Heat Treatment Process, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Spring Steel with Ultra-High Strength and Toughness

Abstract

In this research, a new type of spring steel with ultra-high strength and toughness was designed, and its mechanical properties and microstructure under different heat treatment processes were studied. The results show that the optimal heat treatment process for the steel is oil quenching at 890 °C for 40 min, followed by tempering at 400 °C for 1 h. Its mechanical properties have an optimal combination of 1865MPa tensile strength, a yield strength of 1662 MPa, an elongation of 11.5%, a cross-sectional shrinkage of 51.5%, and a Charpy impact energy of 43.7 J at room temperature. With increasing austenitizing temperature, the austenite grain size increases, the martensite lath becomes thicker, and the strength decreases. With increasing tempering temperature, the lath boundary of martensite becomes blurred, the strength decreases, and the plasticity improves. In addition, it was found that during tempering at higher temperature (450 °C), large particle inclusions and secondary cracks appeared in the fractured surface, and a large number of carbides precipitated, leading to the brittleness of tempered martensite.

A Case Study: Electrically Assisted Stress Relief Annealing for Cold-Coiled Helical Automotive Springs

“…The cold-coiled springs used for the stress relief annealing experiment were manufactured from high-strength steel round bars (Si-Cr-V spring steel, supplied by POSCO, Pohang-si, Republic of Korea) with a diameter of 13.0 mm (chemical composition: property of the manufacturer). The steel bar was quenched and tempered before being formed into the shape of the spring [15,16]. All the spring specimens were selected from the same production run to ensure consistency in the experimental results.…”