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The microstructure and mechanical properties of the high-strength Hy-Tuf steel are studied after different heat treatment modes – conventional oil quenching and tempering, austempering in the bainite transformation temperature range. It is shown that the tempering embrittlement of the Hy-Tuf steel can be observed at temperatures ranging between 400 and 500 °C. The highest impact toughness of the studied steel for the case of conventional oil quenching and tempering (1.2 MJ/m²) can be achieved after high temperature tempering (600 °C), which also leads to the deterioration of tensile strength down to 800…900 MPa. The unique combination of high tensile strength (above 1300 MPa), elongation (up to 15%) and impact toughness (1.1 MJ/m²) is obtained after austempering at a low transformation temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the effect of austempering heat treatment on microstrcuture and mechanical properties of SAE 9260 steel. Steel samples, austenitized at 900 °C for one hour, were isothermally heat treated in the temperature range 300,325 and 350 °C for different times. Microstructural characterization was carried out using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The microstructure of the austempered samples consisted of bainitic ferrite and retained austenite. The volume fraction of retained austenite was determined using X-ray diffraction. Isothermal heat treatment at 350 °C for 20 min, resulted in a retained austenite content of around 38% in the microstructure. Increase in isothermal transformation temperature led to an increase in the fraction of retained austenite. Also, good combination of strength and ductility was obtained in the samples with increased amounts of retained austenite . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, Nano structure bainitic steel have attracted attention mostly because of its special mechanical properties such as high tensile strength, hardness, appropriate toughness and low manufacturing cost. The main concern for the mass production of this type of steels is prolong austempering process which increases the production costs as well as time. In this research, in order to accelerate the bainitic transformation and decrease the production time, a medium carbon steel has been prepared and two steps austempering process was employed to prevent the bainite laths thickening. The Samples were austenetized at 1000°C for 15 min and were kept in the salt bath between 1 - 12 hours at 290°C in one step and between 1 - 12 hours at the temperature range of 250°C - 300°C in two steps bainite transformation. The obtained micro structures were studied by the optical and scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and the mechanical properties were investigated by using tensile and hardness tests. The results show that the two steps austempering process and lower carbon concentration lead to lower austempering time as well as the formation of more stable retained austenite and nanostructured bainite lath which results in higher mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By a heat treatment process the strength and thus the field of applications of Grey Cast Iron (GI) can be increased to a range which is comparable to Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI). The microstructure of the resulting material consists of austenite and acicular ferrite. This material is named Austempered Grey Iron (AGI). Until now the material has not yet made its way to widespread use, due to the unknown machinability. For an economical use the machinability of the material must be at least at the level of CGI. This work deals with the chip formation, as an evaluation criterion for the machinability and represents a first step towards a comprehensive assessment of machining of AGI materials. To investigate the chip formation chip roots of three different AGI grades, a GI and a CGI were produced in a turning process. The chip roots were prepared to analyse the deformation of the microstructure during the chip formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]