Continuous cooling bainitic steels has been widely used in industrial processes owing to its excellent mechanical properties and toughness. Although the surface properties of them are acceptable for many purposes, for their use in mechanical components like gears, it is necessary to improve their surface properties. Plasma nitriding treatments was carried out of a DIN 18MnCrSiMo6-4 steel at 500 °C, with three different nitrogen gas composition: 76, 24 and 5 vol.% nitrogen in hydrogen, for 3, 6 and 9 hours. The surfaces were characterized concerning the microstructure, microhardness, fracture toughness, nitrogen concentration and carbon composition, phase composition and residual stress states. Based on the results presented, layer growth constants (k) for different nitrogen gas composition was determined. The carbon profiles of samples indicate that there was decarburization during the plasma nitriding. The nitrided samples with thicker compound layers presented a fracture behavior dominated by the formation of Palmqvist cracks. X-ray phase analysis indicated the formation of biphasic compound layer on the surface of all nitrided samples with 76 and 24 vol.% nitrogen, while the nitrided samples with 5 vol.% nitrogen indicated the formation of monophasic compound layer. The diffusion zone presented compressive residual stresses with highest values near the surface.

In this work, a drawing processed was simulated to calculate forces and the resulting residual stresses in the material. The calculated residual stresses were compared with experimentally measured residual stresses by the Neutron Diffraction Method. The modeled process was the Wire Drawing. The necessary parameters to model the process were taken from an industrial currently used process. Rods of an AISI 1045 steel with nominal diameters of 21.46 mm were reduced to 20.25 mm by drawing with an drawing angle of 15°. Compression tests were used to determinate flow curves of the real material an used in the simulation models. The possibility to estimate drawing forces by numerical simulation was evaluated by comparing simulated results with values from empirical equations given by the literature. The results have shown a sufficient accuracy for the calculation of forces, but the comparison of residual stresses has shown differences to the experimentally determined ones that can be minimized by the consideration of high strain rates in the compression tests, anisotropy of the material and kinematic hardening.

Nesse trabalho foi simulada a etapa de trefilação na produção de barras redondas do aço AISI 1045 através do processo de trefilação combinada. Foram determinados diversos parâmetros para a simulação com base em processos industriais de trefilação combinada. Foi realizado o teste do anel, e sua simulação, a fim de obter-se o valor de atrito para utilização na simulação numérica e cálculos analíticos. Dos resultados da simulação numérica, através da comparação desta com equações empíricas e analíticas, foi avaliada a capacidade da simulação de prever a força de trefilação. Além disso, foi realizado um esforço no sentido de determinar as tensões residuais após a trefilação. Os valores simulados de tensões residuais foram comparados com valores experimentais obtidos através de análise de tensões residuais por difração de Nêutrons realizada em amostras trefiladas da industria. Com base neste trabalho, foi discutida a possibilidade de usar-se a simulação para prever quantitativamente as tensões residuais após o processo de trefilação. As análises poderão ser utilizadas para o desenvolvimento de futuros melhoramentos no processo de trefilação.

Influência do ângulo e do coeficiente de atrito nas tensões residuais geradas na trefilação de barras de aço AISI 1045 Die angle and friction coefficient influence on residual stresses generated in wire drawing in bars of AISI 1045 steel

In this investigation a DoE (Design of Experiments) analysis of distortion for a typical manufacturing process of pre-straightened, cold drawn and induction hardened AISI 1045 cylindrical steel bars was carried out. A careful characterization of the material, including residual stresses and geometrical changes was done for the different manufacturing steps. The variables included the drawing process itself with two different drawing angles, a stress relief treatment which was applied to one part of the samples and finally an induction heat treatment with two different case depths applied to identify effects and correlations on distortion. Simulation of the drawing process was also used as tool to clarify possibilities and limits of this kind of analysis, depending on the available input data. Different influences on the distortion of the induction hardened samples were found and discussed, as for example the marked dependence of the distortion on drawing angle.