Metal Science and Heat Treatment, Vol. 52, Nos. 11 12, March, 2011 (Russian Original Nos.

. 11 12, November December, 2010)

MARAGING AND NICKEL-MOLYBDENUM TRIP-STEELS

UDC 669.15-194.55:539.4.015

ELEVATION OF RELIABILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF MARAGING STEEL

03N18K9M5T BY CREATING A NANOTRIPLEX-TYPE STRUCTURE
V. P. Vylezhnev,1 S. A. Kokovyakina,1 Yu. N. Simonov,1 and A. A. Sukhikh2
Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 11, pp. 39 47, November, 2010.

Characteristics of mechanical strength of maraging steel N18K9M5T after various variants of heat treatment
are studied. The treatment mode providing a structure with retained austenite and two types of reverted austenite is determined. An optimum structure ensuring enough strength at high impact toughness and static and cyclic crack resistances is chosen.

Key words: maraging steel, retained and reverted austenite, strength, crack resistance.

critical range and the duration of the hold. As a rule, MAS

are heated to 575 625C (the lower half of the intercritical
range) in order to obtain a noticeable amount of grev . Increase in the hold time from 15 to 60 min at 575, 600, and
625C yields 10 35, 15 55, and 40 60% grev , respectively [5].
In order to form retained austenite gret in the structure of
MAS the latter has to be cooled from the single-phase g-region. However, hardening with conventional heating and
long-term hold does not yield a noticeable amount of gret .
Formation of gret in steel 03Kh18K9M5T is possible only
when the concentration inhomogeneity obtained as a result
of a preliminary thermal operation, for example, hardening
from the intercritical temperature range, is not removed by
subsequent hardening from the austenitic range.
In follows from the results of [5, 7] that in order to obtain
gret it is expedient to resort to rapid heating with subsequent
short hold in the austenitic range, the duration of which does
not exceed 10 min. The data presented in [5, 7] show that in
heating to 800C the proportion of gret decreases from 45 to
20% upon prolonging of the hold from 3 to 10 min. In heating to 840C the amount of gret decreases from 35 to 10%; at
840C it falls from 20% to almost 0% upon the same change
in the duration of the hold.
The most interesting result of preliminary study [5] is the
fact that in the presence of gret in the structure of MAS the
critical temperature A1 decreases substantially and the appearance of new grev may be expected starting with

INTRODUCTION
Maraging steels (MAS) are promising structural materials possessing high resistance to fracture. The high properties
of MAS are primarily a result of an inhomogeneous structure. The scale of the inhomogeneity may differ from a
microlevel (boundaries of former austenite grains or martensite lath packets) to a submicrolevel and even to a nanolevel (lath boundaries and particles of intermetallic hardening phases respectively).
The structural strength of MAS can be raised by creating
additional inhomogeneities at the submicro- and nanolevels,
for example, by forming a martensite-austenite structure
[1 3]. It is common practice to form what is known as reverted austenite grev , which is obtained by heating a steel
with initially martensitic structure in the intercritical temperature range (ITR) [4 6]. Reverted austenite possesses high
stability, which is associated with the elevated concentration
of g-stabilizers and the presence of particles of hardening
phases. Formation of 20 40% reverted austenite in the
structure promotes increase in the impact toughness, cold resistance, fatigue resistance, and cyclic crack resistance, but
the strength level is not maximum.
The proportion of grev in steel 03N18K9M5T can be varied by changing the temperature of heating in the inter1
2

Perm State Engineering University, Perm, Russia (e-mail:

mto@pstu.ru).
Institute for Applied Mechanics of the Ural Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, Izhevsk, Russia.

