TTT

Diagram &
Heat
Treatment
Processes
IRON CARBON CONSTITUTIONAL DIAGRAM-II
 CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
 Upper critical temperature (point) A3 is the temperature, below which ferrite
starts to form as a result of ejection from austenite in the hypoeutectoid alloys.

 Upper critical temperature (point) ACM is the temperature, below which

cementite starts to form as a result of ejection from austenite in the hypereutectoid
alloys.

 Lower critical temperature (point) A1 is the temperature of the austenite-to-

pearlite eutectoid transformation. Below this temperature austenite does not exist.

 Magnetic transformation temperature A2 is the temperature below which α-

ferrite is ferromagnetic.
PHASE COMPOSITIONS OF THE IRON-
CARBON ALLOYS AT ROOM
TEMPERATURE

Hypoeutectoid steels (carbon content from 0 to 0.79%) consist of

primary proeutectoid) ferrite (according to the curve A3) and pearlite.

Eutectoid steel (carbon content 0.79%) entirely consists of pearlite.

Hypereutectoid steels (carbon content from 0.79 to 2.14%) consist of

primary (proeutectoid) cementite (according to the curve ACM) and
pearlite.

Cast irons (carbon content from 2.14% to 4.3%) consist of proeutectoid

cementite C2 ejected from austenite according to the curve ACM , pearlite
and transformed ledeburite (ledeburite in which austenite transformed to
pearlite.
 Austenite-to-Pearlite Isothermal Transformation
• Eutectoid composition, C0 = 0.79 wt% C
• Begin at T > 727ºC
• Rapidly cool to 625ºC
• Hold T (625ºC) constant (isothermal treatment)
T(ºC) Austenite (stable)
TE (727ºC)
700 Austenite
(unstable)

Adapted from Fig.

600 Pearlite 10.14,Callister &
g g Rethwisch 8e. (Fig. 10.14
adapted from H. Boyer
g g g g (Ed.) Atlas of Isothermal
Transformation and
500 Cooling Transformation
Diagrams, American
Society for Metals, 1997,
p. 28.)
400

1 10 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5
time (s)
6
TTT DIAGRAM
 TTT DIAGRAM
•T (Time) T(Temperature) T(Transformation) diagram is a plot of
temperature versus the logarithm of time for a steel alloy of definite
composition.
• It is used to determine when transformations begin and end for an
isothermal (constant temperature) heat treatment of a previously austenitized
alloy.
•When austenite is cooled slowly to a temperature below LCT (Lower
Critical Temperature), the structure that is formed is Pearlite.
•As the cooling rate increases, the pearlite transformation temperature gets
lower. The microstructure of the material is significantly altered as the
cooling rate increases.
•By heating and cooling a series of samples, the history of the austenite
transformation may be recorded. TTT diagram indicates when a specific
transformation starts and ends and it also shows what percentage of
transformation of austenite at a particular temperature is achieved.
Bainite: Another Fe-Fe3C Transformation Product
• Bainite:
-- elongated Fe3C particles in
a-ferrite matrix
-- diffusion controlled Fe3C
• Isothermal Transf. Diagram, (cementite)
C0 = 0.76 wt% C a (ferrite)
800 Austenite (stable)
T(ºC) A
TE
P
600 100% pearlite 5 mm
Adapted from Fig. 10.17, Callister &
Rethwisch 8e. (Fig. 10.17 from Metals
100% bainite Handbook, 8th ed., Vol. 8, Metallography,
400 A B Structures, and Phase Diagrams, American
Society for Metals, Materials Park, OH,
1973.)

200

10-1 10 103 105

Adapted from Fig. 10.18, time (s)
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
10
 Martensite: A Nonequilibrium Transformation
• Martensite: Product
-- g(FCC) to Martensite (BCT)

60 mm
Fe atom potential
x x
sites x x C atom sites
x Adapted from Fig. 10.20,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

• Isothermal Transf. Diagram

800 Austenite (stable) Martensite needles
T(ºC) TE Austenite
A
P Adapted from Fig. 10.21, Callister &
600 Rethwisch 8e. (Fig. 10.21 courtesy
United States Steel Corporation.)
Adapted from
Fig. 10.22,
Callister & 400 A B • g to martensite (M) transformation..
Rethwisch 8e.
-- is rapid! (diffusionless)
200 M+A
0% -- % transf. depends only on T to
50%
M+A 90% which rapidly cooled
M+A
10-1 10 103 105 time (s) 11
 Ferrite - BCC

