UCON Quenching Fluids

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1 UCON Quenching Fluids Page 1

2 UCON Quenchants Industry leader for over 40 years Originally manufactured by Union Carbide Corp., since 2001 by The Dow Chemical Company Wide variety of products to meet all quenching needs Page 2

3 Quenching Process Variables UCON Quenchant systems can be adjusted in many ways to meet wide variety heat treating requirements Equipment design Type of quenchant Quenchant concentration Bath temperature Bath agitation Page 3

4 UCON Quenchants UCON Quenchant A Use to replace fast quench oils Induction heat treating Low carbon/low hardenability steel Integral quench furnaces Aluminum quenching» Original PAG quenchant for use with aluminum» Meets all requirements for AMS 3025B Type 1 Quenchant Page 4

5 UCON Quenchants UCON Quenchant E Use to replace medium-slow quench oils For high carbon/high hardenability steels Quenching thin aluminum sheets Induction heat treating Patented polymer structure makes UCON E our most oil like quenchant Page 5

6 UCON Quenchants Corrosion Inhibitors All standard grades of UCON Quenchants contain a corrosion inhibitor Concentration easily monitored in house Additional inhibitor easily added Contact your UCON Quenchant distributor for more information Page 6

7 Quench Bath Maintenance Page 7

8 Quench Bath Maintenance ALL quenchant baths must be maintained, not just polymer baths Oxidized/degraded quenchant replaced Quenchant lost to drag-out or evaporation replaced Solid impurities removed scale, trash Liquid impurities removed water (for oil baths), foam causing materials, oil (for polymer baths) Poorly maintained bath of any quenchant will have problems Foaming Cracked, warped parts Uneven hardness Page 8

9 Quench Bath Maintenance Polymer Quenchants Perform daily concentration analysis by refractometer Prevent contamination by: Hydraulic fluids Salts Coolants Remove water soluble contaminants by thermal separation Install and maintain filters if possible Other tests performed by your quenchant distributor Page 9

10 Analysis of Used Quenchant Solutions Quenchant Concentration is most common analysis Refractive Index (RI): fast and easy to determine quenchant concentration. Will lose accuracy if bath is contaminated with organic material or if quenchant is severely degraded Viscosity: requires special equipment and takes more time to obtain quenchant concentration. Method is much less sensitive contaminants and polymer degradation than RI Large difference between concentration determined by RI and by Viscosity indicates problem with quenchant bath Page 10

11 BRIX Refractometers BRIX Refractometers excellent device for monitoring quenchant concentration on daily basis. BRIX excellent substitute for RI Brix Refractometers display readings on the BRIX scale. Brix is a unit of measure which is related to the sugar (sucrose) content of a sugar solution. When testing industrial fluids or non-sugar solutions, you can create a calibration table or graph for comparing the Brix scale readings to the actual known concentrations or properties of your fluids. This method sensitive to polymer degradation and bath contamination must confirm concentration by viscosity on periodic basis Page 11

12 UCON A and HT Quenchant Conc., % Brix Value Page 12

13 Analysis of Used Quenchant Solutions, cont. Electrical Conductivity - this procedure is used to detect evidence of salt contamination Corrosion Inhibitor Concentration - corrosion inhibitor concentration can be monitored Separation Temperature - this procedure can often be used as an indicator of polymer degradation Bacterial Contamination - periodic analysis using dip sticks Page 13

14 Hydraulic Fluid and Oil Contamination Oil contamination can result in uneven quenching, resulting in surface cracking and spotty hardness. Oil can generally be removed by: 1. Turning off agitation 2. Skimming oil from tank Page 14

15 Filtration Presence of solids can affect quenching performance Solids may be: Scale Silica from fluidized beds Suggest use of at least a 50 micron filter Filter elements should not be made of paper Page 15

16 Thermal Separation PAG quenchants allow user to carry out thermal separation process to remove water soluble impurities Salt contamination Degraded polymer Foaming agents Some polymer quenchants do not allow this procedure PVP, PSA Page 16

17 Typical Problems For Heat Treat Systems Change in metallurgy of quenched parts Check system for proper quenchant concentration Check to determine if quenchant has degraded Check for bath foaming Check for bacterial growth Check incoming parts to make sure steel hasn t changed Foaming Check for oil or cleaning solution contamination Check for leaks in recirculation pump suction Odor Check for bacterial contamination Corrosion Check level of corrosion inhibitor in bath Page 17

18 Problem Soving, cont. Quenchant concentration not correct Make sure concentration reading accurate (run viscosity if possible) Add make-up fresh quenchant or water Degraded quenchant Add fresh quenchant if degradation not severe Consider thermal separation or quenchant replacement if severe Foaming Add approved defoamer Consider thermal separation or quenchant replacement if severe Page 18

19 Problem Solving, cont. Bacterial growth Add approved biocide Leave recirculation system running at all times if possible Page 19

20 Trial at Dana Toluca with Ucon Quenchant E-NN

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22 Regular process with oil at Dana Toluca

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