Investigation of Heat Treatment of Gears Using a Simultaneous Dual Frequency Induction Heating Method

This paper presents the development of a simultaneous dual frequency (SDF) induction hardening apparatus for gear hardening. First, a 2-D finite-element (FE) modeling for a thermal-electromagnetic coupled field is introduced for gear hardening and then the analytical results are investigated. By modeling the gear hardening as 2-D FE model, we can calculate for the coupled field more efficiently. In addition, optimum process parameters can also be found through this analysis. A real SDF heat treatment equipment is manufactured using analytical results, like input frequency, and gear hardening experiments are conducted. Through analysis and experiments, we can validate the performance of the developed machine.