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Effect of isothermal heat treatments under Ms temperature on the microstructures and mechanical properties of commercial high-silicon spring steel

  • Ömer Faruk Murathan and Volkan Kilicli ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 5, 2022
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Materials Testing
From the journal Materials Testing Volume 64 Issue 8

Abstract

The effect of isothermal heat treatment temperatures under martensite start (Ms) temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-silicon commercial spring steel has been investigated. For this purpose, tensile specimens are prepared from AISI 9254 steel isothermally heat-treated under Ms temperatures (225 °C, 250 °C, and 275 °C) for 168 h after austenitizing at 870 °C for 30 min. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were used to characterize the microstructures of the specimens. Mechanical properties were determined by the tensile and hardness tests. Experimental results revealed that microstructure consists of carbide-free bainite, carbon enriched retained austenite, and martensite in high-silicon spring steel by the isothermal treatment under Ms temperature. The yield and tensile strength were increased by decreasing the isothermal temperature. However, uniform elongation and breaking energy were decreased by decreasing the isothermal temperature. The specimen which was isothermally heat-treated at 250 °C under Ms temperature showed a very good combination of tensile strength and total elongation as 2046 MPa and 8.5%, respectively. Dimples along with cap and cone formation which are evidence of a ductile fracture were observed in fractured surfaces of all isothermally heat-treated specimens.

Keywords: AISI 9254 steel; below Ms austempering; carbide-free bainite; high-silicon spring steel; low temperature isothermal heat treatment
Corresponding author: Volkan Kilicli, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Gazi University, Faculty of Technology, Ankara, Turk, E-mail:

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to acknowledge Gazi University Scientific Research Coordination Unit for financial support (Project code: GÜBAP 07/2013-01). The authors are also thankful to the Metal Forming Center of Excellence, Atilim University for providing scanning electron microscopy and XRD facilities.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Published Online: 2022-08-05
Published in Print: 2022-08-26

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Effect of heat treatment on the electrical and mechanical properties of a Cu–Ni–Si cast alloy
  3. Effect of isothermal heat treatments under Ms temperature on the microstructures and mechanical properties of commercial high-silicon spring steel
  4. Effect of austenitizing temperature on microstructure and properties of a high-speed cobalt steel
  5. Effect of hot rolling process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of continuously cooled low-carbon high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel
  6. Mechanical and tribological properties of a WC-based HVOF spray coated brake disc
  7. Microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 304/DUROSTAT 500 steel double-sided TIG welds
  8. A Nelder Mead-infused INFO algorithm for optimization of mechanical design problems
  9. Modeling of hexagonal honeycomb hybrids for variation of Poisson’s ratio
  10. Effect of elevated test temperature on the tensile strength and failure mechanism of hot-pressed dissimilar joints of laser ablation-treated AA5754-H111 and thermoplastic composite
  11. Steel shot peening effects on friction stir welded AA2014-T6 aluminum alloys
  12. Improvement of incremental sheet metal forming with the help of a pressurised fluid system
  13. Nugget formation, microstructural features and strength of resistance spot welded cold-rolled dual-phase steel lap joints for automotive applications
  14. African vultures optimization algorithm for optimization of shell and tube heat exchangers
  15. Effect of welding current on properties of activated gas tungsten arc super duplex stainless steel welds
https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2022-0002
Keywords for this article
AISI 9254 steel; below Ms austempering; carbide-free bainite; high-silicon spring steel; low temperature isothermal heat treatment

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Effect of heat treatment on the electrical and mechanical properties of a Cu–Ni–Si cast alloy
  3. Effect of isothermal heat treatments under Ms temperature on the microstructures and mechanical properties of commercial high-silicon spring steel
  4. Effect of austenitizing temperature on microstructure and properties of a high-speed cobalt steel
  5. Effect of hot rolling process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of continuously cooled low-carbon high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel
  6. Mechanical and tribological properties of a WC-based HVOF spray coated brake disc
  7. Microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 304/DUROSTAT 500 steel double-sided TIG welds
  8. A Nelder Mead-infused INFO algorithm for optimization of mechanical design problems
  9. Modeling of hexagonal honeycomb hybrids for variation of Poisson’s ratio
  10. Effect of elevated test temperature on the tensile strength and failure mechanism of hot-pressed dissimilar joints of laser ablation-treated AA5754-H111 and thermoplastic composite
  11. Steel shot peening effects on friction stir welded AA2014-T6 aluminum alloys
  12. Improvement of incremental sheet metal forming with the help of a pressurised fluid system
  13. Nugget formation, microstructural features and strength of resistance spot welded cold-rolled dual-phase steel lap joints for automotive applications
  14. African vultures optimization algorithm for optimization of shell and tube heat exchangers
  15. Effect of welding current on properties of activated gas tungsten arc super duplex stainless steel welds
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