Hana Jirková

Structure of miniature components from steel produced by forming in semi-solid state

Abstract To obtain new unconventional structures with specific mechanical and physical properties is possible not only by the development of new types of materials but also by treatment of conventional materials using unconventional innovative technological procedures. One of these technologies is the forming in semi-solid state involving rapid solidification of miniature components from steels. Production of such components is complicated by a number of technical problems. To explain phenomena of the process and structure development, the production of miniature components from the tool steel X210Cr12 difficult to form was experimentally tested. The structure of this originally ledeburite steel consisted of 95 % of metastable austenite after the treatment. Metastable austenite was located particularly in globular and polygonal grains while the remaining interspaces were filled by lamellar network. The detected high stability of extremely high fraction of metastable austenite was tested under different conditions of thermal exposition and mechanical loading.

Effect of Quenching and Partitioning Temperatures in the Q-P Process on the Properties of AHSS with Various Amounts of Manganese and Silicon

The use of the combined influence of retained austenite and bainitic ferrite to improve strength and ductility has been known for many years from the treatment of multiphase steels. Recently, the very fine films of retained austenite along the martensitic laths have also become the centre of attention. This treatment is called the Q-P process (quenching and partitioning). In this experimental program the quenching temperature and the isothermal holding temperature for diffusion carbon distribution for three advanced high strength steels with carbon content of 0.43 % was examined. The alloying strategies have a different content of manganese and silicon, which leads to various martensite start and finish temperatures. The model treatment was carried out using a thermomechanical simulator. Tested regimes resulted in a tensile strength of over 2000MPa with a ductility of above 14 %. The increase of the partitioning temperature influenced the intensity of martensite tempering and caused the decrease of tensile strength by 400MPa down to 1600MPa and at the same time more than 10 % growth of ductility occurred, increasing it to more than 20%.

Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of a Mini-Thixoformed Tool Steel

We report on mini-thixoforming of a hard and wear-resistant crucible particle metallurgy tool steel. Significant microstructural modifications associated with the special semisolid forming process are characterized in detail by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical performance of the material is assessed both pre-thixoforming and post-thixoforming by nanoindentation of the constituent phases. The novel microstructural changes that result from mini-thixoforming, which are discussed in this article for the first time, are beneficial in further improving the hardness of the steel.

The Effect of Mn and Si on the Properties of Advanced High Strength Steels Processed by Quenching and Partitioning

The concepts new types of materials are, for economic reasons, focused mainly on low alloyed steels with a good combination of strength and ductility. Suitable heat and thermo-mechanical treatments play an important role for the utilization of these materials. Different alloying strategies are used to influence phase transformations. The quenching and partitioning process (Q-P Process) is one of the heat treatment methods which can result in a high ultimate strength as well as a good ductility. However, these good properties can be obtained only if a sufficient amount of retained austenite is stabilized. The influence of different contents of manganese, silicon and chromium on microstructural development and mechanical properties were experimentally tested. Alloying elements were used to stabilize the retained austenite in the final microstructure and also to strengthen the solid solution. Ultimate strengths of over 2000MPa with ductility over 10% were reached after the optimization of the Q-P Process. The microstructures were analyzed using several microscopic methods; mechanical properties were determined by a tensile test and the volume fraction of the retained austenite was established by X-ray diffraction phase analysis.

Mini-thixoforming of a Steel Produced by Powder Metallurgy

Semi-solid processing is complicated by various inherent technical problems. However, once these problems are solved, thixoforming allows intricately shaped components to be manufactured very effectively – often with microstructures that cannot be produced by any other techniques. The recently introduced mini-thixoforming method is an example of such a novel technique for semi-solid processing of steel. The wall thicknesses of resulting parts are about 1 mm. Microstructures of semi-solid-processed steels typically consist of a high proportion of globular particles of metastable austenite embedded in a carbide network, the latter being much harder and more brittle. This paper illustrates that mini-thixoforming allows inverting that microstructural configuration. As an experimental material, powder steel with increased content of vanadium and chromium was used. The post-thixoforming microstructure consisted of a dispersion of carbides and high-vanadium and high-chromium eutectic in an austenitic matrix. Applying optimised processing parameters, complex-shaped parts could be produced. According to the high hardness of resulting microstructural components, the new materials are likely to exhibit extraordinary strength and wear resistance.

Rapid Spheroidization and Grain Refinement Caused by Thermomechanical Treatment for Plain Structural Steel

The cold formability of ferritic-pearlitic steels is one of the base parameters for material choice for different forming parts. One of the key factors is the pearlite morphology, which is strongly dependent on chemical composition and previous treatment history. The carbides in pearlite occur mainly in the lamellar form. One of the ways of improving the ductility along with formability is the change of lamellar carbides to globular carbides. This can be conventionally done by soft annealing, which is characterised by long processing times and high energy costs. This paper presents a new processing modification which can lead on the one hand to significant shortening of carbide spheroidization times and on the other hand to intensive refinement of grain size even for low-carbon steels. Low temperature thermomechanical treatment with variation of the heating temperature around Ac1 and incremental deformation was examined on low carbon plain RSt-32 steel. After the thermomechanical treatment conditions were optimized, the refinement of the ferritic grains from an initial 30 μm to circa 5 μm took place, and the time necessary for carbide spheroidization was shortened from several hours to several seconds.

The Effect of Alloying Elements on Microstructure of 0,2%C TRIP Steel

Three low alloyed transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels with 0.2%C were used in this work. The first one was based on the most common and popular 0.2%C - 1.5%Mn - 1.8%Si concept and was used as a reference material. The second steel was further micro-alloyed by 0.06% of Niobium. The third steel was designed with lower manganese content of 0.6% and additional alloying by 0.8% of Chromium. Thermo-mechanical processing with incorporated incremental deformation was applied to each steel. Various cooling rates and numbers of deformation steps were tested with regard to final microstructure and properties. After this optimization, microstructures with the potential to utilize TRIP effect were achieved for all steels. Very good mechanical properties were obtained with ductility typically in the interval of 30-40% and the tensile strengths in the range of 680-835 MPa.

Designing Q&P Process for Experimental Steel with 0.47 % Carbon Content

The Q&P process (Quenching and Partitioning) is a heat treating method for high-strength low-alloyed steels. It delivers the desired combinations of high strength and adequate ductility. These properties are achieved thanks to the unique martensitic microstructure with a certain volume fraction of stable retained austenite. Retained austenite imparts plasticity to the otherwise brittle martensitic structure. Optimum mechanical properties are achieved by using correct processing parameters and chemistry of the material. The experimental material was a steel with 0.47 % carbon alloyed with silicon, manganese and chromium. The purpose of the effort was to optimise the heat treating parameters in order to obtain a strength level above 2000 MPa and an elongation of no less than 10%. In the first step, the appropriate austenitizing temperature was identified. In the second, effects of various quenching temperatures and cooling rates on the microstructure evolution were explored. In the third, the impact of raising the partitioning temperature on stabilization of retained austenite was examined. Adjustment of the parameters led to a strength of more than 2300 MPa and an elongation of 8 %.

Micro-Compression Test of Thixoformed Austenite

Thixoforming is an alternative forming method, by which intricate and complex-shaped products can be manufactured using a single production step. This technology allows a material’s microstructure to be altered profoundly. Typical microstructure of steels processed in this manner consists of quasi-polyhedral austenite grains embedded in a ledeburite-carbide network. This type of microstructure was produced by processing the experimental material in this study: the X210Cr12 steel. Since austenite is a metastable component depending on oversaturation with a number of elements, its thermal and mechanical stability needs to be known. This information is required for further modification and enhancment efforts. In previous experiments, the thermal stability was tested by thermal exposure. In the present work, the behaviour of austenite was explored under mechanical load at room temperature in a micro-compression test. A single block of austenitic material was used for making a test specimen with the dimensions of 2.4×2.2×4.9 µm. Its mechanical properties were measured and deformation stability was investigated using compressive deformation.

Advanced Material-Technological Modelling of Complex Dynamic Thermomechanical Processes

Material-technological modelling has made great progress over recent years, thanks to the new possibilities opened up by developments in sensor technology, and especially in new methods of control, supported by innovative electronic elements and electronic circuits. One such device, developed for material-technological modelling, is the thermomechanical simulator which was established in the laboratories of the Research Centre of Forming Technologies FORTECH, in Pilsen, in the Czech Republic. Thanks to new knowledge and technical equipment the majority of technological processes or even technological chains can be modelled. The most considerable and most important innovation in the material-technological modelling process is the significant acceleration and increased precision of the modelling process. The present technology even allows modelling of highly dynamic processes, such as wire rolling including all thermodynamical effects. This paper presents the broad possibilities of the most modern material-technological modelling. The process of detecting technical and manufacturing problems during rolling and the possibilities of failure elimination are introduced in a practical example.