Discussion on the Free Quenching Heat Treatment Process of Automotive Leaf Springs

Free quenching of automotive leaf springs is a new technology that has gradually started to be applied in the industry in China in recent years.Only a few manufacturers are applying it in the industry.Through more than half a year of on-site practice,the changes in the hot forming of spring plates before free quenching have been explored,and finally a heat treatment process that meets the production requirements of our company has been developed,achieving normal production.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 50SiMnNiNb Steel by a Novel Quenching-Partitioning-Austempering Heat Treatment

For the purpose of reducing weight of steel parts, save raw materials and keep or even improve safety standards, the development of advanced high strength steels is increasingly demanded in the automotive industry and engineering applications. We have proposed a novel heat treatment （quenching-partitioning-austempering treatment, Q-P-A） to obtain steel parts with high strength and good ductility. The Q-P-A process is intended to produce microstructure consisted of carbon-depleted martensite, carbon-enriched retained austenite and nanostructured bainite. Quenching（Q） treatment fabricates mixed microstructure of carbon-supersaturated martensite and certain amounts of untransformed austenite. Partitioning（P） thermal treatment accomplishes fully diffusing of carbon from the supersaturated martensite phase to the untransformed austenite phase and enriching the amount of carbon in untransformed austenite. Further low-temperature austempering（A） process induces incredible thin bainite from the carbon-enriched untransformed austenite. A study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of 50SiMnNiNb steel subjected to the novel Q-P-A treatment is presented. Microstructure is assessed by optical microscope（OM）, field emission scanning electron microscope（FESEM） and transmission electron microscope（TEM）, and the corresponding mechanical properties are measured. The experimental results indicate that attractive mechanical properties of steels during the Q-P-A process are attributed to the complex multi-phase structure. Slender plates of bainite with 20-40 nm thick are generated in the medium carbon steel. Meanwhile, with increasing of the volume fraction of nanostructured bainite, yield strength of steel parts is increased with little degradation of ultimate tensile strength. In this paper, a novel quenching-partitioning-austempering heat treatment is proposed, and the attractive mechanical properties of steels are obtained during the Q-P-A process.

Flexible Furnace Concepts for Vacuum Heat Treatment Combined with High-pressure Gas Quenching

IN the past five years the process combination of vacuum hardening, respectively vacuum carburizing with high-pressure gas quenching was successfully introduced to the market, especially in the manufacture of gears. In the meantime furnace concepts for various applications are available to the industry. In the following report three plant varieties are introduced, which differ in process flexibility and throughput. This report also explains criteria for the selection of a furnace in view of the existing application requirements. Besides this a short introduction is given into the vacuum carburizing process and the high-pressure gas quenching technology.

Aging precipitation behavior and properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr-Er alloy at different quenching rates

The effect of quenching rate on the aging precipitation behavior and properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr-Er alloy was investigated.The scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,and atom probe tomography were used to study the characteristics of clusters and precipitates in the alloy.The quench-inducedηphase and a large number of clusters are formed in the air-cooled alloy with the slowest cooling rate,which contributes to an increment of hardness by 24%(HV 26)compared with that of the water-quenched one.However,the aging hardening response speed and peak-aged hardness of the alloy increase with the increase of quenching rate.Meanwhile,the water-quenched alloy after peak aging also has the highest strength,elongation,and corrosion resistance,which is due to the high driving force and increased number density of aging precipitates,and the narrowed precipitate free zones.

Transformation Plasticity─The Effect on Metallo-Thermo-Mechanical Simulation of Carburized Quenching Process

Theory of metallo-thermo-mechamics and the developed CAE code offer a powerful tool to simulate residual stresses and distortion during heat treatment processes, in which the transformation plasticity is one of factors to be considered being coupled with stress/strain and metallic structure. It is pointed out in this paper that, especially in the case of carburized quenching, transformation plasticity plays very important role on the distortion, which is verified by axisymmetric finite element, employing heat treatment simulation code "HEARTS". Simulated results with the careful consideration on the effect of transformation plasticity reveal to improve remarkably the accuracy of prediction of the displacement and the mode of distortion, compensating the discrepancy between experimental and calculated results. Attention is also paid on the difference in transformation plasticity and conventional plasticity in simulating the volume fraction, stress and strain in ring-shaped specimen during quenching. Moreover some discussions are made on practical use of the effect, and recent experimental results on the coefficient of transformation plasticity are presented.

