• Schuppener, Jannik
• Benito, Santiago
• Ye, Songhuang
• Weber, Sebastian

Abstract

<jats:p>Hot isostatic pressing of powder metallurgy tool steels results in high performance tools with outstanding properties. However, the successively deployed conventional heat treatments are not tailored for this manufacturing route, generating room for improvement. This work presents a simulation workflow targeting a twofold optimization of the heat treatment after the consolidation process. These two goals are (i) the improvement of the process stability regarding hardness and chemical variations resulting from the as-delivered condition; and (ii) the determination of the most efficient treatment to guarantee a minimum hardening. The workflow includes calculation of metastable states using Matcalc®, finite element analysis using AbaqusFEA®, and optimization routines written in Python and MATLAB®. To validate the models, a PM X153CrMoV12 ingot was treated in a laboratory furnace, with supporting dilatometry and hardness testing completing the experimental setup. Simulated and measured results agree well, proving the suitability of the workflow for industrial deployment.</jats:p>

Topics

• simulation
• hardness
• tool steel
• finite element analysis
• hot isostatic pressing
• hardness testing
• dilatometry