Effect of Microstructural Characteristics on Mechanical Properties for Conventional and Powder Metallurgy T15 High Speed Steel

This paper presents a study on T15 high-speed steel produced through conventional and powder metallurgy (PM) methods, which involved electroslag remelting (ESR), hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and forging. The samples are heat-treated to achieve various grain sizes, types and volume fractions of carbides by quenching temperature ranging from 1180 °C to 1220 °C and tempering at 560 °C. The microstructure was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical properties including hardness, bending strength and fracture toughness are assessed. The improvement in mechanical properties associated with microstructural characteristics for different processes is compared and discussed. The current work provides a multifaceted process perspective for the preparation and comparison of high-speed steel.