Flow-Optimization to Enhance Gas Quenching Efficiency for Helical Gears Specimen

Numerical simulations based on a conjugate heat transfer solver have been carried out to analyze various gas quenching configurations involving a helical gear streamed by an air flow at atmospheric pressure in a gas quenching chamber. In order to optimize the heat transfer coefficient distribution at key positions on the specimen, configurations involving layers of gears and flow ducts comprising single to multiple gears have been simulated and compared to standard batch configurations in gas quenching. Measurements have been performed covering the local heat transfer for single gears and batch of gears. The homogeneity of the heat transfer coefficient is improved when setting up a minimal distance between the gears (batch density) and when introducing flow ducts increasing the blocking grade around the gears. An offset between layers of the batch as well as flow channels around the gears plays a significant role in increasing the intensity and the homogeneity of the heat transfer in gas quenching process.

Residual stress and precipitation of Mg-5Zn-3.5Sn-1Mn-0.5Ca-0.5Cu alloy with different quenching rates

The effect of the quenching rate after solution treatment on the residual stress and precipitation behavior of a high strength Mg-5 Zn-3.5 Sn-1 Mn-0.5 Ca-0.5 Cu plate is studied.The simulation results show decreasing temperature gradient in the plate with decreasing quenching rate,which leads to weakened inhomogeneous plastic deformation and decreased residual stress.No dynamic precipitation on the grain boundary happens after either cold water cooling or air cooling,however,air cooling leads to dynamic precipitation of Mg-Zn phase on Mn particles around which a low-density precipitate zone develops after aging treatment.Moreover,the fine and densely distributed Mg-Zn precipitates observed after aging treatment of the cold water cooled alloy are replaced by coarse precipitates with low density for the air cooled alloy.Both the low-density precipitate zone near Mn particles and the coarsening of precipitates are the source of the decrease in hardness and tensile properties of the air cooled alloy.The residual stress drops faster than the hardness with decreasing quenching rate,which makes it possible to lower the residual stress without sacrificing too much age-hardening ability of the alloy.

Numerical calculation of temperature and phase change during the process of atomizing spray quenching on drilling pipe

A finite element method (FEM) procedure was developed in order to simulatethe quenching process for drilling pipe (DP). The calculating model was based ontime-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagrams, and incorporated with material properties dependenton temperature. The procedure was used to calculate the temperature-time histories, describe thephase transformations of atomizing spray quenching for DP in the welding zone, and predict thehardness distribution in radius direction after quenching in the zone. The calculated results metwell with that of experiments. It was easy to determine the parameters such as volume and pressureof the cooling water and compressed gas by use of the numerical calculation and experiments, becausethe value of convection coefficient was decided greatly by the mixture of the cooling water andcompressed gas. Moreover, the simulating results were helpful not only to design the quenchingequipment, but also to optimize the quenching process for DP's welding zone.

Effect of Quench Treatment on Fe/Mo Order and Magnetic Properties of Double Perovskite Sr_2FeMoO_6

A quench-treatment technique is used to prepare a high-quality polycrystalline sample of double perovskite Sr2FeMo06 （SFMO）. X-ray powder diffraction analysis reveals that the sample has a single phase and exhibits I4/m symmetry. The cation order η of the sample increases to 98.9（2）% from 94.2（3）%, which is prepared by the traditional sol-gel method. The initial magnetization isotherm of the sample is detected at 300 K. Unit-cell magnetization for the current sample is 1.332 #s at 300 K, and the one for the traditional sol-gel method sample is 0.946#9. Unit-cell magnetization is enhanced to 40.80% by the quench-treatment technique. Quench treatment is an effective method of enhancing the Fe/Mo order and magnetic properties of double perovskite SFMO.

