Hot forging of microalloyed steels, also known as high strength low alloy steels (HSLA), has a wide application for manufacturing automotive components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microstructure and the mechanical strength and toughness of the 27MnSiVS6 microalloyed steel, when formed by ausforging, to analyze the process performance and the quality of products. Ausforging was compared to both hot and warm forging processes. As a result, considering the tensile, fatigue (under rotating bending) and the fracture toughness tests, the best mechanical properties were shown by the ausforged products. Statistical analyses revealed that products obtained by ausforging presented the best combination of strength and surface quality, without increasing the forging load.
Ausforging; forging; physical metallurgy
