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Heat Treating Subject Guide | Information Resources | ASM International

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Mate rials Ne ws De partm e nts Mate rials Vide os Advance d Mate rials & Proce sse s ASM C orrosion Ele ctronic De vice Failure Analysis Ene rgy Foundation He at Tre at Socie ty Industrial De sign Mate rials and Proce sse s for Me dical De vice s Shape Me m ory and Supe re lastic Te chnology The rm al Spray Socie ty ASM Subje ct Guide s Subje ct Guide s Mate rial Me dia Vide os W e binars AM&P Magazine AM&P Digital Edition Mate rials R adio Podcasts Toughness is the ability of a m e tal to absorb e ne rgy in the plastic range . Although the re are a num be r of approache s for de fining toughne ss, one of the olde st is to conside r it as the total are a unde r the stre ss-strain curve . This are a is an indication of the am ount of work pe r unit are a that can be done without causing it to fail. Be cause toughne ss is the are a unde r the stre ss-strain curve , it is a function of both stre ngth and ductility. Strength is the ability of a m ate rial to withstand an applie d force , and thre e type s are com m only discusse d. Elastic stre ngth, re fe rre d to as the e lastic lim it, is stre ngth be fore the m ate rial de form s pe rm ane ntly. The yie ld stre ngth is the stre ngth of a m ate rial be fore appre ciable plastic de form ation occurs. The ultim ate te nsile stre ngth is the m ax im um stre ngth that a m e tal e x hibits during te nsile de form ation. Ductility is the capability of a m ate rial to de form plastically without fracturing, and it is usually m e asure d by the am ount that a bar unde r te nsile load will e longate be fore fracturing. The e longation is e x pre sse d as a pe rce ntage of the original le ngth of the bar.

Heat Treating
O ve rvie w | Anne aling | Harde ning | Surface Harde ning Misc. He at Tre atm e nts | He at Tre atm e nt of Ste e l He at Tre atm e nt of Alum inum -Base Alloys

A SM Subject Guides Alum inum and Alum inum Alloys C oppe r and C oppe r Alloys C orrosion C rystalline Structure

Overview
He at tre ating, as the nam e im plie s, is a se rie s of tre atm e nts in which he at is use d to alte r the prope rtie s of a m e tal or alloy. Be cause tim e at te m pe rature is also im portant, he at tre atm e nt can be furthe r de fine d as a se rie s of tim e -te m pe rature tre atm e nts. He at tre atm e nts are use d for a varie ty of purpose s, the m ost im portant be ing to control the m e chanical prope rtie s, e spe cially hardne ss, ductility, stre ngth, toughne ss, and inte rnal stre sse s.

Failure Analysis He at Tre atm e nt Light Microscopy Phase Diagram s Shape Me m ory Stainle ss Ste e ls

Hardness is the re sistance of a m ate rial to plastic inde ntation. Hardne ss value s are roughly proportional to the stre ngth of a m e tal and can give an indication of the we ar prope rtie s of a m ate rial. Hardne ss value s can be use ful during the m ate rials se le ction proce ss and for quality-control e valuations, but the value s cannot be applie d dire ctly during the de sign of a part.

Supe ralloys Titanium and Titanium Alloys

Adve rtise with ASM ASM Me dia Kit

Residual or locked-in stresses arise in com pone nts from m any source s and, if le ft untre ate d, can le ad to com pone nt distortion, stre ss conce ntration, and failure . O ne of the m ost com m on cause s of re sidual stre sse s is nonuniform cooling from e le vate d te m pe rature s. O n cooling, the surface cools quick ly and contracts, while the inne r core re m ains hotte r longe r and cools m ore slowly, thus se tting up re sidual stre sse s. C om pone nts are he ate d to a suitable te m pe rature and he ld at te m pe rature for a tim e long e nough to re duce re sidual stre sse s and are the n coole d slowly e nough so that ne w re sidual stre sse s are not introduce d.

