Detection of failure mechanisms of tool steels by means of acoustic emission technique

Resumen

This thesis is focused on the calibration of the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique to detect and identify damage mechanisms in tool steels. The AE measurement procedure has been calibrated for two mechanical tests: fracture test (three-point bending test) and indentation test (spherical indentation). Fracture tests cause cracks due to tensile stress. The damage begins with the nucleation of cracks (cracking carbides and local plastic deformation) and afterwards, the cracks spread through the metallic matrix following the broken carbides. This research proposes an AE filtering process to detect each stage of fracture: the cracking of carbides (nucleation), the stage where the crack passes through to the steel matrix and final catastrophic failure. Spherical indentation tests enable the creation of a more complex distribution of stresses in an affected part of the specimen. Applying low level loads, an elastic field was created in the specimen under the ball indenter. Nevertheless, AE activity was detected in this elastic field, and these signals were related to the breaking of carbides located in the zone of maximum shear stress. An important feature of this test is that the cracking of carbides takes place without plastic deformation, and therefore the damage signals were clearly identified with carbide breakage. In both tests, carbide breakage was confirmed by means of AE as the cause of nucleation of cracks in tool steels. AE made it possible to identify the carbide breakage and the propagation of cracks through the metallic matrix and predict the final fracture of the specimen in bending tests. This thesis proposes a new acquisition and filtering configuration in fracture tests to eliminate spurious signals due to contact damage between the specimen and machine supports, as a methodology for identifying different damage mechanisms in small-sized specimens based on certain AE waveform features. From the standpoint of research into materials, coupling the proposed AE setup in each test significantly improves the tests, since it permits the evolution of the damge to be identified during the loading cycle. The laboratory results obtained endorse the possible use of AE in preventive maintenance in the tool-shaping industry. Barcelona 22