FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF CARBURIZED STEEL BEFORE CRACK INITIATION

The fatigue behavior of quenched plus tempered carburized steel before crack initiation hasbeen observed in tension-tension fatigue tests.It was found that fatigue softening and fatiguehardening coexist in this steel.A transition region near the ease depth of the steel divides thecross section of a round speeimen into two parts:the softened part outwards and the hardenedpart inwards.The degree of fatigue softening in the case and fatigue hardening in the core isincreased with the maximum applied cyclic stress and the number of cycles.

One Approach to Eddy Current Testing of Carburized Parts

Through DOE(design of experiment),ЕТ(eddy current testing)is included and proven as a quality indicator of carburizing,quenching and tempering of hydraulic motor parts.A method is suggested for calibrating NDT(non-destructive testing)by means of combined representation of regression models in the field of the technological factors of heat treatment and contour control charts.A method is presented here for choosing the working frequency for ET.It is also suggested that experimental design be considered a basic building element in the methodology of carburized parts ET.This article also presents a methodology for conducting eddy current testing in industrial settings.

Observation and Analysis of the Microstructure in CarburizedSurface Layer of Steel 20Cr2Ni4A Treated with ConventionalAnd Rare Earth Carburizing Processes

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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.

Stress Field Analysis of Carburized Specimen and Its Numerical Simulation

Residual stress field of carburized specimens was determined experimentally and simulated by using a finite element method (FEM). The experimental results show that the compressive residual stress is formed in carburized layer of the specimen. The peak value of compressive stress appears inside of carburized layer. The calculated results are tallied with the measured ones quite well, which proves the FEM model used for simulation is correct. According to this model, the stress field of carburized specimen during quenching process was also analyzed in this paper.

A Study on Wear Resistance, Hardness and Impact Behaviour of Carburized Fe-Based Powder Metallurgy Parts for Automotive Applications

In order to study the mechanical and triboloical properties of powder metallurgy (PM) parts under different process parameters, the specimens were used in pack carburizing processes. These specimens made from industrial test pieces were carburized in a powder pack for about two to five hours at a temperature of about 850?C - 950?C. The effects of austenitization and quenching are investigated on some specimens. Also the wear tests are performed by means of a pin-on-disc tribotester using roll bearing steel as the counterface material. The results indicate that by appropriate selection of process parameters, it is possible to obtain high wear resistance along with moderate toughness. It is concluded that surface treatments increases the wear resistance and performance of PM parts in service conditions. By increasing the role of PM in industry which resulted from their ability to produce the complex shapes, high production rate, and dimension accuracy of final products, they need to be heat treated. Carburizing method was selected as a surface hardening method for PM parts. Results of wear and hardness show considerable enhancement in mechanical properties of PM parts.

INTERGRANULAR EMBRITTLEMENT IN PLASMA CARBURIZED LAYER

This paper deals with the cause of intergranular fracture occurred in the retained austeniticregion in plasma carburized layer.The results show that the presence of retained austenite,which has a good effect on the impact toughness,has no relation to this embrittlement.Analy-sis by Auger electron spectroscopy shows that the impurities S and P segregate at the grainboundaries is the main reason of the intergranular embrittlement in carburized layer.However,the segregation of P and S can be removed by reheating and quenching treatment.

Wear and mechanical properties of carburized AISI 8620 steel produced by powder metallurgy

The effect of carburization on the tensile strength and wear resistance of AISI 8620 steel produced via powder metallurgy was investigated.Alloys 1 and 2(with 0.2wt%C and 0.25wt%C,respectively)were first pressed at 700 MPa and then sintered at 1300,1400,or 1500℃for 1 h.The ideal sintering temperature of 1400℃was determined.Afterward,Alloys 1 and 2 sintered at 1400℃were carburized at 925℃for 4 h.The microstructure characterization of alloys was performed via optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The mechanical and wear behavior of carburized and noncarburized alloys were investigated via hardness,tensile,and wear tests.After carburization,the ultimate tensile strength of Alloys 1 and 2 increased to 134.4%and 138.1%,respectively.However,the elongation rate of Alloys 1 and 2 decreased to 62.6%and 64.7%,respectively.The wear depth values of Alloy 2 under noncarburized and carburized conditions and a load of 30 N were 231.2 and 100.1μm,respectively.Oxidative wear changed to abrasive wear when the load transitioned from 15 to 30 N.

