JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342

Effect of alloying elements and surface treatment on corrosion fatigue

strength of high-strength suspension coil springs
Tomohiro Nakanoa, Takayuki Sakakibaraa, Masami Wakitaa, Atsushi Sugimotob
a
Research & Development Department, Chuo Spring Co., Ltd., 43-1 Miyashita Fukuta, Miyoshi-cho, Nishikamo-gun, Aichi 470-0225, Japan
b
Parts Engineering Development Division, Aichi Steel Corporation, 1 Wanowari, Arao-cho, Toukai-shi, Aichi 476-8666, Japan
Received 2 February 2001

Abstract

To reduce the weight of suspension coil springs for automobiles, high-strength steel has been developed. However, in general,
strength and corrosion fatigue are contradictory. Therefore, the technological basis is to raise durability and sag resistance.
Moreover, further improvement of the corrosion fatigue strength is important. As a solution for this problem, element design, which
improved the performance against corrosion, and optimum condition of shot peening process were studied. As a result, high-
strength suspension coil springs having superior corrosion fatigue strength compared with the spring made of SAE9260 were
developed. r 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 2. Specimens

The demand for better fuel consumption rates Fig. 1 is a diagram showing our strategies for
of automobiles has been constantly intensifying improving the corrosion fatigue resistance of the
in recent years, reflecting such social issues as conserva- materials, based on which we planned specific means
tion of natural resources and environmental protection. of improvement for each strategy. We believed that
Reduction of the weight of automobiles has been corrosion resistance improvement through the addition
promoted as one of the viable solutions. The suspension of nickel and the deepening of residual stress distribu-
spring is one such item being considered as a target tion are both effective in improving resistance to
for weight reduction. Reduction of the weight of the corrosion. We also believed that low carbon and low
springs results in higher internal stress, which in turn sulfur are both effective in improving toughness while
requires the use of materials of higher hardness in order the addition of vanadium is effective for delayed fracture
to retain the basic spring characteristics such as strength improvement. The following are the results of
durability and sag resistance. However, the use of such our evaluation of various materials and the resultant
materials resulted in poor corrosion fatigue strength springs.
according to some reports [1,2]. Corrosion fatigue
strength is an important factor in the suspension parts
of automobiles, since they are used in environments
where their paint coatings are constantly subjected to 3. Material evaluation results
damage from pebbles shot up from the ground, and salt
damage [3]. 3.1. Effects of adding nickel
Therefore, we conducted a study on the composit-
ion as well as the treatment of spring materials, since In order to confirm the effects of nickel addition for
we believe it is indispensable to improve the the prevention of corrosion, a salt water spraying
corrosion fatigue strength, not just durability and sag corrosion test was conducted, in which corrosion pitting
resistance. shapes, material loss due to corrosion and depth of

0389-4304/01/$20.00 r 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 8 9 - 4 3 0 4 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 1 6 - 3 JSAE20014351
338 T. Nakano et al. / JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342

Fig. 1. Concept of improvement of corrosion fatigue strength.

Fig. 3. Comparison of quantity reducing by corrosion.

Fig. 2. The shape of corrosion pits. (a) Ni=0.55%; (b) Ni=0%.

corrosion pits were examined. The corroding cycle was

as follows: Fig. 4. Comparison of the maximum depth of corrosion pits.
A cycle of {salt water (5% NaCl) spray at 351C, 95%,
3 h+natural drying at 351C, 65%, 21 h} was repeated 20 ment was approximately 50%. Fig. 5 shows the result
times. of the analysis of the maximum corrosion pit depth
Fig. 2 shows typical corrosion pit shapes, Fig. 3 shows using the extreme value statistical analysis method. The
mass reduction due to corrosion and Fig. 4 shows maximum corrosion pit depth was measured for an area
maximum corrosion pit depth. The results show that a of 10
10 mm2, which was used to estimate the
Nickel-added steel is effective in reducing material loss maximum corrosion pith depth for a corrosion area of
due to corrosion, reducing corrosion pit depth, achiev- 2000 mm2. The result was 100 mm for the Nickel-added
ing smoother shapes (low aspect ratio) and reducing steel, while that for the non-Nickel-added steel was
stress concentration compared to a non-Nickel-added 264 mm. Fig. 6 shows the result of the electron probe
steel. Its material loss reduction rate was approximately micro analysis (EPMA) of corrosion sections. In case of
20%, and its maximum corrosion pit depth improve- the Nickel-added steel, condensation of nickel in the
 T. Nakano et al. / JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342 339

Fig. 7. Effect of adding vanadium.

