TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072

MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A

PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

1. OBJECTIVE:

1.1 The objective of this standard is to provide guidelines to perform heat treatment to
achieve component specification consistently as given in the part drawing. This
standard is complementary to drawing specification & should be referred
simultaneously. Specific requirements given in drawing supersede the concerned
general guidelines given in this standard.
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2. SCOPE:

2.1 This standard covers requirements for heat treatment of ferrous materials in any form

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except powder metallurgy parts. The heat treatments addressed are normalizing,

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annealing, hardening, tempering, stress relieving and solution annealing (of austenitic

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stainless steel) carried out in the temperature range 400 ~ 1050 oC without atmosphere

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control. The scaling that invariably occurs during heat treatment in uncontrolled

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atmosphere is acceptable in view of subsequent processing.

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3. REFERENCED DOCUMENTS:
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4. PROCESS DESIGN:
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4.1 The product quality characteristics built into the heat treatment process are mechanical
properties, hardness & microstructure.
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4.2 The type of heat treatment & requirements in terms of surface hardness, mechanical
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properties & core hardness, are indicated in drawing for each component.
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Unacceptable defects that can occur are grain coarsening, decarburization, burning /
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oxidation, banded structures, Widmanstatten structures, distortion, warpage,

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untransformed microstructure, etc. Process design to achieve the specifications and

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eliminate the defects is to be critically reviewed to choose appropriate equipment and

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heat treatment process parameters.

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4.2.1 Equipment:
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4.2.1.1 Gas / oil fired, electrically heated, batch or continuous type furnaces are recommended.
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For fuel fired furnaces, direct impingement of flame on charge is not permitted.
4.2.1.2 Furnaces in the temperature range of 800 ~ 1050 oC can be open coil electrically heated
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type or direct fuel fired type. The temperature control system for these furnaces should
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be capable of controlling temperature +/- 10 oC. For furnaces in the range 400 ~ 800
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C, there should be forced air circulation for convective heat transfer and temperature
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control should be +/- 5 oC. The uniformity of temperature in furnace zones must be
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verified once in a year using external thermocouples. Records should be maintained.

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Temperature variation should be consistent with the temperature control requirements

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of the processes.
4.2.1.3 Charge should be quenched within 30 s of withdrawal from furnace. At the exit side of
the furnace, there should not be any cold air drafts and should be still air.

This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 1 of 6
 TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072
MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A
PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

4.2.1.4 For normalizing, components should not be unloaded directly into bins from the process
temperatures; they should be cooled up to 600 oC in still air before loading into bins.
4.2.1.5 For hardening & tempering treatments (toughening), steels not containing Mo should be
water quenched from the tempering temperature to avoid temper embrittlement.

4.2.2 Process parameters:

4.2.2.1 Process parameters include temperature, method of charge preparation & loading, rate
of heating, soaking time, method of cooling & cooling rate, quenching media & it’s
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temperature, dwell time, etc.

4.2.2.2 These parameters for each component are to be explicitly defined & documented as
work instructions for process control. Work instructions indicating actions required in

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case of process interruptions caused by equipment breakdown, power failure, etc.

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should also be available.

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5. PROCESS CONTROL EQUIPMENT

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Requirements for process control equipment are given below.

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5.1 Temperature: The temperature measuring and controlling system which includes
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thermocouples, controllers, indicators, recorders & solenoid valves etc. must be maintained
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by calibration & preventive maintenance. The recommended calibration frequency is once

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in three months.
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5.2 Time: Process time in various stages of heat treatment must be controlled by use of timers.
The recommended calibration frequency for timers is once in three months.
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5.3 Charge preparation & handling: The method of charge preparation using fixtures,
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baskets, trays etc. should be such that the components are uniformly heated & prevented
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from distortion & warping & allow uniform cooling / quenching for consistent heat treatment
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results.
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5.4 Method of cooling / quenching: Components undergoing heat treatment must be cooled
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or quenched uniformly. In case of normalising in still air, components must be cooled up to

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600 oC before they are transferred to storing bins. For oil or water quenching, appropriate
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agitating system (pumps & impellers) and cooling system (heat exchangers, cooling towers,
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chillers) should be available to prevent vapour blanket formation and to control quenchant
temperature. Quench oil temperature should be controlled to 70 oC maximum & quenching
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water temperature should be 30 oC maximum. The quenching tanks must be periodically

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cleaned to remove sludge & scale and in case of oil quenchant, it must be filtered to remove
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water contamination. For polymer quenching, concentration of polymer in water should be

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monitored once a day by refractometer or any equivalent method to ensure quenchant

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consistency.
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This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 2 of 6
 TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072
MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A
PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

6. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 Tempering operation must be done within 4 hours after quenching.

6.2 If scaling on components is not desirable, use of protective coatings prior to heating may be
adopted. Parts after heat treatment should be shot blasted with Steel shots (preferably cut
wire / cast steel shots) of hardness 40-50 HRC & suitable size of shots to be chosen to
avoid deep surface marks
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6.3 Parts like connecting rods, steering knuckles, drop arms , steering arms, different yokes
etc. which have more as forged surfaces & used in quenched & tempered condition ,
should be shot blasted to impart compressive residual stress in surface (Almen test strip A

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arc height of 0.45 – 0.75 mm) in addition to remove surface scale.

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6.4 For microalloy steels, the hot working finish temperature must be controlled to 950 ~ 1050

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C and must be controlled cooled on sufficiently long cooling tables / conveyors / tunnels to

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develop hardness and mechanical properties.

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6.5 Mixing of two or more different types of components in a batch is not encouraged.

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6.6 Components must be processed with a batch of same heat code / heat number. In case of
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mixed heat codes processed in a batch, the different heat codes should be checked for
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microstructure & hardness to qualify the batch. Components must be 100 % checked for
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hardness after tempering in this case.

