Automotive engine parts composed of heat resistant ferritic cast steel having excellent thermal fatigue resistance

Abstract: A heat-resistant ferritic cast steel having excellent thermal fatigue resistance, consisting, by weight, of 0.25 to 0.45% C, 0.3 to 2.0% Si, not more than 1.0% Mn, 17 to 22% Cr, at least one kind selected from the group consisting of not more than 6% Co and not more than 1.5% Ni, the amount of %Co + 3 %Ni being in the range of 1 to 6%, 0.001 to 0.1% of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Y and rare earth elements, and the balance Fe and incidental impurities, the ferritic cast steel being composed of a structure in which a ferrite (c) and M₂₃C₆ carbide (b) are dispersed in δ ferrite (a). With this specific composition, even at high temperatures, there can be maintained the structure which has the a ferrite (c) and the M₂₃C₆ (b) dispersed in the δ ferrite (a), with the result that there is obtained an excellent thermal fatigue resistance, and in this structure, the transformation under heating will not occur even at a temperature of about 1,000°C. The steel of the present invention is particularly suited for a turbo rotor casing, an exhaust manifold, etc., of an automobile.

Description: BACKGROUND IF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a heat-resistant (ferritic) cast automotive engine parts having excellent thermal fatigue resistance, which are subjected to repeated heating and cooling. Recently, from the viewpoints of thermal fatigue resistance and economy, heat-resistant ferritic cast steel has been used as a material for an automobile engine part such as a precombustion chamber of a diesel engine, and various kinds of such cast steel have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 46-18845 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic steel which is intended mainly to achieve improved deformation resistance and crack resistance, and consists of 0.05 to 0.40% C, 0.5 to 1.0% Si, 0.2 to 1.0% Mn, 20.0 to 23.0% Cr, 0.5 to 2.5% Mo, 0.5 to 3.5% W, 0.5 to 3.5% Nb and the balance Fe and incidental impurities. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 48-52618 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic steel which has the same composition as that of the steel proposed in the above Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 46-18845 except that instead of the W content, 1.0 to 4.0% Ni is contained in the steel in order to improve toughness and oxidation resistance. Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 54-18647 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic cast steel which is obtained by containing 0.01 to 0.15% B and 0.01 to 0.15% Zr in the steel proposed in the above Japanese patent Unexamined Publication No. 48-52618. This heat-resistant ferritic cast steel of Japanese Patent Examined publication No. 54-18647 exhibits a satisfactory crack resistance even when this steel is used in an engine subjected to a severer thermal load. In order to mainly improve heat crack resistance and oxidation resistance, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 56-41354 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic steel consisting of 0.1 to 0.5% C, not more than 3.5% Si, not more than 2.0% Mn, not more than 12.0% Ni, 20 to 30% Cr and the balance Fe and incidental impurities, such a heat-resistant ferritic steel further containing a predetermined amount of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Mo, W, Nb, V and Ti, such a heat-resistant ferritic steel further containing a predetermined amount of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Cu, Co, B and R.E (rare earth element), and such a heat-resistant ferritic steel further containing a predetermined amount of S. Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 62-17021 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic steel which is inexpensive because Ni is not added, and has excellent crack resistance, and consists of 0.05 to 0.4% C, 0.05 to 2.0% Si, 0.05 to 2.0% Mn, 18.0 to 25.0% Cr, 0.01 to 0.50% Nb and the balance Fe and incidental impurities. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-117251 proposes a heat-resistant ferritic steel which is intended mainly to achieve improved thermal fatigue resistance and consists of 0.05 to 0.40% C + N, 0.5 to 3.5% Si, not more than 2.0% Mn, 18.0 to 25.0% Cr, 0.2 to 2.0% Al, 0.1 to 1.5% of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ti and Zr, and the balance Fe and incidental impurities, and such a heat-resistant ferritic steel further containing a predetermined amount of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mo, W, V and B. On the other hand, NL-A-7201424 discloses a heat and corrosion resistant alloy consisting of 0.1 - 0.5 % C, up to 2 % Si, up to 2.5 % Mn, 3 - 20 % Cr, 1 - 20 % Co, with possible further additions of at least one of up to 1 % V, up to 1 % Nb, up to 