
Thomas L. Christiansen is a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He is also the director of the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE), an industry-academia alliance that conducts research and development for the thermal processing industry.
Various in-situ methods can track realtime heat treatment response in bulk materials. This can aid material engineers in designing the most effective heat treatment procedures and processing methods. In-situ methods such as thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and dilatometry, offer capabilities to examine heat treatment behavior in real time, giving insight into the thermochemical mechanisms and the thermal behavior of steel.