The steel marked as 17-4 PH is a precipitation hardening martensitic stainless steel containing about 17 wt. % Cr, 4 wt. % Ni, 4 wt. % Cu in 0. 3 wt. % Nb. Due to its excellent combinations of strength, hardness and anti-corrosion properties, it is used in the aerospace and chemical industries. The use is also widespread in certain branches of medicine, where high-strength properties are required as opposed to austenitic stainless steels.
The corresponding mechanical properties of steel 17-4 PH are obtained when it is properly heat-treated, which includes solution annealing, hardening and aging. By changing the conditions of heat treatment, especially temperatures and aging times, we have an influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of steel.
As part of the diploma thesis steel marked as 17-4 PH was heat-treated according to the process of precipitation hardening and the influence of aging conditions, as temperature and time on the hardness and microstructure development of steel was studied. The hardness of the steel was measured according to Rockwell and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to analyze the microstructure.
The heat treatment included solution annealing at 1030 °C for 45 minutes, air quenching and aging at 482 °C, 551 °C and 621 °C for half an hour to 4 hours. The highest hardness measured in steels was after one hour of aging at a temperature of 482 °C, namely 47,5 HRC. Its microstructure consists of tempered martensite with fine copper precipitates that cause precipitation hardening. The steel had the lowest hardness after aging at 621 °C for 4 hours, namely 38 HRC. This can be attributed primarily to the dissolution of copper precipitates and the formation of reverted austenite.
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