A significant part of the energy in forging is used to break the interfacial junctions due to friction between the tool and the workpiece. The life of hot-forging tools is usually limited by complex interactive mechanisms under cyclic loading such as abrasive, adhesive and scaling wear, thermal and mechanical fatigue, and plastic deformation. This contribution deals with the wear mechanisms of the tempered martensitic X38CrMoV5 steel (AISI H11) under high-temperature and dry-sliding wear. The investigations are carried out with high-temperature pin-on-disc tests. The pin is cut from bars of X38CrMoV5 steel treated at 42 and 47 HRC. The disc is made of common steel (AISI 1018, XC18). Temperature of the disc ranges from 20 to 950 • C. Before the test starts, the disc is first pre-heated for 1 h. The experiments are performed under constant load and velocity. The friction coefficient decreases quasi-linearly with the rising disc temperature up to 800 • C. Over this temperature, it decreases drastically for the 42 HRC steel but remains linear for the 47 HRC steel. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) investigations have revealed that wear is essentially due to abrasion, plastic deformation and fatigue. Set of cracks due to contact rolling fatigue is observed on the pin and the disc. Those cracks are located on the transferred scale on the pin and on the oxide scale of the disc wear track. The cross-section observations of the pin have revealed a plastically deformed zone beneath the surface. In this sub-surface layer, the tempered martensitic microstructure seems to be more aligned due to friction and the plastic deformation.

High-chromium white cast irons are commonly used in applications requiring excellent abrasion resistance, as in the mining and mineral ore processing industry. Their excellent abrasion resistance is mainly due to their solidification microstructures. During their solidification, high levels of chromium (16-32%) lead to the formation of a high-volume fraction of eutectic M 7 C 3 -carbides, which may or may not be associated with primary carbides in a heterogeneous austenitic/martensitic dendritic structure. Generally, in common white high-chromium cast iron, the molybdenum content is less than 3 wt.% (by weight) so as to avoid a perlitic transformation. It is reported that by addition of molybdenum in quantities of more than 3 wt.%, new carbides (M 2 C, M 6 C) are formed which greatly increase the high-temperature wear resistance.In this paper, 15 high-chromium white cast alloys containing different chromium contents (16 wt.%Cr to 32 wt.%Cr) and molybdenum (Mo free to 9 wt.%Mo) are examined. For each alloy, the chemical composition and volume fraction of carbides and matrix have previously been determined. The matrix microstructure and the type of carbides depend on the relative contents of molybdenum and chromium. The wear experiments are carried out on a pin-on-disc tribometer at room temperature. The pin is made of cast iron. The wear mechanisms are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is observed that the pin height loss, the evolution of friction versus time curves and the mean friction coefficient are largely dictated by the matrix microstructure. The carbides volume fraction and the macroscopic hardness both play only a minor role. The pin height loss is significant for a single-phased matrix and the mean friction coefficient is high. When the matrix is multiphased, the pin height loss tends towards zero and the coefficient of friction is lower. Detailed SEM observations and analysis of the evolution of the friction versus time curves indicate the substantial contribution of the large carbides in friction contact.

The aim of present study is to investigate the influence of anodic film, grown by sulfuric acid anodizing and sealed in nickel-acetate solution, on fatigue strength of aluminum alloy 2214-T6 by conducting axial fatigue tests at stress ratio 'R' of 0.1 and − 1. The influence of sealed anodic film is to degrade the stress-life (S-N) fatigue performance of the base material at all stress levels. Effects of pre-treatments like degreasing and pickling employed prior to anodizing were also studied and no influence of these pre-treatments was observed on fatigue life. The surface and cross-section observations of anodic film were made by scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after fatigue tests. The surface observations have revealed cavities which resulted from dissolution of coarse Al 2 Cu particles during anodization and network of micro-cracks on anodic film surface which were initiated as a result of sealing process. Some of these micro-cracks were found to penetrate up-to substrate and have detrimental effect on subsequent fatigue strength. The decrease in fatigue life for anodized-sealed specimens as compared to bare condition has been attributed to decrease in initiation period and multi-site crack initiations. Multi-site crack initiation has resulted in rougher fractured surfaces for the anodized specimens as compared to bare specimens tested at same stress levels.

