4340 Ni-Cr-Mo alloy steel is widely used due to its good combination of strength and toughness. The mechanical property of 4340 steel can be improved by various thermal treatments. The influence of thermomechanical treatment (TMT) has been studied in a low carbon Ni-Cr-Mo steel having chemical composition closed to 4340 steel. TMT of 4340 steel is rarely examined up to now. In this study we obtain good improvement on the mechanical property of 4340 steel by TMT. The mechanism is explained in terms of TEM microstructures4340 (0.39C-1.81Ni-0.93Cr-0.26Mo) steel was austenitized at 950°C for 30 minutes. The TMTed specimen (T) was obtained by forging the specimen continuously as the temperature of the specimen was decreasing from 950°C to 600°C followed by oil quenching to room temperature. The thickness reduction ratio by forging is 40%. The conventional specimen (C) was obtained by quenching the specimen directly into room temperature oil after austenitized at 950°C for 30 minutes. All quenched specimens (T and C) were then tempered at 450, 500, 550, 600 or 650°C for four hours respectively.
