Altering the Residual Stress in High-Carbon Steel through Promoted Dislocation Movement and Accelerated Carbon Diffusion by Pulsed Electric Current

doi:10.1007/s40195-023-01556-1

Abstract

Abstract:

Residual stress in high-carbon steel affects the dimensional accuracy, structural stability, and integrity of components. Although the evolution of residual stress under an electric field has received extensive attention, its elimination mechanism has not been fully clarified. In this study, it was found that the residual stress of high-carbon steel could be effectively relieved within a few minutes through the application of a low density pulse current. The difference between the current pulse treatment and traditional heat treatment in reducing residual stress is that the electric pulse provides additional Gibbs free energy for the system, which promotes dislocation annihilation and carbon atom diffusion to form carbides, thus reducing the free energy of the system. The electroplastic and thermal effects of the pulse current promoted the movement of dislocations under the electric field, thus eliminating the internal stress caused by dislocation entanglement. The precipitation of carbides reduced the carbon content of the steel matrix and lattice shrinkage, thereby reducing the residual tensile stress. Considering that a pulsed current has the advantages of small size, small power requirement, continuous output, and continuously controllable parameters, it has broad application prospects for eliminating residual stress.

Key words: Residual stress, Pulsed electric current, Carbide precipitation

Kun Yi, Siqi Xiang, Mengcheng Zhou, Xinfang Zhang, Furui Du. Altering the Residual Stress in High-Carbon Steel through Promoted Dislocation Movement and Accelerated Carbon Diffusion by Pulsed Electric Current[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2023, 36(9): 1511-1522.

Figures/Tables 12

Table 1 Chemical composition of the steel used in this study (wt%)

C	Mn	Si	Cr	p	S	Fe
0.81	0.73	0.2	0.2	≤0.02	≤0.02	Bal.

Fig. 1 a Electropulsing treatment device, b treatment temperature curve of electric current pulse treatment (EPT) and heat treatment (HT)

Fig. 2 Residual stress change of samples after a EPT, b HT; and the reduced residual stress under c EPT, d HT

Fig. 3 Photographs of the samples after corrosion test: a as-quenched, b HT-30 min, c EPT-30 min. SEM micrographs of the samples after corrosion test: d as-quenched, e HT-30 min, f EPT-30 min

Fig. 4 a HV hardness of samples after EPT or HT for different time, b electrical resistivity of samples after EPT or HT

Fig. 5 a XRD diffraction patterns of the samples under different conditions, b FWHM value of martensite, c relationship between residual stress and ρ0.5, d the increased value of 2θ of EPT and HT samples compared with the as-quenched sample

Table 2 Residual stress and dislocation density of different samples

Conditions	Residual stress (MPa)	Dislocation density, ρ(1015 m−2)	$\sqrt{\rho}$(10^-7 m⁻¹)
As-uenched	383	9.11	9.55
EPT-10 min	114.3	2.74	5.23
EPT-30 min	121	3.07	5.53
HT-30 min	179.4	3.57	5.97
HT-60 min	170.3	3.35	5.79

Fig. 6 SEM micrographs of samples under different conditions: a as-quenched, b HT-30 min, c EPT-30 min. TEM micrographs of samples in different states: d as-quenched samples, e HT-30 min, f EPT-30 min

Fig. 7 KAM and phase maps of samples under different conditions: a, d as-quenched, b, e HT-30 min, c, f EPT-30 min. g Distribution of misorientations per grain for samples in different states. h Martensite phase content of samples under different conditions

Fig. 8 TEM images of carbide after 30 min heat treatment: a, b, d bright-field images, c, e dark-field images, f SAED pattern

Fig. 9 TEM images of carbide after 30 min electropulsing treatment: a, b, d bright-field images, c, e dark-field images, f SAED pattern

Table 3 η-Transition carbide size and aspect ratio (AR) of HT-30 min and EPT-30 min samples

States	Diameter (nm)	Length (nm)	AR	Number density
HT-30 min	6.1±1.6	40±6	6.6	(1.7±0.2)×10²²
EPT-30 min	8.0±2.3	50±8	6.3	(1.8±0.2)×10²²

