Reheat treatment: effects in supermartensitic stainless stell
Heat re-treatment of metals to obtain a specific hardness is a common industrial practice. Hardness, sometimes, is the only parameter on quality control to approve the heat treatment efficacy. This investigation analyses a sequence from one to seven heat re-treatment, and its influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the 13Cr supermartensitic stainless steel. Metallographic analysis, tensile and Charpy impact tests were conducted in specimens reprocessed seven times by quenching and tempering.