Steel Gears Research Articles

Analysis of the Causes and Control of High Hardenability of Gear Steel 18CrNiMo7-6HL

Analysis of the Causes and Control of High Hardenability of Gear Steel 18CrNiMo7-6HL

Evolution of Microstructure and Hardness during Carburization Heat Treatment of Heavy-duty Gear Steels: Numerical Prediction and Experimental Study

Abstract In order to solve the problems of long process cycle, low efficiency and high cost in the carburization heat treatment process of 18Cr2Ni4WA heavy-duty gear steel. The carbon concentration distribution of 18Cr2Ni4WA steel under conventional carburizing process at 930℃ was studied by combining numerical simulation with experimental research. The results show that the carbon concentration distribution predicted by the simulation is in good agreement with the experimental results. The microstructure of the surface layer after low-temperature tempering consists mainly of fine acicular tempered martensite, while the core consists mainly of lath tempered martensite and bainite. The increase in hardness after carburization is mainly attributed to the solid solution strengthening of the carbon atoms. The increase in hardness after cryogenic treatment is mainly attributed to the precipitation strengthening of the carbides. In addition, compared to the conventional carburization at 930°C, the high temperature carburizations at 950°C and 970°C reduced the carburization time by 37.2% and 53.5%, respectively.

Tellurium-Induced Reduction in Heat Susceptibility of Gear Steel During High-Temperature Carburizing

Tellurium-Induced Reduction in Heat Susceptibility of Gear Steel During High-Temperature Carburizing

Effect of Trace Magnesium Addition on TiN Inclusions and Microstructure in 20CrMnTi Gear Steel

Effect of Trace Magnesium Addition on TiN Inclusions and Microstructure in 20CrMnTi Gear Steel

The influence of carbon content gradient and carbide precipitation on the microstructure evolution during carburizing-quenching-tempering of 20MnCr5 bevel gear

Due to the mechanism of microstructural transition, high-strength low-carbon alloy steel gears exhibit high strength and surface hardness after Carburizing-Quenching-Tempering (CQT) combined heat treatment, while maintaining good toughness in the core. The carbon potential gradient and the precipitation of carbides are the main factors affecting the final microstructure, yet there is a shortage of related research. To address this gap, this study developed a multi-physics coupled model considering the impact of carbon content to simulate microstructural transformation. Using finite element analysis, we simulated the microstructural evolution during the CQT heat treatment of 20MnCr5 bevel gear. By comparing the simulation results with the calculations from the commercial heat treatment software DANTE®, the accuracy of this model in predicting microstructural distribution and hardness has been validated. Furthermore, the study established a carbide precipitation kinetics model that takes into account the influence of grain size, to investigate the precipitation behavior of carbides within the matrix during the tempering stage. The cellular automaton method was applied to demonstrate the evolution process of the quenched microstructure during tempering. The study shows that during tempering, carbides primarily precipitate in areas with higher carbon content, preferentially at the boundaries of fine grains with a high density of lattice defects. As the carbon content increases, the number density of precipitates rises, while their average radius decreases. The reduction in matrix supersaturation due to carbide precipitation is one of the causes for the reduction of tooth surface hardness during tempering. The model constructed in this study provides a new perspective for understanding the laws governing material microstructural evolution and offers a solid theoretical foundation for the study of stress and deformation during the heat treatment process.

A comprehensive analysis on coast side contact behaviour of thermoplastic gears against steel gear: a FEA approach

PurposeThe research paper comprehensively investigates the gear tooth deflection of standard thermoplastic gears with steel gear as the driver and driven companions. An accurate mapping of characteristic contact regions between the meshing gears was done, and the behaviour of the gear tooth in the premature and prolonged contact zones was studied.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs the finite element method to conduct a quasi-static 2D analysis of meshing gear teeth. The finite element model was created in AutoCAD and analysed using the ANSYS 19.1 simulation package.FindingsIn the polymer-polymer gear combinations, premature and prolonged contact primarily occurs along the addendum radii of meshing gears, whereas a novel contact phenomenon was observed in the coast side for polymer-metal and metal-polymer combinations, exhibiting a path perpendicular to the standard drive side contact. As well, the deflection of the tooth alters the load distribution across the interlocking gears, leading to a decrement in the root stresses.Originality/valueThe Lewis bending equation demonstrates that bending stresses depend solely on the applied load and the geometry of the tooth. It does not consider the effects of deflection. However, the computational results showed that the gear tooth deflection caused by different gear pair combinations also affects the bending stresses. The contact stresses observed in the polymer-polymer gear combination were observed to be within the material’s proportional limit. However, when a steel gear is paired with a polymer gear, the contact stresses exceed the proportional limit due to coast side contact.

