Heat Treatment of Steels

Heat treatment
of
steels
HEAT TREATMENT
 Heat Treatment is the controlled heating and cooling of
metals to alter their physical and mechanical properties
without changing the product shape.
 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.
• Generally, heat treatment uses phase transformation

during heating and cooling to change a microstructure in
a solid state.
• In heat treatment, the processing is most often entirely
thermal and modifies only structure. Thermomechanical
treatments, which modify component shape and
structure, and thermochemical treatments which modify
surface chemistry and structure, are also important
processing approaches which fall into the domain of heat
treatment.
Iron carbon diagram form the basis of
heat treatments:
Various types of heat treatment processes are
used to modify the following properties or
conditions of the steel:
Improve the toughness
Increase the hardness
Increase the ductility
Improve the machinability
Refine the grain structure
Remove the residual stresses
Improve the wear resistance
TYPES OF HEAT TREATMENT
PROCESSES
ANNEALING…
ANNEALING
• Annealing is a heat process whereby a metal is
heated to a specific temperature, held at that
temperature and then allowed to cool slowly.
General effects of annealing
• When a metal is cold-worked, by any of the many
industrial shaping operations, changes occur in both its
physical and mechanical properties.
• While the increased hardness and strength which result
from the working treatment may be of importance in
certain applications, it is frequently necessary to return the
metal to its original condition to allow further forming
operations (e.g. deep drawing) to be carried out of for
applications where optimum physical properties, such as
electrical conductivity, are essential.
• The treatment given to the metal to bring about a
decrease of the hardness and an increase in the ductility is
known as annealing.
• This usually means keeping the deformed metal for a
certain time at a temperature higher than about one-third
the absolute melting point.
• Cold working produces an increase in dislocation density;
for most metals ρ increases from the value of 1010–1012
lines m-2 typical of the annealed state, to 1012–1013 after a
few per cent deformation, and up to 1015–1016 lines m-2 in
the heavily deformed state.
• Such an array of dislocations gives rise to a substantial
strain energy stored in the lattice, so that the cold-worked
condition is thermodynamically unstable relative to the
undeformed one.
• Consequently, the deformed metal will try to return to a
state of lower free energy, i.e. a more perfect state.
• In general, this return to a more equilibrium structure
cannot occur spontaneously but only at elevated
temperatures where thermally activated processes such as
diffusion, cross slip and climb take place.
• Like all non-equilibrium processes the rate of approach to

equilibrium will be governed by an Arrhenius equation of the
form:
Rate = A exp [-Q/kT]
where the activation energy Q depends on impurity
content, strain, etc.
• The formation of atmospheres by strain-ageing is one
method whereby the metal reduces its excess lattice energy
but this process is unique in that it usually leads to a further
increase in the structure sensitive properties rather than a
reduction to the value characteristic of the annealed
condition.
• It is necessary, therefore, to increase the temperature of the

deformed metal above the strain-ageing temperature
before it recovers its original softness and other properties.
Stages of annealing
• The removal of the cold-worked condition, or in
other words, the annealing process, may be divided
into three stages:
– Recovery
– Recrystallization
– Grain growth
recovery
 This is primarily a low temperature process, and
the property changes produced do not cause
appreciable change in microstructure or the
properties, such as tensile strength, yield
strength, hardness and ductility.
 The principal effect of recovery is the relief of
internal stresses due to cold working and this
prevents stress corrosion cracking and
minimizes the distortion produced by residual
stresses.
 Electrical conductivity is also increased
appreciably during the recovery stage.
 Commercially, this low temperature treatment
in the recovery range is known as stress relief
annealing or process annealing.
Recovery
• This process describes the changes in the distribution and
density of defects with associated changes in physical and
mechanical properties which take place in worked crystals
before recrystallization or alteration of orientation occurs.
• The recovery stage of annealing is chiefly concerned with
the rearrangement of the cold worked dislocations to
reduce the lattice energy and does not involve the
migration of large-angle boundaries.
• This rearrangement of the dislocations is assisted by
thermal activation.
Recovery
• Mutual annihilation of dislocations is one process.
• When the two dislocations are on the same slip plane, it is
possible that as they run together and annihilate they will
have to cut through intersecting dislocations on other
planes, i.e. ‘forest’ dislocations.
• This recovery process will, therefore, be aided by thermal
fluctuations since the activation energy for such a cutting
process is small.
• When the two dislocations of opposite sign are not on the
same slip plane, climb or cross-slip must first occur, and
both processes require thermal activation.
Recovery
• One of the most important recovery processes which leads
to a resultant lowering of the lattice strain energy is
rearrangement of the dislocations into cell walls.
• This process in its simplest form was originally termed

polygonization whereby dislocations all of one sign align
themselves into walls to form small-angle or subgrain
boundaries.
Recovery
Recovery
• During deformation a region of the lattice is curved, as
shown in Figure 7.50a, and the observed curvature can be
attributed to the formation of excess edge dislocations
parallel to the axis of bending.
• On heating, the dislocations form a sub-boundary by a

process of annihilation and rearrangement. This is shown
in Figure 7.50b, from which it can be seen that it is the
excess dislocations of one sign which remain after the
annihilation process that align themselves into walls.
Polygonization
• Polygonization is a simple form of sub-boundary
formation and the basic movement is climb whereby the
edge dislocations change their arrangement from a
horizontal to a vertical grouping. This process involves
the migration of vacancies to or from the edge of the
half-planes of the dislocations .
• The removal of vacancies from the lattice, together with
the reduced strain energy of dislocations which results,
can account for the large change in both electrical
resistivity and stored energy observed during this stage,
while the change in hardness can be attributed to the
rearrangement of dislocations and to the reduction in
the density of dislocations.
recrystallization
• Recrystallization takes place by a combination of nucleation of
strain free grains and the growth of these nuclei to absorb the
entire cold worked material.
• The term recrystallization temperature does not refer to a
definite temperature below which recrystallization will not occur,
but refers to the approximate temperature at which a highly cold
worked material completely recrystallizes in one hour.
• Pure metals have low recrystallization temperatures as compared
with alloys.
• Zinc, tin and lead have recrystallization temperatures below
room temperature. This means that these metals cannot be cold
worked at room temperature since they crystallize
spontaneously, reforming a strain free structure.
The recrystallization temperatures of several metals and alloys are
listed as in the table below:
Material Recrystallization Temperature (oF)
Copper ( 99.99 %) 250
Copper ( 5 % Zinc) 600
Aluminum (99.99 %) 175
Aluminum alloys 600
Low carbon steel 1000
Zinc 50
Tin 25
Lead 25
Recrystallization
• In the primary recrystallization stage the deformed lattice
is completely replaced by a new unstrained one by means
of a nucleation and growth process, in which practically
stress free grains grow from nuclei formed in the
deformed matrix.
• The orientation of the new grains differs considerably

from that of the crystals they consume, so that the growth
process must be regarded as incoherent,i.e. it takes place
by the advance of large-angle boundaries separating the
new crystals from the strained matrix.
Recrystallization
• During the growth of grains, atoms get
transferred from one grain to another
across the boundary. Such a process is
thermally activated as shown in Figure
Recrystallization
It is well known that the rate of recrystallization depends on several
important factors, namely:
(1) the amount of prior deformation (the greater the degree of
cold work, the lower the recrystallization temperature and the
smaller the grain size),
(2) the temperature of the anneal (as the temperature is
lowered the time to attain a constant grain size increases
exponentially)
(3) the purity of the sample (e.g. zone refined aluminium
recrystallizes below room temperature, whereas aluminium of
commercial purity must be heated several hundred degrees).
(4)Increasing the annealing time decreases the
recrystallization temperature for the start of
recrystallization.
.
mechanism of recrystallization
• Measurements, using the light microscope, of the increase in
diameter of a new grain as a function of time at any given
temperature can be expressed as shown in the figure. The diameter
increases linearly with time until the growing grains begin to impinge
on one another, after which the rate necessarily decreases.
Figure 7.52 Variation of grain diameter with time at a constant temperature.

