Wear and friction are among the major problems faced in several industries such as mining industry. This creates challenges to select better materials with good wear behavior in order to improve the service life of the components. In the present project, three steel wire grades OH 70, OH 75 and OH 101 have been heat treated by quenching and partitioning heat treatment and tested using three wear testing methods. The wear tests performed were a pin-on-disc test, dry-pot test and slurry pot-test, and the results were compared with the conventional quenched and tempered steel. Tensile tests, hardness, impact Charpy tests, scanning electron microscope, optical microscope, X-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements were applied to characterize mechanical properties and microstructure of the steels before wear tests. The results showed that the quenched and partitioned steels with considerable amount of retained austenite had higher ductility and good impact toughness than the quenched and tempered steels. After the pin on disc tests, OH 75 grade showed the highest wear resistance, while the lowest wear resistance was obtained by OH 70 grade. The damage mechanisms identified after pin-on-disc were abrasion and oxidative wear. During erosive wear, almost no measurable wear was recorded under the dry pot conditions, while the slurry pot test owned significant wear mass loss. The main modes of the worn surfaces after erosive tests were ploughing and cutting. In addition, cracks were also observed.

No description available.

The demand for Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) in the automotive industry is increasing day by day. It is mainly motivated by the fact that AHSS can be used as thin sheets while having high strengths. It enables weight reduction of the automobiles which consequently increases the fuel efficiency and has proven to be less harmful to the environment. It is also expected that AHSS will have even higher strength in the near future. Cold work tools steels with 5 wt.% Cr are commonly used to process AHSS. Therefore, the tool steel must meet the challenges in the future, i.e. have even higher hardness, compressive strength and toughness. One way of increasing the mechanical properties of the tool steel is by improving the heat treatment parameters. However, it is not possible without a deeper understanding of the heat treatment process. Therefore, this work presents investigations related to phase transformations occurring in a 5 wt.% Cr cold work tool steel during heat treatment. Furthermore, the influence of austenitisation and tempering temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The studies revealed that a higher austenitisation temperature can be used to achieve a higher hardness, good compressive strength and adequate toughnessof the steel. However, too high austenitisation temperature may result inexcessive coarsening of prior austenite grains which reduced the impact toughness. It was also found that retained austenite can transform during tempering by two different mechanisms. Firstly, when tempering at 525°C, carbides precipitate in retained austenite lowering its stability and permitting a transformation to marten site on cooling. Secondly, when tempering at 600°Cfor extended holding time retained austenite isothermally transforms to ferrite and carbides. This occurs by precipitation of carbides in retained austenite followed by a final transformation to ferrite and carbides.These results were used to understand the standard tempering procedure of the 5 wt.% Cr cold work tool steel. Furthermore, alternative heat treatment procedures are discussed based on the important findings presented in this thesis.

Formable Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) have a unique combination of strength and ductility, making them ideal in the effort to lightweight vehicles. The AHSS in this study, Quenched and Partitioned 1180, rely on the Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) effect, in which retained austenite (RA) grains transform to martensite during plastic deformation, providing extra ductility via the transformation event. Understanding the factors involved in RA transformation, such as local strain and grain attributes, is therefore key to optimizing the microstructure of these steels. This research seeks to increase understanding of those attributes and the correlations between microstructure and RA transformation in TRIP steels. To measure local strain, the viability of using forescatter detector (FSD) images as the basis for DIC study is investigated. Standard FSD techniques, along with an integrated EBSD / FSD approach (Pattern Region of Interest Analysis System), are both analyzed. Simultaneous strain and microstructure maps are obtained for tensile deformation up to around 6% strain. The method does not give sub-grain resolution, and surface feature evolution prevents DIC analysis across large strain steps; however, the data is easy to obtain and provides a natural set of complementary information for the EBSD analysis. In-situ tensile tests combined with EBSD allow RA grain and neighboring attributes to be characterized and corresponding transformation data to be obtained. However, pseudo-symmetry of the ferrite (BCC) and martensite (BCT) phases prevents EBSD from accurately identifying all phases. Measuring the relative distortion of the crystal lattice, tetragonality, is one approach to identifying the phases. Unfortunately, small errors in the pattern center can cause significant errors in tetragonality measurement. Therefore, this research utilizes a new approach for accurate pattern center determination using a strain minimization routine and applies it to tetragonality maps for phase identification. Tetragonality maps based on dynamically simulated patterns result in the most accurate maps and can also be used to predict approximate local carbon content. Machine learning is then used on the collected data to isolate key attributes of RA grains and provide a decision tree model to predict transformation based on those attributes. Among the most relevant attributes found, RA grain area, RA grain shape aspect ratio, a “hardness” factor, and major axis orientation are included. Possible correlations between these factors and transformation improve understanding of relevant attributes and show the advantage that machine learning can have in unravelling complex material behavior.

