Author(s)

M. Schwartz, R. Ciocoiu, D. Gheorghe, G. Jula, I. Ciucă

Abstract

The dies used for copper/brass hot extrusion made of tool steels failed after a small number of runs. The die must be either refurbished (reconditioned) either discarded or replaced by a new die. These results are not satisfactory for a good production, so we took into account a new alloy to use for confectioning the dies. Before the first die was readily made, an experiment was performed to justify the migration to this new alloy.

Heating cycles are performed to observe microstructure evolution in Rene 41. These heating cycles mimic the usage conditions of the die in service, except the stresses during extrusion. The alloy at specific number of cycles is analyzed by optic and electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Vickers microhardness investigations and dilatometric tests.

Minor changes occurred in the microstructure: M23C6 carbides appeared at grain boundary and depleted adjacent regions in alloying elements.

Keywords

Rene 41, extrusion, heating cycles, microstructure evolution