Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
School of Aerospace, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Aerospace Division, Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO), Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia
c
Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
d
Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW 2232, Australia
e
Industrial Research Institute Swinburne (IRIS), Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
f
Aircraft Structural Integrity Section, Directorate General Technical Airworthiness (DGTA), RAAF, Laverton, VIC 3027, Australia
b
art ic l e i nf o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 10 December 2013
Received in revised form
20 March 2014
Accepted 21 March 2014
Available online 28 March 2014
The fatigue behaviour of an ultra-high strength steel ( 41800 MPa) was evaluated to assess the potential
of using laser cladding as a repair tool for such steels in aeronautical structural applications. AISI 4340
and AerMet 100 steel powder were used to clad over a grind-out region in an AISI 4340 steel substrate
using a 2.5 kW ND:YAG laser. Post-clad heat treatment (PCHT) was also investigated. Results showed
very poor tensile properties and signicantly reduced fatigue life of the AISI 4340 as-clad with a very
high hardness and brittle fracture in the clad and HAZ zone. Residual stress results showed a
compressive residual stress in the clad region and tensile residual stress in the HAZ. Changing the alloy
of the clad layer to AerMet 100 steel, as well as applying a PCHT process, showed promising results as the
fatigue life was improved from that of the grind-out substrate.
& 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
AISI 4340 steel
AerMet 100 steel
Laser cladding
Residual stress
Fatigue behaviour
1. Introduction
Ultra-high strength steels such as AISI 4340 and AerMet 100
are materials used widely in modern aircraft structure, particularly
in critical applications such as undercarriages. However, they are
highly sensitive to damage caused by corrosion, fatigue, stress
corrosion cracking, and in some of these applications, to impact
damage from foreign objects. High strength steels achieve their
strength at the expense of toughness, and as a result, any damage
which promotes crack development and propagation increases the
risk of unpredicted catastrophic failure. Discovering even the
smallest cracks (in the sub-millimetre scale) will usually require
some attention, since the components are usually managed on a
safe-life (no detectable cracks) basis. Grind-out is a technique
traditionally used to remove the damage. However, aircraft components are geometrically optimised, leaving very little material to
safely grind-out. This method is viable only if the grind-out does
not exceed the dimensional limits. Exceeding such limits would
n
Corresponding author at :School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, Advance Manufacturing Precinct, RMIT University, Bldg 55, Level 4, 58
Cardigan Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. Tel.: 61 3 9925 4071.
E-mail address: stephen.sun@student.rmit.edu.au (S.D. Sun).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2014.03.077
0921-5093/& 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
47
Table 1
Chemical compositions (wt%) of the AISI 4340 base material and AISI 4340 and erMet 100 powders, as provided by supplier.
Mn
Ni
Cr
Si
Mo
Fe
Co
0.41
0.4
0.25
0.7
0.7
0.63
1.74
1.69
11.2
o0.02
o0.02
0.77
0.72
3.1
0.24
0.2
0.64
0.25
0.28
1.28
0.046
0.05
Bal.
Bal.
Bal.
14.0
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the experimental procedure for the mechanical testing of AISI 4340 steel: (a) 0.7 mm grind-out depth along the direction of rolling,
(b) multi-track cladding using the optimum processing parameters to ll the grind-out area, (c) excess clad layer removed by a CNC machine for a at surface nish and
(d) individual dog-bone specimens machined by wire-cutting.
2. Experimental setup
2.1. Material preparation
AISI 4340 steel plates of dimension 200 mm 160 mm 7 mm
(composition shown in Table 1) were supplied in annealed condition. The plates were then hardened by heating to 850 1C for 1 h,
followed by oil quench, and nally tempered at 220 1C for 4 h, in
accordance with AMS standard 2759/2 F [15], to achieve a
representative in-service hardness level of 5355 HRC. The microstructure is ne tempered martensite. AISI 4340 and AerMet 100
powders were supplied by Sandvik Osprey Ltd. in the form of gas
atomised spherical particles (composition shown in Table 1), with
a particle diameter in the range of 45106 mm. A representative
in-service grind-out was applied on each plate using a CNC mill.
The grind-out depth was 10% of the thickness (0.7 mm 70.05 mm)
with a width of 10.0 mm (Fig. 1a). A variation in grind-out depth is
expected due to distortion of the plate.
