Plasticity of the Low Alloy Steel SAE 5120 during Heating and Austenitizing

The plasticity effects during heating and austenitizing were investigated experimentally for the low alloy SAE 5120 (DIN EN 20MnCr5) steel by using a thermomechanical simulator. Creep within the initial ferrite/pearlite microstructure and within austenite as well as transformation plasticity and anisotropic transformation strain due to a banded microstructure during the ferrite/pearlite → austenite transformation were found as significant effects. With these data a FEM-simulation model for heating and austenitizing was implemented. Exemplarily the plastic behavior during heating of cylindrical shafts was analyzed by FEM-simulation.