In permanent mold casting or gravity die casting (GDC) of aluminum alloys, die coating at the casting-mold interface is the most important single factor controlling heat transfer and, hence, it has the greatest influence on the solidification rate and development of microstructure. This investigation studies the influence of coating thickness, coating composition, and alloy composition on the heat transfer at the casting-mold interface. Both graphite and TiO 2 -based coatings have been investigated. Two aluminum alloys have been investigated: Al-7Si-0.3Mg and Al-9Si-3Cu. Thermal histories throughout the die wall have been recorded by fine type-K thermocouples. From these measurements, die surface temperatures and heat flux density have been evaluated using an inverse method. Casting surface temperature was measured by infrared pyrometry, and the interfacial heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) has been determined using these combined pieces of information. While the alloy is liquid, the coating material has only a weak influence over heat flow and the thermal contact resistance seems to be governed more by coating porosity and thickness. The HTC decreases as the coating thickness increases. However, as solidification takes place and the HTC decreases, the HTC of graphite coating remains higher than that of ceramic coatings of similar thickness. After the formation of an air gap at the interface, the effect of coating material vanishes. The peak values of HTC and the heat flux density are larger for Al-7Si-0.3Mg than for Al-9Si-3Cu. Consequently, the apparent solidification time of Al-9Si-3Cu is larger than that of Al-7Si-0.3Mg and it increases with coating thickness.

Abstract:The tribo-characteristics of metal forming at high temperatures have not yet been well understood due to the complex nature of thermal, microstructural, interaction, and process parameters. This is a review paper on the effects of temperature, coating, and lubrication to the tribological characteristics in hot forming as well as the tribometers for different metal forming processes at elevated temperatures mainly based on the experimental work. The tribological behaviors of oxides in hot forming, such as rolling and stamping, were reviewed and presented. Some commonly used surface coatings and lubricants in hot forming were given. Many types of tribometer were selected and presented and some of them provided a great potential to characterize friction and wear at elevated temperatures. Nevertheless, more testing conditions should be further investigated by developing new tribometers. Eventually, experimental results obtained from reliable tribometers could be used in theory and model developments for different forming processes and materials at high temperatures. The review also showed the great potential in further investigations and innovation in tribology.

Thermal fatigue of a hot work tool steel (X38CrMoV5) is investigated under various test conditions. A microscopic interconnected heat-checking pattern forms on the oxidized surface of the specimen. The evolution of the crack density and morphology is characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and image analysis. The effects of the initial hardness, the maximum temperature and the heating period of the thermal cycle are reported. It is shown that the saturated heat-checking density is independent of the maximum temperature of the thermal cycle, but is dependent on the heating rate. No significant effect of the initial hardness is observed. In the saturated regime, a linear relationship is established between the heat-checking density and the maximum heat-flux density applied to the specimen. The saturated crack density is explained by the difference between the thermo-mechanical strains of the oxide layer and the steel. A damage criterion, independent of the initial hardness of the steel, is proposed to describe the microscopic heat-checking life.

Surface cracking or heat-checking is investigated at a microscopic scale on a hot work tool steel (X38CrMoV5) tested under thermal fatigue. Thermal fatigue tests are periodically interrupted to observe the surface of the specimens by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A non destructive and semi-automatic method is developed to assess and evaluate the two-dimensional crack pattern initiated on the oxide scale layer formed on the specimen surface. The crack pattern is characterized by image analysis in terms of density, morphological and topological features. This technique allows to determine the number of cycles to initiate the microscopic heat-checking and to follow its evolution.

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