Sun Kwang Hwang

Effect of processing routes in a multi-pass continuous hybrid process on mechanical properties, microstructure, and texture evolutions of low-carbon steel wires

In this work, a multi-pass continuous hybrid (CH) process was experimentally applied with up to five passes with three processing routes, A, Bc, and C, to check the practicality of the processing routes and investigate their effect on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and texture evolutions of low-carbon steel wires. According to the present investigation, the wires processed by the 5th pass CH process with route A showed the highest ultimate tensile strength value (762 MPa) compared to those for routes Bc (718 MPa) and C (720 MPa), respectively. Based on the compression test results, the CH processed wire showed good workability when the aspect ratio was smaller than 2.4 for all the processing routes. According to the microstructure and texture evolutions, the grain sizes of the 5th pass CH processed wires decreased for all the processing routes than that of the initial specimen, and the wires showed mixed texture distribution of shear and drawing texture components. From the present investigation, it was concluded that the processing routes of the CH process could strongly affect the microstructure and texture evolutions, resulting in changes of the mechanical properties and workability of the low-carbon steel wires.

Residual stress characteristics in a non-circular drawing sequence of pearlitic steel wire

In this paper, characteristics of residual stress in pearlitic steel wire drawn by a non-circular drawing (NCD) sequence with two processing routes, NCDA and NCDB, were experimentally and numerically investigated up to the 12th pass in comparison with conventional wire drawing (WD). For experimental investigation of the axial residual stress at the surface of the drawn wire, destructive (deflection) and non-destructive methods were employed. According to the experimental results, axial surface residual stress of the drawn wire by the NCD sequence was lower and more homogeneous compared to the conventional WD. Based on the elasto-plastic numerical simulation results from the surface to the center of the drawn wire using a commercial DEFORM-3D, an empirical relationship between residual stress and reduction of area was determined to predict the residual stress evolution in the multi-pass WD, NCDA, and NCDB, in that order. From the results of this investigation, it can be construed that the NCD sequence, especially the NCDB, might be helpful in improving the residual stress characteristics of pearlitic steel wire to improve its mechanical behavior and service life.