“Study of Heat Treatment Variables on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Aisi 4130 Low Alloy Steel’’

The present study investigates the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 4130 steel. The material was subjected to a sequence of normalizing, hardening, and tempering treatments to evaluate the influence of tempering temperature on performance characteristics. Normalizing was carried out at 890°C followed by air cooling, resulting in a refined ferrite–pearlite microstructure. Subsequently, hardening was performed at 860°C and followed by quenching to obtain a martensitic structure.

Tempering was conducted at two different temperatures, 565°C (Sample A) and 655°C (Sample B), to study the variation in mechanical behavior.

The results highlight that tempering temperature plays a critical role in tailoring the balance between strength and toughness in AISI 4130 steel. This study provides useful insights for optimizing heat treatment parameters for engineering applications requiring a combination of mechanical performance and structural reliability.

Heat treatment, Normalizing, Hardening, Tempering

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