uggSilla ki HEAT TREATMENT

INTRO
Various types of heat treatment processes are:
 Annealing

 Normalizing

 Hardening

 Tempering

 Refining
Annealing
• Annealing is one of the most important heat treatment operation
applied to steel. It is the process of heating the steel in a furnace
to a point not exceeding 50° above its upper critical point.

• Maintaining the steel at that temperature for a considerable time

(30-60 minutes) to convert the whole steel to austenite.

• Steel is allowed to cool down slowly through a medium of hot

sand, hot ashes or hot lime dust. The rate of cooling is to be
maintained at 150-200ºC per hour.
Purpose
(a) To soften the metal. i.e. While working on metals in cold
condition, it becomes hard. For further work on the metal
without any cracks, it should be soften by annealing process.
(b) To improve machinability.
(c) To refine grain size, structure and to improve mechanical
properties.
(d) To relieve internal stresses which were developed during
working over the metal.
(e) To modify physical properties.
(f) To increase ductility of metal.
(g) To prepare the steel for cold working.
Types of Annealing

Low Temperature Annealing (Spherodising) – This process consists of

heating the steel to a temperature little below the lower critical point and
cooling is done to carbon steels at a very slow rate (25 to 30ºC per hour)
before cold working. This process reduces hardness to the minimum and
brings the steel to elastic limit and yield point. Full annealing after the cold
working will restore its original property.

Blue Annealing – Severely cold worked steels, which are quite hardened
and have a very high yield point, are heated to 300ºC( blue color) in an
open furnace and cooled down slowly. It helps to work further on the
sheet without crack.

Box Annealing – In this process the job is kept in a closed annealing pot or
box, heated to a sub-critical temperature and cooled down slowly together
with box. It is used mainly for sheet, strip, or wire.
Black Annealing – In this process, the iron base alloys are heated to 400ºC and
cooled down slowly. After this the job appears in a black color, which is free
from oxide.

Flame Annealing – When hollowing on a sheet or working on a particular part

or area of large job, the area tends to become hard due to work hardening. It is
impossible to work further. For further working, the part or area of a job is to be
softened. It is done by heating the job by the oxy-acetylene flame to light
red color (800ºC) and cooled down slowly.

Pack Annealing – In this process the articles are covered with sand (pack),
heated to a light red color (800ºC) and cooled down slowly together with pack.
It is done on various shock resisting tool steel like chuck key, power tools, etc.

Water Annealing – This is a process of heating the article to above its upper
critical point, slowly cooling it down to black heat (approx. 400ºC) and then
finally quenching in water. This is carried out to speed up the annealing process
when there is lack of time.
Isothermal Annealing – Isothermal annealing reduces the total time
required for an annealing operation. In this process, steel is heated to austenite
state and then cooling it down to a temperature of about 650°C at a relatively
faster rate. Then it is held at constant temperature i.e. isothermally for some
time and then cooling it down to the room temperature at a rapid rate.
• questions
Table 2-1.-Heat Colors for Steel
Table 2-2.-Approximate Soaking Periods for Hardening, Annealing, and Normalizing
Steel
Normalizing
Hardening
In hardening process, the steel is first heated to a point exceeding 50ºC
above the upper critical point for hypo-eutectoid steels and 30-50ºC above for
hyper-eutectoid steel.

Then the steel is soaked at this temperature for a considerable time to ensure
that all the pearlite and cementite have changed into austenite. After that the
steel is cooled rapidly to keep the austenite to remain as such at room
temperature.

This process consists of two operations – heating and quenching. If these two
operations are properly carried out, then the required structure is obtained.
Effects of Hardening.
(a) Maximum hardness.
(b) Smallest grain size.
(c) Minimum ductility.
(d) Maximum tenacity.

Work Hardening – Low carbon

steels which have been cold
rolled or hammered, become
hard to a certain extent, thereby
increasing yield point and
ultimate strength with reduction
of ductility and toughness.
Case hardening
Case Hardening is a process of hardening ferrous alloys so that the surface
layer or case is made substantially harder than the interior or core. The
chemical composition of the surface layer is altered during the treatment by
the addition of carbon, nitrogen, or both.