Medium Mn TRIP steels are amongst the most widely researched third generation advanced high strength steels (3G-AHSSs) as they are ideal candidates for automotive light-weighting applications owing to their superior strength and ductility balance. However, the thermal processing cycles of these steels need to be compatible with the industrial continuous galvanizing line (CGL) in order to successfully employ them in the automotive manufacturing industry. The main objective of the present research was to develop a CGL compatible thermal processing cycle for a prototype medium Mn steel that would produce significant volume fractions of chemically stable retained austenite and exhibit mechanical properties consistent with established 3G-AHSS targets. In that regard, the effects of intercritical annealing (IA) time and temperature and starting microstructure were determined in the first part of this research. The as-received tempered martensite (S-TM) and heat treated martensite (S-M) were the two different starting microstructures studied in this research. In this case, the overaging temperature (OT) treatment (460°C for 20s) was kept constant. It was found that high volume fractions (≥ 0.30) of retained austenite were achieved for S-M samples intercritically annealed at 675°C for shorter times (i.e. 60 to 120s) compared to S-TM samples. TEM analysis of the S-M samples showed that most of the retained austenite was present in a film type morphology, which is known to be more stable chemically and mechanically compared to the block type morphology. The tensile test results showed that although both the S-TM and S-M samples exhibited a high strength/ductility balance, the S-M samples, particularly the S-M 675°C + 120s samples, showed more potential in terms of CGL compatibility and achieving 3G-AHSS target mechanical properties. The effect of OT holding time was determined in the second part of this research. In that regard, the OT holding time was varied form 20s to 120s for selected S-TM and S-M samples. The S-TM 710°C samples with increased OT holding times (60s and 120s) had a significant increase in retained austenite volume fraction compared to the baseline 20s OT samples. However, the retained austenite volume fractions did not change for S-M samples regardless of OT holding time. It was also found that the mechanical properties of the annealed S-TM and S-M steels depended on the OT holding time. For the S-TM samples with > 120s IA holding times, longer OT holding times (60s and 120s) produced chemically unstable retained austenite which transformed rapidly at low strain resulting in low UTS × TE products. However, although longer OT holding times significantly increased the yield strength of the annealed S-M samples, the UTS × TE product decreased significantly owing to decreased retained austenite stability. Finally, based on the results of this research, it was concluded that the prototype medium Mn TRIP steel can achieve 3G-AHSS target mechanical properties using CGL-compatible thermal processing cycles. Moreover, depending on successful reactive wetting, it may be possible to perform both thermal processing and galvanizing of this steel in the industrial CGL. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The research was directed at developing guidelines for counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners. The supposition of the study was that retained middle childhood learners require support in accepting the retention. For the purpose of this study a qualitative research approach with an exploratory and descriptive nature was used. The intervention research model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was applied. A combination of Gestalt philosophical principles, existing literature and semi-structured interviews with educators, educational psychologists and middle childhood learners with experience of grade retention were used to develop guidelines. The researcher concluded that retained middle childhood learners require support in the process of accepting the grade retention. Counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners lack knowledge on how to support the retained child. Guidelines for counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners were developed to successfully address the lack of knowledge in the field. / Social Work / (M.Diac.(Play Therapy))