The re are m any type s of he at tre atm e nt proce sse s, som e of which are applie d only to ste e ls and othe rs that are applie d only to othe r alloys. He at tre atm e nt proce sse s can be classifie d into four ge ne ral cate gorie s:

Anne aling (softe ning) Harde ning Surface harde ning Misce llane ous

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Annealing
W he n a m e tal is cold work e d (de form e d at room te m pe rature ), the m icrostructure be com e s se ve re ly distorte d be cause of an incre ase d dislocation de nsity re sulting from the de form ation. C old work ing is also re fe rre d to as work harde ning or strain harde ning. As a m e tal is cold work e d, the stre ngth and hardne ss incre ase while ductility de cre ase s. Eve ntually, it is ne ce ssary to anne al the pie ce to allow furthe r form ing ope rations without the risk of bre ak ing it. In addition, som e m e tals are stre ngthe ne d prim arily by cold work ing. In this case , it is im portant that the m e tal not softe n appre ciably whe n place d in se rvice .

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C old-work e d m ate rials with highly distorte d m icrostructure s are in a high-e ne rgy state and are the rm odynam ically unstable . Anne aling is the he at tre atm e nt proce ss that softe ns a m e tal that has be e n harde ne d by cold work ing. Anne aling consists of thre e stage s: re cove ry, re crystallization, and grain growth. Although a re duction in store d e ne rgy provide s the driving force , anne aling usually doe s not spontane ously occur at room te m pe rature . Be cause the re duction in store d e ne rgy m ust occur by diffusion, the activation e ne rgy ne e de d to start the diffusion proce ss is norm ally insufficie nt at room te m pe rature . The re fore , he ating is ne ce ssary to provide the the rm al activation e ne rgy ne e de d to transform the m ate rial to a lowe r-e ne rgy state . As the inte rnal lattice strains are re lie ve d during anne aling, the stre ngth de cre ase s while the ductility incre ase s. It

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are re lie ve d during anne aling, the stre ngth de cre ase s while the ductility incre ase s. It should be note d that som e low-m e lting-point m e tals have re crystallization te m pe rature s lowe r than room te m pe rature and cannot be harde ne d by cold work ing. For e x am ple , le ad, tin, and zinc have re crystallization te m pe rature s be low room te m pe rature .

The thre e distinct proce sse s that occur during anne alingre cove ry, re crystallization, and grain growthare de scribe d as follows.

Recovery. During re cove ry, the re is a re arrange m e nt of inte rnal de fe cts, k nown as dislocations, into lowe r-e ne rgy configurations; howe ve r, the grain shape and orie ntation re m ain the sam e . The re is also a significant re duction in re sidual stre sse s, but the stre ngth and ductility are large ly unaffe cte d. Be cause the re is a large de cre ase in re sidual stre ss during re cove ry, re cove ry-type proce sse s are usually conducte d to re duce re sidual stre sse s, ofte n to pre ve nt stre ss-corrosion crack ing or m inim ize distortion. During stre ss-re lie f ope rations, the te m pe rature and tim e are controlle d so the re is not a m ajor re duction in stre ngth or hardne ss.

Recrystallization is characte rize d by the nucle ation and growth of strain-fre e grains out of the m atrix of the cold-work e d m e tal. During re crystallization, the badly de form e d coldwork e d grains are re place d by ne w, strain-fre e grains. Ne w orie ntations, ne w grain size s, and ne w grain m orphologie s form during re crystallization. The driving force for re crystallization is the re m aining store d e ne rgy that was not e x pe nde d during re cove ry. The stre ngth re duce s and the ductility incre ase s to le ve ls sim ilar to those of the m e tal be fore cold work ing.

R e crystallization is conside re d com ple te whe n the m e chanical prope rtie s of the re crystallize d m e tal approach those of the m e tal be fore it was cold work e d. R e crystallization and the re sulting m e chanical softe ning com ple te ly cance l the e ffe cts of cold work ing on the m e chanical prope rtie s of the pie ce . An anne aling curve for an alloy, such as a typical brass, will show m inim al change s in m e chanical prope rtie s during re cove ry and large change s in prope rtie s that occur during re crystallization (Fig. 1). Me chanical prope rtie s, such as hardne ss, yie ld stre ngth, te nsile stre ngth, pe rce nt e longation, and re duction in are a, change drastically ove r a ve ry sm all te m pe rature range . Although physical prope rtie s, such as e le ctrical conductivity, unde rgo large incre ase s during re cove ry, the y also continue to incre ase during re crystallization.

Grain growth is the growth of som e re crystallize d grains, and it can only happe n at the e x pe nse of othe r re crystallize d grains. Be cause fine grain size le ads to the be st com bination of stre ngth and ductility, in alm ost all case s, grain growth is an unde sirable proce ss. Although e x ce ssive grain growth can occur by holding the m ate rial for too long at the anne aling te m pe rature , it is usually a re sult of he ating at too high a te m pe rature .

