{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:47:59Z","timestamp":1788857279265,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,13]],"date-time":"2025-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736726400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Major science and technology innovation project of Luoyang","award":["2301020A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2301020A"]}]},{"name":"Major science and technology innovation project of Luoyang","award":["231100220400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["231100220400"]}]},{"name":"Major Science and Technology Projects of Longmen Laboratory","award":["2301020A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2301020A"]}]},{"name":"Major Science and Technology Projects of Longmen Laboratory","award":["231100220400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["231100220400"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In response to the intensifying competition in the mold market and the increasingly stringent specifications of die forgings, the existing 55NiCrMoV7 (MES 1 steel) material can no longer meet the elevated demands of customers. Consequently, this study systematically optimizes the alloy composition of MES 1 steel by precisely adjusting the molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) contents. The primary objective is to significantly enhance the microstructure and thermal\u2013mechanical fatigue performance of the steel, thereby developing a high-performance, long-life hot working die steel designated as MES 2 steel. The thermal\u2013mechanical fatigue (TMF) tests of two test steels were conducted in reverse mechanical strain control at 0.6% and 1.0% strain levels by a TMF servo-hydraulic testing system (MTS). The microstructures of the two steels were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that throughout the entire thermomechanical fatigue cycle, both steels exhibit initial hardening during the low-temperature half-cycle (tension half-cycle) and subsequent continuous softening during the high-temperature half-cycle (compression half-cycle). Furthermore, under the same strain condition, the cumulative cyclic softening damage of MES 1 steel is more pronounced than that of the newly developed MES 2 steel. The number, width, and length of cracks in MES 2 steel are smaller than those in MES 1 steel, and the thermomechanical fatigue life of MES 2 steel is significantly longer than that of MES 1 steel. The microstructures show that the main precipitate phase in MES 1 steel is Cr-dominated rod-shaped carbide. It presents obvious coarsening and is prone to inducing stress concentration, thus facilitating crack initiation and propagation. The precipitate phase in MES 2 steel is mainly MC carbide containing Mo and V. It has a high thermal activation energy and is dispersed in the matrix in the form of particles, pinning dislocations and grain boundaries. This effectively delays the reduction in dislocation density and grain growth, thus contributing positively to the improvement in thermomechanical fatigue performance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18020334","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,13]],"date-time":"2025-01-13T09:49:17Z","timestamp":1736761757000},"page":"334","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Strain-Controlled Thermal\u2013Mechanical Fatigue Behavior and Microstructural Evolution Mechanism of the Novel Cr-Mo-V Hot-Work Die Steel"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Yasha","family":"Yuan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China"},{"name":"Longmen Laboratory, Luoyang 471000, China"},{"name":"Luo Yang CITIC HIC Casting and Forging Co., Ltd., Luoyang 471039, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yichou","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Longmen Laboratory, Luoyang 471000, China"},{"name":"Luo Yang CITIC HIC Casting and Forging Co., Ltd., Luoyang 471039, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenyan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruxing","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Longmen Laboratory, Luoyang 471000, China"},{"name":"Luo Yang CITIC HIC Casting and Forging Co., Ltd., Luoyang 471039, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chuan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of High Performance Precision Forming Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Oriented Automobile Die & Mould, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Longmen Laboratory, Luoyang 471000, China"},{"name":"Luo Yang CITIC HIC Casting and Forging Co., Ltd., Luoyang 471039, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Yao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of High Performance Precision Forming Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Oriented Automobile Die & Mould, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaocai","family":"Jie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of High Performance Precision Forming Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Oriented Automobile Die & Mould, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengchao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of High Performance Precision Forming Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Oriented Automobile Die & Mould, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingpei","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8371","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmrt.2024.05.222","article-title":"Insights into the microstructure evolution and wear resistance of Nano-TiC particles reinforced High-Cr hot work die steel","volume":"30","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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