Evolution of mechanical behaviour in a structural steel subjected to high temperatures

In this work a study of how exposure to high temperatures can affect the mechanical properties of a structural steel is presented. To this end, several mechanical tests such as tensile, impact and microhardness tests have been carried out in order to compare the properties of heat – exposed steel with those of an unaffected reference steel. Complementary compositional, metallographic and fractographic analyses have been also been performed to try to cast some light on the problem. The results obtained allow us to extract some conclusions on the reutilization of the steel for structural applications.