1|Page

TERM PAPER

TOPIC

Write a report on case hardening heat treatments

COURSE CODE=MEC 208

SUMMITTED TO:

SUBMITTED BY:

MR.HARPREET SINGH
.

Mohit Kumar
ROLL NO:RM3R17B59 REG.NO.11011215

2|Page

CONTENTS
ITEMS PAGES NO:

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2. INTRODUCTION 3. WHAT IS CASE HARDENING 4. TYPES OF CASE HARDENING AND APPLICATION 5. PROCESS 6. WHAT IS HEAT TREATMENT 7. RELATION OF HEAT TREATMENT AND CASE HARDENING 8. HAET TREATMENT WITH THE HELP OF CASE HARDENING 9. CONCLUTION 10. REFERENCES AND SOURCES

3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 14 14

3|Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I, Mohit Kumar, a student of LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY in my acknowledgement thank all the people who have helped me in making this term paper a success My first and foremost acknowledgement goes to our subject teacher Mr.HARPREET sir for the assistance and guidance that she provided throughout the session. I am ever grateful to him for that. I owe him a lot for the successful completion of the term paper. I am also thankful to many of my fellow college mates for their active support and valuable inputs and the help that they provided. I am ever thankful to all of them. I am thankful too much thankful to the library of the college which acted as a database of knowledge and information for me .The internet and the various educational sites visited by me also deserve a lot of appreciation and thank for the help they provided in completing this term paper. I thank you one and all. Thank you.

4|Page

What is 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. Case hardening is usually done after the part in question has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening element content of bars to be used in a pattern welding or similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this technique, when discussing modern armour.

Process:-

Case hardening is a process that is used to harden the outer layer of case hardening steel while maintaining a soft inner metal core. The case hardening process uses case hardening compounds for the carbon addition. Steel case hardening depth depends upon the application of case hardening depth. Case hardening is a technique in which the metal surface is reinforced by the adding of a fine layer at the top of another metal alloy that is generally more durable. Case hardening steel is normally used to increase the object life. This is particularly significant for the manufacture of machine parts, carbon steel forgings, and carbon steel pinions. Case hardening is also utilized for other applications. Case hardening is also called surface hardening. Case hardening has been in use for many centuries, and was frequently used for producing horseshoes and different kinds of cooking utensils that were subjected to substantial wear and tear. Case hardening is essentially a group of processes that are used to increase the surface hardness to an extent that is higher than that of the bulk material. Case hardening is performed normally locally on the top

5|Page

surface, and for a limited depth. Greater hardness is usually related with better wear and fatigue resistance. The addition of carbon to the iron surfaces is common. Case hardening involves the use of metal that has low carbon contents, and combining it with a metal that has more carbon content. The grouping of metals is likely to produce the product that is much harder. The adding of the low carbon metal creates a material that can be molded easily into the desired shapes. The surface improvement not only increases the product strength, but also assists to avoid the iron weakening. Components that are subjected to severe impacts and high pressures are generally case hardened. The surfaces that need special hardness may be selectively hardened, without performing case hardening of the remaining object.

Types of Case hardening:-

Steel Case Hardening Carbon is penetrated into the metal skin to create mild steel that has an external covering with more carbon than the nucleus. The mild steel is subjected to heating at a particular temperature, till it is bright red. While the mild steel is soft, it is immersed into a carbon compound that covers the outer surface. One dipping may not be adequate, and several re-heating and dipping may be necessary. This heat treatment procedure will produce a skin that is rich in carbon. Subsequently, the metal is reheated and dropped in water for hardening. Case hardening is useful for objects that need to be hardened externally to endure wear and tear, but soft internally to withstand shock.

Heat-treatable Steels Heat-treatable steels are steels for mechanical engineering which, as a result of their chemical composition, are suitable for hardening and in heat-treated condition show good toughness characteristics for a given tensile strength. In general, the steels are used in soft condition to

6|Page

produce parts which are subsequently subjected to heat treatment to obtain the desired functional properties.

Boron-containing Heat-treatable Steels

Boron-containing heat-treatable steels are alloyed with a low mass percentage of boron to improve hardenability. This automatically increases the core strength of the steel. Prior to heat treatment, the steel grades show good cold formability characteristics. More detailed information is available upon request. Applications

1.Chain saws 2.Springs 3.Mowing blades 4.Flywheels 5.Gear parts 6.Punched parts

The most widely used case hardening methods are: carburizing, nitriding and carbonitriding.

