Effect of chemical composition on hardenability of high strength low-C steels

The effect of low-alloy additions on hardenability of high strength low-C steels is reported. Various as-quenched materials with microstructures consisting of low-C (granular) bainitic, mixed bainitic/martensitic and fully martensitic microstructures were produced. Results show that for a given cooling rate, an increase of austenite grain size (AGS) and of Mo and Cr contents decreases the transformation temperatures and promotes martensite formation. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press.