To bear more loads for heavy truck pistons, the shape of heavy truck piston pinhole is often designed as noncylinder form. Current methods cannot meet the needs for precision machining on non-cylinder piston pinhole ...To bear more loads for heavy truck pistons, the shape of heavy truck piston pinhole is often designed as noncylinder form. Current methods cannot meet the needs for precision machining on non-cylinder piston pinhole （NCPPH）. A novel mechanism based on giant magnetostrictive materials （GMM） is presented. New models are established for the servo mechanism, GMM, and magnetizing force of the control solenoid to characterize the relationship between the control current of the solenoid and the displacement of the giant magnetostrictive actuator （GMA）. Experiments show that the novel mechanism can meet the needs to perform fine machining on NCPPH effectively.展开更多
Based on a large amount of literature about tool wear research,873 tool wear curves are taken as samples,and statistical analysis is carried out to select the most suitable tool from all the tool materials suggested b...Based on a large amount of literature about tool wear research,873 tool wear curves are taken as samples,and statistical analysis is carried out to select the most suitable tool from all the tool materials suggested by the tool manufacturers. Statistical relationships between the initial wear and uniform wear periods are obtained. The results show that there is qualitative relationship between wear rate during initial wear period （WRIWP） and wear rate in uniform wear period （WRUWP） to certain extent. On this basis,a tool material rapid selection method based on the initial wear is put forward,and suitable tool materials for machining titanium alloy are selected. The experimental results indicate that this method is effective and useful. The new tool materials rapid selection can be used to select suitable cutting tool materials quickly before carrying out systematic machinability tests with the most suitable tool materials. The technology can be applied to doing the initial selection of cutting tool materials in either the machinability research or the workshop production.展开更多
Brittle materials are widely used for producing important components in the industry of optics,optoelectronics,and semiconductors.Ultraprecision machining of brittle materials with high surface quality and surface int...Brittle materials are widely used for producing important components in the industry of optics,optoelectronics,and semiconductors.Ultraprecision machining of brittle materials with high surface quality and surface integrity helps improve the functional performance and lifespan of the components.According to their hardness,brittle materials can be roughly divided into hard-brittle and soft-brittle.Although there have been some literature reviews for ultraprecision machining of hard-brittle materials,up to date,very few review papers are available that focus on the processing of soft-brittle materials.Due to the‘soft’and‘brittle’properties,this group of materials has unique machining characteristics.This paper presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances in ultraprecision machining of soft-brittle materials.Critical aspects of machining mechanisms,such as chip formation,surface topography,and subsurface damage for different machining methods,including diamond turning,micro end milling,ultraprecision grinding,and micro/nano burnishing,are compared in terms of tool-workpiece interaction.The effects of tool geometries on the machining characteristics of soft-brittle materials are systematically analyzed,and dominating factors are sorted out.Problems and challenges in the engineering applications are identified,and solutions/guidelines for future R&D are provided.展开更多
Through the addition of Y, Sm and Ce in Al2O3/(W, Ti)C ceramic matrix, it was found that the amount and kind of the added rare earth elements have some different influences on the mechanical properties and wear resist...Through the addition of Y, Sm and Ce in Al2O3/(W, Ti)C ceramic matrix, it was found that the amount and kind of the added rare earth elements have some different influences on the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the composite. Under the present experimental conditions, the flank wear curves of the selected ceramic tool materials when machining the hardened tool steel obeyed the wear law well. But wear resistance of different ceramic materials varied with each other. Wear resistance of rare earth ceramic tool materials was higher than that of the corresponding materials without rare earth. Wear modes of the developed Al2O3/(W, Ti)C series rare earth ceramic tool materials were mainly flank wear and accompanied with slight crater wear.展开更多