550
0026-0673/11/1112-0550 2011 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Elevation of Reliability Characteristics of Maraging Steel 03N18K9M5T

440 450C. In MAS without gret the temperature of the appearance of the first portions of grev is close to 520 540C.
Therefore, aging at a temperature corresponding to maximum hardening of MAS (490 500C) simultaneously with
formation of particles of a hardening phase in the martensite
leads to formation of about 15 20% new grev .
The joint presence of two types of austenite in MAS (in
this case the sizes of the austenite inclusions approach the
nanometer range) should elevate substantially the properties
of the MAS, the reliability in the first turn.
The aim of the present work was to study the effect of different types of austenite on the mechanical properties of steel
03N18K9M5T under static, dynamic, and cyclic loading.
METHODS OF STUDY
We studied maraging steel 03Kh18K9M5T melted in an
induction furnace from pure blend materials. The chemical
composition of the steel was as follows (in wt.%): 0.009 C,
18.3 Ni, 8.9 Co, 5.1 Mo, 0.68 Ti, 0.06 Al, 0.03 Si, 0.03 Mn,
0.004 S, and 0.007 P.
The phase composition of the steel was determined with
the help of x-ray diffraction analysis by comparing the integral intensities of the x-ray interference lines from the a- and
g-phases (radiation from the Co anode). Micrographs were
taken from the surfaces of etched laps and fracture surfaces.
The structure was studied by the method of transmission
electron microscopy using MMA-3, M-125, and
JEM-200 CX electron microscopes; the structure of the fractures was studied using a REM-100U scanning electron microscope.
Uniaxial tensile tests and computation of the strength and
ductility characteristics were performed in accordance with
the requirements of GOST 149784. The tests were carried
out in an R-5 testing machine for five-fold cylindrical specimens 5 mm in diameter and 25 mm long. The impact toughness was determined according to GOST 945478 for specimens with a U-notch (size type 3 ).
The tests for cyclic crack resistance under harmonic
loading were performed in accordance with RD 50-34582
[8] in a rigid-load machine at an almost trivial cycle
(R = 0.05) and a frequency of 14 Hz. The specimens were
prepared as for eccentric tension and had a size of 62.5
60 10 mm. Crack growth was controlled using a binocular
microscope with scale division of the ocular equal to
0.05 mm. The results of the tests were used to plot diagrams
of cyclic crack resistance (DCCR) in the form of a dependence log V = f (log DK ), where V is the rate of growth of the
crack and DK is the amplitude of the stress intensity factor.
Specimens of type 1 of (GOST 945478) were subjected
to fatigue tests under cyclic impact loading using a KPU-2
impact testing machine at a frequency of 10.4 sec 1 and a
cycle asymmetry factor R = 0. The maximum cyclic stresses
were smax = 1650 and 2600 MPa. Diagrams of fracture of the

551

specimens were recorded by the method of [9]. We determined the total number of cycles before failure Ntot and the
periods of nucleation of a fatigue crack N1 and of its propagation N2 (Ntot = N1 + N2 ) and evaluated the rate of growth
of the crack. Period N1 was evaluated as the number of cycles from the start of the test to formation of a fatigue crack
with a depth of 0.1 mm. The rate of growth of the fatigue
crack in any studied segment of the fracture diagram of a
specimen was determined as a derivative V = dl/dV. The unknown dependence l = f (N ), where l is the length of the
crack and N is the current number of cycles in the stage of
crack propagation (N = 0 at l = 0.1 mm), was approximated
by an exponential function l = c exp (bN ), where c and b are
the sought-for factors. Whence V = bc exp (bN ) or V = bl.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Structure of Steel 03N18K9M5T with Different Types
of Austenite
Reverted Austenite. This type of austenite is formed both
inside crystals of the a-phase in the form of differently oriented rods (Fig. 1) and over boundaries of martensite laths
and packets in the form of fragments of extended crystals.
After aging at 550C for 1 h the structure of the metal bears
about 23% grev . The width of its crystals is 30 110 nm and
the length is 110 550 nm. After 1-h aging at 600C the content of grev increases to 53%, and the maximum width of its
crystals grows to 150 nm. Dislocations and intermetallic particles of acicular (Ni3Ti) and equiaxed (Fe2Mo) shapes are
observable in the crystals of grev . The grev phase forms in a
crystallographically ordered manner [10 12]. This mechanism of a g transformation promotes inheriting of the dislocation structure of the a-phase, whereas the enrichment of
the austenite crystals with nickel is one of the causes of its
stabilization.
Heating of the steel preliminarily aged at 600C for 1 h
to 820C with a hold of from 12 to 2 min and subsequent
rapid cooling to room temperature yields from 10 to 60%
gret . The retained austenite is preserved in the former volumes of reverted austenite. At the same content of g-phase
the shape and sizes of the crystals of gret are close to those of
the crystals of grev that have emerged during the hold in the
intercritical range (Fig. 2).
After a short high-temperature hold (2 min) the structure
preserves equiaxed intermetallics, most probably of a Fe2Mo
phase. They are located in crystals of both a-phase and
g-phase. In the crystals of gret the dislocation structure that
has appeared as a result of the reverse a g transformation
is preserved partially.
Final aging by a conventional regime (490C, 3 h) gives
rise to new kind of grev in the (a + gret )-structure (Fig. 2). It
forms by epitaxial growth on gret [10, 13] at a temperature
lower than that of the formation of the old grev . This is ex-

