Improved life of die casting dies of H13 steel by attaining improved mechanical properties and distortion control during heat treatment. Year 1 report, October 1994--September 1995

摘要

Optimum heat treatment of dies (quenching) is critical in ensuring satisfactory service performance: rapid cooling rates increase the thermal fatigue/heat checking resistance of the steel, although very fast cooling rates can also lead to distortion and lower fracture toughness, increasing the danger of catastrophic fracture. Goal of this project is to increase die life by using fast enough quenching rates (> 30 F/min ave cooling rate from 1750 to 550 F, 1/2 in. below working surfaces) to obtain good toughness and fatigue resistance in Premium grade H-13 steel dies. An iterative approach of computer modeling validated by experiment was taken. Cooling curves during gas quenching of H-13 blocks and die shapes were measured under 2, 5, and 7.5 bar N2 and 4 bar Ar. Resulting dimensional changes and residual stresses were determined. To facilitate the computer modeling work, a database of H-13 mechanical and physical properties was compiled. Finite element analysis of the heat treated shapes was conducted. Good fit of modeled vs measured quenched rates was demonstrated for simple die shapes. The models predict well the phase transformation products from the quench. There is good fit between predicted and measured distortion contours; however magnitude of predicted distortion and residual stresses does not match well the measured values. Further fine tuning of the model is required.