An Experimental Analysis of the High-Cycle Fatigue Fracture of H13 Hot Forging Tool Steels

Abstract

In this study, the axial fatigue behaviour of hot forging tool steels at room temperature was investigated. Fatigue tests were performed on two steels within the same H13 specification. The fatigue tests were carried out in the high-cycle fatigue domain under normal conditions. These tests were also performed on specimens in contact with a corrosive medium, applying stress values that led to the high-cycle fatigue domain under normal conditions for the sake of comparison. Both materials showed similar fatigue strengths when they were tested under normal conditions. In contrast, corrosion fatigue lives were much lower than in normal tests and differed significantly between the two steels. Crack initiation was triggered by microstructural and surface defects in the normal tests, whereas the formation of corrosion pits caused crack initiation in the corrosion fatigue tests. Moreover, a fracture surface analysis revealed dissimilar crack propagation areas between both steels, which suggested that both steels had different fracture toughness. These results were in line with the differences observed between the carbide and grain sizes of both of the material microstructures.

Evaluation of Austenitic Stainless Steel ER308 Coating on H13 Tool Steel by Robotic GMAW Process

“…The combination of unique features resulting from surface modification through welding processes in dissimilar alloys is of significant interest for tool steel, such as H13 steel, which is used in the manufacturing of extrusion dies, forming applications, forging, and diecasting of aluminum alloys [34,35]. For such types of applications, improving the corrosion and erosion resistance of H13 steel is imperative, as its use in high-temperature processes with aggressive lubricants/coolants leads to rapid degradation of the material [36,37]. In aluminum extrusion dies, the combination of high temperature and the aggressiveness of molten aluminum in terms of corrosion can lead to pitting and the formation of intermetallic layers.…”

Corrosion and Mechanical Behavior of Metal Materials

“…Many high-strength metal-related materials and structures work under the coupling condition of harsh corrosion environments and complex loading [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], and related failure cases have been reported extensively all over the world. Hence, it is absolutely essential to investigate the corrosion and mechanical behavior of metal materials, aspects which mainly include corrosion fatigue [3][4][5], stress corrosion cracking [6][7][8], erosion corrosion [9], hydrogen-induced cracking [10], wear corrosion [18], etc. From the point view of materials and structures, failure can be caused by the unique mechanical and corrosive environment during their service life.…”