Topic:

Heat Treatment Processes

Trainees (Tech
I)

TailorMade Course For BHEL_J&K

ANNEALING

Annealing consists of heating hypo-eutectoid steels 30 C to 50 C above the upper critical range (Ac3) and 30 C above the lower critical range Ac 1) for hyper-eutectoid steels soa!ing the steel at this te"perature sufficiently enough ti"e and then cooling slowly along with the furnace# Carbon steels are cooled at the rate of 100C to 150C per hour and alloy steels are cooled "uch slower than carbon steels i#e# at the rate of 50C to 100 C per hour# $ull annealing is used to obtain the following properties% &o relieve the internal stresses and strains developed by various fabrication "ethods li!e forgings castings etc# &o develop a definite unifor" "icro-structure &o refine the grains for i"proving properties of strength elasticity and ductility &o alter the "agnetic or electrical properties &o reduce hardness &he first re'uire"ent in full annealing is to heat the steel unifor"ly to the prescribed te"perature#
II) NORMALISING

(or"alising consists of heating the steel to about )0 C to 50 C above its upper critical te"perature soa!ing for sufficiently and then cooling in roo" te"perature# (or"alising "ay be e"ployed to% *efine the grain and provide ho"ogeneous "icro-structure to i"prove response to hardening treat"ent# +"prove "achining characteristics ,odify and refine cast dendritic structures -rovide desired "echanical properties# &o reduce internal stresses and also to i"prove the structure at the welds# .ypro-eutectoid steels on nor"ali/ing gives $errite and fine -earlite# .yper 0eutectoid steels on nor"ali/ing gives fine -earlite and Ce"entite# *apid cooling on nor"ali/ing results in austenite deco"position at low te"peratures# .igher cooling rate the for"ation of pro eutectoid constitutions and hence the eutectoid constituent increases pearlite content and so higher hardness and tensile strength as co"pared to annealed steels#
Module : 06
Area: Heat Treatment & NDT

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Topic:

Heat Treatment Processes

Trainees (Tech
III) HARDENING:

TailorMade Course For BHEL_J&K

.ardening is a heat treat"ent process in which steel is heated to an appropriate te"perature above the critical point and held at this te"perature for sufficient ti"e to allow the steel to obtain a unifor" te"perature throughout the section# &hen the steel is rapidly cooled through a cooling "ediu"# 1ater oil "olten salt or air "ay be used as a cooling "ediu" depending upon the co"position of the steel and the hardness re'uired#
a P!"P#$E #F H%"&E'(')

&o develop high hardness &o increase the tensile and yield point (elasticity) &he high values of tensile strength and the yield point are obtained not in the hardening condition (when steel has a "icrostructure of 2#C#& "artensite) but in the te"pered conditions when the steel structure beco"es two phase with a high degree of dispersion#
* H%"&E'(') TEMPE"%T!"E

&he hardening te"perature for the .ypo-eutectoid steels is above AC 3 te"perature# 2etween A1 and A3 the steel consists of austenite and ferrite# +n such steel is 'uenched in water the "artensite transfor"ation ta!es such steel is 'uenched in water the "artensite transfor"ation ta!es place in the austenitic grains but not with ferrite# As a result of this 'uenched structure "ight contain "artensite with ferrite (un dissolved) which would give a patchy hardening and the hardness is not unifor" on the surface# &his is also conse'uently lower the strength and yield point on 'uenching and corresponding changes in the other properties in hardening and te"pering# &his is the reason why hypo-eutectoid steels are hardened fro" above the critical te"perature and the inco"plete hardening is avoided# 3enerally the hardening te"perature for the .ypo-eutectoid steel is 30 to 50 C above the A3 critical te"perature# 4uenching this type of steel considerably above the te"perature "ay lead to over heating resulting in coarse "artensite (acicular structure) and has high brittleness# &he te"perature of hardening for .yper-eutectoid steel is 30 to 50 C above the A 1 te"perature# At this te"perature as usual inco"plete austentisation results in s"all particles of secondary carbides# 5n 'uenching the steel consists of "artensite and secondary carbides (un dissolved) 6ince the hardness of "artensite is around 750 8 950 :-( and that of carbides around ;00 :-(# and the steel getting hardened through the inco"plete hardening is suitable for increasing the hardness to "a<i"u"# At higher te"perature than this "ini"u" causes dissolution of carbides and heating above Ac " results in the growth of austenitic grains results in very coarse brittle "artensite (acicular)# &he hardness of the 'uenched speci"en will be lower since the carbide dissolution has ta!en place# &his te"perature hardening results in high degree of super-cooling and hence "ore retained austenite# &his type of steel is very sensitive for the over heating#
Module : 06
Area: Heat Treatment & NDT

Page

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Topic:

Heat Treatment Processes

Trainees (Tech
c

TailorMade Course For BHEL_J&K

HE%T(') F#" H%"&E'('):

&he heating of steel depends pri"arily upon four "a=or factor%

d

&he selected furnace &he fuel used for heating &he "ediu" or at"osphere to surround the parts during heating and &he ti"e interval and regulation in bringing the part upto the re'uired te"perature

