Wednesday, 2 January 2019

Inconel 718 Wire- Excellent material for use in springs



Inconel 718 is an alloy of nickel and chromium with excellent resistance to postweld cracking. This alloy has high creep-rupture strength at high temperatures to about 1300°F and it is age-hardenable. It is readily fabricated into complex parts and can be cold rolled to achieve the temper properties. Two types of heat treatments are utilized for Inconel 718. One is the solution anneal at 1700-1850°F followed by rapid cooling in water and precipitation hardening at 1325°F for 8 hours, furnace cool to 1150°F, hold at 1150°F for a total aging time of 18 hours followed by air cooling. Another is solution anneal at 1900-1950°F followed by rapid cooling in water and precipitation hardening at 1400°F for 10 hours, furnace cool to 1200°F, hold at 1200°F for a total aging time of 20 hours followed by air cooling.

·        Seal rings
·        Gas turbine components
·        Nuclear hold down spring and other components
·        Springs
Springs are manufactured for use in environments with high or low temperatures and aggressive conditions in applications including
·        Space and aircraft industry
·        Oil and gas exploitation
·        Chemical processes
·        Heating processes
·        Power production
·        Petrochemical industry
·        Marine environments

Inconel 718 is used to produce various types of springs such as Disc springs, Compression springs, Torsion springs, Leaf springs and Tension springs. Inconel 718 has high strength and high corrosion resistance for use from -250°C to 700°C. It is used in applications including liquid fueled rockets components, sheet metal parts for turbine engines & fasteners and rings. It needs ageing treatment to develop best spring properties for spring applications.

Leaf springs and coil springs are widely used in the motor vehicle industry. Premature fatigue failure is common and the reasons for these failures are complex such as heat treatment, intergranular cracking, grain boundary embrittlement, design deficiencies, steel alloy chemistry and presence of Fe-S inclusions. This study provides an overview of spring steel including its heat treatment, fatigue failure, chemistry, residual stress and failure analysis of leaf and coil springs.

A spring is a component that can store energy temporarily and permanently. There is a need of improving fatigue strength of spring materials due to cyclic loading that accompanies the use of springs. Spring efficiency is related to its ability to store energy per unit weight and steel strengths of greater than 1379 MPa are required. Spring steels were developed to meet ever-increasing demands for improved mechanical properties with lower weight suspension materials to facilitate the larger effort of developing automotive vehicles with lower weights and lower cost. High strength spring steels with improved sag strength, fatigue strength and improved quench embrittlement properties in addition to other thermophysical and mechanical properties were developed in this work. 

The two types of springs were discussed such as helical coil springs and leaf springs. Coil springs are commonly used in the automotive industry and are constructed from a length of round steel wire that is formed into loops which allow for movement. Coil springs are classified as compression and extension springs. The objective of this study was to provide an overview of the most important factors involved in either coil spring or leaf spring failures. As per the conclusion of this study, surface defects including decarburization but the presence of seams, laps and other defects lead to premature spring failure. High quality outer layer of spring wire is achieved by a grinding or a draw-peeling process to address these problems. Emphasis on spring design innovations is increased which can be used with higher loads at reduced spring weight and size with substantial improvements in fatigue strength.

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