Som e ste e l-spe cific anne aling he at tre atm e nts include norm alizing, sphe roidizing, and solution anne aling, which is de scribe d as follows.

Solution annealing, som e tim e s re fe rre d to as que nch anne aling, is an im portant cate gory of anne aling. The he at tre atm e nt is calle d solution anne aling be cause the he at tre atm e nt tak e s advantage of the solid-solution re gions of the iron-carbon phase diagram (for ste e ls) or, in the case of nonfe rrous alloys, the phase diagram s for the m ajor com pone nts of the alloy syste m (se e the ASM Subje ct Guide Phase Diagram s).

For ste e ls, solution anne aling involve s he ating to a sufficie ntly high te m pe rature for a sufficie ntly long tim e to drive fre e carbide s into solid solution and the n rapidly que nching to fre e ze the m . The re sulting ste e l has im prove d form ability, and corrosion re sistance to ce rtain acids can be im prove d.

For nonfe rrous alloys, solution anne aling is a pre lim inary ste p to harde ning of the alloys. The solution he at tre atm e nt involve s he ating the alloy to a high e nough te m pe rature to drive the alloying e le m e nts into solid solution, yie lding a m e tastable , supe rsaturate d solid solution. The se alloys are the n pre cipitation harde ne d (also k nown as age harde ning).

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Hardening
Harde ning is the proce ss by which he at tre atm e nts are e m ploye d to harde n an alloy.

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Harde nability is the capability of an alloy to be harde ne d by he at tre atm e nt. The re are se ve ral harde ning tre atm e nts.

Quench Hardening. For fe rrous alloys, que nch harde ning is an auste nite -form ing (auste nitizing) he at tre atm e nt, followe d by cooling at a rate such that a substantial am ount of auste nite transform s to m arte nsite . Q ue nch harde ning can be applie d to suitable alpha-be ta alloys (usually coppe r or titanium alloys) by solution tre ating the m , followe d by que nching to de ve lop a m arte nsite -lik e structure .

Tempering of ste e l is a proce ss in which pre viously harde ne d or norm alize d ste e l is he ate d to a te m pe rature be low the lowe r critical te m pe rature and coole d at a suitable rate , prim arily to incre ase ductility and toughne ss but also to incre ase the grain size of the m atrix . Te m pe ring is use d to re ach spe cific value s of m e chanical prope rtie s, to re lie ve que nching stre sse s, and to e nsure dim e nsional stability. It usually follows que nching from above the uppe r critical te m pe rature ; howe ve r, te m pe ring is also use d to re lie ve the stre sse s and re duce the hardne ss de ve lope d during we lding and to re lie ve stre sse s induce d by form ing and m achining. In the conte x t of alum inum alloys, te m pe r de signations are use d to codify com binations of he at tre atm e nts. The se are de scribe d in Table 1 in the se ction be low, He at Tre atm e nt of Alum inum -Base Alloys.

Precipitation hardening (age hardening) involve s he ating an alloy to a sufficie ntly high te m pe rature so that e nough of an alloying e le m e nt is dissolve d to form a supe rsaturate d solid solution. It is the n rapidly coole d (que nche d) to room te m pe rature , fre e zing the alloying e le m e nts in solution (Fig. 2). O n re he ating to an inte rm e diate te m pe rature , the host m e tal re je cts the alloying e le m e nt in the form of a fine , uniform ly distribute d pre cipitate in the alloy m atrix . The se fine pre cipitate particle s act as barrie rs to the m otion of dislocations and provide re sistance to slip, the re by incre asing the stre ngth and hardne ss. The re are som e alloys, such as coppe r-be ryllium alloys, that will age harde n at room te m pe rature .

Alloy syste m s that le nd the m se lve s to pre cipitation harde ning include alum inum alloys, som e coppe r alloys, iron- and nick e l-base supe ralloys, m araging ste e ls, and pre cipitation-harde ning stainle ss ste e ls.

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Oxide Dispersion Strengthening. W ith this powde r m e tallurgy m e thod, ox ide s such as yttria or alum ina or m e tals that are strong ox ide form e rs, such as tantalum , are adde d during the m e chanical alloying ste p. The y be com e uniform ly distribute d through the alloy and im part stre ngth to the com pone nt.

