Improving mechanical properties and high-temperature oxidation of press hardened steel by adding Cr and Si

This work investigated the effect of Cr and Si on the mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of press hardened steel.Results indicated that the microstructure of the Cr-Si micro-alloyed press hardened steel consisted of lath martensite,M_(23)C_(6)carbides,and retained austenite.The retained austenite and carbides are responsible for the increase in elongation of the micro-alloyed steel.In addition,after oxidation at 930℃for 5 min,the thickness of the oxide scales on the Cr-Si micro-alloyed press hardened steel is less than 5μm,much thinner than 45.50μm-thick oxide scales on 22MnB5.The oxide scales of the Cr-Si micro-alloyed steel are composed of Fe_(2)O_(3),Fe_(3)O_(4),mixed spinel oxide(FeCr_(2)O_(4)and Fe_(2)SiO_(4)),and amorphous SiO_(2).Adding Cr and Si significantly reduces the thickness of the oxide scales and prevents the generation of the FeO phase.Due to the increase of spinel FeCr_(2)O_(4)and Fe_(2)SiO_(4)phase in the inner oxide scale and the amorphous SiO_(2)close to the substrate,the oxidation resistance of the Cr-Si micro-alloyed press hardened steel is improved.

EXPERIMENT ON SURFACE INTEGRITY OF MILLING TOOL FOR HARDENED STEEL SKD11

To evaluate the new designed cutting tools for high-efficiency milling of the hardened die steel SKD11,surface integrities of millers with different geometric structures are analyzed, considering the surface roughness, micrograph of chips, surface microhardness, residual stress and metallurgical texture of the surface layer. The in fluences of geometric characteristics of different cutting tools and their wear characteristics on the surface integrity are studied. Results show that the milling tool with rake angle; 5 of the hardened diesteel. The generation of saw-tooth chips is depressed when a reasonable positive rake angle is selected. And the compressive residual stress is induced on the machined surface in milling the hardened die steel. The occurrence of surface softening is postponed by increasing the clearance angle and reducing the tool flank wear.

EXPERIMENT OF OPTIMUM GEOMETRY STRUC-TURE OF MILLING TOOLS FOR HARDENED STEEL SKD11

To select high performance milling tools with optimum geometry structure suitable for machining hardened steel SKD11, geometry structures of tools are optimized. Four kinds of TiAlN coated cemented carbide tools are developed. The milling performance in high-speed milling hardened steel SKD11 by using these four kinds of tools is evaluated through the aspects of cutting force, cutting vibration, chip deformation, tool life, and tool wear mechanism, thus determining the optimum milling tool. The tool life of the optimum tool is 3 times of that of other tool, and the cutting force and vibration decrease by 70% compared with that of other tools. It has the most stable cutting performance.

Experimental Procedure and Hardening Model to Consider Forming and Baking Effects in Simulation

This paper investigated an experimental method for bake hardening properties, a technique for deriving the true stress-strain curves after reaching the maximum load, and a constitutive equation considering both work hardening and bake hardening in order to apply the work hardening occurring in the forming process of parts and the bake hardening induced in the baking process to an automotive crash simulation. A general bake hardening test is that a pre-tensioned specimen is baked and then the same specimen is tensioned again without any further treatment. For a bake hardening test of automotive steel with a tensile strength of 1.2 GPa or more, fractures often occur in curvature section outside, an extensometer due to the difference in the material strength caused by non-uniform bake hardening. This causes a problem in that the bake hardening properties cannot be obtained. In this paper, to prevent curvature fracture, tensile specimens were re-machined in the uniformly deformed region of large specimens subjected to pre-strain, and the re-machined specimens with uniform strength in all regions were re-tensioned. In the bake hardening test of ultra-high strength steels with a tensile strength of 1 GPa or more, shear band fractures occur when the pre-strain is large. This makes it impossible to obtain a true stress-strain curve because there is no uniformly deformed region under a tensile test. To overcome this problem, a new method to calculate the true stress-strain curve by comparing experimental results and the load calculated by the local strain obtained from digital images was developed. This method can be applied not only where shear band deformation occurs, but also in necking deformation, and true stress-strain curves for strains up to 2 - 3 times the uniform elongation can be obtained. A new constitutive equation was developed since an appropriate hardening model is required to simultaneously apply the work hardening and the bake hardening to the simulation. For the newly developed model, the user material subroutine of LS-Dyna was configured, and the simulation was performed on the single hat specimens with pre-strain. When both work hardening and bake hardening were considered, there was a significant increase in absorbed energy compared to when only work hardening was considered. This means that both work hardening and bake hardening should be considered in the car crash simulations to enhance the accuracy of the simulation.