Another general application of the case hardening is on camshafts and special

purpose screws, mainly the self drilling screws.

Flame Hardening – This is a surface hardening process done by the oxy-

acetylene flame. In this process heat is applied to the skin of the job and then
before the heat penetrates to the core, it is suddenly cooled. This method is
normally used on pinions, gear surface, crown wheels, cams and camshafts.
Examples
Induction hardening
• It is frequently desirable to harden only the surface of steels
by simply changing their microstructure without altering the
chemical composition of the surface layers. If steel contains
sufficient carbon to respond to hardening, it is possible to
harden the surface layers only by very rapid heating for a short
period of time, thus conditioning the surface for hardening by
quenching.

• Induction Hardening allows the selective hardening of a part

to achieve desired hardness over a specific area and
depth. Because the part is selectively heated, the heat-
affected zone can be adjusted to minimize distortion and other
problems.
• Surface hardening with induction creates parts that have
excellent resistance to fatigue. A hard outer case is created
over a ductile core, with high compressive forces at the
surface.
Induction Hardening – This is a surface hardening process, in which the heating
medium is the high frequency current. No sooner is the surface heated, the supply of
the current is shut-off and a high-pressure jet of water sprayed on the job.
The hardening temperature of Ni-Cr steel of 900-1000º C and that of high-speed steel is
1100-1300ºC.
CARBURIZING
• Carburizing is a process used to harden low carbon steels that
normally would not respond to quenching and tempering.
• Carburizing introduces carbon into a solid ferrous alloy by heating
the metal in contact with a carbonaceous material to a temperature
above the transformation range and holding at that
temperature. The depth of penetration of carbon is dependent on
temperature, time at temperature, and the composition of the
carburizing agent.
• As a rough indication, a carburized depth of about .0.030 to 0.050
inches can be obtained in about 4 hours at 1700°F, depending upon
the type of carburizing agent, which may be a solid, liquid, or gas.
• Once the carburization is complete, the parts must be hardened and
tempered to obtain the desired properties of both the core and the
case.
CARBONITRIDING
• Carbonitriding, also called Nitrocarburizing, is a process for
case hardening steel part in a gas-carburizing atmosphere that
contains ammonia in controlled percentages.
• The process is carried on above the transformation range, up to
1700°F.
• The parts are then quenched in oil to obtain maximum
hardness. The depth to which carbon and nitrogen penetrate
varies with temperature and time.
• The penetration of carbon is approximately the same as that
obtained in Gas Carburizing
GAS NITRIDING
• Gas Nitriding consists of subjecting machined and
heat-treated steel, free from surface decarburization,
to the action of a nitrogenous medium, usually
ammonia gas, at a temperature of approximately
950°F to 1050°F, creating a very hard surface.
• Because of the low temperatures required for Gas
Nitriding, distortion is very low compared to other
Case Hardening processes.
• Because Gas Nitriding is carried out at a relatively
low temperature, it is advantageous to use quenched
and tempered steel as the base material.
Tempering
Tempering involves heating steel that has been quenched and hardened for
an adequate period of time so that the metal can be equilibrated. The
hardness and strength obtained depend upon the temperature at which
tempering is carried out.

Higher temperatures will result into high ductility, but low strength and
hardness. Low tempering temperatures will produce low ductility, but high
strength and hardness.

In practice, appropriate tempering temperatures are selected that will

produce the desired level of hardness and strength. This operation is
performed on all carbon steels that have been hardened, in order to reduce
their brittleness, so that they can be used effectively in desired applications.

The object of tempering is to remove excessive brittleness and induce

toughness.
Different Methods of Tempering – The different methods of tempering are:

(a) Austie Tempering – Steel jobs of smaller diameter not exceeding 1/4” and
containing 0.9% carbon are heated to above the upper critical point and
quenched in a salt or lead bismuth bath of 260-340C. When the job reaches
the temperature of bath, it is removed and quenched in water. This method
does not promote the formation of martensite. Thus there are no stress/strain
effects, but strength, ductility and hardness are induced.

