Mechanical properties of high strength quenched steels with minute amounts of ferrite

In this paper the effects of minute amounts of ferrite on mechanical properties in high strength quenched steels were studied by the sound emission method. The results show that, with the same macrohardness, a decrease of 75% of the resistance to minute amounts of the plastic deformation is as a result of 2.0% ferrite in steels, moreover, both the resistance to ambient temperature creep and the resistance to low cycle fatigue are reduced when minute amounts of ferrite exists in steels. (Copyright (c) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)