Martensite - BCT

Austenite - FCC

Fe3C (cementite)- orthorhombic

 Pearlite
• Fine pearlite
• Course pearlite • High rate of cooling
• As in air (fig.4.11)
• Slow rate of
cooling
• As in a furnace
 Martensite
• When austenite is cooled at a high rate such
as by quenching in water its FCC structure is
transformed to BCT (body-centered
tetragonal)
• Hard
• Brittle
• Lacks toughness so limited in usefulness
MICROSTRUCTURE OF MARTENSITE
 FIGURE 4.15 (a) Hardness of martensite as a function of carbon content. (b) Micrograph of martensite
containing 0.8% carbon. The gray platelike regions are martensite; they have the same composition as the
original austenite (white regions). Magnification: 1000.
 Bainite
• Very fine microstructure consisting of
ferrite and cementite
• Bainitic steel is stronger and more ductile
than pearlitic steels at the same hardness
levels
AUSTENITE PEARLITE
 Summary of Possible Transformations
Adapted from
Austenite (g) Fig. 10.36,
Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.
slow moderate rapid
cool cool quench

Pearlite Bainite Martensite

(a + Fe3C layers + a (a + elong. Fe3C particles) (BCT phase
proeutectoid phase) diffusionless
transformation)

Martensite reheat
T Martensite
Strength

Ductility
bainite Tempered
fine pearlite Martensite
coarse pearlite (a + very fine
spheroidite Fe3C particles)

General Trends 22
 Heat Treatment
• Heat Treatment process is a series of operations involving the
heating and cooling of metals in the solid state. Its purpose
is to change a mechanical property or combination of
mechanical properties so that the metal will be more useful,
serviceable, and safe for definite purpose. By heat treating, a
metal can be made harder, stronger, and more resistant to
impact, heat treatment can also make a metal softer and
more ductile. No one heat-treating operation can produce all
of these characteristics. In fact, some properties are often
improved at the expense of others. In being hardened, for
example, a metal may become brittle.
 6.1 Introduction
• Heat treatments are processes of controlled
heating and cooling to purposefully alter a
material’s structure and properties
• Changes in properties can be introduced with
no change in shape
• Heat treatments are integrated with other
processes to obtain effective results
 TECHNIQUES INVOLVE IN
HEAT TREATMENT
• ANNEALING
• NORMALISING
•SPHERODIZING
•HARDENING
• TEMPERING
• MARTEMPERING
• AUSTEMPERING
 Annealing
• Annealing refers to a wide group of heat
treatment processes and is performed primarily
for homogenization, recrystallization or relief of
residual stress in typical cold worked or welded
components. Depending upon the temperature
conditions under which it is performed, annealing
eliminates chemical or physical non-homogeneity
produced of phase transformations. Few
important variants of annealing are full
annealing, Process annealing, spheroidise
annealing, recrystallization annealing, and stress
relief annealing
 Annealing
• Steps
1. Heat to a specific
temperature range in a
furnace
2. Hold at that temperature
(soaking)
3. Cooling in air or in a
furnace
• The restoration of a cold-
worked or heat-treated
alloy to its original
properties
• Increase ductility
• Reduce hardness and
strength
• Modify the
microstructure
• Relieve residual stresses
• Improve machinability
Annealing
 Full annealing (conventional annealing)
• Full annealing process consists of three steps.
• First step is heating the steel component to above A3 (upper critical
temperature for ferrite) temperature for hypoeutectoid steels and
above A1 (lower critical temperature) temperature for hypereutectoid
steels by 30-500C
• The second step is holding the steel component at this temperature
for a definite holding (soaking) period to assure equalization of
temperature throughout the cross-section of the component and
complete austenization.
• Final step is to cool the hot steel component to room temperature
slowly in the furnace, which is also called as furnace cooling.
• The full annealing is used to relieve the internal stresses induced due
to cold working, welding, etc, to reduce hardness and increase
ductility, to refine the grain structure, to make the material
homogenous in respect of chemical composition, to increase
uniformity of phase distribution, and to increase machinability.
 Recrystallization/Process annealing
• Recrystallization annealing process consists of heating a
steel component below A1 temperature i.e. at temperature
between 6250C and 6750C (recrystallization temperature
range of steel), holding at this temperature and subsequent
cooling.
• This type of annealing is applied either before cold working
or as an intermediate operation to remove strain hardening
between multi-step cold working operations. In certain
case, recrystallization annealing may also be applied as final
heat treatment.
• The cold worked ferrite recrystallizes and cementite tries to
spheroidise during this annealing process.
• Recrystallization annealing relieves the internal stresses in
the cold worked steels and weldments, and improves the
ductility and softness of the steel. time.
Annealing
 Spheroidise annealing
• Spheroidise annealing is one of the variant of the annealing
process that produces typical microstructure consisting of
the globules (spheroid) of cementite or carbides in the
matrix of ferrite. Used for hyper eutectoid steel
• The following methods are used for spheroidise annealing
• Holding at just below A1 (30degrees below)
• Holding the steel component at just below the lower critical
temperature (A1) transforms the pearlite to globular
cementite particles. But this process is very slow and
requires more time for obtaining spheroidised structure.
• Spheroidised structures are softer than the fully annealed
structures and have excellent machinability. This heat
treatment is utilized to high carbon and air hardened alloy
steels to soften them and to increase machinability, and to
reduce the decarburization while hardening of thin sections
such as safety razor blades and needles.
 FIGURE 4.14
Microstructure of eutectoid steel. Spheroidite is formed by tempering the steel at 700°C (1292°F).
Magnification: 1000.
NORMALIZING
Normalizing is a type of heat treatment applicable to
ferrous metals only. It differs from annealing in that
the metal is heated to a higher temperature and then
removed from the furnace for air cooling.

