EVALUATION OF THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF NIOBIUM MODIFIED CAST AISI H 13 HOT WORK TOOL STEEL

Abstract: mechanical properties of AISIH 13 hot-work tool steel have been studied. Cast samples made of the modified new steel were homogenized and austenitized at different conditions, followed by tempering at the specified temperature ranges. Hardness, red hardness, three point bending test and Charpy impact test were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties together with characterizing the microstructure of the modified steel using scanning electron microscope. The results show that niobium addition modifies the cast structure of Nb–alloyed steel, and increases its maximum hardness. It was found that bending strength bending strain, impact strength, and red hardness of the modified cast steel are also higher than those of the cast H13 steel, and lower than those of the wrought H13 steel. In this research, the effects of partially replacing of vanadium and molybdenum with niobium on the