Thermal and mechanical properties of electro-slag cast steel for hot working tools

The thermal and mechanical properties of an electro-slag cast steel of a similar chemical composition with an AISI-6172 steel are investigated and compared with a forged AISI-6172 steel. AlSI-6F2 is a hot-working tool steel. Electro-slag casting (ESC) is a method of producing ingots in a water-cooled metal mold by the heat generated in an electrically conductive slag when current passes through a consumable electrode. The ESC method provides the possibility of producing material for the high quality hot-working tools and ingots directly into a desirable shape. In the present study, the thermal and mechanical properties of yield strength, tensile strength, hardness, impact toughness, wear resistance, thermal fatigue resistance, and thermal shock resistance for electro-slag cast and forged steel are experimentally measured for both annealed and quenched and tempered heat treatment conditions. It has been found that the electro-slag cast steel has comparable thermal and mechanical properties to the forged steel.