The process might be more accurately described as

a homogenizing or grain-refining treatment

The purpose of normalizing is to remove the internal

stresses induced by heat treating, welding, casting,
forging, forming, or machining.
Normalizing also improves the ductility without
reducing the hardness and strength
 Normalizing
• Normalizing process consists of three steps.
• The first step involves heating the steel component
above the A3 cm temperature for hypoeutectoid steels
and above A3(upper critical temperature for cementite)
temperature for hypereutectoid steels by 300C to 500C
• The second step involves holding the steel component
long enough at this temperature for homogeneous
austenization.
• The final step involves cooling the hot steel component
to room temperature in still air.
• Due to air cooling, normalized components show
slightly different structure and properties than
annealed components.
 Hardening
•Hardening is carried out to increase hardness of
steel , also to increase strenghth and wear
resistance.
•The hardness is attained due to formation of
Martensite. Martensite is a supersaturated
metastable phase and have body centered
tetragonal lettice (bct) instead of bcc
• Martensite looks needle-like under microscope
due to its fine lamellar structure.
 Hardening
Conventional hardening process consists of four steps.:-
•first step -heating the steel to above A3 temperature for
hypoeutectoid steels and above A1 temperature for
hypereutectoid steels by 500C.
•Second step -holding the steel components for sufficient
socking time for homogeneous austenization.
•third step - cooling of hot steel components at a rate just
exceeding the critical cooling rate of the steel to room
temperature or below room temperature.
•final step - the tempering of the martensite to achieve the
desired hardness.
• In this conventional hardening process, the austenite
transforms to martensite. This martensite structure
improves the hardness
•.
Hardening
QUENCHING