Effect of compound surface modification of shot peening and DLC coating on surface integrity and fatigue properties of gear steel 16Cr3NiWMoVNbE

We conducted a study on the surface compound modification of shot peening and pure carbon DLC coating to simultaneously meet the requirements of wear resistance and fatigue resistance of spline structure. The effects of surface compound modification were investigated on the surface morphology, residual stress profile, microstructure, and nano-indentation hardness of 16Cr3NiWMovNbE gear steel, and conducted a comparative study on fatigue performance. The results show that the surface compound modification inherits the surface morphology and compressive residual stress gradient of shot peening, while the surface residual stress is slightly smaller than that of shot peening. In addition, surface compound modification still reflects the characteristics of high hardness and high fracture resistance of DLC coatings. Under the bending load based on spline tooth root, compared to the original specimen, the fatigue life after shot peening, pure carbon DLC coating, and surface compound modification is increased by 3.68, 2.35, and 3.36 respectively. Although the compound modified surface still maintains the shot peening morphology with a increasing surface roughness and stress concentration coefficient, the 100 μm-depth compressive residual stress profile and the subgrain refinement layer introduced, as well as the hard surface layer with good load-bearing capacity, have played the role of fatigue strengthening.

Effect of Sulfur Content on Precipitation Behavior of Dendrite Sulfide Inclusion in Continuous Casted 20CrMnTi Gear Steel

The effect of sulfur content on sulfide inclusion and dendrite MnS in continuous casted 20CrMnTi gear steel is investigated. There are two main types of sulfides in 20CrMnTi steel: pure MnS and TiN–MnS composite inclusions. The number of TiN–MnS is higher than MnS, especially in the edge of the billet. TiN–MnS is smaller both in area and size than pure MnS. The statistical results of dendrite MnS show that the increase of S content decreases the average size of sulfides, whereas raises the number and the maximum size of sulfides. With the S content increasing, the proportion of large‐sized dendrite MnS in steel decreases, but the amount of large‐sized dendrite MnS increases, which results in the increase of number of large‐sized dendrite MnS. The average area of dendrite MnS inclusions first increased and then decreased from the edge to the center of billet, and the maximum area appeared at about 1/2 radius of the billet. Comparison with the microstructure of the two billets, the proportion of ferrite increased with the increase of S content.

The friction behavior and wear mechanism of RV reducer gear steel (20CrMo) subjected to three different heat treatment processes from −20 °C to 100 °C

The gear friction pairs in RV reducer always withstand a broad range of temperature, sliding velocity and heavy load. In the research, three types of heat treatment methods (carburizing + quenching, nitrocarburizing and high concentration nitrocarburizing) are applied on the 20CrMo (cycloidal gear material) disc to study the tribological behavior and wear mechanism. The friction coefficient, wear depth and wear rate of the three types of friction pairs under various temperature (−20 °C, 25 °C, 50 °C, 100 °C) are measured and the microstructure characteristics are analyzed by SEM and EDS. The results reveal that high temperature can dramatically decrease the wear scar dimensions and wear rate due to the more active lubricant. Although the lubricant lost its activity at −20 °C, the friction coefficient and maximum wear depth for GCr15/20CrMo (carburizing + quenching) and GCr15/20CrMo (high concentration nitrocarburizing) are relatively less than 0.1 and 4 μm. The wear rate of GCr15/20CrMo (carburizing + quenching) and GCr15/20CrMo (high concentration nitrocarburizing) are 14.49 μm3/N·m and 17.20 μm3/N·m, which are only 28.7% and 34.1% of GCr15/20CrMo (nitrocarburizing). With the temperature increases to 25 °C, tribofilm is more likely to form on the 20CrMo specimen after nitrocarburizing, leading to better wear resistance. At high temperature (50 °C and 100 °C), GCr15/20CrMo (high concentration nitrocarburizing) system presents excellent tribological behavior by the combination of good lubricant activity, formation of tribofilm and refined nitrides. The wear rate even reaches 0.45 μm3/N·m and 0.43 μm3/N·m at the sliding velocity of 300 mm/s and 562 mm/s under 100 °C. Overall, specimen with high concentration nitrocarburizing process exhibits exceptional wear performance under full operating conditions of RV reducer.