Identification of Heat Transfer Coefficients by Use Conditions of Quenching Oil

Heat transfer coefficients of the quench medium are necessary for heat-treatment simulation. Cooling characteristics of quenching oil vary with kinds and usage greatly. Users are selecting oil solutions that come up to their desired hardness and quenching distortion requirements. In particular cooling performance rises by agitation and decompression. Therefore we identified a heat transfer coefficient by usage and kinds of quenching oil. Cooling characteristics are different greatly by a kind of quenching oil. A difference of a cooling characteristic by a kind of oil depends on a temperature range of a boiling stage and the maximum heat transfer coefficient mainly. On the other hand, in a convection stage, there are few changes in a boiling stage. Even if quenching oil temperature is changed, heat transfer coefficients do not change greatly. When quenching oil stirred, heat transfer coefficients of vapor blanket stage and a convection stage rise, but there are a few changes in a boiling stage. When quenching oil is decompressed a temperature range of a high heat transfer coefficient moves to the low temperature side. In addition, a heat transfer coefficient in a vapor blanket stage comes down. For precision improvement of heat-treatment simulation, it is important that the heat transfer coefficient is calculated in conformity to the on-site use reality.

Heat treatment of 7xxx series aluminium alloys—Some recent developments

The 7xxx series alloys are heat treatable wrought aluminium alloys based on the Al-Zn-Mg（-Cu） system. They are widely used in high-performance structural aerospace and transportation applications. Apart from compositional, casting and thermo-mechanical processing effects, the balance of properties is also significantly influenced by the way in which the materials are heat-treated. This paper describes the effects of homogenisation, solution treatment, quenching and ageing treatments on the evolution of the microstructure and properties of some important medium to high-strength 7xxx alloys. With a focus on recent work at Monash University, where the whole processing route from homogenisation to final ageing has been studied for thick plate products, it is reported how microstructural features such as dispersoids, coarse constituent particles, fine-scale precipitates, grain structure and grain boundary characteristics can be controlled by heat treatment to achieve improved microstructure-property combinations. In particular, the paper presents methods for dissolving unwanted coarse constituent particles by controlled high- temperature treatments, quench sensitivity evaluations based on a systematic study of continuous cooling precipitation behaviour, and ageing investigations of one-, two- and three-step ageing treatments using experimental and modelling approaches, in each case, the effects on both the microstructure and the resulting properties are discussed.

Effect of ultrasonic treatment and Sr addition on microstructure of Al-20%Si alloy

Many investigations have revealed that transition of melt structure can effectively influence the final solidification microstructures. In this study, ultrasonic treatment was applied to AI-20%Si melt and Sr-modified AI-20%Si melt at 720 ℃ （i.e. above liquidus of about 690℃） for 60 s, and then the melt was quickly quenched to room temperature. Experimental results show that ultrasonic treatment can refine the primary Si phase and a-AI of AI-20%Si alloy; strontium can make the morphology of Si phase spheroidized and refined as Sr addition changes the faceted growth characteristic of Si phase; however, the refinement effect of ultrasonic treatment on the primary Si phase and α-AI is weakened by Sr addition.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FORGING AND SUBSEQUENT HEAT TREATMENT OF A ROD BY A FINITE VOLUME METHOD

