Effect of Tempering on Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Rate of Medium and High Carbon Steel

Abstract

The tempering process of medium and high carbon steel using quenching in water as quenching medium with different tempering temperatures has been investigated. The samples were quenched to room temperature in water. The mechanical properties and corrosion rate of the quench and tempering samples were measured. The result shows that hardness value of the medium and high carbon steel increased due to formation of martensite structure which is very strong phase but it is normally very brittle, so it is necessary to modify the mechanical properties and relieve internal stresses by heat treatment in the range 100-700°C. The experimental results revealed that mechanical properties of selective alloy were significantly changed by temper treatment. By increasing the tempering temperature, hardness and ultimate tensile strength are gradually decreased and ductility was improved. Moreover, the corrosion rate has been studied and shown within multiple phase structure corrosion rate increased more than martensite structure even its stressed structure.