Based on the analyses of the severity of cutting process as well as the failure mechanisms of ceramic tools, a model for designing functionally gradient ceramic tool materials with symmetrical distribution is presente...Based on the analyses of the severity of cutting process as well as the failure mechanisms of ceramic tools, a model for designing functionally gradient ceramic tool materials with symmetrical distribution is presented, by which a Al 2O 3/(W,Ti)C ceramic tool material FG 2 was developed. Multi objective optimization method was employed in designing the compositional distribution of this ceramic tool material. The results of both continuous and intermittent cutting tests are indicative of the much better cutting behavior of the functionally gradient ceramic tool FG 2 than that of the common ceramic tool SG 4.展开更多
In this investigation,the effect of friction stir welding(FSW)parameters such as tool material rotational speed,and welding speed on the mechanical properties of tensile strength,hardness and impact energy of magnesiu...In this investigation,the effect of friction stir welding(FSW)parameters such as tool material rotational speed,and welding speed on the mechanical properties of tensile strength,hardness and impact energy of magnesium alloy AZ31B was studied.The experiments were carried out as per Taguchi parametric design concepts and an L9 orthogonal array was used to study the influence of various combinations of process parameters.Statistical optimization technique,ANOVA,was used to determine the optimum levels and to find the significance of each process parameter.The results indicate that rotational speed(RS)and traverse speed(TS)are the most significant factors,followed by tool material(TM),in deciding the mechanical properties of friction stir processed magnesium alloy.In addition,mathematical models were developed to establish relationship between different process variables and mechanical properties.展开更多
Although thixoforming of low melting point alloys as aluminum or magnesium is now an industrial reality,thixoforming of high melting point alloys as steel is still at the research level.High working temperature,die we...Although thixoforming of low melting point alloys as aluminum or magnesium is now an industrial reality,thixoforming of high melting point alloys as steel is still at the research level.High working temperature,die wearing and production rate are problems that must be solved and are under investigation.The aim of this work is to evaluate the thermal and mechanical loadings applied to the tools during the steel thixoforging process in order to determine whether classical hot-work tool steel can be an appropriate tool material.This evaluation has been realized thanks to experimental trials and to simulations on the finite elements code Forge2008.The effect of the loadings on the tool's failure modes are highlighted and compared with the ones observed in classical hot forging.Beyond this,the failure modes of hot-work tool steel,the X38CrMoV5 or H11,were presented.展开更多
The strengthening and toughening effect of yttrium on an advanced Al2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material was studied by means of SEM 9 TEM and energy spectrum analysis. Results showed that yttrium can react with the impurit...The strengthening and toughening effect of yttrium on an advanced Al2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material was studied by means of SEM 9 TEM and energy spectrum analysis. Results showed that yttrium can react with the impurity elements such as W, Fe, Cr, etc. Thus, the interfaces between ceramic phases are purified and the interfacial binding strength is increased. As a result, the mechanical properties of the AL2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material reinforced with yttrium are improved significantly. In addition, the effect of yttrium on particle strengthening of the solid solution TiCN may partly contribute to the improvement of the mechanical properties.展开更多
In recent decades,many additives with difierent characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al_2O_(3)一based ceramic cutting tool materials.Among them,SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellen...In recent decades,many additives with difierent characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al_2O_(3)一based ceramic cutting tool materials.Among them,SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties.W hile no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening efects of them have not been studied.An Al_2O_(3)一SiCw-SiCno advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one--dimensional SiC whiskers and zero--dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al_2O_(3)matrix with an efective dispersing and mixing process.The composites with 25 vo1%SiC whiskers and 25 vo1%SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes.Results show that the Al_2O_(3)一SiCw-SiCno composite with both 20 vo1%SiC whiskers and 5 vo1%SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties.The flexural strength of Al_2O_(3)-SiCw-SiCⅡD is 730~95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6±0.6 MPa’m.The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination.It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together,the grains are further refined and homogenized,so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified.The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening efects of the SiC whiskers.The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting too1 and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting too1.展开更多
