Influence of phosphorus content and quenching/tempering temperatures on fracture toughness and fatigue life of SAE 5160 steel

This study investigates the influence of quenching/tempering temperatures on the fracture toughness and fatigue life of SAE 5160 steel, considering different phosphorus contents. Quenching and tempering treatments were applied to samples removed from different bars of commercial SAE 5160 steel with different P content. Three different austenitizing temperatures for quenching: 850, 900 and 1000 ºC and a constant holding time of 15 minutes were used. The oil temperature for quenching was kept at 66 ºC and the tempering conditions were 470, 500 and 530 ºC with the necessary time for a final ha...