$#%K(') T(ME

+t is the ti"e ta!en for the entire speci"en reach the austenising te"perature# 6oa!ing ti"e depends on the thic! ness of the "aterial# A speci"en of >5 "" thic! is given a soa!ing ti"e of one hour # +f the cross section of the speci"en varies? preheating is done to "ini"i/e the ill effects of heating 'uenching "edia# 3enerally after proper soa!ing at the preheating te"perature the tool is transferred to a hardening furnace which is "aintained at the hardening te"perature# &he furnace selected should be of such a si/e and heat capacity that the te"perature does not fall appreciably# &he practically attainable hearting rate not only depends upon the ther"al capacity of the furnace but also upon the volu"e of the charge and their arrange"ent in the furnace and other factors# 1here it is not possible to transfer the article due to their si/e and weight it is safer to heat in the sa"e furnace to the hardening te"perature# .igh speed steels hot die steels high chro"e steel etc# which have a "uch higher hardening te"perature should always be pre-heated at ;50 C# +f tools "ade of above alloy steels are of very large cross sections it is advisable to have "ore than one preheating# &he preheated parts and tools when heated in the hardening furnace for hardening attain the hardening te"perature in a "ini"u" ti"e shortening the soa!ing ti"e at the higher hardening te"perature# &his avoids the chance of heavy scaling and decarburi/ation resulting in low surface hardness# +f the steel is directly heated without preheating undue stresses are setup in the steel which will lead to distortion and crac! also the surface of the steel will be sub=ected to local over soa!ing with conse'uent grain growth and brittleness#
e +!E'CH('):

4uenching is the rapid cooling of "etal usually but not necessarily by i""ersion in a li'uid its "a=or application is to steel which is the "ost widely used "etal effectively hardenable by 'uench along 1ater 'uenching is properly applied to the carbon and low alloy steels co""only designated as shallow hardening steels in which a thin hardened layer is produced by virtue of the e<tre"ely fast surface cooling obtained in water# &his hardened surface layer is less dense than the core and causes a co"pressed surface stress condition# Carbon steels in co"plicated or sy""etrical sections cannot be water-hardened without e<cessive distortion or danger of crac!ing

Module : 06

Area: Heat Treatment & NDT

Page

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Topic:

Heat Treatment Processes

Trainees (Tech

TailorMade Course For BHEL_J&K

5il 'uenching reduces (but does not always eli"inate) distortion because cooling is still relatively fast and te"perature gradients correspondingly large# Conse'uently co"ple< shapes such as blan!ing dies "ade fro" highly alloyed steels should be given a still "ilder 'uench#
IV)

5f late @interrupted 'uenchingA has found wide use because it reduces distortion#
TEMPERING:

&e"pering is a heat treat"ent operation consists of re-heating the hardened steels to a te"perature below lower critical te"perature at about 150 o C to 750 o C ( A1 ) soa!ing followed by cooling at any desired rate# 3enerally te"pering is carried out at a te"perature below )00 o C ( 950o $ ) while te"pering above this te"perature is called Brawing% Brawing is e"ployed to attain the best co"bination of strength and toughness in structural steels#
a P!"P#$E #F TEMPE"(')

6teels in its hardened condition is often harder than necessary generally too brittle and too severally strained in the 'uenching operation# &he ai"s of te"pering are% &o relieve the steel fro" internal stresses and strains# &o regulate the hardness and toughness &o decrease the brittleness and to restore so"e ductility to induce shoc! resistance#
* T(ME ('TE",%L BET-EE' H%"&E'(') %'& TEMPE"(')

+n certain steels such as "ediu" and high carbon steels and other "anganese alloy steels the stresses produced during hardening is so great to produce crac!s on the articles# &e"pering i""ediately after 'uenching prevents develop"ent of such destructive crac!s 1# ,C&.5B6 5$ &C,-C*+(3 i) Dow &e"perature te"pering% &his operation is perfor"ed in the range of 150 o C to >50 o C (300 o to );0 o $) and its purpose is to reduce internal stresses and to increase the toughness without any appreciable loss in hardness# &his type of te"pering is usually used for "easuring and cutting tools of carbon and low alloy steel as well as for parts that have been surface hardened# &e"pering is still fre'uently carried out by =udging the colour# &he colour which appear on bright surfaces of the te"pered steels on te"pering between >00 o to 3>0 o C is !nown as &e"per colours# &he te"per colour is the colour of the thin layer of e<ides that for"s on the surface of the heated steel# &he colour depends on the thic!ness of the o<ide layer# ii) ,ediu" te"perature te"pering% &his te"pering is carried out between o o o 350 to )50 C (770 to ;)0 $)# &e"pering in this range provides highest attainable elastic li"its in connection with a"ple toughness# Coil and la"inated springs are treated in this range#
o

iii) .igh &e"perature &e"pering% &his te"pering operation is generally !nown as Brawing and is perfor"ed in the range of 500 o C to 750o C (E30 o to 1>00 o $)# &his te"pering al"ost co"pletely eli"inates internal stresses and provides the "ost favourable ratio of strength to toughness for structural steels#
Module : 06
Area: Heat Treatment & NDT

Page

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Topic:

Heat Treatment Processes

Trainees (Tech

TailorMade Course For BHEL_J&K

,ultiple te"pering will very often correct poor hardening practices# ,ultiple te"pering is "ore effective than a single te"pering operation for highly alloyed steels# .igh 6peed and other hot wor! of air hardening steels showing secondary hardening on te"pering are preferably given a double or triple te"pering i#e# te"pered and air cooled and then the process repeated in the sa"e "anner#

Module : 06

Area: Heat Treatment & NDT

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