HEAT TREATMENT

Hardening & Hardenability

Hardening
Heat treatment that is use to improve
hardness, wear resistance, or toughness in
combination of hardness
In carbon steels, it is related to the formation
of martensite or carbide particles
Maximum hardness depends on: chemical
composition, heating temperature, holding
time, cooling rate
Hardening
General procedure
Holding time

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Hardening
Process:
Heating to 25-50 C above A3 line for
hypoeutectoid steel, 25-50 C above A1 line
for hypereutectoid steel
Holding time ensure the homogenity of
austenite austenitizing
Cooling at certain cooling rate, where cooling
rate = CCR (minimum)
Hardening
Final hardness:
Cooling medium: brine, water, oil, salt bath,
air.
Size and dimension

Surface condition

Chemical composition

Temperature
Hardening
Cooling medium
Hardening
Cooling medium
Hardening
Size
Hardening
Chemical composition
Hardening
Chemical composition
Hardening
Surface condition
Hardenability
The ability of an alloy to be hardened by the
formation of martensite as a result of a given
heat treatment
Hardenability hardness
Qualitative measure of the rate at which
hardness drops off with distance into the
interior of a specimen as a result of
diminished martensite content
Hardenability test: Jominy End Quench Test
Jominy end-quench test
All constant except chemical composition
Specimen: cylindrical, 25.4 mm (1.0 in.) in diameter
and 100 mm (4 in.) long
Process:
1 Austenization
2 Mounting to the apparatus
3 Quenching
4 Hardness measurement using Rockwell C
5 Plotting the hardness into a curve
Jominy end-quench test
Jominy end-quench test
The cooling rate is a maximum at the quenched end
and diminishes with position from this point along
the length of the specimen
Rockwell hardness measurements are made for the
first 50 mm (2 in) along each flat; for the first 12.8
mm (1/2 in), hardness readings are taken at 1.6 mm
(1/16 in) intervals, and for the remaining 38.4 mm
(1.5 in), every 3.2 mm (1/8 in)
The hardness value is plotted and forming a
hardenability curve
Jominy end-quench test
 Jominy end-quench test
The quenched end is cooled most rapidly
and exhibits the maximum hardness;
100% martensite is the product at this
position for most steels
Cooling rate decreases with distance
from the quenched end, and the hardness
also decreases
As cooling time diminished, more time is Hardenability
allowed for carbon diffusion and the curve is unique
formation of a greater proportion of the
softer pearlite, which may be mixed with
martensite and bainite
Highly hardenable steel will retain large
hardness values for relatively long
distances; a low hardenable one will not.
 Jominy end-quench test
Correlation of hardness and
cooling rate is also included in
standard hardenabilty curve
Correlation between position and
cooling rate is the same for plain
carbon and many alloy steels
heat transfer is independent of
chemical composition
Jominy end-quench test
Correlation between
position along the
Jominy specimen and
continuous cooling
transformation (CCT
diagram)

Eutectoid steel
 Jominy end-quench test
Identical hardnesses at the
quenched end; this
hardness is a function of
carbon content only
Lowest hardenability= alloy
1040 because hardness
drops off sharply after a
relatively short Jominy
distance
Hardness of other alloys
decreases gradually
indicating better
hardenability. The best is
4340 steel
 Jominy end-quench test
Indicative of the influence of
cooling rate on the microstructure
At the quenched end, where the
quenching rate is approximately
600 C/s, 100% martensite is
present for all five alloys.
For cooling rates less than about
70 C/s or Jominy distances
greater than 6.4 mm (1/4 in), the
microstructure of the 1040 steel
is predominantly pearlitic, with
some proeutectoid ferrite.
The microstructures of the other
four alloy steels consist primarily
of a mixture of martensite and
bainite; bainite content increases
with decreasing cooling rate.
 Jominy end-quench test
The effect of alloying
element in hardenability,
e.g. Ni, Cr, Mo
Those alloying elements
delay the austenite-to-
pearlite and/or bainite
reactions permits more
martensite to form for a
particular cooling rate
yielding a greater
hardness check the
right y-axis
 Jominy end-quench test
The effect of carbon
content on
hardenability
The hardness at any
Jominy position
increases with the
concentration of
carbon.
 Jominy end-quench test
Unavoidable variation in
composition and average
grain size during production
steel variation & scatter of
hardenability data
The variation is plotted as a
band representing the
maximum and minimum
values that would be
expected for the particular
alloy hardenability band
8640 H steel; H indicates the
hardenability band
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

