Effect of Niobium and Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of SAE 8620 Steel

Abstract

An interest in the search for materials with reduced thicknesses, high mechanical resistance and low density has been increasing by the industry. The addition of niobium in micro-alloyed steels in the automotive industry is an alternative for obtaining light and resistant materials. The objective of this work was to verify the influence of the niobium and the heat treatment of normalizing in the microstructure and hardness of the steel SAE 8620. Also the behavior of the cementation in the steel was studied. It was verified that the removal of the normalization heat treatment did not affect the microstructure and the hardness of the steel with the niobium in relation to the steel without niobium and normalization. The cemented layer for the steel with niobium presented a greater microhardness to the depth in relation to steel without niobium.