• The classical interpretation of these observations is that
nuclei form spontaneously in the matrix after a so-called
nucleation time t0, and these nuclei then proceed to grow
steadily as shown by the linear relationship.
• The driving force for the process is provided by the stored
energy of cold work contained in the strained grain on one
side of the boundary relative to that on the other side.
• Such an interpretation would suggest that the
recrystallization process occurs in two distinct stages, i.e.
first nucleation and then growth.
• During the linear growth period the radius of a nucleus is
R= G(t-to), where G, the growth rate, is dR/dt assuming
the nucleus is spherical, the volume of the recrystallized
nucleus is
• If the number of nuclei that form in a time increment dt is

N dt per unit volume of unrecrystallized matrix, and if the
nuclei do not impinge on one another, then for unit total
volume
• This equation is valid in the initial stages when
f<<1. When the nuclei impinge on one another the rate of
recrystallization decreases and is related to the amount
untransformed (1 – f) by
where, for short times, equation reduces to last equation.

• This Johnson–Mehl equation is expected to apply to any
phase transformation where there is random nucleation,
constant N and G and small t0.
• In practice, nucleation is not random and the rate not
constant so that equation will not strictly apply.
• For the case where the nucleation rate decreases
exponentially, Avrami developed the equation
where k and n are constants, with n≈ 3 for a fast and n≈ 4 for

a slow, decrease of nucleation rate.
• Provided there is no change in the nucleation mechanism,
n is independent of temperature but k is very sensitive to
temperature T; clearly from equation k=∏NG3/3 and both
N and G depend on T.
• The process of recrystallization may be pictured as follows.
• After deformation, polygonization of the bent lattice regions
on a fine scale occurs and this results in the formation of
several regions in the lattice where the strain energy is lower
than in the surrounding matrix; this is a necessary primary
condition for nucleation.
• During this initial period when the angles between the sub-
grains are small and less than one degree, the sub-grains
form and grow quite rapidly.
• However, as the sub-grains grow to such a size that the
angles between them become of the order of a few degrees,
the growth of any given sub-grain at the expense of the
others is very slow.
• Eventually one of the sub-grains will grow to such a size
that the boundary mobility begins to increase with
increasing angle. A large angle boundary, θ≈(30–40°), has a
high mobility because of the large lattice irregularities or
‘gaps’ which exist in the boundary transition layer.
• The atoms on such a boundary can easily transfer their

allegiance from one crystal to the other.
• This sub-grain is then able to grow at a much faster rate

than the other subgrains which surround it and so acts as
the nucleus of a recrystallized grain.
The further it grows, the greater will be the difference in orientation
between the nucleus and the matrix it meets and consumes, until it finally
becomes recognizable as a new strain-free crystal separated from its
surroundings by a large-angle boundary.
Whether recrystallization nucleus it grows to become a strain-free grain
depends on three factors:
(1) the stored energy of cold work must be sufficiently
high to provide the required driving force,
(2) the potential nucleus should have a size advantage
over its neighbours
(3) it must be capable of continued growth by existing in a
region of high lattice curvature (e.g.transition band) so
that the growing nucleus can quickly achieve a high-
angle boundary.
Variables affecting recrystallization
• Prior deformation, for example, will control the extent to
which a region of the lattice is curved.
• The larger the deformation, the more severely will the
lattice be curved and, consequently, the smaller will be
the size of a growing sub-grain when it acquires a large-
angle boundary.
• The importance of impurity content on recrystallization
temperature is also evident from the effect impurities have on
obstructing dislocation sub-boundary and grain boundary
mobility.
• The intragranular nucleation of strain-free grains, as
discussed above, is considered as abnormal subgrain growth,
in which it is necessary to specify that some sub-grains acquire
a size advantage and are able to grow at the expense of the
normal subgrains.
Variables affecting
recrystallization
• It has been suggested that nuclei may also be formed by a
process involving the rotation of individual cells so that they
coalesce with neighbouring cells to produce larger cells by
volume diffusion and dislocation rearrangement
• Segregation of solute atoms to, and precipitation on, the grain
boundary tends to inhibit intergranular nucleation and gives an
advantage to intragranular nucleation, provided the dispersion
is not too fine.
• Small, finely dispersed particles retard recrystallization by
reducing both the nucleation rate and the grain boundary
mobility, whereas large coarsely dispersed particles enhance
recrystallization by increasing the nucleation rate.
Grain Growth
• When primary recrystallization is complete (i.e. when the
growing crystals have consumed all the strained material)
the material can lower its energy further by reducing its
total area of grain surface.
• In this stage the tensile strength and hardness continue to
decrease but at a much less rate than the recrystallization
stage.
• With extensive annealing it is often found that grain
boundaries straighten, small grains shrink and larger ones
grow.
• The general phenomenon is known as grain growth; the
major change observed during this stage is the growth of
the grain boundaries and reaching the original grain size .
Grain Growth
• The most important factor governing the process is the surface
tension of the grain boundaries.
• A grain boundary has a surface tension, T (= surface-free energy
per unit area) because its atoms have a higher free energy than
those within the grains.
• Consequently, to reduce this energy a polycrystal will tend to
minimize the area of its grain boundaries.
• Second-phase particles have a major inhibiting effect on boundary
migration and are particularly effective in the control of grain size.
• The pinning process arises from surface tension forces exerted by
the particle–matrix interface on the grain boundary as it migrates
past the particle.
• Nevertheless, even after growth has finished the grain size in
a specimen which was previously severely cold-worked
remains relatively small, because of the large number of
nuclei produced by the working treatment.
• Exaggerated grain growth can often be induced, however, in

one of two ways, namely:
(1) by subjecting the specimen to a critical strain-
anneal treatment, or
(2) by a process of secondary recrystallization.
• By applying a critical deformation (usually a few per cent
strain) to the specimen the number of nuclei will be kept
to a minimum, and if this strain is followed by a high-
temperature anneal in a thermal gradient some of these
nuclei will be made more favourable for rapid growth
than others.
• The only driving force for secondary recrystallization is

the reduction of grain boundary-free energy, as in
normal grain growth. Special conditions are necessary. In
some regions the grain boundaries become free (e.g. if
the inclusions slowly dissolve or the boundary tears
away) and as a result the grain size in such regions
becomes appreciably larger than the average.
EFFECT OF ANNEALING ON TENSILE STRENTH,
HARDNESS, DUCTILITY AND GRAIN SIZE
• Annealing results in modification of the properties of steel.
The figure in the next slide shows the change in some of these
properties on annealing.
• During the recovery stage the decrease in stored energy and
electrical resistivity is accompanied by only a slight lowering
of hardness.
• The greatest simultaneous change in properties occurs during
the primary recrystallization stage.
• During recrystallization stage, there is a significant drop in
tensile strength, hardness and a large increase in the ductility
of the material which is illustrated in the figure
EFFECT OF ANNEALING ON TENSILE STRENTH,
HARDNESS, DUCTILITY AND GRAIN SIZE
BENEFITS OF ANNEALING
• The benefits of annealing are:
• Improved ductility
• Removal of residual stresses that result from
cold-working or machining
• Improved machinability
• Grain refinement
• At the same time, annealing also has a few