Variants of que nching and te m pe ring as the y re late to spe cific ste e l he at tre atm e nts include m arque nching, auste m pe ring, and ausform ing.

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Surface Hardening
Surface harde ning is use d to im part de sirable prope rtie s in the surface of the com pone nt that are not ne e de d (or achie vable ) through the part.

Flame hardening consists of auste nitizing the surface of a ste e l by he ating with an ox yace tyle ne or ox yhydroge n torch and que nching im m e diate ly. A hard surface laye r of m arte nsite form s ove r a softe r inte rior core .

Induction Hardening. Ele ctrom agne tic induction is use d to he at the surface laye r of a fe rrous work pie ce to above the critical te m pe rature and is followe d im m e diate ly by que nching.

Case hardening is any of se ve ral proce sse s applicable to ste e l that change the che m ical com position of the surface laye r by absorption of carbon, nitroge n, or a m ix ture of the two and, by diffusion, cre ate a conce ntration gradie nt on the surface . The proce sse s com m only use d are carburizing and que nch harde ning, cyaniding, nitriding, and carbonitriding.

The re are othe r surface diffusion tre atm e nts, such as boronizing and siliconizing, that diffuse e le m e nts othe r th an carbon and nitroge n into the work pie ce surface for the purpose of alte ring the surface prope rtie s.

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Miscellaneous Heat Treatments

The re are num e rous he at tre atm e nts de signe d for spe cific m ate rials, form s (e .g., wire ), or prope rty outcom e s. Ex am ple s include pate nting, stiffe ning te m pe ring, and m alle ablizing, am ong othe rs.

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Heat Treatment of Steel

Be cause ove r 80% by we ight of all m e tals in use are iron and ste e l alloys, the he at tre atm e nt of fe rrous alloys is of gre at industrial im portance . O ne of the prim ary advantage s of ste e ls is the ir capability to attain high stre ngths through he at tre atm e nt while still re taining som e de gre e of ductility. This capability of ste e ls to be stre ngthe ne d is a dire ct conse que nce of the am ount of carbon pre se nt. As the carbon conte nt is incre ase d, highe r stre ngth le ve ls are obtainable . Although the ductility de cre ase s with incre asing stre ngth, it is still high e nough to satisfy m ost e ngine e ring applications. He at tre atm e nts can be use d not only to harde n ste e ls but also to provide othe r use ful com binations of prope rtie s, such as ductility, form ability, and m achinability.

The im portant he at tre atm e nt proce sse s for fe rrous alloys include anne aling, stre ss re lie ving, norm alizing, sphe roidizing, harde ning by que nching and te m pe ring, and case harde ning. In all of the se proce sse s, the ste e l is he ate d fairly slowly to som e pre de te rm ine d te m pe rature and the n coole d. It is the te m pe rature and the rate of cooling that de te rm ine s the re sultant structure of the ste e l. The final structure is inde pe nde nt of the rate of he ating, provide d it has be e n slow e nough for the ste e l to re ach structural e quilibrium at its m ax im um te m pe rature . Howe ve r, the subse que nt rate of cooling, which de te rm ine s the nature of the final structure , is critical and m ay vary be twe e n slow furnace cooling to sudde n cooling by que nching in wate r.

A nnealing. In ste e ls, anne aling usually m e ans a he at tre atm e nt with furnace cooling from the auste nitizing range (Fig. 3). Anne aling is use d to re duce hardne ss, obtain a re lative ly ne ar-stable m icrostructure , re fine grain size , im prove m achinability, and facilitate cold work ing. For hypoe ute ctoid ste e ls (ste e ls with a carbon conte nt of le ss than 0.80%), full anne aling consists of he ating to 30 to 55 C (50 to 100 F) above the A3 te m pe rature , and for hype re ute ctoid ste e ls (ste e ls with a carbon conte nt of m ore than 0.80%), he ating above the A1 te m pe rature , followe d by ve ry slow cooling.