In materials science, quenching is the rapid

cooling of a work piece to obtain certain material
properties. It prevents low-temperature processes,
such as phase transformations, from occurring by
only providing a narrow window of time in which
the reaction is both thermodynamically favorable
and kinetically accessible.
 TEMPERING
The hardened steel is not readily suitable for engineering
applications. It possesses following three drawbacks:- -
(a)Martensite obtained after hardening is extremely
brittle and will result in failure of engineering
components by cracking.
(b)Formation of martensite from austenite by
quenching produces high internal stresses in the
hardened steel.
(c) Structures obtained after hardening consists of
martensite and retained austenite. Both these
phases are metastable and will change to stable
phases with time which subsequently results in
change in dimensions and properties of the steel in
service.
Tempering helps in reduce these problems.
• Tempering is achieved by heating hardened steel to a
temperature below A1, which is in the range of 1000C to
6800C, hold the component at this temperature for a soaking
period of 1 to 2 hours (can be increases up to 4 hours for
large sections and alloy steels), and subsequently cooling
back to room temperature.
• The tempering temperature is decided based on the type of
steel. Highly alloyed tool steels are tempered in the range of
5000C - 6000C. Low alloy construction steels are tempered
above 4000Cto get a good combination of strength and
ductility.
• Spring steels are tempered between 300C - 400C to get the
desired properties
• . It is observed that the increase in the tempering temperature
decreases the hardness and internal stresses while increases
the toughness.
 Martempering (marquenching)
• Martempering process overcomes the limitation
of the conventional hardening process.
• This process follows interrupted quenching
operation. In other words, the cooling is stopped
at a point above the martensite transformation
region to allow sufficient time for the center to
cool to the temperature as the surface. Further
cooling is continued through the martensite
region, followed by the usual tempering. In this
process, the transformation of austenite to
martensite takes place at the same time
throughout the structure of the metal part.
 Austempering
• This process is also used to overcome the limitation
of the conventional hardening process..
• Here the quench is interrupted at a higher
temperature than for martempering to allow the
metal at the center of the part to reach the same
temperature as the surface. By maintaining that
temperature, both the center and surface are
allowed to transform to bainite and are then cooled
to room temperature.
• Austempering causes less distortion and cracking
than that in the case of martempering and avoids
the tempering operation.
• Austempering also improves the impact toughness
and the ductility of the metal than that in the case of
martempering and conventional hardening
Austempering
 Martensite
• If excess carbon becomes
trapped in the microstructure,
it becomes a distorted BCC
structure.
• This new structure is known as
martensite.
• The hardness and strength of
steel with martensitic
structure are strong functions
of the carbon content.
• The amount of martensite that
forms is not a function of time,
but the temperature during
quenching. Figure 6-9 Effect of carbon on the
hardness of martensite.
 Tempering of Martensite
• Initially after it has been quenched,
martensite lacks the toughness and ductility
for engineering applications.
• Tempering is a subsequent heating to give the
steel necessary ductility and fracture
toughness
 Hardenability
• Hardenability is the capability of an alloy to
be hardened by heat treatment
• Measures the depth of hardness obtained by
heat treatment/quenching
• Hardenability is not the same as hardness
 Jominy Test for Hardenability
• material + cooling rate→structure→properties
• A heated material is quenched from one end
• Standards for Jominy test
– Quench medium
– Internal nozzle diameter
– Water pressure
• All cooling is along the axis of the bar
• After the bar is cooled, Rockwell hardness
readings are taken (i.e. strength)
 End-Quench hardenability test
(Jominy Test)
• Quenching media • Round test bar is
• Water austenized (heated to
• Brine the proper temperature
to form 100% austenite)
• Oil
• Bar then quenched at
• Molten salts one end
• Air • Hardness decreases
• Caustic solutions away from the
• Polymer solutions quenched end of the
• gases bar
 Jominy Hardness Test

Figure 6-16 Typical hardness distribution

along a Jominy test specimen.