disadvantages as it reduces the hardness,
yield strength and tensile strength of the
steel
TYPES OF ANNEALING
i. full annealing
ii.homogenising annealing
iii.recrystallization annealing
iv.spheroidisation annealing
v.stress-relief annealing
vi.isothermal annealing
FULL ANNEALING
• Full annealing is the process by which the
distorted cold worked lattice structure is changed
back to one which is strain free through the
application of heat. This process is carried out
entirely in the solid state and is usually followed
by slow cooling in the furnace from the desired
temperature.
• The austenitising temp is a function of carbon
content of the steel and can be generalised as:
• For hypoeutectoid steels and eutectoid steel
• Ac3+(20-40oC) [to obtain single
phase austenite]
• For hypereutectoid steels
• Ac1+(20-40oC) [to obtain
austenite+ cementite]
AIMS OF full ANNEALING
• To refine the grain size of steel castings,
or of hot worked steels to improve the
mechanical properties.
• To soften the steel
• To relieve internal stresses
• To improve machinability
• It also reduces some defects like aligned
sulphide inclusions, or bands in steels.
• The three important parts of full annealing are:
– Proper austenitising temperature
– Soaking time
– Very slow cooling through A1(critical temperature)
• The formation of austenite destroys all structures

that have existed before heating. Slow cooling
yields the original phases of ferrite and pearlite in
hypoeuetectoid steels and that of cementite and
pearlite in hypereutectoid steels.
HOMOGENISING ANNEALING
 The subsequent heating, soaking and hot
working homogenises the structure to a large
extent since diffusion of C is very fast at high
temp and the simultaneous plastic deformation
breaks the dendrites with different portions
moving in relation to each other which also
facilitate diffusion.
 The main aim of homogenising annealing is to
make the composition uniform, i.e to remove
chemical heterogeneity
 The alloy steel ingots are homogenised at
higher temp like 1150-1200oC for 10-20 hours as
the diffusion of substitutional solid solution
forming elements is very low
 The impact energy and ductility of the steel
increase as the homogenizing temperature
increases and the hardness, yield strength
and tensile strength decrease with an
increase in the homogenizing temperature.
 Homogenising annealing has a few
shortcomings as well. It results in:
Grain coarsening of austenite, thereby impairing
the properties
Thick scales on the surface of steels
It is an expensive process
RECRYSTALLIZATION ANNEALING
• Also known as process annealing or sub-critical annealing.
• Recrystallization annealing consists of heating the cold
worked steel above its recrystallization temp, soaking at this
temp, and then cooling thereafter.
• 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.
• The main aims of recrystallization
annealing are:
To restore ductility
To refine coarse grains
To improve electrical and magnetic properties in
grain-oriented Si steels.
• No phase change takes place and the final structure
consists of strain-free, equiaxed grains of fine ferrite
produced at the expense of deformed elongated ferrite
grains.
• Recrystallization temp(Tr) is given by:
– Tr= (0.3-0.5)Tm.p
• As little scaling and decarburisation occurs in

recrystallization annealing, it is preferred over full
annealing.
• However It would produce very coarse grains if the steel
has undergone critical amount of deformation. In such
cases, full annealing is preferred.
Spheroidisation annealing
o Spheroidisation annealing consists of heating, soaking and cooling,
invariably very slowly to produce spheroidal pearlite or globular
form of carbides in steels.
o Hypereutectoid steels consist of pearlite and cementite. The
cementite forms a brittle network around the pearlite. This
presents difficulty in machining the hypereutectoid steels.
o To improve the machinability of the annealed hypereutectoid steel
spheroidize annealing is applied.
o This process will produce a spheroidal or globular form of a carbide
in a ferritic matrix which makes the machining easy.
o Prolonged time at the elevated temperature will completely break
up the pearlitic structure and cementite network. The structure is
called spheroidite.
SPHEROIDISING METHODS:
Heating the steel to just below Ac1 temp,
holding at this temperature for a very long
period followed by slow cooling.
Austenitise the steel at a temp not more than
50oC above A1, and cool very slowly through A1
to transform this inhomogeneous austenite at a
temperature not more than 50oC below A1
temperature
Spheroidizing process applied at a temperature below the LCT.
Spheroidizing process applied at a temperature below and above the
LCT.
ADVANTAGES OF SPHEROIDISATION
ANNEALING:
 minimum hardness
 maximum ductility
 maximum machinability
 maximum softness
ISOTHERMAL ANNEALING
• Commonly used for alloy steels to
soften the steel
• In isothermal annealing, steel
austenitised at a temp 20-40oC above
Ac3, is cooled quickly to the temp of
isothermal holding( which is below A1
temp in the pearlitic range), held there
for the required time so that complete
transformation of austenite takes place
and then normally cooled in air
The closer the temp of isothermal holding is to A1,
coarser is the pearlite, softer is the steel, but longer is
the time of isothermal transformation.
ADVANTAGES OF ISOTHERMAL ANNEALING:
 As cooling can be done in air after the transformation
is complete, total time of heat treatment and the cost
of annealing is less.
 The productivity of the furnace is high
 The microstructure obtained is more uniform and
thus better control over hardness can be obtained as
transformation takes place at a constant temperature.
 Improved machinability with good surface finish
 Reduced warping in subsequent hardening processes.
STRESS-RELIEF ANNEALING
• Stress-Relief Annealing is useful in removing residual
stresses due to heavy machining or other cold-
working processes.
• It is usually carried out at temperatures below the
LCT, which is usually selected around 1000oF.
• The main aims of stress-relief annealing are:
• To relieve the internal stresses, and thus, allow
higher external loads to be applied
• Increase fatigue life and prevent intercrystalline
corrosion.
• To reduce chance of warpage or cracking, or risk of
distortion in cracking
• To increase impact resistance and lower
susceptibility to brittle fracture
• No change of dimensions in service life
NORMALIZING
NORMALIZING
The normalizing of steel is carried out by
heating above the UCT (Upper Critical
Temperature) to single phase austenitic
region to get homogeneous austenite,
soaking there for some time and then
cooling it in air to room temperature.
The austenitising temperature range are:

For hypoeutectoid steels and eutectoid
steel
• Ac3 + (40-60oC)
For hypereutectoid steels
• Acm + (30-50oC)
During normalising we use grain
refinement which is associated with
allotropic transformation upon heating
γ→α
Parts that require maximum toughness and
those subjected to impact are often
normalized.
When large cross sections are normalized,
they are also tempered to further reduce
stress and more closely control mechanical
properties.
The microstructure obtained by
normalizing depends on the composition
of the castings (which dictates its
hardenability) and the cooling rate.
Figure below shows the normalizing temperatures for
hypoeutectoid and hypereutectoid steels
AIMs OF NORMALIZING
• To produce a harder and stronger steel
than full annealing
• To improve machinability
• To modify and/or refine the grain structure
• To obtain a relatively good ductility without
reducing the hardness and strength
• Improve dimensional stability
• Produce a homogeneous microstructure
• Reduce banding
• Provide a more consistent response when
hardening or case hardening
EFFECT OF SOAKING TIME ON THE
MICROSTRUCTURE:
EFFECT OF NORMALIZING
TIME
AND
TEMPERATURE
ON MICROSTRUCTURE OF
HOT ROLLED SAMPLE
MICROSTRUCTURE AT THE STRIP SURFACE NORMALIZED
AT 860oC
MICROSTRUCTURE AT THE STRIP SURFACE
NORMALIZED AT 900oC
MICROSTRUCTURE AT THE STRIP SURFACE NORMALIZED AT
940oC
MICROSTRUCTURE AT THE STRIP SURFACE
NORMALIZED AT 960oC
NORMALIZING
VS
ANNEALING
COMPARISON OF ANNEALING AND
NORMALIZING
 The metal is heated to a higher temperature and then removed
from the furnace for air cooling in normalizing rather than furnace
cooling.
 In normalizing, the cooling rate is slower than that of a quench-
and-temper operation but faster than that used in annealing.
 As a result of this intermediate cooling rate, the parts will possess
a hardness and strength somewhat greater than if annealed.
 Fully annealed parts are uniform in softness (and machinability)
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 non-uniform
resulting in non-uniform material properties across the part.
 Internal stresses are more in normalizing as compared to
annealing.
 Grain size obtained in normalizing is finer than in annealing.
 Normalizing is a cheaper and less time-consuming process.
Comparison of temperature ranges in
annealing and normalizing
Comparison of time-temperature cycles
for normalizing and full annealing
The slower cooling of annealing results in higher temperature

transformation to ferrite and pearlite and coarser microstructures than
does normalizing.
effect of annealing and normalizing on ductility of
steels
Annealing and normalizing do not present a significant difference
on the ductility of low carbon steels. As the carbon content
increases, annealing maintains the % elongation around 20%. On
the other hand, the ductility of the normalized high carbon steels
drop to 1 to 2 % level.
effect of annealing and normalizing on the
tensile strength AND YIELD POINT of steels
 The tensile strength and the yield point of the

normalized steels are higher than the annealed
steels.
 Normalizing and annealing do not show a significant
difference on the tensile strength and yield point of
the low carbon steels.
 However, normalized high carbon steels present
much higher tensile strength and yield point than
those that are annealed. This can be illustrated from
the figures.
effect of annealing and normalizing on the hardness of
steels
Low and medium carbon steels can maintain similar hardness
levels when normalized or annealed. However, when high carbon
steels are normalized they maintain higher levels of hardness than
those that are annealed.
ADVANTAGES OF NORMALIZING OVER
ANNEALING
 Better mechanical properties
 Lesser time-consuming
 Lower cost of fuel and operation
ADVANTAGES OF ANNEALING OVER

NORMALIZING
 Greater softness
 Complete absence of internal stresses
which is a necessity in complex and
intricate parts
HARDENING
HARDENING
• It is the process of heating the steel to proper
austenitizing temperature , soaking at this
temperature to get a fine grained and
homogeneous austenite , and then cooling the
steel at a rate faster than its critical cooling
rate.
OBJECTIVES OF HARDENING
The aims of hardening are:
1. Main aim of hardening is to induce high hardness. The

cutting ability of a tool is proportional to its hardness.
2. Many machine parts and all tools are hardened to induce
high wear resistance higher is the hardness , higher is the
wear and the abrasion resistance .For example ,gears,
shaft.
3. The main objective of hardening machine components
made of structural steel sis to develop high yield strength
with good toughness and ductility to bear high working
stresses.
Austenising Temperature for Pearlitic
Steels
• The steel is first heated to proper austenising temperature to
obtain a homogeneous and fine grained austenite. This
temperature depends on the composition(carbon as well as
alloying elements).
• The austenitising temperature of plain carbon steels depends
on the carbon content of the steel and is generalised as :
• For hypo-eutectoid steels :Ac3 + (20 — 40°C)

• For hyper-eutectoid steels and eutectoid steel:Ac1 + (20 —
40°C)
Steels
Steels
• Hypereutectoid steels, when heated in above temperature
range, to obtain homogeneous and fine-grained austenite
which on quenching transforms to fine-grained (very fine
needles/plates), and hard martensite as is desired to be
obtained.
• Heating these steels only up to critical range (between Ac3
and Ac1) is avoided in practice.
• Steel then has austenitic and ferrite.
• On quenching, only austenite transforms to martensite, and
ferrite remains as it is, i.e., incomplete hardening occurs .
• The presence of soft ferrite does not permit to achieve high
hardness, if that is the objective.
Steels
• If the aim is to get high strength by the process of
tempering ferrite does not permit this as it has low
tensile and yield strengths .
• In fact, ferrite forms the easy path to fracture.
• Quenching of hypoeutectoid steels from temperatures
much above the proper temperatures , when austenite
has become coarse, results in coarse acicular form of
martensite.
• Coarse martensite is more brittle, and a unit or two
lower in hardness. It lowers the impact strength even
after tempering, and is more prone to quench-cracking.
Steels
• Hypereutectoid steels, when heated in the above range,
i.e., just above Ac1 have fine grains of austenite and
proeutectoid cementite.
• On quenching austenite transforms to fine martensite and
cememtite remains unchanged.
• As the hardness of cementite (≈ 800 BHN) is more than
that of martensite (650-750 BHN), its presence increases
the hardness, wear and abrasion resistance as compared to
only martensitic structure.
• If temperature of austenitisation is much higher than Ac1
but still below Acm temperature, a part of proeutectoid
cementite gets dissolved to increase the carbon content of
austenhlc(> 0.77%)
Steels
• On quenching as-quenched hardness is less,
because :
1. Lesser amount of proeutectoid cementite is
present.
2. Larger amount of soft retained austenite is
obtained as the dissolved carbon of
cementite has lowered the Ms and Mf
temperature.
3. A bit coarser martensite has lesser hardness.
Steels
• Heating hypereutectoid steels to a temperature higher
than Acm results in 100% austenite . It is very coarse
austenite as very rapid grain-growth occurs due to
dissolution of restraining proeutectoid cementite .
• The as-quenched hardness is low because of:
1) Absence of harder cementite.
2) As more carbon has dissolved in austenite, more retained
austenite is obtained.
3) Coarser martensite is a bit less hard and more brittle.
• Thus, these temperatures are avoided in carbon steels
PROCESS OF QUENCHING
• When a heated steel object (say at 840°C) is plunged into a
stationary bath of cold it has three stages as:
Stage A -vapour-blanket stage:

• Immediately on quenching, coolant gets vapourized as the
steel part is at high temperature, and thus, a continuous
vapour- blanket envelopes the steel part.
• Heat escapes from the hot surface very slowly by radiation
and conduction through the blanket of water vapour.
• Since the vapour-film is a poor heat conductor, the cooling
rate is relatively low (stage A in fig ). This long stage is
undesirable in most quenching operations.
Stage B-Intermittent contact stage (Liquid-boiling stage):
• Heat is removed in the form of heat of vaporization in this
stage as is indicated by the steep slope of the cooling curve.
• During this stage, the vapour-blanket is broken intermittently
allowing the coolant to come in contact with the hot surface
at one instant, but soon being pushed away by violent boiling
action of vapour bubble.
• The rapid cooling in this stage soon brings the metal surface
below the boiling point of the coolant.
• The vaporization then stops. Second stage
corresponds to temperature range of 500◦ to 100◦c
, and this refers to nose of the CCT curve of the
steel , when the steel transforms very rapidly ( to
non martensite product ).
• Thus, the rate of cooling in this stage is of great
importance in hardening of steels.
Stage C-Direct-Contact stage (Liquid-cooling stage):

