Thermo-mechanical fatigue life assessment of hot forging die steel

G. A. BERTI and M. MONTI

DTG University of Padua, Stradella San Nicola, 3 I-36100 Vicenza, Italy
Received in final form 7 July 2005

A B S T R A C T Dies for hot forging operations are subjected to coupled mechanical and thermal cycles

which deeply influence their thermo-mechanical fatigue life. Crack initiation and propagation on die surface are induced both by thermal gradients acting in the layer near the
contact surface with the billet and by the superimposed stresses due to the mechanical
cycles.
At present, die life cannot be estimated either by experimental tools, or by simulation
software. Therefore, a programme of research has been started in this field. A new laboratory test has been developed that is able to reproduce in specimens the thermo-mechanical
conditions derived from industrial cases. A description of the test equipment and the relevant procedure is summarized in the first part of the work. Then, the paper focuses on
the experimental investigation of a typical hot forging die steel. Design of Experiments
(DoE) techniques were used in designing and analysing the experimental programme.
A thermo-mechanical fatigue life assessment model, based on the experimental data and
using response surface methodology (RSM), is proposed. Effects on life, due to variation
of some forging parameters, are evaluated.
Keywords design of experiments; forging die; life assessment; response surface
methodology; thermo-mechanical fatigue.
NOMENCLATURE

k = Number of variables
N = Predicted number of cycles to failure
N E = Real number of cycles to failure
T max = Maximum temperature cycle
T min = Minimum temperature cycle
x i,j = Variables
Y (T) = Yield strength at temperature T
i = Model coefficients
= Experimental error
eq = Equivalent von Mises stress
2 = Variance

INTRODUCTION

In hot forging processes the dies are highly stressed both in

the filling process (material deformation) and during the
extraction of the forged component when the die is cooled
by the lubricant spraying. The die surfaces and the nearsurface layers of the die material undergo mechanical and
thermal cycles which are characterized by high amplitude
and high frequency (the period is usually under 10 s for

Correspondence: G. A. Berti. E-mail: guido.berti@unipd.it

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

high production rates). For these reasons, different failure mechanisms can prevail: wear, plastic deformation and
thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) cracking. Differently
from wear and plastic deformation, where the damage is
gradually incremented during service life and progressive
defects in the forged parts are immediately evident, the
cracks due to fatigue are growing, but an effect on the
formed parts is not so evident, so the failure seems to appear suddenly when the crack reaches a macro depth and
the die fails.1 In this case, production is interrupted and
damaged die components must be replaced, and this causes
great economic losses and significant delay in production.

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G. A . B E RT I a n d M . M O N T I

Engineers involved in the design of forging processes

are not so confident with prediction of tool service life,
and previous experience or general guidelines can offer an
insufficient aid when the process should be set up for new
products. In this case the risk of unexpected failures can be
reduced by increasing the frequency of tools replacement.
However, costs may grow due to the higher number of
machine stops and the incomplete use of tool life. A better
knowledge of the TMF behaviour of die steel is the basis
for reduction of this risk and cost, or, in other words, for
the optimization of the process.
On-line tool condition monitoring techniques have been
developed in recent years but much effort has been spent
to measure the crack propagation at room temperature.
The eddy current testing method has been applied to detect crack initiation, and the ultrasonic testing method has
been used to monitor subsequent crack propagation in a
cold extrusion tool. Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA),2
a non-contact experimental technique developed as a direct method of investigating the crack tip stresses in a
structure under cyclic loading, is not suitable for forging
dies where high temperature changes due to the contact
of the hot formed component mask the small temperature
changes caused by thermoelastic effect.
However, few references are available on TMF life for
hot forging dies, and estimation of die life can be achieved
neither by experimental tools, nor by simulation software.
Therefore, research activities have been started by the
authors in this field, with the primary objective of extending the knowledge on TMF behaviour of hot working die
steels.
Thermo-mechanical fatigue is one of the most complex problems among fatigue damage mechanisms, being related to the combination of many factors (mechanical and thermal ones) which are mutually influencing the
stresses, as well as the strength of the material. Moreover,
TMF testing requires expensive equipment and very timeconsuming experimentation, but extreme care should be
adopted in simplifying the test transforming it into an
isothermal fatigue (IF) procedure. The temperature cycle in the die during the forming process varies between
a maximum temperature (end of deformation and resting of formed part in the die) and a minimum temperature (end of the lubrication of the die and its cooling).
Transforming to an isothermal fatigue test where the temperature is kept constant at the maximum temperature
does not give conservative results in terms of life, because
the presence of a thermal cycle has a detrimental effect
on the life, as pointed out by Fang et al.3 On the other
hand, transforming to an isothermal fatigue test where
the temperature is kept to the minimum level is too far
from typical industrial cases. Therefore, if the temperature varies, the development of a model for the prediction of die service life should be based on experimental

