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This page contains recent topical research information that is helpful in proving the validity of cryogenics through a discussion of various potential applications. We will post links to new information as it becomes available and we receive permission from the publisher to link to their documents.

Research Articles

Deep Cryogenic Treatment Improves Wear Resistance of En 31 Steel

Authors: A. Joseph Vimal ^a; A. Bensely ^a; D. Mohan Lal ^a; K. Srinivasan ^a

Affiliation:

^a Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai, India

DOI: 10.1080/10426910801938098

Published in: journal

Materials and Manufacturing Processes, Volume 23, Issue 4 April 2008 , pages 369 - 376

Subjects: Ergonomics; Heat Transfer; Industrial Design; Industrial Textiles; Manufacturing Engineering Design; Manufacturing Technology; Mechanical Engineering; Operations Research; Plant Engineering; Production Systems; Quality Control & Reliability;

Abstract

Cryogenic treatment is an inexpensive supplementary process to conventional heat treatment, which improves the tribological properties of steels. A study has been made on the effect of cryogenic treatment on En 31 steels done at different stages of heat treatment. It is observed that through cryogenic treatment the wear can be decreased by a maximum of 75% depending on the service conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study was also conducted to identify the possible mechanism which augments the improvement in wear resistance (WR) in cryogenically treated En 31 steels. Based on the study it is also confirmed that the cryogenic treatment should be done before tempering immediately after quench hardening to obtain maximum benefits.

Keywords: Austenite to martensite transformation; Bearing steel; Carbide precipitation; Cold treatment; Deep cryogenic treatment; En 31 steel; Hardness; Heat treatment; Liquid nitrogen; Material processing; Mechanical properties; Microstructural studies; Subzero treatment; Tribology; Wear resistance

Microstructure of cryogenic treated M2 tool steel

J. Y. Huang, Y. T. Zhu, X. Z. Liao, I. J. Beyerlein, M. A. Bourke and T. E. Mitchell

Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS G 755, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

Abstract

Cryogenic treatment has been claimed to improve wear resistance of certain steels and has been implemented in cutting tools, autos, barrels etc. Although it has been confirmed that cryogenic treatment can improve the service life of tools, the underling mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, we studied the microstructure changes of M2 tool steel before and after cryogenic treatment. We found that cryogenic treatment can facilitate the formation of carbon clustering and increase the carbide density in the subsequent heat treatment, thus improving the wear resistance of steels.

See also:

Effect of cryogenic treatment on distribution of residual stress in case carburized En 353 steel
Materials Science and Engineering: A, Volume 479, Issues 1-2, 25 April 2008, Pages 229-235
A. Bensely, S. Venkatesh, D. Mohan Lal, G. Nagarajan, A. Rajadurai, Krzysztof Junik

Effect of cryogenic treatment on tensile behavior of case carburized steel-815M17
Materials Characterization, Volume 58, Issue 5, May 2007, Pages 485-491
A. Bensely, D. Senthilkumar, D. Mohan Lal, G. Nagarajan, A. Rajadurai

Failure investigation of crown wheel and pinion
Engineering Failure Analysis, Volume 13, Issue 8, December 2006, Pages 1285-1292
A. Bensely, S. Stephen Jayakumar, D. Mohan Lal, G. Nagarajan, A. Rajadurai

Enhancing the wear resistance of case carburized steel (En 353) by cryogenic treatment
Cryogenics, Volume 45, Issue 12, December 2005, Pages 747-754
A. Bensely, A. Prabhakaran, D. Mohan Lal, G. Nagarajan