Influence of austenitizing temperature on apparent morphologies of as-quenched microstructures of steels

The effects of austenitizing temperature on the morphologies and substructures of as-quenched microstructure were investigated by using 13 medium and high carbon steels. The formation reasons of various morphologies of martensite quenched at different austenitizing temperatures were also studied. The results show that the packet martensite in medium and high carbon steels quenched at higher austenitizing temperature is entirely different from that in as-quenched low carbon steels, which is still plate martensite, and not lath martensite. All the change laws of as-quenched microstructures in medium and high carbon steels are identical with an increase in austenitizing temperature, and the austenitizing temperature can merely change the combined morphology of martensitic platelets, but cannot alter the type of product of martensitic transformation in commercial steels.

Effect of tempering temperature on strain hardening exponent and flow stress curve of 1000MPa grade steel for construction machinery

To study the effect of tempering temperature on strain hardening exponent and flow stress curve,one kind of 1000 MPa grade low carbon bainitic steel for construction machinery was designed,and the standard uniaxial tensile tests were conducted at room temperature.A new flow stress model,which could predict the flow behavior of the tested steels at different tempering temperatures more efficiently,was established.The relationship between mobile dislocation density and strain hardening exponent was discussed based on the dislocation-stress relation.Arrhenius equation and an inverse proportional function were adopted to describe the mobile dislocation,and two mathematical models were established to describe the relationship between tempering temperature and strain hardening exponent.Nonlinear regression analysis was applied to the Arrhenius type model,hence,the activation energy was determined to be 37.6kJ/mol.Moreover,the square of correlation coefficient was 0.985,which indicated a high reliability between the fitted curve and experimental data.By comparison with the Arrhenius type curve,the general trend of the inverse proportional fitting curve was coincided with the experimental data points except of some fitting errors.Thus,the Arrhenius type model can be adopted to predict the strain hardening exponent at different tempering temperatures.

Tensile behavior and deformation mechanism of quenching and partitioning treated steels at different deforming temperatures

The effects of deforming temperatures on the tensile behaviors of quenching and partitioning treated steels were investigated. It was found that the ultimate tensile strength of the steel decreased with the increasing temperature from 25 to 100 ℃, reached the maximum value at 300 ℃, and then declined by a significant extent when the temperature further reached 400 ℃. The total elongations at 100, 200 and 300 ℃are at about the same level. The steel achieved optimal mechanical properties at 300 ℃due to the proper transformation behavior of retained austenite since the stability of retained austenite is largely dependent on the deforming temperature. When tested at 100 and 200 ℃, the retained aus tenite was reluctant to transform, while at the other temperatures, about 10 vol. % of retained aus- tenite transformed during the tensile tests. The relationship between the stability of retained austenite and the work hardening behavior of quenching and partitioning treated steels at different deforming temperatures was also studied and discussed in detail. In order to obtain excellent mechanical properties, the stability of retained austenite should be carefully controlled so that the effect of transforma tion-induced plasticity could take place continuously during plastic deformation.

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.