data which are not too far from the operating industrial
conditions.
To this end, a new simulative laboratory test has been
developed that is suitable for

r comparing the behaviour of different die materials for the

same well-defined thermo-mechanical conditions, as well

as the effects on service life of the same material subjected
to different thermo-mechanical conditions,
generating TMF failure data in the laboratory (more controlled, cheaper and faster), by applying to specimens
the thermo-mechanical conditions derived from industrial
cases.

The description of the test equipment and the relevant

procedure is detailed in the first part of the paper. Then
the paper focuses on the experimental investigation of
a typical hot-working steel (DIN X37CrMoV51).The
effects on life, due to variation of some forging parameters are evaluated. The experimental programme was
planned using Design of Experiments (DoE) techniques
and, using response surface methodology (RSM), a TMF
life assessment model, developed on experimental data, is
proposed.

T H E S I M U L AT I V E T E S T

Main requirements of the test

During hot forging, the dies are subjected to high cyclic
stresses which should be limited by the material yield
strength with the further superimposition of a thermal
cycle (usually from 250 C to 680 C) resulting in a reduced service life of the tooling. On analysing the forging
cycle, the following four main phases can be identified:

r The

positioning of the hot billet in the die: A thermal flow

is generated from the hot billet to the dies, being more
effective on the lower die which is in partial contact with
the hot material.
The deforming stroke: The stresses increase to a maximum,
corresponding usually to the end of the stroke, and heat
transfer proceeds from the forged part into the dies, generating a thermal gradient inside them.
The resting of the forged part in the die before being extracted:
The stresses in the die are almost constant and the heating
continues from the forged part to the die. When the component is ejected or the dies lose contact with it, stresses
are released and thermal flux is reduced or inverted.
The lubrication phase: The cooling of the die surfaces causes
a high thermal flow directed from the core to the surface of
the die and, due to the relevant thermal gradients, stresses
are generated in the layers close to the die surface.

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T H E R M O - M E C H A N I C A L FAT I G U E L I F E

The whole cycle covers an interval of time which is usually less then 10 s and, despite small modifications of the
local geometry of dies due to wear, fatigue and plastic deformation, the forming load can be assumed to be constant
during the production batch.
The development of life assessment models requires experimental data relevant to die life, process parameters,
temperature and stresses to be collected from industrial
processes. This activity is expensive and time consuming.
Moreover, the reliability of these data is doubtful because
many industrial processes are not under control, meaning
that some process parameters and conditions can change
without any record of them being taken, leading to a wide
scatter in results.
On the basis of these considerations, the study of TMF
phenomena that occur in dies for hot forging operations
requires the employment of laboratory tests performed
under conditions close to those occurring in the dies during hot forging operations.4 This kind of test is also called
a simulative test.
As pointed out by other authors,5 TMF in the dies is
caused by significant factors such as the thermal gradient
in the layer near the die surface, the maximum and minimum temperature cycle, the heating/cooling rate and the
stress evolution during the cycle. The levels of these parameters, which must be replicated in the simulative test, have
been determined by numerical and experimental analysis
of industrial forging cycles. The results of the analysis are
summarized in Table 1 and more details of this work can
be found in Refs [6] and [7].
However, the literature about simulative fatigue testing
for hot forging is still sparse. Even so, by analysing the
state of the art of fatigue testing at high temperature and by
comparing testing parameters that are usually controlled
with those assumed to be significant in forging, one can
conclude that
i laboratory tests based on IF are easier and cheaper, but
they lead to non-conservative life prediction,
ii laboratory tests based on traditional TMF testing procedures are usually performed at a very low frequency
(the period usually exceeds 1 min810 , which is far from

Table 1 Target parameters that should be replicated in the

simulative TMF test
Parameter

Target

Minimum temperature cycle ( C)

Maximum temperature cycle ( C)
Thermal gradient ( C mm1 )
Cycle time(s)
eqmax (T) (MPa)

200400
550700
818
515
<Y (T)

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

1027

those of real forging cycles), and the temperature distribution in the specimen is usually uniform or thermal
gradients are far from those occurring during hot forging, and
iii most of available tests are suited to testing material or
testing the product, and do not focus the attention on
the process and the tooling.

