Introduction
• We are all familiar with the image of a blacksmith heating a metal, then
Heat Treatment of Steels
Material properties can be altered
depending on the way we process
them
Objectives of Heat Treatments
• Heat Treatment is the controlled heating and cooling of metals to alter their
physical and mechanical properties without changing the product shape.
• Heat treatment is sometimes done inadvertently due to manufacturing
processes that either heat or cool the metal such as welding or forming.
• Heat Treatment is often associated with increasing the strength of material,
but it can also be used soften a metal and thus alter certain manufacturability
objectives such as improve machining, improve formability, restore ductility
after a cold working operation.
• Therefore, the most beneficial manufacturing processes are the ones that not
only help other manufacturing process, but can also improve product
performance by increasing strength or other desirable characteristics.
Objectives of Heat Treatments
• Steels are heat treated for one of the following reasons:
• Softening: Softening is done to reduce strength or hardness, remove
residual stresses, improve toughness, restore ductility, refine grain size of
the steel. Restoring ductility or removing residual stresses is a necessary
operation when a large amount of cold working is to be performed, such as
in a cold-rolling operation or wiredrawing. Annealing is the principal way by
which steel is softened.
• Hardening: Hardening of steels is done to increase the strength and wear
properties. One of the pre-requisites for hardening is sufficient carbon and
alloy content. If there is sufficient Carbon content then the steel can be
directly hardened. Otherwise the surface of the part has to be Carbon
enriched using some diffusion treatment hardening techniques.
quenching it in water. By heating and cooling (or quenching) a metal we can
change its properties.
Heat Treatment of Steels
• The focus of this lecture will be on metals, and specifically steels, but it
should be noted that heat-treatment is also used on ceramics and
composites to modify their properties.
• Steels are particularly suitable for heat treatment. This is because steels
contain small percentages of carbon. Remember from previous lecture that
steel is basically iron and carbon.
• To harden a component it must contain enough carbon. If it does not
contain enough carbon (normally greater than 0.3% for plain carbon steel)
then heating and quenching will have little effect on the material.
Softening: Annealing
Material properties can be altered by processing a material so that it's
grain structure changes
• Annealing - heating a material above a specific temperature - allows
recrystalization
• This specific temperature is called recrystalization temperature.
• Materials with more dislocations due to coldworking can be recrystallized at
lower temperatures.
• Dislocations result in a higher energy at the molecular and grain level.
Recrystalization occurs when enough energy (heat) is added to allow the
process to occur. As dislocations already possess a higher energy state,
less energy needs to be added in the result of increasing the material
temperature. Reduces strength as dislocations are removed.
• Video can be found on Youtube
• http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=p3bkZBJV7X8&feature=related
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 Hardening Hardening

• Introduction
• Hardness is a function of the Carbon content of the steel. From a previous
lecture, we had shown that by increasing the content of carbon in steel we
can make it stronger and harder, but it becomes more brittle. Hardening of a
steel requires a change in structure from the body-centered cubic structure
found at room temperature to the face-centered cubic structure found above
723oC (Austenite). When suddenly quenched, the Martensite is formed.
This is a very strong and brittle structure. If, however, it were slowly cooled
it would form Austenite and Pearlite which is a partly hard and partly soft
structure. When the cooling rate is extremely slow then it would be mostly
Pearlite which is extremely soft.
Introduction
• Carbon steels that have minimum carbon content of 0.4%, or alloy steels
with a lower carbon content can be selectively hardened in specific regions
by applying heat and quench only to those regions. Parts that benefit by
flame hardening include gear teeth. These techniques are best suited for
medium carbon steels with a carbon content ranging from 0.4 to 0.6%.
• Common Selective Hardening Processes include:
1. Flame Hardening
2. Induction Hardening

3. Laser Beam Hardening

4. Electron Beam Hardening

Figure: Grain structures of carbon steel

Hardening Hardening
Flame Hardening
• A high intensity oxy-acetylene flame is applied to the selective region. The
Induction Hardening
temperature is raised high enough to be in the region of Austenite
transformation. The "right" temperature is determined by the operator based • In Induction hardening, the steel part is placed inside a electrical coil which
on experience by watching the color of the steel. The overall heat transfer is has alternating current through it. This energizes the steel part and heats it
limited by the torch and thus the interior never reaches the high up. Depending on the frequency and amperage, the rate of heating as well
temperature. The heated region is quenched to achieve the desired as the depth of heating can be controlled. Hence, this is well suited for
hardness. Tempering can be done to eliminate brittleness. surface heat treatment. The details of heat treatment are similar to flame
hardening.
The depth of hardening can be
Work piece
increased by increasing the heating
time. As much as 6.3 mm of depth
can be achieved. In addition, large Coil
parts, which will not normally fit in a
furnace, can be heat-treated.
The image on the left shows a large
gear where the teeth are being
flame hardened. Gear teeth induction
hardened

Hardening Quenching

Electron Beam Hardening We’ve discussed ways in which to heat steel. However, the way in which we
• Electron Beam Hardening is similar to laser beam hardening. The heat cool it has a profound influence on its strength and hardness.
source is a beam of high-energy electrons. The beam is manipulated using
electromagnetic coils. The process can be highly automated, but needs to • Quenching is the act of rapidly cooling hot steel to harden the steel.
be performed under vacuum conditions since the electron beams dissipate
easily in air. As in laser beam hardening, the surface can be hardened very
precisely both in depth and in location.

