Advances in Steels: Heat Treatment, Microstructure and Properties

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 168

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: microstructure and mechanical properties of steels; the process of steel or aluminum alloy; metallurgical quality and control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The mechanical properties of metallic materials can typically be altered or modified as required through heat treatment. This treatment can result in different microstructures within the metallic materials. The most important parameters of the treatment include the soaking temperature and the cooling rate. Optimal mechanical properties should be achieved after heat treatment, making it one of the most important processes during the mechanical manufacturing of parts. It can be argued that all metallic materials and parts are capable of undergoing heat treatment.

Heat treatment of metals is relatively straightforward; however, it is difficult to observe the microstructure at high temperatures during this process. The final microstructure can only be observed under a microscope at room temperature after heat treatment. Since changes in the microstructure during various high-temperature treatments cannot be tracked, the heat treatment parameters should be carefully designed.

Dr. Zhenghua Tang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • heat treatment
  • mechanical properties
  • microstructures

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 4359 KiB  
Article
Phase Transformations During Heat Treatment of a CPM AISI M4 Steel
by Maribel L. Saucedo-Muñoz, Valeria Miranda-Lopez, Felipe Hernandez-Santiago, Carlos Ferreira-Palma and Victor M. Lopez-Hirata
Metals 2025, 15(7), 818; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15070818 - 21 Jul 2025
Abstract
The phase transformations of Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM) American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) M4 steel were studied during heat treatments using a CALPHAD-based method. The calculated results were compared with experimental observations. The optimum austenitizing temperature was determined to be about 1120 [...] Read more.
The phase transformations of Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM) American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) M4 steel were studied during heat treatments using a CALPHAD-based method. The calculated results were compared with experimental observations. The optimum austenitizing temperature was determined to be about 1120 °C using Thermo-Calc software (2024b). Air-cooling and quenching treatments led to the formation of martensite with a hardness of 63–65 Rockwell C (HRC). The annealing treatment promoted the formation of the equilibrium ferrite and carbide phases and resulted in a hardness of 24 HRC. These findings with regard to phases and microconstituents are in agreement with the predictions derived from a Thermo-Calc-calculated time–temperature–transformation diagram at 1120 °C. Additionally, the primary carbides, MC and M6C, which formed prior to the heat treatment and had a minor influence on the quenched hardness. In contrast, the tempering process primarily led to the formation of fine secondary M6C carbides, which hardened the tempered martensite to 57 HRC. The present work demonstrates the application of a CALPHAD-based methodology to the design and microstructural analysis of tool steels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Steels: Heat Treatment, Microstructure and Properties)
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