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Effect of Heat Treatment Temperature on Mechanical Properties of the AISI 304 Stainless Steel

S.A. Tukur, M.S Dambatta, A. Ahmed, N.M. Mu’az

Austenitic Stainless steels are sensitized when exposed to elevated temperature range of 470-750°C causes carbide precipitations at grain boundaries. Carbide precipitation can have deleterious effects on the resistance to intergranular corrosion and reduces the tensile properties of stainless steels, specifically strength and toughness. This paper evaluates an optimum heat treatment strategy for solution annealing of AISI 304 stainless steel after sensitization. Standard tensile and Hardness test specimens were fabricated using precision Lathe Machine. These samples were subjected to various heat treatment sequences, consisting of Sensitization at 660°C, followed by air cooling and solution annealed at five different temperatures: 1010°C, 1050°C, 1090°C, 1140°C and 1190°C, followed by water quenching. Heat treated samples were then mechanically tested for Hardness and Tensile properties. The influence of heat treatment process and temperature on mechanical properties of as-received, sensitized and solution annealed 304 stainless steels were evaluated. The investigation reveals that the sensitized samples give the highest hardness value at 6660C while highest hardness value was obtained on temperature of 10900C for solution annealed 304 stainless steels. This temperature is found to be the optimum to avoid grain growth on solution annealed 304 stainless steels.