2.2. Laser cladding
A bre-coupled Ron Sinar CW025 Nd:YAG laser and a sideinjecting powder delivery nozzle were used for the cladding
process. The laser optics comprised a 200 mm collimation lens
and a 200 focusing lens located 204 mm from the substrate
surface, producing a laser spot of about 2.5 mm. The laser spot
of 2.5 mm was measured by a beam analyser corresponding to the
diameter of the Gaussian prole. The powder delivery nozzle
diameter was 2 mm and it was located 11 mm from the substrate
surface at an angle of 251 from the normal. Argon was used as both
the carrier and shielding gas at a ow of 15 L/min. The laser
processing parameters used in this experiment are shown in
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S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
Table 2. The laser clad heat input was approximately 75 J/mm. The
approximate track length was 19 mm and a total of 150 overlapping clad tracks were required to ll the grind-out area
(Fig. 1b). The overlapping track width was 1.0 mm. The top surface
of the clad was removed by an Elliott 921 magnetic grinding
machine equipped with an aluminium oxide abrasives wheel to
ensure the test section of the plate was completely at (Fig. 1c).
Finally, each plate was wire-cut into four dog-bone specimens for
tensile and fatigue testing (Fig. 1d). For a consistent surface nish
across the specimen, the surface of the test section of all specimens was machined by removing approximately 510 mm off both
sides of the specimen using an Elliott 921 magnetic grinding
machine with a ne grade of 125220 mm grit size. The approximate surface roughness values (measured in the longitudinal
direction across the test section) were RA 0.2 mm and RZ 2.0 mm.
In this study, a total of four variables were tested, as shown in
Fig. 2. A traditional post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), also known
as stress relieving heat treatment, was not used since the tempering would also signicantly reduce the high substrate hardness
and strength of the substrate. The post-clad heat treatment (PCHT)
process of the clad plates was used in this study. The PCHT process
was performed in accordance with AMS standard 2759/2F [15] of
annealing, hardening and tempering: annealing at 830 1C for 1 h
followed by slow cooling, then hardening by heating to 850 1C for
1 h, followed by oil quenching, and nally tempering at 220 1C for
4 h.
2.3. Experimental procedures
The clad specimens were cross-sectioned using a diamond saw
and then hot mounted in epoxy. A 250, 400, 600, 800, and 1200
grit size was used to grind each sample. An applied force of 150 N
and 1030 s was used on each grinding stage. A 9, 3, 1, and 0.25
diamond paste was used to polish each sample. An applied force of
Table 2
Laser processing parameters used for the laser cladding experiment.
Laser
power
(kW)
Powder ow
rate (g/min)
Laser traverse
speed (mm/min)
Laser spot
size (mm)
Overlap
width (mm)
1.25
12.5
1000
2.5
1.0
150 N and 1520 min was used on each polishing stage. Finally, a
2% Nital solution was used to reveal the microstructure of AISI
4340 and 10 mL HNO3 20 mL HCl 30 mL H20 solution was used
to reveal the microstructure of AerMet 100, in accordance with
standard ASTM procedure E407. Microscopic examination was
conducted using a Leica MEF3 optical microscope.
Microhardness measurements were performed using a LECO
LM700AT micro-hardness tester. For each indent, an applied load
of 300 gf was held for 15 s, in accordance with standard ASTM
standard E384. For comparison, the hardness of the substrate (AISI
4340) was also measured. Composition analysis was performed
using a XL30 Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with EDAXs
(Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy).
Cladding of residual stress samples was performed using the
same processing parameters as the ones used for the mechanical
test plates, to achieve clad dimensions of 30 mm wide and 30 mm
long. Residual stress proles were measured using a residual stress
diffractometer. A wavelength of 1.67 and a diffraction from Fe
{211} reection were used for the monochromatic neutron beam
resulting in a scattering angle of (2) approximately 901. A gauge
volume of 0.5 0.5 20 mm3 was used for the neutron strain
measurements. Fourteen depth points were measured for each of
the four variables in the vertical direction through the clad, heat
affected region, and substrate at a spacing of 0.5 mm for a total
distance of 7.0 mm. Each of the fourteen depth points were
measured in three principal directions (two in-plane directions
and one normal to the surface).
Axial tension testing was performed using a 250 kN MTS
testing machine using a strain rate of 1.0 mm/min, in accordance
with ASTM standard 8M (dimensions shown in Fig. 3a). Strain was
measured using a 25 mm MTS extensometer. Four specimens were
tested for each variable. For comparison, the tensile properties of
both the substrate (AISI 4340) and substrate with a grind-out were
also tested.
Axial constant amplitude fatigue testing was performed using a
100 kN MTS testing machine using an R ratio of 0.1 and test
frequency of 10 Hz, in accordance with ASTM standard E466
(dimensions shown in Fig. 3b). Testing was performed at room
temperature. For each variable, three to four specimens were
tested over four different stress levels to produce a preliminary
fatigue life curve, in accordance with ASTM standard E739. For
comparison, the fatigue life of both the substrate and substrate
with a grind-out were also tested. Fracture surface images were
obtained using a Phillips XL30 Scanning Electron Microscope.
