Contact person
Niklas Lorén
Projektledare
Contact NiklasVolvo Trucks
In a joint project, RISE and Volvo Trucks, together with several research partners, used advanced synchrotron technology to study how heat-treated steel behaves at the micro level. The results may pave the way for customized components with optimal performance and more sustainable surface improvement processes.
Volvo Trucks manufactures over one million transmission gears every year using nitrocarburizing heat treatment. This treatment gives the steel high fatigue strength, corrosion protection, and low distortion. However, the resulting microstructure is complex and difficult to analyze, making it challenging to tailor its properties. To develop predictive process controls that account for alloy composition, detailed knowledge of how steel quality and processing affect the surface is required. Here, synchrotron technology is unmatched. In a pilot study, Volvo Trucks and RISE identified 2D and 3D XRD mapping as the most promising method for studying these components.
Two different heat treatments
Three different steel types with two heat treatments were examined. Sample preparation was advanced and included spark erosion and focused ion beam (FIB) techniques. This enabled mapping of the crystal structure using X-ray diffraction at the synchrotron while simultaneously applying load through nanoindentation. A total of 142 hours of beam time was carried out during two sessions at Petra III and beamline P03 MiNaXs. The experiments were conducted by the project team in close collaboration between Volvo Trucks, Bodycote, RISE, KTH, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. During the tests, crystalline phases were identified, and strain fields were created by tracking changes in diffraction peak positions under increasing load.
Next step is customized surfaces
The results now form the basis for a follow-up project running through 2025. The goal is to use synchrotron-based in-situ methods to tailor the complex surface microstructure of nitrocarburized steel components for specific applications. This can deliver optimal performance, strengthen the industry’s innovation capacity, and contribute to more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly surface improvement processes.
Would you like to know more about synchrotron technology and how we at RISE can help you? Get in touch and we will be happy to assist you! See contact details below:
