6. Heat treatment

Heat treatments give stainless steels the properties they need for their intended use. Essentially, these are mechanical properties (ductility, toughness and hardness) and corrosion resistance. Heat treatments are specific to each family of stainless steels.

For martensitic stainless steels, these are given in [M 4 540] . High hardness and good corrosion resistance are the main requirements for these grades.

In the case of ferritic stainless steels, a distinction must be made between those that remain ferritic throughout the temperature range, and so-called semi-ferritic...