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6.7 The mixing of unprocessed or nonconforming components with processed components

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must be avoided by proper material handling & storage.

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6.8 The operating personnel must be trained for process control.

6.9 The hardness & microstructure check location should be selected from areas to be
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subsequently machined or on thickest section.

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7. PROCESS CONTROL:
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7.1 Process control consists of monitoring of process parameters & in-process inspection.
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7.1.1 Process parameters to be monitored are -

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S.N. Process Parameters Monitoring Method Frequency

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1 Process temperature & Chart recorders or Continuous or once in an

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time SPC chart (manual) hour for manual recording.

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2 Method of charge Verification by Twice a shift

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preparation & handling supervisor

3 Quenchant temperature, Verification by Twice a shift
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quench delay, dwell supervisor

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time, push cycle time

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This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 3 of 6
 TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072
MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A
PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

7.1.2 In process inspection should be done on the following -

S.N. Quality Sample size & Criteria to be met
Characteristics frequency
1 Hardness Three pieces per hour for As per component
(also includes as continuous furnace specification & as indicated
quenched hardness) Five pieces per batch for in process qualification.
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batch type furnace To be controlled by SPC

chart.
2 Microstructure & One piece per batch or As given in below note
decarburisation level one sample per shift for

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continuous furnace.

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3 Quench cracks, At least twice a shift Free of defects.

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scale, distortion etc. (visual / crack detection)

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Note :- Microstructure & Decarburisation requirements

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A. Normalised / annealed microstructure should produce equiaxed Ferrite / Pearlite grains of
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size ASTM no. 5 ~ 8 inclusive which reveal elimination of residual stresses and be free of
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Widmanstatten structure.
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B. Carburizing grades of alloy steels may produce banded structure in normalising or

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isothermal annealing. Maximum permissible bandwidth is 15 µm. Raw material must be

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checked for banding tendency by carrying out normalizing on sample before production.
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C. Hardened & tempered microstructure should consist of 95 % tempered Martensite in outer

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10 % rim of the component.

D. Maximum permissible decarburisation (partial + total) on machined surfaces is 0.5 % of
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section thickness or 0.25 mm, whichever is lower. On un-machined surfaces,

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decarburization should be limited to 0.25 mm max. In case if the component has higher
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amount of decarburisation due to prior processing ( e.g. Investment cast parts) the carbon
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restoration can be used to bring surface carbon level & to prevent further decarburisation.
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E. For adequate machinability , hot rolled bars, procured from steel mills, should have
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adequate rolling finish temperature, rolling speed & controlled cooling on the beds so as to
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give ferrite-Pearlite microstructure ( free of widmanstatten structure ) of G.S. 5-8 with

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hardness 207 BHN max for Plain carbon of medium carbon content & Carburising type
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steels. For low alloy medium carbon steels this hardness could be 235 BHN max.
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Otherwise such hot rolled steel for bar stock machining purpose should be normalised /
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annealed to restore adequate machinability.

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8. PROCESS QUALIFICATION
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8.1 The process is said to be qualified for defined process parameters when component quality
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requirements such as hardness / mechanical properties are as per drawing & requirements
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of microstructure & decarburisation level as indicated above are met. In addition, the
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components should be free of quench cracks, heavy scaling, burning, unacceptable

banding, warpage and distortion. Following requirements also should be ensured during
process qualification.

This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 4 of 6
 TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072
MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A
PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

8.2 Process qualification of hardness & microstructure should include samples from different
locations within furnace and establishment of process capability for hardness.
8.3 For hardening & tempering treatment, the requirements are indicated in terms of tensile
strength. In such case, the qualification of mechanical properties may be performed on test
bar of equivalent ruling section having undergone equivalent mechanical working &
processed along with components or on the component itself wherever specified. When the
tensile strength is equated to Brinell hardness, the minimum value of the specified range
should be obtained in the core region of thick or critical section and should not be
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interpreted as surface hardness requirement.

8.4 For stress relieving, supplier should ensure that the specified hardness does not drop.

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9. REWORK

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9.1. Microstructural non-conformances as a result of heat treatment cannot be salvaged by

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segregation into accept and reject parts. Hence, the entire batch should be reworked

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as per revised process parameters and re-inspected for microstructure on minimum
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two samples.
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9.2. Low and high hardness components can be segregated by 100 % hardness check
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and should be reworked within 12 hours in order to prevent mix-up with conforming
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products. Reworked components must be 100 % inspected for hardness.

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9.3. Components found non-conforming after first rework should be checked for
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decarburization depth. Further rework should be permitted only if this is within

specified limits.
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9.4. Record of reworked components must be maintained for quantity, process parameters
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and heat code for a minimum period of one year.

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10. QUALITY RECORDS & CERTIFICATION

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10.1 Following are the quality records for heat treatment process & should be preserved for
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minimum period of two years –

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11. Temperature uniformity verification of furnace

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12. Calibration records

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13. Process qualification record

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14. In process inspection & process parameter compliance record for each batch
15. Operator training record
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10.2 The heat treatment product certification should include details of process parameters &
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results of inspection & test.

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This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 5 of 6
 TITLE: HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS STANDARD NO: G 00 0072
MATERIAL WITHOUT ATMOSPHERIC REVISION: A
PROTECTION
REFERENCE: SRN 00 038
DATE: 26/06/2003

11. REVISION HISTORY:

Nil

12. OWENERSHIP:

For any clarification on this standard, refer to Materials Engineering – Metallurgy Group, R&D,
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Nasik.
The standard shall not be modified without prior consultation with Standards Dept., R&D Nasik.

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<Earlier M & M Standard No. M-6677 is superseded by this standard>

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This document should not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written approval from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(AS)
Sheet 6 of 6