Carburizing Carburizing is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a part with carbon followed by heat treatment of the part. As carburizing medium the following substances are used:

Charcoal or other carbon-containing solids mixed with sodium carbonate and barium carbonate accelerating the process of dissolving the carbon in steel.

The process is carried out in steel or cast iron boxes placed into a furnace at the temperature 1650F - 1750F (900C - 950C) resulting in formation of hard

7|Page

case of the thickness 0.02-0.08 (0.5mm 2mm) and containing 0.8-1% of carbon.

Kerosene or benzene liquid carbonizing mediums, which are usually used in dispersed form; Methane (CH4), propane (C3H8) gaseous carbonizing mediums.

The process is carried out in a furnace (batch or continuous) at the temperature 1650F - 1750F (900C - 950C) for 3-4 hrs. Thickness of the hard layer formed in the gaseous carburizing may reach 0.15 (4mm). Heat treatment after carburizing involves hardening-tempering treatments with purpose of controlling structure and properties of both the hard layer and the ductile core.

Nitriding Nitriding is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a part with Nitrogen. Gas nitriding is carried out at 930F - 1110F (500C - 600C) for 40-100 hrs.in the atmosphere of Ammonia, which dissociates to Hydrogen and nitrogen. The latter diffuses into the steel forming nitrides of iron, aluminum, chromium and vanadium. Ion nitriding (plasma nitriding) is a surface Hardening heat treatment, in which Nitrogen is delivered to the workpiece surface in form of ionized gas (plasma). The case formed as a result of nitriding has a hardness of about 1100 HV which is higher than the hardness after carburizing. Nitrided part possess also better wear resistance, increased fatigue strength, enhanced toughness and good resistance to corrosion. No additional heat treatment is required after nitriding.

8|Page

Carbonitriding Carbonitriding is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a part with carbon and nitrogen. Gaseous carbonitriding is carried out in gaseous medium, consisting of carburizing gas (methane, propane) with addition of 3-8% of Ammonia. There are two principal methods of the gaseous carbonitriding:

Low temperature gaseous carbonitriding, conducted at 930F - 1110F (500C - 600C). The steel surface is enriched mostly with nitrogen in this process. High temperature gaseous carbonitriding, conducted at1470F - 1750F (800C - 950C). The steel surface is enriched mostly with carbon in this process. This process is followed by heat treatment.

Cyaniding is the carbonitriding process, conducted in molten salt, containing 20-25% of sodium cyanide (extremely toxic substance). The process is carried out at the temperatures 1500F - 1580F (820C - 860C) for 1 hour. Carbonitrided parts possess better (than carburized parts) wear resistance.

What is Heat Treatment?

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 to alter certain manufacturability objectives such as improve machining, improve formability, restore ductility after a cold working operation. Thus it is a very enabling manufacturing process that can not only help other manufacturing process, but can also improve product performance by increasing strength or other desirable characteristics.

9|Page

Steels are particularly suitable for heat treatment, since they respond well to heat treatment and the commercial use of steels exceeds that of any other material. Steels are heat treated for one of the following reasons: 1. Softening 2. Hardening 3. Material Modification

Common Heat Treatments

Softening: Softening is done to reduce strength or hardness, remove residual stresses, improve toughness, restore ductility, refine grain size or change the electromagnetic properties 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 full Process, spheroidizing, normalizing and tempering austempering, martempering are the principal ways 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. Material Modification: Heat treatment is used to modify properties of materials in addition to hardening and softening. These processes modify the behavior of the steels in a beneficial manner to maximize service life, e.g., stress relieving, or strength properties, e.g., cryogenic treatment, or some other desirable properties, e.g., spring aging.

Full Annealing a heat treatment process:-

Full annealing is the process of slowly raising the temperature about 50 C (90

10 | P a g e

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). 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 (depending on whether hypo or hyper eutectoid). The steel becomes soft and ductile.