To overcome these limits and to reach the objectives previously discussed, a new testing procedure, pertaining to
the process-simulative category, is proposed.
In this regard, it is important to remark that, on a specimen, an exact replication of the thermo-mechanical conditions of the dies cannot be achieved because the state
of stresses in the die is three-axial and the thermal field
is affected by the thermal capacity of the die or, in other
words, by its dimensions. Therefore, some simplifications
in the test configuration should be considered, whilst trying to replicate the industrial forging conditions as closely
as possible.
Test configuration design
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the TMF test
should be composed of simultaneous temperature and mechanical load cycles, generating a thermal gradient in the
cross section of the specimen and reaching levels of temperature and stress similar to those reached in the dies
during real production.
The proposed test is based on a architecture of the system
consisting of one main module and three sub modules
(mechanical load, heating, cooling)11 ; the control diagram of
the whole system is shown in Fig. 1.
The geometry of the specimen is defined to (i) obtain
an effective thermal gradient in the cross section of the
specimen, (ii) guarantee efficient cooling in the central
part of the specimen, (iii) generate a state of stress that is
concentrated in this area, and (iv) limit the manufacturing
costs of the specimen.
To these ends, different configurations have been explored and the optimal geometry satisfying these requirements has been set up. The final geometry is that of the
specimen with the notch represented in Fig. 2 (the notch
increases both the thermal gradient and the stress).
Cyclic mechanical load and temperature are varied simultaneously in phase, meaning that the maximum tensile
load is coincident with the maximum temperature (forming phase) and the minimum load is applied at the minimum temperature (cooling phase).
With regard to the thermal cycle, the heating power and
cooling parameters (heating frequency and air pressures)
were determined to replicate the thermal cycle as stated in
the experimental plan. The thermal gradient has been generated by controlling the temperatures at the front- and

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G. A . B E RT I a n d M . M O N T I

Fig. 1 The control system diagram.

back-surface as defined in the experimental plan. Heat removal from the back surface of the specimen is induced by
forced convection (back cooling with compressed air) and
the corresponding convection coefficient of heat removal
has been determined and kept constant for the whole
experiment.
The mechanical cycles were designed in terms of forces to
be applied to the ends of the specimen (load control of
servo-hydraulic) to obtain the required stress in the cross
section. Because the thermal gradient affects the state of
stress in the specimen section, the load to apply to the ends
of the specimen to obtain the eq /Y(T) ratio at the specimen notch during the forming phase was evaluated using a numerical fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis
code. In the cooling phase the minimum load was chosen to be equal to zero, to simulate the unloading phase,
and so the stress state was affected only by the thermal
gradient.
The experimental apparatus
The specimen is heated by a high-frequency induction
system activated by comparison of the programmed temperature on the notch and the measured temperature at
the same location.
The specimen temperature is controlled by a K-type
thermocouple spot welded on the notch tip (Tc1 in Fig. 2);
a second thermocouple acquires the temperature at the
bottom of the cross section (Tc2 in Fig. 2). The time con-

stant of both thermocouples ( 0.01 in) has been estimated

to be about 0.01 s. Their signals are filtered to remove any
noise generated by the heating device.
The thermal gradient in the cross section of the specimen is generated by the cooling of the face opposite to the
notch (back cooling). Cycling of temperature at the surface
notch is piloted by the cooling of the notch surface (front
cooling). Both cooling devices are synchronized with the
mechanical cycle by independent servo-valves, and independent pressure regulators allow different flows on the
front and back faces of the specimen so that a controlled
thermal gradient is generated in the cross section.
The mechanical cycle was carried out on a 50 kN
closed-loop servo-controlled hydraulic system (MTS 322
load frame with TestStar IIs in Fig. 3) operating in load
control.
Figure 4 shows a detail of the heatingcooling devices.
All devices were driven by a microcomputer with software permitting automatic control of thermal cycling, mechanical load cycling and their synchronization.

