School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

BG2802

Heat Treatment and

Mechanical Properties of
Steels
Location: N1.3-B4-16

Name:

Matric Number:

Group:

Date of experiment:

GRADE:
 1. OBJECTIVES
 To study the basic heat treatment processes on steels
 To study the effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of
engineering steel
 To study the effect of carbon content on the hardness and toughness of
heat treated steels.

2. OVERVIEW
When engineering steels are quenched from austenite at a sufficiently high cooling rate,
the transformation to the pearlite structure is suppressed. Martensite is formed by the
diffusionless and shear mechanisms. With all the carbon atoms trapped in the BCT
lattices, martensite is the hardest structure in steel, but it is also very brittle. Tempering is
therefore required where the martensite undergoes a series of structural changes which
lead to a decrease in hardness and an increase in toughness. The degree of structural and
properties changes depends on the tempering temperature and time.

The experiment involves:

(1) Quenching of carbon steel
(2) Tempering at various temperatures for a preset time
(3) Impact toughness testing of the heat treated sample.

3. MATERIALS
Plain carbon steels: AISI 1030 and 1055

4. EQUIPMENT
Hardening furnace
Tempering furnace
Charpy Impact tester

5. Safety & Rules

5.1 Please wear laboratory coat, covered shoes & safety glasses at all times.
5.2 Follow the instructions strictly. Be mindful of HOT SURFACES.
5.3 Pls use heat resistant gloves and tongs whenever needed.
5.4 No Eating or Drinking in the laboratory.
5.5 Do not touch other equipment or experiment.
5.6 Tidy up after the experiment.

6. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

i. Obtain 4 Charpy testing samples of the two type of carbon steels.

ii. Preset the hardening furnaces to 880°C for AISI 1030 steel and to 820°C for
AISI 1055 steel respectively.
iii. Fill bucket with sufficient tap water.
iv. Place 4 samples of each type of steel in the respective hardening furnaces for
20 minutes.
v. Remove the samples from the furnaces and immediately quench the samples
in the water bucket.
vi. Preset the tempering furnaces to 200°C, 300°C and 550°C respectively.
vii. Place 1 sample of each quenched steel in each of the preheated tempering
furnaces. The tempering time is 1 hr.
viii. Remove the samples from the tempering furnaces and allow them to cool
down to room temperature.
ix. Measure the Charpy impact energy for each sample.

Quench Hardening Process:

Furnace 1 Furnace 2
880°C 820°C

4 QTY (AISI 1030 steel) 4 QTY (AISI 1055 steel)

Tempering Process:

Furnace 1 Furnace 1 Furnace 1

200°C 300°C 550°C

1 QTY (AISI 1030 steel) 1 QTY (AISI 1030 steel) 1 QTY (AISI 1030 steel)
1 QTY (AISI 1055 steel) 1 QTY (AISI 1055 steel) 1 QTY (AISI 1055 steel)
7. RESULTS
The following areas should be included:
- Create a table on Charpy impact energy results of all groups
- Plotting a graph to compare the average energy difference for AISI 1030 steel and
AISI 1055 steel. (Charpy Impact Energy vs Tempering Tempeature)

8. Logsheet/Report Questions
- Describe the heat treatment processes conducted and explain each process.
- Describe and explain the variation of Charpy impact energy with tempering
temperature for both steels.
- Discuss the effect of carbon content on the toughness of the treated steels and
comment on the effectiveness of heat treatment on optimizing the mechanical
properties of engineering steels.

9. Group Discussion

- List at least three phases of steel, and explain the fundamental reason underlying
their differences.
- Briefly describe the transformation relationship among the various phases.
- What factors can affect the hardness and toughness of steel?
- What is Charpy impact energy? What parameter of materials is it used to
determine?
THEORY

Steels are a class of iron- carbon alloys, usually with the addition of other elements, such
as Cr, Ni, Mn, Mo, V etc. Steels comprise one of the most widely used materials in
industry. One of the main reasons for their wide use is the range of structures and
properties they can be achieved through controlled heating, soaking and cooling. By
proper heat treatment, steels can be made soft for fabrication and machine purposes, and
then made hard and strong for services.
The ability of steels to be heat treated is associated with the allotropic transformation of
iron:

910°C
α (Ferrite) BCC structure γ (austenite) FCC structure
The forward reaction occurs on heating while the backward reaction on cooling. In steels,
the presence of carbon atoms promotes the formation of another phase, cementite (Fe 3C).
As seen from the Fe-C equilibrium phase diagram in Figure 1, the maximum solubility of
carbon in austenite is much higher (2.0% at 1148°C) than in ferrite (0.02% at 723°C).
The equilibrium phase constituents of steels at temperatures below the eutectoid
temperature (723°C) are a mixture of ferrite and cementite. Under equilibrium conditions,
the relative amount of these two phases depends on the carbon content and alloying
elements additions in the steel. Increasing carbon content increases the amount of
cementite in steel and thus results in an increased strength but decreased ductility.

