Corrosion Test of the Steel Plate in a WJ-8 Fastener for High Speed Rail

It was found that the steel plate in the composite plate in the WJ-8 fastener used in high speed rail is rusty. The objective of this study is to test the zinc coating of the steel plate. A literature review was conducted to identify the zinc coating techniques, and the companies that can provide different coating service was identified. A salt fog chamber was built that was in compliance with the ANSI B117 code, and the steel plates that were coated by the identified companies were tested using the salt fog chamber. The results indicated that the coating technique that had the best performance in preventing corrosion was the Greenkote plates with passivation. The galvanized option had the roughest coating layer, and it was the most reactive in the salt water solution. This makes it non-ideal for the dynamic rail environment because the increased friction of the plate could damage the supports, especially during extreme temperatures that would cause the rail to expand or contract. Greenkote with Phosphate and ArmorGalv also provided increased corrosion prevention with a smooth, strong finish, but it had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote with ELU passivation. The ArmorGalv sample had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote samples. This may not be a weakness in the ArmorGalv process;rather, it likely was the result of this particular sample not having the added protection of a colored coating.

Carbide refinement in M42 high speed steel by rare earth metals and spheroidizing treatment

The influence of rare earth metals and heat treatment on the microstructure and performance of M42 steel has been investigated by means of an optical microscope OM scanning electron microscope SEM energy dispersive spectroscopy EDS transmission electron microscope TEM electron back-scatter diffraction EBSD and X-ray diffraction XRD . The results show that M2 C is the prevailing type of eutectic carbides in M42 steel. After modification with rare earth metals M2 C eutectic carbides change from the ordered lamellar structure into a circular structure.Despite different morphologies the two carbides present the same characteristics of microstructure and growth orientation.Compared with lamellar carbides M2 C carbides with the circular structure are much easier to decompose and spheroidize after heating which remarkably refines the carbide dimensions.The refined carbides improve the supersaturation of alloying elements in martensite and increase the hardness of M42 steel by 1.5 HRC.

Influence of Cerium on Solidification Microstructure of M2 High Speed Steel

The influence of Ce on the solidification microstructures of M2 high speed steel was studied. The results show that Ce has the effect of alleviating the segregation of alloying elements such as W and Mo in high speed steel. With the addition of Ce, the amount of eutectic carbides is decreased and the flakes of the carbides are refined. Ce mainly segregates onto the interface between the eutectic carbide and austenite, and a Dart of Ce enters M2C carbide. Ce can also enhance the breaking and spheroidizing of the network eutectic carbides during high temperature heat treatment.

Solidification microstructure of M2 high speed steel by different casting technologies

The present work investigated the solidification microstructure of AISI M2 high speed steel manufactured by different casting technologies, namely iron mould casting and continuous casting. The results revealed that the as-cast structure of the steel was composed of the iron matrix and the M2C eutectic carbide networks, which were greatly refined in the ingot made by continuous casting process, compared with that by the iron mould casting process. M2C eutectic carbides presented variation in their morphologies and growth characteristics in the ingots by both casting methods. In the ingot by iron mould casting, they have a plate-like morphology and grow anisotropically. However, in the ingot made by continuous casting, the carbides evolved into the fiber-like shape that exhibited little characteristics of anisotropic growth. It was noticed that the fiber-like M2C was much easier to decompose and spheroidize after heated, as a result, the carbides refined remarkably, compared with the case of plate-like carbides in the iron mould casting ingot.

MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SPRAY FORMED HIGH SPEED STEEL FOR WORK ROLL

The mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of a high speed steel (HSS) for roll has been studied. As compared with the as-cast HSS, the spray-formed HSS have fine grain and segregation free microstructures. Carbides distribute uniformly. The morphology and types of the carbides in spray-formed HSS are different from those in as-cast HSS. The results of the high temperature tensile experiment show that, as to spray-formed HSS, there is a possibility of superplastic deformation in the range of 780-810℃.