• This stage begins when the temperature of steel
surface Is below the boiling point of coolant.
• Vapours do not form. The cooling is due to
convection and conduction through the liquid.
Cooling is slowest here.
QUENCHING MEDIUMS
• As the aim is to get martensite, the coolant should have quenching
power to cool austenite to let it transform to martensite. The
following factors effect the quenching power of the coolant :
• The cooling rate decreases as the temperature of water and brine
increases, i.e., it increases stage ‘A’, i.e., helps in persistence of the
vapour blanket stage.
• The increased temperature brings it closer to its boiling point, and
thus, requires less heat to form vapour, specially above 60°C.
• Good range of temperature for water as coolant is 20-40°C.
• Oils in general, show increased cooling rates with the rise of
temperature, with optimum cooling rates in range 50°—80°C.
QUENCHING MEDIUMS
• In oils, the increase of temperature increases the persistence of
vapour-blanket, but this resulting decrease in the cooling rate is
more than compensated by the decrease of viscosity (with the rise
in temperature) to result in increase of rate of heat removal
through the oil.
• If the boiling point of a coolant is low, vapours form easily to
increase the ‘A’ stage of cooling. ¡t is better to use a coolant with
higher boiling point. A coolant with low specific heat gets heated up
at a faster rate to form vapours easily.
• A coolant with low latent heat of vapourisation changes into vapour
easily to promote ‘A’ stage, i.e., decreases the cooling rate.
• A coolant with high thermal conductivity increases the cooling rate.
Coolants with low viscoity provide faster cooling rates and decrease
the ‘A’ stage.
QUENCHING MEDIUMS
• A coolant should be able to Provide rate of cooling fast
enough to avoid transformation of austenite to pearlite
and bainite . Plain carbon steel invariably require
çooling in water or brine. Whereby alloy steels are
quenched normally in oils.
• But milder the cooling medium , lesser the internal
stresses developed , and thus lesser the danger of
distortion , or cracks . An ideal quenching medium is
one which is able to provide very fast cooling rate near
the nose of the curve ( 650 -550°C)and at the same
time it should provide very considerable slower rate if
cooling within the range of martensitic transformation(
300 - 200°C) to minimize internal stresses .
WATER
• The oldest and still the most popular quenching medium, water meets the
requirements of low cost ,general easy availability, easy handling and
safety.
• The cooling characteristics change more than oil with the rise of
temperature, specially there is a rapid fall in cooling capacity as the
temperature rises above 60°C, because of easy formation of vapour-
blanket.
• The optimum cooling pover is when water is 2O-4O°C.
• Thc cooling power of water is between brine and oils.
• Water provides high cooling power to avoid the transformation of
austenite to pearlite/bainite, but the major draw back is that it also
provides high cooling rate in the the temperature range of martensite
formation.
• At this stage, the steel is simultaneously under the influence of structural
stresses (non-uniform change in structure) and thermal stresses which
increase the risk of crack formation.
BRINE
• Sodium chloride aqueous solutions of about 10% by weight are
widely used and are called brines.
• The cooling power is between 10% NaOH aqueous solution and
water.
• These are corrosive to appliances.
• The greater cooling efficiency of brines, or other aqueous solutions
is based as :
• In brine heating of the solution at the steel surface causes the
deposition of crystal of the salt on hot steel surface .
• This layer of solid crystals disrupts with mild explosive violence,
und throws off a cloud of crystals. This action destroys the vapour-
film from the surface, and thus permits direct contact of the
coolant with the steel surface with an accompanying rapid removal
of heat.
• Brines are used where cooling rates faster than water arc requited.
OILS
• Oils have cooling power between water at 40°C to water at 90°C.
• In oil-quench, considerable variation can be obtained by the use of
animal, vegetable, or mineral oil, or their blends.
• Oils should be used at 50- 80°C when these are more fluid, i.e less
VISCOUS, which increases the cooling power.
• As the oils used generally have high boiling points, moderate
increase of temperature of oil does not very much increase the
vapour blanket stage. However, oils in contrast to water, or brine,
have much lower quenching power .
• Its this relatively slow cooling rate in the range of martensitic
formation is atlvantageous as it helps in minimsing the danger to
crack formation.
• Oils with high viscosity are less volatile, and thus have decreased
vapour-blanket stage (increase thecooling rate). As lesser volatile
matter is lost, their cooling power is not affected much with use.
POLYMER QUENCHANTS
• polymer quenchants cool rapidly the heated steel to
Ms temperature, and then rather slowly when
martensite is forming .
• Polymer quenchants are water-soluble organic
chemicals of high ,molecular weights, and are generally
polyalkylene glycol-based, or polyvinyl pyrolidene-
based.
• Widely different cooling rates can be obtained by
varying the concentration of Organic additives in
water; higher the additions, slower is the cooling rate
of solution.
• There are little dangers of distortions and cracks.
SALT BATHS
• It is an ideal quenching medium for a steel of
not very large section but with good
hardenabilty.
• Addition of O.3-O.5’% water almost doubles
the cooling capacity. Normally holding time is
2-4 minutes/cm of section thickness.
• Salt baths used for austenitising keep the steel
clean.
INTERNAL STRESSES S DURING
QUENCHING
• internal stresses are produced due to non-uniform plastic
deformation. In quenching of steels ,this may be caused by thermal
stresses, structural stresses, or both, or even premature failure of
part in service.
• Cooling during quenching lakes place non-uniformly, i.e., causes
temperature gradient across the section.
• Surface layers contract more than the central portion.
• Contraction of surface is resisted by the central portion, and this
puts the central portion under the compressive stresses, and the
surface layers in tension .
• If the magnitude of stress becomes more than the yield stress of
steel (at that deformation occurs.
• These stresses that develop in a quenched part as a result of
unequal cooling are called thermal stresses.
INTERNAL STRESSES DURING
QUENCHING
• Structural stresses are the stresses which develop due to due to
phase change (mainly austenite to martensite), and at different
times.
• Structural stresses are developed due to two main reasons:
1. Austenite and its transformation products have unequal specific
volume i.e. change in volume occurs when transformation occurs.
2. Phase changes occur at different times in the surface and in
centre.
• Under right conditions, both types of stresses get superimposed to
become larger than the yield strength to cause warping. but when
the tensile internal stresses become larger than the tensile strength
cracks appear.
• If an austenitised steel is quenched, it contracts thermally till Ms
temperature is attained .
QUENCHING
• figure(a) illustrates this in stage 1 As surface cools faster than
centre, i.e., contracts more than centre distribution of stresses
across the section is illustrated in fig (b), i.e, the surface is under
tensile nature of stress, while centre is under compressive stresses.
• Only thermal Stresses are produced in stage 2 , surface having
attained Ms temperature, transforms to martenSite, and thus
expands, while the centre is still contracting as it is getting cooled.
• In stage Il, centre may get plastically deformed ,as it is still ductile
austenite.
• In stage 3, martensite of surface and austenite of centre continue
contracting leading to slight increase in stress levels.
QUENCHING
• In stage IV, centre has attained M5 temperature, and begins
to expand as it forms martensite, while surface is still
contracting.
• The centre, as it expands, puts the surface in higher stress
levels .
• The surface has little deformation as it consists of brittle
martensie.
• It is during this stage, the greatest danger of cracking exists.
• Thus, stress levels are highest not in the beginning of the
quench, but when the centre is transforming to martensite.
QUENCHING
• However, higher is the Ms temperature of the steel,
lesser is the expansion, there is reduced danger of
quench-cracking.
• Increase of carbon and alloying elements lower the

