Using welding simulation tools to model WAAM
In its simplest form, additive manufacturing has been used since before the common era where low temperature melting materials such as tin, silver, copper,...
Retained austenite significant for strength, toughness
The role of retained austenite (RA) and the magnitude of its influence on the performance of steel components are continually debated. Depending on the...
Important to consider carbide formation during simulation
Low pressure carburizing (LPC) processes are a popular choice in industry due to LPC’s reduced cycle time, lack of oxidation/decarburization at and near surface,...
Accounting for carbon rejection can head off trouble
The heat treatment of steel alloys is required in almost every industry to acquire the necessary properties for a material given a particular application....
Capturing the critical transfer step
One of the most overlooked processes in heat treatment of steel parts is the transfer step where parts are moved from the heating furnace...
Hardening depth measurement
Surface hardening heat treatments are popular in the manufacture of steel products as a means of significantly improving strength and fatigue resistance and mitigating...
Case Depth Determination
Methodology to ensure design intent is satisfied
Distortion during heating
Minimizing distortion involves more than just optimizing cooling
Coupling Alloy and Process Selection
Combining both alloying and processing into a single strategy to achieve a desired level of performance sounds like a simple concept, but can be...
Modeling can improve press quenching process
A combination of carburization and quench hardening is often used to increase the strength and improve fatigue performance of steel parts. During quenching, stresses...
Carbon Diffusion and Carburizing Parameter Selection
Although carburizing is a complicated process, it can be broken down into two main steps: carbon generation in the furnace and carbon diffusion into...
Variation in Hardenability
Many heat-treating processes cannot tolerate appreciable variations in steel hardenability. For an established in-control process, deviations in chemical composition and starting microstructure may result...
The meta-stable microstructure of martensite
In this column, we will discuss martensite and its formation.
Heat treating steel involves heating the component into the austenite range. Once the part is...
Simulation tools to effectively calculate process
One common goal for a wide range of industries has been to increase power density in shaft and gear components. The steel producing industry...
Determining austenite grain size
Grain size is a critical metallurgical characteristic, significantly influencing design parameters such as strength and toughness. Austenite grain size (often referred to as prior-austenite...
Variation in steel hardenability
Many heat-treating processes cannot tolerate appreciable variations in steel hardenability. For an established in-control process, deviations in chemical composition and starting microstructure may result...
An overview of heat treatment techniques
Editor’s note » This is the second in a five-part series.
In this second segment of my series on heat-treating techniques, I will discuss the...
Carbon potential verification
Choose from several verification methods for best fit, then develop a plan to correct for out-of-spec test results
Combatting undesirable NMTP formations
Whether formed during a conventional quench and tempering process, carburizing, or induction hardening, non-martensitic transformation products (NMTP) are widely considered undesirable microstructural features. However,...
How to keep decarburization in check
The performance of heat-treated steel components is largely dependent on the condition of their surface. Wear and fatigue resistance are examples of design criteria...
Improving temperature uniformity during tempering
The final step in any steel heat-treatment quenching process which produces a martensitic microstructure is tempering. Martensite is a metastable phase and is extremely...
Fatigue failures in nickel-based austenitic Superalloy 718
Superalloy 718 is widely used for aerospace, nuclear, power generation, metal processing, medical, material processing, and chemical and petrochemical industries due to its excellent...
Nonlinear distortion response during gas quenching
High-pressure gas quenching (HPGQ) is touted as a way to reduce distortion of difficult-to-quench geometries. Quench pressures and quench gas flow velocities are chosen...
Metal plasticity in manufacturing
Understanding the plastic behavior of steel plays a crucial role in manufacturing. From raw billet to parts in service, some form of plastic deformation...
Inducing heat treatment for case hardening
Induction hardening has become an increasingly popular heat-treatment method for steel due to its extremely fast processing speeds. Compared to other case hardening methods,...
Different Scales Are Used For Rockwell Hardness Testing
Production Bench Rockwell Hardness Testing of Small Work Pieces
As induction hardened workpieces get smaller in size, attention to the proper abrasive cutting of the...
Why is modeling the immersion process so important?
Liquid quenching of long steel components can introduce significant distortion if the component is not lowered into the liquid quench bath properly. Whether the...
Surface stress is key in rolling contact fatigue
Most bearing failures can be attributed to some form of rolling contact fatigue. Many factors influence rolling contact fatigue, but two main factors are...
Gas turbine coating’s life cycle
Gas turbines on land, air, and at sea experience some extreme environments, such as high airflow, pressure, and temperature. Engines intake air from outside...
Process comparison to improve fatigue performance
Bending fatigue and contact fatigue performance can be improved by the presence of residual compressive surface stresses . Many processes can induce these compressive...
Books on steel for metallurgists and heat treaters
There are many books, papers, and publications that metallurgists and heat treaters rely on to assist with heat treating, material selection, failure analysis, or...
Stress modeling of the WAAM process
A thermal model was previously developed and executed to simulate the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process, using the Goldak Flux Distribution to model...
Hardening and tempering in the same cell
Tempering hardened steels is one of the most important heat treating processes used in part manufacturing. Induction tempering produces hardness and mechanical properties similar...
Non-Martensitic Transformation Products (NMTP)
Whether formed during a conventional quench and tempering process, carburizing, or induction hardening, non-martensitic transformation products (NMTP) are widely considered undesirable microstructural features. However,...
Bridging simulation and measurement
Gears are among the most critical and geometrically complex components in modern mechanical systems. Their performance depends not only on precise geometry but also...
Stress evolution during quench hardening of steel
Quench hardening of steel components involves complex, nonintuitive phenomena, particularly as it relates to the dimensional changes and stresses induced. Figure 1 shows a...
Heat treatment techniques overview
Editor’s note » This is the fourth in a five-part series.
In this fourth installment of my series on heat-treating techniques, I will discuss the pros...
Kanthal APMT for nuclear-energy application
The major earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in 2011 did serious damage to boiling water reactors of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant....
Evaluating a material’s response during austenitization
Carbon content in steel has a direct correlation to the hardness and overall strength of a component after heat treatment. Carbon can take many...
Testing of Induction Hardened Work Pieces
Hardness testing is a simple and universally accepted practice for checking induction hardened parts and is performed in literally thousands of manufacturing facilities. There...
