Metallurgical Changes in Steels Due To Cryogenic Processing Its Applications Full Report
Metallurgical Changes in Steels Due To Cryogenic Processing Its Applications Full Report
Metallurgical Changes in Steels Due To Cryogenic Processing Its Applications Full Report
ABSTRACT:
1.INTRODUCTION:
The word Cryogenics is derived from the Greek words 'Kryos" (meaning cold) and
"Genes" (meaning born). The cryogenic processing is modification of a material or
component using cryogenic temperatures. Cryogenic temperatures are defined by the
Cryogenic Society of America as being temperatures below 120K (-244F, -153C).
Cryogenic processing makes changes to the crystal structure of materials. The major results
of these changes are to enhance the abrasion resistance and fatigue resistance of the
materials.
The thermal treatment of metals must certainly be regarded as one of the most
important developments of the industrial age. One of the modern processes being used to
treat metals (as well as other materials) is cryogenic tempering. Until recently, cryogenic
tempering was viewed as having little value, due to the often brittle nature of the finished
product. It is only since the development of computer modeled cooling and reheats curves
that the true benefits of cryogenically treated materials have become available to industry and
the general public. Cryo tempering is a permanent, non-destructive, non-damaging process
(not a coating) which reduces abrasive wear (edge dulling), relieves internal stress,
minimizes the susceptibility to micro cracking due to shock forces, lengthens part life, and
increases performance. Cryo treated pieces are also less susceptible to corrosion. The deep
cryogenic tempering process is a one-time, permanent treatment affecting the entire part, not
just the surface.
Cryogenic processing tinkers with materials at the molecular level at cryogenic stillness,
resulting in:
Mechanical Properties like micro-hardness, Tensile Strength etc. are the same
across any cross-section
Binder Materials like Cobalt Nickel and in some cases additives of tantalum,
Produces stronger, denser parts for better performance and longer service life
There is no official definition of the process, the process parameters vary widely from
one company to the next. With the use of cryogenically treated M7 high-speed steel drill
bits for drilling holes in titanium alloys, the estimated annual savings was $350,000 for
$1,000,000.
Increase productive life of engineering components by 25-100%
Decrease perishable tooling consumption by 25% and add to profits
Increase service life of tools by 50-200%
2. Cryogenics at a glance:
Cryogenics is the study of how to get to low temperatures and of how materials behave
when they get there. Besides the familiar temperature scales of Fahrenheit and Celsius
(Centigrade), cryogenicists use other temperature scales, the Kelvin and Rankine
temperature scales. One interesting feature of materials at low temperatures is that the air
condenses into a liquid. The two main gases in air are oxygen and nitrogen. Liquid
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oxygen, "lox" for short, is used in rocket propulsion. Liquid nitrogen is used as a coolant.
Helium, which is much rarer than oxygen or nitrogen, is also used as a coolant.
It has been observed that the process provides the materials a stronger, denser and
more-coherent structure thus increasing the abrasive resistance and thermal and
electrical conductivity. For steels, the explanation of the phenomena in Laymans terms
is as follows: Super cooling the steel refines the carbides in the steel by expanding the
carbide structure to fill any voids in the metal. Then as the higher temperatures return,
everything relaxes into where it wants to be thus providing stability to the steel. Every
step in the treatment is carefully controlled else the temperature extremes will shock
the steel into delaminating.
Cryogenic processing will not in itself harden metal like quenching and tempering.
It is not a substitute for heat-treating. It is an addition to heat-treating. Most alloys
will not show much of a change in hardness due to cryogenic processing. The abrasion
resistance of the metal and the fatigue resistance will be increased substantially. Cold
processes have been used for years to stabilize fixtures and tooling. The process will
relieve stresses and that will help to machine parts to the proper size and shape.
Cryogenic processing establishes a very stable piece of metal that remains distortion
free. The process will also stabilize some plastics.
