Changes in the dimensions and shape of heat-treated components during production almost always determine the economic efficiency of the manufacturing process and often even decide on possible rejection rates. The “Distortion Engineering” approach according to Mayr is the first comprehensive approach to solving this problem, which regards distortion as a system property in which each manufacturing step contributes its own distortion.

Among the so-called distortion potential carriers, component geometry plays a dominant role. During his time at the Leibniz-IWT, Mr. Kagathara systematically investigated its influence in the heat treatment department using computational heat treatment simulation on the example of a case-hardened gear wheel.

The realistic component geometry consists of various geometric elements such as the gear hub, the flange and the external gear rim. These geometric elements were varied in their dimensions and in their position in relation to each other, and the resulting changes in dimensions and shape due to case hardening were described and evaluated by him.

In order to achieve the most accurate warpage prediction possible, the simulation models were adapted and the results were extensively displayed and evaluated. The results provide valuable design guidelines for the construction of new components and thus enable warpage to be minimized in the future.

In order to simulate the connection of the geometric elements (notch radii) and their effects, Mr. Kagathara used bionics-inspired approaches according to Mattheck for the first time. Although distortion always remains a component property, Mr. Kagathara's results enable a generalization within the gear component family, thus contributing to a sustainable improvement in the cost-effectiveness of the production of highly stressed machine elements.

His colloquium on April 16 was able to demonstrate this once again to the examination board. Congratulations on this research work!