552

V. P. Vylezhnev et al.

gret

grevII

0.3 mm
b
0.3 mm

grevI

0.3 mm

Fig. 2. Structure of steel 03N18K9M5T against light (a) and dark (b )

backgrounds.

0.3 mm

c
Ni3Ti

Fe2Mo
grevI
c

0.1 mm
Fig. 1. Reverted austenite in steel 03N18K9M5T after hardening
from a temperature of the lower half of the intercritical range
(600C): light (a) and dark (b ) backgrounds in (200)g reflex; reverted austenite with intermetalides (indicated with arrows) inherited from martensite (c).

plainable by the fact that the microvolumes of the g-phase

lying close to gret have an elevated content of nickel due to
incomplete homogenization of the high-temperature g-phase.
The epitaxial nature of its nucleation is also a substantial
factor.
Crystals of the newly formed grev inherit particles of the
hardening phase and, partially, the dislocation structure of
the martensite, which is typical for reverse martensitic transformation [14]. The reverted austenite formed at a temperature of 490C will be called reverted austenite II to differentiate it from reverted austenite I formed at 550C and
higher temperatures. Thus, we may speak of three types of
austenite, i.e., retained austenite, and two kinds of reverted
austenite (I and II ).
Figure 3 presents a diagram throwing light on formation
of different types of austenite in steel 03N18K9M5T. The
structure formed after the final aging (Fig. 3d ) represents a
nanotriplex.

gret

a-phase
grevII

g-phase
with reduced
content of Ni
g-phase
with elevated
content of Ni

gret

Fig. 3. Diagrams of formation of different types of austenite in steel

03N18K9M5T: a) reverted austenite I due to hardening from the
intercritical temperature range; b ) austenite formed due to rapid
heating to 820C with a short hold (with reduced and elevated content of Ni, respectively); c) retained austenite after rapid hardening
from 820C; d ) reverted austenite II in the process of aging at
490C.

Strength of Steel 03N18K9M5T with Different Types

of Austenite
We have already mentioned that the content of gret can be
controlled by varying the hold of the metal in the austenitic
range. The total content of austenite increases in subsequent
aging due to formation of grevII (Fig. 4).
Evaluation of the strength of steel 03N18K9M4T in
hardened condition at 0, 20, and 40% gret in its structure has
shown that in all the three cases sr ~ 1100 MPa and s0.2 ~
1000 MPa. This gives us grounds to assume that the strength
characteristics of retained austenite and of unaged martensite
are close to each other. The characteristics of gret obtained in
our study are close to those presented in [4].

Elevation of Reliability Characteristics of Maraging Steel 03N18K9M5T

sr ; s0.2 , P

g, %
50

2200

gtot = gret + grevII

40
30

553

2000

grevII

1800

3
4

1600
20

grevII

gtot

gret

1
2

1400

10
1200
0

Without 400
aging

430

460

490

520

550

580

1000

Without
aging

tag ,

Fig. 4. Dependence of the content of austenite in steel 03N18K9M5T

with an initial martensite (1 ) and martensite-austenite (2 ) structure
on the aging temperature.