The cooling rate of a specimen depends on

the rate of heat energy extraction, which is a
function of the characteristics of the
quenching medium in contact with the
specimen surface, as well as the specimen
size and geometry
Severity of quench indicates the rate of
cooling; the more rapid the quench, the more
severe the quench
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

Of the three most common quenching

mediawater, oil, and airwater produces
the most severe quench, followed by oil,
which is more effective than air
The degree of agitation of each medium also
influences the rate of heat removal.
Increasing the velocity of the quenching
medium across the specimen surface
enhances the quenching effectiveness
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

Oil quenches are suitable for many alloy steels

For high carbon steels, water quench is too
severe internal stress distortion cracking
and warping
Air cooling pearlitic structure
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

During the quenching of a steel specimen, heat energy

must be transported to the surface before it can be
dissipated into the quenching medium the cooling rate
within and throughout the interior of a steel structure
varies with position and depends on the geometry and
size
Diagrams of cooling rate as a function of diameter for
cylindrical bars at four radial positions; cooling rate is
also expressed as equivalent Jominy distance, since
these data are often used in conjunction with
hardenability curves can be used to predict the final
hardness
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

a. Mild agitated water b. Oil quenched

 Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

Prediction of the hardness

transverse along cross
section of a specimen
Chemical composition
influences hardness
(hardenability) along cross
section (fig.a)
Specimen diameter also
influences hardenability
(fig. b)
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

Since the heat energy is dissipated to the quenching

medium at the specimen surface, the rate of cooling
for a particular quenching treatment depends on the
ratio of surface area to the mass of the specimen
The larger the ratio, the more rapid will be the
cooling rate and, consequently, the deeper the
hardening effect
Irregular shapes with edges and corners have larger
surface-to-mass ratios than regular and rounded
shapes (e.g., spheres and cylinders) and are thus
more suitable to hardening by quenching
Jominy end-quench test
Influence of quenching medium, specimen size,
and geometry

Useful: correlate
hardenabilty curves,
and geometry effect to
determine a hardness
profile
Tempering
In the as-quenched state, martensite, hard, is
very and so brittle that it cannot be used for
most applications; also, any internal stresses
that may have been introduced during
quenching have a weakening effect
The ductility and toughness of martensite
may be enhanced and the internal stresses
relieved by a heat treatment known as
tempering
 Tempering
Tempering is accomplished by
heating a martensitic steel to a
temperature below the eutectoid
for a specified time period.
Normally, tempering is carried
out at temperatures between
250 and 650 C; internal
stresses, however, may be
relieved at temperatures as low
as 200 C
During tempering, diffusion
occurs formation of tempered
martensite
Tempering
Transformation of martensite tempered martensite
martensite (BCT, single phase) tempered martensite (+Fe3C phases)
Microstructure of tempered martensite consists of
extremely small and uniformly dispersed cementite
particles embedded within a continuous ferrite matrix.
This is similar to the microstructure of spheroidite except
that the cementite particles are much, much smaller
Electron micrograph of
tempered martensite.
Tempering was carried out
at 594 C. The small
particles are the cementite
phase; the matrix phase is -
ferrite
Tempering
Tempering
Tempering determines the size of the cementite
particles influences the mechanical behavior of
tempered martensite
Increasing the particle size decreases the ferrite
cementite phase boundary area and, consequently,
results in a softer and weaker material yet one that
is tougher and more ductile
Heat treatment variables are temperature and time,
and most treatments are constant-temperature
processes
Tempering
The dependence of
tensile and yield
strength and
ductility on
tempering
temperature for
4340 alloy steel
 Tempering
The time dependence of
hardness at several
different temperatures
With increasing time the
hardness decreases,
which corresponds to the
growth and coalescence
of the cementite particles Water quenched 1080 steel
Overtempered martensite
is relatively soft and
ductile
Tempering
Temper embrittlement
Reduction of toughness as measured by impact tests,
after tempering process. It occurs at 375 and 575 C
Steel alloys that contain appreciable concentrations of
the Mn, Ni, or Cr and, in addition,one or more of Sb, P,
and Sn as impurities in relatively low concentrations are
susceptible to temper embrittlement
The alloying elements and impurities shifts the ductile-to-
brittle transition to significantly higher temperatures; the
ambient temperature thus lies below this transition in the
brittle regime
Can be avoided by compositional control, and/or
tempering above 575 or below 375, followed by
quenching to room temperature.
Furthermore, the toughness of steels that have been
embrittled may be improved significantly by heating to
about 600 C and then rapidly cooling to below 300 C.
Martempering
Modification of conventional quench and
tempering process
Also produces tempered martensite structure
 Austempering
Heat treatment to produce
bainite structure
Process: austenization,
quenching to temperature
slightly above Ms (normally
using quenching medium
salt bath/molten salt), held
isothermally for a given
time, and then air-cooled to
room temperature
Austempering
Advantage over conventional quench and
temper:
Improved ductility and impact strength for a given
hardness
Decrease cracking and distortion quenching
Precipitation Hardening
Introduction