The mechanical properties of ceramic cutting tool materials can be modified by introducing proper content of nanoparticles or whiskers.However,the process of adding whiskers or nanoparticles has the disadvantages of h...The mechanical properties of ceramic cutting tool materials can be modified by introducing proper content of nanoparticles or whiskers.However,the process of adding whiskers or nanoparticles has the disadvantages of high cost and health hazard as well as the agglomeration;although a new in-situ two-step sintering process can solve the above problems to some extent,yet the problems of low conversion ratio of the raw materials and the abnormal grain growth exist in this process.In this paper,an in-situ one-step synthesis technology is proposed,which means the growth of whiskers or nanoparticles and the sintering of the compact can be accomplished by one time in furnace.A kind of Ti（C,N）-based ceramic cutting tool material synergistically toughened by TiB_2 particles and whiskers is fabricated with this new process.The phase compositions,relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the toughening mechanisms are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The composite which is sintered under a pressure of 32 MPa at a temperature of 1700℃in vacuum holding for 60 min can get the optimal mechanical properties.Its flexural strength,fracture toughness and Vickers hardness are 540 MPa,7.81 MPa·m（1/2）and 20.42 GPa,respectively.The composite has relatively high density,and the in-situ synthesized TiB_2 whiskers have good surface integrity,which is beneficial for the improvement of the fracture toughness.It is concluded that the main toughening mechanisms of the present composite are whiskers pulling-out and crack deflection induced by whiskers,crack bridging by whiskers/particles and multi-scale particles synergistically toughening.This study proposes an in-situ one-step synthesis technology which can be well used for fabricating particles and whiskers synergistically toughened ceramic tool materials.展开更多
Hardfacing materials containing YT758 hardmetal particles cemented by Cu-based alloy was deposited on the substrate to produce milling tools by oxy-acetylene flame process. Microstructure and wear properties of the ha...Hardfacing materials containing YT758 hardmetal particles cemented by Cu-based alloy was deposited on the substrate to produce milling tools by oxy-acetylene flame process. Microstructure and wear properties of the hardfacing layers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and electron dispersion X-ray spectroscopy(EDXS) and wear test. The results show that inter-diffusion zone is found at the interface of YT758/CuZnNi, which promises to improve the bonding strength of YT758/CuZnNi. The wear resistance of YT758/CuZnNi hardfacing layers is higher than that of YG8/CuZnNi hardfacing layers. The working efficiency of the milling tools strengthened by YT758/CuZnNi is approximately 23 times higher than that strengthened by YG8/CuZnNi.展开更多
A novel three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to investigate the effect of tool eccentricity on the coupled thermal and material flow characteristics in friction stir welding(FSW) process.An asymmetrical bound...A novel three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to investigate the effect of tool eccentricity on the coupled thermal and material flow characteristics in friction stir welding(FSW) process.An asymmetrical boundary condition at the tool-workpiece interface,and the dynamic mesh technique are both employed for the consideration of the tool eccentricity during tool rotating.It is found that tool eccentricity induces the periodical variation of the heat densities both at the tool-workpiece interface and inside the shear layer,but the fluctuation amplitudes of the heat density variations are limited.However,it is demonstrated that tool eccentricity results in significant variation of the material flow behavior in one tool rotating period.Moreover,the material velocity variation at the retreating side is particularly important for the formation of the periodic characteristics in FSW.The modeling result is found to be in good agreement with the experimental one.展开更多
This paper presents the surface temperature behavior of M42 high-speed tool steel samples during N+ implantation in an industrialized GLZ-100 metal-ion implantation machine. A detail study has been made on the paramet...This paper presents the surface temperature behavior of M42 high-speed tool steel samples during N+ implantation in an industrialized GLZ-100 metal-ion implantation machine. A detail study has been made on the parameters of N+ implantation. Optimized technical parameters have been presented. The microhardness of the sample surface implanted under these parameters has been increased by a factor of 2.3, and the wear-resistance has been improved by about 5.4 times. The research on the mechanism of surface modification of M42 steel by nitrogen ion implantation has also been made.展开更多
