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.

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.

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.

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.

High speed continuous turning of hardened steel with newly developed low content PCBN

In this study,newly developed low content PCBN was used to evaluate the cutting performance in high speed turning of hardened steel.Using new PCBN and commercially available PCBN tipped inserts under the same cutting condition,cutting performance with variable cutting speed,feed rate and depth of cuts on tools were measured by observation of flank and crater wear.Its microstructures were analyzed through SEM microscope,measurement of surface roughness on workpiece was also performed. According to cutting performance results,it is shown that new PCBN shows much longer tool life in high speed continuous turning than our conventional PCBN tools,with improved wear and chipping resistance.This result on the machinability of new PCBN for hardened steel will provide effective guidelines to manufacturing engineers,also provide useful economic machining solution for high speed continuous turning for hardened steel.

Microstructure and Properties of Ti and Ti+Nb Ultra-Low-Carbon Bake Hardened Steels

Hot rolling, cold rolling and continuous annealing processes of Ti bearing and Ti＋ Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steels were experimentally studied. The microstructure and texture evolution, as well as the morphology, size and distribution of second phase precipitates during hot rolling, cold rolling and continuous annealing were also analyzed. The results showed that the size of NbC precipitates in Ti＋Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel was smaller than that of TiC precipitates in Ti bearing ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel, which made the average grain size of Ti＋ Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel finer than that of Ti bearing ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel; for the yield strength, the former was higher than the latter; but for the r value which reflects the deep-drawing performance, the former was lower than the latter.

Development of an ultrahard nanotwinned cBN micro tool for cutting hardened steel

Binderless nanotwinned cubic boron nitride(nt-cBN) synthesized from onion-structured BN precursors under high pressure and high temperature shows a very fine microstructure consisting of densely lamellar nanotwins(average thickness of 4 nm) within nanograins. The unique nanotwinned microstructure offers high hardness, wear resistance, fracture toughness, and thermal stability which are essential for advanced cBN tool materials. Thus, a circular micro tool of nt-cBN was fabricated using femtosecond laser contour machining followed by focused ion beam precision milling. Thereafter turning tests were performed on hardened steel using the studied micro tool. To evaluate the cutting performance, the machined surface quality and subsurface damage of the hardened steel were characterized. The wear mechanism of the nt-cBN micro tool was also investigated. It is found that the fabricated nt-cBN micro tool can generate high quality surface with surface roughness less than 7 nm and nanograin subsurface of about 500 nm deep. In addition, abrasive wear is found to be the dominant wear mechanism of the nt-cBN micro tool in turning hardened steel. These results indicate that nt-cBN has outstanding potential for ultra-precision cutting hardened steel.

Strain Limit of Extra Galvannealed Interstitial-Free and Bake Hardened Steel Sheets Under Different Stress Conditions

The formability of bake hardened steel （thickness 0.82 mm）, and the extra galvannealed IF steel （thickness 0.82 mm） have been studied. The suitability of the above steels for forming applications has been critically examined. The microstructure, tensile properties, and formability parameters of the above sheet metals were determined. The manufacturing process of the steels and the significance with reference to its formability were studied.

Friction and Wear Behavior of AlTiN-Coated Carbide Balls Against SKD11 Hardened Steel at Elevated Temperatures

In this study, AlTiN coatings were deposited on YT14 cemented carbide balls by arc ion plating technique. The friction and wear behavior of the AlTiN-coated balls against SKD11 hardened steel was investigated by sliding tests using a ball-ondisk tribometer at various temperatures from 25 to 700 ℃ in air. The results showed that the friction and wear behavior was significantly influenced by the testing temperature. Obvious fluctuations were observed in the friction curves at elevated temperatures, which could be attributed to the formation and rupture of unstable Fe and Cr oxide layers. As the temperature increased from 25 to 500 ~C, the wear rate of the coated balls increased from the scale of 10-21-10-20 m3/ N m, and then decreased to 10-22 m3/N m as the temperature further increased to 700℃. It was also found that the friction and wear behavior of the coated balls was directly dependent on the counterpart materials. As the temperature increased, the main wear mechanism of the coated balls changed from mild abrasive wear and adhesive wear to abrasive wear failure at 500℃, and then transferred to adhesive wear and mild oxidation wear at 700℃. For SKD11 hardened steel, the primary wear mechanism changed from delamination wear to abrasive wear and then transferred to plastic deformation and fatigue wear, accompanied by adhesive wear and tribo-oxidation wear.

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.

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.

Optimization strategy in end milling process for high speed machining of hardened die/mold steel

An optimization strategy for high speed machining of hardened die/mold steel based on machining feature analysis was studied. It is a further extension of the previously presented study on the thermal mechanism of end milling and constant cutting force control. An objective function concerning machining cost and associated optimization algorithm based on machining time and cutting length calculation was proposed. Constraints to satisfy specific machining strategies when high speed machining the hardened die/mold steel, trochoid tool path pattern in slot end milling to avoid over-heat and feed rate adaptation to avoid over-load, were also discussed. As a case study, the tool selection problem when machining a die part with multiple machining features was investigated.

