Abstract
Hardenability, tensile, and impact properties have been determined for two nickel-molybdenum powder-formed steels. The compositions of the two steels were Fe-1·8% Ni−0·5% Mo and Fe −0·5% Ni −0·6% Mo; carbon contents studied for both materials were 0·2, 0·3, and 0·4%. Preforms (50 × 50 × 127 mm) were pressed and then sintered for 1 h in a dissociated ammonia atmosphere at 1120°C, to provide a density of 6·5 g/cm3. Preforms were hot formed to full density by upsetting (plane strain) at 980°C or by re-pressing (uniaxial strain) at 1040°C.
Standard 25 mm-dia. × 100 mm-long Jominy end-quenched tests were made to determine hardenability. Room-temperature tensile properties were determined using 6·4 mm-dia. specimens with a 25 mm gauge-length. Standard Charpy V-notch specimens were used to determine the impact properties at −40, 0, 22, and 100°C. Triplicate tests were made in the as formed as well as the quenched-and-tempered conditions.
The additional flow that was realized by upsetting provided higher tensile and impact strengths than re-pressing. Tensile ductility was the same for both processing conditions. Tensile yield strength (heat-treated to ∼26 HV) increased with increasing carbon content for the slack quenched material and levelled off for fully martensitic structures. Room-temperature impact strength also increased with increasing carbon content owing to a decrease in the amount of ferrite in the slack quenched structure. Increasing carbon content caused a decrease in impact strength once fully martensitic structures were achieved.
Impact strength at −40°C ranged from ∼20 to 40 J. Room-temperature impact strength ranged from ∼20 to 50 J. These properties were obtained for materials heat-treated to a UTS level of ∼850 N/mm2. At the lower carbon contents the hardenability curve was found to fall within the AISI ‘H’ band for 4620 wrought steel. At the higher carbon level (0.4% C) the Jominy curves were close to the lower limit of the ‘H’ band for the 4640 wrought steels.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.