Improved Life of Die Casting Dies of H13 Steel by Attaining Improved Mechanical Properties and Distortion Control During Heat Treatment
The ultimate goal of this project is to increase die casting die life by using fast enough quenching rates to obtain good toughness and fatigue resistance in premium grade H-13 steel dies. The main tasks of the project were to compile a database on physical and mechanical properties of H-13; conduct gas quenching experiments to determine cooling rates of dies in difference vacuum furnaces; measure the as-quenched distortion of dies and the residual stresses; generate finite element analysis models to predict cooling rates, distortion, and residual stress of gas quenched dies; and establish rules and create PC-based expert system for prediction of cooling rates, distortion, and residual stress in vacuum/gas quenched H-13 dies. Cooling curves during gas quenching of H-13 blocks and die shapes have been measured under a variety of gas pressure. Dimensional changes caused by the gas quenching processes have been determined by accurate mapping of all surfaces with coordinate measuring machines before and after the quench. Residual stresses were determined by the ASTM E837 hole-drilling strain gage method. To facilitate the computer modeling work, a comprehensive database of H-13 mechanical and physical properties has been compiled. Finite element analysis of the heat treated shapes has been conducted using the TRAST/ABAQUS codes. There is a good fit between the predicted and measured distortion contours. However, the magnitude of the predicted distortion and residual stresses does not match well the measured values. Further fine tuning of the model is required before it can be used to predict distortion and residual stress in a quantitative manner. This last step is a prerequisite to generating rules for a reliable expert system.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Idaho Operations Office, Idaho Falls, ID; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC07-94ID13320
- OSTI ID:
- 750976
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ID/13320-3; TRN: AH200104%%450
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Oct 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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