Development of Wheel Steels for EOT Crane Application

Abstract

This report is dealt with the study of different standards available on manufacturing of crane wheel and its mechanical properties as designed by the industry. The characterization of existing crane wheel steel material SAE 5160 was carried out and its failure investigation was analyzed carefully. Fracture surfaces of broken pieces of failed wheel revealed flat surface with chevron marks indicating brittle fracture. Microstructures of the wheel revealed fine pearlitic structure instead of tempered martensite matrix which made the wheel brittle causing its failure. The hardenability of SAE 5160 was not adequate enough to led to the formation of martensite at the core during quenching.
The available standards were not suitable for stringent applications in the industries where the crane wheels suffer huge loads, jerk and also wear and tear. Therefore, it is well understood that to develop crane wheels with higher strength and fracture toughness at core and higher hardness to withstand the abrasion, steels with lower amount of inclusions need to be used. The main objective is to for improved service life and reliability under stringent condition, the development of a superior quality crane wheel by selecting suitable chemistry, 42CrMo4 steel, with hardened and tempered heat treatment, which meets the design criteria of the industry.