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Experimental Study on Vacuum Carburizing Process for Low-Carbon Alloy Steel

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Abstract

As a low-carbon alloy steel, 20Cr2Ni4A steel has an excellent mechanical properties. It has been used for producing heavy-duty gears, which require good wear and fatigue resistance. The vacuum carburizing process can improve the quality of gears and extend the service life. In this article, a complete heat-treatment process for 20Cr2Ni4A, with carburizing, tempering, quenching and cryogenic steps involved, was proposed. A numerical method was employed to design the carburizing step. The carburized samples were characterized by analysis of carbon profile, surface-retained austenite content, microstructure, and hardness profile. A good microstructure was obtained with acicular-tempered martensite, less-retained austenite, fine granular-dispersed carbides, and was oxide free. The final surface hardness was 64.2HRC, and the case depth was 0.86 mm, which meet the requirements of products. The relationships among process, performance, and microstructure were investigated to understand the inner connection.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2011CB013404) and National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2012ZX04012011). The authors are grateful to Mr. Jingchen Lu, Mr. Zijiang Xu and Mr. Peng Zhou from ASIMCO Tianwei Fuel Injection Equipment Stock Co. Ltd. for facility support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Lab of Precision/Ultra-precision Manufacturing Equipments and Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Shaopeng Wei, Gang Wang, Xianhui Zhao, Xiaopeng Zhang & Yiming Rong

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01609, USA

    Yiming Rong

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  1. Shaopeng Wei
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  2. Gang Wang
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  3. Xianhui Zhao
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  4. Xiaopeng Zhang
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Correspondence to Gang Wang.

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Wei, S., Wang, G., Zhao, X. et al. Experimental Study on Vacuum Carburizing Process for Low-Carbon Alloy Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 23, 545–550 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-013-0762-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-013-0762-1

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