It follows from the data of Fig. 5 that as a result of aging

the strength of the specimens containing gret is lower than
that of the control specimens (without gret ), which seems to
be natural because aging process in martensite are known to
be connected with formation of nanoparticles of a hardening
Ni3Ti phase.
Starting with the aging temperatures of 430 460C the
total content of austenite in the structure of the steel increases due to formation of grev , but its strength does not decrease. This indicates that the reverted austenite (grevII ) possesses higher strength than gret . Additional proofs of this can
be obtained if we analyze the dependences of s0.2 and sr on
the total content of austenite for the specimens aged at 490C
(Fig. 6). Using the additivity rule we may estimate the yield
strength of the austenite under the assumption that the yield
strength of martensite in the steel with (a + g) structure is
equal to s0.2 of the steel with purely martensitic structure. As
a result, we will see that the yield strength of the austenite
(gret + grev ) decreases upon growth in its content at simultaneous decrease in the fraction of grev . Since the fractions of
gret and grev are known, we may use extrapolation and find assessed values of their yield strength, i.e., about 1000 and
2000 MPa, respectively. Undoubtedly, these values are rank
ones, but we may assume that the characteristics of the
strength of grev are considerably higher than those of gret and
are close to the strength of aged martensite. Such determination of the strength of reverted austenite is applicable only to
the case when the aging is carried out at 490C. For the temperatures below 490C such estimation is hard to perform
due to the low amount of the formed grev . After aging at a
temperature exceeding 500C (in the intercritical temperature range) this is impossible, because the strength of the
martensite aged at these temperatures is unknown. However,
it is probable that at a temperature exceeding 500C the
strength of grev is close to that of aged martensite, because the

800
370 400

430 460

490 520

550 580

610

tag ,
Fig. 5. Effect of aging temperature on the rupture strength (1, 3 )
and yield strength (2, 4 ) of steel 03N18K9M5T with an initial
martensite (1, 2 ) and martensite-austenite (3, 4 ) structure.

sr ; s0.2 , P
2200
2000

sr

1800

s0.2

1600
1400

10

20

30

40

50

gtot , %

60

Fig. 6. Rupture strength sr and yield strength s0.2 as a function of

the total content of austenite in steel 03N18K9M5T.

sizes and the type of the hardening phases are important factors in this case too.
It can be assumed in this connection that the softening
observed at aging temperatures exceeding 500C is caused
not by the content of austenite but rather by the processes of
coagulation of the hardening phases and decrease in the density of crystal structure defects.
We may expect that the yield strength of retained austenite is determined by phase hardening, fineness of the crystals
of gret , and partial preservation of the intermetallics. The
considerable increase in the strength of reverted austenite is
most probably caused by particles of the hardening phase inherited by the austenite from aged martensite; such particles
are detectable by an electron microscope study. Particles of
hardening phase are seen especially well when the austenite
forms at 550C and higher temperatures. The arrangement of
the particles of the hardening phase in the a- and g-phases
differs inconsiderably (see Fig. 2). It should be noted that at

554

V. P. Vylezhnev et al.
Jc , J/m2

KCU, J/m2
1.4

1.2

2
1

0.6
0.4

0.2
370 400

0.16

1.0

0.14

0.8

0.12

0.6

0.10

0.4

0.08

0.2

3
4

1.0
0.8

KCU, J/m2

0.06
430

460

490

520

550

580

0.04
610

tag ,
Fig. 7. Effect of aging temperature on impact toughness KCU (1, 2 )
and fracture toughness Js (3, 4 ) of steel 03N18K9M5T with an initial martensite (1, 3 ) and martensite-austenite (2, 4 ) structure.