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Proce ss anne aling consists of he ating ste e l to a te m pe ra ture just be low the A1 e ute ctoid te m pe rature for a short tim e . This provide s stre ss re lie f, m ak e s the ste e l e asie r to form , and is applie d to low-carbon cold-rolle d she e t ste e ls to re store ductility. The te m pe rature s use d range from 550 to 650 C (1020 to 1200 F). Slow cooling is not e sse ntial for proce ss anne aling, be cause any cooling rate from te m p e rature s be low A1 will not affe ct the m icrostructure or hardne ss. Although re crystallization can occur due to the store d e ne rgy from cold work ing, the re are no phase change s, and the fe rrite and ce m e ntite constitue nts re m ain the sam e throughout the proce ss.

Normalizing. Ste e l is norm alize d by he ating 50 to 60 C (90 to 110 F) into the auste nite -phase fie ld at te m pe rature s som e what highe r than those use d by anne aling, followe d by cooling at a m e dium rate . For carbon ste e ls and low-alloy ste e ls, norm alizing m e ans air cooling. Many ste e ls are norm alize d to e stablish a uniform m icrostructure and grain size . The faste r cooling rate during norm alizing re sults in a m uch fine r m icrostructure , which is harde r and stronge r than the coarse r m icrostructure produce d by full anne aling. Ste e l is norm alize d to re fine grain size , m ak e its structure m ore uniform , m ak e it m ore re sponsive to harde ning, and to im prove m achinability. W he n ste e l is he ate d to a high te m pe rature , the carbon can re adily diffuse , re sulting in a re asonably uniform com position from one are a to the ne x t. The ste e l is the n m ore hom oge ne ous and will re spond to the he at tre atm e nt m ore uniform ly. The prope rtie s of norm alize d ste e ls de pe nd on the ir che m ical com position and the cooling rate , with the cooling rate be ing a function of the size of the part. Although the re can be a conside rable variation in the hardne ss and stre ngths of norm alize d ste e ls, the structure usually contains a fine m icrostructure .

Spheroidizing. To produce a ste e l in its softe st possible condition with m inim um hardne ss and m ax im um ductility, it can be sphe roidize d by he ating just above or just be low the A1 e ute ctoid te m pe rature and the n holding at that te m pe rature for an e x te nde d pe riod of tim e . Sphe roidizing can also be conducte d by cyclic proce ssing, in which the te m pe rature of the ste e l is cycle d above and be low the A1 line . This proce ss bre ak s down lam e llar structure into sm all pie ce s that form sm all sphe roids through diffusion in a continuous m atrix . Surface te nsion cause s the carbide particle s to de ve lop a sphe rical shape . Be cause a fine initial carbide size acce le rate s spe roidization, the ste e l is ofte n norm alize d prior to sphe roidizing.

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Hardening. To harde n a ste e l by que nching, it m ust be he ate d to a sufficie ntly high te m pe rature to produce an auste nitic crystalline phase and the n que nche d (quick ly coole d). O n que nching, the auste nite phase transform s to m arte nsite , which is a hard and strong but brittle crystalline phase . The que nche d hardne ss de pe nds on the che m ical com position and the cooling rate during que nching.

Ste e ls with highe r carbon conte nts produce highe r hardne ss, and the addition of alloying e le m e nts allows m arte nsitic structure s to de ve lop through thick e r se ctions. The carbon conte nt is critical to the ability to harde n ste e l. Be cause ductility de cre ase s with incre asing carbon conte nt, the carbon conte nt is he ld to approx im ate ly 0.45% in m any e ngine e ring ste e ls. Howe ve r, whe n we ar re sistance is re quire d, for e x am ple , in tool and die ste e ls, it m ay be incre ase d to ove r 1.0%. The addition of alloying e le m e nts allows thick e r se ctions to be harde ne d or allows le ss drastic que nche s. The e ffe ct of alloying e le m e nts and se ction size on harde nability can be illustrate d by com paring the plain carbon ste e l 1040 with the alloy ste e l 4140 (Fig. 4). In this e x am ple , both the 1040 and 4140 ste e ls contain nom inal carbon conte nts of 0.40%, and ye t, due to the alloying e le m e nts in 4140, the 4140 harde ns to a m uch gre ate r de pth. Howe ve r, as the diam e te r of a bar of 4140 is incre ase d from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in.), the de pth of harde ning de cre ase s. Som e m ore highly alloye d ste e ls are so de e p harde ning that the y will form fully m arte nsitic structure s in fairly thick se ctions by air cooling to room te m pe rature .

