Vacuum heat treatment requirements in the aerospace industry

The continuous progress of vacuum heat treatment technology has provided strong technical support for the development of the aerospace industry. It enables the performance of aerospace materials to be fully utilized, laying the foundation for the development of more advanced and reliable aerospace equipment.

Requirements for vacuum heat treatment in the aerospace field

Extremely high temperature control accuracy

The material composition of aerospace components is complex and very sensitive to heat treatment temperature. A small temperature deviation may lead to huge fluctuations in material properties. Therefore, vacuum heat treatment equipment must have extremely high temperature control accuracy, usually requiring the temperature uniformity in the furnace to be controlled within ±2°C. For some precision parts, it is even required to be controlled within ±1°C.

In order to achieve this accuracy, the vacuum heat treatment furnace adopts a multi-zone heating method. Each heating zone is equipped with an independent temperature sensor and controller, and the heating power of each zone is monitored and adjusted in real time through a computer system. At the same time, the furnace body uses high-quality insulation materials and advanced temperature compensation algorithms to ensure that the temperature in the furnace is stable and uniform, providing a consistent heat treatment environment for the components.

Strict vacuum control

Aerospace components have extremely strict requirements on vacuum during heat treatment. Different materials and processes require different vacuum environments. For example, solution treatment of high-temperature alloys usually requires a high vacuum below 1×10⁻³Pa to prevent material oxidation and gas contamination; while vacuum carburizing needs to be carried out at a low vacuum of about 1×10⁻¹Pa to facilitate the penetration of carbon atoms.

The vacuum system needs to have the ability to quickly evacuate and accurately maintain the vacuum. Modern vacuum heat treatment furnaces usually use a combination of multi-stage vacuum pumps, such as mechanical pumps, Roots pumps and diffusion pumps, which can evacuate the vacuum in the furnace to the required level in a short time, and accurately maintain the stability of the vacuum through vacuum valves and control systems. At the same time, the sealing performance of the furnace body is crucial. High-quality sealing materials and precise sealing structures are used to ensure that there is no leakage during high temperature and long-term operation.

Precise cooling control

Cooling rate and cooling uniformity have a great impact on the final performance of aerospace components. Different materials and components require different cooling rates to obtain ideal structures and properties. For example, ultra-high strength steel requires rapid cooling to obtain martensitic structure, while high-temperature alloys require slower cooling rates to avoid cracking.

Vacuum heat treatment equipment is equipped with an advanced cooling system that can accurately control the cooling rate according to different process requirements. For parts that require rapid cooling, high-pressure inert gas (such as nitrogen, argon) is used for forced cooling, and precise control of cooling rate is achieved by adjusting gas pressure, flow rate and nozzle layout. For parts that require slow cooling, natural cooling or segmented cooling in the furnace is used to ensure uniform cooling of the parts and reduce internal stress and deformation.

The promotion of vacuum heat treatment to the development of the aerospace industry

By improving the performance and reliability of components, vacuum heat treatment reduces the failure rate of aerospace equipment, reduces maintenance costs and downtime, and improves the operating efficiency of equipment. At the same time, vacuum heat treatment can achieve precise processing of complex-shaped components, providing the possibility for lightweight and miniaturized design of aerospace equipment, and helping to improve the carrying capacity and fuel efficiency of equipment.

With the continuous development of aerospace technology, the requirements for vacuum heat treatment technology will become higher and higher. In the future, vacuum heat treatment will develop in the direction of higher temperature, higher vacuum degree, and more precise control, providing a stronger guarantee for continuous innovation in the aerospace field.