On the correlation between fracture toughness and precipitation hardening heat treatments in 15-5PH stainless Steel

In this study, the fracture toughness, K-q, and the yield strength of precipitation heat-treated Stainless Steel 15-5 PH was determined. Thirty six cylindrical tensile bars and eighteen compact tension C(T) specimens were tested. It was found that the high tolerance for solution heat treatment decreases the K-q value significantly, while the yield strength remains virtually unaltered. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.