Heat Treatments

Mr. Amir D. Patel

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
 Introduction
• An operation or combination of operations
involving heating and cooling of metals /
alloys in solid state to obtain desirable
conditions or properties.
• Conditions – Relieved stresses
• Properties – Better Machinability, Improve
Ductility, Homogeneous structure etc.
 Classification
• Annealing
a) Stress relief Annealing
b) Process Annealing
c) Spheroidising
d) Full Annealing
• Normalizing
• Tempering
• Austempering
• Hardening
• Martempering
 Purpose
• Relief of internal stresses developed during cold
working, welding, casting, forging etc.
• Harden and strengthen metals
• Improve Machinability
• Change grain size
• Soften metals for cold working
• Improve Ductility and Toughness
• Increase heat, wear and corrosion resistance
• Improve electrical and magnetic properties
• Homogenize the structure
 Annealing

• Heating a metal which is in distorted structure

1

• Temperature at which remove distortion

2

• Cooling (Slow Rate) so that room temperature

3 structure is stable and stress free.
 Purpose of Annealing
• Inducing completely stable structure (Full)
• Refining and Homogenizing the structure
• Reducing Hardness
• Improving Machinability
• Improving Cold working characteristics
• Producing desire micro structures
• Removing residual stresses
• Removing Gases
• Improving Mechanical, Electrical, Physical and
Magnetic Properties
• Heating of Austenite Structure and then
cooling slowly in the furnace through
transformation range.
• Hypoeutectoid Steel – 723 ᵒC to 910 ᵒC
• Hypereutectoid Steel – 723 ᵒC to 1130 ᵒC
• Heating steel to proper annealing temperature in
austenitic zone
• Holding the steel at that temperature for definite
period of time depending upon diameter and
thickness (2.5 to 3 minute per mm)
• Cooling very slowly through transformation
range in furnace.
 Process Annealing
• Used in sheet and wire industries
• Also called as re-crystallization annealing
• The process consists of heating the steel above ‘Re-
crystallisation temperature’ or ‘below lower critical
temperature’ (1000˚F to 1250˚F), holding at this
temperature for a particular period of time then
followed by cooling.
 Stress Relief Annealing
• Residual Stresses induced during solidification
of casting, machining, welding, grinding etc.
which will form corrosion cracking in corrosive
environment.
• Steel is heated uniformly below the lower
critical temperature line (1000˚F to 1250˚F)
and held at this temperature for a sufficient
period of time, followed by uniform cooling.
 Spheroidizing Annealing
• Heating of steel at a temperature just below
the lower critical temperature and followed by
cooling.
• This process will produce a spheroidal or
globular form of carbide in a ferrite matrix.
 Normalizing
• Also called as air quenching
• Heating steel at 40 – 50 ᵒC above
1 upper critical temperature

• Hold it at that temperature for

2 short time

• Cooling in air at room temperature

3
• Type of structure obtained will depend on
thickness as it will affect the rate of cooling.
• Thin sections will give much finer grain than
thick sections.
• Ferrite and pearlite – Hypoeutectoid Steel
• Only pearlite – Eutectoid Steel
• Pearlite and Cementite – Hypereutectoid Steel
 Purpose of Normalizing
• Produces uniform structure
• Refine grain size
• May achieve require strength and ductility
• Reduce internal stresses
• Improves structures in welds
• Produces harder steel than full annealing
• In general, Improves engineering properties of
steels
 Difference
Normalizing Annealing
• Air Cooling • Furnace Cooling
• Different regions have • All sections have identical
different properties properties
• Micro structure contains less • Micro structure contains more
ferrite than annealing ferrite than normalizing
• Higher strength and hardness • Lower strength and hardness
• Less expensive • More expensive and time
• Improves machinability of low consuming
carbon steel • Improves machinability of
medium carbon steel
 Hardening
• Heat treatment of steel which increases
hardness by quenching.
• Hardening of steels require formation of
martensite.
• Heavy duty machines and tools are hardened.
• Maximum hardness by quenching is obtained
if carbon contain is 0.35 – 0.6 %
 • Steel with 0.35 – 0.7 % C
1

• Heated 30 – 50 ᵒC above A3 line (Upper Critical Temp.)

2

• Hold it for 15 – 30 Mins per 25 mm c/s

3

• Cooled rapidly or quenched in suitable medium (e.g –

4 Brine, Water, Oil etc.)

• A Suitable harden steel

5
 Degree of Hardness depends on
• Composition of steel
• Nature and properties of quenching medium
• Quenching Temperature
• Size of object
• Degree of agitation
• Rate of Cooling
• Surface condition of metal
 Tempering
• Hardening develops max. hardness, excellent
wear resistance and high strength.
• At the same time, it affects toughness and
ductility. Hence harden steels are generally
brittle.
• Therefore hardening is always followed by
tempering.
 Purpose of Tempering
• Relive residue stresses
• Improve Ductility
• Improve Toughness
• Reduce Hardness
• Increase % elongation
 • Heating harden steel below low critical
temperature (A1 line)
1

• Hold it at that temperature for 3 – 5

Minutes per mm of thickness or diameter
2

• Cooling in air/water or oil at room

temperature either rapidly or slowly
3
Types of Tempering Temperature Range Applications

Low Temperature 150 – 250 ᵒC High carbon and

Tempering Low alloy steels

Medium 350 – 450 ᵒC Coil and Laminated

Temperature Springs
Tempering

High Temperature 500 – 600 ᵒC Medium carbon

Tempering steels, Gears, Shafts
 Martempering
• Heating above critical range to make it all
austenite
1

• Quenched into a salt bath at temperature

above Ms and hold it long enough till the
2 temperature is uniform

• Cooling the workpiece in air through

martensite range.
3
 Austempering
• Heating above critical range to make it all
1 austenite

• Quenched into a salt bath at critical

2 cooling rate in bainite range (205 – 425 ᵒC)

• Piece remains in the bath until austenite is

3 completely transformed to bainite

• Allowed to cool at room temperature

4
• Not a hardening treatment.
• Forms Bainite
• Greater ductility and toughness
• Less distortion
• Less danger of quenching cracks because
quench is not very drastic.