Exploration of the Heat Treatment Process of Wind Turbine Main Shafts Based on Computer Simulation Technology
Keywords:
Computer simulation, Main shaft, Heat treatment, Finite elementAbstract
Based on computer simulation technology, the finite element simulation of the heat treatment process for 42CrMo4 alloy steel wind turbine main shafts was conducted. Changes in the temperature field, stress field, phase field, and hardness field during the heat treatment process were analyzed. Simulation results indicated that the water quenching process generated significant stress, with a maximum stress of 354 MPa. However, tempering could reduce the stress caused by water quenching, with the corresponding maximum stress decreasing to 119 MPa. After water quenching, the main shaft obtained a martensite volume fraction of approximately 10%, achieving a maximum hardness of 50.9 HRC. The increase in hardness was directly proportional to the martensite content. Following high-temperature tempering, martensite could be transformed into tempered sorbite, resulting in a hardness reduction to 30 HRC. The final microstructure of the main shaft after heat treatment consisted of pearlite, bainite, tempered sorbite, and ferrite, with a hardness range of 26.8 to 30 HRC. This demonstrates that computer simulation technology can predict the heat treatment results of large forgings, providing a theoretical basis for developing heat treatment processes.
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