08-16-2017, 10:19 PM
Improving component wear performance through cryogenic treatment
Controlling machine wear is a fundamental function of lubrication. By properly specifying lubricant viscosity, using appropriate modifying additives, and controlling contamination, wear rates can be
minimized to extend equipment life. Cryogenic treatment of tooling steels is a proven technology to increase wear resistance and extend
intervals between component replacements for blades, bits, and machining mills. Recent studies have been conducted on the effects of cryogenic treatment on bearings, gears and engine components to reduce wear
and improve performance.
component design, manufacture, specification, installation, and maintenance are the main factors that determine the reliability.
Background on Cryogenic Processing:
The primary reason for heat treating steel is to improve its wear resistance through hardening.The rapid cooling (quenching) of the steel in the quenching medium will cause the atoms in the microstructure to rearrange in the atomic structure that is called martensite.Cryogenic processing has been around for many years. Earlier technique was the steel tooling would be immersed in liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time, allowed to warm up, then
placed into service. Later in the 1960's cryogenic processors would use
multi-stage mechanical coolers along with insulated
cold-boxes to gently remove the latent heat from tooling
thereby achieving a much slower cooling rate, concurrent
with longer wear lives.
State of the Science Today:
the deep cryogenic process, when applied correctly and
consistently to a host of materials, is effective in increasing
wear resistance and stability in materials. This process has become more widely accepted throughout industry.
The studies have shown that cryogenic treatment produces metallurgical changes in the microstructure of
steel which is the reason for the dramatic improvement in wear resistance
for more, refer this pdf:
http://cryopluspdf/icwptct.pdf