Engineering Materials Lab

MATLENG 201
Section 811

Cold Working and Annealing

Performed on
October 16-23, 2014
by
Tyler Doro
991-21-1781

Objective
The main objective of this lab was to see how the processes of cold working (which
is working on the material at less than half the temperature required to melt that
material) and annealing can affect the hardness of a material. A secondary
objective was also to see the difference in grain structure of an annealed material
and a cold worked material. Knowing how the grains are different can help us
understand the hardness properties.

Materials & Equipment

Free cutting brass

o 62% Cu, 35% Zn, and 3% Pb
Rolling Mill
Furnace
Rockwell Instrument
o Brale diamond cone indenter, 60 kg load
Grinding Machine
o Various grit sandpapers
Polishing Machine
o Alumina Suspensions
Microscope

Procedure
Measure- measure the samples and record length width and height
Cold work- cold work the samples by placing them through the rolling mill (which is
an example of a strength hardening mechanism) until they achieve appropriate
amounts of cold work
Hardness test- record 5 measurements for each sample using the Rockwell hardness
test
Anneal- heat samples in furnace for 20 min at 650 oC
Hardness test- record 5 measurements for each annealed sample using the
Rockwell hardness test
Grinding- grind two samples one 40% CW and the other annealed
Polishing- polish the two ground samples to prepare for etching
Etch- Etch the two samples in f 1 g Fe (NO3)3 in 100 ml H2O for 8-10 seconds
Observation- samples were inspected under microscope

Results & Analysis

The data from this lab was tabulated in three different tables. The first being a table
about the theoretical percentage cold worked the actual cold worked percentage.
Cold
working %

Initial
Thickness
(in)

Theoretical
Theoretical
Final
Number of
Thickness
Passes
(in)
0
.375
.375
0
10
.375
.3375
7.5
20
.375
.300
15
30
.375
.2625
22.5
40
.375
.225
30
60
.375
.15
45
From this table we can see that there is a slight error in
could possibly be attributed to human error.

Actual Final
Thickness

Actual Cold
Working %

.375
0
.336
10.4
.299
20.27
.2635
29.73
.225
40
.14
62.67
our cold work process that

The next data table is the hardness values of samples after cold working.

From this data table we can see that the harness goes up as the percentage cold
worked goes up.
The next data table is the hardness values of samples after annealing.

These hardness values are more consistent after the annealing process.
Here is a plot of the two hardness values from cold work and annealing

Hardness for Cold Worked and Annealed conditions

55.0
Cold Worked

50.0

Power (Cold Worked)

Logarithmic (Cold Worked)

Power (Cold Worked)

Logarithmic (Cold Worked)

45.0
40.0
Logarithmic (Cold Worked)
Hardness (HRa) 35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
Power (Cold Worked)
15.0
0

Annealed
10

20

30

40

50

60

Cold Working (%)

The picture on the left is the grian structure of a sample that has been annealed.
The picture on the right is that of a sample that has undergone a cold working of
40%. As you can see in the picture on the right the grains are flattened by this cold
work process. The cold work proces increases the dislocation density of a material.
Dislocation density is the amount of dislocations in a certain area of a sample. This
is what inevitably gives the sample more hardness vs when it was just annealed.

When a sample is annealed then the dislocations disolve and the sample reverts
back to a more ductile state. That is why the process of annealing is used to bring
samples maechenical properties back to where they will not frocture due to further
cold work.(The black dots in the pictures are just parts of lead in the sample.)

Conclusion
From all of this data we can come to some very clear conclusions. The biggest
conclusion we come to is that if you are taking a material and performing cold work
on that material it will in turn become harder due to an elevation in its dislocation
density. Also if you take that same material and wish to revert those properties back
to their original state. You must anneal the sample effectively dissolving dislocations
in the sample restoring it to a more ductile state. This is important for engineers to
know, for when you are designing a part or a system and need something to be
harder you can cheaply and affectively make it harder with cold work. In the
opposite situation an engineer should also know that in order to make a piece that
has been cold worked more ductile again annealing will do just that.