A study on centrifugal casting of high speed steel roll

High speed steel (HSS) rolls can replace traditional rolls such as alloyed cast iron rolls and powder metallurgical (PM) hard alloy rolls. The main reasons for the replacement are that the wear resistance of low-cost alloyed cast iron rolls is poor and the cost of high-quality PM hard alloy rolls is very high. By means of centrifugal casting, HSS rolls having excellent wear resistance have been manufactured. The hardness of the HSS roll is 6.5~67 HRC, the range of variation is smaller than 2 HRC and its impact toughness is 15 J/cm^2. The wear rate of HSS rolls used in the pre-finishing stands of high-speed hot wire-rod rolling mill reaches 2.5×10^(-4)mm per ton steel. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost of HSS rolls is significantly lower than that of PM hard alloy rolls; it is only 30 percent of that of PM hard alloy rolls.

Effects of electrode configuration on electroslag remelting process of M2 high-speed steel ingot

The electrode configuration determines the thermophysical field during the electroslag remelting(ESR) process and affects the final microstructure of the ingot. In this work, ingot with a diameter of 400 mm was prepared with two electrode configuration modes of single power ESR process, namely one electrode(OE) and two series-connected electrodes(TSCE). Finite element simulation was employed to calculate the electromagnetic field, flow field and temperature field of the ESR system. The results show that the temperature of the slag pool and the metal pool of the TSCE process is lower and more uniform than that of the OE process.The calculated temperature distribution of the ingot could be indirectly verified from the shape of the metal pool by the experiment. The experimental results show that the depth of the metal pool in the OE ingot is about 160 mm, while the depth of the TSCE ingot is nearly 40 mm shallower than that of the OE ingot. Microstructural comparisons indicate that coarse eutectic carbides are formed in the center of the OE ingot, whereas more even eutectic carbides appear in the center of the TSCE ingot. In general, compared with the OE process, the TSCE process is preferred to remelt high speed steel ingots.

Effect of ferrovanadium inoculation on microstructure and properties of high speed steel

The effect of ferrovanadium inoculation on the microstructure and properties of high speed steel (HSS) used for rolls was studied. The results showed that the as-cast eutectic carbide network tends to be broken after ferrovanadium inoculation, and the carbides are changed to rod-like or nodular shape. After heat treatment, the carbides in the inoculated HSS are spheroidized and distributed more uniformly in the matrix. The impact toughness of high speed steel with ferrovanadium inoculation is obviously improved. The action mechanism of ferrovanadium inoculation on the microstructure of the alloy is also discussed.

Study on stable and meta-stable carbides in a high speed steel for rollers during tempering processes

A high speed steel （HSS） was studied for rollers in this work. The steel was quenched at 1150℃ and tempered at 520℃. The phase structures of the steel were determined by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and the hardness of specimens was measured. The volume fraction of carbides was counted by Image-Pro Plus software. The typical microstructures were observed by field emission scanning electron microscope （FESEM）. Stable and meta-stable carbides were deduced by removing the existing phases one by one in the Fe-C equilibrium calculation. It is found that the precipitated carbides are bulk-like MC, long stripe-like M2C, fishbone-like M6C, and daisy-like M7C3 during the tempering process. The stable carbides are MC and M6C, but the meta-stable ones are M2C, M7C3, and M3C.

Computer simulation of core filling process of cast high speed steel roll

Core filling process of cast high speed steel roll was simulated.Ductile iron was used as core material.The influences of filling parameters,such as core filling time and core filling temperature,on the filling process were investigated.Based on the simulated results,optimal core filling parameters were determined.The predicted temperature fields show that the temperature at the roll shoulder is the lowest during the core filling process and usually causes binding defects there.Method for solving this problem was presented.