Fig. 2. Schematic representation of the cross-section view of the fatigue dog-bone specimens and showing the four variables used in this study: (a) AISI 4340 as-clad,
(b) AerMet 100 as-clad, (c) AISI 4340 as-clad PCHT and (d) AerMet 100 as-clad PCHT.
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
49
Fig. 3. Top view and dimensions of the dog-bone specimens where the shaded area represents the clad: (a) tensile specimen and (b) fatigue specimen.
Fig. 4. Micrographs of the clad layers: (a) AISI 4340 as-clad etched with 2% Nital solution, (b) AerMet 100 as-clad etched with HNO3HClH20 solution, (c) AISI 4340 asclad PCHT etched with 2% Nital solution and (d) AerMet 100 as-clad PCHT etched with HNO3HClH20 solution.
3. Results
3.1. Microstructure
Fig. 4a and b shows that the AISI 4340 and AerMet 100 clad
layer consists of ne columnar and cellular grains where the
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S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
Fig. 5. Micrographs of AISI 4340 HAZ etched with 2% Nital solution: (a) clad interface, (b) HAZ 0.1 mm below the clad interface, (c) HAZ 0.6 mm below the clad interface and
(d) HAZ interface.
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
51
Fig. 7. EDAXs composition analysis: (a) AISI 4340 clad and substrate and
(b) AerMet 100 clad.
thermal expansioncontraction, and displacive phase transformation of austenite to martensite [20,21]. A maximum tensile
residual stress of 630 MPa (40% of the yield strength) is observed
in the HAZ at approximately 0.51.0 mm below the clad interface.
The residual stress decreases linearly with increasing distance for
the remainder of the substrate, as would be expected as the
material is further from the expanded clad material causing the
stress. The tensile residual stress is a result of the thermal gradient
created by the laser during laser cladding where during cooling
the colder material constrains the hotter material, thus generating
a tensile residual stress [21]. It should be acknowledged that a
compressive stress due to the austenite martensite transformation
would have reduced the magnitude of the tensile residual stress
formed due to the previous mechanism [22]. It is a general
observation that the maximum tensile residual stress, caused by
laser cladding in steel, is in the HAZ adjacent to the clad interface
[21,23]. Fig. 8b shows the importance and effectiveness of PCHT to
minimise the residual stresses. A number of other studies have
shown post-heat treatment to be an efcient method to reduce
residual stresses [19,24]. The minimised and remaining residual
stresses after PCHT are due to re-austenitising of the material and
subsequent slow cooling.
3.4. Tensile properties
Fig. 9 shows the comparison of the tensile behaviour with the
tensile properties summarised in Table 3. The tensile properties of
the substrate material are in agreement with a typical quench and
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S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
Fig. 8. Longitudinal residual stress prole, measured relative to the clad interface:
(a) as-clad condition and (b) PCHT condition.
220 1C temper AISI 4340 steel [4]. The substrate with 0.7 mm
grind-out represents a notched specimen where the cross-section
area used was of the original substrate rather than the reduced
area. Therefore the tensile properties were reduced by 1030%.
Fig. 9a shows both the yield and the ultimate tensile strength
(UTS) of the AISI 4340 as-clad were degraded by 40% compared to
the 0.7 mm grind-out specimen (refer to Table 3). The failure of
the AISI 4340 as-clad was very brittle, resulting in very little plastic
deformation and the ductility (elongation) was reduced signicantly by a factor of 20 compared to the 0.7 mm grind-out
specimen. The brittleness is due to the very high hardness in the
clad and HAZ from the predominance of untempered martensite,
which exhibits low ductility and toughness. The failure was also
pre-mature attributed to the inhomogeneity of the material
creating many local stress concentrators. The AerMet 100 as-clad
shows that changing the composition of the clad, with a lower
carbon and a higher nickel-cobalt content, can improve the tensile
properties relative to those of the AISI 4340 as-clad. The PCHT can
further improve tensile properties relative to those of the as-clad
due to control of the microstructure, as shown in Fig. 9b.
3.5. Fatigue life
Fig. 10 shows a comparison of the fatigue life curves. Again, the
substrate with 0.7 mm grind-out was treated as a notched specimen, and as expected, failed below the substrate. Fig. 10a shows,
for all stress levels tested, the fatigue life of the AISI 4340 as-clad
was poor, especially at high cyclic loads (1200 MPa) where the
fatigue life was reduced signicantly to 221 cycles, compared to
Fig. 9. Stressstrain curve of the axial tensile test. The end points represent the
point of fracture: (a) as-clad condition and (b) PCHT condition.
Table 3
Comparison of the tensile properties.
