21 / 2025-03-31 13:56:08

Microstructure and Property Evolution of High-Alloy Carburizing Steel Carburized Layer at Different Temperatures

High-alloy carburizing steel, carburized layer, High-temperature quenching, process window, "soft zone" test, carbides

With the progress of science and technology, the performance requirements of key parts such as bearings and gears in wear resistance, corrosion resistance, fatigue spalling resistance and high temperature strength are getting higher and higher. Through years of iterative development, the content of alloying element in bearing steels has gradually increased, with the total alloy content of third-generation carburized bearing steels exceeds 30 wt.%. However, this kind of high alloy steels faces some problems in carburizing process, including large carbides, reticular carbides and "soft zone" phenomena. In this paper, the effects of quenching process parameters (temperature and time) on the microstructure and properties of the carburized layer are studied. The evolution of microstructure of carburized layer, the dissolution behaviour of carbide and influencing factors of the "soft zone" are analysed, aiming at determining the best process window for refining carbide and eliminating the "soft zone". The design of quenching parameters covers all kinds of industrial production scenes, which provides a reference for actual process optimization.