Dynamic Recrystallization of a Cr-Ni-Mo-Cu-Ti-V Precipitation Hardenable Stainless Steel

In this research, the dynamic recrystallization （DRX） behavior of an as-cast precipitation hardenable （PH） stainless steel was investigated by conducting hot compression tests at temperatures between 950-1150℃ and under strain rates of 0.001-1 s^-1. The flow stress curves show that the DRX is responsible for flow softening during hot compression. The effects of temperature and strain rate on the strain and stress corresponding to peak point （εp and σp） of flow curve were analyzed individually. It is realized that, they increase with strain rate and decrease with temperature. The relationship between Zener-Hollomon parameter （Z） and εp was investigated and the equation of εp=4.3×10^-4^0.14 was proposed. The strain for the maximum rate of DRX （εmax） was determined under different deformation conditions. Therefore, it is realized that it increases with Z parameter and vise versa. On the basis of obtained results, the equation of εmax=9.5 × 10^-4Z0.12 was proposed.

INVESTIGATION ON HARDENED STEEL MILLING WITH MICRO-END MILL

Tool wear and breakage of the micro-milling tool is an important problem for high speed machining of hardened steel die and mould. Dry milling of S136 hardened steel is carried out using TiAlN coated carbide micro-end mill (2 mm).The effect of cutting speed, feed per tooth and radial depth of cut on cutting force is analyzed. Cutting parameters adapting to dry machining and strategy optimized for higher rate of material removal with lower cutting force are attained. Results of SEM observation show that the main failure patterns of micro-end mill are breakage of tool tip, wear and drop-off of surface coating, micro-chipping, and breakage of flank.

Cutting Temperature and Tool Wear of Hard Turning Hardened Bearing Steel

A study was undertaken to investigate the performan ce of PCBN tool in the finish turning GCr15 bearing steel with different hardness between 30～64 HRC. The natural thermocouple was used to measure the cutting tem p erature, tool life and cutting temperature were investigated and compared. The m aterial can be heated by this instrument which using low voltage and high elec trical current, while PCBN can’t be heated by electrifying directly, so the ke ntanium layer coating over the PCBN is heated, so the PCBN is heated and its th ermoelectric property is got by this method. [TPP129,+60mm88mm,Y,PZ#] Fig.1 Effect of cutting depth and workpiec hardness on. the cutting temperatureThe objective was to determine the influence of the workpiece hardness on change s in cutting temperature and tool wear characterize. It can be found from Fig.1 that the cutting temperature show an increasing tendency with the improvement of workpiece hardness within the cutting speed scope when the workpiece hardness i s under HRC50. And on the other hand, it is found that the cutting temperature s how the downtrend with the improvement of workpiece hardness when the workpiece hardness is over HRC50. According to experimental results, the critical hard ness when turning hardened GCr15 bearing steel with PCBN tool is about HRC50. Th e wear causes of PCBN tool have been found out through taking photos on the micr o-shape of PCBN poly-laminate initial surface as well as face and flank of wea r tool and analysis on chemical elements. It is discovered that the PCBN tools a re not suitable for cutting the workpiece at nearly critical hardness, because n ear the critical hardness, PCBN wear at the highest speed. For researching the w ear rule of PCBN tool, the tool wear experiments have been carried on by using b earing steel GCr15 at hardness HRC40 and HRC60 with changing cutting speed. The indexes of tool life equations is gained under two kinds of conditions w hich are bigger than 0.6, so the effects of cutting speed on the PCBN tool are m uch less than that of carbide tool and ceramic tool.

Effect of Ti on microstructure and strengthening behavior in press hardening steels

Effect of Ti addition on the microstructure and strengthening behavior in press hardening steels(PHS)was analyzed by optical metallography(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The results show that the microstructure of PHS is martensite,and two sizes of particles disperse in the martensite matrix during the forming and quenching process.The size of the bigger particles is between 100 and 200 nm,and the small particles are nanometer-sized.The quantity of the particles has a positive relation with the Ti content.More importantly,the microstructure and strengthening mechanism are affected by the precipitating behavior of the particles.Besides the prior austenite grain,martensite packet,block and lath are refined by Ti addition.The steels are strengthened by the fine grains,martensite substructure and precipitates.The uniformly distributed dislocation in the martensite lath,the density of which is between 3.0?10^(14) cm^(–2) and 5.0?10^(14) cm^(–2),strengthens the steels through associating with fine carbide particles.

