Effect of Cold-Rolling and Heat-Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Fe-Ni-Mn-Mo-Ti-Cr Maraging Steels

The effect of cold-rolling and subsequent heat-treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-Ni-Mn-Mo-Ti maraging steels containing 6% chromium were investigated. Optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, tensileand hardness tests were used to study the microstructure, aging behavior and mechanical properties of the annealed steels. Cold rolling and annealing of homogenized Fe-Ni-Mn-Mo-Ti-Cr maraging steels resulted in the formation submicrocrystalline Fe2(Mo,Ti) Laves phase particles. A higher volume fraction of retained austenite was found after solution-annealling which transformed to martensite during tensile deformation, giving rise to uniform tensile ductility. This alloy shows moderate tensilestrength (900Mpa) along with high uniform 30% tensile elongation.