0
200 100

Fracture Resistance of Steel 03N18K9M5T

upon Single Loading
The characteristics of impact toughness and static crack
resistance of the steel, as well as the strength characteristics,
are determined not only by the total content of the g-phase
but also by the relative fraction of this or that austenite.
In the whole of the studied range of aging temperatures
the impact toughness of the control specimens (without gret )
is 1.5 2 times lower than that of the specimens containing
24% gret before aging (Fig. 7). The effect of gret on the resistance to crack propagation (parameter Js ) is still inconsiderable; at 24% gret the value of Js is 3 times higher than in the
specimens without gret .
The impact toughness of the steel after tempering at
490C increases virtually linearly from 0.5 to 1.0 MJ/m2
upon growth in the content of retained austenite from 0
to 30%.
It should be noted that after aging at 490C the impact
toughness of the metal with retained austenite does not decrease despite the growth in the strength, whereas in the steel
without gret is decreases considerably. At higher aging temperatures the impact toughness of the metal without gret does
not increase despite the appearance of reverted austenite grevI
in the structure and the considerable softening (see Fig. 5)
and increases only when the softening develops intensely (at
tag > 550C). For this reason we may state that grevI does not
possess high toughness.
The impact toughness of the steel containing gret starts to
grow at lower aging temperatures. It follows from Fig. 4 that
at such aging modes reverted austenite grevII forms in the
metal. It cannot be excluded that the appearance of one more
phase with properties differing from those of the phases already present in the structure increases the energy spent on
the fracture additionally. The grevII phase may also have a

100

200

300

ttest ,
ng , %
100
80

60
40

aging temperature of 550C we can detect oval particles,

most probably of a Fe2Mo phase.

20
0
200 100

2
0

100

200

300

ttest ,
Fig. 8. Effect of test temperature on the impact toughness (a) and
on the degree of transformation of austenite ng (b ) of steel
03N18K9M5T with different structures: 1 ) martensite + grevI (40%);
2 ) reverted austenite (40%); 3 ) martensite + gret (35%); 4 ) martensite + gret (20%) + grevII (20%).

higher toughness (as compared to grevI ). The reverted austenite formed at aging temperatures of 490C and below this
value inherits highly dispersed particles of the hardening
Ni3Ti phase responsible for the high strength of martensite in
steel 03N18K9M5T. The reverted austenite formed at aging
temperature of 500C and higher temperatures inherits
coarser particles of Ni3Ti with less dispersity, as well as particles of Fe2Mo appearing at such aging temperatures. It is
possible that the difference in the natures of these particles
(their dispersity and kind) is responsible for the differences
in the levels of fracture resistance.
The presence of different types of austenite in the structure of steel 03N18K9M5T affects substantially the temperature dependence of its impact toughness (Fig. 8a ). The impact toughness of the control specimens (without austenite)
aged at 490C and of the specimens containing about 20%
grevI decreases progressively upon decrease in the test temperature from 40C. This is connected with the fact that
high-strength steels typically fracture by a low-energy ductile mechanism.
The impact toughness of the steel with retained and reverted (type II) austenite varies over a curve with a maximum at ttest from + 20 to 40C (Fig. 8a ). This should be
connected primarily with the fact that decrease in the temperature is accompanied by increase in the resistance to plastic
strain; while the fracture remains ductile, the fracture resistance increases.

