Impact of annealing treatments on the softening and work hardening behaviour of Jethete M152 alloy for subsequent cold forming processes

Cold forming processes present advantages to produce components with tight tolerances to the final (net) shape, eliminating significant production costs. These processes requires forming parts in a soft condition, with high ductility and formability. Jethete M152 alloy is a cold formable 13-Cr% martensitic stainless steel used in the aerospace industry. However, the inherent high strength of this material presents challenges in terms of the high loads and contact and friction stresses developed during cold forming processes. The main purpose of this work was to explore the impact of different types of annealing treatments (subcritical, full and isothermal treatments) on the softening and work hardening behaviour of this alloy. Microstructural and mechanical testing analysis were conducted. The results indicate that only subcritical annealing treatments (T