[pt] O processo de Têmpera e Partição (T&P) possibilita a produção de aços com frações controladas de austenita retida, a partir do enriquecimento da austenita pela partição de carbono da martensita sem a precipitação de carbonetos. A austenita retida proporciona o efeito TRIP (plasticidade induzida por transformação), que confere ao material uma deformação uniforme e uma melhor absorção de energia durante o impacto. Os aços produzidos por este processo atendem principalmente às necessidades da indústria automobilística, que busca aços com melhores propriedades para a diminuição de peso e aumento da segurança dos automóveis. Nesta dissertação, ligas de aço com diferentes composições e tamanhos de grão foram produzidos pelo processo de Têmpera e Partição e a fração de austenita retida foi medida por difração de raios-X. As ligas também foram caracterizadas por nanoindentação, microscopia ótica e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. As amostras estudadas foram produzidas com uma austenitização completa a 930°C, realizada para promover um aumento no tamanho de grão, e os resultados foram comparados com amostras estudadas anteriormente com temperatura de austenitização de 890°C. Os resultados obtidos indicaram um aumento da fração de austenita retida com o aumento do grão austenítico original. Estes resultados foram interpretados com base no modelo teórico desenvolvido para o processo T&P. / [en] The Quenching and Partitioning (Q&P) process allows the production of steels with controlled fractions of retained austenite from the enrichment of the austenite by carbon partitioning from the martensite without carbide precipitation. The retained austenite is responsible for the TRIP effect (transformation induced plasticity), which enhances the material behavior providing a uniform strain and a better energy absorption during impact. Steels produced by this process match the requirements of the automotive industry, which looks for weight reduction and safety improvements in cars. In the present dissertation, steels with different compositions and grain sizes were produced by the Quenching and Partition process and their retained austenite fraction was measured by x-ray diffraction. The steels were also characterized by nanoindentation, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The specimens studied were produced by a complete austenitization at 930°C, to promote an increase in the austenitic grain size, and the results were compared with previously studied specimens produced by a complete austenitization at 890°C. The experimental results indicate an increase of austenite fraction with an increase in grain size of the original austenite. These results were analyzed based on the theoretical model develop for the Q&P process.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-04-10T13:19:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Milton Lanzarini Pagini.pdf: 515097 bytes, checksum: db2105af9eb3ad071abbc4bea3b09e40 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-10T13:19:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Milton Lanzarini Pagini.pdf: 515097 bytes, checksum: db2105af9eb3ad071abbc4bea3b09e40 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-24 / Nenhuma / A presente dissertação objetivou analisar quais são os fatores de natureza financeira determinantes da constituição da reserva de lucros a realizar (RLR) pelas empresas listadas na BM&FBOVESPA. A constituição dessa reserva, além de ser opcional, representa uma retenção de parte do lucro líquido do exercício não realizado financeiramente e guarda estreita relação com a estrutura de capital e a política de dividendos. Dessa forma, as pesquisas abrangeram a teoria internacional sobre estrutura de capital e política de dividendos e, principalmente, estudos empíricos realizados no âmbito de empresas brasileiras sobre política de dividendos. Com base nos dados das demonstrações financeiras dos anos de 2010 e 2011 dessas empresas, foi obtida uma amostra de 170 observações, das quais 27 se referem a empresas que constituíram a RLR em questão, e 143 que não a constituíram. A partir da teoria e dos estudos empíricos relacionados à estrutura de capital e política de dividendos, foram estabelecidos oito índices econômico-financeiros com potencial impacto na constituição da RLR. Utilizando a regressão logística, foram testados vários modelos, dos quais resultou a equação composta pelas variáveis explicativas ROA (Retorno sobre o Ativo), ICJ (Índice de Cobertura de Juros) e IREP (Índice de Realização da Equivalência Patrimonial), todas significantes ao nível de 5%. Ficou evidenciado que as variáveis dessa equação representam os fatores financeiros com maior poder preditivo da probabilidade de constituição da RLR. A variável ROA, que mede a rentabilidade da empresa, apresentou coeficiente positivo e, portanto, de acordo com o modelo, quanto maior o seu valor, maior a chance de a empresa constituir a RLR. Tomando por base, contudo, os resultados de estudos empíricos brasileiros, para os quais a rentabilidade tem uma relação positiva com a distribuição de dividendos, a expectativa era de uma relação negativa entre ROA e a RLR, já que quanto maior a distribuição de dividendos (e maior ROA, a rentabilidade), menor a chance de ser constituída a RLR. Este resultado sugere que, particularmente no que tange à RLR, o nível de distribuição de lucros não exerce influência na sua constituição, o que merece ser investigado. O coeficiente da variável IREP, por sua vez, se apresentou negativo, confirmando, portanto, a expectativa inicial, já que IREP mede a capacidade de geração de caixa, via realização financeira do resultado positivo de equivalência patrimonial de investimentos permanentes. Finalmente, a baixa contribuição da variável ICJ para o resultado final do poder