2 % Mo, up to 2 % W and up to 2.5 % Ni, balance Fe plus incidental impurities and possible additions of Y and other RE elements, which alloy serves for the thermal formation of glass, and in which alloy the formation of δ ferrite has to be strictly limited in order to avoid brittleness. Tests for evaluating the thermal crack formation resistance reported in said document were conducted at only 650 °C, i.e. at a much lower temperature than that required for automotive engine parts recently developed. However, recently, in order to improve the performance of an engine, the temperature at which the engine part is used tends to become higher, and it has now been desired to provide heat-resistant cast steel of the type which is more excellent in thermal fatigue resistance and less costly than the heretofore-proposed heat-resistant steels. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide automotive engine parts composed of a heat-resistant ferritic cast steel (alloy) which is inexpensive and is more excellent in thermal fatigue resistance than the conventional alloys. The inventors of the present invention have made a preliminary study of the relation between the structure of heat-resistant ferritic cast steel and its thermal fatigue resistance. As a result, it has been found that a ferritic alloy of such a structure in which both of α ferrite occurring through transformation from austenite during the casting and M₂₃C₆ carbide are dispersed in δ ferrite is more excellent in thermal fatigue resistance than a ferrite alloy composed mainly of δ ferrite, when the upper limit of the use temperature is below an austenite-transformation point under heating. An object of the present invention has been achieved by adjusting the alloy composition in such a manner that the above structure can become predominant at the time of solidification and that the above structure can be stable in the use temperature range. More specifically, the present invention provides automotive engine parts composed of a heat-resistant ferritic cast steel having excellent thermal fatigue resistance, as claimed in claim 1. The amount of %W + 2 x %Mo is preferably at least 2.0%. With such a specified structure obtained by such limited composition, more excellent thermal fatigue resistance than that available with the conventional heat-resistant ferrite cast steels is achieved. The automotive engine parts of the present invention are made from a steel which contains 1 to 6% Co selected alone from the group consisting of Co and Ni exhibits a particularly excellent thermal fatigue resistance, and is most preferred. When Ni and Co are to be both added, it is preferred that the Ni content should be not more than 1%, with the amount of %Co + %Ni being in the range of 1 to 6%. The steels as proposed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 18845/71, Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 52618/73 and Patent Examined Publication No. 18647/79 are of such a structure that α ferrite and M₂₃C₆ carbide are not dispersed in δ ferrite, and therefore such excellent thermal fatigue resistance as achieved in the present invention can not be obtained. The alloy disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 41354/81 is described as having, in the cast state, a structure composed of a single phase of ferrite (i.e., δ ferrite) or a duplex structure composed of ferrite (δ ferrite) and austenite. Any of those steels specifically described in Examples of this prior art publication is not of such a structure that a ferrite and M₂₃C₆ carbide are dispersed in δ ferrite. Such a structure can not achieve such excellent thermal fatigue resistance as attained in the present invention. Namely, the conditions of achievement of the object of the present invention are that the cast steel has the specified composition and that the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide are dispersed in the δ ferrite. In these respects, the steel of the present invention is clearly distinguished from the conventional steels. The reason why the thermal fatigue resistance is enhanced in the present invention is thought to be that the propagation of cracks is suppressed by the interface (at which the M₂₃C₆ carbide usually precipitates) between the δ ferrite and the α ferrite. Therefore, it is necessary that the α ferrite in the δ ferrite should be distributed in an amount enough to improve the thermal fatigue resistance, and it is also necessary that the M₂₃C₆ carbide should be present so that the structure can be stable in the use temperature range. The amount of the α ferrite and the stability of the structure related to the temperature of the structure depend on the components of the alloy, and therefore it is necessary that the alloy components should be limited to their respective specified ranges as described in the present invention. The reasons for the specified components of the present