Heat treatment

Operation involving the heating of the solid metal to definite temperatures, followed by cooling at suitable rates in orders to obtain certain physical and mechanical properties (e.g strength, ductility, machining, formability)

associated with changes in the nature, form size and distribution of micro-constituents.
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Types of heat treatment

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Annealing Normalizing Spheroidizing Quenching tempering

STEEL

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Operation of heat treatment

Basically it involves three common process :
Heating steel to certain temperature Holding/soaking at certain temperature Cooling (slow, moderate or rapid cooled), usually to room temperature (Tr)

General factor that can influence heat treatment

Shape and size Cooling medium (furnace, water, air , still air) composition
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There is a diagram that can help you to get the idea of heat treatment of steel

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Annealing
Material is exposed to an elevated temperature for an extended time period and then slowly cooled. Purpose: 1. relieve stresses- relieve internal stresses induced by some previous treatment (e.g forging) 2. Soften the steel improve machinability 3. Improve electrical and magnetic properties
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General types of annealing process

Process/ sub-critical/ close annealing Full annealing

No one can help you unless you help yourself first. azi

Process annealing
used to treat low carbon steel. Main purpose
remove residual stress due to cold work process

Process & temperature:

Just below - region, around 500C to 650C for several hours Long soaking process is applied before cooled in still air to promote recovery & recrystallization of ferrite phases.

Microstructure desired:
fine grained structure

Effect :
reduce in hardness and increase percentage elongation

Commonly employed for wire & sheets steels

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Full annealing
utilized for low, medium & high carbon steels (not recommended as final process) that will be machined/ will experience extensive plastic deformation during forming operation.

Process and temperature:

15-40C above A3 (upper critical temperature) and A1 (lower critical
temperature) slow cool in furnace Refer diagram

Microstructure produce :
coarse pearlite that will give soft and ductility properties.
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Normalizing
Purpose:
1. refine grains (decrease the average grain size) 2. More uniform & desirable size distribution of pearlite (fine-grain size) 3. Produce harder and stronger steel than full annealing 4. Increase toughness

Process and temperature:

heating temp: 55-80C above A3 or Acm.
Cooled: cooling in still air after austenitizing
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Austenitizing
a process involve a sufficient time to allow the alloy to completely transform to austenite.

microstructure
fine pearlite ( give toughness props & acceptable softness)

Props
(higher tensile strength, higher yield point, lower % RA) than annealing product

Try to survive in any condition

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Spheroidizing
Main purpose
to allow machinability

Specific for medium & high carbon steel

Process and temperature
prolonged holding at a temperature just below the lower critical temperature OR, Heating and cooling alternately between temperatures that are just above and just below the lower critical temperature OR Heating to a temperature above the lower critical temperature and then either cooling very slowly in the furnace OR holding at temperature just below the lower critical temperature

Microstructure
Balls-up cementite (coalescence of Fe3C to form the spheroid particle)
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Spheroidite:

a crystals with spherical Fe3C heat bainite or pearlite for long times(ferrite)

Isothermal Transf. Diagram or TTT Fe3C diagram (cementite)

60 m
(Adapted from Fig. 10.10, Callister, 6e. (Fig. 10.10 copyright United States Steel Corporation, 1971.) Adapted from Fig. 10.9,Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.9 adapted from H. Boyer (Ed.) Atlas of Isothermal Transformation and Cooling Transformation Diagrams, American Society for Metals, 1997, p. 28.)

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Props
higher Softness & ductility Machinability reduce when spheroid particle (balls-up cementite) size increase.

Better die while trying than die without doing nothing

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Effect of treatment ( pearlite vs spherodite)

Adapted from Fig. 10.21, Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.21 based on data from Metals Handbook: Heat Treating, Vol. 4, 9th ed., V. Masseria (Managing Ed.), American Society for Metals, 1981, pp. 9 and 17.)