preditivo do modelo sugere a necessidade de realização de testes mais amplos para esta variável. / This thesis aims to analyze what financial factors are determinants to establish the RLR (reserve for unearned revenue) by companies listed on the BM & FBOVESPA. This reserve, besides being optional, represents a withholding of unearned net profit and it is closely related to capital structure and dividend policy. Thus, this research covers international theory about capital structure and dividend policy and mostly empirical studies within Brazilian companies on dividend policy. Based on the available data of these companies in their financial statements for years 2010 and 2011, we obtained a sample of 170 observations, for which establishing the reserve was optional. Of these, 27 opted to do so and 143 did not. From the available academic references and collected data, we established eight financial indexes with potential impact on the establishment of a RLR. With the use of logistic regression, we tested several models, resulting in the equation including the explanatory variables ROA (return over assets), ICJ (interest coverage ratio) and IREP (equity realization ratio), all significant at the 5% level. Thus, it was evident that the variables of this equation represent the financial factors with the highest forecasting capability of establishing the RLR. The variable ROA, which measures the profitability of the company, presented a positive coefficient, and therefore, according to the model, the higher the value, the greater the chance the company establishes the reserve. However, based on the results of empirical studies in Brazil, for which profitability has a positive relationship with distribution of dividends, we expected a negative relationship between ROA and reserves, since higher dividend distribution (and higher ROA, profitability), results in a lower chance of establishing the reserve. This result suggests that, particularly with respect to the RLR, the level of profit distribution does not influence its establishment, which merits further investigation. The coefficient of the IREP variable was negative, thereby confirming the initial expectation, since IREP measures the ability to generate cash, via financial realization of assets by recognition of profits arising from equity income from investment to meet dividend obligations on profits of the same nature. Finally, the low contribution of variable ICJ of the model ́s forecasting capability suggests conducting further tests for this variable.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T20:43:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ludiere Lucas Toldo Boneti.pdf: 5901766 bytes, checksum: 4f1a93e8f2d24f82e2576b7891703690 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-29 / The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of the austempering heat treatment parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of a ductile cast iron produced in industrial conditions, containing 3.59% carbon, 2.68% silicon, 0.46% copper (in wt%) and a carbon equivalent of 4.50%. The material was produced in a foundry located in the southwest region of Parana state, Brazil. The specimens were obtained by casting the alloy into Y-block molds. The austempering heat treatments consisted of pre-heating at 500°C, followed by austenitizing step at 870°C, 900°C and 930°C during 60 minutes. Austempering was carried out in molten metal baths at temperatures of 300°C and 370°C for 30 minutes. Microstructural characterization was carried out by light optical microscopy (LOM) with image analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) and X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement. The mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile and Vickers hardness tests. The as-cast microstructure displayed a very heterogeneous microstructure, characterized by the presence of regions with graphite flotation and carbide containing intercellular regions. The graphite nodules showed low nodularity, of 85%, which was attributed to the fading effect of magnesium alloy. Austempered samples were characterized by the presence of bainitic ferrite, interspersed with retained austenite in films and blocks. The austempering at 300°C resulted in a finer microstructure containing smaller volume fractions of retained austenite. All heat treated samples displayed transformation gradients between graphite flotation and intercellular regions. These gradients affected the mechanical properties, as well as the fracture characteristics. The best results of mechanical properties were obtained in the specimen austenitized at 900°C followed by austempering at 300°C, allowing the ADI produced to fit into a high strength class, according to ASTM A897. The study of fracture surfaces showed a sharp transition between graphite flotation and intercellular regions. The fracture at the vicinity of graphite nodules have occurred by a ductile mechanism, characterized by dimples. It was observed a rapid transition to the cleavage mode at intercellular regions, containing solidification