Abstract
The superhardenability treatment, which consists of superheating steel melts to which fairly large aluminum additions have been made, has been studied in a wide range of low-alloy steels. By hardenability testing and dilatometry, it is shown that the treatment results in large and repeat-able hardenability increases due to a strong retardation of the ferrite/pearlite and bainite reactions. Superhardenability multiplying factors and equations which relate the ideal critical diameter of a superhardenable steel to its chemical content have been produced by using a combination of three hardenability tests. A mechanism for the superhardenability effect is proposed on the basis of the experimental finding that high austenitizing temperatures result in a loss of superhardenability.
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Mostert, R.J., Van Rooyen, G.T. A quantitative assessment of the hardenability increase resulting from a superhardenability treatment. Metall Trans A 15, 2185–2191 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647101
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647101