Fig. 5. Relation between depth of corrosion pits and cumulative

distribution function.

Fig. 8. Result of hydrogen analysis.

Fig. 7 shows the test result. It can be seen from

this graph that the Vanadium-added steel has a
Fig. 6. Results of EPMA. higher delayed fracture strength ratio, and that the
Vanadium-added steel has a higher delayed fracture
corrosion layer was observed, and the Chlorine amount strength.
was less in the location where the nickel concentration
existed. From this we believe that the presence of nickel 3.2.2. Hydrogen analysis result
suppresses the Chlorine attack on the metal [4]. In order to confirm the hydrogen trapping effect, a
Consequently, we believe that adding nickel to steel is hydrogen analysis test was conducted using the tem-
effective in preventing corrosion, thus improving the perature rise analysis method. The hydrogen charging
fatigue life. method used here was the same as in the delayed
fracture test. The test was started 5 min after the
hydrogen charging process. Fig. 8 shows the test result.
3.2. Effects of adding vanadium The peak of the distributive hydrogen shifted toward the
high temperature side from 1341C to 1421C and a
3.2.1. Delayed fracture strength hydrogen trapping effect due to vanadium appeared in
In order to confirm the effect of vanadium addition in case of the Vanadium-added steel [5,6]. This means that
the delayed fracture strength, a delayed fracture test was vanadium addition has an excellent effect in improving
conducted. Hydrogen charging was conducted by the hydrogen brittleness.
dipping the sample in a 5% hydrochloric acid solution
for 30 min, washing it with water, and drying it. The test 3.2.3. Transmission electron microscope (TEM)
was started 5 min after the hydrogen charging process observation of vanadium based deposits
shown above. The test was a tensile test using a constant Figs. 9 and 10 show a TEM image and an electron
tensile load to measure the time until a fracture occurs. diffraction pattern of a replica from the microprecipi-
The delayed fracture strength ratio is defined as follows: tates observed in a tempered structure and Fig. 11 shows
the result of the energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer
(EDS) element analysis of said micro-precipitates. From
Delayed fracture strength ratio ¼
the electron diffraction pattern and the result of the EDS
strength where no fracture occurs 100 h after hydrogen analysis, these micro-precipitates were confirmed to be
charging=strength without hydrogen charging: vanadium based precipitates (VN or V4C3). From this,
340 T. Nakano et al. / JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342

Fig. 11. Result of EDS (Fig. 9-A).

Fig. 9. TEM image of microprecipitates.

Table 1
Chemical composition (mass%)

C Si Mn P S Ni V Cr

Developed steel 0.47 2.00 0.70 0.014 0.005 0.55 0.20 0.20
SAE9260 0.60 2.00 0.85 0.020 0.022 F F F

Fig. 12. Result of Charpy impact test.

Charpy impact test was conducted. Fig. 12 shows the

result. From this result, it is evident that the toughness
Fig. 10. Electron diffraction pattern of microprecipitates.
of the developed steel improved in general compared to
conventional steel.
we believe that the reason why the Vanadium-added
steel showed an improved delayed fracture resistance
was because diffusion type hydrogen is entrapped in the 4. Spring evaluation results
microscopic precipitates.
A spring was manufactured using the developed steel
3.3. Toughness evaluation result according to the specification shown in Table 2 and the
manufacturing process shown in Fig. 13.
Table 1 shows the composition of the steel developed
according to the evaluation results of Sections 3.1 and 4.1. Effects of residual stress
3.2, and SAE9260 steel used for comparison purposes.
The features of the developed steel observed are the There is a correlation between the surface residual
improvements of toughness due to low carbon and low stress after corrosion and the corrosion fatigue life
sulfur, corrosion resistance due to Nickel-addition and (Fig. 14). Forming a compressive residual stress on the
delay fracture strength due to vanadium-addition. In after corrosion surface as much as possible is an effective
order to confirm their composite effects on toughness, a method for improving the corrosion fatigue life [7]. The
 T. Nakano et al. / JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342 341

