Quenched Steels

A quenched steel is composed of:

• Martensite – dark needles
• Retained austenite – light matrix regions in micrograph
 Quenched Steels
A quenched steel is subject to residual stresses caused by:
• Uneven contraction due to sudden hardening of the exte-
rior
• Expansion of the interior, which later transforms to marten-
site
• The transformation expansion of austenite to martensite is
greater than the thermal contraction.

Quenched martensitic steels exhibit dimensional changes over a

period of time, which renders them unsuitable for a large
number of applications.

The combination of dimensional instability and brittleness results

in increased quench cracking, which again makes quenched
steels unsuitable for structural engineering applications.
Tempering of Quenched Steels

A quenched steel will be converted to a mix-

ture of intermediate metastable phases (eg.
e-carbide, bainite), or,
if the temperature is high enough, it will
transform to stable ferrite plus cementite.
 Tempering of martensitic steels
• Carried out by reheating martenistic steel between 150-
500º C

• 1st stage 150-200º C

g a”(low C martensite) + e carbide
• 2nd stage 200-350º C
g Bainite + cementite
• 3rd stage 350-500º C
g a + Fe3C(tempered martensite)
Hardness Changes During Tempering

Hardness is increased at temperatures from RT to 100

o
C due to clustering of carbon at defects and the
“coherent” precipitation of e-carbide.

The hardness drops above 200 oC due to a lowering

of the carbon content in the martensite by the pre-
cipitation of rods of cementite, but in contrast to e–
carbide, this precipitation is “not coherent”.
 Hardness Changes During Tempering

The hardness falls further at higher tempering

temperatures but at a reduced rate due to two
parallel processes:

1) Spheroidization and later particle growth of

cementite
2) Recovery, and later recrystallization, of ferrite
(formed from martensite) occurs.
 Formation and Growth of Cementite during Tempering

Rod-like structures of ce-

mentite after 1 hr at 250 oC

Spheroidized cementite
formed after 1 hr at 500 oC

Globular particle growth of

cementite after 12 hrs at 675
o
C
Effect of Carbon Content and Tempering Temperature on Hardness of Martensite

The hardness values plot-

ted against carbon content
refer to the hardness of
quenched martensite after
tempering for 1 hr at vari-
ous temperatures.
These hardness changes
cover a wider range of C
composition than seen in
the earlier slide.
 Tempering of alloy Steels

All elements other than C in solution slow down the

softening of a steel during tempering. The alloying
elements may enter either the ferrite or the carbide
phase in a tempered steel structure, i.e., “partition-
ing”

Elements such as such as Ti > V > Mo > W > Cr >

Mn form stable carbides, based on cementite, with
the formula (Fe M)3C. These precipitates are found
in both the ferrite and carbide phases.
 Effect of Alloying Elements on Hardness of Tempered
Martensite
A high temperature hardening effect is observed at higher tem-
peratures > 540 C, when carbide forming elements are present,
due to the formation of much harder carbides of the type M6C23.
This results in the secondary hardening as seen with Mo.
 Quench and Temper Treatments

The effect of tempering temperature on the properties of a quenched

1050 steel is shown below.