A 4340 Steel with Superior Strength and Toughness Achieved by Heterostructure via Intercritical Quenching and Tempering

Abstract

The conventional 4340 steel was used after quenching and tempering, strengthened by the classical pearlitic structure where cementite particles are dispersed through the ferrite matrix. In the present study, a heterostructure microstructure consisting of micro-sized residual ferrite zones and pearlitic zones was introduced by an optimized process of intercritical quenching and tempering, resulting in a steel with higher strength and better toughness. The pearlite steel has a tensile strength of 1233 MPa, yield strength of 1156 MPa, and toughness of 121.5 MJ/m3. Compared with the pearlite steel, the tensile strength and yield strength of the heterostructure steel have been improved by 67 MPa and 74 MPa, respectively, while the toughness has been increased by 52.5 MJ/m3. In this heterostructure, the micro-sized ferrite bulks serve as the soft zones surrounded by the hard zones of the pearlite structure to achieve a remarkable work-hardening capacity. Statistical analysis shows that the heterostructure has the best hetero-deformation-induced (HDI) hardening capability when the residual ferrite bulk contributes ~31% by volume fraction, and the quenching temperature is around 780 °C. This study opens new ways of thinking about the strengthening and toughening mechanism of heat treatment of medium carbon steels.