Heat Treatment of Steels

600-451 Gordana A. Cingara

Week 4: Annealing
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Annealing

Heat Treatment to Produce Ferrite & Pearlite

A generic term meaning a heat treatment that consists of:

Heating to the desired temperature (T)

Holding at a suitable T for desired time
Controlled cooling (in furnace, in air, etc.)
Tannealing

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

Annealing

Heat Treatment to Produce Ferrite & Pearlite

Purpose may be:

Uniformity in microstructure
Reduce residual stresses
Increase softness,
Improve machinability
Improve formability
Improve electrical or magnetic properties

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

Annealing
The microstructure of a steel depends upon its
prior thermo-mechanical (TMP) history.
If the steel does not have the microstructure and
properties desired for its application (or for the
next processing), then the microstructure is
changed by heat treating.

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara), Week 4: Annealing

Types of Annealing Heat

Treatment
A number of standard processes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Full annealing
Normalizing
Spherodizing
Stress-relief annealing
Recrystallization annealing
Hot working and homogenization

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

Eutectoid transformation

Notice the labeling of critical temperatures: A1, A3, Acm

Austenite-

J
Acm

A3

JFe3C

DJ

A1
Ferrite

D
D+ P

0.76

A1

727

P+Fe3C

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

Critical Temperatures - review

A3 - the upper critical temperature line on the hypoeutectoid side

A1 - temperature of the austenite-to-pearlite eutectoid transformation.
A2 - magnetic transformation temperature is the temperature below
ZKLFK-ferrite is ferromagnetic (Curie temperature 778o C)

ACM - the upper critical temperature line on the hypereutectoid side

A1 , A3, ACM - diffusion controlled, sensitive to composition
and to heating and cooling rates.

Rapid heating, or cooling allows less time for diffusion.

The effect of heating and cooling rate is designated as:

Ac - heating
Ar - cooling
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

1. Full Annealing
Heating steels just above the A 3 temperature for hypo-eutectoid
steels, or the A1 temperature for hypereutectoid steels and
very slow cooling in a furnace through the critical transformation
ranges.

A3
A1

Full
Annealing

Source: W. Callister, Materials Science

& Engineering, 8th Ed.

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

1. Full Annealing
Austenitization - at a high temperature
to produce refined

grain austenite.
Very slow cooling (close to equilibrium) - to allow the desired
microstructure to form by the transformation of the austenite

A3
A1

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

Full
Annealing

Changes in structure during the annealing of 0.2 %C steel

Refinement of the the grain size:
a. Original, coarse- grained ferrite &
pearlite
c. New austenite grains are nucleated
and a uniform fine-grained
austenitic structure is produced.

d. Then, transforms to fine grained

ferrite & small pearlite areas.

Source: S. Avner,
Introduction to Physical
Metallurgy (1974)

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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1. Full Annealing - objective

To refine the grain size

To induce softness
To improve machinability
Improve electrical and magnetic properties

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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2. Normalizing
A heat treatment which produces a uniform structure
of ferrite and pearlite (stronger & harder than the full
annealing).

Acm
A3

Normalizing
Full
Annealing

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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2. Normalizing
Hypoeutectoid steels heating at temperatures (~55C higher
than hose used for the Full Annealing).
Hypereutectoid steels temperature range is ~55C above Acm.
Air cooling (this is no equilibrium condition)

A3

Normalizing

Acm
Full Annealing

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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2. Normalizing - objective
To produce a harder and stronger steel than in the full
annealing
For greater uniformity in austenitic structure & composition
To refine the grain size
Hypereutectoid steels - to dissolve network of carbides
that may have developed during prior processing.

Normalizing
Full
Annealing

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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Full Annealing & Normalizing cooling rates

The air-cooling during
normalizing produces significant
differences in microstructures
compared to full annealing.
As a result, both the ferrite
grain size and the pearlite
interlamellar spacing are
reduced (fine pearlite is
formed.)
The finer microstructure of a
has higher strength and
hardness and slightly lower
ductility
Variation of microstructure as a function of
cooling rate for an eutectoid steel
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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Microstructure - plain carbon steel

0.23%C, 1.2% Mn steel air cooled showing influence of prior austenite grain size:
(a) austenitized at 900o C, (b) 1150oC .

