Carbides precipitation and their evolution of Cr15Co10Mo5-alloyed heat-resistant bearing steel after tempering at different temperatures

The carbides precipitation and their evolution at elevated tempering temperature in Crl5Col0Mo5-alloyed heat-resistant bearing steel were investigated by means of the transmission electron microscope.The results show that there is no carbide precipitated from the martensitic matrix when the sample was tempered at 480℃.However,when the sample was tempered at 540℃,a large number of stable spherical M6C carbides precipitated in the test steel.Nevertheless,there are three types of carbides precipitated from the matrix including M6C,M2C and M23C6 carbides when the tempering temperature reached 600℃.The mechanical properties also present a correlation with the evolution of carbides during tempering at different temperatures.This indicates that the strengthening mechanism of the steel is mainly attributed to the precipitation of carbides and their evolution,including the morphologies and types of carbides at different temperatures.In addition,the austenitic layers with a thickness of about 30 nm have been obtained between the martensite laths after tempering at 600℃.The austenitic layers will produce transformation-induced plasticity effects to improve the toughness of the steel.

Effects of traditional heat treatment and a novel deep cryogenic treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of low-carbon high-alloy martensitic bearing steel

The effects of traditional heat treatment(quenching and then tempering)and deep cryogenic treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a low-carbon high-alloy martensitic bearing steel were studied by Rockwell hardness test,X-ray diffractometry,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.The results show that the deep cryogenic treatment promotes the transformation of the retained austenite to martensite during cooling,which leads to the hardness of the sample after deep cryogenic treatment higher than that at the quenched state.Also,the carbon content in the martensite matrix after different treatments was calculated and the results indicated that deep cryogenic treatment can promote the segregation of carbon atoms in martensite to dislocations.The segregated carbon atoms act as and grow into nuclei for the formation of fine carbide particles during subsequent tempering.And this resulted in the fact that the hardness of the tempered experimental steel after deep cryogenic treatment is higher than that without deep cryogenic treatment.

Effect of deep cryogenic treatment on martensitic lath refinement and nano-twins formation of low carbon bearing steel

The effect of heat treatment and deep cryogenic treatment on microstructural evolution of low carbon martensitic bearing steel was investigated.The experimental results showed that the lath martensite was obtained by quenching and a few twins as substructures formed in some martensitic laths.The rudiment of sub-interfaces of martensitic lath was formed in the highdensity dislocation regions after deep cryogenic treatment;meanwhile,the number of twins increased,especially in the highdensity dislocation regions.This phenomenon is due to the increase in internal stress caused by cryogenic treatment.After tempering,the rudiment of sub-interface further evolved into the martensitic lath boundary,and thus the original martensitic laths were refined.The twins formed by cryogenic treatment did not disappear after tempering.In addition,small quantities of annealing twins formed in tempering process.Martensitic laths morphology and substructures in different stages of the heat and deep cryogenic treatment were observed by tninsmission electron microscopy.

M_(23)C_(6)precipitation and Si segregation promoted by deep cryogenic treatment aggravating pitting corrosion of supermartensitic stainless steel

The microstructure evolution and the pitting corrosion resistance of a supermartensitic stainless steel after deep cryogenic treatment process were clarified through X-ray diffraction,field emission scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and electrochemical methods.The results showed that the microstructure of supermartensitic stainless steel mainly consisted of reversed austenite,tempered martensite,and M_(23)C_(6)carbides after tempering.The deep cryogenic treatment promoted the refinement of the martensite laths and the precipitation of the carbides in comparison with the traditional process.TEM analysis indicated that the segregation of Si atoms at the boundary was found at the interface between carbide and martensite.The pitting corrosion potential of the specimens subjected to deep cryogenic treatment decreased with the elevated tempering temperature,and the lowest pitting corrosion potential was found at the tempering temperature of 650℃.The sensitivity of the pitting corrosion potential was attributed to the precipitation of M_(23)C_(6)carbides and Si atoms segregation.Si atoms segregation engendered the formation of Cr-depleted zone near M_(23)C_(6)and impeded the recovery of Cr-depleted zone.

Effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Formation of Reversed Austenite in Super Martensitic Stainless Steel

The effect of deep cryogenic treatment on the formation of reversed austenite （RA） in super martensitic stainless steel was investigated. RA was found to form in steels without （A） and with （B） deep cryogenic treatment. The volume fraction of RA initially increased and then decreased with increasing tempering temperature over 550-- 750 ℃ for the two steels, which were quenched at 1050 ℃. In addition, for both with and without deep cryogenic treatment, the RA content reached a maximum value at 650 ℃ although the RA content in steel B was greater than that in steel A over the entire range of tempering temperatures. Furthermore, the hardness （HRC） of steel B was greater than that of steel A at tempering temperatures of 550--750 ℃. From these results, the basic mechanism for the formation of RA in steels A and B was determined to be Ni diffusion. However, there were more Ni enriched points, a lower degree of enrichment, and a shorter diffusion path in steel B. It needed to be noted that the shapes of the RA consisted of blocks and stripes in both steels. These shapes resulted because the RA redissolved and trans- formed to martensite along the martensitic lath boundaries when the tempering temperature was 650--750 ℃, and a portion of RA in the martensitie lath divided the originally wider martensitic laths into a number of thinner ones. In- terestingly, the RA redissolved more rapidly in steel B and consequently resulted in a stronger refining effect.

Passivation Behaviors of Super Martensitic Stainless Steel in Weak Acidic and Weak Alkaline NaCl Solutions

The passivation behaviors of super martensitic stainless steels （SMSS） were studied by polarization curves at passive potential of -0.1 V and in various NaC1 solutions, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS） and X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis. Electrochemical test results showed that, in alkaline solutions, pas- sivation region width was wider, passivation current was smaller, and polarization resistance was greater~ thus, the passive film of SMSS in alkaline solutions had better passivation behaviors than that in acidic solutions. The polariza- tion curve and EIS of samples SMSS1 and SMSS2 were also used to study which sample had better passivation be- haviors. All results demonstrated that passive film structure of SMSS1 sample was more stable, and capacity of pas- sive film was enhanced. The impact of alloying elements on the passive film （SMSS） passivation capability was also discussed by XPS depth profiling, and XPS depth profiling showed that the composition of the passive film was mainly composed of Fe-oxide and Cr-oxide. So the passive film structures were mixed layers of Fe-oxide and Cr-ox- ide. Fe oxidation product and Cr oxidation product would help to improve the protective property of passive film, which could promote the formation of a passive film structure more stably and densely.