A method to simulate processes of forging and subsequent heat treatment of an axial symmetric rod is formulated in eulerian description and the feasibility is investigated. This method uses finite volume mushes for troching material deformation and an automatically refined facet surface to accurately trace the free surface of the deforming material.In the method,the deforming work piece flows through fixed finite volume meshes using eulerian formulation to describe the conservation laws,Fixed finite volume meshing is particularly suitable for large three-dimensional deformation such as forging because remeshing techniques are not required, which are commonly considered to be the main bottelencek in the ssimulations of large defromation by using the finite element method,By means of this finite volume method, an approach has been developed in the framework of 'metallo-thermo-mechanics' to simulate metallic structure, temperature and stress/strain coupled in the heat treatment process.In a first step of simulation, the heat treatment solver is limited in small deformation hypothesis,and un- coupled with forging. The material is considered as elastic-plastic and takes into account of strain, strain rate and temperature effects on the yield stress.Heat generation due to deformation,heat con- duction and thermal stress are considered.Temperature - dependent phase transformation,stress-in- duced phase transformation,latent heat,transformation stress and strain are included.These ap- proaches are implemented into the commerical commercial computer program MSC/SuperForge and a verification example with experimental date is given as comparison.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of NF6357A Cast Alloy for Wear Resistance Application

The solidification structure of the as-cast consists of the matrix structure that is predominantly austenite and precipitated chromium carbide along the grain boundary. Under these circumstances and where the level of impact is relatively modest, such alloys in as-cast condition will perform. However, at higher levels of impact energy, a point is reached where excessive stress are built up within the component and eventually the materials strength is exceeded and the outcome is complete failure in a characteristic stress fracture mode. If this is to be prevented, it is therefore imperative that the casting be subjected to appropriate heat treatment, to obtain a structure which consist of Cr7C3 carbide and martensite at a hardness range of 650-750HB. The microstructure of NF6357A cast chromium steel containing 2.59% C- 0.7%Si-0.91%Mn-18.54%Cr-0.019%P-0.01%S- balance–Fe after appropriate heat treatment such as quenching and tempering process have been characterised by means of optical microscope, micro hardness tester, optical emission spectrometer and charpy testing machine. The results show that oil quenched samples were found to retained microstructural consistency for casting thicker than 120mm section. For economic argument, air quenched castings of less than 120mm thickness is not only cheaper alternative, but it is also environment friendly. The fracture toughness was found to be fairly consistent between 2.4-2.6%C range. However, at higher carbon level, the fracture process is dominated by the presence of segregated carbide network which act as a weak link in the microstructure. This weak link encourages dislocation pile-up and impaired material toughness.

Pre-heating temperature induced flowability and wax deposition characteristics of crude oil adding wax inhibitors

This paper investigated the effects of pre-heating treatment temperatures(T_(pre))on the flowability and wax deposition characteristics of a typical waxy crude oil after adding wax inhibitors.It is found that there is little difference in wax precipitation exothermic characteristics of crude oils at different T_(pre),as well as the wax crystal solubility coefficient in the temperature range of 25-30℃.For the undoped crude oil,the flowability after wax precipitation gets much improved and the wax deposition is alleviated as T_(pre)increasing.At T_(pre)=50℃,the viscosity and wax deposition rate of crude oil adding wax inhibitors are higher than those of the undoped crude oil.When the T_(pre)increases to 60,70,and 80℃,the flowability of the doped crude oil are largely improved and the wax deposition is suppressed with the T_(pre)increase,but the wax content of wax deposit increases gradually.It is speculated that,on the one hand,the T_(pre)increase helps the dispersion of asphaltenes into smaller sizes,which facilitates the co-crystallization with paraffin waxes and generates more aggregated wax crystal flocs.This weakens the low-temperature gel structure and increases the solid concentration required for the crosslink to form the wax deposit.On the other hand,the decrease in viscosity increases the diffusion rate of wax molecules and accelerates the aging of wax deposits.The experimental results have important guiding significance for the pipeline transportation of doped crude oils.

