Exploring the relationship between the microstructure and strength of fresh and tempered martensite in a maraging stainless steel Fe–15Cr–5Ni

Abstract Hierarchical microstructure engineering is an efficient design path for ultra-high strength steels. An excellent example of this is maraging stainless steel, which achieves its high-performance by combining the hierarchic martensitic microstructure and nano-sized precipitates. Relating this complex microstructure with mechanical properties, e.g. strength, is not trivial. In the present work, we therefore explore the relationship between the hierarchic microstructure, evolving with the tempering of a Cu-containing maraging stainless steel 15–5 PH, and its strength. Comprehensive microstructure characterization, including the quantification of dislocation density, effective grain size, precipitates and retained austenite fraction is performed after quenching and tempering at 500 °C. The microstructure data is subsequently used as input for assessing the evolution of individual strength contributions and thus the increase in strength of tempered martensite contributed by Cu precipitation strengthening is evaluated. It is found that the Cu precipitation and dislocation annihilation are two major factors controlling the evolution of the yield strength of the tempered martensite. The Cu precipitation strengthening is also modelled using our previous Langer-Schwartz-Kampmann-Wagner model based predictions of the Cu precipitation, and modelled precipitation strengthening is compared with the evaluated Cu precipitation strengthening from the experiments. The work exemplifies the promising approach of combining physically based precipitation modelling and precipitation-strengthening modelling for alloy design and optimization. However, more work is needed to develop a generic predictive framework.