References 48

[1]	M. Gumao, Generation and Countermeasures of Residual Stress (Machinery Industry Press, Beijing, 1983)
[2]	J.Q. Hao, H.X. Zhang, X.F. Zhang, C.B. Liu, Steel Res. Int. 91, 2000041 (2020) DOI URL
[3]	L. Huang, R. Zhang, X. Zhou, Y. Tu, J. Jiang, J. Appl. Phys. 126, 245102 (2019) DOI URL
[4]	R.A. Savrai, A.V. Makarov, I.Y. Malygina, E.G. Volkova, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 734, 506 (2018)
[5]	H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia, Prog. Mater. Sci. 57, 268 (2012) DOI URL
[6]	Y.J. Cao, J.Q. Sun, F. Ma, Y.Y. Chen, X.Z. Cheng, X. Gao, K. Xie, Tribol. Int. 115, 108 (2017) DOI URL
[7]	S. Sackl, H. Leitner, H. Clemens, S. Primig, Mater. Charact. 120, 323 (2016) DOI URL
[8]	Y. Wei, X. Yu, Y. Su, X. Shen, Y. Xia, W. Yang, J. Mater. Res. Technol. 10, 651 (2021) DOI URL
[9]	X.B. Liu, W.J. Lu, X.F. Zhang, Acta Mater. 183, 51 (2020) DOI URL
[10]	W.J. Lu, X.F. Zhang, R.S. Qin, Mater. Sci. Technol. 31, 1530 (2015) DOI URL
[11]	S.Q. Xiang, X.F. Zhang, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 761, 138026 (2019)
[12]	R.S. Qin, Mater. Sci. Technol. 31, 203 (2014) DOI URL
[13]	Y. Jiang, G. Tang, C. Shek, Y. Zhu, Z. Xu, Acta Mater. 57, 4797 (2009) DOI URL
[14]	Z. Xu, G. Tang, S. Tian, F. Ding, H. Tian, J. Mater. Process. Technol. 182, 128 (2007) DOI URL
[15]	Y.H. Zhu, S. To, W.B. Lee, X.M. Liu, Y.B. Jiang, G.Y. Tang, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 501, 125 (2009)
[16]	J. Zhang, Z. Liu, J. Sun, H. Zhao, Q. Shi, D. Ma, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 782, 139213 (2020)
[17]	Y. Wang, G. Chen, Z. Chen, H. Wan, H. Xiao, X. Chang, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 841, 143066 (2022)
[18]	L. Lobanov, V. Pivtorak, N. Paschin, V. Savitsky, G. Tkachuk, Adv. Mater. Res. 996, 386 (2014)
[19]	L. Pan, W. He, B. Gu, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 662, 404 (2016)
[20]	L. Pan, B. Wang, Z. Xu, J. Alloys Compd. 792, 994 (2019) DOI URL
[21]	G. Stepanov, A. Babutskii, I. Mameev, Strength Mater. 41, 623 (2009) DOI URL
[22]	L. Pan, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 1187, 032054 (2019) DOI URL
[23]	X. Song, F. Wang, D. Qian, L. Hua, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 780, 139171 (2020)
[24]	V.Y. Kravchenko, Sov. Phys. JETP 24, 1135 (1967)
[25]	A. Roshchupkin, V. Miloshenko, V. Kalinin, Fiz. Tverd. Tela 21, 909 (1979)
[26]	X. Huang, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 528, 6287 (2011)
[27]	K. Okazaki, M. Kagawa, H. Conrad, Mater. Sci. Eng. 45, 109 (1980)
[28]	G. S. Schajer, Practical Residual Stress Measurement methods (John Wiley & Sons, 2013)
[29]	G. Williamson, W. Hall, Acta Metall. 1, 22 (1953) DOI URL
[30]	J.E. Bailey, P.B. Hirsch, Philos. Mag. 5, 485 (1960) DOI URL
[31]	H. Mecking, U. Kocks, Acta Metall. 29, 1865 (1981)
[32]	A.T.W. Barrow, J.H. Kang, P.E.J. Rivera-Díaz-del-Castillo, Acta Mater. 60, 2805 (2012) DOI URL
[33]	J. Zhang, Z. Dai, L. Zeng, X. Zuo, J. Wan, Y. Rong, N. Chen, J. Lu, H. Chen, Acta Mater. 217, 117176 (2021) DOI URL
[34]	S.Q. Xiang, X.F. Zhang, Acta Metall. Sin. -Engl. Lett. 33, 281 (2019)
[35]	H. Krishnaswamy, M.J. Kim, S.T. Hong, D. Kim, J.H. Song, M.G. Lee, H.N. Han, Mater. Des. 124, 131 (2017) DOI URL
[36]	M.J. Kim, K. Lee, K.H. Oh, I.S. Choi, H.H. Yu, S.T. Hong, H.N. Han, Scr. Mater. 75, 58 (2014) DOI URL
[37]	H.J. Jeong, J.W. Park, K.J. Jeong, N.M. Hwang, S.T. Hong, H.N. Han, Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. Technol. 6, 315 (2019)
[38]	M.J. Kim, S. Yoon, S. Park, H.J. Jeong, J.W. Park, K. Kim, J. Jo, T. Heo, S.T. Hong, S.H. Cho, Appl. Mater. Today 21, 100874 (2020)
[39]	X. Li, Q. Zhu, Y. Hong, H. Zheng, J. Wang, J. Wang, Z. Zhang, Nat. Commun. 13, 6503 (2022) DOI
[40]	S. Morito, X. Huang, T. Furuhara, T. Maki, N. Hansen, Acta Mater. 54, 5323 (2006) DOI URL
[41]	S. Morito, H. Tanaka, R. Konishi, T. Furuhara, T. Maki, Acta Mater. 51, 1789 (2003) DOI URL
[42]	C. Bellot, P. Lamesle, D. Delagnes, Acta. Metall. Sin. 26, 553 (2013) DOI URL
[43]	Y. Dolinsky, T. Elperin, Phys. Rev. B 50, 52 (1994)
[44]	T. Masumura, T. Taniguchi, S. Uranaka, I. Hirashima, T. Tsuchiyama, N. Maruyama, H. Shirahata, R. Uemori, ISIJ Int. 61, 1708 (2021) DOI URL
[45]	Y. Ohmori, S. Sugisawa, Trans. JPN. Inst. Met. 12, 170 (1971) DOI URL
[46]	J.Y. Gao, X.B. Liu, H.F. Zhou, X.F. Zhang, Acta Metall Sin. -Engl. Lett. 31, 1233 (2018)
[47]	Y. Jiang, G. Tang, L. Guan, S. Wang, Z. Xu, C. Shek, Y. Zhu, J. Mater. Res. 23, 2685 (2008) DOI URL
[48]	N.B. Dhokey, A. Hake, S. Kadu, I. Bhoskar, G.K. Dey, Metall. Mater. Trans. A 45, 1508 (2013)