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Dissolution Behavior of Carbide in 4Cr13 Martensitic Stainless Steel during Austenitizing

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Abstract

The dissolution behavior of M23C6 carbide in 4Cr13 martensitic stainless steel during austenitizing and its effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of this steel are investigated in this study. The samples of steel are heated at different austenitizing temperatures from 1000 to 1150 °C for 10-60 min. The results reveal that as the austenitizing temperature and time increase, the average initial austenite grain size increases, the carbide volume fraction decreases, and the average carbide size increases. The rapid dissolution of small carbides mainly contributes to the change in the average carbide size. The carbides can be completely dissolved in the matrix at 1150 °C for 30 min. After quenching, the hardness first increases and then decreases with increasing carbide dissolution degree. An increase in the hardness is related to an increase in the carbon content of the quenched martensite, and a decrease in the hardness is associated with an increase in the volume fraction of the retained austenite. Furthermore, a mathematical model is established to predict the volume fraction of carbides, which is in agreement with the experimental results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, 100 Haiquan Road, Shanghai, 201418, People’s Republic of China

    Tianchi Ma, Bin Fu, Wei Guan & Yanhui Guo

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China

    Liming Fu & Aidang Shan

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  1. Tianchi Ma
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  2. Bin Fu
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  3. Wei Guan
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  4. Yanhui Guo
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Ma, T., Fu, B., Guan, W. et al. Dissolution Behavior of Carbide in 4Cr13 Martensitic Stainless Steel during Austenitizing. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-024-09509-0

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