The fatigue strength of a high V alloyed powder metallurgy tool steel with two different inclusion size levels, tempered at different temperatures, was investigated by a series of high cycle fatigue tests. It was show...The fatigue strength of a high V alloyed powder metallurgy tool steel with two different inclusion size levels, tempered at different temperatures, was investigated by a series of high cycle fatigue tests. It was shown that brittle inclusions with large sizes above 30μm prompted the occurrence of subsurface crack initiation and the reduction in fatigue strength. The fracture toughness and the stress amplitude both exerted a significant influence on the fish-eye size. A larger fish-eye area would form in the sample with a higher fracture toughness subjected to a lower stress amplitude. The stress intensity factor of the inclusion was found to lie above a typical value of the threshold stress intensity factor of 4 MPa.m^1/2. The fracture toughness of the sample with a hardness above HRC 56 could be estimated by the mean value of the stress intensity factor of the fish-eye. According to fractographic evaluation, the critical inclusion size can be calculated by linear fracture mechanics.展开更多
基金the National High-Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2006AA03z106)
文摘To bear more loads for heavy truck pistons, the shape of heavy truck piston pinhole is often designed as noncylinder form. Current methods cannot meet the needs for precision machining on non-cylinder piston pinhole （NCPPH）. A novel mechanism based on giant magnetostrictive materials （GMM） is presented. New models are established for the servo mechanism, GMM, and magnetizing force of the control solenoid to characterize the relationship between the control current of the solenoid and the displacement of the giant magnetostrictive actuator （GMA）. Experiments show that the novel mechanism can meet the needs to perform fine machining on NCPPH effectively.
文摘Based on a large amount of literature about tool wear research,873 tool wear curves are taken as samples,and statistical analysis is carried out to select the most suitable tool from all the tool materials suggested by the tool manufacturers. Statistical relationships between the initial wear and uniform wear periods are obtained. The results show that there is qualitative relationship between wear rate during initial wear period （WRIWP） and wear rate in uniform wear period （WRUWP） to certain extent. On this basis,a tool material rapid selection method based on the initial wear is put forward,and suitable tool materials for machining titanium alloy are selected. The experimental results indicate that this method is effective and useful. The new tool materials rapid selection can be used to select suitable cutting tool materials quickly before carrying out systematic machinability tests with the most suitable tool materials. The technology can be applied to doing the initial selection of cutting tool materials in either the machinability research or the workshop production.
文摘Brittle materials are widely used for producing important components in the industry of optics,optoelectronics,and semiconductors.Ultraprecision machining of brittle materials with high surface quality and surface integrity helps improve the functional performance and lifespan of the components.According to their hardness,brittle materials can be roughly divided into hard-brittle and soft-brittle.Although there have been some literature reviews for ultraprecision machining of hard-brittle materials,up to date,very few review papers are available that focus on the processing of soft-brittle materials.Due to the‘soft’and‘brittle’properties,this group of materials has unique machining characteristics.This paper presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances in ultraprecision machining of soft-brittle materials.Critical aspects of machining mechanisms,such as chip formation,surface topography,and subsurface damage for different machining methods,including diamond turning,micro end milling,ultraprecision grinding,and micro/nano burnishing,are compared in terms of tool-workpiece interaction.The effects of tool geometries on the machining characteristics of soft-brittle materials are systematically analyzed,and dominating factors are sorted out.Problems and challenges in the engineering applications are identified,and solutions/guidelines for future R&D are provided.
基金the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Y2005F04)Jinan Young Star Plan of Science and Technology (08108)
文摘Through the addition of Y, Sm and Ce in Al2O3/(W, Ti)C ceramic matrix, it was found that the amount and kind of the added rare earth elements have some different influences on the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the composite. Under the present experimental conditions, the flank wear curves of the selected ceramic tool materials when machining the hardened tool steel obeyed the wear law well. But wear resistance of different ceramic materials varied with each other. Wear resistance of rare earth ceramic tool materials was higher than that of the corresponding materials without rare earth. Wear modes of the developed Al2O3/(W, Ti)C series rare earth ceramic tool materials were mainly flank wear and accompanied with slight crater wear.