0.2% Yield (MPa) UTS (MPa)
Substrate
Substrate w/0.7 mm grind-out
AISI 4340 as-clad
AerMet 100 as-clad
AISI 4340 as-clad PCHT
AerMet 100 as-clad PCHT
1551.0 7 10
1442.5 7 60
1167.3 7 150
14727 20
1287.3 7 13
1298.8 7 8
Elongation (%)
1914.0 7 7
167 0.9
1769.8 7 25 11.17 1.9
1167.3 7 150 0.6 7 0.1
1616.3 7 80
3.0 7 0.6
2063.07 9
5.6 7 0.1
2110.5 7 21
7.2 7 0.5
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
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4. Discussion
Fig. 10. Constant amplitude axial SN fatigue curve using R 0.1 and frequency of
10 Hz: (a) as-clad condition and (b) PCHT condition.
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S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
Fig. 11. SEM images of AISI 4340 as-clad fatigue specimen failed at 221 cycles at 1200 MPa maximum cyclic load: (a) fracture surface appearance, (b) circled crack initiation
site, (c) fracture mode in clad, (d) fracture modes in the HAZ, (e) fracture modes in the HAZ Chevron region and (f) fracture modes in the over-tempered zone.
(IG intergranular, TTS tearing topology surface, TR tear ridges, C cleavage facets, and MVC micro-void coalescence.)
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
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Fig. 12. SEM images of AerMet 100 as-clad fatigue specimen failed at 2206 cycles at 1200 MPa maximum cyclic load: (a) fracture surface appearance, (b) circled crack
initiation site, (c) fracture mode in the clad near the initiation site and (d) fracture mode in the crack propagation region of the clad. (IG intergranular, TTS tearing
topology surface, TR tear ridges, C cleavage facets, and MVC Micro-void Coalescence.)
tempering of the martensite, causing a reduced hardness. However, the hardness remained uniform in the AISI 4340 clad layer at
approximately 650 Hv (Fig. 6a), which is similar to the hardness of
untempered martensite of AISI 4340 after an oil quench heat
treatment [4]. For tempering to occur, the previous track must cool
down below the martensite start (Ms) temperature before the
re-heating of the overlapping track. It seems likely that tempering
on the overlapping track was suppressed as the austenite in the
previous track was not cooled down below Ms temperature to
form martensite attributed to the progressive rise of the
substrate temperature above the Ms temperature [28], which for
AISI 4340 Ms 298 1C. The clad and HAZ still remained austenitic
during the re-heating of the overlapping tracks, where austenite to
martensite transformation occurred only after the completion of
the cladding when the bulk material was cooled down. Thus, hard
and brittle untempered martensite remained in the clad and HAZ,
which consequently led to the decreased fatigue life and brittle
failure modes of AISI 4340 as-clad. Increasing the substrate size
would allow the substrate to retain its heat extraction capacity
[28], causing the deposited track to cool down below the Ms
temperature and promoting the tempering effect from the overlapping track a preferred heat treatment for increasing ductility
and toughness.
4.3. Inuence of AerMet 100 powder
AerMet 100 as-clad demonstrated a great increase of fatigue life,
as compared to AISI 4340 as-clad. AerMet 100, known as secondary
hardening steels, achieves high strength and toughness through the
precipitation of M2C carbides in the lath martensite during age
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S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
Fig. 13. SEM images of AISI 4340 as-clad PCHT fatigue specimen failed at 4316 cycles at 1200 MPa maximum cyclic load: (a) fracture surface appearance, (b) circled crack
initiation site, (c) fracture modes near the initiation site and (d) fracture mode in the crack propagation region. (IG intergranular, TTS tearing topology surface, TR tear
ridges, C cleavage facets, aMVC micro-void coalescence.)
5. Conclusion
The following conclusions are drawn:
The tensile properties and fatigue life of the AISI 4340 as-clad
The repair of ultra-high strength steels requires further development to restore the fatigue properties. Since the control of
thermal cycling during the cladding process is limited, manipulating the powder composition offers opportunities for improving the
tensile and fatigue properties, as demonstrated with AerMet 100.
Also, it seems likely that use of a post-repair heat treatment
process preferably localised to avoid dimensional distortion
which would temper the clad and HAZ, while also reducing the
residual stresses in the HAZ, provides the most promising path to
S.D. Sun et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 606 (2014) 4657
57
Fig. 14. SEM images of AerMet 100 as-clad PCHT fatigue specimen failed at 12,851 cycles at 1200 MPa maximum cyclic load: (a) fracture surface appearance, (b) circled
crack initiation site, (c) fracture mode near the initiation site and (d) fracture modes in the crack propagation region. (IG intergranular, TTS tearing topology surface,
TR tear ridges, C cleavage facets, and MVC micro-void coalescence.)
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