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

11 | P a g e

temperature to fully convert the structure into Austenite, and then removed form 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 not the 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. In the case of the normalized part, depending on the part geometry, the cooling is nonuniform resulting in non-uniform material properties across the part. This may not be desirable if further machining is desired, since it makes the machining job somewhat unpredictable. In such a case it is better to do full annealing. Process Annealing

Process Annealing is used to treat work-hardened parts made out of low-Carbon steels (< 0.25% Carbon). This allows the parts to be soft enough to undergo further cold working without fracturing. Process annealing is done by raising the temperature to just below the Ferrite-Austenite region, line A1on the diagram. This temperature is about 727 C (1341 F) so heating it to about 700 C (1292 F) should suffice. This is held long enough to allow recrystallization of the ferrite phase, and then cooled in still air. Since the material stays in the same phase through out the process, the only change that occurs is the size, shape and distribution of the grain structure. This process is cheaper than either full annealing or normalizing since the material is not heated to a very high temperature or cooled in a furnace. Stress Relief Annealing Stress Relief Anneal is used to reduce residual stresses in large castings, welded parts and cold-formed parts. Such parts tend to have stresses due to thermal cycling or work hardening. Parts are heated to temperatures of up to 600 - 650 C (1112 - 1202 F), and held for an extended time (about 1 hour or more) and then slowly cooled in still air. Spheroidization 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

12 | P a g e

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 3. For tool and alloy steels heat to 750 to 800 C (1382-1472 F) and hold for several hours followed by slow cooling.

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.

Heat Treatment With The Help Of Case Hardening There are a number if useful and effective devices and systems. Our life has changed with the introduction of these systems and tools. Thanks to the technological advancement. It has gifted us with a number of valuable and useful tools and systems. Induction hardening is one of the popular heat treating operations. It is basically designed to harden parts. There are a number of factors that make the process a successful one. These include the general ability and chemistry of the material or item to harden properly, cooling the material so that the transformation of martensite can occur and adjusting the temperature of the material. If one or more of these crucial factors or features are not present, the material may remain soft entirely or soft spots may develop on the material. These factors have control over quenching and heating of the parts.

13 | P a g e

It is quite necessary to adjust the temperature of the materials so that the austenitic phase can occur. Depending on the material, in some cases, it may be essential to hold the temperature for a certain amount of time so that the material may fully transform. By doing so, undesirable buy-products can be avoided. There are a number of heat treatment processes, like Induction Annealing, Homogenising, Carbonitriding, Hardening, Ageing, Annealing, Induction Annealing, Normalizing, Induction Hardening, Shot Blasting, Case Hardening, Tempering, Stress Relieving etc to materials including Carbon Steels, Stainless Steels, Alloy Steels, Cast Irons, Die Steels and Tool Steels. Case hardening is one of the most popular heat treatment procedures. It is really an effective process that is used in a number of cases. Carbonitriding is actually a case hardening process. In this process the steel is heated in a particular atmosphere containing both nitrogen and carbon.

The case hardening type steels are normally used. AC is depressed with the absorption of the nitrogen. The harden ability is increased as a result of this. It is not essential to include too much of alloy. It is one of the most useful and popular procedures of heat treatment. The hardening process is quite similar to any other type of heat treating operations. It is specifically designed to harden parts. There are several factors that make the procedure successful. These include, cooling the material so that the transformation of the martensite can occur, adjusting the temperature and finally the general ability and chemistry of the material to harden. When one or more than one of these crucial factors are not present, then the material may remain soft entirely or soft spots may develop on the material. Induction Heat Treatment Services (inductionheattreatmentservices.co.uk) is one of the leading heat treatment organizations. They offer a number of heat treatment processes including Annealing, Ageing, Tempering, Carburising, Carbonitriding, Hardening, Induction Annealing, Homogenising, Induction Hardening, Stress Relieving, Case Hardening, Normalizing and Shot Blasting to materials including Die Steels, Alloy Steels, Cast Irons, Carbon Steels, Stainless Steels and Tool Steels. They have a selection of protective gas/vertical controlled atmosphere furnaces and both rectangular and vertical tempering furnaces.

14 | P a g e

Conclution:Its a predict feels highghly oblisised that I am try to complete my term paper about the topic WRITE A REORT OF CASE HARDENING HEAT TREATMENT,its my glad to do this term paper with the help of internet and some books and somes pdf files.i hope that I have done my best hard work to do this work hard to hardest to achieve my goal.And thanx to my sir that he has given to me this work to better myself.

Refferences
Links1.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_hardening 2. www.thefreedictionary.com/Case+hardening 3. www.welding-advisers.com/Case-hardening.html 4. www.finishing.com/260/89.shtm

Books and others 1.Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment (Workshop Practice) 2. Heat treater's guide: practices and procedures for irons and steels By Harry Chandler

15 | P a g e