Laser Beam Hardening

• Laser beam hardening is another variation of flame hardening. A phosphate
Rapid cooling or quenching
coating is applied over the steel to facilitate absorption of the laser energy.
produces a very hard and
The selected areas of the part are exposed to laser energy. This causes the
brittle material
selected areas to heat. By varying the power of the laser, the depth of heat
absorption can be controlled. The parts are then quenched and tempered.
This process is very precise in applying heat selectively to the areas that
need to be heat-treated. Further, this process can be run at high speeds, Reheat and allow to cool
produces very little distortion. slowly - produces a less
brittle material

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 Quenching Media Quenching Media

• The most commonly used quenching media are • Salt Water: Salt water is a more rapid quench medium than plain water
1. Water (plain or salt water) because the bubbles are broken easily and allow for rapid cooling of the
part. However, salt water is even more corrosive than plain water, and
2. Oil
hence must be rinsed off immediately.
3. Air

• Water: Quenching can be done by plunging the hot steel in water. The water
adjacent to the hot steel vaporizes, and there is no direct contact of the
water with the steel. This slows down cooling until the bubbles break and
allow water contact with the hot steel. As the water contacts and boils, a
great amount of heat is removed from the steel. With good agitation, bubbles
can be prevented from sticking to the steel, and thereby prevent soft spots.
• Unfortunately, water is corrosive with steel, and the rapid cooling can
sometimes cause distortion or cracking.
• Oil: Oil is used when a slower cooling rate is desired. Since oil has a very
high boiling point, the transition from start of Martensite formation to the
finish is slow and this reduces the likelihood of cracking. Oil quenching
results in fumes, spills, and sometimes a fire hazard.
• Air: It goes without saying that air is the slowest method to allow something
to cool

Case Hardening Case Hardening: Carburising

• The Carbon content in the steel determines whether it can be directly
hardened. If the Carbon content is low (less than 0.25% for example) then
an alternate means exists to increase the Carbon content of the surface.
The part then can be heat-treated by either quenching in liquid or cooling in
still air depending on the properties desired. Note that this method will only
allow hardening on the surface, but not in the core, because the high carbon
content is only on the surface. This is sometimes very desirable because it
allows for a hard surface with good wear properties (as on gear teeth or
knife), but has a tough core that will perform well under impact loading.
• It is possible to add additional carbon to the outer surface of a component
low in carbon. This carbon case can then be heat treated in the normal way
giving a hard outer skin and a soft core. This process is known as case
hardening. Adding carbon in a process is known as carburizing.
• Carburizing is a process of adding Carbon to the surface. This is done by
exposing the part to a Carbon rich atmosphere at an elevated temperature
and allows diffusion to transfer the Carbon atoms into steel. This diffusion
will work only if the steel has low carbon content, because diffusion works
on the differential of concentration principle. If, for example the steel had
high carbon content to begin with, and is heated in a carbon free furnace,
such as air, the carbon will tend to diffuse out of the steel resulting in
Decarburization.
• There are a number of different ways to carburise or add carbon to the
surface of a metal. We will briefly discuss three methods:
1. The pack method
2. Gas Carburizing
3. Liquid Carburizing

Case Hardening Case Hardening

The Pack Method The pack method

• The component is placed in a box surrounded by a carbon rich material and
placed in a furnace at 920 oC. The carbon is absorbed into the austenite.
The depth of penetration of carbon into the surface depends on the
temperature and the time spent in the furnace. To carburise to a depth of 1
mm the component will need to be left in the furnace for up to 12 hours.
After cooling, the component is immersed in a bath of molten salt. The salt
is kept at a temperature of 780 °C. The component remains immersed for a
half an hour and it is then quenched in water. The salt used in this process
will not add carbon or remove carbon from the surface. It is a neutral salt.
The molten salt is used because it provides uniform heating over the entire
surface of a complicated shape.

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 Case Hardening

Gas Carburizing:
• Gas Carburizing is conceptually the same as pack carburizing, except that
Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas is supplied to a heated furnace. The carbon-rich
gas circulates within the furnace and around the component/part which is to
be hardened. The deposition of carbon takes place on the surface of the
part. This is a faster method of carburizing than the pack method and
greater control over the process is possible.

Liquid Carburizing:
• The steel parts are immersed in a molten carbon rich bath. In the past, such
baths have cyanide (CN) as the main component. This process produces a
thin, hard shell that is harder than the one produced by other carburizing
methods, and can be completed in 20 to 30 minutes compared to several
hours so the parts have less opportunity to become distorted. It is typically
used on small parts such as bolts, nuts, screws and small gears. The major
drawback of cyaniding is that cyanide salts are poisonous. Therefore, safety
concerns have led to non-toxic baths that achieve the same result.