The strength and hardness of some metal alloys

may be enhanced by the formation of extremely
small uniformly dispersed particles of a second
phase within the original phase matrix; this must be
accomplished by phase transformations that are
induced by appropriate heat treatments
precipitation hardening
Small particles = precipitates
Other name is age hardening, because the strength
develops with time, or as the alloy ages
 Precipitation Hardening
Introduction
It can be used for non-ferrous and ferrous metal
Prerequisites:
an appreciable maximum solubility of one component
in the other, on the order of several percent
a solubility limit that rapidly decreases in
concentration of the major component with
temperature reduction
Precipitation Hardening
Process

1. Solution heat treatment, followed rapid

quench to room temperature
2. Precipitation heat treatment or aging
 Precipitation Hardening
Solution heat treatment

Heating to single phase solid solution

area () so that all solute atoms are
dissolved to form a single phase solid
solution ()
Followed by rapid cooling to room
temperature prevent any diffusion
and formation of other phases (
phase)
A nonequilibrium situation exists in
which only the -phase solid solution
supersaturated with B atoms is
present at in this state the alloy is
relatively soft and weak
 Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation heat treatment (aging)

The supersaturated solid solution is

ordinarily heated to an intermediate
temperature, T2 within the two-phase
region, at which temperature diffusion
rates become appreciable
The precipitate phase begins to
form as finely dispersed particles of
C composition
After the appropriate aging time at
T2, the alloy is cooled to room
temperature; normally, the cooling
rate is not an important
consideration
Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation heat treatment (aging)

The character of the precipitates, and

subsequently the strength and hardness of
the alloy, depend on both the precipitation
temperature and the aging time
For some alloys, aging occurs spontaneously
at room temperature over extended time
periods
Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation heat treatment (aging)

The dependence of the growth of the precipitate particles

on time and temperature under isothermal heat
treatment conditions
With increasing time, the strength or hardness increases,
reaches a maximum, and finally diminishes
This reduction in strength and hardness that occurs after
long time periods is known as overaging
Precipitation Hardening
Summary of the
process
Natural aging: age
hardening at ambient
temperature, long
periods
Artificial aging: age
hardening at elevated
temperature, shorter
period
 Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening

Consider Al-Cu alloys

The phase is a substitutional
solid solution of copper in
aluminum, whereas the
intermetallic compound CuAl2
is designated the phase
During the precipitation heat
treatment, several transition
phases are first formed in a
specific sequence in relation to
the development of equilibrium
phase
 Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening
The mechanical properties are
influenced by the character of the
particles of the transition phases
During the initial hardening stage Cu
atoms cluster together in very small
and thin discs that are only one or two
atoms thick and approximately 25
atoms in diameter; these form at
countless positions within the phase.
The clusters, sometimes called zones,
are so small that they are really not
regarded as distinct precipitate
particles
However, with time and the
subsequent diffusion of copper atoms,
zones become particles as they
increase in size
 Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening
The precipitate particles then pass through two
transition phases and before the formation of
the equilibrium phase
The size of the precipitate particles is very small in
order of nm

Supersaturated solid solution precipitate particles precipitate particles

 Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening

The strengthening and

hardening effects result from the
innumerable particles of the
transition and metastable phases
maximum strength coincides with
the formation of the phase,
which may be preserved upon
cooling the alloy to room
temperature.
Overaging results from continued
particle growth and the
development of and phases
reduce strength & hardness
Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening

The strengthening process is accelerated as

the temperature is increased
Precipitation Hardening
Mechanism of hardening
Lattice strains must be established at the precipitate
matrix interface. For aluminumcopper alloys, there is a
distortion of the crystal lattice structure around and within
the vicinity of particles of these transition phases
During plastic deformation, dislocation motions are
effectively impeded as a result of these distortions, and,
consequently, the alloy becomes harder and stronger.
As the phase forms, the resultant overaging (softening
and weakening) is explained by a reduction in the
resistance to slip that is offered by these precipitate
particles.

precipitate particles precipitate particles

Surface Hardening
Introduction

Purpose
Harden surface layers (0.1mm 5 mm)