Experimental investigation of the relation between the surface integrity and bending fatigue strength of carburized gears

Bending fatigue is an essential parameter that needs to be considered in the improvement process of the power density and reliability of gear drives. Quantitative relations among the manufacturing parameters, surface integrities, and fatigue performance are not clear, which seriously limits the effectiveness of an anti-fatigue design. For this work, tooth-bending fatigue tests of carburized gears with different surface integrities were performed using a pulsator. The effects of the manufacturing parameters and surface integrities on the gear fatigue, such as surface hardness and residual stress, were investigated. The experimental results revealed that due to the improvement of surface integrities after shot peening, the nominal bending stress number(fatigue limit) increased by 6.3%–31.1%, with an amplitude range of 39–143 MPa. A supervised learning algorithm of a random forest was implemented to determine the contribution of the surface hardness and surface residual stress to the nominal stress number. An empirical formula was proposed to predict the nominal stress number considering the surface integrities. The prediction error was less than 7.53%, as verified by several gear-bending fatigue tests. This provided theoretical support for the modern, anti-fatigue design of the gears.

Microstructures in a carburized steel after isothermal pearlitic treatment

The influence of carbon concentration variations on pearlite formation(20 h at 600℃)in a case-carburized steel is investigated.The resultant microstructure shows three distinct regions:carburized case,a transition region,and the original core.The microstructural transition from the case to the core regions is observed to be relatively sharp.The investigated region of the carburized case(0.9 wt.%C)con-tains two types of pearlite:ferrite+cementite and ferrite+M_(23)C_(6),where the pearlitic aggregate with M_(23)C_(6)shows faster formation kinetics.The kinetics of pearlite formation in the transition region(0.3 wt.%C)is very slow and is observed with only M_(23)C_(6)carbide.Only around 40%austenite decomposes into pearlite in the transition region,which,in comparison to the carburized case region of 0.9 wt.%C is a fraction that is lower by a factor of two.Pearlite is absent in the investigated core region(0.16 wt.%C).The microstructure in this region is predominantly martensite and pro-eutectoid ferrite,with a fraction of ferrite well below the equilibrium fraction.Ferrite formation in this region is limited by the redistribution of mainly Ni,Mn,and Cr,and their resulting solute drag effect on the austenite/ferrite interface.A ther-modynamic and kinetic argumentation of these observations is provided with the help of thermodynamic data,precipitation simulations,and a general mixed-mode Gibbs energy balance model.

Evaluation of contact fatigue risk of a carburized gear considering gradients of mechanical properties

Carburized gears are widely used in geared machines such as wind turbines.Contact fatigue problems occur in engineering practice,reducing reliabilities of machines.Contact fatigue failures are related to many factors,such as gradients of mechanical properties of the hardening layer.In this work,an elastic-plastic contact model of a carburized gear is developed based on the finite element method to evaluate contact fatigue failure risk,considering variations in hardness and strength.The Dang Van multiaxial equivalent stress is calculated via Python coding within the Abaqus framework.The gradient of yield strength along the depth from case to core is considered.The concept of local material fatigue failure risk is defined to evaluate the probability of pitting failure.The effects of design factors,such as the case hardening depth(CHD),surface hardness,and contact pressure on fatigue failure risk,are studied.As the CHD increases or the surface hardness decreases,the risk of deep spalling failure reduces.The increase in surface hardness leads to a decreased risk of pitting failure,while the variation in CHD hardly affects the pitting failure risk.

Evolution of carbides on surface of carburized MSONiL bearing steel

The dissolution and precipitation behaviors of the carbides in carburized M50NiL steel were derived from different solution and tempering treatments.Totally four kinds of carbides of (V,Cr)-rich MC,(Mo,Fe)-rich M2C,Fe-rich M3C and (Fe,Cr)-rich M7C3 were obtained from the carburized M50NiL steel after different heat treatments.The key carbides of carbufized M50NiL steel were proved to be tough V-rich MC and Cr-rich M7C3.The highest hardness (634 HV)and the optimal surface structure with 1.0% volume fraction of uniformly distributed MC carbides were obtained after the carbufized M50NiL steel was solution-treated at 1150 ℃ and tempered at 500 ℃.The quantitative statistics show that 63%of the MC carbides were less than 200 nm under that heat treatment.The variety of carbides changed with solution and tempering conditions.When the solution temperature increased from 1050 to 1150 ℃,the undissolved carbides were proved to be Fe-rich M7C3,Mo-fich MC and (Mo,Fe)-fich M2C.Besides,the equivalent content of V-rich MC was found increased when the tempering temperature changed from 500 to 550 ℃.The combination of high-temperature solution and low-temperature tempering is recommendable heat treatment for the high hardness as well as the tiny and uniformly distributed carbides.

Microstructure and tribological properties of carburized 95W–3.5Ni–1.0Fe–0.5Co heavy alloy

Tungsten heavy alloys(WHAs) produced by powder technology are widely used for the mechanical manufacturing, electronic and defense components, etc.Tribological properties of these alloys need to be improved to meet the severe service conditions demanded. Carburization is a promising way to resolve this problem. In this work, microstructure and tribological properties of the carburized 95W–3.5Ni–1.0Fe–0.5Co heavy alloy were investigated in comparison with those of the untreated alloy. Results show that the carburized layer consists of a porous, outer WC layer and a modified W grain layer surrounded by Fe_6W_6C and Co_6W_6C at 970℃, regardless of the carburizing time. The depth of the carburized layer linearly increases in a relatively short time and slightly increases during the subsequent period. Surface roughness increases with carburizing time. Carburization can stabilize friction coefficient and effectively improve the wear resistance of the tungsten heavy alloy due to its significantly increased hardness and non-deformability, but the porous structure in the WC layer has a negative influence on its wear resistance. The carburized layer is damaged in the porous WC layer in the form of the spalling of WC particles where there are some microcracks and micropores, accompanied with peeling due to the solid tribofilm being pushed away.