Figure 6-15 Schematic diagram of the Jominy

hardenability test.
 Surface Hardening of Steel
• Methods to produce properties that vary
throughout the material
– Selective heating of the surface
– Altered surface chemistry
– Deposition of an additional surface layer
 Selective Heating Techniques
• Surface properties are established by surface treatments
– Flame hardening
• Uses an oxy-acetylene flame to raise the surface temperature to
reform austenite
• Surface is then water quenched to form martensite
• Tempered to a desired hardness
– Induction hardening
• Steel part is placed inside a conductor coil and alternating current
is used to change the surface of the steel
• Rate and depth of heating can be controlled
• Ideal for round bars and cylindrical parts
 Selective Heating Techniques
• Laser beam hardening
– Produces hardened surfaces
– Absorptive coatings (zinc or manganese
phosphate) are applied to the steel to increase
efficiency
– Beam size, beam intensity, and scanning speed are
adjustable to affect the depth of heating
• Electron beam hardening
– Similar to laser beam hardening
– Heat source is a beam of high-energy electrons
 Techniques Involving Altered Surface
Chemistry
• Carburizing is the diffusion of carbon into FCC,
austenite steel at elevated temperatures
– In gas carburizing, a hot gas containing carbon
surround the part
– In pack carburizing, the steel is surrounded by a
solid that contains carbon
– In liquid carburizing, the steel is placed in a
molten bath with carbon
 Techniques Involving Altered Surface
Chemistry
• Nitriding hardens the surfaces by producing alloy nitrides
in special steels that contain nitride-forming elements
– Aluminum, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium
• Ionitriding is a plasma process that places parts in an
evacuated furnace and treats them with direct current
potential
– Low pressure nitrogen is then introduced into the furnace and
becomes ionized
• Ion carburizing is similar to ionitriding except that
methane is introduced instead of nitrogen
• Carbonitriding is where both nitrogen and carbon are
introduced
 SURFACE or CASE HARDENING:-
• In many engineering applications, it is desirable that steel
being used should have a hardened surface to resist wear
and tear. At this time, it should have soft and tough interior
or core so that it can absorb any shocks. Case hardening is
the process of hardening the surface of metal, often a low
carbon steel by infusing elements into the metal surface
forming a hard, wear resistance skin but preserving a tough
and ductile interior. This type of treatment is applied to
gears, ball bearings, railway wheels. The various case
hardening processes are as follows:-
• A. Carburizing
• B. Cyaniding
• C. Nitriding
• D. Carbonitriding
• E. Flame/induction hardening
 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.
The most common processes of Carburizing,
Carbonitriding, and Gas Nitriding
• FLAME AND INDUCTION HARDENING:-
• Flame or induction hardening are process in
which the surfaces of the steel is heated to a high
temperature (by direct application of flame or by
induction heating), then cooled rapidly using
water this creates a case of martensite on the
surfaces. A carbon content of 0.4%-0.6%wt c is
needed for this type of hardening.
• Typically uses are shackles of a lock, where the
outer layer is hardened to be file resistant and
mechanical gears, where hard gear mesh surface
are needed to maintain a long service life.
• 2.3.2. NITRIDING:-
• This process heats the steel part to 482-621 c
in an atmosphere of ammonia gas and
• dissociated ammonia. The hardness is
achieved by formation of nitrides. The
• advantage of this process is it causes little
distortion.
• CARBONITRIDING:-
• Carbonitriding is a case hardening process in which
steel is heated in a gaseous atmosphere of such
composition that carbon and nitrogen are absorbed
simultaneously. The term carbonitriding is misleading
because it implies a modified nitriding process.
Actually carbonitriding is a modification of carburizing,
and the name “nitro carburizing” would be more
descriptive. The process is also known as dry cyaniding,
gas cyaniding, and nicarbing. The atmosphere used in
carbonitriding generally comprises a mixture of carrier
gas, and ammonia. The carrier gas is usually a mixture
of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide produced
in an endothermic generator, as in gas carburizing
• CYANIDING:-
• The part is heated to 1600 -1750 c in a bath of
sodium cyanide and then quenched and
rinsed in water and oil to remove any residual
cyanide. This process produces a thin, hard
shell (between 0.010 and 0.030 inches) that is
harder than the one produced by carburizing
and can be completed in 20 to 30 minutes. It
is typically used on small parts such as bolts,
nuts, screw and small gears. The major
disadvantage of cyaniding is that cyanide salts
are poisonous
 FIGURE 4.19 Mechanical properties of annealed steels as a function of composition and
microstructure. Note in (a) the increase in hardness and strength, and in (b), the decrease in ductility
and toughness, with increasing amounts of pearlite and iron carbide.
 FIGURE 4.20 (a) End-quench test and cooling rate. (b) Hardenability curves for five different steels, as
obtained from the end-quench test. Small variations in composition can change the shape of these curves.
Each curve is actually a band, and its exact determination is important in the heat treatment of metals, for
better control of properties.
 Precipitation hardening
• Small particles of a different phase called precipitates
are uniformly dispersed in the matrix of the original
phase
• Precipitates form because the solid solubility of one
element in the other is exceeded
• The alloy is reheated to an intermediate temperature
and held there for a long time during which time
precipitation takes place