Characterization of mechanical and corrosion properties of cryorolled Al 1100 alloy:Effect of annealing and solution treatment

Effect of annealing and solution treatment prior to cryorolling on the formation of initial structure influencing microstructure formation from nano to micron scale and resultant mechanical and corrosion properties in Al 1100 alloy has been studied in detail.Before subjecting to 50%cryorolling,samples were pre-annealed at 250℃ for 2 h and pre-solution treated at 540℃ for 1 h.X-ray diffraction and HRTEM techniques were used to understand the crystallite size,lattice strain and dislocation configuration in the processed alloy.The results indicate that the pre-annealed sample has the highest grain aspect ratio(4.43),the smallest crystallite size(37.53 nm),the highest lattice strain(9.12×10^(−3))and the highest dislocation density(45.16×10^(13) m^(−2))among the tested sample.The pre-annealed sample shows a significant improvement of 43.44%,24.64%and 20.33%in hardness,ultimate tensile strength and yield strength.Both pre-annealed and pre-solution treated samples show improved corrosion resistance when compared to cryorolled samples without any pre-treatment,with the pre-annealed sample showing the best corrosion resistance.

Heat Treatment of Modified 6005A Alloy for Vehicles

Modified 6005A alloy was reported and its mechanical properties were studied by tensile test, hardness measurement and TEM analysis. Results show that the favorable aging condition for 6005A is 175°Cfor 8h, and the nose temperature of its TTP (Time-temperature-properties) curves is about 370°C. In a moderate temperature zone (270°C <T <390°C), the alloy has much high quench sensitivity. Therefore, in on-line extrusion, water spray quench and moderate temperature should be taken to enhance quench rate, then 6005A alloy can be quench hardened and its quenching distortion can be

Preliminary Study to Identify Criterion for Quench Crack Prevention by Computer Simulation

A criterion for preventing quench cracks has not been established although much research has been conducted in this field. A few predictions of cracking have been recently reported using simulated results of heat treatment processes. However, these results were insufficient to predict crack generation clearly because the mechanism relates not only to stress distributions in the parts but also to material characteristics. Systematic studies by the combination of experiment and simulation are therefore required to reliably identify a criterion for crack prevention by computer simulation. As a preliminary work before starting the full-scale research, a review of quench cracking research was conducted and existing test methods were classified. Several test results for cylindrical specimens were simulated for considering a cause of the crack generation. Lastly a tentative plan was made for the future research.

Effect of Cryogenic and QPQ Compound Treatment on the Microstructures and Performance of High Speed Steel

China’s High-speed steel cutting tools hold a considerable share in the global market. However, the overproduction of low-end HSS tools causes serious resource waste and low efficiency, which has become one of the major problems in the tool industry in China. So a new Surface Modification technology is developed, which can make the low-end HSS tools into the high-end ones. On the analysis of the mechanism of cryogenic and quenching-polish-quenching(QPQ), the cryogenic and QPQ compound treatment are studied by using ?8 HSS(M2) drills. The nitriding layer and the base of the drill bit are Studied and analyzed, and the mechanism of compound treatment is discussed by the technological parameters adjustment and the combination test of cryogenic, nitrogen, tempering procedures, and several analysis methods such as the optics metallographic microscope, the scanning electronic microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction and micro hardness. The cutting test is done on the drills by cryogenic treatment, QPQ treatment and cryogenic and QPQ compound treatment separately. The results indicates that the cutting life of HSS (M2) drill can be increased dramatically by cryogenic and QPQ compound treatment.

Verification of Inverse Quench-Hardening Phenomena in Bearing Steel Specimens by Experiment and Computer Simulation

The appearance of lower hardness at the surface than at the core after through-hardening of steels is known as "inverse quench-hardening." Pioneering work was performed in the 1970s by establishing a simple test procedure where cylindrical specimens were cooled by air and brine sequentially to produce the effect. This phenomenon was described in relation to the polymer quenching and its effect to the improvement in the fatigue strength of the steel in the 1990s. The hardening mechanism in the same specimens as the pioneering work was recently examined using a finite element simulation method. However, this work has not been completed for lack of experimental quenching cooling curves for the comparisons. In this study, the same experiments using 20mm diameter cylindrical specimens as those of the pioneering work were conducted to obtain cooling curves and hardness distributions for comparing simulated results. Experimental cooling curves showed a temperature recovery as predicted by the simulation. Also the inverse quench-hardening phenomena were found in the measured and simulated hardness distributions of the specimens.