Secondary hardening behavior of 15CrMnMoV thin rolled tube

15CrMnMoV rolled tube is applied to many critical parts of helicopter. The secondary hardening behavior of the steel which varied with the treating process is essential for further usage. In this paper, the secondary hardening behavior of water quenched, oil quenched and air cooled steel are compared. The precipitations of alloy carbides are analyzed by electrolytic extraction, X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the secondary hardening effect in the air cooled steel is higher than in the water quenched and oil quenched steel, but the toughness decreases more seriously, due to more precipitation of Mo2C and VC.