George Vander Voort

Meet the Consultants: George Vander Voort

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Heat Treat Consultants is a comprehensive listing of heat treat industry consultants offered as part of Heat Treat Today’s efforts to help minimize the effects of heat treat “brain drain.” In this occasional feature, “Meet the Consultants”, we will introduce you to the experts listed in this growing directory. Today, learn more about George Vander Voort of Vander Voort Consulting LLC, and then click through to the page to read more details about each consultant. We are adding more regularly. Contact them directly, or call us and we’ll introduce you to them. Whether it’s a technical process question, a safety concern, a compliance issue, or a business-related question, one of our heat treat consultants will be able to help. If you are a consultant and would like to be listed, please contact Doug Glenn. 

Name: George F. Vander Voort
Company Name: Struers Inc./Vander Voort Consulting LLC
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Years In Industry: 50+
Consulting Specialties:

  • Metallurgy & Materials Science
  • Failure/Root Cause Analysis
  • Steel/Alloys/Metals/Materials
  • Mechanical Testing/Corrosion
  • Heat Treatment & Metallography

 

Send an email | Website | Phone: 847-623-7648

Briefly:

George Vander Voort, principal of Vander Voort Consulting and consultant to Struers Inc., is a graduate of Drexel and Lehigh Universities. Drexel presented George with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2005 and the Service to the Profession Award in 2016. He had 29 years’ experience in the steel industry. A past president of the International Metallographic Society and past chairman of ASTM Committee E-4 on Metallography, George has over 438 publications, 6 patents, 445 lectures in 42 countries, a video course, and 7 ASTM standards. Dedicated to technical education to improve the industry, he has taught 269 seminars and courses and has received 36 awards in metallography contests. He was a trustee for ASM International and is on the editorial boards of Praktische Metallographie/Practical Metallography; Metallography, Microstructure and Analysis; Image Analysis and Stereology; and, the International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties. He is a Fellow of ASTM International, ASM International and the International Federation of Heat Treatment and Surface Engineers. As a consultant, George specializes in metallography, failure analysis, and archeometallurgy. He is also a court-certified expert witness in litigations involving failures of metallic components. He is a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of Alpha Sigma Mu metallurgy and materials science honorary society and an honorary member of the Polish Society for Stereology.

Publications or Significant Accomplishments:

  1. Member of the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM (now ASTM International), including a member of committees E-4 on Metallography and E-28 on Mechanical Testing. He served as second and first vice-chairman of E-4 and a four-year term as chairman of E-4 and chaired two international symposia for ASTM E-4. He is a fellow of ASTM. (1966 to present)
  2. Instructor, “Ferrous Physical Metallurgy”, Pennsylvania State University (Allentown campus). (1969-1977)
  3. Active with International Metallographic Society (IMS), including serving as president form 1981 to 1983. (1973 to present)
  4. Adjunct Faculty Member, ASM Metals Engineering Institute/Materials Engineering Institute. (1977 to present)
  5. Adjunct Faculty Member, “Optical Metallography”, (Met 319), Lehigh University. (Spring 1981)
  6. Series editor of Microstructural Science and chair or co-chair of 10 symposia. (1983-1989)
  7. Chairman of E.04.14 on Quantitative Metallography where he developed and wrote 9 standards for both manual and automated quantitative metallographic measurements.  (1982-1998)
  8. Instructor of several courses, workshops, seminars and presentations, including “Metallography and Failure Analysis,” United Technologies Research Center, E. Hartford, CT (December 4-8, 1989); “DST-TAP Foundry Course on Metallography, Interpretation and Measurement of Microstructure and Fractures,” Mintek, Randburg, South Africa (June 6-10, 2011); and “Post Conference Metallography Workshop,” Ferrous 2012 – Ferrous and base Metals Development Network Conference, 5 lectures (October 18, 2012), South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Mount Grace Country House & Spa, Magaliesburg, South Africa (October 18, 2012); and 87 one-week courses for ASM’s Metals Engineering Institute (MEI), 117 courses for Buehler, and 65 for other societies, companies and universities. (445 lectures in 42 countries; spoken 84 times at 52 ASM chapters)
  9. Principle author of 438 publications, including Metallography: Principles and Practice (orig. pub. date, 1989; ASM Int’l pub date, 1999), Buehler’s Guide to Material’s Preparation; editor of 18 books; author of 29 articles in various editions of ASM Metals Handbook series.Produced 11 of the 14 videotapes in the ASM video course, Principles of Metallography.
  10. Author of 7 ASTM standards.
  11. Holds 6 patents.
  12. Developed micrographs used within or on the covers of over 180 books, magazines, newsletters, brochures or calendars.
  13. U.S. representative to the International Standards Organization, ISO, sub-committee on tests other than chemical and mechanical (SC 7 of TC 17). He revised two ISO standards and wrote one new standard. (1989 – 2014)
  14. Received IMS President’s Award. (1987)
  15. Received the ASTM Award of Merit. (1987)
  16. Founded Vander Voort Consulting LLC (now principal and president). (1990)
  17. Received the Anthony DeBellis Memorial Award from ASTM E-28 for his work on microindentation hardness testing. (1990)
  18. Hired by Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assess the metallographic study performed at Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho Falls National Engineering Laboratory on the lower head of Unit 3 nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island site that failed in 1979. (1993)
  19. Received the Bradley Stoughton Award of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of ASM. (1993)
  20. Associate editor of Materials Characterization. (1994-2004)
  21. Member of the editorial boards of La Metallurgia Italiana, Praktische Metallographie/Practical Metallography, and the Int’l Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties.
  22. Received 36 awards for work in metallography contests, including the Jacquet-Lucas Grand Prize. (1992)
  23. Received the L.L. Wyman Memorial Award from E-4. (1994)
  24. Examined heavily eroded structural steel from the World Trade Center for FEMA after the 9/11 attack to determine the reasons for the severe deterioration, particularly for Building 7 which was not impacted by the terrorists. (2001)
  25. Worked on several cases such as semi-submersible and fixed oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, locomotive axles that broke and caused derailments, collapsed Loran Towers, and others. He is a court-certified expert witness in microstructural aspects of failures.
  26. Received Henry Clifton Sorby Award. (2004)
  27. Received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Drexel University. (2005)
  28. Received the Roland Mitsche prize of the Montanuniversitat Leoben (Austria) for his contributions to metallography. (2006)
  29. Honors received: Distinguished Life Member and Fellow of Alpha Sigma Mu honorary scholastic society for materials science majors (2008); elected to the board in 2009 and became vice president in 2011; September 2009 issue of Practical Metallography was dedicated to George’s 65th birthday.
  30. Received the J.R. Vilella Award for his revision of Vol. 9 of the ASM Handbook, Metallography and Microstructures (2004 edition). (2006)
  31. Materials Scientist, Struer, Inc.. (2010 to present)
  32. Received the Service to Our Profession Award from Drexel University. (2016)

Links to Online Resources (a select list)

References (partial list):

LinkedIn | Industrial Heating Equipment Association | VAC AERO INTERNATIONAL | ASTM International

 

 

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Tool and Die Failure, Heat Treatment Causes and Corrections

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George Vander Voort has a background in physical, process and mechanical metallurgy and has been performing metallographic studies for nearly 50 years. He is a long-time member of ASTM Committee E-4 on metallography and has published extensively in metallography and failure analysis. He regularly teaches MEI courses for ASM International and is now doing webinars. He is a consultant for Struers Inc. and will be teaching courses soon for them.  His website, www.georgevandervoort.com, not only details his consulting services but also houses over one hundred articles, studies, or instructional graphics on topics related to physical, process and mechanical metallurgy. The following is an overview and an excerpt of failure factors from “Identifying the Cause of Tool and Die Failure”, published in 2016. There are particular elements to this study which relate to the heat treat industry.

Steels used for tools and dies differ from most other steels in several aspects. First, they are used in the manufacture of other products by a variety of forming processes. Second, tools and dies are generally used at a higher hardness than most other steel products; 58 to 68 Rockwell C is a typical range. Dies for plastic molding or hot working are usually used at a lower hardness, typically from 30 to 55 Rockwell C.

