• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.156-163
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• 2017

In the present study, we investigated the optimal austenitizing temperature of high-alloyed tool steels from an industrial point of view. Austenitizing temperatures for manufacturing 25 commercial tool steels were surveyed with their alloy compositions. The relationship between the austenitizing temperatures and the critical equilibrium temperatures by thermodynamic-based calculation was analyzed and a correlation was found. Based on the austenitizing temperatures of 25 commercial tool steels and the thermodynamic calculation results, we proposed a simple equation to predict an optimal austenitizing temperature to achieve superior mechanical properties of high-alloyed tool steels. The applicability of the proposed equation was experimentally validated with a new developed tool steel.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 1994

To investigate the effect of austenitizing tempratures on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 0.19%C-13.6%Cr martensitic stainless steel, the changes in martensitic trasformation temperatures, mechanical properties and anodic polarization curve were examined after changing the austenitizing temperatures and tempering temperatures. On increasing heating rate at the same austenitizing temperatures, $A_s$, $A_r$ and $M_s$ increased. And the $M_s$ temperature showed to be decreased with increasing austenitizing temperature. With increasing tempering temperature up to $500^{\circ}C$, strength, hardness and impact value were not changed remarkably, on the other hand the tensile strength and hardness decreased and impact value increased after tempering above $550^{\circ}C$ owing to the $M_{23}C_6$ carbide precipitation. The abrupt decrease in elongation at the tempering temperture of $500^{\circ}C$ proved to the precipitation of $M_7C_3$ carbide. The effect of austenitizing temperature on the mechanical properties of the tempered specimen showed to be decreased in impact value and elongation at the austenitizing temperature of $1150^{\circ}C$. At low tempering temperatures the corrosion resistance of the tempered specimen was not changed obviously with increasing tempering temperature. On the other hand, the resistance decreased above the tempering temperature of $600^{\circ}C$ due to the precipitation of $M_{23}C_6$ carbides. The corrosion resistance showed to be improved with increasing the austenitizing temperature owing to the dissolution of carbides.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.315-322
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• 2010

Effect of hardenability, grain size and microstructural change according to the change of austenitizing temperature was analyzed in Jominy hardenability test of AISI 51B20 steel. Grain growth was small, 7 ${\mu}m$ and 12 ${\mu}m$ austenite grain sizes at austenitizing temperature of $900^{\circ}C$ and $1000^{\circ}C$, respectively, while rapid grain growth was observed up to 30 ${\mu}m$ austenite grain size at austenitizing temperature of $1100^{\circ}C$. As austenitizing temperature increased from $900^{\circ}C$ to $1100^{\circ}C$, hardenability in the region within 15 mm from end-quenched surface decreased due to the grains growth of bainite and martensite mixture, on the other hand the hardenability in the region exceeding 15 mm from end-quenched surface increased. Increased hardenability was attributed to different microstructures; pearlite, fine pearlite and bainite, and bainite and martensite structures at austenitizing temperature of $900^{\circ}C$, $1000^{\circ}C$ and $1100^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.577-582
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• 2015

The present study is concerned with the influence of niobium(Nb) addition and austenitizing temperature on the hardenability of low-carbon boron steels. The steel specimens were austenitized at different temperatures and cooled with different cooling rates using dilatometry; their microstructures and hardness were analyzed to estimate the hardenability. The addition of Nb hardly affected the transformation start and finish temperatures at lower austenitizing temperatures, whereas it significantly decreased the transformation finish temperature at higher austenitizing temperatures. This could be explained by the non-equilibrium segregation mechanism of boron atoms. When the Nb-added boron steel specimens were austenitized at higher temperatures, it is possible that Nb and carbon atoms present in the austenite phase retarded the diffusion of carbon towards the austenite grain boundaries during cooling due to the formation of NbC precipitate and Nb-C clusters, thus preventing the precipitation of $M_{23}(C,B)_6$ along the austenite grain boundaries and thereby improving the hardenability of the boron steels. As a result, because it considerably decreases the transformation finish temperature and prohibits the nucleation of proeutectoid ferrite even at the slow cooling rate of $3^{\circ}C/s$, irrespective of the austenitizing temperature, the addition of 0.05 wt.% Nb had nearly the same hardenability-enhancing effect as did the addition of 0.2 wt.% Mo.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.103-108
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• 2013