Effect of RE-Al-N on Structures and Properties of M2 Cast High Speed Steel

M2 cast high speed steel was inoculated by addition of rare earth(RE)-Al-N, network eutectic carbides were eliminated, matrix microstructures were refined and the segregation of tungsten and molybdenum elements was relieved. In the condition that the hardness does not decrease, impact toughness obviously increases. Quenching at 1180 ℃ and three-times tempering at 560 ℃, the hardness of M2 cast high speed steel is 65～66 HRC, and impact toughness reaches 21.3 (J·cm^(-2)). Modified M2 cast high speed steel has excellent thermal fatigue resistance and high temperature wear resistance. Roller made in modified M2 cast high speed steel has excellent service effect when it is used in slit rolling mill of hot rolling bar mill.

Experimental research on electromagnetic continuous casting high-speed steel composite roll

A high speed steel composite roll billet was fabricated, which is regular in shape, smooth in surface, slight in trace, compact in internal structure, free of slag inclusion, shrinkage cavity, cracks and other flaws, and good in macro quality of junction surface using a vertical continuous casting machine. The interface zone microstructure of bimetallic in billet of high speed steel composite roll was analyzed by metallurgical microscope(OM), X-ray diffractmeter(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS). The results indicate that the microstructure of roll billet is composed of chilled solidified layer, dendrite zone, interfacial zone of bimetal and core material zone. The microstructure of outer shell material is composed of martensite + bainite + residual austenite + some small labyrinth-shape, small-short lath-shape, or dollop-shape eutectic carbides. The microstructure of core material is slice-shape pearlite and a little ferrite along boundary of cells. The interface region microstructure of bimetallic composite roll consists of diffusion region, chilled solidified layer and columnar grain region.

Wear Mechanism of Cemented Carbide Tool in High Speed Milling of Stainless Steel

Adhesion of cutting tool and chip often occurs when machining stainless steels with cemented carbide tools. Wear mechanism of cemented carbide tool in high speed milling of stainless steel 0Cr13Ni4 Mo was studied in this work. Machining tests on high speed milling of 0Cr13Ni4 Mo with a cemented carbide tool are conducted. The cutting force and cutting temperature are measured. The wear pattern is recorded and analyzed by high?speed camera, scanning electron microscope(SEM) and energy dispersive X?ray spectroscopy(EDS). It is found that adhesive wear was the dominant wear pattern causing tool failure. The process and microcosmic mechanism of the tool’s adhesive wear are analyzed and discussed based on the experimental results. It is shown that adhesive wear of the tool occurs due to the wear of coating, the a nity of elements Fe and Co, and the grinding of workpiece materials to the tool material. The process of adhesive wear includes both microcosmic elements di usion and macroscopic cyclic process of adhe?sion, tearing and fracture.

MICROSTRUCTURE IN LASER FUSED HIGH SPEED STEEL W6Mo5Cr4V2(M2)

Microstructure of the deepest zone of high speed steel W6Mo5Cr4V2(M2)melt after laser fu-sion was found to be so fine as the ehill zone of a solidified ingot.When narrower chill zoneformed,the long columnar dendrites grow into the melt and then the fine equiaxed cellularstructure appears in upper melt region nearly surface.The substructure of cellular grains anddendrites was observed to consist of martensite and retained austenile,while the carbides asM_6C_■ Cr_7C_3 and MC distributed at their boundaries.It is believed that the highermicrohardness up to HV_(0.1)=865-960 of the laser fused structure of the alloy is due to the oc-currence of martensite.

Fatigue Behavior of High Speed Steel Roll Materials for Hot Rolling by Laser Impacting

The fatigue behavior of high speed steel （HSS） roll materials for hot rolling was researched under watercooling conditions by laser impacting. The microstructure of HSS sample and the morphologies of fatigue samples were observed by scanning electron microscope. The phase structure was detected by XRD. The morphology of situ oxide scale was observed by optical microscope, and the expansion coefficient was measured by TGA. The experiment results indicate that the cracks come into being at the carbide-matrix interface, but there are no cracks in the matrix after many times of laser impacting treatment, for the situ sample taken from the fractured roll surface, big carbides are more sensitive to the fatigue, and peel off prior to small ones. The relevant fatigue mechanisms are also discussed.

