Intercritical heat treatment was given after guenching, and its effect on toughness was studied using two kinds of structural steels. Results are summarized as folloows.
(1) In a 3% Ni-1% Cr steel, the intercritical heat treatment was an effective method to suppress temper embrittlement. The optimum microstructure was such that old austenite boundaries were just covered with austenite bands formed by the intercritical heat treatment.
(2) In a low carbon steel, the intercritical heat treatment improved toughness by refining “effective grain size”.