Influence of Tempering Process on Mechanical Properties of 00Cr13Ni4Mo Supermartensitic Stainless Steel

To investigate the influence of tempering process on microstructural evolutions and mechanical properties of 00Cr13Ni4Mo supermartensitic stainless steel (SMSS), specimens were tempered in the temperature range of 520–720 °C for 3 h followed by air cooling and an optimized tempering temperature was chosen to prolong holding time from 3 to 12 h. After heat treatments, microstructure examination was conducted by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction examinations, hardness measurements and tensile tests. The results revealed that the superior mechanical properties were achieved by quenching at 1040 °C for 1 h+water cooling and tempering at 600 °C for 3 h + air cooling. Increasing isothermal tempering time could improve the toughness notably. It was believed that the property was correlated with the microstructure of tempered lath martensite and retained austenite. More retained austenite content is beneficial to the higher toughness of the SMSS.