DEFORMATION AND FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF VANADIUM-BASED MICROALLOYED FORGING STEEL IN THE AS-FORGED AND Q-CONDITIONS AND T-CONDITIONS

The use of microalloyed (MA) forging steels in the as-forged condition can result in the elimination of the costly post-forging quenching and tempering (Q&T) processes. MA steels can therefore serve as economical alternatives to the traditional Q&T steels if equivalent mechanical properties can be obtained. In this study, monotonic and cyclic behaviors of a vanadium-based MA forging steel, one of the most commonly produced MA steels, were investigated under both the as-forged and Q&T conditions. The mechanical properties evaluated and compared include monotonic tensile behavior, cyclic deformation response, and low and high cycle fatigue resistance. Experimental results are presented and the differences in the behaviors under the two processing conditions are discussed.