Microstructure of Surface Layer Formed at Low Temperature and High Carbon Concentration Carburizing with Rare Earth Element

A suitable carburized microstructure with fine granular dispersed carbides in hypereutectoidzone,ultra fine martensite in matrix and recrystallized austenite to be refined to the grain size of 12～14 hasbeen obtained by a new process,which is a high carbon concentration carburizing with rare earth element atlow temperature(860～880℃)in a discontinuous gas carburization furnace.There was not much differencefor the microstructure in eutectic zone between this and conventional process.Forming mechanism ofgranular carbides has been also studied in this paper.

Effect of Rare Earths on Diffusion Coefficient and Transfer Coefficient of Carbon during Carburizing

The diffusion coefficient of carbon in surface layer of steel 20 rare earth carburized at 880 ℃ and 900 ℃ for 8 h was calculated by substituting the measured layer depths into the diffusion equation. The mathematical model of the transfer coefficient of carbon was deduced based on the kinetics of weight gain during gas carburizing. The calculated results show that the main reason why the gas carburizing process is accelerated is due to the obvious increase in the diffusion coefficient and transfer coefficient of carbon resulted from the addition of RE.

Wettability Modification for Biosurface of Titanium Alloy by Means of Sequential Carburization

Microporous titanium carbide coating was successfully synthesized on medical grade titanium alloy by using sequentialcarburization.Changes in the surface morphology of titanium alloy occasioned by sequential carburization were characterizedand the wettability characteristics were quantified.Furthermore,the dispersion forces were calculated and discussed.The resultsindicate that sequential carburization is an effective way to modify the wettability of titanium alloy.After the carburization thesurface dispersion force of titanium alloy increased from 76.5×10-3J·m-2 to 105.5×10-3 J·m-2,with an enhancement of37.9 %.Meanwhile the contact angle of titanium alloy decreased from 83° to 71.5°,indicating a significant improvement ofwettability,which is much closer to the optimal water contact angle for cell adhesion of 70°.

Effect of process parameters on induction plasma reactive deposition of tungsten carbide from tungsten metal powder

Tungsten carbide deposit was made directly from tungsten metal powder through the reaction with methane in radio frequency induction plasma. Effect of major process parameters on the induction plasma reactive deposition of tungsten carbide was studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X ray diffraction analysis, water displacement method, and microhardness test. The results show that methane flow rate, powder feed rate, particle size, reaction chamber pressure and deposition distance have significant influences on the phase composition, density, and microhardness of the deposit. Extra carbon is necessary to ensure the complete conversion of tungsten metal into the carbide.

Accelerating Effect of Rare Earth in Steel on Its Surface-Carburizing Process

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Effect of surface Cr/C infiltration on microstructure,mechanical properties and wear resistance of high chromium cast iron

A new type of high chromium cast iron(HCCI)was prepared,and its microstructure,mechanical properties,and abrasion resistance were investigated systematically.Results showed that after surface carburizing and chromizing,the microstructure of HCCI mainly consists of martensite,boride(M_(2)B),and carbide(M_(7)C_(3)),accompanied with a large amount of secondary precipitations M_(23)C_(6).Moreover,the morphology and hardness of the carbide and boride in HCCI change little,while the volume fraction of carbide and boride increases from 16.23%to 23.16%.This effectively increases the surface hardness of HCCI from 64.53±0.50 HRC to 66.58±0.50 HRC,with the result that the surface of HCCI possesses a better abrasion resistance compared to the center position.Furthermore,the wear mechanism of HCCI changes from micro-plowing to micro-cutting with the increase of surface hardness.

Reduction and carburization of iron oxides for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

The activation of iron oxide Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis(FTS) catalysts was investigated during pretreatment: reduction in hydrogen followed by carburization in either CO or syngas mixture, or simultaneously reduction and carburization in syngas. A combination of different complementary in situ techniques was used to gain insight into the behavior of Fe-based FTS catalysts during activation. In situ XRD was used to identify the crystalline structures present during both reduction in hydrogen and carburization. An increase in reduction rate was established when increasing the temperature. A complete reduction was demonstrated in the ETEM and a grain size dependency was proven, i.e. bigger grains need higher temperature in order to reduce. XPS and XAS both indicate the formation of a small amount of carbonaceous species at the surface of the bulk metallic iron during carburization.