Developing Novel Heat treatments for Automotive Spring Steels: Phase Transformations, Microstructure and Performance

This Ph.D. thesis investigates the substitution of quenching and tempering treat- ments by isothermal bainitic treatments in automotive spring production. An isothermal bainitic treatment has benefits mainly in terms of energy savings, but it can also prevent quench cracking, distortion and residual stresses, commonly found in quenched and tempered components. A medium carbon low alloy spring steel commonly employed in automotive spring production is used for this research. The study focuses on the microstructure formation and its effect on the performance of a spring steel component.