2. Ferritic steels

2.1 Hardening of ferritic steels

In terms of tonnage, ferritic steels constitute the largest class of all ferrous alloys. They contain less than 0.15% carbon and a limited alloying element content (less than 1%), except for stainless grades (§ 2.5 ). They are produced after hot deformation (rolling or forging) followed by slow cooling, or after cold deformation followed by recrystallization annealing in the ferritic range.

Two hardening mechanisms operate in all types of ferritic...