The Influence of Cooling Rate between Ms and Mf on the Mechanical Properties of Low Alloy 42SiCr Steel Treated by the Q-P Process

A series of experiments was conducted by quenching and partitioning (Q-P) heat-treated alloys to investigate the effect of cooling intensity on the mechanical properties of low alloy steel 42SiCr. By applying a conventional heat treatment, reasonable high strength can be achieved; however, the alloys become more brittle. To obtain an optimal balance, advanced heat treatment methods like the Q-P process can be used. It consists of quenching to temperatures between martensite start and martensite finish temperatures and holding, which leads to the stabilization of untransformed austenite by carbon partitioning. The martensitic microstructure is then formed with a small volume fraction of retained austenite embedded on a microscopic scale. The material’s deformability can be significantly improved by using such heat treatment processes. Moreover, to improve advanced high strength properties (AHSS), an additional Q-P process can be applied, which leads to erasing the influence of cold forming as well as enhancement of the mechanical properties. Several combinations of the Q-P process with/without partitioning were performed with various cooling rates for both heat treatment methods. Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), Ductility and Hardness (HV10), as well as the microstructure of the alloys, are compared to evaluate the cooling intensity effects. The cooling rate is found not to be a significant factor influencing mechanical properties, which is a crucial point for practical material heat treatment.