To improve wear resistance

Increase surface strength for load carrying (crush

resistance)
To improve resistance to high contact stresses

Impart favorable residual compressive stresses

Produce tough core for resistance to impact

To improve fracture toughness

To improve fatigue resistance

Surface Hardening
Methods

Carburizing: liquid, pack, vacuum, plasma (ion), gas

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Cyaniding s

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Carbonitriding f
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Nitriding: gas, liquid, plasma (ion) red s i
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Boronizing: pack, vacuum A

Induction hardening in g
Flame hardening h eat
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Laser surface hardening r f
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Electron beam surface hardening
Surface Hardening
Applications

Applied to components that require hard

outer surface but tough inner core
Gears, bearings, valves, shafts, bearing
races, cams, hand tools, rolls, machine tools,
sprockets, piston rings
Surface Hardening
Carburizing

A process of adding C into the surface of steels. It is

done by exposing the component to a C rich
atmosphere at elevated temperature and allowing
diffusion of C atoms into steel
One of the cheapest and oldest method
Diffusion process
Techniques: pack carburizing, liquid carburizing, gas
carburizing, plasma carburizing, vacuum carburizing
gas carburizing is commonly used
Carbon content achieved: 0.7-1.2 wt %
Surface Hardening
Carburizing

Suitable for low carbon steel and alloy steels

containing 0.08-0.2 wt% C
Carburizing temperature: 850-950 C
Carburizing time: 4 72 h
Surface hardness achieved: 55 65 HRc
Case depth: 0.5 1.5 mm, medium (in practice)
After carburizing, the component may be
quenched and then tempered to the desired
hardness
Surface Hardening
Carburizing
Surface Hardening
Carburizing
Surface Hardening
Carburizing
Surface Hardening
Carburizing

Problem in carburizing is decarburization

Reaction during carburizing i.e.
Fe + 2CO Fe(C) + CO2 is reversible reaction
C is depleted from the steels surface when
the steel is heated inside furnace with CO2
atmosphere decarburization
Surface Hardening
Nitriding

A process of diffusing nitrogen into the surface of

steel. The nitrogen forms nitrides with element such
as Al, Cr, Mo, V. The parts are heat treated and
tempered before nitriding
Methods: plasma, gas and liquid nitriding
Suitable for low alloy steel containing Al, Cr, Mo, V
Nitriding temperature: 500 C 600 C (below A1
Reaction during nitriding: NH3 N + 3H
Surface hardness achieved: up to 1000 HVN
Case depth: 0.1-0.6 mm, shallow
Surface Hardening
Nitriding
Surface Hardening
Carbonitriding

Combination of gas carburizing and nitriding

Ammonia introduced to gas carburizing
atmosphere nitrogen+carbon diffusion
Better hardenability than carburized case
Process temperature: 845-900 C
Case depth: shallow
Surface Hardening
Carbonitriding
Surface Hardening
Cyaniding

Liquid carbonitriding
Heating process is conducted in cyanide
alkali solution e.g. sodium cynide
Surface of steel will absorb C & N from
solution quenching hard layer on
surface with higher N content
Surface Hardening
Boronizing

Process of diffusing boron (B) into the

surface of steel forming boride
Methods: pack and vacuum boronizing
Process temperature: 760-1095 C
Case depth: shallow
Surface Hardening
Boronizing
Surface Hardening
A few comparisons
Surface Hardening
A few comparisons
Surface Hardening
Flame hardening

Heat-treating process in which a thin surface

shell of a steel part is heated rapidly to a
temperature above the critical point of the
steel (austenitized), then the part is quickly
quenched, transforming the austenite to
martensite while leaving the core of the part
in its original state.
Depths of hardening from about 0.8 to 6.4
mm
Surface Hardening
Flame hardening

Heating: flame from combustion of a mixture

of fuel gas with oxygen or air
Final hardness & depth of hardening:
the fuels used, the design of the flame head, the
duration of heating, the hardenability of the work
material, and the quenching medium and method
of quenching used
Methods:
Spot, or stationary, Progressive, Spinning,
Combination progressive-spinning
Surface Hardening
Flame hardening

Spot

Progressive

Spinning

Progressive & Spinning

Surface Hardening
Flame hardening
Surface Hardening
Laser hardening

Heating source: laser beam

Local austenization at high temperature in
very short time, quenching via air and heat
conduction to surrounding part
temperature gradien 500 C/mm
Surface Hardening
Induction hardening

Heating source: electrical induction

Selective surface heating, then quenched
Depth of hardening is similar to that obtained
by flame hardening