This study was investigated the effect of austenitizing treatment the microstructure and mechanical properties in modified 440A steel, and the results were as follows. The amount of remaining carbide decreases with increasing the austenitizing treatment temperature, and all carbide is completely dissolved at $1250^{\circ}C$. The amount of remaining carbide decreases with increasing the austenitizing treatment time, but the carbide remains insoluble up to 120 minutes at $1050^{\circ}C$. The strength and hardness gradually decrease with increasing the austenitizing treatment temperature and is significantly lower at $1250^{\circ}C$, while the elongation and the impact value rapidly increase. The strength and hardness rapidly decrease, the elongation and impact value rapidly insrease with increasing the austenitizing treatment time and exhibit no change at above 120 minutes. The austenitizing treatment modified 440A steel is required for temperature of above $1050^{\circ}C$ and time of above 60 minutes.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2016

The effects of austenitizing temperature and cooling rate on precipitation behavior and tensile properties were investigated in an Mn-Mo-Nb-V pressure vessel steel. During austenitizing, it was shown that the austenite coarsening was somewhat suppressed by undissolved NbC. After cooling from austenitizing, the microstructure of all the steels mainly consisted of upper bainite. However, the steel comprised a little lower bainite and martensite in the case of aqua oil quenching from $1000^{\circ}C$, which would be due to increased hardenability by partly dissolved Nb and comparatively large austenite grains. The average size of NbC in austenite at higher temperature was analyzed to be smaller than that at lower temperature because of the more dissolution. It was found that the NbC did not grow much during fast cooling from austenitizing. Meanwhile, the NbC grew much during slow cooling, probably due to wide temperature range of cooling and sufficiently long time for NbC to grow. It was conjectured the V precipitates newly formed and/or grew during cooling from austenitizing and during tempering. On the other hand, the formation of NbC was almost completed before tempering and little more precipitated during tempering. Among the tempered steels, the steel which was fast cooled from $1000^{\circ}C$ showed the highest tensile strength, which seemed to come from the microstructure of fine upper bainite and some low temperature phases as well as the comparatively fine NbC precipitates.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 1992

For the purpose of investigating the effect of austenitizing temperatures on the mechanical properties of 0.23% C-13.6%Cr martensitic stainless steel, tensile properties, hardness, impact value and carbide extraction were examined after changing the austenitizing temperatures and tempering temperatures. The results obtained are summerized as follows. The carbide laminations formed from hot rolling before austenitization could not be eliminated after austenitizing at $950^{\circ}C$. With increasing austenitizing temperature, hardness increased and showed maximum value at $1050^{\circ}C$ and then slightly decreased. With increasing tempering temperature up to $500^{\circ}C$, impact value and elongation appeard to be decreased but hardness showed nearly unchanged at austenitizing temperature of $1150^{\circ}C$ due to the fine $M_7C_3$ carbides precipitation. The abrupt increase in impact value, hardness and elongation above the tempering temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ appeared to change in carbide structure from fine $M_7C_3$ to coarse $M_{23}C_6$.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.187-192
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• 2011

Effect of austenitizing temperatures on the impact value of the AISI 4140 steel after repetition of spheroidization and cold deep drawing treatment has been studied. Sufficient dissolution of carbide was shown after austenitizing at the high temperature of $950^{\circ}C$. Accordingly, the impact value was remarkably increased by tempering of this high temperature austenitized steel at the tempering temperature ranges between $570^{\circ}C$ and $630^{\circ}C$. On the other hand, remarkable decrease in the impact values and elongations were shown by tempering the low temperature-austenitized ($870^{\circ}C$) steel due to the coarsening of undissolved-carbide existed at the austenitizing temperature.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2009

The effect of austenitizing temperature and time on the processing window of 3.60wt%C - 2.50wt%Si - 0.80wt%Cu ductile cast iron and that of the amount of copper added were investigated. The second stage reaction at 400oC was retarded with increased austenitizing temperature. The widest processing window was obtained at the lower austempering temperature with the increased time at the same austenitizing temperature. The width of the widest processing window was decreased with the increase of time at the same austenitizing temperature. The width of processing window was increased with the increased amount of copper added.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.175-183
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• 1994

The effect of batch annealing conditions and austenitizing temperatures on the hardness and microstructural factors were examined by using 420J2 martensitic stainless steel. In spite of the similler hardness after batch annealing, the difference in hardness at the same austenitizing temperature was caused by changes in dissolved carbon during batch annealing. The highest hardness of the specimen was obtained at the batch annealing temperature of $820^{\circ}C$ and austenitizing temperature of $1050^{\circ}C$. The main factor affecting the final hardness of the cold annealed 420J2 specimen was proved to the austenitizing temperature rather than batch annealing temperature.