Rationale

Section 9.3 requires that all martensitic stainless grades be capable of the hardness requirements given in Table 4. However, provision is made for supplying components fully heat treated to this specification. In such cases, the response to heat treatment result is redundant and, depending on the tempering temperature used for bulk heat treatment, may not match the hardness of the supplied material. It is proposed that section 9.3 be modified to require response to heat treatment only when martensitic stainless components are supplied in the annealed condition or if specified by the purchaser.