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C ooling rate s are controlle d by the que nchant use d, with brine , wate r, oil, and force d air producing progre ssive ly slowe r que nching spe e ds. W hile plain carbon ste e ls such as 1040 m ust be que nche d in brine or wate r to de ve lop 100% m arte nsite in e ve n thin se ctions, alloy ste e ls such as 4140 can be oil que nche d to produce fully m arte nsitic structure s in thick e r se ctions. W he n a ste e l is que nche d to room te m pe rature , the outside cools m uch faste r than the inte rior, se tting up contraction stre sse s in the ste e l. The n, whe n the auste nite transform s to m arte nsite , the re is a volum e e x pansion that cause s large re sidual te nsile stre sse s on the surface . The com bine d e ffe ct of the se contraction and e x pansion stre sse s can cause distortion and e ve n crack ing. The m ilde r oil que nch m inim ize s re sidual que nching stre sse s that cause distortion and crack ing proble m s. Som e tool ste e ls are so highly alloye d that the y can be air que nche d and still produce fully m arte nsitic structure s in thick se ctions.

The m arte nsite produce d by que nching is e x tre m e ly strong and hard but is too brittle to be use d in m ost applications. It m ust be te m pe re d by re he ating to an inte rm e diate te m pe rature . The te m pe rature se le cte d de pe nds on the application. For e x am ple , a te m pe ring te m pe rature of 150 C (300 F) will im part som e toughne ss with a m inim al loss in stre ngth, while a highe r te m pe ring te m pe rature (e .g., 700 C , or 1300 F) will produce m uch gre ate r ductility and toughne ss but at a significant loss in stre ngth.

Anothe r strate gy to re duce que nching stre sse s is to use an inte rrupte d que nch. The m ost fre que nt type of inte rrupte d que nching proce ss is calle d m arte m pe ring. In m arte m pe ring, the part is que nche d into a m olte n salt bath at a te m pe rature just above the te m pe rature at which m arte nsite starts to form . W he n the part re ache s the rm al e quilibrium , it is re m ove d from the salt bath and allowe d to air cool and form m arte nsite . The obje ctive is to de lay the cooling just above the m arte nsitic transform ation for long e nough to e qualize the te m pe rature throughout the pie ce and m inim ize distortion, crack ing, and re sidual stre sse s. It should be note d that e ve n though this proce ss is calle d m arte m pe ring, it is not a te m pe ring proce ss; inste ad, it is a harde ning proce ss. Thus, m arte m pe re d ste e ls m ust be te m pe re d be fore be ing place d in se rvice .

Auste m pe ring is anothe r inte rrupte d que nching proce ss in which the obje ctive is to form a bainitic structure . Bainite can be conside re d to be a structure that is inte rm e diate be twe e n fe rrite and m arte nsite . Lik e m arte m pe ring, the part is que nche d into a salt bath above the te m pe rature at which m arte nsite starts to form . Howe ve r, it is allowe d to re m ain at that te m pe rature until the transform ation to bainite is com ple te . Auste m pe ring offe rs se ve ral pote ntial advantage s, including incre ase d ductility, toughne ss, and stre ngth at a give n hardne ss, re duce d distortion, and the ability to he at tre at ste e ls to a hardne ss of 35 to 55 HR C without having to te m pe r. O ne of the outstanding attribute s of auste m pe re d ste e ls is the ir high im pact re sistance .

Case Hardening. The re are som e applications whe re it is ne ce ssary to have a hard, we arre sistant surface but a tough, shock -re sistant inne r core . Ex am ple s include cam shafts, ge ars, and rods that re quire hard surface s to re sist we ar but tough inne r core s to re sist shock . W hile a low-carbon ste e l containing 0.1% C will have a tough core , its surface hardne ss will be low afte r harde ning. O n the othe r hand, a high-carbon ste e l containing 0.8% C will have a high surface hardne ss afte r harde ning, but the core will not be tough and shock re sistant. The re are two m ain approache s to this proble m . O ne is to use a m e dium -carbon ste e l and only harde n the surface through he at tre atm e nt such as flam e or induction harde ning. The othe r approach is to diffuse carbon or nitroge n into the surface laye rs of a low-carbon ste e l in proce sse s such as carburizing, nitriding, cyaniding, carbonitriding, and fe rritic nitrocarburizing. W he n a carburize d ste e l is he at tre ate d, the high-carbon surface laye rs will attain a m uch highe r hardne ss than the low-carbon core .

