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A large set of bending fatigue data on carburized steels has been statistically analyzed to quantitatively describe the effects of process and microstructural variables. Increasing demands on gear steels require a broad examination of past bending fatigue research to reveal the primary factors that determine fatigue performance and guide future gear steel design. Fatigue performance was correlated to specimen characteristics such as retained austenite content, case and core grain size, extent of intergranular oxidation, surface roughness, and the case profiles of residual stress, hardness, and carbon content. Prior austenite grain size in the case and surface residual stress were found to most strongly influence bending fatigue endurance limit. A multiple regression model to predict endurance limit achieved an R-squared value of 0.56.

The effects of deep rolling were evaluated by reviewing the fatigue performance of three medium-carbon (0.4 C) bar steels representing microstructural classes characteristic of forging steels used for crankshaft and other automotive applications. Deep rolling is a surface deformation process whereby a radially symmetric work piece undergoes a surface deformation operation. The steel grades included a quenched and tempered alloy steel (4140) that demonstrated a high yield stress and low strain hardening rate, a non-traditional bainitic experimental grade (1.2 Mn, 0.72 Si) containing high amounts of retained austenite with low yield stress and high strain hardening rate, and a ferritic/pearlitic grade (1.3 Mn, 0.56 Si) with a low yield stress and medium strain rate hardening rate. A reproducible test methodology to assess fatigue behavior was developed, based on flex-beam, fully reversed, S-N type laboratory fatigue testing.

Knowledge of high strain-rate deformation behavior of automotive body structural materials is of importance for design of new vehicles with improved crash-energy management characteristics. Since a large range of plastic strains is encountered during the forming process prior to assembly, the mechanical behavior of sheet steels under high strain rate deformation conditions must be understood after pre-straining, in addition to the as-produced condition. This paper presents the compression testing methodology employed to examine these properties, and focuses on the effects of quasi-static pre-strains (from 0 to 20%) on the subsequent behavior of a low carbon interstitial free steel tested over a broad range of strain rates (from 10−2 to 103s−1). The results suggest that the increase in yield stress associated with increasing strain rate is not substantially influenced by prior cold work.

Bake-hardening steels used for exposed auto-body panels provide low yield strengths before forming, and increased strength and dent resistance after the forming and paint-baking processes. Room temperature aging can alter the sheet properties before forming, after forming, or after baking. Knowledge of the evolution of mechanical properties is important, and the effects of room temperature and simulated room temperature aging (at 50°C and 100°C) on the yielding behavior and the bake hardening response of two different bake-hardening steel grades were studied. The steels included a low strength ultra-low carbon steel and a dual-phase steel with higher strength and greater bake-hardening index. Neither steel exhibited a substantial response to aging prior to tensile pre-straining, although both steels exhibited strength increases after either aging or baking following straining.