In order to speed up the production and save more energy in hot stamping process,the induction heating technology as a new effective heating method is considerable.Finite element(FE)-simulation and a series of experiments are carried out to research the temperature homogenization of induction heating with the face inductor.It is found the edge effect has a notable influence on the temperature distribution.Results concerning the mechanical properties of the stamped part as well as surface characteristics will be presented and discussed.
The fatigue behavior of press hardened Al-Si coated high strength steel has been investigated,and the fatigue strength turns out to be about 1 000 MPa.Surface morphology of fractured and non-fractured specimen has been observed,and the coating shows significant influence on the fatigue behavior.The difference of elastic modulus between coating and substrate led to the main cracks perpendicular to the loading direction.The coating close to fracture exfoliated thinly,while the coating far away from the fracture kept integrated.Though the specimen was polished to obtain high surface quality,3 types of cracks occurred during the fatigue test.What’s more,inclusion particles were proved to play a crucial role in causing these cracks.
In this study, austenitizing heat treatment before hot stamping of Al-10% Si coated boron steel is first investigated through en- vironment scanning electron microscopy （ESEM） equipped with energy dispersive x-ray analysis （EDAX）. The cracking be- havior of the coating was evaluated using Gleeble 3500, a thermo-mechanical simulator under uniaxial plastic deformation at elevated temperatures. The extent and number of cracks developed in the coating were carefully assessed through an optical microscope. The coating layer under hot-dipped condition consists of an Al-Si eutectic matrix, Fe2Al7Si, Fe3Al2Si3 and Fe2Al5, from the coating surface to the steel substrate. The coating layer remains dense, continuous and smooth. During austenitization, the Al-rich Fe-Al intermetallics in the coating transform to more Fe-rich intermetallics, promoted by the Fe diffusion process. The coating finally shows the coexistence of two types of Fe-Al intermetallics, namely, FeAl2 and FeAl. Microcracks and Kirkendall voids occur in the coating layer and diffusion zone, respectively. The coating is heavily cracked and broken into segments during the hot tensile tests. Bare steel exposed between the separate segments of the coating is oxidized and covered with a thin FeOx layer. The appearance of the oxide decreases the adhesion of the Al-Si coating. It is found that the ductile FeAl is preferred as a coating microstructure instead of the brittle FeAl2. Therefore, the ductility of the Al-Si coating on hot stamping boron steer could be enhanced by controlling the ductile Fe-rich intermetallic phase transformations within it during austenitization. Experiments indicate that a higher austenitizing temperature or longer dwell time facilitate the Fe-rich inter- metallics transformation, increasing the volume fraction of FeAl. This phase transformation also contributes to reducing the crack density and depth.
Flow behavior of the Al-Si coated boron steel was investigated with Gleeble-3500,in comparison with the uncoated one.Effect of deformation conditions on the coating integrity was characterized by optical microscopy.Facture surfaces of the coated steels were inspected under SEM.Experimental results indicate that the ultimate tensile strength and ductility of the Al-Si coated boron steel are lower than those of the uncoated steel under test conditions.Extensive cracks occur in the coating after tensile tests;the width and density of cracks are sensitive to the deformation temperatures and strain rates.The bare substrate exposed between the separate coating segments is oxidized.Appearance of the oxide degrades the Al-Si coating adhesion.Remarkable difference between formability of the coating layer and the substrate is confirmed.The formability of the Al-Si coating could be optimized by controlling the phase transformation of the ductile Fe-rich intermetallic compounds within it during the austenization.
An elasto-visco-plastic constitutive model incorporating the craze damage behavior was developed for the polypropylene(PP), by using the plastic failure model applied for the concrete, to capture the craze yielding and stress-whitening phenomena. In addition, the developed constitutive model was implemented into finite element codes in Abaqus to simulate the tensile deformation. The standard uniaxial tensile tests were carried out. The stress-strain curves from the uniaxial tensile tests show that the stress keeps decreasing after yielding and the yield stress rises with the increasing of the strain rate. It is worth noting that the craze damage is more visible with higher strain rate. The stress-whitening can be seen clearly around the fracture. The uniaxial tensile tests using specially designed specimen with circular holes weakening were performed for the validation of the developed model. The simulation results of the tensile deformation of the hole-weakened specimen suggest that the stress-whitening could be attributed to the equivalent visco-plastic strain. By comparing between the simulation analysis and the experimental results, the proposed model can describe the stress whitening phenomenon with good accuracy.
