Yongtang Li

Metadynamic recrystallization of the as-cast 42CrMo steel after normalizing and tempering during hot compression

The existing researches of hot ring rolling process are mainly based on forged billet. Compared with the existing process, the new ring casting-rolling compound forming process has significant advantages in saving materials and energy, reducing emission and reducing the production cost. The microstructure evolution of the casting materials during hot deformation is the basis of the research of the new process. However, the researches on the casting materials are rare. The metadynamic recrystallization of the as-cast 42CrMo steel after normalizing and tempering during the hot compression is investigated. The tests are performed on the Gleeble-1500 thermal-mechanical simulator. The influence rule of the deformation parameters on the metadynamic recrystallization is obtained by analyzing the experimental data. The kinetic model of the metadynamic recrystallization is deduced. The analysis results show that the metadynamic recrystallization fraction increases with the increase of the deformation temperature and the strain rate. The metallographic experiments are used to investigate the influence rule of the deformation parameters on the grain size of the metadynamic recrystallization. The experimental results show that the grain of the metadynamic recrystallization could be refined with the increase of the strain rate and the decrease of the deformation temperature during hot compression. The occurrence of the metadynamic recrystallization during the hot deformation is more difficult in as-cast 42CrMo steel than in forged 42CrMo steel. The research can provide the foundation for the further research of the hot deformation behaviors of the as-cast structure and theoretical support for the new ring casting-rolling compound process.

Technology and Experiments of 42CrMo Bearing Ring Forming Based on Casting Ring Blank

Bearing ring is the crucial component of bearing. With regard to such problems as material waste, low efficiency and high energy consumption in current process of producing large bearing ring, a new process named “casting-rolling compound forming technology” is researched by taking the typical 42CrMo slew bearing as object. Through theoretical analysis, the design criteria of the main casting-rolling forming parameters are put forward at first. Then the constitutive relationship model of as-cast 42CrMo steel and its mathematical model of dynamic recrystallization are obtained according to the results of the hot compression experiment. By a coupled thermal-mechanical finite element model for radial-axial rolling of bearing ring, the fraction of dynamic recrystallization is calculated and recrystallized grains size are predicated. Meanwhile, the effects of the initial rolling temperature and feed rate of idle roll on material microstructure evolution are analyzed. Finally, the industrial rolling experiment is designed and performed, based on the simulation results. In addition, mechanical and metallographic tests are conducted on rolled bearing ring to get the mechanical parameters and metallographic structure. The experimental data and results show that the mechanical properties of bearing ring produced by casting-rolling compound forming technology are up to industrial standard, and a qualified bearing ring can be successfully formed by employing this new technology. Through the study, a process of forming large bearing ring directly by using casting ring blank is obtained, which could provide an effective theoretical guidance for manufacturing large ring parts. It also has an edge in saving material, lowering energy and improving efficiency.

Advances in compact manufacturing for shape and performance controllability of large-scale components-a review

Research on compact manufacturing technology for shape and performance controllability of metallic components can realize the simplification and high-reliability of manufacturing process on the premise of satisfying the requirement of macro/micro-structure. It is not only the key paths in improving performance, saving material and energy, and green manufacturing of components used in major equipments, but also the challenging subjects in frontiers of advanced plastic forming. To provide a novel horizon for the manufacturing in the critical components is significant. Focused on the high-performance large-scale components such as bearing rings, flanges, railway wheels, thick-walled pipes, etc, the conventional processes and their developing situations are summarized. The existing problems including multi-pass heating, wasting material and energy, high cost and high-emission are discussed, and the present study unable to meet the manufacturing in high-quality components is also pointed out. Thus, the new techniques related to casting-rolling compound precise forming of rings, compact manufacturing for duplex-metal composite rings, compact manufacturing for railway wheels, and casting-extruding continuous forming of thick-walled pipes are introduced in detail, respectively. The corresponding research contents, such as casting ring blank, hot ring rolling, near solid-state pressure forming, hot extruding, are elaborated. Some findings in through-thickness microstructure evolution and mechanical properties are also presented. The components produced by the new techniques are mainly characterized by fine and homogeneous grains. Moreover, the possible directions for further development of those techniques are suggested. Finally, the key scientific problems are first proposed. All of these results and conclusions have reference value and guiding significance for the integrated control of shape and performance in advanced compact manufacturing.

