Effect of electroslag remelting on the VHCF response of an AISI H13 steel

Experimental results have shown that high-strength steels can fail in the Very-High-Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) regime with cracks originating from internal defects. Material cleanliness thus plays a major role in the VHCF response of high-strength steels and refinement processes (eg, electroslag remelting [ESR] and vacuum arc remelting) could significantly enhance their performance. The present paper aims at investigating the effect of the ESR process on the VHCF behavior of an AISI H13 steel by carrying out fully reversed ultrasonic tension-compression tests on hourglass specimens manufactured with and without the ESR process. Size effect is also taken into account in the paper: the effectiveness in the prediction of the VHCF response of specimens with large risk-volumes from experimental data on specimens with small risk-volumes is discussed and experimentally validated.