文摘Based on the analyses of the severity of cutting process as well as the failure mechanisms of ceramic tools, a model for designing functionally gradient ceramic tool materials with symmetrical distribution is presented, by which a Al 2O 3/(W,Ti)C ceramic tool material FG 2 was developed. Multi objective optimization method was employed in designing the compositional distribution of this ceramic tool material. The results of both continuous and intermittent cutting tests are indicative of the much better cutting behavior of the functionally gradient ceramic tool FG 2 than that of the common ceramic tool SG 4.
文摘In this investigation,the effect of friction stir welding(FSW)parameters such as tool material rotational speed,and welding speed on the mechanical properties of tensile strength,hardness and impact energy of magnesium alloy AZ31B was studied.The experiments were carried out as per Taguchi parametric design concepts and an L9 orthogonal array was used to study the influence of various combinations of process parameters.Statistical optimization technique,ANOVA,was used to determine the optimum levels and to find the significance of each process parameter.The results indicate that rotational speed(RS)and traverse speed(TS)are the most significant factors,followed by tool material(TM),in deciding the mechanical properties of friction stir processed magnesium alloy.In addition,mathematical models were developed to establish relationship between different process variables and mechanical properties.
基金the University of Liège,the First Europe Project,the COST541 action and the Walloon Region for their financial support
文摘Although thixoforming of low melting point alloys as aluminum or magnesium is now an industrial reality,thixoforming of high melting point alloys as steel is still at the research level.High working temperature,die wearing and production rate are problems that must be solved and are under investigation.The aim of this work is to evaluate the thermal and mechanical loadings applied to the tools during the steel thixoforging process in order to determine whether classical hot-work tool steel can be an appropriate tool material.This evaluation has been realized thanks to experimental trials and to simulations on the finite elements code Forge2008.The effect of the loadings on the tool's failure modes are highlighted and compared with the ones observed in classical hot forging.Beyond this,the failure modes of hot-work tool steel,the X38CrMoV5 or H11,were presented.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China!29671034
文摘The strengthening and toughening effect of yttrium on an advanced Al2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material was studied by means of SEM 9 TEM and energy spectrum analysis. Results showed that yttrium can react with the impurity elements such as W, Fe, Cr, etc. Thus, the interfaces between ceramic phases are purified and the interfacial binding strength is increased. As a result, the mechanical properties of the AL2O3/TiCN ceramic tool material reinforced with yttrium are improved significantly. In addition, the effect of yttrium on particle strengthening of the solid solution TiCN may partly contribute to the improvement of the mechanical properties.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51175305)
文摘In recent decades,many additives with difierent characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al_2O_(3)一based ceramic cutting tool materials.Among them,SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties.W hile no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening efects of them have not been studied.An Al_2O_(3)一SiCw-SiCno advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one--dimensional SiC whiskers and zero--dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al_2O_(3)matrix with an efective dispersing and mixing process.The composites with 25 vo1%SiC whiskers and 25 vo1%SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes.Results show that the Al_2O_(3)一SiCw-SiCno composite with both 20 vo1%SiC whiskers and 5 vo1%SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties.The flexural strength of Al_2O_(3)-SiCw-SiCⅡD is 730~95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6±0.6 MPa’m.The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination.It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together,the grains are further refined and homogenized,so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified.The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening efects of the SiC whiskers.The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting too1 and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting too1.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51175305)Key Special Project of Numerical Control Machine Tool of China(Grant No.2012ZX04003-051)China Postdoctoral Science Special Foundation(Grant No.2012T50610)
文摘The mechanical properties of ceramic cutting tool materials can be modified by introducing proper content of nanoparticles or whiskers.However,the process of adding whiskers or nanoparticles has the disadvantages of high cost and health hazard as well as the agglomeration;although a new in-situ two-step sintering process can solve the above problems to some extent,yet the problems of low conversion ratio of the raw materials and the abnormal grain growth exist in this process.In this paper,an in-situ one-step synthesis technology is proposed,which means the growth of whiskers or nanoparticles and the sintering of the compact can be accomplished by one time in furnace.A kind of Ti（C,N）-based ceramic cutting tool material synergistically toughened by TiB_2 particles and whiskers is fabricated with this new process.The phase compositions,relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the toughening mechanisms are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The composite which is sintered under a pressure of 32 MPa at a temperature of 1700℃in vacuum holding for 60 min can get the optimal mechanical properties.Its flexural strength,fracture toughness and Vickers hardness are 540 MPa,7.81 MPa·m（1/2）and 20.42 GPa,respectively.The composite has relatively high density,and the in-situ synthesized TiB_2 whiskers have good surface integrity,which is beneficial for the improvement of the fracture toughness.It is concluded that the main toughening mechanisms of the present composite are whiskers pulling-out and crack deflection induced by whiskers,crack bridging by whiskers/particles and multi-scale particles synergistically toughening.This study proposes an in-situ one-step synthesis technology which can be well used for fabricating particles and whiskers synergistically toughened ceramic tool materials.
