Effects of heat treatment on structures and properties of high speed steel rolls

The effects of quenching temperature, cooling pattern, temper temperature and temper times on the structure and properties of high speed steel (HSS) rolls have been investigated. The results show that, when the quenching temperature is lower than 1050℃ the hardness of HSS increases with the quenching temperature increasing in oil cooling, but when the quenching temperature exceeds 1100℃ the hardness decreases. In the conditions of salt bath cooling and air cooling, the effect of quenching temperature on the hardness is similar to the above law, but the quenching temperature obtaining the highest hardness is higher than that in oil cooling. When the temper temperature below 350℃ the hardness of HSS has a little change, when above 475℃ the hardness will increase with the temper temperature increasing, and the highest hardness is obtained at 525℃. When the temper temperature continues to increase, the hardness decreases. Twice temper has little effect on the hardness, but three times temper decreases the hardness.HSS in air cooling has lower hardenability, oil cooling can easily produce crackle, and HSS quenching in salt bath has high hardenability and excellent wear resistance.