Effect of the Cooling Rates on the Corrosion Resistance and Phase Transformation of 14Cr-3Mo Martensitic Stainless Steel

Martensitic stainless steel is used when mechanical properties such as high tensile strength and hardness are required. Medium carbon-contained martensitic stainless steel which contains more than 0.2 wt% of carbon should be heat-treated and quenched at the temperature where undissolved carbides are totally dissolved into the matrix. In particular, the dissolution and reprecipitation behaviors of various forms of carbides are affected by such parameters as heating rate, heating temperature, duration time and cooling rate. This study is to investigate the effects of heat treatment parameters of 14Cr-3Mo martensitic stainless on corrosion resistance and phase transformation in relation to the dissolution and reprecipitation of carbides.