Effect of quenching temperature on structure and properties of centrifugal casting high speed steel roll

The critical points and time-temperature-transformation(TTT)curves of the isothermal transformation diagrams for a high-speed steel casting on a horizontal centrifugal casting machine had been determined experimentally in the study.The effects of quenching temperature on the microstructures and properties of centrifugal casting high speed steel(HSS)roll has been investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), light optical microscopy(LOM)and X-ray diffraction(XRD)as well as using tensile,impact,and hardness tests. The results show that the HSS roll has excellent hardenability and its matrix structure can be transformed into the martensite after being quenched in the sodium silicate solution.The retained austenite in the quenching structure increases and the hardness decreases when the quenching temperature exceeds 1,040℃.The tensile strength and impact toughness of HSS roll increase once the quenching temperature is raised from 980℃to 1,040℃. However,the tensile strength and impact toughness have no significant change when the quenching temperature exceeds 1,040℃.The HSS roll quenched at 1,040℃exhibits excellent comprehensive mechanical properties.

Study on Factors Affecting the Structure of High Speed Steel Ingot Produced by ESR

The influence of the metal pool depth and the local solidification time on the structure of high speed steel ingot produced by electroslag remelting (ESR) process has been studied by measuring the dendritic arm spacing and the size of the carbides. It is shown that the metal pool depth is a factor that influences the uniformity of the ESR ingot structure and not only the dendritic arm spacing, but also the size of the carbides can be influenced by the local solidification time in the solidification process of the ingot. The relationship between the melting rate during ESR process and the local solidification time has been studied. It is shown that there is an optimum melting rate at which the local solidification time is minimum as a result of the combination of the influence of the melt rate on the width of the local mushy zone and on the local solidification rate. The influence of the inoculants on the solidification structure of high speed steel produced by ESR has been studied and it is shown that the size of the grain can be significantly reduced by inoculation process.

Alloying Elements in High Speed Steels

Effects of alloying elements,Si,Nb,Ti,W,Mo,V,Al and rare earth metals on the microstructure and properties of high speed steels(HSSs) have been reviewed.More attention is paid to effects of Si on the secondary hardening and V on the morphology of eutectic carbides in HSSs.A lot of work has been carried out on the behavior of alloying elements in HSSs in the past decade,and some new types of HSSs containing silicon,aluminum or rare earth metals have been successfully developed in the world.

Semi-solid Casting of High Speed Steel Ingots Using Inclined Slope Pre-crystallization Method

Semi-solid casting of M2 high speed steel ingots was investigated by inclined slope pre-crystallization method. Effects of casting temperature and slope length on the microstructure of M2 HSS ingots were investigated. M2 cast ingots of non-dendritic primary austenite and fine eutectic ledeburite network carbide structure were obtained, with the casting temperature, slope length and angle of 1480 ℃, 500 mm and 60° respectively. Meanwhile, the microstructure of cast samples was quantitatively assessed by Image tool software. Results show that optimum mean equivalent diameter of primary austenite crystal grain is 50.8 μm, shape factor is 0.83, and mean thickness of network carbide is 5.21 μm.

Scratch behavior of high speed steels for hot rolls

The scratch behaviors of two high speed steels （HSS） for hot rolls were studied by a Micro-combi Tester, and the emphasis was placed on researching the relations between the microstructure and the scratch resistance property of different HSS. The experimental results indicate that during the scratch process, the carbides are embedded into the matrix, the penetration depth of different HSS is closely related with the matrix hardness, i.e., the higher the matrix hardness, the better the scratch resistance property; and in the matrix, the fine, dispersive carbides are beneficial to form steady friction between the indenter and the scratched materials, but the coarser carbides are easier to fall into pieces.