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Quenching/hardening
Main purpose
to improve hardenability

Hardenability
1. 2. The ability of an alloy to be hardened by the formation of martensite as a result of heat treatment. A qualitative measure of rate at which hardness drops off with distance.

Hardenability Hardness Process and temperature

Heating temp: = full annealing Higher cooling velocity or Rapid cooled (quenching)

microstructure
martensite
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Cooling medium
1. Water 2. Oil 3. Air

Non-uniform produce martensite throughout the specimen distance. To produce m/structure of martensite t/out the cross section need to consider:
Composition alloy, type & character of quenching medium, size and shape of specimen
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Composition of alloy
higher carbon content gives higher hardenability Alloying element gives higher hardenability compare to plain carbon steel.

"Alloy Steels"
(4140, 4340, 5140, 8640) -- contain Ni, Cr, Mo (0.2 to 2wt%) -- these elements shift the "nose". -- martensite is easier to form.

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Quenching medium 1. Water Advantages

Most efficient quenching media in commercial use where maximum hardness is required

Disadvantage:
Liable to cause distortion and cracking the sample Not suitable for higher carbon steel.

Form soft spot

Corrosion

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2. Oil
Lower efficiency quenching media than water Oil such as mineral & cotton seed are used Less cracking and distortion compare to water Safety factors is required

3. Air
Cooling with air pressure Less efficiency quenching media

Medium air oil water

Severity of Quench small moderate large

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Hardness small moderate large

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Effect of geometry: When surface-to-volume ratio increases: --cooling rate increases --hardness increases diameter size hardness value

Position center surface

Cooling rate small large

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Hardness small large

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Hardenability how to measure

Ability to form martensite Jominy end quench test to measure hardenability.

1
specimen (heated to phase field) 24C water

flat ground 4

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 Hardness versus distance from the quenched end.

The cooling rate varies with position.

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Tempering
Main purpose
to increase ductility and toughness of martensite To relieve the internal stress

Process and temperature

Heating temp: 250-650C Sample is heated in an oil salt bath or water immediately after quenching OR Cooled: in still air ( except in the case of steel susceptible to temper brittleness) or rapidly

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 Temper colours sometimes used as a guide to temperature

Temper colour Temp C Articles/product
Pale straw Dark straw 230 240 Planning and slotting tools Milling cutters, drills

Brown Brownishpurple Purple Dark purple blue

250 260
270 280 300 450-650

Taps, shear blades of metal Punches, cups, snaps, twist drills.

Press tools, axes Cold chisets Saws for wood, springs Toughening for constructional steels azi 26

Temper embrittlement - reduction of toughness as measured by impact test.

Occurs when:
1. Steel is tempered at a temperature above 575C followed by slow cooling to T 2. Tempering is carried out at between approximately 375 and 575C
R

Microstructure:
Martensite tempered martensite
( + Fe3C) (BCT single phase)

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Tempering martensite
reduces brittleness of martensite, reduces internal stress caused by quenching.

Adapted from Fig. 10.25, Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.25 adapted from Fig. furnished courtesy of Republic Steel Corporation.)

Adapted from Fig. 10.24, Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.24 copyright by United States Steel Corporation, 1971.)

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Martensite m/structure
Formed when austenitized iron-carbon alloys are quenched to a relative low temperature. Non-equilibrium single phase

Rapid quenching will prevent the carbon diffusion.

Carbon remain as interstitial impurities in martensite

Instantaneously transformation martensite (FCC) quench (BCT)

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 Martensite:
Fe atom sites x

--(FCC) to Martensite (BCT)

(involves single atom jumps) x x x x x

potential C atom sites

(Adapted from Fig. 10.11, Callister, 6e.

