Formation of Fe-Al Intermetallic Compound Film on High-Speed Tool Steel by Shot Lining and Heat Treatment

Shot peening is widely utilized to improve the fatigue property of mechanical parts for transportation equipment such as cars and airplanes. Also, this technology is being applied as a film-forming technology in order to improve surface quality. The authors have recently proposed new joining methods using shot peening, shot lining. In this method, the metals are bonded with the dissimilar metal by applying plastic deformation and the pressure. The thin foil can be joined to the substrate surface by the pressure generated by the hit of the shots. In this study, the formation of an Fe-Al intermetallic compound film on high-speed tool steel by shot lining and heat treatment was investigated. In the experiment, a centrifugal-type peening machine with an electrical heater was employed. The shot medium was high-carbon cast steel. The substrate was a commercial high-speed tool steel JIS-SKH51, and the foil was commercially available pure aluminium. The shot lining process of tool steel with an aluminium foil was carried out at 573K in air using a peening machine. Heat treatment was performed at diffusion temperatures from 923 to 1573K in vacuum. The lined substrates exhibited a harder layer of aluminium-rich intermetallics in the diffusion temperature range of 923 to 1173K. When the temperature of the lined substrates was more than 1273K, the surface was covered with thicker and highly anticorrosive layers of iron-rich intermetallics. We found that the present method could be used for the formation of functional films on high-speed tool steel.