Ms temperature making the steel more prone to
quench cracking.
RETAINED AUSTENITE
• Martensitic transfomiation is essentially an athermal transformation.
• Austenite begins to transform to martensite at Ms, and the amount of
martensite formed increases as the temperature decreases to complete at
Mf temperature.
• Less than 1 % of austenite may not transform because of unfavourable
stress conditions.
• The Ms and Mf temperatures are lowered as the amounts of carbon
content and alloying elements(except cobalt and aluminium) increase in
the steel.
• In a quenched steel, the amount of martensite formed depends on the
location of Ms and Mf and the temperature of the coolant (which is
normally room temperature. As long as room temperature lies between
Ms and Mf temperatures, austenite does not transform completely to
martensite as it has not been cooled below Mf temperature.
• This untransformed austenite is retained austenite.
ADVANTAGES OF RETAINED
•
AUSTENITE
10% retained austenite is normally desirable as its
ductility relieves some internal stresses developed
during hardening. This reduces the danger to distortion
or cracks.
• The presence of 30-40% retained austenite makes
straightening of components possible after hardening.
• Non distorting tools owe their existence to retained
austenite . It tries to balance transformational volume
changes during heating as well as cooling cycles of heat
treatment to produce little overall change in size of the
tools.
DISADVANTAGES
1) The presence of soft austenite decreases the
hardness of hardened steels.
2) As retained austenite may transform to lower
bainite, or martensite later in service ,increase
in dimensions of the part occurs.
3) This creates problems in precision gauges or
dies.
4) Stresses may develop in the part itself as well
as in adjacent pans. Grinding-cracks are mainly
due to retained austenite transforming to
martensite.
5) Austenite is non-magnetic, decreases the
magnetic properties of the steels.
ELIMINATION OF RETAINED
AUSTENITE
• Retained austenite is generally undesirable. It is eliminated by one
of the methods:
1. Sub-Zero treatment (cold treatment):
• It Consists of cooling the hardened steel (having retained austenite)
to a temperature below 0°C or its Mf temperature.
• There is no reason to cool a steel much below its Mf temperature.
• Sub-zero treatment is more effective if it is done immediately after
the quenching operation (normally done to room temperature).
• Sub-zero treatment is done in a low temperature-cooling unit,
which consists of double-walled vessel.
• The interior is made of copper in which the parts to be deep-frozen
are kept, and the exterior is made of steel provided with good heat-
insulation.
AUSTENITE
• The space in between the vessels is filled with
some coolant.
• The sub-zero coolants could be, dry ice (Solid
CO2) + acetone (— 78°C); Ice + NaCl (—23°C);
liquid air (—183°C); liquid N2 (— 196°C); Freon
(— 111°C).
• Total time of cooling in this unit is 1/2 to 1 hour.
• As this treatment transforms austenite to
martensite, steels after sub-zero treatment have
high hardness, wear and abrasion resistance, and
have no danger of grinding-cracks.
AUSTENITE
• The stresses are increased further and thus, tempering should
be done immediately after sub-zero treatment.
• Carburised steels, ball-bearing steels, highly alloy tool steels,
are normally given cold treatment.
2. Tempering:
• The second stage of tempering eliminates the retained
austenite in most steels.
• In high alloy steels, multiple tempering is able to eliminate
the retained austenite during cooling from the tempering
temperature.
DEFECTS IN HARDENING
• The main defects produced during hardening are:
1. Mechanical properties not up to specifications:
• The common defect in hardened tools, or component is too
low a hardness.
• One or more of the followings could be the cause of such a
defect.
• Insufficient fast cooling due to overheated or even polluted
coolant could be responsible for a defect.
• The presence of scale, or oil, etc. on the surface also
decreases the cooling rate.
• Circulation of coolant, or agitation of component may also
result in such defect.
DEFECTS IN HARDENING
• A shorter austenitising time can also cause such a defect. Lower
austenitising temperature can also result in such a defect.
• Decarburisation can also result in low surface hardness. If too high
temperature had been used, which produces larger amount of
retained austenite can result in low surface hardness.
2. Soft Spots:
• Soft areas on the hardened surface are called ‘soft spots’.
• The adhering scale, or decarburisation of some areas or prolonged
vapour-blanket stage due to overheated coolant or insufficient
agitation or circulation of coolant, or rough surface could cause
presence of soft spots surface.
AUSTENITE
3. Quench Cracks:
• Quench cracks form as a result of internal stresses developed of tensile
nature exceeding the tensile strength of the steel.
• Steel with lower Ms temperature due to higher contents of alloying
elements are more prone to quench cracks. Higher carbon also results in
more brittle martensite.
• Quench cracks can form if there is more time lag between the process of
quenching and tempering.
• Overheating of steel or a wrong coolant which gave much faster rate of
cooling, or there is faulty design of the component with sharp corners and
sharp transition between sections, or a wrong steel has been chosen.
• Presence of large amounts of retained austenite causes grinding cracks.
• The other defects could be distortion and warpage; change in dimensions;
oxidation and decarburisation
Tempering
• Martensite is a very strong phase, but it is normally
very brittle so it is necessary to modify the
mechanical properties by heat, treatment in the range
150—700°C.
• Essentially, martensite is a highly Supersaturated solid
solution of carbon in iron which, during tempering,
rejects carbon in the form of finely divided carbide
phases.
• The end result of tempering is a fine dispersion of
carbides in an α-iron matrix which often bears little
structural similarity to the original as-quenched
martensite.
Tempering of plain carbon steels
• In the as-quenched martensite structure,the laths
or plates are heavily dislocated to an extent that
individual dislocations are very difficult to
observe in thin-foil electron micrographs.
• A typical dislocation density for a 0.2 wt% carbon
steel is between 0.3 and 1.0 x 1012 cm cm-3. As
the carbon content rises above about 0.3 wt%,
fine twins about 5—10 nm wide are also
observed.
• Often carbide particles, usually rods or small
plates, are observed (Fig. 9.1).
• These occur in the first-formed martensite,
i.e. the martensite formed near Ms, which has
the opportunity of tempering during the
remainder of the quench.
• This phenomenon, which is referred to as
autó-tempering, is clearly more likely to occur
in steels with a high Ms.
Stages of Tempering
Stages of Tempering
• On reheating as-quenched martensite, the tempering takes
place in four distinct but overlapping stages:
• Stage 1, up to 250°C — precipitation of E-iron carbide; partial
loss of tetragonality in martensite.
• Stage 2, between 200 and 300°C — decomposition of retained
austenite .
• Stage 3, between 200 and 350°C — replacement of &iron
carbide by cementite; martensite loses tetragonality.
• Stage 4, above 350°C — cementite coarsens and spheroidizes;
recrystallization of ferrite.
Tempering — stage 1
• Martensite formed in medium and high carbon steels
(0.3—1.5 wt% C) is not stable at room temperature
because interstitial carbon atoms can diffuse in the
tetragonal martensite lattice at this temperature.
• This instability increases between room temperature
and 250°C, when €-iron carbide precipitates in the
martensite (Fig. 9.2).
• This carbide has a close-packed hexagonal structure,
and precipitates as narrow laths or rodlets on cube
planes of the matrix with a well-defined
orientation relationship .
• At the end of stage 1 the martensite still possesses a tetragonality,
indicating a carbon content of around
0.25 wt%.
• It follows that steels with lower carbon contents are unlikely to
precipitate €-carhide.
• This stage of tempering possess an activation energy of between
60 and 80 kJ mo1, which is in the right range for diffusion of carbon
in martensite. The activation energy has been shown to increase
linearly with the carbon concentration between 0.2 and 1.5 wt% C.
• This would be expected as increasing the carbon concentration also
increases the occupancy of the preferred
interstitial sites, i.e. the octahedral interstices at the mid-points of
cell edges, and centres of cell faces, thus reducing the mobility of C
atoms.
• During stage 2. austenite retained during quenching is
decomposed usually in the temperature range 230-
300°C.
• In martensitiC plain carbon steels below 0.5
carbon. the retained austenite is often below 2%, rising
to around 6 % at 0.8 wt C and over 30 % at 1.25 wt C.
• The little available evidence suggests that in the range
230-300°C, retained austenite decomposes to bainitic
ferrte and cementite, but no detailed comparison
between this phase and lower bainite has yet been
made.
• During the third stage of tempering, cementite flrst
appears in the microstructure as a Widmanstatten
distribution of plates which have a well-defined
orientation relationship with the matrix which has now
lost its tetragonality and become ferrite.
• This reaction commences as low as 100°C and is fully
developed at 300°C, with particles up to 200 nm long
and 15 nm in thickness.
• Similar structures are often observed in lower carbon
steels as quenched, as a result of the formation of Fe3C
during the quench.
• During tempering, the most likely sites for the
nucleation of the cementite are the €-iron carbide
irterfaces with the matrix (Fig 9.2) and as the Fe3C
particles grow, the €-iron carbide particles gradually
disappear.
• The twins occurring in the higher carbon martensites
are also site for the nucleation and growth of
cementite which tends to grow along
the twin boundaries forming colonies of similarly
oriented lath shaped particles (Fig. 9.3) which can be
readily ditinguished from the normal Widmanstatten
habit.
• A third site for the nucleation of cementite is the grain
boundary regions (Fig, 9.4)of both the interlath boundaries of
martensite and
the original austenite grain b0unjaries.
• The cementite can form as very thin films which are difficult
to detect but which gradually
