This invention relates to a heat treatment process for large-
diameter 17-4PH thin-walled short rings with diameters of 800mm to 1300mm, wall thicknesses of 20mm to 40mm, and lengths ≤800mm. After
forging, controlled-temperature cooling promotes partial microstructural transformation and prevents grain regeneration in the thin-walled short rings. Solution annealing ensures uniform and refined
microstructure and grain size in the forged billet. After solution annealing, high-temperature
tempering and slow, rate-limited cooling in the furnace to a certain temperature removes
structural stress, diffuses
hydrogen, and softens the billet
hardness, facilitating subsequent rough
machining. High-temperature solution cooling employs a combination of pre-cooling,
oil cooling, and
air cooling to minimize thermal and
structural stress, preventing
cracking of the thin-walled short rings and ensuring complete microstructural transformation to obtain fine
lath martensite. During solution removal from the furnace, slow hoisting prevents deformation of the large-
diameter 17-4PH thin-walled short rings due to their own weight. The produced large-
diameter 17-4PH thin-walled short rings exhibit uniform overall quality, are free of cracks, and have low ellipticity after heat treatment.