Precipitation - Hardening
Stainless Steel

Precipitation-Hardening Stainless Steels are stainless steel alloys that have been subjected to further heat treatment and quenching. Depending on the intended properties, these are formed as martensitic, semi-austenitic, and austenitic alloys, with the variation occurring via either their original composition, the addition of hardening elements, the temperatures they're heat treated at, the duration they're heated for, the temperature they're quenched at, the duration they're quenched for, or any combination of these. 

​

During the precipitation-hardening process, the material is heated to levels at which austenites are formed and particular solubility occurs to produce fine particles that reduce the material's plasticity and hardness can be formed. At this stage, hardening alloys of copper, phosphorous, molybdenum, aluminium, and titanium can be added, either singularly or in tandem with each other. The material is then further aged by heating to lock in the desired structure or cooled to form martensites or an austenitic-martensitic hybrid. Depending on the alloy being created, this process can take from a couple of hours to more than a day of repeated heating, holding, and cooling cycles. 

​

The result of these processes are materials that achieve excellent hardness and very high strengths for use in such applications as structural aircraft components, motorsport components, turbine blades & shafts, power generation & nuclear machine parts, and for use in the petrochemical industry.

​

Integ Metals supply all of the below grades of precipitation-hardening steels, in all of the displayed shapes, so please feel free to speak with our experts today for more information or to place an order.