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Heat Treatment of Aluminum-Base Alloys

For an alum inum alloy to be pre cipitation harde ne d (i.e ., age d), the alloy m ust contain a sufficie nt am ount of at le ast one e le m e nt or com pound that has an appre ciable solubility at high te m pe rature s and m inim al solubility at lowe r te m pe rature s. Ele m e nts that have this characte ristic are coppe r, zinc, silicon, and m agne sium . Additionally, the e le m e nt or com pound m ust be capable of form ing an inte rm e tallic pre cipitate in the alum inum m atrix . Alloys that are not age d sufficie ntly to obtain m ax im um hardne ss are said to be unde rage d, while those that are age d past pe ak hardne ss are said to be ove rage d. Unde raging can be a re sult of artificially aging at an insufficie ntly high te m pe rature or for an aging tim e that is too short, while ove raging is usually a re sult of aging at too high a te m pe rature .

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Alum inum alloys classifie d as he at tre atable are the 2 xxx, 6 xxx, 7 xxx, and som e of the 8 xxx wrought alloys. Pre cipitation harde ning is conducte d in thre e ste ps:

1. He ating to the solution he at tre ating te m pe rature and soak ing long e nough to put the e le m e nts or com pounds into solution 2. Q ue nching to room or som e inte rm e diate te m pe rature (e .g., wate r) to k e e p the alloying e le m e nts or com pounds in solution; e sse ntially cre ating a supe rsaturate d solid solution 3. Aging at e ithe r room te m pe rature (natural aging) or a m ode rate ly e le vate d te m pe rature (artificial aging) to cause the supe rsaturate d solution to form a ve ry fine pre cipitate in the alum inum m atrix

The solution he at tre ating te m pe rature is as high above the solid-solubility curve as possible without m e lting the lowe st-m e lting-point e ute ctic constitue nts. The re fore , close te m pe rature control, norm ally 5 C (10 F), is re quire d for the furnace s use d to he at tre at alum inum alloys. If the te m pe rature is too high, incipie nt grain-boundary m e lting occurs; the part is ruine d and m ust be scrappe d. O n the othe r hand, if the te m pe rature is too low, dissolution will be incom ple te , and the age d alloy will not de ve lop as m uch stre ngth as e x pe cte d. The solution he at tre ating tim e should be long e nough to allow diffusion to e stablish an e quilibrium solid solution. Table 1 sum m arize s the te m pe r de signations for com binations of he at tre atm e nts for alum inum alloys.

The product form can de te rm ine the tim e re quire d for solution he at tre atm e nt. For e x am ple , castings re quire m ore tim e than wrought products to dissolve the ir re lative ly large constitue nts into solution. The tim e re quire d can vary anywhe re from le ss than a m inute for thin she e t up to 20 h for large sand castings.

Afte r the e le m e nts are dissolve d into solution, the alloy is que nche d to a re lative ly low te m pe rature to k e e p the e le m e nts in solution. Q ue nching is pe rhaps the m ost critical ste p in the he at tre ating ope ration. The challe nge is to que nch the part fast e nough to k e e p the harde ning e le m e nts in solution while , at the sam e tim e , m inim izing re sidual que nching stre sse s that cause warpage and distortion. In ge ne ral, the highe st stre ngth le ve ls and the be st com binations of stre ngth and toughne ss are obtaine d by using the faste st que nch rate possible . R e sistance to corrosion and stre ss-corrosion crack ing (SC C ) is usually im prove d by faste r que nching rate s; howe ve r, the re sistance to SC C of ce rtain coppe r-fre e 7 xxx alloys is actually im prove d by slow que nching. W hile fast que nching rate s can be achie ve d by cold wate r, slowe r que nching rate s (e .g., hot or boiling wate r) are ofte n use d to sacrifice som e stre ngth and corrosion re sistance for re duce d warpage and distortion.

If pre m ature pre cipitation during que nching is to be avoide d, two re quire m e nts m ust be m e t. First, the tim e re quire d to transfe r the part from the furnace to the que nch tank m ust be short e nough to pre ve nt slow cooling through the critical te m pe rature range whe re ve ry rapid pre cipitation tak e s place . The se cond re quire m e nt is that the volum e of the que nching tank m ust be large e nough so that the que nch tank te m pe rature doe s not rise appre ciably during que nching and allow pre m ature pre cipitation.

