The Effect of Carburizing on the Fatigue Life of 4130 Steel

AISI 4130 steel is a medium carbon Cr-Mo steel used in automotive, aeronautic and other general-purpose industries. In this study, 4130 steel fatigue specimens were carburized at 927oC to enhance the carbon content in the steel, raising it from approximately 0.30% (non-carburized) to 0.90% (carburized, oil quenched and tempered). Rotating bending fatigue tests were performed on the R. R. Moore Rotating Beam Fatigue Testing System, in order to determine the high cycle fatigue (HCF) life of 4130 steel and plot the corresponding S-N diagrams. A comparison of the results of carburized and non-carburized specimens shows that carburizing of steel: a) increases the surface hardness and b) improves the fatigue strength of the steel by at least two orders of magnitude.