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Effect of thermomechanical cyclic quenching and tempering treatments on microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical properties of AISI 1345 steel

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Abstract

Thermomechanical cyclic quenching and tempering (TMCT) can strengthen steels through a grain size reduction mechanism. The effect of TMCT on microstructure, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of AISI 1345 steel was investigated. Steel samples heated to 1050°C, rolled, quenched to room temperature, and subjected to various cyclic quenching and tempering heat treatments were named TMCT-1, TMCT-2, and TMCT-3 samples, respectively. Microstructure analysis revealed that microstructures of all the treated samples contained packets and blocks of well-refined lath-shaped martensite and retained austenite phases with varying grain sizes (2.8–7.9 µm). Among all the tested samples, TMCT-3 sample offered an optimum combination of properties by showing an improvement of 40% in tensile strength and reduced 34% elongation compared with the non-treated sample. Nanoindentation results were in good agreement with mechanical tests as the TMCT-3 sample exhibited a 51% improvement in indentation hardness with almost identical reduced elastic modulus compared with the non-treated sample. The electrochemical properties were analyzed in 0.1 M NaHCO3 solution by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. As a result of TMCT, the minimum corrosion rate was 0.272 mm/a, which was twenty times less than that of the non-treated sample. The impedance results showed the barrier film mechanism, which was confirmed by the polarization results as the current density decreased.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Arslan Hafeez

  2. Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering, University of the Punjab, 54590, Lahore, Pakistan

    Ameeq Farooq, Kaab Bin Tayyab & Muhammad Adnan Arshad

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  1. Muhammad Arslan Hafeez
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  2. Ameeq Farooq
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  3. Kaab Bin Tayyab
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Hafeez, M.A., Farooq, A., Tayyab, K.B. et al. Effect of thermomechanical cyclic quenching and tempering treatments on microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical properties of AISI 1345 steel. Int J Miner Metall Mater 28, 688–698 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2139-4

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