P.G. Schewmon,
Transformation in
Metals, McGraw
Hill, NewYork,
1969

0.4%C showing effect of cooling rate for the same grain size:

c) furnace cooled (annealed), d) air cooled (normalized).

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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Source: W. Callister, Materials Science

& Engineering, 8th Ed.

The effect of carbon and heat treatment on the

properties of plain carbon steel
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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3. Spherodizing
Normalizing
Full Annealing

A1
Spherodizing
Several methods:

1. Prolonged holding at a temperature just below eutectoid T,

7270C (A1) for a sufficiently long time (15-24 hrs).
2. Heating to a temperature just above A1 and:
- either cooling very slowly in a furnace, or isothermally
holding steel just below eutectoid T
3. Or heating and cooling alternately above and below A1.
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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3. Spherodizing SPHERODITE Microstrtucture

Microstructure of spherodite

Consists of spherical carbide particles uniformly

dispersed in a ferrite matrix.
Carbon diffusion - given enough time and temperature, plate like
cementite will transform into a lowest energy shape a sphere!

The most stable microstructure in steels

Source: W. Callister, Materials Science
& Engineering, 8th Ed.

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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3. Spherodizing

Normalizing
Full Annealing

A1
Spherodizing

Pearlite and bainite can transform into spherodite!

If martensite is tempered at higher temperatures
produces spherodized cementite.
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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3. Spherodizing
The most ductile, softest condition of any steel!
,PSRUWDQWIRU
- good ductility of low- and medium-carbon
steels that are cold formed
- machining of high-carbon steels

Normalizing
Full Annealing

A1
Spherodizing

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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4. Stress-relief annealing

RESIDUAL STRESS
These are stresses that remain in the part after the
force has disappeared.
They are produced from nonuniform deformation
during processing after casting, welding,
machining, cold working, or also from previous
treatments.
They may cause distortion, or cracking during
heat treatment or processing, or failure below
design stresses in service.

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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4. Stress-relief annealing

The steel is annealed at a lower temperatures,

below the A1 line
Heating to and cooling must be done slowly.
Recovery process occur remove residual stresses

Source: G. Krauss, Steels: Heat Treatment

& Processing Principles (1989)

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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5. Recrystallization (Process) Annealing

Applied after cold working to restore ductility to soften
the steel by recrystallization.

No phase transformation accompanies the microstructural changes.

Source: G. Krauss, Steels: Heat Treatment

& Processing Principles (1989)

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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5. Recrystallization (Process) Annealing

1. Static Recrystallization
Cold deformation + Annealing

+ FURNACE Annealing
a. Recovery
b. Recrystallization

Recrystallized Grains
Source: G. Krauss, Steels: Heat Treatment
& Processing Principles (1989)

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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 5. Process and Recrystallization Annealing

Cold working deforms and hardens the ferrite, (elongate the
ferrite grains in the direction of deformation and introduce a
high density of dislocations within the grains).

Cold rolling

On anneling, highly strained and deformed ferrite drives

a. Recovery during which some of the dislocations are
eliminated.
b. After longer time recrystallization occur where new strain
free equiaxed grains nucleate and grow in the deformed
ferrite.
A restoration of the ductile microstructure, again capable of
undergoing significant cold deformation.
Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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5. Recrystallization (Process Annealing)

Microstructure of an Fe-0.003C% alloy:

a) cold rolled 60% and
b) annealed at 538oC for 2 h.
About 80% of structure has recrystallized to fine equiaxed grains.
Source: G. Krauss, Steels: Heat Treatment
& Processing Principles (1989)

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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6. Hot working and homogenization

Heat Treatment of Steels (600-451 - G. Cingara) Week 4: Annealing

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6. Hot working and homogenization

HOT WORKING = Dynamic Recrystallization

Deformation at elevated temperature!

Dislocation formation and rearrangement at high T recrystallized grains!

Hot
Rolling
Mill
50% deformation

Static Recovery & Recrystallization

Equiaxed
Structure

Deformed
Structure

Dynamic
Recovery &
Recrystallization

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