The increasing demand for high performance gears requires in-depth investigations of alternative materials to those commonly used. In this respect, microalloyed steels may appear as an alternative with technical and economic potential. Microalloyed steels may exhibit a more refined grain structure than conventional steels, which is commonly induced by the precipitation of highly stable and dispersed second-phase particles. This investigation aimed at understanding how the steel grain structure obtained by the addition of niobium (Nb) and titanium (Ti) as microalloying elements correlates to the material surface integrity promoted by a conventional gear manufacturing chain. The results indicated that the addition of microalloying elements leads to a refined and homogeneous grain structure. The residual stress state also proved to be both more compressive and homogeneous and the roughness exhibited greater stability. Such characteristics place the microalloyed steels in a prominent position regarding their application in the gear manufacturing, indicating the possibility of fatigue lifetime improvement.

对高性能齿轮日益增长的需求需要深入研究常用材料的替代材料。在这方面，微合金钢可能会成为具有技术和经济潜力的替代品。微合金钢可能表现出比传统钢更精细的晶粒结构，这通常是由高度稳定和分散的第二相颗粒的沉淀引起的。本研究旨在了解通过添加铌 (Nb) 和钛 (Ti) 作为微合金元素获得的钢晶粒结构如何与传统齿轮制造链促进的材料表面完整性相关。结果表明，微合金元素的加入导致晶粒结构细化且均匀。残余应力状态也被证明更具压缩性和均匀性，粗糙度表现出更大的稳定性。这些特性使微合金钢在齿轮制造中的应用方面处于突出地位，表明疲劳寿命提高的可能性。