{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T00:37:53Z","timestamp":1789173473596,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Technology Fund of the Ministry of Science and Technology","award":["2020-JCJQ-ZD-208-02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020-JCJQ-ZD-208-02"]}]},{"name":"the Technology Fund of the Ministry of Science and Technology","award":["2019-JCJQ-ZD-137-00-03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019-JCJQ-ZD-137-00-03"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"the National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["52101072"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52101072"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"the National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["52405435"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52405435"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Shanxi Province Key Research and Development Program Project","award":["202202050201018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202202050201018"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates the low-cycle fatigue behavior and microstructural evolution of a novel 30Cr2Ni3MoWV hot-work die steel at 700 \u00b0C under different strain amplitudes. High-temperature tensile tests demonstrated a tensile strength of 460 MPa and an elongation of 32%, confirming the material retains good ductility. Fracture analysis revealed ductile failure, supported by a 95% reduction in area. Low-cycle fatigue tests indicated notable cyclic softening at high strain amplitudes, with fatigue life declining rapidly as strain amplitude rose from 0.2% to 0.6%. A stress-softening coefficient model was established to describe this accelerated softening. Microstructural examination identified carbides (MC, M7C3, M23C6), which promoted secondary crack formation at 0.6% strain amplitude, contributing to early failure. TEM analysis further showed dislocation rearrangement, carbide coarsening, and martensite lath widening during cyclic loading. Among these, M23C6 precipitates were linked to increased softening at higher strains. The Coffin\u2013Manson model parameters were optimized based on the relationship between fatigue life, plastic strain, and elastic strain. The model accurately predicted the steel\u2019s fatigue life, with only a 0.01% deviation from experimental results. This work correlates accelerated softening and reduced fatigue life with three microstructural mechanisms\u2014carbide coarsening, dislocation accumulation, and secondary cracking\u2014offering valuable guidance for enhancing the high-temperature performance of hot-work die steels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18245522","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T09:54:55Z","timestamp":1765274095000},"page":"5522","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Strain-Controlled Low-Cycle Fatigue Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of the Hot-Work Die Steel at 700 \u00b0C"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Pengfei","family":"Jin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lichao","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Western Metal Materials Co., Ltd., Xi\u2019an 710201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chao","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jinfeng","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cui, H.-Y., Bao, Z.-J., Gong, Q., Bao, S.-Z., Zou, Y.-Z., Li, A.-M., Yang, H.-Y., Wang, C.-G., Li, Z.-G., and Chang, F. 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