invention will now be explained. In the present invention, C is an indispensable element for producing the α ferrite and M₂₃C₆ carbide from the γ austenite, and the lower limit of its content needs to be 0.25%. If the C content exceeds 0.45%, it produces eutectic carbide to embrittle the alloy, and therefore the C content is limited to the range of between 0.25% and 0.45%. Si serves as a deoxidizer, and also has an effect of improving the bonding of a Cr oxide film to enhance oxidation resistance. The lower limit of the Si content needs to be 0.3%, but if this content exceeds 2.0%, the amount of the δ ferrite in the structure becomes excessive, and as a result the effect of the dispersion of the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide can not be achieved, so that the thermal fatigue strength is lowered. Therefore, the Si content should be limited to the range of between 0.3% and 2.0%. Preferably, the Si content should be in the range of between 0.7% and 1.6%. A small amount of Mn is needed as a deoxidizer; however, if this is present in an excessive amount, oxidation resistance is lowered. Therefore, the Mn content should be limited to not more than 1.0%. Cr imparts oxidation resistance to the alloy, and is an indispensable element for producing the structure in which the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide are dispersed in the δ ferrite. The lower limit of the Cr content needs to be 17%. If this content exceeds 22%, the amount of the δ ferrite becomes excessive to lower the thermal fatigue strength. Therefore, the Cr content should be limited to the range of between 17% and 22%. Preferably, the Cr content should be in the range of between 17.5% and 19.5%. Co and Ni are important elements for the present invention, and serve to produce the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide from the austenite through transformation during the solidification. Therefore, it is indispensable that at least one kind of the two should be present. Comparing Co with Ni, Ni has about three times greater effect than Co, and therefore the amount of addition of Co and Ni is calculated in terms of %Co + 3 x %Ni. With respect to the amount of Co and Ni, in order to achieve the above-mentioned effect, it is necessary that the amount of %Co + 3 x %Ni should be not less than 1%; however, if this amount is excessive, the austenite phase becomes stable, so that the transformation does not occur, and as a result the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide are not produced. Therefore, the Ni content should be not more than 1.5%, and the Co content should be not more than 6%, and also the amount of %C + 3 x %Ni should be not more than 6%. As compared with Co, Ni has a greater effect of lowering the austenite transformation temperature during heating, and has an excessive effect of quenchability. Therefore, Ni suppresses the transformation (by which the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide are produced) and causes martensite transformation to be apt to occur. Therefore, particularly in the case of use in a high temperature range, it is most preferred to use Co alone. However, if the Ni content is not more than 1%, it may be replaced by a three times larger amount of Co, in which case the Ni content is not more than 1%, the Co content is not more than 6%, and the amount of %Co + 3 x %Ni is in the range of between 1% and 6%. In this case, the properties are not so markedly degraded, and therefore this may be desirable in view of the cost. Y and other rare earth elements (R.E), when present even in a small amount, fill in atom vacancies in the Cr oxide film to enhance the oxidation resistance; however, if they are present in an excessive amount, they produce an eutectic crystal to embrittle the grain boundary. Therefore, the amount should be limited to the range of between 0.001% to 0.1%, preferably 0.005 to 0.1%. W and Mo serve to suppress the diffusion to make fine in size and stabilize the structure, and are equivalent in that they are effective in enhancing the thermal fatigue strength. It is preferred that one or both of W and Mo should be added to the basis composition of the present invention. Moreover, if they are present in an excessive amount, the amount of the δ ferrite becomes excessive. Therefore, the W equivalent amount (%W + 2 x %Mo) should be limited to not more than 5%. It is preferred that W should be added alone in the range of between 2% and 3%. In the alloy of the present invention, the MC carbide-producing elements such as Ti, V, Nb and Ta are not always necessary. However, so long as such elements are added in such a range as not to make the amount of C insufficient, they are not particularly harmful, and therefore a small amount of such elements (Ti, V: not more than 0.2%; Nb: not more than 0.4%; Ta: not more than 0.8%) can be allowed to be added. Also, grain boundary-reinforcing elements such as B and Zr are not always necessary for the alloy of the present invention, but a small amount (B: not more than 0.03%; Zr: not more than 0.2%) can be added since such small amount is not harmful. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figs. 1 to 3 are photographs showing structures of steels of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The invention will now be described by way of the following Example. Alloys shown in Table 1 were melted in the atmosphere and were cast into Y blocks in the atmosphere. These blocks were annealed at 800°C for 5 hours, and then test pieces were cut from the blocks, and then a thermal fatigue test and an oxidation resistance test were carried out. In the thermal fatigue test, the opposite ends of the test piece which had the overall length of 160 mm and a cylindrical portion of 8 mm diameter x 24 mm length, were fixed, and the cylindrical portion was heated to 900°C, maintained at this temperature for 6 minutes and then allowed to cool. This thermal cycle until the test piece was ruptured was determined. In the oxidation resistance test, a pair of test pieces (10 mm diameter x 20 mm length) were heated at 1,000°C for 200 hours, and then scales were removed from the test pieces, and then the average amount of reduction of the weight of the test piece was determined. The results obtained are also shown in Table 1. Also, a thermal expansion measurement up to the temperature of 1,000°C was made so as to determine whether or not the transformation into austenite under heating occurred. The results thereof are also shown in Table 1. It will be appreciated from Table 1 that as compared with the comparative alloys (Sample Nos. 11 to 15), the alloys of the present invention (Sample Nos. 1 to 9) are far higher in thermal fatigue resistance and have a good oxidation resistance. The fact that the transformation does not occur up to 1,000°C indicates that the alloys can be used at high temperatures of up to about 1,000°C. A comparison of the alloys of the present invention with the comparative alloys Nos. 11, 12 and 14 indicates that the alloys of the present invention are superior in oxidation resistance. This is achieved by the effect of Y. Steel with the high Cr content, such as the comparative alloys Nos. 13 and 15, has a good oxidation resistance without the addition of Y, but is inferior in thermal fatigue resistance because its structure is composed mainly of δ ferrite. Photographs showing micro-structures of the present alloys of Sample Nos. 2, 9 and 8 are shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respectively. In these Figures, the δ ferrite portion is indicated by arrow a , the M₂₃C₆ carbide is indicated by arrow b , and the α ferrite portion is indicated by arrow c . It will be appreciated from these Figures that in the structure of the alloys of the present invention, the α ferrite and the M₂₃C₆ carbide are dispersed in the δ ferrite. It has been confirmed that the M₂₃C₆ carbide is either present in the eutectoid structure (Fig. 1) in which the M₂₃C₆ carbide is dispersed in the α ferrite, or present in the structure (Figs. 2 and 3) in which the M₂₃C₆ carbide agglomerates in the vicinity of the interface between the α ferrite and the δ ferrite. The automotive engine parts of the present invention are equal to or higher than the parts of conventional alloys in oxidation resistance, and have remarkably improved thermal fatigue properties over the conventional alloys. Therefore, since the steel of the present invention is used to form heat-resistant automotive engine parts, such as a precombustion chamber of a diesel engine, portion, a turbo rotor casing, exhaust manifold, etc., can be used under a higher-temperature condition that under a temperature condition in which the conventional materials have been used.

Claims: Automotive engine parts composed of a heat-resistant ferritic cast steel having excellent thermal fatigue resistance, consisting, by weight, of 0.25 to 0.45 % C, 0.3 to 2.0 % Si, not more than 1.0 % Mn, 17 to 22 % Cr, at least one kind selected from the group consisting of not more than 6 % Co and not more than 1.5 % Ni, the amount of %Co + 3 x %Ni being in the range of 1 to 6 %, 0.001 to 0.1 % of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Y and rare earth elements, optionally not more than 5 % W and not more than 2.5 % Mo, the amount of %W + 2 x %Mo being not more than 5 %, and the balance Fe and incidental impurities, said ferritic cast steel being composed of a structure in which α ferrite (c) and M₂₃C₆ carbide (b) are dispersed in δ ferrite (a). Automotive engine parts according to claim 1, characterized in that the amount of %W + 2 x %Mo is at least 2.0 %.

Inventors: SATO KOJI, WATANABE RIKIZO, SATO, KOJI, WATANABE, RIKIZO
Applicants: HITACHI METALS LTD, HITACHI METALS, LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C22C38
IPC codes: C22C38