Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties in an Fe-17Cr-4Ni-4Cu alloy aged at 475 °C after different aging times were studied. Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ...high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) studies revealed the formation of 9R-structure Cu-rich precipitates and Cr-rich α’ phase by spinodal decomposition in the samples aged at 475 °C after 100–1000 h. The fine Cu-rich precipitates and Cr-rich α’ phase by spinodal decomposition lead to a significant increase in the hardness, together in the early stages (100 h). Continued aging to 500 h leads to increased precipitation of the Cr-rich α’, which provides significant strengthening, reaching maximum hardening, despite the continued loss of hardening by weakening by the Ostwald ripening of the Cu-rich precipitates. Extending the aging time to 1000 h leads to substantial reversed austenite transformation and a large number of ripening -copper precipitates that causes softening. The results of the impact tests showed that the major fracture mode was cleavage and/or quasi-cleavage.
The high-temperature oxidation behaviour of chromium-molybdenum-vanadium alloyed hot-work tool steel was investigated. High-temperature oxidation was investigated in two conditions: soft annealed, ...and quenched and tempered. The samples were oxidised in a chamber furnace and in an instrument for simultaneous thermal analysis, for 100 h in the temperature range between 400 °C and 700 °C. Metallographic analysis (optical and scanning electron microscopy) was performed to study the microstructural changes in the steel and the oxide layer. Oxidation kinetics were analysed by thermogravimetric analysis, and equations were derived from the results. The kinetics can be described by three mathematical functions, namely: exponential, parabolic and cubic. However, which function best describes the kinetics depends on the oxidation temperature and the thermal condition of the steel. Quenched and tempered samples were shown to oxidise less, resulting in a slower oxidation rate.
Resistance spot welding (RSW) is still the most used form of welding in the automotive industry, primarily for welding steel. One of the advanced steels used in the automotive industry is dual-phase ...steel, so it is important to properly select the welding parameter for these steels. Therefore, this paper presents multi-objective optimization in the RSW welding process of DP 500 steel. The paper considers three different mechanical characteristics i.e., the failure load (F), failure displacement (l) and weld nugget diameter (D), as all these welding characteristics play significant roles in evaluating the quality of spot welding. The results show that the welding current is the most influential parameter with respect to the mechanical characteristics. The effect of welding time on the weld quality is the least significant. The optimal parameters for welding DP 500 steel obtained in this paper are weld current 8 kA, electrode force 4.91 kN and weld time 400 ms.
Due to the creation of a significant temperature gradient, electrical discharge machining (EDM) causes localized, high thermal stress in a tiny heat-affected zone. This thermally developed stress ...leads to fatigue life and strength decrement, micro-cracks and probably catastrophic failure. On AISI A2 steel, a mathematical model based on finite-element analysis was constructed to estimate the temperature field and associated thermal stresses. In this present research work, the heat-flux distribution in a single spark during EDM is considered to be Gaussian distributed. The model first calculates the temperature distribution, and then uses this temperature field to determine the thermal stresses. It was observed that the stresses surpass the workpiece material’s yield strength near the center of the spark and this gradually weakens as the distance from the center increases.
In this paper, the alternate immersion corrosion test of Cr-Mo-V series SDCM steel for hot stamping was carried out, and different stresses were loaded with self-made fixture. The results shown that ...regardless of hardness and stress, the corrosion mode of the material is uniform corrosion. Stress could significantly increase the corrosion rate, with lower hardness and higher corrosion rate. Because of the existence of Corrosion Removal Layer (CRL), the maximum corrosion pit depth would be reduced. The maximum corrosion pit depth and Corrosion Pit density (CPD, ρv) were used to describe the degree of corrosion damage. From low to high hardness, the CPD ρv and corrosion resistance increased gradually. With the increased of tempering temperature, the hardness decreased, and the percentage of carbide area in the field of view increased from 16.36% to 24.32%. The irregular spherical carbide M23(C, N)6 rich in Cr coarsens and consumes Cr element in the material, which lead to the decrease of corrosion resistance. Through the polarization curve of the dynamic potential, we known that the current density was increased with the hardness decreased, from 28.53 μA/mm2 to 40.93 μA/mm2.
A study of deformation behavior of LZ50 axle steel has great significance to the railway industry. Hot-deformation tests were performed using a Gleeble-3800 thermal mechanical simulator at ...temperatures of (900, 1000 and 1100) °C with strain rates of (0.1, 1.0 and 10.0) s–1 under different deformation degrees of 0.2, 0.6 and 1.0. True stress-strain curves were discussed to obtain hot-processing maps. Then hot-processing maps of LZ50 steel at different deformation parameters were discussed including safe zones and unsafe zones. Finally, thermal deformation constitutive equations and dynamic recrystallization models were established based on the experimental data. The results show that at a strain rate of 10.0 s–1, the peak value of the flow stress increases by approximately 40 MPa with a decrease in the temperature from 1000 °C 900 °C, which is larger than the value of 18 MPa obtained at a decrease from 1100 °C to 1000 °C. At deformation temperatures of 900–1000 °C, the peak value of the flow stress increases by approximately 37 MPa with the strain rate increasing from 0.1 s–1 to 1.0 s–1, while from 1.0 s–1 to 10.0 s–1, the increase is approximately 21 MPa. With an increase in the strain from 0.2 to 1.0, the instability area under the low deformation temperature expands due to a higher strain rate. The activation energy of dynamic recrystallization is 334.537 kJ/mol.
The warm deformation behavior of 65Mn spring steel has been carried out by a thermomechanical simulator. The deformation temperatures are in the range of 550 ~ 700℃ and strain rates are in the range ...of 0.001 ~ 1 s-1. The deformation activation energy is calculated to be 486.829 KJ•mol-1. The strain compensated Arrhenius-type constitutive model was established. The relationship materials constants and strain were fitted with an 8th order polynomial. It was found that the strain has a significant influence on the instability map. At the strain is 0.3, the optimum flow zone may take place with the deformation temperatures higher than 626 ℃ and strain rate in the range of 0.001 ~ 1 s-1.
The hot-deformation behavior of the as-cast Mn18Cr18N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel, produced with the electroslag-remelting metallurgical technology, was studied using ...isothermal-compression tests in a temperature range of 1223–1473 K) and a strain-rate range of 0.001–1 s–1). The flow-stress curves of the Mn18Cr18N steel were obtained under different hot-deformation conditions. By establishing the hyperbolic sine-law Zener-Hollomon equation, the hot-deformation activation energy of the Mn18Cr18N steel was obtained. Based on the mechanism of dislocation evolution, a physically-based constitutive model was established. In addition, the expression of the dynamic-recovery coefficient of the model was modified. Compared with the model before the modification, the modified constitutive model could effectively improve the prediction accuracy of the flow stress for the as-cast Mn18Cr18N austenitic stainless steel.