocity is generally not recorded.
The measurement can be recorded by a Velocity Gauge which works according to the physical measuring principle of a Prandtl sensor. The company explains that this makes it possible to measure the distribution of the flow velocity over the base area of a quenching chamber without great effort.
Once the measurement has been recorded, a protocol with the current measurement data is generated which can then be compared with the data at the time of delivery of the quenching system. In case of deviations, the analysis of the measured flow profile enables conclusions to be drawn about possible causes of faults in the system.