A typical cryogenic cycle will bring the temperature of the part down to -300F over a
period of six to ten hours. This avoids thermally shocking the part. There is ample
reason for the slow ramp down. . Think in terms of dropping a cannon ball into a vat
of liquid nitrogen. The outside of the cannon ball wants to become the same
temperature as the liquid nitrogen, which is near -323F. The inside wants to remain at
room temperature. This sets up a temperature gradient that is very steep in the first
moments of the parts exposure to the liquid nitrogen. The area that is cold wants to
contract to the size it would be if it were as cold as the liquid nitrogen. The inside
wants to stay the same size it was when it was room temperature. This can set up
enormous stresses in the surface of the part, which can lead to cracking at the surface.
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Some metals can take the sudden temperature change, but most tooling steels and
steels used for critical parts cannot.
A typical soak segment will hold the temperature at 123K for some period of time,
typically eight to forty hours. During the soak segment of the process the temperature
is maintained at the low temperature. Although things are changing within the crystal
structure of the metal at this temperature, these changes are relatively slow and need
time to occur. One of the changes is the precipitation of fine carbides. In theory a
perfect crystal lattice structure is in a lowest energy state. If atoms are too near other
atoms or too far from other atoms, or if there are vacancies in the structure or
dislocations, the total energy in the structure is higher. By keeping the part at a low
temperature for a long period of time, we believe we are getting some of the energy out
of the lattice and making a more perfect and therefore stronger crystal structure
A typical ramp up segment brings the temperature back up to room temperature. This
can typically take eight to twenty hours. The ramp up cycle is very important to the
process. Ramping up too fast can cause problems with the part being treated. Think in
terms of dropping an ice cube into a glass of warm water. The ice cube will crack.
The same can happen.
The temper hold segment assures the entire part has had the benefit of the tempering
temperatures. A typical temper hold time is about 3 hours. This time depends on the
thickness and mass of the part. There may be more than one temper sequence for a
given part or metal. We have found that certain metals perform better if tempered
several times.
In many steels, the transformation of austenite to martensite is complete when the part
reaches room temperature. (I.e. other steels, however, including many tool steels, some
of the softer austenite phase is retained). Subsequent cooling to a lower temperature
can cause additional transformation of the soft austenite to hard martensite. However,
it is possible also to transform all (or nearly all) of the retained austenite in the steel by
appropriate elevated-temperature tempering treatments that carry the added benefit of
reducing the brittleness of the martensite. Transformation of retained austenite at low
temperatures in tool steels generally is believed to be dependent only on temperature,
not on time. Thus, merely reaching a suitably low temperature for an instant would
produce the same effect as holding for several days.
The reported large improvements in tool life usually are attributed to this dispersion of
carbides in conjunction with retained austenite transformation. . This cryogenic
processing step causes irreversible changes in the microstructure of the materials,
which significantly improve the performance of the materials. The treatment calls for a
precise temperature control during the processing, usually up to one-tenth of one
degree, necessitating elaborate controls and sophisticated instrumentation.
The other major reason for the improvement is stress relief. The densification process
leads to an elimination of vacancies in the lattice structure by forcing the material to
come to equilibrium at 196C and lowering the entropy in the material. This lower
entropy leads to the establishment of long range order in the material which leads to
the minimization of galvanic couples in the material thus improving the corrosion
resistance of materials including Stainless Steels. Besides, there is some amount of
grain size refinement and grain boundary realignment occurring in the material. These
two aspects lead to a tremendous improvement in the electrical and thermal
conductivity of the material thus transporting the heat generated during the operation
of the tool away from the source and increasing its life.
retained austenite in a part, the part will grow due to the transformation. This is
because the austenitic crystals are about 4% smaller than the martensitic crystals
due to their different crystal structure.
5. APPLICATIONS:
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a) Gun barrels:
One of the truths about rifles and guns is their erratic shooting after
heating up. The Cryo-Accurizing process remedies this. Cryogenic treatment
increases the wear life of the barrel and makes cleaning easier and faster. All
firearms develop mechanical and residual stresses during manufacturing, even with
the most careful processes. These stresses cause twisting and arcing as the barrel
heats up from repeated firing. Cryo-Accurizing permanently relieves the internal
stresses with no risk of damage to the barrel or the action of a fine gun.