Effect of Ultrasonic Surface Rolling on the Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of Gear Steel 20CrNiMo After Carburizing

Effect of Ultrasonic Surface Rolling on the Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of Gear Steel 20CrNiMo After Carburizing

Effect of the Normalizing Temperature on the Size and Homogeneity of Austenite Grain in 20CrMnTi Carburized Gear Steel

Effect of the Normalizing Temperature on the Size and Homogeneity of Austenite Grain in 20CrMnTi Carburized Gear Steel

Study on the effect of Al-La composite deoxidation on the modification behaviors of TiN and sulfide inclusions in 20CrMnTi gear steel

This article uses experimental and thermodynamic calculations to study the directional modification behavior of TiN and sulfides in 20CrMnTi steel before and after the addition of rare earth La element. The morphologies (SEM) and elemental distributions (EDS) of TiN and sulfide inclusions in steel are characterized using scanning electron microscopy, and the sizes of the inclusions are statistically analyzed. With the addition of rare earth La, the average sizes of TiN and sulfide inclusions in steel decrease, and the proportions of TiN and sulfide inclusions in all inclusions of the steel decrease. The results show that the addition of La element can promote the formation of LaAlO3 in steel, which can be used as the nucleation core of TiN and MnS inclusions in steel, and then form LaAlO3-TiN and LaAlO3-MnS-TiN composite inclusions, which are smaller in size and more uniform in distribution than TiN and sulfide in steel before La element is added. When La is added alone, the average size of TiN inclusion in steel is 2.2 μm. After the deoxidation of Al-La alloy, the average size of TiN inclusion in the steel is 1.9 μm. After Al-La composite deoxidation, the TiN containing inclusions in the steel will be transformed into smaller LaAlO3-TiN composite inclusions. When adding La alone, the average size of sulfide inclusions in the steel is 2.1 μm. When Al-La composite deoxygenation is used, the average size of sulfide inclusions in steel is 1.1 μm, indicating that the Al-La composite deoxygenation has a better improvement effect on sulfide inclusions in steel than the improvement effect of adding La alone.

An Experimental Investigation Replicating the Surface Behavior of Ground Steel Gears in Mixed Lubrication Using Twin-Disk Testing Part 1: Running-in

ABSTRACT The surface of ground gear teeth is changed during the initial period of operation through a process termed running-in. During this process asperity peaks are plastically deformed and removed to better distribute the load across the surface, resulting in modification of the surface finish. In this work the influence of pressure, slide-roll ratio, and entrainment velocity on two-dimensional surface roughness parameters is evaluated through the running-in process using a full-factorial experimental programme. Hardened steel disks are used to simulate gear tooth contacts via the use of a twin-disk rig. Results showed that all three variables strongly influence the change in surface geometry, both individually and through both two- and three-factor interactions.

Effect of laser shock peening on the surface integrity and wear performance of carburized and quenched gear steel

Effect of laser shock peening on the surface integrity and wear performance of carburized and quenched gear steel

An Experimental Investigation Replicating the Surface Behavior of Ground Steel Gears in Mixed Lubrication Using Twin-Disk Testing Part 2: Micropitting

Tooth surfaces in heavily loaded power-transmission gearing can often suffer from surface fatigue on the surface roughness scale, known as micropitting. In this paper, the influence of three variables (pressure, slide-roll ratio, and entrainment velocity) on micropitting is investigated using a full-factorial experimental program using a twin-disk test rig. The results showed that pressure was most influential on micropitting growth during the latter phases of the test, with slide-roll ratio being a more important factor during micropit initiation. The full-factorial nature of these tests allowed two- and three-factor effects to be investigated, demonstrating that micropitting is a complex phenomenon influenced by a network of interconnected effects.

Influence of discrete laser surface melting on scuffing resistance of W6Mo5Cr4V2 steel gear

The gear transmission system is advancing towards high-speed and heavy-duty applications. Among the main failure modes of the system, tooth surface scuffing due to increased tooth surface temperature has emerged as a prominent concern in mechanical transmission. Addressing the enhancement of gear scuffing resistance has thus become an urgent challenge in this field. This paper utilized discrete laser surface melting (DLSM) treatment to create discrete laser surface melted (DLSMed) units on the surface of W6Mo5Cr4V2 steel gears, resembling the radial ribs found on the surface of Limaria basilica. The paper investigated the size, hardness, residual austenite content, and residual stress of the DLSMed units at varying current intensities and laser frequencies. Microstructural observations were conducted on the DLSMed units, followed by gear scuffing experiments performed on the Forschungsstelle für Zahnräder und Getriebebau (FZG) testing machine. The experimental findings revealed that the change in laser frequency had a clearly weaker impact on the size of the DLSMed unit compared to current intensity. The DLSMed unit consisted of two parts: the melting zone (MZ) and the heat-affected zone (HAZ), with equiaxed and dendritic microstructures, respectively. Both zones exhibited refinement with increasing current intensity and laser frequency. Moreover, the microhardness of the DLSMed unit showed significant improvement compared to that of as-received gears. The scuffing resistance of DLSMed gears was found to be closely linked to their initial surface roughness. Residual stress formation in DLSMed gears was attributed to thermal stress and microstructural stress. The distribution pattern of DLSMed units had varying effects on the scuffing load-carrying capacity of DLSMed gears. Specifically, DLSMed gears with transverse distribution of DLSMed units demonstrated a 12.5% improvement in anti-scuffing performance compared to those with longitudinal distribution. Finally, this paper elucidated the mechanism through which DLSM enhances the scuffing resistance of W6Mo5Cr4V2 steel gears.

