Heat Treatment Effects on Distortion, Residual Stress, and Retained Austenite in Carburized 4320 Steel

Abstract:

The effects of heat treatment on distortion, residual stress, and retained austenite were compared for case-carburized 4320 steel, in both the austempered and quench-and-tempered condition. Navy C-ring samples were used to quantify both size and shape distortions, as well as residual stress. The austempering heat treatment produced less distortion and a higher surface residual stress. Both hoop and axial stresses were measured; the difference between them was less than seven percent in all cases. Depth profiles were obtained for residual stress and retained austenite from representative C-ring samples for the austempered and quench-and-tempered heat treatment conditions. Austempering maintained a compressive residual stress to greater depths than quench-and-tempering. Quench-and-tempering also resulted in lower retained austenite amounts immediately beneath the surface. However, for both heat treatments, the retained austenite content was approximately one percent at depths greater than 0.5 mm.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volumes 783-786)
• Pages: 692-697
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.783-786.692
• Online since: May 2014
• Authors: Andrew Clark*, Randy J. Bowers, Derek O. Northwood

References

[1] Clark, Donald S. and Varney, Wilbur R., Metallurgy for Engineers. New York, NY: D. Van Nostrand Company, (1962).

[2] Tartaglia, John M. and Hayrynen, Kathy L. A Comparison of Fatigue Properties of Austempered Versus Quenched and Tempered 4340 Steel, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance 21 (2012): 1008-1024.

DOI: 10.1007/s11665-011-9951-y

[3] Otto, F. J. and Herring, D.H. Gear Heat Treatment Part I, Heat Treating Progress (USA) 2 (5), (2002): 27-31.

[4] Leslie, William C. The Physical Metallurgy of Steels. Marietta, OH: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, (1981).

[5] Boyle, Erin; Bowers, Randy; and Northwood, Derek O. The use of Navy C-ring Specimens to Investigate the Effects of Initial Microstructure and Heat Treatment on the Residual Stress, Retained Austenite, and Distortion of Carburized Automotive Steels., SAE Transactions: Journal of Materials & Manufacturing 116, (2008).

DOI: 10.4271/2007-01-0806

[6] Otto, F. J. and Herring, D. H. Gear Heat Treatment Part II., Heat Treating Progress (USA) 2 (5), (2002): 27-31.

[7] Suliteanu, M. Minimizing Gear Distortion During Heat Treatment, Gear Technology 13 (2), (1996): 15-19.

[8] Demerest, W. L. Hardening of Industrial Saw Blades without Distortion., Industrial Heating 48 (7), (1981): 14-15.

[9] Keough, John R. Austempered Materials and their Applications to Drive Line and Suspension Components, (2000).

[10] Grum, J. Overview of residual stress after quenching part II: factors affecting quench residual stresses, International Journal of Materials and Product Technology 24 (1-4), (2005): 53-97.

DOI: 10.1504/ijmpt.2005.007942

[11] Keough, John R. Austempered Materials and their Applications to Drive Line and Suspension Components, (2000).

[12] Keough, W. R. Equipment, Process and Properties of Modern Austempering, edited by Keough, W. R. (1994).

[13] Northwood, Derek O.; He, Lily; Boyle, Erin; and Bowers, Randy. Retained Austenite - Residual Stress - Distortion Relationships in Carburized SAE 8620 Steel., Materials Science Forum 539-543 (2007): 4464-4469.

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.539-543.4464

[14] Pineault, J.A.; Belassel, M.; and Brauss, M.E., X-Ray Diffraction Residual Stress Measurement in Failure Analysis, Failure Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 11, ASM Metals Handbook, ASM International, (2002): 484-497.

DOI: 10.31399/asm.hb.v11.a0003528

[15] Lohe, D.; Lang, K-H; and Vohringer, O. Residual Stresses and Fatigue Behavior, Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel, ASM International, (2002): 27-53.

[16] Parrish, Geoffrey, The Influence of Microstructure on the Properties of Case-Hardened Components. Materials Park, Ohio: American Society for Metals, (1980).

[17] Suffredini, R. L. Factors Influencing Austempering., Heat Treating. 12 (1), (1980): 14-16, 18-19.

[18] Jatczak, C. F.; Larson, J. A.; and Shin, S. W. Retained Austenite and its Measurements by X-Ray Diffraction Society of Automotive Engineers, 400 Commonwealth Dr , Warrendale, PA, (1980).

[19] Richman, R. H. and Landgraf, R. W. Some Effects of Retained Austenite on the Fatigue Resistance of Carburized Steel., Metallurgical Transactions A 6A (5), (1975): 955-964.

DOI: 10.1007/bf02661347

[20] Clark, A. D.; Northwood, D. O.; Bowers, R.J. Comparison of austempering and quech-and-tempering processes for carburized automotive steels., SAE International Journal of Materials and Manufacturing 6(2), (2013): 421-430.

DOI: 10.4271/2013-01-0173