The Evolution of Microstructure for Carburizing and Quenching 17CrNiMo6 Steel: Forecasting and Experimentation

Abstract

This paper investigates the evolution of the microstructure of 17CrNiMo6 steel produced by carburizing and quenching through computer-aided engineering (CAE) and experimental study. The chemical composition, microstructure, and properties vary from surface to the core during the carburizing and quenching, which makes the CAE simulation of temperature field and microstructure evolution more complex. The performance–temperature and field performance–microstructure iterations using different simulation methods are applied. The results showed that the CAE forecast microstructure evolution is consistent with the experiment. The error between the predicted and experimental values from the surface to 2000 μm is 5%–9%, and the predicted results are consistent with the experiment at the depth of 2000 μm.