E X P E R I M E N TA L P R O C E D U R E S

Objectives of the experimental programme

The experimental programme was aimed at investigating
the TMF behaviour of a typical hot-working steel under
different working conditions, taking into account the effects of (i) maximum temperature cycle (forming phase

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T H E R M O - M E C H A N I C A L FAT I G U E L I F E

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Fig. 3 The experimental apparatus.

r Response surface methodology, based on BoxBehnken design

Fig. 2 The specimen.

in the simulative test), (ii) minimum temperature cycle

(cooling phase), and (iii) eq /Y(T) ratio in the forming
phase.
The investigated material was a tool steel used in hot
forging (DIN X37CrMoV51 vacuum remelted). Its
chemical composition is given in Table 2.
Manufacturing of the test specimens consisted of machining, heat treating (austenizing heating to 990 C, air
quenching, first tempering at 550 C, second tempering
at 510 C, air cooling) and grinding. The achieved hardness was 4852 HR C .
To study the behaviour of the material in TMF the strategy for the experimentation was split into three steps:

r A screening experiment, based on a fractional factorial plan

and aimed at identifying the significant factors and to detect
curvature of the response,

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

and aimed at fully characterizing the factors affecting the

specimen life, and
Validation runs, to assess the reliability of the response surface model, determined in previous step.

These steps were performed in sequential order; results

achieved in the previous step are fundamental information
to the set-up of the next step, as discussed below.
DoE techniques have been used to define and analyse all
the experimental plans.
Screening experiment
The first step of the experimentation consisted of a screening experiment aimed at identifying the significant factors
and detecting curvature in response.
Three factors (i) the maximum temperature cycle (forming
phase in the simulative test), (ii) the minimum temperature
cycle (cooling phase), and (iii) eq /Y(T) ratio in the forming phase were investigated to determine their effect on
the response (specimen life). Two levels (Low and High)

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G. A . B E RT I a n d M . M O N T I

Fig. 4 Detail of the heatingcooling device.

Table 2 Chemical composition (wt%)

Table 4 P-values associated with main effects and curvature

Si

Mn

Cr

Mo

0.36

0.20

0.25

5.00

1.30

0.45

Table 3 Factor levels

Source of
variation

F-value

P-value

T max
T min
eq /Y(T)

543.72
566.48
579.88

0.0018
0.0018
0.0017

Curvature

167.72

0.0059

Factor levels
Design factor

Low

High

T max ( C)
T min ( C)
eq /Y(T)

600
300
0.55

680
380
0.95

were assigned to each, as shown in Table 3 and the number

of cycles of specimen life were observed.
12
was chosen, as it is
A 231
III fractional factorial design
3
a one-half fraction of the 2 original design and requires
only 4 runs instead of the original 8.
This is a resolution III design because the main effects are
aliased (confounded) with two-factor interactions, but no
main effect is aliased with any other main effect. Therefore, the design allows three main effects (maximum temperature, minimum temperature and eq /Y(T)ratio) to be
estimated.
Three centre points were added to the design to detect
curvature of response, as well as to allow an independent
estimate of experimental error to be obtained. In per-

forming the experiment, the observations were carried out

in a random order, resulting in a completely randomized
design.
All tests were run to failure which was defined as complete fracture of the specimen.
The results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) performed
on the experimental data are summarized in Table 4. In
the table, the F-value is the ratio between the mean square
of the terms and the mean square error; it is a test for comparing term variance with error variance. If the variances
are close to the same value, the ratio will be close to unity,
and it is less likely that the term has a significant effect
on the response. The last column of the table reports the
P-value, the probability of seeing the observed F-value if
the null hypothesis (there is no factor effect) is true.
In this case, main effects and curvature are significant at
-level 0.05.
In detail, the maximum temperature, the minimum temperature, the eq /Y(T) ratio and the curvature are significant because the P-values are less than 0.05.

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

T H E R M O - M E C H A N I C A L FAT I G U E L I F E

The analysis of results obtained from the screening experimental design confirms that all three factors affect
significantly the specimen life, and a curvature in the response should be expected. These considerations suggest
the use of RSM, to obtain a more accurate model of specimen life.
Response surface methodology
Response surface methodology or RSM is a collection of
mathematical and statistical techniques that are useful for
modelling and analysing problems13 where a response of
interest is influenced by several variables and where the
objective is to optimize this response, as well as to quantify
the relationship between the measured response and the
considered input factors.
In this work, RSM analysis was carried out by employing
a BoxBehnken design on the same factors as in the previous experimental design, but with three levels for each
factor (Low, Medium and High). The experimental plan
and results in terms of number of cycles of specimen life
(as obtained from the experimentation) are reported in
Table 5.
R E S U LT S A N D D I S C U S S I O N S

