Effect of composition and processing on the thermal fatigue and toughness of high performance die steels. Year 1 report

The goal of this project is to extend the lifetime of dies for die casting by 20%. Since the die contributes about 10% to the cost of die cast parts, such an improvement in lifetime would result in annual savings of over $200 Million dollars. This is based on the estimated annual die production of one Billion dollars in the US. The major tasks of this two year project are: (1) Evaluate NEW DIE STEEL COMPOSITIONS that have been developed for demanding applications and compare them to Premium Grade H-13 die steel. (2) Optimize the AUSTENITIZING TREATMENT of the new composition. Assess the effects of fast, medium and slow COOLING RATES DURING HEAT TREATMENT, on the thermal fatigue resistance and toughness of the die steel. (3) Determine the effect of ELECTRO-DISCHARGE MACHINING (EDM) on the thermal fatigue resistance and impact properties of the steel. (4) Select demanding components and conduct IN-PLANT TESTING by using the new steel. Compare the performance of the new steel with identical components made of Premium Grade H-13. The immersion thermal fatigue specimen developed at CWRU is being used to determine resistance to heat checking, and the Charpy V-notch test for evaluating the toughness. The overall result of this project will be identification of the best steel available on the market and the best processing methods for aluminum die casting dies. This is an interim report for year 1 of the project