SCR420H steel is a low-carbon chromium alloy steel designed for carburizing heat treatment. Recently, research is being conducted on high-temperature carburization heat treatment to reduce costs and CO2 emissions by shortening the carburization time to meet the international carbon neutral policy. However, this high-temperature carburization heat treatment coarsens the steel grains and causes a decrease in mechanical properties. In this study, a large amount of Ti was added to increase the grain refinement effect in the high-temperature carburizing process. We investigated the microstructure and precipitates of SCR420H steel without Ti (Al steel) and with Ti (AlTi steel). Thermodynamic calculations showed that the AlN and (Ti,Nb)(C,N) precipitated in Al steel, while (Ti,Nb)(C,N) and Ti4C2S2 precipitated in AlTi steel. Addition of Ti increases the fraction of bainite after reheating process. Transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that small amounts of AlN and (Ti,Nb)(C,N) precipitates are formed in the Al steel. The addition of Ti increases the density of (Ti,Nb)(C,N) precipitates and induces the formation of Ti4C2S2 precipitates, increasing the grain coarsening temperature (GCT) under all heat treatment conditions. Higher reheating temperatures also resulted in higher GCT values due to increased precipitation.
(Received May 14, 2024; Revised June 2, 2024; June 13, 2024)