Drayton Quenchalyzer

Quench oils are used to temper and or harden metals.  The speed at which the quench oil cools the metal during the quenching process determine the hardness of  the finished piece.  

The Drayton Quenchalyzer is an instrument used to measure cooling rates of new and used quench oils.  A cooling curve is developed by immersing a heated probe into the quench oil and recording its temperature versus time.  The resulting data is reported in the form of a cooling curve. 

Typical Cooling Curve

The two curves represent the same data plotted on different scales, temperature vs. time and temperature vs. cooling rate.  The curves display the oils behavior throughout the quenching process, i.e. vapor, boiling and convection phases.  The shape of the curves are determined by the oils formulation.  Changes in the shape can occur due to oil degradation or contamination. 

The cooling curve is also useful for comparing batch to batch variance, and performance of  competitive products.

There are typically six key components of the quench test that are scrutinized.  The following table lists these parameters and common limits for each.

 Depending on the application, when one or more results falls outside of its range, the oil should be replaced or reconditioned.