EFFECT OF DEEP

CRYOGENIC TREATMENT
ON HARDNESS AND
TENSILE PROPERTIES OF
ALSI 302 SS

ABSTRACT

Effects of deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) on static

mechanical properties of the AISI 302 austenitic
stainless steel were investigated through
experimental testing.
Results of the tensile and hardness tests are
discussed and compared to data and observations
from the DCT literature concerning the same material
Influence of two important treatment parameters,
such as the soaking-time and the minimum
temperature, is analysed to obtain confirmation and
suggestions about the possible use of the DCT as a
standard practice to improve the mechanical
properties of stainless steels

INTRODUCTION

Interesting positive effects were noticed on tool

steels, carburized steels, cast irons and on other
materials, from previous researches.
On austenitic stainless steels an extension of the
crack initiation process in DCT specimens was
noticed and it was ascribed to the presence of
strain induced martensite, which formed during
the cooling process,
It is not clear if the above results are strictly
related to the particular cryotreatment performed
or if a generic standard DCT could produce the
same effects.
Aim of this study is to clarify the above aspects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Testing specimens were obtained from a set of 12

mm diameter work-hardened AISI 302 bars
Bars were divided in two main families:
(H) to be machined as it is
(S) to be solubilized and then machined.
Solubilization process was realized by heating the
material up to 1325 K and then by suddenly cooling
it down to ambient temperature in water. The rapid
cooling prevent Chromium carbides formation. It is
done to get more homogeneous microstructure
Constant cooling rate of 21 K/h was applied for all
the DCT, while the return to the room temperature
was obtained at about 15 K/h.

Tensile tests were performed on a Schenck Trebel RSA-100

electromechanical device equipped with a 100 kN load cell
Strain rate was measured through a Schenck Trebel RDA-2
extensometer applied to the specimens.
All tests were conducted at a room temperature between
293 K and 298 K and with a displacement rate of 0.5
mm/min
Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield stress (Rp0.2)
values were calculated from the acquired data
Rockwell hardness values was measured through a Galileo
durometer

RESULTS

Tensile test results

Solubilization process induced a drastic drop of the

strength properties and a remarkable change in the
tensile behaviour of the AISI 302 stainless steel
Although both materials shows a ductile behaviour
exceeding the 10% in elongation, the solubilized
one reaches a 40% in rupture elongation while the
hardened one breaks at about 15%.
HARDNESS
Results of the Rockwell hardness tests on box-plot
comparisons of the hardness data are as under

DISCUSSION

Tensile strength of the AISI 302 stainless steel, both hardened

and solubilized, is not significantly affected by the DCT, as
previously reported
The only measured change consists of a decrease in elastic
modulus for some of the treatment groups that were not
examined in the literature
Hardness test results suggest that, for the solubilized AISI 302,
the lower is the temperature reached during the DCT, the higher
is the hardness improvement
It emerges from the comparison of the S-C group (9 h at 88 K)
with the S-A group (24 h at 88 K) that, by prolonging the hold
time, some counterbalancing mechanism outweighs the induced
improvement, with the result of an overall loss in HRB
Similar behaviour is observed for the groups S-D (9 h at 143 K)
and S-B (24 h at 143 K)

To clarify the influence of the DCT time

parameter on both the elastic modulus and the
hardness it is useful to plot their values
against the treatment total time

The peak values (maximum hardness and

minimum E) are not exactly aligned in abscissa,
but they seems to be nearly related considering
the approximation of the total time estimation
Minimum of the elastic modulus, for both S and H
families, is estimated for about 23.3 h of DCT
total time
For both the material families the model
suggests that the prolongation of the soakingtime could lead to noticeable enhancement of
the hardness and of the Youngs modulus

CONCLUSION

Unexpected lowering of the elastic modulus

was noticed on some of the treatment groups,
suggesting the need for further investigations
focused on this aspect
Slight but significant improvements were
measured on the Rockwell-B hardness of the
solubilized material after cryotreating at 88 K.
Although it is not enough to produce an
appreciable alteration of the yield strength, it
could be effective in the case of the high-cycle
fatigue, which take place at lower stress levels
and future investigations will be oriented over
this field.

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