基金Project(Z2000F02) supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province , China
文摘Hardfacing materials containing YT758 hardmetal particles cemented by Cu-based alloy was deposited on the substrate to produce milling tools by oxy-acetylene flame process. Microstructure and wear properties of the hardfacing layers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and electron dispersion X-ray spectroscopy(EDXS) and wear test. The results show that inter-diffusion zone is found at the interface of YT758/CuZnNi, which promises to improve the bonding strength of YT758/CuZnNi. The wear resistance of YT758/CuZnNi hardfacing layers is higher than that of YG8/CuZnNi hardfacing layers. The working efficiency of the milling tools strengthened by YT758/CuZnNi is approximately 23 times higher than that strengthened by YG8/CuZnNi.
基金the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52005297, 52035005)the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province, China (No. 2021ZLGX01)。
文摘A novel three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to investigate the effect of tool eccentricity on the coupled thermal and material flow characteristics in friction stir welding(FSW) process.An asymmetrical boundary condition at the tool-workpiece interface,and the dynamic mesh technique are both employed for the consideration of the tool eccentricity during tool rotating.It is found that tool eccentricity induces the periodical variation of the heat densities both at the tool-workpiece interface and inside the shear layer,but the fluctuation amplitudes of the heat density variations are limited.However,it is demonstrated that tool eccentricity results in significant variation of the material flow behavior in one tool rotating period.Moreover,the material velocity variation at the retreating side is particularly important for the formation of the periodic characteristics in FSW.The modeling result is found to be in good agreement with the experimental one.
文摘This paper presents the surface temperature behavior of M42 high-speed tool steel samples during N+ implantation in an industrialized GLZ-100 metal-ion implantation machine. A detail study has been made on the parameters of N+ implantation. Optimized technical parameters have been presented. The microhardness of the sample surface implanted under these parameters has been increased by a factor of 2.3, and the wear-resistance has been improved by about 5.4 times. The research on the mechanism of surface modification of M42 steel by nitrogen ion implantation has also been made.
基金financially supported by the National Key Technologies Research and Development Program of China (No. 2007BAE51B05)
文摘The fatigue strength of a high V alloyed powder metallurgy tool steel with two different inclusion size levels, tempered at different temperatures, was investigated by a series of high cycle fatigue tests. It was shown that brittle inclusions with large sizes above 30μm prompted the occurrence of subsurface crack initiation and the reduction in fatigue strength. The fracture toughness and the stress amplitude both exerted a significant influence on the fish-eye size. A larger fish-eye area would form in the sample with a higher fracture toughness subjected to a lower stress amplitude. The stress intensity factor of the inclusion was found to lie above a typical value of the threshold stress intensity factor of 4 MPa.m^1/2. The fracture toughness of the sample with a hardness above HRC 56 could be estimated by the mean value of the stress intensity factor of the fish-eye. According to fractographic evaluation, the critical inclusion size can be calculated by linear fracture mechanics.