Aging is conducte d at e ithe r room te m pe rature (natural aging) or at e le vate d te m pe rature (artificial aging). Naturally age d alloys are ofte n solution tre ate d and que nche d (W te m pe r), re frige rate d until the y are re ady to be form e d, and the n allowe d to age at room te m pe rature to pe ak stre ngth (T3 te m pe r). To pre ve nt pre m ature aging, cold storage te m pe rature s m ust be in the range of -45 to -75 C (-50 to -100 F). Artificial aging tre atm e nts are ge ne rally low-te m pe rature , long tim e proce sse s; te m pe rature s range from 115 to 190 C (240 to 375 F) for tim e s of 5 to 48 h.

Ve rification of he at tre atm e nt is usually conducte d by a com bination of hardne ss and e le ctrical conductivity te sts.

REFERENCE 1. F.C . C am pbe ll, Ed., Ele m e nts of Me tallurgy and Engine e ring Alloys , ASM Inte rnational, 2008 SELECTED REFERENCES L.C .F. C anale , R .A. Me squita, and G.E. Totte n, Failure Analysis of He at Tre ate d Ste e l C om pone nts, ASM Inte rnational, 2008 H. C handle r, Ed., He at Tre ate rs Guide : Practice s and Proce dure s for Nonfe rrous Alloys, ASM Inte rnational, 1996 J.R . Davis, Ed., Surface Harde ning of Ste e ls: Unde rstanding the Basics , ASM Inte rnational, 2002 J.L. Dosse tt and H.E. Boye r, Practical He at Tre ating, 2nd e d., ASM Inte rnational, 2006 R .E. Haim baugh, Practical Induction He at Tre ating, ASM Inte rnational, 2001 He at Tre ate rs Guide : Practice s and Proce dure s for Irons and Ste e ls, 2nd e d., ASM Inte rnational, 1995 He at Tre ating, Vol 4, ASM Handbook , ASM Inte rnational, 1991 G. Krauss, Ste e ls: Proce ssing, Structure , and Pe rform ance , 3rd e d., ASM Inte rnational, 2005 Me tallography and Microstructure s, Vol 9, ASM Handbook , ASM Inte rnational, 2004 Prope rtie s and Se le ction: Irons, Ste e ls, and High-Pe rform ance Alloys, Vol 1, ASM Handbook , ASM Inte rnational, 1990 Prope rtie s and Se le ction: Nonfe rrous Alloys and Spe cial-Purpose Mate rials, Vol 2, ASM Handbook , ASM Inte rnational, 1990 D. Pye , Practical Nitriding and Fe rritic Nitrocarburizing, ASM Inte rnational, 2003 A.K. R ak hit, He at Tre atm e nt of Ge ars: A Practical Guide for Engine e rs, ASM Inte rnational, 2000 G. Totte n, M. Howe s, T. Inoue , Eds., Handbook of R e sidual Stre ss and De form ation of Ste e l, ASM Inte rnational, 2002 G. Vande r Voort, Ed., Atlas of Tim e -Te m pe rature Diagram s for Irons and Ste e ls, ASM Inte rnational, 1991 G. Vande r Voort, Atlas of Tim e -Te m pe rature Diagram s for Nonfe rrous Alloys, ASM Inte rnational, 1991 J. Ve rhoe ve n, Ste e l Me tallurgy for the Non-Me tallurgist, ASM Inte rnational, 2007

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RESOURCES ASM Alloy C e nte r O nline , ASM Inte rnational, http://products.asm inte rnational.org/alloyce nte r/inde x .jsp ASM Alloy Phase Diagram s C e nte r O nline , ASM Inte rnational, http://www1.asm inte rnational.org/asm e nte rprise /apd/ ASM Handbook s O nline , ASM Inte rnational, http://products.asm inte rnational.org/hbk /inde x .jsp ASM Micrograph C e nte r O nline , ASM Inte rnational, http://products.asm inte rnational.org/m go/inde x .jsp He at Tre ating Socie ty, an affiliate socie ty of ASM Inte rnational HT Pro e -Ne wsle tte r, He at Tre ating Socie ty ne wsle tte r, ASM Inte rnational P.Tarin and J. Pe re z, Ste C al 3.0, (C D R O M), ASM Inte rnational, 2004

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