HEAT TREATMENT OF STEEL

CHAPTER 4

DEFINITION AND PURPOSE

Heat Treatment is the controlled heating and cooling of metals to alter their physical and mechanical properties without changing the product shape.

Purpose to increase the strength of material, to alter certain manufacturability objectives such as improve machining, improve formability, restore ductility after a cold working operation.

STAGE OF HEAT TREATMENT

2.
3.

Heating to required temperature Holding (soaking) at constant temperature Cooling

The time at the high temperature (soaking time) is long enough to allow the desired transformation to occur. Cooling is done slowly to avoid warping/cracking of due to the thermal gradients and thermo-elastic stresses within the or even cracking the metal piece.

TYPES OF FURNACE

HEAT TREATMENT PROCESS

ANNEALING
Annealing involves heating the steel to a designated temperature and holding it for a specified period of time before cooling. Different annealing processes use different annealing temperatures, holding times and cooling rates to achieve the final microstructure and properties required.

Purposes of annealing: Relieve internal stresses Increase ductility, toughness, softness Produce specific microstructure

FULL ANNEALING

Full annealing is the process of slowly raising the temperature about 50 C (90 F) above the Austenitic temperature line A3 or line ACM in the case of Hypoeutectoid steels (steels with < 0.77% Carbon) and 50 C (90 F) into the Austenite-Cementite region in the case of Hypereutectoid steels (steels with > 0.77% Carbon).
Lower critical temperature A1 below which austenite does not exist Upper critical temperature lines, A3 and Acm above which all material is austenite

It is held at this temperature for sufficient time for all the material to transform into Austenite or Austenite-Cementite as the case may be.

It is then slowly cooled at the rate of about 20 C/hr (36 F/hr) in a furnace to about 50 C (90 F) into the Ferrite-Cementite range. At this point, it can be cooled in room temperature air with natural convection.

The grain structure has coarse Pearlite with ferrite or Cementite. The steel becomes soft and ductile. Is used to soften pieces which have been hardened by plastic deformation, and which need to undergo subsequent machining/forming.

STRESS RELIEF ANNEALING

used to eliminate/minimize stresses arising from

Stress relief annealing allows these stresses to relax. Annealing temperatures are relatively low so that useful effects of cold working are not eliminated.

SPHEROIDIZING ANNEALING

Spheroidization is an annealing process used for high carbon steels (Carbon > 0.6%) that will be machined or cold formed subsequently. This is done by one of the following ways:
1.

Heat the part to a temperature just below the Ferrite-Austenite line, line A1 or below the Austenite-Cementite line, essentially below the 727 C (1340 F) line. Hold the temperature for a prolonged time and follow by fairly slow cooling. Or

2.

Cycle multiple times between temperatures slightly above and slightly below the 727 C (1340 F) line, say for example between 700 and 750 C (1292 - 1382 F), and slow cool. Or For tool and alloy steels heat to 750 to 800 C (1382-1472 F) and hold for several hours followed by slow cooling.

3.

All these methods result in a structure in which all the Cementite is in the form of small globules (spheroids) dispersed throughout the ferrite matrix. This structure allows for improved machining in continuous cutting operations such as lathes and screw machines. Spheroidization also improves resistance to abrasion.

NORMALIZING

Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to over 60 C (108 F), above line A3 or line ACM fully into the Austenite range. It is held at this temperature to fully convert the structure into Austenite, and then removed from the furnace and cooled at room temperature under natural convection. This results in a grain structure of fine Pearlite with excess of Ferrite or Cementite.

The resulting material is soft; the degree of softness depends on the actual ambient conditions of cooling. This process is considerably cheaper than full annealing since there is no added cost of controlled furnace cooling.
The main difference between full annealing and normalizing is that fully annealed parts are uniform in softness (and machinablilty) throughout the entire part; since the entire part is exposed to the controlled furnace cooling.

QUENCH HARDENING

Quench hardening is a process in which steel and cast iron alloys are heated above a certain critical temperature and rapidly cooled to produce a hardened structure. Austenite structure transform into martensite. Quenching medium:
Water Oil Air Special liquids

Increased steel hardness

CASE HARDENING

Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal, often a low carbon steel, by infusing elements into the material's surface, forming a thin layer of a harder alloy.

To produce a hard surface product with mild inner core (untouched).

CARBURIZING

In this process steel is introduced to a carbon rich environment and elevated temperatures for a certain amount of time, and then quenched so that the carbon is locked in the structure. The carbon can come from a solid, liquid or gaseous source; if it comes from a solid source the process is called pack carburizing.

CARBURIZING

Liquid carburizing involves placing parts in a bath of a molten carbon-containing material, often a metal cyanide; Gas carburizing involves placing the parts in a furnace maintained with a methane-rich interior.

PROCESS
STAGE ONE: The steel is heated to red heat. It may only be necessary to harden one part of the steel and so heat can be concentrated in this area.

STAGE TWO: The steel is removed from the brazing hearth with blacksmiths tongs and plunged into case hardening compound and allowed to cool a little. The case hardening compound is high in carbon.

STAGE THREE: The steel is heated again to a red colour, removed from the brazing hearth and plunged into cold, clean water.

The steel rod should now have a hardened outer surface and a flexible, soft interior. The process can be repeated to increase the depth of the hardened surface.

NITRIDING

Nitriding is a surface-hardening heat treatment that introduces nitrogen into the surface of steel at a temperature range (500 to 550C, or 930 to 1020F), while it is in the ferrite condition. Nitriding is widely used in automotive, mechanical and aeronautical engineering. Typical components are gears, crankshafts, camshafts, cam followers, valve parts, extruder screws, die-casting tools, forging dies, extrusion dies, injectors and plasticmould tools.

ADVANTAGE OF NITRIDING

It does not need additional heat treatments to harden, therefore nitriding maintains better dimensional control. Principal reasons for nitriding are:

To obtain high surface hardness To increase wear resistance To improve fatigue life To improve corrosion resistance (except for stainless steels) To obtain a surface that is resistant to the softening effect of heat at temperatures up to the nitriding temperature

TEMPERING

is done to "toughen" the metal by transforming brittle martensite into bainite or a combination of ferrite and cementite. The martensite becomes strong after being tempered because when reheated, the microstructure can rearrange and the carbon atoms can diffuse out of the distorted structure. After the carbon diffuses, the result is nearly pure ferrite.

PROCESS

The steel is then tempered by heating between the ranges of 150C-260C (300F-500F) and 370C650C (700F-1200F). The steel is held at that temperature until the carbon trapped in the martensite diffuses to produce a chemical composition with the potential to create either bainite or pearlite (a crystal structure formed from a mixture of ferrite and cementite)