DARSHAN SETHI

EX. No.-3 TITLE 16BME0011

28/07/2017 Metallographic examination of BATCH B
04/08/2017 medium carbon, high carbon and tool L 55-56
11/08/2017 steel

Objective of the experiment:

Prepare the specimen and observe the microstructure and determine
the type of steel (Medium carbon steel , High carbon steel and Tool
steel).

Materials required:
Sample of different types of steel, cotton, Nital (2 mL HNO3 and 98 mL
of ethanol or methanol), tap water, abrasive Al2O3.

Apparatus required:
Polishing machine, hair drier, and conventional metallography
microscope.
DARSHAN SETHI

Theory:

The grinding / polishing machine use Al2O3 as abrasive material to

grind the specimen and polishing it. Etching is performed to just make
the surface of the specimen corrode so that it can reflect light as its
microstructure become visible.

Medium carbon steel : Approximately 0.30.6% carbon content. Balances

ductility and strength and has good wear resistance; used for large parts,
forging and automotive components.

High carbon steel : Approximately 0.61.0% carbon content. Very strong,

used for springs, swords, and high-strength wires

Tool steel : Having carbon content between 0.5% and 1.5%. Their
suitability comes from their distinctive hardness resistance to abrasion and
deformation, and their ability to hold a cutting edge at elevated
temperatures. As a result, tool steels are suited for use in the shaping of
other materials.
Tool steels are used for cutting, pressing, extruding, and coining of metals
and other materials.
DARSHAN SETHI

Procedure:

Step-1) After collecting samples, we did polishing using polishing

machine the rotation speed of the wheel was around 400 rpm. We kept
specimen moving in opposite direction of wheel motion. Polishing was
done with help of abrasive solution of Al2O3 and tap water.

Step-2) After doing polishing for 4 to 5 mins we did etching with help of
Nital taking on cotton.

Step-3) after etching we washed the specimen with tap water.

Step-4) then we dried the specimen with Hair drier.

Step-5) We observed the microstructure with the help of conventional

metallography microscope and after finding the type of steel. We saved
the result using Digital microscope in folder G2.
DARSHAN SETHI

Observations: Microstructure of specimens are shown as :

HIGH CARBON STEEL

MEDIUM CARBON STEEL

DARSHAN SETHI

TOOL STEEL

Results:
The microstructures present in image are shown as above. And we can
see the carbon content too present in that.

Inference:
The objective was achieved successfully and microstructure of the
specimens and the types of steel were identified.