Method and apparatus for characterizing and controlling the heat treatment of a metal alloy

A method of controlling a heat treatment of a metal alloy part using infrared radiation as an energy source comprising the steps:

• providing a test part of the metal alloy, the test part being compositionally and geometrically representative of a part of the metal alloy to be subsequently heat treated;
• applying thermal energy to the test part by irradiating a surface of the test part with infrared radiation;
• collecting data representative of a temperature of the test part as a function of time at a test location remote from the surface that is irradiated;
• determining mechanical properties of the test part after completion of the irradiating step;
• generating a thermal gradient profile from the collected data;
• accepting or rejecting the thermal gradient profile based on the mechanical properties of the test part after completion of the irradiation step;
• providing the part of the metal alloy;
• applying thermal energy to the part by irradiating a surface of the part with infrared radiation;
• collecting data representative of a temperature of the part as a function of time at a part location remote from the surface that is irradiated, the part location being spatially related to the part in substantially the same way that the test location is related to the test part;
• and
• adjusting the amount of thermal energy applied to the part during the applying step in response to a comparison between the data collected for the part and the thermal gradient profile.