Fractal characteristics and microstructure evolution of magnetron sputtering Cu thin films

How to describe surface morphology characteristic and microstructure evolution are the hottest researches of current thin film researches. But in traditional characterization of surface morphology, the roughness parameters are scale related. And the microstructure evolution of thin film during post-treatment is usually not considered in detail. To give a better understanding of the roughness of thin films topography, fractal method is carried out. In addition, microstructure evolution of thin films is analyzed based on the crystallography and energy theory. Cu thin films are deposited on Si (100) substrates by magnetron sputtering, and then annealed at different temperatures. Surface topography is characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM). Triangular prism surface area (TPSA) algorithm is used to calculate the fractal dimension of the AFM images. Apparent scale effect exists between the surface morphology roughness and film thickness. Relationship between the fractal dimension and roughness is analyzed by linear regression method and linear relationship exists between fractal dimension and surface roughness root mean square (RMS). Fractal dimension can be characterized as a scale independence parameter to represent the complex degree and roughness level of surface. With the increase of annealing temperature, surface roughness and fractal dimension decrease. But when the annealing temperature exceeds the recrystallization temperature, due to the agglomeration and coalescence of Cu grain, surface roughness and fractal dimension increase. Scale effect and changing regularity of grain growth and shape evolution for different film thickness under different annealing temperatures are analyzed. Based on minimum total free energy, regularity of grain growth and changing is proposed. The proposed research has some theory significance and applicative value of Cu interconnect process and development of MEMS.

A Comparative Study of Hot Deformation Behaviors for Sand Casting and Centrifugal Casting Q235B Flange Blanks

Abstract Hot compression tests of sand casting and centrifugal casting Q235B flange blanks were performed at strain rate range of 0.01–5 s−1 and temperature range of 850–1,150 °C. The evolutions of microstructure and texture were revealed. The constitutive models based on Arrhenius constitutive modeling were proposed by considering the effects of strain on material constants. The results show that recrystallization in centrifugal casting Q235B is more apparent than that in sand casting, resulting in the finer grains and lower flow stress for centrifugal casting Q235B. The intensities of textures slightly weaken with the increase of temperature. At 1,050 °C and 5 s−1, the textures of sand casting are characterized by strong {001}<100> and {001}<110>, which are related with severe deformation, while the textures of centrifugal casting are composed of {110}<110> and {111}<112>, which are related with dynamic recovery and shear deformation. A good agreement between the predicted and experimental flow stress is achieved and demonstrates that the proposed constitutive models are reliable.

Research on Edge Cracks of the Ring Part During Ring Rolling Based on Cast Blank

The casting-rolling compound forming process is a new process to produce seamless ring shaped components. In the new process, the input blank for the new process is a ring shaped casting blank. Edge crack affects severely the quality of rolled ring parts in ring rolling process based on cast blank. Theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experiments were combined to study the edge crack and its prevention methods during ring rolling. Conclusions are obtained that: (1) for casting blank, the initial stage of ring rolling is crucial to prevent the initiation and propagation of the edge cracks. (2) in the ring rolling process, the occurrence of cracks were influenced mainly by rolling temperature and feed speed of the core-roller. Cracks could be avoided by controlling above two rolling parameters. (3) in the initial stage of ring rolling, higher rolling temperature and lower feed speed of the core-roller are beneficial to improve the plasticity of the materials and restrain effectively the initiation and propagation of cracks. The work is a part of the research of the new casting-rolling compound forming process. It will promote the development of the new process.Copyright