Fracture toughness relationships in a low-alloy steel

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 224-225
Author(s):  
R. Padmanabhan ◽  
W. E. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Heat Treatment ◽  
Fracture Toughness ◽  
Plane Strain Fracture Toughness ◽  
Low Alloy Steel ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Strain Fracture ◽  
Conventional Heat Treatment ◽  
Microstructural Effects ◽  
Improve Fracture Toughness ◽  
Inverse Response

Utilization of high austenitization temperatures to improve fracture toughness of UHSLA steels at similar strength levels has received considerable interest. However, these heat treatments result in reduced ductility and impact toughness. This inverse response of impact and plane strain fracture toughness is essentially due to microstructural effects and it is possible to achieve simultaneous improvements in all these properties through controlled variations in the microstructure.A vacuum remelted Si-modified 4340 steel was chosen for this study under three heat treated conditions, viz., conventional, high temperature and step with austenitization temperatures of 1143 K (1 hr), 1473 K (1 hr) and 1473 K (1 hr) furnace cooled to 1143 K (5 min), respectively. All samples were quenched in oil and tempered at 553 K (1 hr). A modified conventional heat treatment was also designed to achieve a desired microstructure with a 1143 K (1 hr) austenitization, a 923 K (1 hr) intermediate temper (after oil quenching), a 1123 K (3 min) reaustenitization and a final 553 K (1 hr) temper (after requenching) steps.

scholarly journals Influence of Vacuum Heat Treatments on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of M35 High Speed Steel

Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
Chiara Soffritti ◽  
Annalisa Fortini ◽  
Ramona Sola ◽  
Elettra Fabbri ◽  
Mattia Merlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Fracture Toughness ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Vickers Hardness ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Speed Steel ◽  
Plane Strain Fracture Toughness ◽  
Secondary Carbides ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Strain Fracture

Towards the end of the last century, vacuum heat treatment of high speed steels was increasingly used in the fabrication of precision cutting tools. This study investigates the influence of vacuum heat treatments at different pressures of quenching gas on the microstructure and mechanical properties of taps made of M35 high speed steel. Taps were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, apparent grain size and Vickers hardness measurements, and scratch tests. Failure analysis after tapping tests was also performed to determine the main fracture mechanisms. For all taps, the results showed that microstructures and the values of characteristics of secondary carbides, retained austenite, apparent grain size and Vickers hardness were comparable to previously reported ones for vacuum heat treated high speed steels. For taps vacuum heat treated at six bar, the highest plane strain fracture toughness was due to a higher content of finer small secondary carbides. In contrast, the lowest plane strain fracture toughness of taps vacuum heat treated at eight bar may be due to an excessive amount of finer small secondary carbides, which may provide a preferential path for crack propagation. Finally, the predominant fracture mechanism of taps was quasi-cleavage.

Effect of a Complex Heat Treatment on the Structure of 300M Steel

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 312-313
Author(s):  
R. Padmanabhan ◽  
W. E. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Heat Treatment ◽  
Metal Carbides ◽  
Austenite Grain Size ◽  
300M Steel ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Strain Fracture ◽  
Prior Austenite Grain Size ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Final Tempering ◽  
Similar Yield

Intermediate high temperature tempering prior to subsequent reaustenitization has been shown to double the plane strain fracture toughness as compared to conventionally heat treated UHSLA steels, at similar yield strength levels. The precipitation (during tempering) of metal carbides and their subsequent partial redissolution and refinement (during reaustenitization), in addition to the reduction in the prior austenite grain size during the cycling operation have all been suggested to contribute to the observed improvement in the mechanical properties. In this investigation, 300M steel was initially austenitized at 1143°K and then subjected to intermediate tempering at 923°K for 1 hr. before reaustenitizing at 1123°K for a short time and final tempering at 583°K. The changes in the microstructure responsible for the improvement in the properties have been studied and compared with conventionally heat treated steel. Fig. 1 shows interlath films of retained austenite produced during conventionally heat treatment.

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