What Are the Three Major Factors that Determine the Performance of Spring Steel?

Spring steel refers to special alloy steel used to manufacture various types of springs and other elastic components. According to performance requirements and usage conditions, it can be divided into ordinary alloy spring steel and special alloy spring steel. Spring steel has excellent comprehensive properties. Spring steel has excellent metallurgical quality (high purity and uniformity), good surface quality (strict control of surface defects and decarburization), and precise shape and size.

Whether it is spring steel strip, spring steel plate or spring steel round rod and spring steel wire, the chemical composition of spring steel is actually one of the main factors that determine its performance, as well as its metallurgical quality. The chemical composition of the steel is required to meet the usage requirements of the spring. It is also required to have high purity, low harmful impurity content, control the number and shape and distribution of non-metallic inclusions, and ensure uniform and stable performance of the steel.

Spring steel should have good surface quality, including decarbonization and defects (such as cracks, folds, scarring, inclusions, etc.). This is because the surface of the spring steel delivery state is generally the working surface of the spring products, in addition to the surface shot peening, the surface decarbonization and defects of the steel have been retained, which undoubtedly has a very adverse impact on the working performance and working life of the spring. Because the surface stress of the spring is the greatest when it is subjected to various loads, various failures occur first on the surface. Surface decarburization will reduce the surface hardness, surface defects will cause local stress concentration, resulting in micro-cracks, causing early failure, which are the main factors affecting the fatigue life of the spring.

Similarly, in order to ensure that the spring can work continuously and stably, and that the stress and deformation it experiences are uniform, the spring steel must have good shape and dimensional accuracy.