Tensile and Fatigue Behavior of Shallow Cryogenically Treated EN19 Alloy Steel

Tensile and axial fatigue tests were conducted on shallow cryogenically treated EN19 medium carbon alloy steel to investigate its mechanical behavior. The test samples were conventionally heat treated then oil quenched at room temperature. Followed by the samples were kept for shallow cryogenic treatment to -80°C for 8 hours using liquid nitrogen. Then the samples were tempered in a muffle furnace to relieve the induced residual stresses. Tensile and axial fatigue test were carried out on both treated and non-treated samples to measure its tensile strength and fatigue behavior respectively. Microscopic examination also had done to compare the effect of shallow cryogenic treatment on its microstructure. The results exposed that there is an increase in the tensile strength and reduction in fatigue life of shallow cryogenically treated samples over base metal and improved wear resistance.