(b) Mar Tempering – In this process the steel is heated above its upper critical
point and quenched in a bath (260˚C). It is held in the bath for a definite time
and then cooled down to room temperature in still air. The transformation of
martensite takes place under conditions of slow rate of cooling and therefore,
internal stresses are reduced to a greater extent.
Colour Method. If a piece of clean polished steel is heated, it will be
seen that a series of colours appear on the surface as the temperature
rises. By heating the hardened job until a particular colour appears, a
definite amount of brittleness is removed. Always quench the job when the
required colour appears. The colour should be observed on a dark
background or in the shade, because colours vary with the intensity of
light. There are two methods of hardening and tempering by colours:

(a) Single heating method

(b) Double heating method
Single Heating Method – This method is used when the body of the tool is
to be left soft and tough, while the working edge is to be hardened and
tempered e.g. cold chisels, screw drivers, punches, scribers and drifts etc.

Process – Heat approximately half the tool from the working edge upwards
to a cherry red colour. Now dip half the heated portion into water, moving
the tool up and down to prevent the formation of water line. When the
cooled part becomes black, remove the tool and quickly polish the tip. The
heat from the upper part will flow down to the lower part. When a dark
purple colour (290C) appears on the polished tip, quench the whole tool in
water.
Double Heating Method – This method is employed where the whole body is to be
hardened and tempered and the shank alone left soft and tough. In this method the
body (tool) is heated up to its upper critical point and quenched drastically for
hardening. In the second heating, it is heated up to tempering temperature and again
quenched. This method is followed for drills, reamers, scrapers, hacksaw blades etc.

Alloy Bath Method – An alloy bath consists of lead and tin in varying proportions
which, when melted, will have temperatures varying between 180-320C depending
upon the percentage of each of the constituents. Hardened articles are immersed in
this molten bath, which is maintained at the tempering temperature required, till they
reach the temperature of the bath. They are then quickly cooled in water.
Oil Bath Method – In this method, oil, having a high flash point (where oil
starts burning into flame), is heated to the required temperature. The
article to be tempered is immersed in it until the article attains the
temperature of the oil. The job is then cooled in water.

Flash Method – In this method the job is heated to its upper

critical point and then quenched in hardening oil. It is then
removed from the oil and held in a clean fire until the oil flashes. It
is then cooled in water. This method is normally used for coil
springs.

Hot Sand Method – Large hardened articles are covered with sand and
heated to tempering temperature. It is then removed and quenched as
usual. The correct temperature is ascertained by means of a thermometer.

Salt Bath Method – Salts with low fusion points, such as

potassium and sodium are mixed and melted and the hardened
articles are immersed in it. After they attain the temperature of
the bath, the articles are removed and quenched in water.
Normalizing
The process consists of heating of steel to a point 40 to 50°C above its upper
critical temperature. Hold at that temperature for a short duration and
subsequently cooling in still air at room temperature. This is also known as air
quenching. It produces microstructures consisting of ferrite and pearlite for
hypo -eutectoid steels and pearlite and cementite for hypereutectoid steels.

Purpose – Normalizing is done for the following purposes:

(a) To eliminate coarse grain structure which is produced during
forging, rolling, etc.
(b) To improve machinability.
(c) To reduce internal stresses.
(d) To improve certain mechanical properties.
Effects Of Normalizing
(a) Normalizing raises the yield point, ultimate tensile strength and
impact strength of steel.
(b) Normalized steels are harder and stronger but less ductile than
annealed steels with the same composition.
(c) Reduces the grain size caused by over heating or by slow cooling.
(d) Produces uniform granular structure.
(e) Improves the machineability of the steel.
(f) It prevents the cracking of High Carbon Steel, High Speed Steel and
High Tensile Steel, when these steels are hardened.
• http://www.educationportals.net/2014/10/various
-types-of-heat-treatment-processes-2/