Determination of Martensite Start Temperature of High‐Speed Steels Based on Thermodynamic Calculations

High‐speed steels (HSS) exhibit a microstructure that comprises a martensitic matrix with carbides. Due to the generally high thermal stability of carbides, it is necessary to perform hardening at very high austenitizing temperatures. Nevertheless, there are certain carbides in HSS that are not dissolved. Therefore, the composition of the austenite, which can be transformed into martensite, is significantly different from the alloys’ nominal composition. Consequently, commonly applied formulae for the calculation of martensite start temperature (MS) cannot be used for HSS. The current study demonstrates how empirical MS formulae, which are basically applied for low‐alloyed steels, where no carbides are present at austenitizing temperature, can be modified for high‐alloyed HSS by applying thermodynamic calculations. Thermo‐Calc software is utilized to calculate the composition of the austenite at two different austenitizing temperatures, and with these compositions MS are calculated subsequently. For experimental verification, MS of four alloys, which are quenched from these austenitizing temperatures, are determined using dilatometry. The experimental results show good agreement with the corresponding thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. Furthermore, the results reveal that Co does not raise MS as predicted by the commonly applied empirical formulae. Therefore, adapted formulae for HSS in a wide composition range are proposed. Martensite start temperatures for high‐speed steels with varying alloy compositions are predicted by applying commonly used calculation formulae for low‐alloyed steels. The actual austenite compositions considering carbide formation during austenitizing are thermodynamically derived and compared with experimental data obtained from dilatometer measurements. Adapted formulae for different austenitizing temperatures are proposed.