Heat Treatment of metals

1. Heat Treatment of metals Damian Keenan Summerhill College March 2013

2. Fundamental Metallurgy Terms • Cementite - Iron carbide Fe3C chemical compound of iron and carbon

4. Fundamental Metallurgy Terms • Ferrite- Pure iron • Cementite - Iron carbide Fe3C chemical compound of iron and carbon • Pearlite - Grain structure resulting from a mechanical combination of ferrite and cementite in layer formation.

5. Terms cont. • Austenite - grains of ferrite and pearlite change when steel is heated to transformation temperature. • Austenite will dissolve carbon and alloying elements. • Martensite - Formed when carbon steel is rapidly cooled by quenching. Untemperedmartensite is the hardest and most brittle of the microstructures.

7. Heat Treatment • An operation, or series of operations, involving the heating and cooling of steel in the solid state to develop the required properties. • Related to the crystalline structure of carbon and iron.

8. Heat Treatment • Low carbon steels are generally used as rolled and in most cases do not respond well to heat treating • High carbon steels and alloys use heat treatment as the means of achieving the ultimate property capabilities on the metals

9. Four Types • Stress Relieving • Normalizing • Annealing • Hardening and Tempering

10. Stress Relieving • Reduces internal stresses that may have been caused by machining, cold working or welding. • Heat the metal to a temperature below the critical range (1100ºF) • Hold until temperature is reached throughout the piece. • Allow to cool slowly

11. Normalizing • Promotes uniformity of the structure and alters mechanical properties. • The steel is heated to a determined temperature above the critical range (1600-1700º F) • Cooled to below that range in still air. • Molecular structure changes • Results in higher strength, hardness, and less ductility • Cools faster than stress relieving or annealing

12. Annealing • May be used for the following: • To soften steel • To develop a structure like lamellar pearlite or spheroidized carbide. • To improve machinability or facilitate cold shaping • To prepare the steel for additional heat treatment

13. Annealing cont. • to reduce stress • to improve or restore ductility • to modify other properties • Steel is heated to a point at or near the critical range (1600-1700ºF) • Cooled slowly at a predetermined rate.

14. Hardening and Tempering • Hardens the metal and tempering reheats to relieve internal stress. • Uses 3 operations: • Heating the steel above the critical range, so it approaches a uniform solid solution • Hardening the steel by quenching in oil, water, brine or fused salt bath • Tempering by reheating to a point below the critical range to get the proper combination of strength and ductility

15. Hardening and Tempering • Molecular structure changes to small grain Austenite • Quenching locks in hard structure • Reheating and tempering to relieve brittleness and make the steel tough

16. Fundamental Metallurgy • Metal structures determined by molecular shapes • Body centered cube • 9 atoms: 8 at cube corners and 1 in the center • Can be worked cold

17. Fundamental Metallurgy • Metal structures determined by molecular shapes • Face centered cube • 14 atoms: 8 at cube corners and 1 each on the six faces • Not plastic and cannot be worked cold

18. Basic Guide to Fundamental Metallurgy • Grain size is unchanged as temperature increases from ambient (room temperature) up to transformation range • At extremely low temperature, impact resistance is low • In the transformation range, grain size becomes small as temperature increases • Transformation (critical temperature) is the lowest at the 0.83% Carbon (Eutectoid steel) level

19. Basic Guide to Fundamental Metallurgy • Lower carbon levels have a higher critical temperature • Carbon steels are body centered cubic structures at room temperature and are a face centered cubic structure at the transformation temperature

21. Hardenability and Weldability are influenced by four factors • Carbon content – Weldable  .35% C Hardenable • Heating Cycle – maximum temperature • Cooling Cycle – minimum temperature • Speed of cooling

22. Methods of Hardening Steel • Quenching • Brine – severe, fast • Cold water – medium rate • Warm Oil – slow rate • Tempering – reheating and re-quenching at temperature desired • Cold chisel – allow heat from upper end to reheat lower portion

23. Surface Hardening • Benefits • Resists wear and deformation • Two zones result, avoiding brittleness • Surface hardness is increased without sacrificing desirable mechanical properties

24. Surface Hardening • Flame Hardening • Heating steel to above the critical temperature by use of a flame • Followed by quenching • Can harden small areas (i.e., push rod ends)

25. Surface Hardening • Induction Hardening • Heat is generated by electrical induction • Frequency between 1000 to 3,000,000 cycles per second used • Maximum hardness by these two processes is a function of the carbon content • Used on: gears (teeth), shafts, cams, crankshafts, cylinders, and levers

26. Surface Hardening • Carburizing • Hardening the surface in the presence of a carbonaceous material as a gas, solid, or liquid • Surface is hardened and the core remains as original material • The depth of the case acquired is governed by temperature, time, activity of carburizing medium, and the analysis of the ferrous alloy used. • Since hardness increases with carbon content, increasing the carbon content of the surface of a low carbon steel (by diffusion) results in high hardness at the surface and toughness at the core

27. Surface Hardening • Pack or Box Carburizing • Work is placed in a pack or box filled with a solid carburizing agent • Heated to 1550 - 1750º F • CO reacts with steel and dissolves into austenite • Quench harden after heating, or let cool slowly and reheat and quench after working

28. Surface Hardening • Liquid carburizing • Molten salts containing cyanides and chlorides • Heat to 1600-1750º F and place work in cyanide salt solution • Length of time determines thickness of surface hardened • Quench in oil or brine after removing from salt solution • No moisture can be on metal when placed in salt solution or an explosion could result