Machinability Investigation and Optimization of Process Parameters in Cryogenic Assisted Sustainable Turning of AISI‑L6 Tool Steel

The application of cutting fluid is significantly increased in the machining sector to improve productivity.However,the inherent characteristics of cutting fluids on ecology,environment,and society shift the interest of researchers to work on environmentally friendly cooling conditions such as cryogenic cooling.Here,the effect of cutting speed and feed rate on the machining performance of the AISI‑L6 tool steel is investigated under cryogenic cooling conditions.Then,the L9 Taguchi based grey relational analysis(GRA)is conducted to investigate the essential machining indices such as cutting energy,surface roughness,tool wear,and material removal rate(MRR).The results indicate that the cutting speed of 160 m/min and feed rate of 0.16 mm/r are the optimum parameters that significantly improves the machining performance of AISI‑L6 tool steel.

Evolution of appearance profile of hot-dip galvanized car-body steel sheet during deformation process

In recent years, the waterborne free intermediate coating process has been widely used in the automotive industry. Because the baking times and coating thickness are decreased, the surface covering capability of the painting process is reduced, which directly affects the appearance quality（ long-and short-wave values） of the body paint. Thus, there are correspondingly higher requirements for the white body surface profile prior to painting. The surface profile of the white body is mainly affected by the plate material, the surface profile, and the deformation process. So,the change rule for the surface profile during deformation of the steel plate is a key factor in coating appearance optimization. In this paper, we first analyze the typical deformation of the outer cover of a car body. Then ,we examine the change tendency of the surface profile of steel plates with respect to different deformation rates, specifically for a steel plate comprising a hot-dip galvanized bake-hardened steel sheet. Based on our analysis of the influence of the deformation on the coating appearance,we selected 3% ,5% ,and 8% deformation rates in this research. We found the roughness （Ra） value in the typical deformation range （3% -8% ） of the car body to exhibit a decreasing trend at first and then an increasing trend. The Ra value of the 8% deformation is not more than the original plate test value. When the Pc value of the original plate is in the lower range （ about 60）, it exhibits a slight increasing trend in the deformation process （3 % -8 % ）. And when the Pc value of the original plate is in the higher range （ about 120 ）, it exhibits no increasing trend in the deformation process （ 3% -8% ）. In contrast,the waviness （WCA） value in the car body＇s typical deformation range （3%-8%） shows a significant growth trend.

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.

Elevated-temperature properties of one long-life high-strength gun steel

The hardness, tensile strength and impact toughness of one quenched and tempered steel with nominal composition of Fe-0.25C-3.0Cr-3.0Mo-0.6Ni-0.1Nb (mass fraction) both at room temperature and at elevated temperatures were investigated in order to develop high-strength steel for long-life gun barrel use. It is found that the steel has lower decrease rate of tensile strength at elevated temperature in comparison with the commonly used G4335V high-strength gun steel, which contains higher Ni and lower Cr and Mo contents. The high elevated-temperature strength of the steel is attributed to the strong secondary hardening effect and high tempering softening resistance caused by the tempering precipitation of fine Mo-rich M2C carbides in the aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-Fe matrix. The experimental steel is not susceptible to secondary hardening embrittlement, meanwhile, its room-temperature impact energy is much higher than the normal requirement of impact toughness for high strength gun steels. Therefore, the steel is suitable for production of long-life high-strength gun barrels with the combination of superior elevated-temperature strength and good impact toughness.

Elevated-temperature properties of one long-life high-strength gun steel

The hardness, tensile strength and impact toughness of one quenched andtempered steel with nominal composition of Fe-0.25C-3.0Cr-3.0Mo-0.6Ni-0.1Nb (mass fraction) both atroom temperature and at elevated temperatures were investigated in order to develop high-strengthsteel for long-life gun barrel use. It is found that the steel has lower decrease rate of tensilestrength at elevated temperature in comparison with the commonly used G4335V high-strength gunsteel, which contains higher Ni and lower Cr and Mo contents. The high elevated-temperature strengthof the steel is attributed to the strong secondary hardening effect and high tempering softeningresistance caused by the tempering precipitation of fine Mo-rich M_2C carbides in the α-Fe matrix.The experimental steel is not susceptible to secondary hardening embrittlement, meanwhile, itsroom-temperature impact energy is much higher than the normal requirement of impact toughness forhigh strength gun steels. Therefore, the steel is suitable for production of long-life high-strengthgun barrels with the combination of superior elevated-temperature strength and good impacttoughness.

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.