Effect of carburizing time treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of low alloy gear steels

Gas carburizing significantly enhances the surface properties of low-alloy gear steels, resulting in superior micro-hardness, layer thickness, carbon content, and overall mechanical properties. Unlike other thermochemical processes such as nitriding and carbonitriding, which have limitations in core properties and hardening depth, gas carburizing offers unmatched surface hardness, wear resistance, and mechanical strength. This makes it ideal for demanding applications in the automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing industries. In this research, samples were gas-carburized for 4, 6, or 8 h. The results showed significant improvements: micro-hardness increased from approximately 140 HV to over 819 HV, and the surface layer thickness grew by more than 41%, from 1166 μm to 1576 μm. Additionally, the carbon content in the surface layer increased by over 450%, reaching up to 0.94 wt%. Clear correlations were observed between the duration of heating and the mechanical properties. Longer heating times, particularly after 8 h, raised ultimate tensile strength from 427.29 MPa to 778.33 MPa, while simultaneously decreasing elongation from 26.07% to 2.88% and resilience from 180 J cm−2 to 6.66 J cm−2. This optimization not only enhances surface hardness and durability but also improves key mechanical properties such as tensile strength, stiffness, resilience, and overall mechanical performance.

Determination of the fracture toughness of carburized Pyrowear 53 steel for planetary gears by the small punch test method

The aim of the current study was to determine the fracture toughness of different zones in carburized Pyrowear 53 steel using the small punch test (SPT) method. Firstly, Pyrowear 53 steel was quenched and tempered using different processing parameters to obtain core materials with varied microstructures and fracture toughness. The results obtained for the core material in standard fracture toughness tests were then compared with the SPT results, which allowed the determination of a formula correlating the fracture energy integral, JSPT, from the SPT with JQ integrals obtained from standardized compact tension specimens. In the next stage, Pyrowear 53 steel was carburized at 925 °C and divided into the following zones: (1) a carburized layer (up to 0.5 mm from the surface), (2) a transition layer (from 0.5 to 1.5 mm), and (3) a core zone (more than 1.5 mm). Each zone was characterized in terms of its microstructure and tensile properties using miniaturized test specimens. Finally, the fracture toughness values of the core zone (JSPT = 78–102 kJ/m2), the transition layer (JSPT = 71–80 kJ/m2), and the carburized layer (JSPT = 8.1–9.1 kJ/m2) were determined based on the obtained SPT results. It was shown that the use of such a relatively simple SPT method with the proposed energy-based approach seems to be a promising way of determining the fracture toughness of thin layers or local changes in the fracture behavior of surface-treated materials.

Research on the surface modification and microstructure evolution during gear profile grinding based on cellular automaton

The matrix structure of high-strength gears mainly comprises martensite with high stacking fault energy. The dominant mechanism of microstructure evolution in the surface layer during profile grinding is continuous dynamic recrystallization. However, the understanding of continuous dynamic recrystallization structure evolution during gear profile grinding remains limited. In this study, a predictive model based on cellular automaton for martensite structure evolution during gear profile grinding is proposed. Coupled with the finite element method, the microstructure evolution prediction of high-strength steel gears in profile grinding is conducted. The proposed model demonstrates good consistency with experimental data in calculating the proportion of low angle grain boundaries during grinding process. By combining experimental and theoretical prediction results, the mechanism of the influence of grinding depth on grain refinement in surface layer during gear profile grinding is elucidated. The dislocation density increases with the increase of grinding depth, leading to the generation and transformation of more subgrains. By analyzing the grain size and the proportion of subgrain boundaries, an optimal grinding depth threshold under dry grinding conditions is determined. This study provides valuable insights into the continuous dynamic recrystallization structure evolution during gear profile grinding process.

Effect of induction heating composite shot peening on surface integrity parameters of 20CrMnTi gear steel

Effect of induction heating composite shot peening on surface integrity parameters of 20CrMnTi gear steel