Table 2
Dimensions of the springs used for test

Wire diameter (mm) Coil diameter (mm) Free height (mm) Number active coils Spring rate (N/mm)

f11 f100 311 5.29 27.2

Fig. 13. Spring manufacturing process.

Fig. 16. Result of corrosion fatigue life of springs without coating.

Mean stress: 735 MPa.

a fatigue life test. The hardness of the developed steel

was 53HRC and that of the SAE9260 steel was 51HRC.
The corroding cycle was as follows:
A cycle of {salt water (5% Nacl) spray at 351C, 95%,
Fig. 14. Relation between residual stress of surface and corrosion 3 h+natural drying at 351C, 65%, 21 h} was repeated 20
fatigue life (developed steel). t ¼ 4907294 MPa, 52.7 HRC. times.
The result is shown in Fig. 16. Despite the fact that
the developed steel was harder and the test stress was
increased, the developed steel has an equal or better
corrosion fatigue life when compared to the SAE9260
steel.
Thus, we succeeded in developing an excellent spring
with equal or better corrosion fatigue life than that of
conventional steel.

5. Summary

As a result of the effort aimed at strengthening coil

springs with a focus on the improvement of corrosion
Fig. 15. Distribution of residual stress. fatigue strength, we were able to develop, thanks to the
optimization of the shot peening condition, a spring that
has a higher corrosion fatigue life in comparison with a
residuals stress of the specimen spring is shown in
spring using conventional steel (SAE9260), despite the
Fig. 15. As can be seen from this graph, the developed
fact that the developed steel has a higher hardness and
steel has a higher compressive residual stress compared
the test stress was increased.
to SAE9260 steel.

4.2. Evaluation of corrosion fatigue strength

6. In conclusion
A corrosion fatigue resistance test was conducted for
unpainted springs in order to compare the developed The spring with high corrosion fatigue resistance
steel and SAE9260 steel. introduced here is attracting attention as a high function
The springs were shot-peened, then caused to develop item that provides both lightness and strength. This
corrosion without painting them, and then subjected to spring has been used on actual automobiles since 1998
342 T. Nakano et al. / JSAE Review 22 (2001) 337–342

and its uses are expanding. There is no doubt that it will [3] Goto, K., Outline of anti-corrosive treatment for automobiles (in
find further applications. Japanese), Jitsumu Hyomen Gijutsu (Metal Finishing Practice),
Vol. 32, pp. 258–263 (1985).
[4] Usami, A. et al., Weathering steel usable near the coast without
any painting (in Japanese with English summary), Nippon Steel
Technical Report, Vol. 371, pp. 78–83 (1999).
References [5] Nakasa, K., Kato, M., Adv. Delayed Fract. Solution (in Japanese),
pp. 94–99 (1997).
[1] The effect of corrosion to influence fatigue life of suspension spring [6] Yamazaki, S. et al., Effect of V addition on delayed fracture
(in Japanese), CHKK Technical Review, Vol. 3, pp. 8–15 (1983). resistance of high strength steels (in Japanese), CAMP-ISIJ,
[2] Ito, Y., Yoneguchi, A., Evaluation of corrosion fatigue properties p. 1493 (1996).
for spring steels (in Japanese), Proc. 1997 Meeting of Japanese [7] Nakano, T. et al., Proc. 1997 Meeting of Japanese Society of
Society of Spring Research, Vol. 6, pp. 21–24 (1997). Autumn Research (in Japanese), Vol. 20 (1997).