carbides. / O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência dos parâmetros de tratamento térmico de austêmpera na microestrutura e nas propriedades mecânicas de tração e dureza, em uma liga de ferro fundido nodular produzida em condições industriais. A liga em estudo possui de teor de carbono de 3,59%, silício de 2,68% e adições de 0,46% de cobre, possuindo ainda um carbono equivalente de 4,50%. O material foi produzido em condições industriais, em uma fundição localizada no sudoeste do estado do Paraná. Os corpos de prova para retirada de amostras foram obtidos pelo vazamento da liga em moldes de blocos Y. Os tratamentos térmicos de austêmpera consistiram de pré-aquecimento a 500°C, seguido da etapa de austenitização a 870°C, 900°C e 930°C, por um tempo fixo de 60 minutos. A etapa de austêmpera foi realizada em banhos de metais fundidos, em temperaturas de 300°C e 370°C, durante 30 minutos. A caracterização microestrutural de amostras foi realizada pelas técnicas de microscopia ótica, com análise de imagens, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e difração de raios X, com refinamento pelo método de Rietveld. As propriedades mecânicas foram avaliadas por meio de ensaios de tração e dureza Vickers. A liga no estado bruto de fundição apresentou microestrutura bastante heterogênea, caracterizada pela presença de regiões com flotação de grafita e regiões intercelulares contendo carbetos de solidificação. Os nódulos de grafita apresentaram baixo grau de nodularização, de 85%, resultado que foi atribuído ao efeito de fadiga térmica da liga nodularizante. A microestrutura de amostras austemperadas foi caracterizada pela presença de agrupamentos de feixes de ripas de ferrita bainítica, entremeadas por austenita retida, na forma de filmes e blocos. A austêmpera a 300°C produziu microestruturas mais refinadas e com menores frações volumétricas de austenita retida. Em todas as amostras tratadas termicamente, foi observado um gradiente de transformação entre as regiões de flotação de grafita e regiões intercelulares. Estes gradientes afetaram tanto os resultados de propriedades mecânicas, como as características de fratura dos corpos de prova. Os melhores resultados de propriedades mecânicas foram obtidos para a condição de austenitização a 900°C seguida de austêmpera, permitindo enquadrar o ADI em uma classe de alta resistência, segundo a norma ASTM A897. As análises das superfícies de fratura dos corpos de prova de tração mostraram uma mudança nas características de fratura entre as regiões de flotação de grafita e as regiões intercelulares. Nas proximidades dos nódulos de grafita houve predominância do mecanismo de fratura dúctil, caracterizada pela presença de cavidades alveolares (“dimples”), com rápida transição para o modo de fratura por clivagem nas regiões com baixos números de nódulos de grafita, contendo carbetos de solidificação.

The processes leading to the retention of small quantities of austenite following the bainite and martensite phase transformations have been examined, together with the influence of retained austenite on the properties of low alloy steels. It was found that the upper and lower bainite transformations are separate reactions, although both involve a displacive transformation mode, Growth seems to occur by the repeated nucleation of martensitic sub-units, and this leads to an apparently slow growth rate, The partitioning of carbon from bainitic ferrite into residual austenite was thermodynamically proven to occur subsequent to transformation, and was shown to be directly responsible for the 'incomplete reaction phenomenon'. The nature of sympathetic nucleation and of the limited size of bainitic sub-units was rationalised in terms of the relatively low driving force available for bainite transformations. It was shown that the retention, stability and morphology of austenite could be directly derived from the basic transformation mechanism. Under certain circumstances, the bainitic retained austenite conferred exceptional strength/toughness properties to silicon steels; these were· shown to be superior to the properties associated with tempered martensite microstructures, Using thermodynamics, a model was established which could predict the toughness behaviour of silicon steel bainites simply from a knowledge of the composition. The tempered martensite embrittlement phenomenon was not found to be directly linked to the decomposition of retained austenite films, but to the coarsening of inter- or intra-lath carbides. In dislocated martensites, it was found that the distribution and quantity of retained austenite could be rationalised in terms of the degree of accommodation between adjacent martensite variants. The incipient twins generally observed in lath martensites were shown to be accommodation defects such that the extent of twinning was the greatest when adjacent martensite units had twin-related lattices. The thermodynamics of dislocated martensites have been briefly examined, The inhomogeneous deformation behaviour of dual-phase steels has been analysed in terms of available models.