Elevation of Reliability Characteristics of Maraging Steel 03N18K9M5T

In order to explain the results obtained we estimated the

degree of the transformation of austenite in cooling up to the
temperature of liquid nitrogen and in the process of testing
for impact toughness. We established that gret and grev in steel
03N18K9M5T have high thermal stability, because the content of the austenite does not decrease in cooling up to the
temperature of liquid nitrogen.
At the same time, the stability of retained and reverted
austenite under the action of plastic deformation differs
(Fig. 8b ).
Reverted austenite does not undergo transformation even
when the tests for impact toughness are performed at the
temperature of liquid nitrogen. Retained austenite begins to
transform already at ttest = + 100C; at the temperature of liquid nitrogen the degree of the transformation of retained
austenite is 100%.
In the metal with both types of austenite (% grev % gret)
subjected to impact testing in liquid nitrogen the degree of
the transformation is about 60%. Therefore, we may state
that the strain-induced g a transformation in steel
03N18K9M5T concerns only the retained austenite, whereas
the reverted austenite fractures without transformation. We
may name the following causes of increase in the impact
toughness of the steel with retained austenite:
load-induced transformation of retained austenite into
unaged austenite with high toughness;
spending of energy for the g a transformation;
appearance of a phase with high specific volume in the
g a transformation.
In order to study the micromechanisms of fracture of
steel 03N18K9M5T with different types of austenite we performed an electron analysis of fracture surfaces, some of the
results of which are presented in Fig. 9. We studied the structure of the central parts of fracture surfaces of impact specimens tested at + 250, + 20, and 196C. On the fracture surfaces of specimens with martensite structure fractured at
250C we observed only dimples. The depth of the dimples
was low. This reflects the relatively low energy capacity of
the ductile fracture of such specimens. Lowering of the test
temperature to room values gives rise to quasi-cleavage facets on the fracture surfaces in addition to the dimples. After
testing in liquid nitrogen quasi-cleavage facets become a
dominant component on the fracture surfaces of specimens
with martensite structure.
On fractures of steel 03N18K9M5T containing retained
austenite, which have formed at ttest = + 250C, the microscopic relief is represented by dimples. However, we should
note that in addition to small shallow dimples typical for
fracture surfaces of specimens with purely martensite structure, we observed in this case large deep cone-shaped dimples 10 15 mm in size, which determine the high level of
impact toughness of the steel bearing gret .
When ttest is decreased to + 20C, the ductile fracture pattern is preserved on the whole. We should mention only the
appearance of individual facets surrounded by high ridges of

555

10 mm

10 mm

Fig. 9. Fracture surfaces after testing impact specimens of steel

03N18K9M5T with different structures in liquid nitrogen: a) martensite + 23% gret ; b ) martensite + 23% gret + 23% grevII .

microplastic strain. Inside these facets we observe a developed regular infrastructure.

Testing at the temperature of liquid nitrogen makes the
facets surrounded by high ridges of microplastic strain,
which often form a closed net, the dominant component of
the texture. Judging by the distance between the ridges,
which is equal to 20 40 mm, we may assume that they form
over boundaries of former austenite grains. Inside the facets
we observe an exceptionally developed infrastructure represented by regularly arranged and often almost parallel steps
or ridges (Fig. 9a ). Since in this case the degree of the
strain-induced g a transformation attains 100%, we may
infer that this infrastructure has formed as a result of a
strain-induced transformation of retained austenite into
martensite (Fig. 8b ).
In the case when the steel contains both types of austenite, a dimple texture dominates on fracture surfaces for any
test temperature. At ttest = + 20C a microrelief in the form of
protrusions or tongues can be observed on the surfaces of
cone dimples. At the temperature of liquid nitrogen cone
dimples are more rare but there appear cleavage plateaus
with a similar microrelief over slip planes (Fig. 9b ). It cannot be excluded that this microrelief is nothing else but a
trace of a strain-induced transformation of gret under the conditions of predominantly ductile fracture.
Fracture Resistance of Steel 03N18K9M5T
under Cyclic Loading
The results of the tests for cyclic crack resistance presented in Fig. 10 show that the presence of this or that type of
austenite in the structure of the high-strength steel raises the
resistance to fatigue crack growth, which is especially noticeable when the rate of crack growth is determined at a
fixed value of the amplitude of the stress intensity factor DK.
This effect is especially noticeable in the near-threshold region. The highest level of threshold values of DK (DKth ) is
observed when the structure of the steel contains reverted
austenite; as the value of DK increases, the differences in the

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V. P. Vylezhnev et al.

TABLE 1. Ultimate Rupture Strength, Impact Toughness, and Resistance to Low-Cycle Impact Fatigue of Steel
03N18K9M5T after Aging
N1 , cycle

N2 , cycle

Ntot , cycle

N1 , cycle

N2 , cycle

Ntot , cycle

tag , C

sr , MPa

KCU,
MJ/m2

490

2100

0.45

15,628

7073

22,701

2971

1100

4071

550

1750

0.51

12,916

7590

20,516

2422

1308

3730

a + gret

430

1800

0.93

16,494

7633

24,127

2650

1495

4145

a + gret

490

19,000

0.90

14,283

8280

22,563

2364

1668

4032

Initial
structure*

smax = 2600 MPa

smax = 1650 MPa

Before aging.