Microstructure of Hardened Steel at High Temperature and High Strain Rate

In high-speed machining,hardened steel materials are subjected to high temperatures and high strain rates.Under these conditions,the composition and microstructure of the material may change,and phenomena,such as thermal softening,emerge.These effects are difficult to detect by only observing the chip morphology.Here,using a microscopic detection method,the dynamic mechanical behavior and microstructure of SDK11 hardened steel(62HRC)is investigated at high temperature and high strain-rate,and the relationship between strain hardening,thermal softening,and strain-rate strengthening is determined.The metallographic phases of specimens treated using a split-Hopkinson pressure bar,and″chips″generated during high-speed machining at high temperature and high strain rate state are compared.The results indicate that the phase composition at low temperature and low strain rate differs from that at high temperature and high strain rate.It is further concluded that shear slip occurs at high temperature and high strain rate,and the shear behavior is more pronounced at higher strain rates.

Hot Compression Behavior of As-Cast Precipitation-Hardening Stainless Steel

High temperature deformation characteristics of a semiaustenitic grade of precipitation-hardening stain- less steels were investigated by conducting hot compression tests at temperatures of 900--1 100 ℃ and strain rates of 0. 001--1 s^-1. Flow behavior of this alloy was investigated and it was realized that dynamic recrystallization （DRX） was responsible for flow softening. The correlation between critical strain for initiation of DRX and de- formation parameters including temperature and strain rate, and therefore, Zener-Hollomon parameter （Z） was studied. Metallographic observation was performed to determine the as-deformed microstructure. Microstructural observation shows that recrystallized grain size increases with increasing the temperature and decreasing the strain rate. The activation energy required for DRX of the investigated steel was determined using correlations of flow stress versus temperature and strain rate. The calculated value of activation energy, 460 kJ/mol, is in accordance with other studies on stainless steels. The relationship between peak strain and Z parameter is proposed.

The Morphology of Rolling Contact Fatigue Fracture of Hardened Steels

Rolling Contact Fatigue(RCF) is a cumulative damage phenomenon when metals are subjected to repeated contact stresses. The fomation of pitting on the contact surface is the result of the rolling contact fatigue. The morphologies of rolling contact fatigue fracture of the har- dened steels (86CrHoV7, 42CrMo) show that strong resemblance in fractuye mechanisms exists between rolling contact fatigue and uni-axial fatigue. Since fatigue striations are hardly observed in hardened steels under uni-axial fatigue, it is interesting to note that the state of stress in rolling contact fatigue is more favor- able to ductile fractures than in uni-axial fatigue.

Evaluation of Cracking Resistance of Copper-Bearing Age Hardening Steel Weldment

The weldability of a low-carbon copper-bearing age hardening steel was evaluated using cracking suscepti- bility calculation, HAZ maximum hardness measurement, and Y-groove cracking evaluation test. The results show that the hardenability characteristics and cold cracking susceptibility of the steel are very low. The results also indicate that a crack-free weldment can be obtained during the welding of this type of steel even at an ambient temperature as low as -5 ℃ as well as in an absolute humidity lower than 4 000 Pa without any preheat treatment. A slight preheat treatment can prevent the joint from cracking when welding is carried out at lower ambient temperature or higher absolute humidity.

Application of Artificial Neural Network to Predicting Hardenability of Gear Steel

The prediction of the hardenability and chemical composition of gear steel was studied using artificial neural networks. A software was used to quantitatively forecast the hardenability by its chemical composition or the chemical composition by its hardenability. The prediction result is more precise than that obtained from the traditional method based on the simple mathematical regression model.

Effect of temper rolling on the bake-hardening behavior of low carbon steel

In a typical process, low carbon steel was annealed at two different temperatures （660℃ and 750℃）, and then was temper rolled to improve the mechanical properties. Pre-straining and baking treatments were subsequently carried out to measure the bake-hardening （BH） values. The influences of annealing temperature and temper rolling on the BH behavior of the steel were investigated. The results indicated that the microstructure evolution during temper rolling was related to carbon atoms and dislocations. After an apparent increase, the BH value of the steel significantly decreased when the temper rolling reduction was increased from 0%to 5%. This was attributed to the increase in solute carbon concentration and dislocation density. The maximum BH values of the steel annealed at 660℃ and 750℃ were 80 MPa and 89 MPa at the reductions of 3%and 4%, respectively. Moreover, increasing the annealing temperature from 660 to 750℃ resulted in an ob-vious increase in the BH value due to carbide dissolution.

