LAUSR

Purpose The prime task of research in hot forging industry is to improve the service life of forging dies. The in-service microstructural changes that may occur in a die during hot forging is expected to significantly affect the service life. The purpose of this work is to analyse the microstructural evolution of double tempered hot forging dies in a real industrial environment, and the correlation of microstructural and microhardness evolution to the in-service wear and plastic deformation. Design/methodology/approach Specific hot forging tests were carried out on double tempered AISI H11 chromium tool steel for 100, 500 and 1,000 forging strokes. Macro analysis was conducted on die cross section to analyse the wear and plastic deformation at different stages of forging cycles. Microhardness and microstructural analyses were performed on the die surface after these forging tests. Findings The macro analysis on the transverse section of dies shows that wear is predominant during initial forging strokes, whereas plastic deformation is observed in later stages. Microstructural analyses demonstrate that during first 500 forging cycles, carbide population decreases at 63 per cent higher rate as compared to corresponding drop during 501 to 1,000 forging cycles. Additionally, the carbide size increases at all stages of forging cycle. Further, microstructural images from dies after 1,000 forging strokes show clustering and spherodisation of carbides by which the “blocky”-shaped carbides in pre-forging samples had spherodised to form “elongated spherical” structures. Practical implications The findings of this work can be used in hot forging industries to predict amount of wear and plastic deformation at different stages of service. From the results of this work, the service life of double tempered H11 hot forging dies used in forging without lubrication is within 501 to 1,000 forgings. Originality/value Most of the literatures are focussed on the cyclic softening of material at constant temperature. This work analyses the microstructural evolution of double tempered hot forging dies in a real industrial environment and correlates the microstructural and microhardness evolution to the in-service wear and plastic deformation.