High speed steel produced by spray forming

In this paper, ASP2030 (A30) high speed steel (HSS) was produced by spray forming and the microstructure was studied by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The spray formed A30 (SF A30) steel exhibited a very uniform and fine microstructure consisting of martensite, retained austenite and uniformly distributed network carbides. Microstructure refining can be explained in terms of the rapid solidification of spray forming. M₂C, MC and M₆C type carbides were found in the as-sprayed A30 HSS by XRD and TEM. A uniform distribution of carbides was obtained after forging and annealing. The microstructure properties of SF A30 steel indicate that spray forming can be considered as a cost-effective route for the production of A30 steels and other highly alloyed steels.