Industrial Experience with Case Hardening of Stainless Steels by Solution Nitriding

SolNit(R) is a novel heat treatment to case harden stainless steels with nitrogen instead of carbon. The calculated equilibrium pressure of N2 corresponds well with the nitrogen content in the steel surface. The process is carried out in vacuum furnaces with pressurized gas quenching. Numerous parts of different stainless steels have been successfully SolNit(R) treated in industry leading to superior properties in respect to hardness/strength and corrosion

Electronic Structures and Alloying Behaviors of Ferrite Phases in High Co-Ni Secondary Hardened Martensitic Steels

The electronic structure of ferrite (tempered martensite phase) in high Co-Ni secondary hardened martensitic steel has been investigated. The local density of states (LOOS) of alloying elements in the steel displays the relationship between solid solubility and the shape of the LDOS. The bond order integral (BOI) between atoms in the steel shows that the directional bonding of the p orbital of Si or C leads to the brittleness of the steel. At last, ΣBOI between atoms demonstrate that C, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo, Si strengthen the alloyed steel through solid-solution effects.

Experimental study on Ti+Nb bearing ultra-low carbon bake hardening sheet steel hot-rolled in the ferrite region

A Ti＋Nb bearing ultra-low carbon bake hardening sheet steel hot-rolled in the conventional austenite region and in the ferrite region with lubrication was experimentally studied. Subsequent cold rolling and continuous annealing processes were also conducted. The results show that microstructures of ultra-low carbon bake hardening hot strips at room temperature are basically irregular polygonal ferrites. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, n value, and r value of the No.2 specimen hot-rolled in the ferrite region with lubrication are 243 MPa, 364 MPa, 0.29, and 1.74, respectively, which are similar to those of the No.1 specimen hot-roiled in the conventional austenite region. The elongation rate and bake hardening value of No.2 specimen are 51% and 49.4 MPa, respectively, which are greater than those of No. 1 specimen. The No.2 specimen hot-rolled in the ferrite region with lubrication exhibits good mechanical properties and relatively excellent baking hardening performance. Therefore, the hot rolling experiment of Ti＋Nb bearing ultra-low carbon bake hardening steel in the ferrite region with lubrication is feasible and can be considered in the future industrial trial production.

Load Bearing Capacity and Safety Analysis for Strain-hardening Austenitic Stainless Steel Pressure Vessels

By increasing the yield strengths of austenitic stainless steels for pressure vessels with strain hardening techniques,the elastic load bearing capacity of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels can be significantly improved.Two kinds of strain hardening methods are often used for austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels：Avesta model for ambient temperature applications and Ardeform model for cryogenic temperature applications.Both methods are obtained from conventional design rules based on the linear elastic theory,and only consider the hardening effect from materials.Consequently this limits the applications of strain hardening techniques for austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels because of safety concerns.This paper investigates the effect of strain hardening on the load bearing capacity of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels under large deformation,based on the elastic-plastic theory.Firstly,to understand the effect of strain hardening on material behavior,the plastic instability loads of a round tensile bar specimen are derived under two different loading paths and validated by experiments.Secondly,to investigate the effect of strain hardening on pressure vessels strength, the plastic instability pressure under strain hardening is derived and further validated by finite element simulations.Further,the safety margin of pressure vessels after strain hardening is analyzed by comparing the safety factor values calculated from bursting tests,finite element analyses,and standards.The researching results show that the load bearing capacity of pressure vessels at ambient temperature is independent of the loading history when the effects of both material strain hardening and structural deformation are considered.Finite element simulations and bursting tests results show that the minimum safety factor of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels with 5% strain hardening is close to the recommended value for common pressure vessels specified in the European pressure vessel standard.The proposed study also shows that in the strain hardening design of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels,the calculation for plastic instability pressure could use theoretical formula or finite element analyses based on geometrical dimensions and material property parameters before strain hardening,but a 5%strain should be employed as a design limit.The proposed research can be used for the strain hardening design of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessels safely.

Bake hardening behavior of TRIP and DP steels

The bake hardening （BH） behavior of transformation-induced plasticity （TRIP） and dual-phase （DP） steels after different prestrains was studied. The experimental results indicate that TRIP steel exhibits good BH ability while DP steel does not, and prestrain displays a strong effect on the BH values of both steels. The comparison of microstructures of the two steels showed that the hard second phase in the matrix might be harmful to the BH ability. For deformed specimens, baking resulted in a loss of uniform elongation, but there was no obvious decrease in uniform elongation for unprestrained specimens.