sp1eroidise to give rise to welI-defined particles of Fe3C in the
grain boundary regions.
• There is some evidence to show that these.
boundary cementite films can adversely affect
ductility. However it can be modified by addition of alloying
elements.
• During the third stage of tempering , the
tetragonality of thc matrix disappears and it is
then, essentially, ferrite, not supersaturated with
respect to carbon.
• Subsequent changes in the morpriology of
cementite particles occur by process where the
smaller particles dissolve in the matrix providing
carbon for the selective growth of the larger
particles.
• During the third stage of tempering , the
tetragonality of thc matrix disappears and it is
then, essentially, ferrite, not supersaturated with
respect to carbon.
• Subsequent changes in the morpriology of
cementite particles occur by process where the
smaller particles dissolve in the matrix providing
carbon for the selective growth of the larger
particles.
• It is useful to define a fourth stage of tempering in which
the cementite particles undergo a coarsening process and
essentially lose their crystallographic morphology,
becoming spheroidized.
• It commences between 300 and 400◦C, while
spheroidizatiun takes place increasingly up to 700◦C.
• At the higher end of this range of tempera.
ture the martensite lath boundaries are replaced by more
equi-axid fèrrite grain boundaries by a process which is
best described as recrystallization.
• The final result is an equi-axed array of ferrite
grains with coarse spheroidized particles of Fe3C (Fig. 9.5),
partly, but not exclusively, by the grain boundaries.
• The spherodisation of the Fe3C is encouraged by the resulting
decrease in surface energy.
• The particles which preferentially grew and spheroidize are located
mainly at interlath boundaries and prior
austenite boundaries, although some particles remain in the matrix.
• The boundary sites are preferred because of the greater ease of
diffusion in these regions. Also, the growth of cementite into ferrite
is associated with a decrease in density so vacancies are required to
accommodate the growing cementite.
• Vacancies will diffuse away from cementite particles which are
redissolving in the ferrite and towards cementite particles which are
growing, so that the rate controlling process is likely to be the
diffusion of vacancies.
• The original martensite lath boundaries remain stable up to about 600°C,
but in the range 350—600°C. there is considerable rearrangement of the
dislocations within the laths and at those lath boundaries which are
essentially low angle boundaries.
• This leads to a marked reduction in the dislocation density and to lath-
shaped ferritic grains closely related to the packets of similarly oriented
laths in the original
martensite.
• This process, which is essentially one of recovery, is
replaced between 600 and 700°C by recrystallization which results in the
formation of equi-axed ferrite grains with spheroidal Fe3C particles in the
boundaries and within the grains.
• This process occurs most readily in carbon steels.
• At higher carbon content, the increased
density of cementite particles is much more effective
in pinning the ferrite boundaries, so recrystallisation is
much more sluggish.
• The final process is the continued coarsening of the
cementite particles and gradual ferrite grain growth.
Role of carbon content
• Firstly, the hardness of the as-quenched martensite is
largely influenced by the carbon content, as is the
morphology of the martensite laths which have a up to 0.3
wt% C, changing at higher carbon contents.
• The Ms temperature is reduced as the carbon content
increases, arid thus the probability of the occurrence of auto-
tempering is less.
• During fast quenching in alloys with less than 0.2 wt % C, the
majority (up to 90%) of the carbon segregates to dislocations
and lath boundaries, but with slower quenching some
precipitation of cementite occurs.
• On subsequent tempering of low carbon steels up to 200°C
further segregation of carbon takes place. but no
precipitation has been observed.
• Under normal circumstances it is difficult to
detect any tetragonality in martensitic in steels
with less than 0.2 wt% C, a fact which can
explained by the rapid segregation of carbon
during quenching.
• The hardness change; during tempering are
also very dependent on carbon content, as
shown in figure for steels up to 0.4 wt% C.
• Above this concentration, an increase in
hardness has been observed in temperature
range 50—150°C, as €-carbide precipitation
strengthens the martensite.
• However, the general trend is an overall
softening, as the tempering temperature is
raised.
Mechanical properties of tempered
plain carbon steels
• The absence of other alloying elements means that the
hardenability of the steels is low, so a fully martensitic structure is
only possible in thin sections.
• However, this may not be a disadvantage where shallow hardened
surface layers are all that is required.
• Secondly, at lower carbon levels, the Ms temperature is rather high,
so autotempering is
likely to take place.
• Thirdly, at the higher carbon levels the presence
of retained austenite will influence the results.
• Added to these factors, plain carbon steels can exhibit quench
cracking which makes it difficult to obtain reliable test results. This
is particularly the case at higher carbon levels, i.e. above 0.5 wt%
carbon.
Tempering of alloy steels
• The addition of allying elements to a steel has a
substantial effect on the kinetics of the y →α
transformation, and also of the pearlite reaction.
• Most common alloying elements move the TTT curves
to longer times, with the result that it is much easier to
miss the nose of the curve during quenching.
• This essentially gives higher hardenability, since
martensite structures can be achieved at slower
cooling rates and, in practical terms, thicker specimens
can be made fully martensitic.
• Alloying elements have also been shown to have a
substantial effect in depressing the Ms temperature.
The effect of alloying elements on
the formation of iron carbides
• It is clear that certain elements, notably silicon
can stabilize the €-iron carbide to such an extent
that it is still present in the ‘microstructure
after tempering at 400°C in steels with 1-2 wt%
Si, and at even higher temperatures if the silicon
is further
increased.
• The evidence suggests that both the nucleation
and growth of the carbide is slowed down and
that silicon enters into the €-carbide structure.
• It is also clear that the transformation of €-iron
carbide to cementite is delayed considerably.
• While the tetragonality of martensite
disappears by 300°C in plain carbon steels,
in steels containing some alloying
elements, e.g. Cr, Mo, W V, Ti, Si, the
tetragonal lattice is still observed after
tempering at 450°C and even as high as
500°C .
• It is clear that these alloying elements
increase the stability of the supersaturated
iron-carbide solid solution.
• In contrast manganese and nickel decrease
the stability.
• Alloying elements also greatly influence
the proportion of austenite retained on
quenching.
• Typically a steel with 4% molybdenum,
0.2%C, in the martensitic state contains
less than 2% austenite, and about 5% is
detected in a steel with 1% vanadium and
0.2%C.
• The austenite can be revealed as a fine
network around the martensite laths, by
using dark field electron microscopy.
• On tempering each of the above steels at 300°C,
the austenite decomposes to give thin grain
boundary
films of cementite which, in the case of the
higher concentrations of retained austenite, can
be fairly continuous along the lath boundaries.
• It is likely that this interlath cementite is
responsible for tempered embrittlement
frequently encountered as a toughness
minimum in the range 300—350°C, by leading
to easy nucleation of cracks, which then
propagate across the tempered martensite
laths.
• Alloying elements can also restrain the coarsening
of cementite in the range 400-700°C, a basic
process during the fourth stage of tempering.
• Several alloying elements, notably silicon,
chromium.
molybdenum and tungsten, cause the cementite to
retain its fine Widmanstatten structure to higher
temperatures, either by entering into the cementite
structure or by segregating at the carbide-ferrite
interfaces.
• Whatever the basic cause may be, the effect is to
delay
significantly the softening process during
tempering.
• This influence on the cementite dispersion has
other effects, in so far as the carbide particles,
by remaining finer, slow down the
reorganization of the dislocations inherited
from the martensite, with the result that the
dislocation substructures refine more slowly.
• In plain-carbon Steel cementite particle begin to
coarsen in the temperature range 350 -400°C
and addition of chromium, silicon, molybdenum
or tungsten delays the coarsening to the range
500-550°C.
• It should be emphasized that up to 500°C the
only carbides to form are those of iron.
The formation of alloy carbides -
Secondary Hardening
• A number of the familiar alloying elements in steels
form carbides, nitrides and borides which are
thermodynamically more stable than cementite.
• It would therefore be expected that when strong
carbide elements are present in a steel in sufficient
concentration, their carbides would be formed in
preference to cementite .
• Nevertheless during the tempering of all ahoy
steels, alloy carbides do not form until the
temperature range 500-600°C , because below this
the metallic alloying elements cannot diffuse
sufficiently rapidly to allow alloy carbides to
nucleate.
Secondary Hardening
• The metallic elements diffuse substitutionally, in
contrast to carbon and nitrogen which move
through the iron interstitially.
• With the result that the diffusivities of carbon and
nitrogen are of several orders of magnitude greater
in iron than those of the metallic alloying
elements.
• Consequently higher temperatures are needed for
the necessary diffusion of the alloying elements.
• It is this ability of certain alloying elements to form
fine alloy carbide dispersions in the range 500—
600°C, which remain very fine even after prolonged
tempering, that allows the development of high
strength levels in many alloy steels.
Secondary Hardening
• Indeed, the formation of alloy carbides between 500
and 600°C is accompanied by a marked increase in
strength, often in excess to that of the as-quenched
martensite.
• This phenomenon, which is referred to as secondary

