AEB_L was originally designed for use as razor blade steel. It is famous for a combination of toughness, edge stability, edge retention, being easy to sharpen, and extremely corrosion-resistant. This is an extremely fine-grained steel and stainless steel for many manufacturers.
Chemical Composition
|
C: |
Cr: |
Si: |
Mn: |
P Max: |
S Max: |
|
0.67% |
13% |
0.40% |
0.60% |
0.025% |
0.006% |
Heat Treatment:
Hardening Data
Hardening temperature 1060° C, holding time 1.5 minutes per mm thickness, cooling between aluminum plates with forced air.
Tempering Data
2 times for 40 minutes
Brittleness occurs with tempering above 450°C.
Sandvik Hardening Recommendations:
- Too high hardening temperature gives a coarse structure, high austenite content (30%), few carbides. Consequence: low hardness and poor wear resistance.
- Too low cooling rate after austenitization produces carbide precipitation at grain boundaries. Consequence: brittleness and reduced corrosion resistance.
- Optimized hardening conditions yield optimal austenite content (15%), many evenly distributed carbides. Consequence: optimal combination of hardness, wear resistance, ductility, and corrosion resistance.
How Hardening Parameters Influence Product Properties
- Too high hardening temperature results in low hardness and poor wear resistance due to excessive retained austenite.
- Low hardening temperature results in low hardness and reduced corrosion resistance.
- Too long holding time at optimal hardening temperature increases the amount of retained austenite and decreases hardness.
- Too short holding time at optimal hardening temperature has the same effect as low austenitization temperature.
- Maximum hardness will be obtained with residual austenite content of about 15%.
- Deep freezing, i.e., cooling below room temperature, increases hardness by about 1–2 HRC.
- Deep freezing will achieve maximum hardness possible by increasing hardening temperature.
- High cooling rate after hardening is necessary to avoid brittleness and reduced corrosion resistance. 600° C should be reached within 1–2 minutes and room temperature within 30 minutes.
- Re-hardening is generally not recommended as it does not impart optimal properties to the product.
Physical Properties:
The physical properties of a steel are related to a range of factors, including alloying elements, heat treatment, and production route, but the data presented below can generally be used for approximate calculations.
| Density g/cm³ | Density lb/in³ |
| 7.7 | 0.28 |