The Corrosion Behavior of AISI 4140 Steel Subjected to Different Heat Treatments

摘要

This paper aims to investigate the corrosion behavior of AISI 4140 after various heat treatments. The structural and mechanical properties of non-heat-treated and heat-treated specimens were determined using a hardness test, optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Then the electrochemical polarization measurements of the heat-treated specimens were carried out. It was observed that the corrosion potential of quenched specimens was higher than that of the tempered specimens. The highest corrosion potential was obtained for water-quenched (WQ) specimens. It was found that the heat treatment applied to the specimens yielded an important improvement in the corrosion resistance of the steel specimens.