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.

Investigation into the tribological behaviors of press hardening steels on the tailored conditions

There has been a growing demand for safety parts with tailored properties in automobile industry.However,the understanding of tribological behavior of press hardening steels(PHS)on the tailored conditions is highly inadequate.The present work aims at creating new knowledge about the tribological characteristics of PHS on the tailored conditions and bridging this existing gap.The paper proposes an improved hot drawing tribo-simulator to simulate the realistic experimental conditions industry.Investigations were carried out on the condition of different initial heating temperatures,tool temperatures,austenitizing temperatures,cooling rates and microstructures.The presented results show that the whole frictional process is divided into three stages for both coated and uncoated steels.The frictional factor changes a lot and the peak value of frictional factor occurs for serious adhesive wear.The frictional factor rises as the tool temperature and austenitizing temperature rise.The surface morphology of tools indicates that the coating adhering to tool gets thicker as the tool temperature increases.With the increase of cooling rate,the frictional factor declines firstly and then rises to some extent.Flat dies with different temperatures are used to form specimens with different microstructures,which also affects the frictional factor and wear.

Improving hydrogen embrittlement resistance of a modified press hardening steel by introducing retained austenite as hydrogen trap

The effect of retained austenite(RA)with higher mechanical stability on hydrogen embrittlement resistance of a modified 22MnB5(C 0.22,Si 0.8,Mn 1.5,B 0.002,Fe balance,in wt.%)press hardening steel(PHS)has been studied.One-step quenching and partitioning(Q&P)treatment was applied to PHS,and around 6 vol.%ultra-fine RA was obtained.The ultra-fine RA was found to act as stronger hydrogen trap than dislocations and grain boundaries in martensitic matrix and can decrease the apparent diffusion coefficient of hydrogen from 5.97×10^(-7) to 3.83×10^(-7) cm^(2) s^(-1),which was verified by the combination of thermal desorption spectroscopy analysis and hydrogen permeation test.The higher mechanical stability of the ultrafine RA assures enough stability of the hydrogen trap,which results in better hydrogen embrittlement resistance in Q&P-treated PHS than the conventional directly quenched PHS.