Optimization of Deep Cryogenic Treatment to Reduce Wear Loss of 4140 Steel

Abstract

Deep cryogenic treatment has had a dramatic effect on the development of wear resistance of steel components. It is a supplement process to the conventional heat treatment process of steels. In this article, the deep cryogenic treatment parameters are optimized for attaining minimum wear loss of 4140 steel. This study is conducted based on L27 Taguchi orthogonal design. The four process parameters, namely, hardening temperature (A), soaking period (B), tempering temperature (C), and tempering period (D), are considered for the optimization study. The optimum levels of the deep cryogenic treatment parameters for 4140 steel are arrived. The interactions among the factors are also investigated. The experimental result shows that hardening temperature is the most significant factor in the deep cryogenic treatment process. Moreover, analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis shows that the percentage contribution of hardening temperature is 17.34% when compared with the other factors.