Notations: tag ) aging temperature; N1, N2 ) periods of nucleation and propagation of fatigue crack, respectively; Ntot ) total
number of cycles before failure, Ntot = N1 + N2.

v, m/cycle

TABLE 2. Empirical Dependences of the Crack Growth Rate in

Steel 03N18K9M5T with Different Structural States under Cyclic
Impact Loading

6
4
2
10 7
8
6
4

Initial
structure

Structure
after aging

tag , C

Rate of crack growth dl/dN,

m/cycle, at a stress smax , MPa
1650

2
10 8
8
6
4
2
10 9
8
6
4

1
2

490

Martensite + in- 5.68 10

termetallics

l 27.1 10 7l

550

a + 22% grev

5.17 10 7l 23.3 10 7l

a + gret

430

a + 24% gret

5.46 10 7l 26.4 10 7l

a + gret

490

a + 24% gret +
15% grev

5.05 10 7l 23.6 10 7l

Note. The rate of crack growth was determined at a crack length of

up to l = 3.2 mm.

4
3

10 10
3

2600
7

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20

30 40 50 60

DK, P m1/2
Fig. 10. Diagrams of cyclic crack resistance (v = dl/dt is the rate
of crack growth, DK is amplitude of the stress intensity factor) of
steel 03N18K9M5T with different structures: 1 ) martensite (without
austenite); 2 ) martensite + 30% gret ; 3 ) martensite + 23% gret +
23% grevII ; 4 ) martensite + 40% grevI .

cyclic crack resistance of steel 03N18K9M5T with structures

of martensite and martensite with different types of austenite
become progressively lower. Computation of exponent n in
the Paris equation shows that in the steel studied the value of
n changes little and ranges within 2.3 2.7. Therefore, we
may state that within the Paris segment of the diagrams of
cyclic crack resistance one and the same fatigue micromechanism of crack growth is implemented independently of
the structural state of the steel.
Tables 1 and 2 present the results of the determination of
parameters characterizing the fracture resistance under impact cyclic loading of the steel containing austenite and bear-

ing no austenite. In the metal aged for maximum strength the

rate of crack growth is lower than in the metal in an overaged
condition. Reverted austenite lowers the rate of crack growth
under impact cyclic loading but decreases the number of cycles before failure. The best results on the impact crack resistance (the largest number of cycles before failure) and the
lowest rate of crack growth) have been observed after aging
at 430C (the structure of the steel contains only retained
austenite).
CONCLUSIONS
1. The structure of maraging steel 03N18K9M5T can
consist of martensite and retained and reverted (two types)
austenite depending on the heat treatment.
2. Retained austenite has a yield strength close to that of
unaged martensite (s0.2 1000 MPa), whereas the yield
strength of reverted austenite is close to that of aged (for
maximum strength) martensite (s0.2 2000 MPa). The high
difference in the strength levels of the different types of austenite should be associated with the fact that the reverted aus-

Elevation of Reliability Characteristics of Maraging Steel 03N18K9M5T

tenite inherits the dispersed intermetallics formed as a result

of aging of the martensite.
3. The presence of about equal fractions of both types of
austenite (about 20% gret and about 20% grevII ) in steel
03N18K9M5T at a high strength level (s0.2 = 1800
1900 MPa) provides high impact toughness (KCU = 1.0
1.2 MJ/m2 ) and static (Js = 160 180 MPa m1/2 ) and cyclic crack resistance.
4. The high level of cold resistance of steel 03N18K9M5T,
the structure of which bears both types of austenite, is provided by a strain-induced transformation of retained austenite, while the reverted austenite remains untransformed.
5. Under cyclic loading the reverted and retained austenite lowers the crack growth rate in the initial stage of crack
development (at low values of the amplitude of the stress intensity factor).
6. The properties of the reverted austenite are largely determined by the temperature of its formation. The reverted
austenite formed at 490C and lower temperatures (grevII ) has
a higher set of mechanical properties than the reverted austenite formed above 500C (grevI ).
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557

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