Effect of cryogenic treatment on properties of materials: A review

The objective of this review paper is to introduce Cryogenic temperature effect on different properties of materials. Results showed that cryogenic operation improves properties like hardness, fatigue strength, tensile strength, toughness and resistance to wear in comparison to conventional operations. The improvement is a result of microstructural changes at cryogenic temperature which helps in conversion of austenite to martensite and carbide nucleation. The results also showed that doing tempering before or after cryogenic operation has significant influence on material properties which helps to achieve better carbide distribution. Different heat treatment sequences which involve tempering before or after Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT), provides varied results. Soaking time at cryogenic temperature also has an important role in refinement of microstructure and affect material properties.