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Title: Authors: Affiliation: Email address: Contact No. : Field of paper (Civil/ Mech/ Arch/ Chem/Electrical/.....): CARBIDE PRECIPITATIONS IN SS440C STAINLESS STEEL DURING TEMPERING TREATMENT S.H.Salleh, M.Z.Omar, J.Syarif, A.G.Jaharah, S.Abdullah and M.J.Ghazali Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering National University of Malaysia, Malaysia. ABSTRACT SS440C steel is a high-carbon martensitic stainless steel, that is capable of attaining the best mechanical properties such as high strength and hardness among the others martensitic grades. The mechanical properties of the steel strongly depend on heat treatment process which can control the precipitation of carbides in SS440C steel. In this study, the microstructural change and carbide precipitation in the steel had been investigated and also the influence of them on hardness had been studied. As-quenched steel reveals a typical martensitic structure, with undissolved M7C3 carbide. Since carbon atoms have precipitated as M7C3 during solution treatment, the hardness of the as-quenched steel is lower than that of full martensitic 1%C steel. Optical observation reveals M23C6 carbide precipitates along the grain boundary of initial stage on tempering. Then, the M23C6 carbides grow as needle shape within the grain. The hardness of the steel increases owing to secondary hardening by Molydenum carbide on tempering. Keyword: SS440C steel; heat treatment; carbides; tempering; martensite. INTRODUCTION Martensitic stainless steel is widely used in engineering applications such as ball bearings, races, gage blocks, valve parts and many other manufacturing essential parts. It is particularly used because of its favorable overall properties such as high mechanical strength and hardness. Martensitic stainless steel is essentially Fe-Cr alloys containing 12 to 17% Cr with sufficient carbon (0.15 to 1.0% C) so that a martensitic structure can be produced