NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF RESIDUAL STRESSES GENERATED DURING HARDENING OFAISI 4140 BAR

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze the distribution of residual stresses resulting from the combination of volumetric changes due to heat gradients and phase changes occurring during the quenching process of an AISI/SAE 4140 steel cylinder. The mathematical model used for this objective is the AC3 modeling software of thermal treatments (transformation curves, cooling curves and microstructure), whose results were input in an finite element model, considering thermalmechanical coupling and non-linear elastic-plastic behavior, aiming the assessment of residual stresses in quenched 4140 steel cylinders. The observed microstructure confirms quantitatively and qualitatively the previsions of the AC3 Software. The results of the modeling are compared with the residual stresses measurements made using X-Ray diffraction techniques. The finite element numerical simulation shows the existence of 350 MPa compressive residual stresses in the surface region and indicates that the most significant stresses are tangential.

Keywords

• Modeling; Finite element method; Quenching; Residual stress.