George E. Totten

George E. Totten (Ph.D., FASM)

George Totten received his BS and MS degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and his Ph.D. from New York University.

He is a visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo and an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University as well as president of G.E. Totten & Associates, LLC, a research and consulting firm specializing in Thermal Processing and Industrial Lubrication problems.

Dr. Totten is past-president (2002-2003) of the International Federation for Heat Treating and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) and a fellow of ASM International, SAE International, ASTM and IFHTSE.

Dr. Totten is the coauthor or coeditor of approximately 550 publications including patents, technical papers and books among which include: Theory and Technology of Quenching, Handbook of Aluminum Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Handbook of Quenchants and Quenching Technology, Steel Heat Treatment Handbook - Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel, Handbook of Metallurgical Design, Handbook of Hydraulic Fluid Technology, Handbook of Lubrication and Tribology (Vol.1: Application and Maintenance), and the ASTM Fuels and Lubricants Handbook: Technology, Properties, Performance, and Testing (MNL 37) - among others.

HEAT TREATMENT: STATE-OF-THE ART, FUTURE TRENDS

George E. Totten, PhD, FASM

Texas A&M University

Department of Mechanical Engineering

College Station, TX  USA

Heat treating is an enormously important industrial technology which is often ignored overlooked and continues to be poorly understood.  In nearly every survey taken to obtain a better insight into problems of greatest concern to the heat treatment industry, the following topics are often identified as the most important and of greatest interest:

1.      Distortion and quality control

2.      Energy costs

3.      Implementation of modeling and simulation technologies

4.      Problems with quenchant selection and use

5.      Sensors

6.      Heat Treating With Atmospheres

It is generally understood if these and related issues are not successfully addressed, the ability of this vital industry to support industrial growth and improvement will be in serious trouble! However, there are a number of high-level and visible national research thrusts in progress to support this ailing industry. The objective of this lecture is to provide an overview of the various needs of the heat treating industry and to provide a vision of the future of this essential industry.