Effect of Heat Treatments on the Strain Hardening Behavior of AISI 1045 and 304 Steels

Stress–strain curve knowledge is of great interest due to the different parameters, conditions, and applications to which the materials are exposed in the different industrial sectors. The objective of this research work is to develop an experimental analysis of strain hardening on AISI 1045 and 304-grade materials, modifying the superficial mechanical properties through quenching and annealing heat treatments, and thus carry out the tensile tests considering the parameters established by the ASTM E−8 standard under different percentages of hardening by plastic deformation (20 and 40% strain hardening) using a total number of 45 samples for the general experimental set. The results exposed an improvement in the material’s mechanical properties as a function of the hardening percentage of the material, also related to the heat treatment. Finally, it was possible to find that the material’s yield stress increased significantly up to 100% (from 376 to 607 MPa) for 40% strain hardening to the original material (as received), related to the strain hardening capacity mathematically calculated.