The heuristic model

The relationship between the three factors and the response can be approximated by a second-order polynomial
model (see Eq. (1)):
N = 0 +

k

i xi +

i=1

k

ii xi2 +

i=1

i j xi x j +

(1)

1031

where N is the number of cycles to failure, x i and x j are

i,j-th factor (i, j = 1, . . . ,k), k is the number of variables, i
and ij are the model coefficients and is the experimental error which is assumed to follow a normal distribution
with zero mean and variance 2 and with i.i.d. (independent and identically distributed) components.
Of course, it is unlikely that a polynomial model like this
will be a reasonable approximation of the true functional
relationship over the entire space of the independent variables, but for a relatively small region it usually works quite
well.14
Based on ANOVA for the response surface quadratic model
(Table 6), the following statistical tests were performed:
1 Test for significance of the regression model. The P-value (P =
0.0002) is less than 0.05, so it indicates that the model is
significant at = 0.05.
2 Test for significance of model coefficients. In the ANOVA table
it is possible to see significant P-values ( = 0.05) for
the main effects of maximum temperature (T max ) (P <
0.0001) and eq /Y(T) (P = 0.0001), the quadratic effects of
maximum temperature (T 2 max ) (P = 0.0023) and eq /Y(T)
(eq /Y(T))2 (P = 0.0038), and the interaction of eq /Y(T)
and maximum temperature (Tmax eq /Y(T))(P = 0.0025).
3 Test for lack of fit. The lack-of-fit test compares the residual
error (from model error) to the pure error (from replicated experiments). Significant lack of fit indicates that the
model does not adequately fit the response surface and
for this reason an insignificant lack of fit is desired. The
ANOVA table shows, for the full quadratic model (1), that the
P-value for lack of fit is 0.1287, which is greater than =
0.05. We conclude that the model adequately fits the response surface.

i< j

Table 5 Number of cycles to failure

Specimen

T max
( C)

T min
( C)

Heating
time (s)

Cooling
time (s)

eq /Y(T)

NE
(cycles)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

600
640
640
640
680
680
640
600
600
640
680
600
640
680
640

340
300
340
300
340
340
380
300
340
340
300
380
340
380
380

1.30
2.60
2.45
2.60
3.45
3.45
2.30
1.45
1.30
2.45
3.60
1.15
2.45
3.30
2.30

0.75
1.00
0.90
1.00
1.10
1.10
0.80
0.85
0.75
0.90
1.20
0.65
0.90
1.00
0.80

0.95
0.55
0.75
0.95
0.95
0.55
0.55
0.75
0.55
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.95

8447
11 844
2372
396
665
2050
12 242
11 823
23 887
1211
379
14 250
1654
1147
1519

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

The assumption that the errors are normally distributed

was checked, using the Normal Probability Plot of residuals reported in Fig. 5. The plot reveals that the residuals
follow a straight line, thereby confirming the assumption
that the errors are normally distributed.
The adequacy of the regression model was also judged,
using the coefficient of determination ( R2 ) because it represents the amount of variability in the data explained by the
regression model. For the cycles of specimen life model,
R2 = 0.9889, that is the model accounts for 98.89% of the
variability in the data.
The model fitted using the experimental data for the
prediction of specimen life is
N = 1.384 106 3376.982 Tmax 450.922 Tmin
2
4.372 105 eq /Y(T ) + 2.317 Tmax
2
+ 0.904 Tmin
+ 82713.542 (eq /Y(T ))2

0.259 Tmax Tmin + 439.219 Tmax (eq /Y(T ))

+ 22.656 Tmin (eq /Y(T ))

(2)

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G. A . B E RT I a n d M . M O N T I

Table 6

ANOVA

table for response surface quadratic model

Source of variation
Model
T max
T min
eq /Y(T)
T 2max
T 2min
(eq /Y(T))2
T max T min
(eq /Y(T)) Tmax
(eq /Y(T)) Tmin
Residual
Lack of fit
Pure error
Total

Sum of squares

df

Mean square

F-value

P-value

6.9787 108
3.6674 108
2.7801 106
1.9009 108
5.0768 107
7.7208 106
4.0418 107
6.8807 105
4.9386 107
1.3141 105
7.8250 106
7.1384 106
6.8656 105

