On the correlation between fracture toughness and precipitation hardening heat treatments in 15-5PH Stainless Steel

In this study, the fracture toughness, Kq, and the yield strength of precipitation heat-treated Stainless Steel 15-5 PH was determined. Thirty six cylindrical tensile bars and eighteen compact tension C(T) specimens were tested. It was found that the high tolerance for solution heat treatment decreases the Kq value significantly, while the yield strength remains virtually unaltered.