Cryo-Accurizing:
The Process:
b) Grinding:
Grinding is a useful and valuable process. But it can induce
problems into the part being made that will be very costly. Grinding can induce
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residual stresses into a part that will be high enough to cause cracking. This
residual stress can reduce die life considerably.
1. Cryogenically treated grinding wheels cut more cleanly. We believe that we are
affecting the crystal structure of the abrasive, making it more resistant to breaking
down. This in turn allows a better cut, less wheel dressing, a better finish, and less
tensile residual induced into the work piece.
3. If pieces to be ground are cryogenically treated before heat treating them, there
will be less distortion as a result of heat treat and consequently there will be less
need to grind large amounts off the piece in order to bring the part back into
specification. In the production of stamping dies with large plates, this can be
important.
4. Pieces treated after heat treat will also warp less during grinding. This reduces
the cost of grinding the tool to make it flat and increases the amount of the tool left
after grinding. It also allows more of the tool to be used, as tool life is not ground
away in order to make the plate flat.
5. Cryogenic processing of the plates will reduce the warping that happens when
large profiles are wire EDM'd from of the plate. We have seen heat treated plates
crack or warp severely during the edm process. This creates delays in tool
delivery. It also requires the plate to be ground flat after edm. Not using cryogenic
processing causes tool life and delivery schedules suffer due to unnecessary rework
c).Engine parts
1. There is up to a four percent increase in the torque across the rpm range.
2. There is an increase in peak pressure in the combustion chamber.
3. Engines turn more freely.
4. Crankshafts do not break as often.
5. Crankshaft journals do not wear as readily.
6. Pistons can be run at higher levels of detonation.
7. Piston skirts do not gall as much.
8. Piston rings provide better sealing.
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Magnified 3500x
26. The cryogenically processed piston has a more wear resistant surface, higher
yield and ultimate strength. This alloy will display structural, thermal and
metallurgical stability not found in the untreated condition, as well as significant
abrasive wear improvement. The contact and fretting fatigue will be reduced due to
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COMPACT DISCS:
Compact disks respond to cryogenic treatment. Understanding this is hard to
fathom, but it is quite true. The effect is a permanent increase in the quality of
sound coming from the disk. The effect has been noted by numerous audio experts
and by numerous "average" listeners.
Industrial Applications:
Testimonials:
It is empirically developed.
There has been very little research into the theories of why it works
There are people out in industry with beer coolers and liquid nitrogen that
claim to do this process, but know nothing about metallurgy or tooling.
Conclusion:
Cryogenic Processing is not a substitute for heat-treating. Cryogenic
Processing is not a coating. It affects the entire volume of the material. It works
synergistically with coatings. These benefits extend to cast iron, aluminum, stainless
steels, and other materials. The scope of cryogenics has expanded widely from basic
military and space applications to various civil applications. Cryogenic processing is
mainly applicable to steels. Cryogenic treatments can produce not only transformation of
retained austenite to martensite, but also can produce metallurgical changes within the
martensite. this offers many benefits where ductility and wear resistance are desirable in
hardened steels While various experts dispute the benefits of time-at-temperature control;
available research, along with a correlation with standard heat treating processes indicates
that this control is the key to maximizing the potential of cryogenic tempering. As is the
case with many scientific discoveries, the cost factor limits the usefulness of this process
in the production phase of the materials industry.
Recent advancements:
Currently extensive research is being conducted in an effort to better the available
cryocooler technology in fields like materials for the regenerator, cylinder heads, etc.,
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refrigerants used, size of cryocooler, increasing the efficiency. Stirling technology is used
to produce miniature cooling systems
Cryogenics has been successfully tested on flexible circuits to reduce the residual stress
between layers of the circuit. This helps keep the circuit from curling and separating
Treated transformers show a lack of hysterisis. The magnetic core saturates less.
Ball and roller bearings respond beautifully to cryogenic processing. Increases of wear
life of two to three hundred percent are not uncommon.
Cryogenically treated resistance welding electrodes will last about 3 to six times longer
than untreated electrodes.
References:
http://irtek.arc.nasa.gov/ARCS&T.html
http://www.asm-intl.org/
http://www.metal-wear.com/index.htm
http://diversifiedcryogenics.com
www.apexknives.com
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