9
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
3
2

7.7541 107
3.6674 108
2.7801 106
1.9009 108
5.0768 107
7.7208 106
4.0418 107
6.8807 105
4.9386 107
1.3141 105
1.5650 106
2.3795 106
3.4328 105

49.55
234.34
1.78
121.46
32.44
4.93
25.83
0.44
31.56
0.08

0.0002
<0.0001
0.2401
0.0001
0.0023
0.0770
0.0038
0.5366
0.0025
0.7836

6.93

0.1287

7.0569 108

14

Table 7 Validation runs

Specimen

T max
( C)

T min
( C)

Heating
time (s)

Cooling
time (s)

eq /Y(T)

NE
(cycles)

N
(cycles)

Error
(%)

16
17
18
19

596
650
679
613

341
289
324
347

1.30
2.60
3.60
1.30

0.75
1.00
1.20
0.75

0.50
0.57
0.63
1.12

27 902
9842
909
4931

29 796
8500
930
6178

6.8
13.6
2.3
25.3

Fig. 5 Normal probability plot of residuals.

Validation runs
Table 7 allows a comparison between the estimations
provided by the model developed with experimental
data (some experimental tests have been excluded in the
determination of the model to validate it). It shows that
the proposed heuristic model is acceptable to predict
TMF life. The maximum error is under 7%, if the process

parameters are inside the windows where the RSM model

has been tuned. For specimen 19 the eq /Y(T) ratio
is above the plastic limit and therefore the real life is
drastically reduced, and the error increased, because the
life is highly affected by such large values of maximum
stress. For specimen 17 the underestimated life can be explained by the fact that minimum temperature is under the

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

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minimum temperature of experimental plan, and this reduction has a detrimental effect on life.
Effect of maximum temperature, minimum
temperature and stress state on specimen life
In the region of experimentation, the specimen life is
maximized (N = 26 190) for the following combination
of process parameters: Tmax = 600 C, Tmin = 380 C and
eq /Y(T) = 0.55. Therefore, the forging process should
be fine tuned to reach these conditions as closely as possible by (i) reducing the resting time of the forged part in the
die, (ii) keeping the ratio eq /Y(T) during the whole forging cycle under 0.55, and (iii) adopting a cooling regime
without drastic effect on die temperature (long or real effective cooling have a detrimental effect on life).
Response surface plots
The surface plots relevant to the number of cycles are
shown in Figs 68. The factors that are not in the plot are
kept at their optimum level.
It is possible to remark that (i) all plots exhibit a curvature according to the quadratic model, (ii) the maximum
temperature and the eq /Y(T) ratio contribute equally to
reducing the TMF life, and (iii) an increase of minimum
temperature from 300 C to 380 C contributes to an extended lifetime, but this factor cannot compensate for the
reverse effect due to an increase of the other factors (maximum temperature and eq /Y(T) ratio).

Fig. 7 Response surface plot showing the effect of maximum

temperature and eq /Y (T) on specimen life. Minimum
temperature is constant at 380 C.

CONCLUSIONS

The TMF behaviour of a steel for hot forging die was

experimentally investigated, using a new simulative labo-

Fig. 8 Response surface plot showing the effect of minimum

temperature and eq /Y (T) on specimen life. Maximum
temperature is constant at 600 C.

Fig. 6 Response surface plot showing the effect of maximum and

minimum temperature on specimen life. eq /Y (T) is constant at
0.55%.

c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034

ratory test. DoE techniques were used in designing and

analysing both the screening experiment and the final experimentation based on RSM techniques. In-phase TMF
tests in load control and in the presence of a thermal
gradient were performed on a typical hot-working steel.
Three factors (i) maximum temperature cycle (ii) minimum temperature cycle, and (iii) eq /Y(T) ratio were
investigated and the number of cycles of specimen life
were observed as the response. A regression life assessment
model was obtained by fitting the experimental data based
on a BoxBehnken design. The adequacy of the model
was evaluated by performing statistical tests and validation runs. Both of them indicate that the proposed model
can be used to reasonably predict TMF life. The effect of

1034

G. A . B E RT I a n d M . M O N T I

maximum temperature, minimum temperature and

eq /Y(T) on specimen life was evaluated also using response surface plots.
This response surface model is an improvement to the
knowledge existing in the field of TMF of forging dies.
It is a starting point for use in comparing different forging process alternatives and in defining optimal forging
conditions, both focusing on tool life.

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c 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 28, 10251034