DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

MATERIALS SCIENCE LABORATORY

TITLE: Jominy End–Quench Test

OBJECTIVE:
To determine hardenability of steel

INTRODUCTION:
The influence of alloy composition on the ability of a steel alloy to transform to martensite for a
particular quenching treatment is related to a parameter called hardenability. For every steel alloy,
there is a specific relationship between the mechanical properties and the cooling rate. Hardenability
is a term used to describe the ability of an alloy to be hardened by the formation of martensite as a
result of a given heat treatment. Hardenability is not “hardness,” which is the resistance to
indentation; rather, hardenability is a qualitative measure of the rate at which hardness drops off with
distance into the interior of a specimen as a result of diminished martensite content. A steel alloy that
has a high hardenability is one that hardens, or forms martensite, not only at the surface, but also to
a large degree throughout the entire interior.
For cylindrical steel alloy specimens that have been quenched, surface hardness depends not only
upon alloy composition and quenching medium, but also upon specimen diameter and shape.

APPARATUS:
A cylindrical steel specimen of 0.3% C with 10mm in diameter and 100mm in length, furnace, end
quench unit and Rockwell hardness tester.

PROCEDURE:
Please watch the video provided. The lab instructor will demonstrate the procedure of conducting
the experiment.

After watching the video, you are required to write the steps of conducting the experiment in your
laboratory report.

Page 1|2
 DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

RESULTS :

(a) Record the measurement of hardness in the table below.

Distance from quenched Rockwell Hardness Number Vickers Hardness Number
end (mm) (HR) (HV)

(b) Plot a graph of Rockwell C hardness as a function of distance from the quenched
end.

DISCUSSION:

(a) Explain on the shape of the graph obtained including the errors if any.
(b) Give your opinions on the correlation between specimen cooling rate and the shape
of the graph obtained.
(c) Predict the shape of the graph if the specimen used is having twice the diameter.

Questions:
(i) How do you operate the furnace?
(ii) How do you put the sample into the furnace?
(iii) How do you conduct the quenching process?
(iv) How do you prepare the sample for hardness testing?
(v) How do you operate the hardness tester to get the readings?

CONCLUSION:

Give conclusion of this experiment based on its significances, applications and suggestions to
improve the quality of experiment.

Page 2|2