Effect of nitrogen alloying and the electroslag refining process on the properties of AISI M41 steel

Nitrogen produces very beneficial effects in high-speed steel and can therefore be regarded as a significant alloying element in ferrous materials. In order to attain the goal of this study, to investigate the effect of nitrogen alloying and the electroslag refining (ESR) process on the properties of AISI M41 steel, two high-speed steels were melted in an air induction furnace (IF). The first one is a standard AISI M41 high-speed steel. The second one is nitrogen-alloyed M41. The produced ingots were used as consumable electrodes in ESR under three different CaF₂-based fluxes. The steel produced from the IF and ESR was heat treated. Hardness, secondary hardness, and microstructure were also studied. It was concluded that both ESR and nitrogen alloying improve the hardness profile of the quenched-tempered high-speed steels. The highest secondary hardness and highest softening resistance were attained by ESR of high-nitrogen high-speed steel (M41N) under CaF₂/CaO/Al₂O₃: 55/30/15 slag. The ESR improves the shape, size, and distribution of precipitates in the produced ingot. Quenching and tempering treatment conditions the retained austenite that is present in the as-cast steel by precipitation of carbide and forming martensite on cooling to room temperature.