These high hardness values are required to resist anticipated service stresses and to provide wear resistance. However, the steels must also be tough enough to accommodate service stresses and strains without cracking. Premature failure caused by cracking must be avoided, or at least minimized, to maintain minimum manufacturing costs. Unexpected tool and die failure can shut down a manufacturing line and disrupt production scheduling. Tools and dies must also be produced with the proper size and shape after hardening so that excessive finishing work is not required. Heat-treatment distortion must be controlled, and surface chemistries must not be altered. Because of the careful balance that must be maintained in heat treatment, control of the heat-treatment process is one of the most critical steps in producing successful tools and dies. In addition to controlling the heat-treatment process, tool and die design and steel selection are integral factors in achieving tool and die integrity.

The following list is excerpted and abridged to highlight phases or processes related to heat-treat. The explanation behind each factor is available at the original post.

A number of factors can be responsible for tool and die failures. They include:

1. Mechanical design. The design must be compatible with the steel grade selected, the procedures required to manufacture the tool or die, and the use of the tool or die. . . .

The importance of good design cannot be overemphasized. Poor design can cause or promote heat-treatment failures before any service life is obtained, or it may reduce service life dramatically.

In designing a tool or die, a host of factors must be considered. In practice, separating the design stage from grade selection is difficult because the two steps are interdependent. The choice of a certain grade of steel, such as one that must be brine- or water-quenched, will have a substantial bearing on all aspects of design and manufacture. In general, any steel grade that requires liquid quenching demands very conservative, careful design.

Air-hardening grades tolerate some design and manufacturing considerations that could never be endured by a liquid quenching grade. The design must also be compatible with the equipment available–heat-treatment furnaces and surface-finishing devices, for example. . . .

2. Grade selection. The grade of steel selected must be compatible with the design chosen, the manufacturing processes used to produce the tool or die, and the intended service conditions and desired life. . . .

3. Steel quality. The material must be macrostructurally sound, free of harmful inclusions to the degree required for the application, and free of harmful surface defects.

Despite the care taken in the manufacture and inspection of tool steels, faulty materials occasionally cause tool and die failures. However, such problems are rare. The most common of these defects are voids from secondary pipe, hydrogen flakes, surface cracks, porosity or microvoids, cooling cracks, segregation, and poor carbide distributions. Improper control of annealing may also produce non-uniform carbide distribution or carbide networks that may influence heat-treatment uniformity, lower ductility, or impair machinability.

4. Machining processes. The machining processes used to produce the tool or die must not alter the surface microstructure or surface finish and must not produce excessive residual stresses that will promote heat-treatment problems or service failures.

Machining problems are a common cause of tool and die failures. It is generally best to avoid machining directly to the finish size unless pre-hardened die steels are used. Obtaining perfect control of surface chemistry and size during heat treatment is difficult. Thus, some final grinding is usually needed after heat treatment. The presence of decarburization is generally quite detrimental. Also, because stresses are high in heat treatment and in service, rough machining marks must be avoided. Identification stamp marks are another common source of failures in heat treatment and in service; they should be avoided.

5. Heat-treatment operation. Heat treatment of tools and dies must produce the desired microstructure, hardness, toughness, and hardness at the surface and in the interior.

Improper heat-treatment procedures are the single largest source of failures during heat treatment, in subsequent processing steps, or in service. Each tool steel grade has a recommended austenitizing temperature range, which is generally rather narrow; a recommended quench medium; and recommended tempering temperatures and times for optimum properties. Some grades are more forgiving than others.

6. Grinding and finishing operations. Grinding and finishing operations must not impair the surface integrity of the component.

7. Tool and die setup. Alignment of tools and dies must be precise to prevent irregular, excessive stresses that will accelerate wear or cause cracking.

8. Tool and die operation.

 

Read the full study and report, including images of tool steel failure examples, at “Identifying the Cause of Tool and Die Failure”.

 

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