hardening, is best shown in steels containing
molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, titanium, and also
in chromium steels at higher alloy concentrations.
Secondary Hardening
• This secondary hardening process is a type of age-
hardening reaction, in which a relatively coarse
cementite dispersion is replaced by a new and much
finer alloy carbide dispersion.
• On attaining a critical dispersion parameter, the

strength of the steel reaches a maximum, and as the
carbide dispersion slowly coarsens, the strength
drops.
Secondary Hardening
• The process is both time and temperature
dependent, so both variables are often
combined in a parameter:
P = T(k + log t)
where:
T is the absolute temperature and
t the tempering time in hours,
while k is a constant which is about 20 for
alloy steels, usually referred to as the
Holloman-Jaffe parameter.
Comparison
of
various
heat-treatment
processes
stress vs strain for steel subjected to different heat
treatment processes
comparison of microstructures
annealed vs hardened metals
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: Annealed metals are relatively soft and can PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: Hardened metals are difficult to cut and
be cut and shaped more easily. They bend easily when pressure is shape. They are very difficult if not impossible to bend. As a rule
applied. As a rule they are heated and allowed to cool slowly. they are heated and cooled very quickly by quenching in clean, cold
water.
The animation above shows that an annealed metal is usually softer
and can be deformed more easily than metals that are not annealed. The animation above shows that metals that have not been
annealed are very difficult to deform.
THANK YOU…

Heat Treatment of Steels

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Heat Treatment of Steels

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Heat treatment

• Generally, heat treatment uses phase transformation

• Like all non-equilibrium processes the rate of approach to

• It is necessary, therefore, to increase the temperature of the

• This process in its simplest form was originally termed

• On heating, the dislocations form a sub-boundary by a

Material Recrystallization Temperature (oF)

Copper ( 99.99 %) 250

Copper ( 5 % Zinc) 600

Aluminum (99.99 %) 175

Aluminum alloys 600

Low carbon steel 1000

• The orientation of the new grains differs considerably

Figure 7.52 Variation of grain diameter with time at a constant temperature.

• If the number of nuclei that form in a time increment dt is

where, for short times, equation reduces to last equation.

where k and n are constants, with n≈ 3 for a fast and n≈ 4 for

• The atoms on such a boundary can easily transfer their

• This sub-grain is then able to grow at a much faster rate

• Exaggerated grain growth can often be induced, however, in

• The only driving force for secondary recrystallization is

• At the same time, annealing also has a few

• The formation of austenite destroys all structures

• As little scaling and decarburisation occurs in

The austenitising temperature range are:

The slower cooling of annealing results in higher temperature

 The tensile strength and the yield point of the

ADVANTAGES OF ANNEALING OVER

1. Main aim of hardening is to induce high hardness. The

• For hypo-eutectoid steels :Ac3 + (20 — 40°C)

Stage A -vapour-blanket stage:

Stage C-Direct-Contact stage (Liquid-cooling stage):

• Increase of carbon and alloying elements lower the

• This phenomenon, which is referred to as secondary

• On attaining a critical dispersion parameter, the

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