Isothermal Transf. Diagram

Martentite needles Austenite
(Adapted from Fig. 10.12, Callister, 6e. (Fig. 10.12 courtesy United States Steel Corporation.) Adapted from Fig. 10.13, Callister 6e.

to M transformation..
-- is rapid! -- % transf. depends on T only.
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Two types of martensite m/structure

Lath ( massive martensite) Lenticular (needlelike/platelike)

Lath martensite
For alloy < about 0.6 wt% C Long and thin plates, form side by side, aligned parallel to one another Lath group form block

Lenticular martensite
For alloy > 0.6 wt% C. Needlelike / platelike appearance. Under m/scope observation appears as a dark regions
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Pearlite vs martensite
Fine Pearlite vs Martensite:

Adapted from Fig. 10.23, Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.23 adapted from Edgar C. Bain, Functions of the Alloying Elements in Steel, American Society for Metals, 1939, p. 36; and R.A. Grange, C.R. Hribal, and L.F. Porter, Metall. Trans. A, Vol. 8A, p. 1776.)

Hardness: fine pearlite << martensite.

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Summary : Processing options

Adapted from Fig. 10.27, Callister 6e.

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Isothermal transformation or (T-T-T) diagram

A plot of temperature vs. the logarithm of time for a steel alloy of definite composition

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So ,,,,,,,, what do we know from TTT diagram

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Complete TTT diagram for eutectoid steel

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 E.g
the addition of carbon, nickel, manganese, silicon and copper move the nose-shaped curve to the right

Molybdenum, chromium and vanadium move the pearlite C-curve to the right and also displace it upwards to high temperature.

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Ex: Cooling History Fe-C system

Eutectoid composition, Co = 0.76 wt%C Begin at T > 727 oC Rapidly cool to 625 oC and hold isothermally.

Adapted from Fig. 10.5,Callister 6e. (Fig. 10.5 adapted from H. Boyer (Ed.) Atlas of Isothermal Transformation and Cooling Transformation Diagrams, American Society for Metals, 1997, p. 28.)

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Non-Equilibrium transformation product Fe-C

Bainite:
-- lathes (strips) with long rods of Fe3C --diffusion controlled.

Isothermal Transf. Diagram

Fe3C (cementite)

(ferrite)

5 m
(Adapted from Fig. 10.8, Callister, 6e. (Fig. 10.8 from Metals Handbook, 8th ed., Vol. 8, Metallography, Structures, and Phase Diagrams, American Society for Metals, Materials Park, OH, 1973.)

Adapted from Fig. 10.9,Callister 6e. azi (Fig. 10.9 adapted from H. Boyer (Ed.) Atlas of Isothermal Transformation and Cooling Transformation Diagrams, American Society for Metals, 1997, p. 28.)

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Cooling Ex: Fe-C system

Adapted from Fig. 10.15, Callister 6e.

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COOLING EX: Fe-C SYSTEM (2)

Adapted from Fig. 10.15, Callister 6e.

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COOLING EX: Fe-C SYSTEM (3)

Adapted from Fig. 10.15, Callister 6e.

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Complete TTT diagram for eutectoid steel

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Path 1: Specimen is rapidly cool to 148C, hold for 500s and quench to room temperature.
The austenite phase still remain until it cooled at temperature just above the Ms temperature. Further cooling to lower temperature until 148C will form 90% martensite structure and 10% retain austenite. Holding at the temperature will not change much the percentage. At room temperature , 100% martensite
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 Path 2: rapidly cool to 600C, hold for 4s and quench to room temperature.
During cooling to 600C, it is in the unstable austenite region. When hold to 4s, 50 % of austenite changes to pearlite and quench to room temperature changes the remaining austenite to 50% martensite.

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 Path 3: rapidly cool to 650C, hold for 500s and quench to room temperature
During cooling to 750C, it is in the unstable austenite region. Hold to 500C, make the transformation austenite to pearlite complete. Quench to room temperature will not change the pearlite structure. 100% fine pearlite

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Words to be remember.
If you feel stress just full annealing yourself, if you want to be hard just quench yourself but remember you tend to be brittle. if you want to be tough , dont cry just temper yourself .
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