Author(s)

Kuanhui Hu, Shizheng Zhou, Rongdong Han, Jun Gao, Yi Yang

Wuhan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Wuhan, China.

Hot stamping components with 1500 MPa ultra-high strength are obtained by press hardening during hot stamping, and the properties depend on the microstructures. It is very important that the microstructure evolution rule is found out during hot stamping process. To characterize the microstructure evolution during hot stamping, a method combining finite element and experiment is carried out. Samples were heated to 950°C and held for 300 second at a induction heating furnace, then taken out from the furnace and stayed in the air at different time (7 s, 11 s, 13 s, 22 s), respectively, finally the specimens were formed and quenched at a die. Microstructural observation as well as surface hardness profiling of formed specimens was performed. And the numerical simulation to predict the austenite transformation into ferrite, pearlite, bainite, and martensite and the volume fraction of each phase during the hot stamping process was made with ABAQUS software. The results show that the ferrite is observed when the specimen stays in the air for 22 s, and the temperature drops to 325°C when the dwell time increases from 7 s to 22 s. The results of numerical simulation and experimental results are in good agreement. So the method finite element can be used to guide the optimization of hot stamping process parameters.

Hot Stamping Process, Simulation, Microstructure Evolution, 22MnB5 Steel

Hu, K. , Zhou, S. , Han, R. , Gao, J. and Yang, Y. (2018) Microstructure Evolution and Simulation in 22MnB5 Steel during Hot Stamping. Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, 6, 9-14. doi: 10.4236/msce.2018.68002.