Tempering stability of Fe-Cr-Mo-W-V hot forging die steels

The tempering stability of three Fe-Cr-Mo-W-V hot forging die steels (DM, H21, and H13) was investigated through hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. Both dilatometer tests and TEM observations revealed that DM steel has a higher tempering stability than H21 and H13 steels because of its substantial amount of M₂C (M represents metallic element) carbide precipitations. The activation energies of the M₂C carbide precipitation processes in DM, H21, and H13 steels are 236.4, 212.0, and 228.9 kJ/mol, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicated that vanadium atoms both increase the activation energy and affect the evolution of M₂C carbides, resulting in gradual dissolution rather than over-aging during tempering.