When steel is heated above a certain critical temperature, (A 1 for eutectoid steel, A3 for
hypoeutectoid steels or Acm for hypereutectoid steels), it comprises a single austenite
phase with all the carbon atoms dissolved in the fcc lattices as interstitials. By cooling the
austenite to room temperature, a variety of structures can be obtained, which depends on
the cooling conditions as well as the chemical composition of the austenite. Under very
slow cooling, the austenite is decomposed into two equilibrium phases, ferrite and
cementite. For austenite with eutectoid composition (0.8%C), the reaction is as follows:
γ (0.8%C) α (0.02%C) + Cementite (6.67%C)
Pearlite, which is formed in the above eutectoid transformation, has a lamellar structure
comprising of alternating plates of ferrite and cementite. The transformation requires the
redistribution of carbon atoms by atomic diffusion between the ferrite (very low carbon)
and cementite (very high carbon).

The kinetics of the transformation is diffusion- controlled. Grain size of the product is
dependant on the diffusion rate of carbon; high transformation rate will result in a faster
diffusion rate and a larger grain size. Slow cooling from austenite will result in the
formation of coarse pearlite and fat cooling produces finer pearlitic structures. The
strength of a specific steel thus increases with increasing rate of cooling from austenite,
in accordance with the Hall-Petch relation, which states that the strength of the crystalline
materials increasing with decreasing grain size.

When austenite is cooled down to room temperature very rapidly, diffusion of carbon
atoms would be suppressed and the above transformation will not take place. Martensite
will be formed, as discussed below.

Figure 1: Fe-Fe3C Phase Diagram

Materials Science and Metallurgy, 4th ed., Pollack,
MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATION IN STEELS

As mentioned earlier, martensite is formed by rapid cooling of austenite through critical

temperatures to suppress the transformation of austenite to ferrite and cementite.
Martensitic transformation does not involve the diffusion of atoms and is diffusionless.
Diffusionless transformation is accomplished by a shear mechanism where the atoms
undergo cooperative movement to facilitate the necessary rearrangement to form a new
structure, known as the body centered tetragonal (BCT martensite).

Figure 2: Hardness of martensite and pearlite as a function of carbon content.

Since martensitic transformation does not involve the diffusion and redistribution of
carbon atoms, martensite has exactly the same carbon content as its parent austenite. All
the carbon atoms are trapped at the interstices of the body centered lattices of martensite,
causing a hardening effect. Therefore, martensite is the hardest structure in steel and the
hardness will increase with the carbon content, shown in figure 2, due to increased lattice
expansion and distortion. However, martensite is a brittle phase and the brittleness
increases with carbon content. Therefore, heat treatment processes are required to
optimize the strength and toughness of martensite.
HEAT TREATMENT PROCESSES

Figure 3 shows the cooling curves and the resultant structure and properties from
different heat treatments of the eutectoid steel (0.8%C). Different microstructures are
produced from different heat treatment processes, some of which are discussed below.

Figure 3: Schematic illustration of

different cooling rates and the
resultant microstructure and
properties in eutectoid steel.

a. Fully Annealing
A slow cooling rate is achieved by cooling in the furnace, in order to obtain a near
equilibrium microstructure. In the eutectoid steel, a coarse pearlite structure with a low
strength and high ductility is produced. This treatment is used to soften the steels for ease
of fabrication in machining and cold forming. Austenitising temperature for full
annealing is about A3+30°C for hypoeutectoid steels, or A1+30°C for hypereutectoid
steels.
b. Normalising
This heat treatment involves austenitising at a chosen temperature for a chosen time and
air cooled to room temperature. Microstructure produced in normalized steel is dependant
on the alloying additions. The purpose of this heat treatment is to refine the
microstructure for subsequent heat treatments or to produce a pearlite structure with
adequate strength.
c. Quench Hardening
A fast cooling through the transformation is required to produce hard martensite structure
and a quench from the austenitising temperature is needed. The austenitising temperature
for hardening is about 50°C above A3 for hypoeutectoid steels, or 50°C above A1 for
hypereutectoid steels. Martensite is produced when the transformation to pearlite is
suppressed by rapid cooling and alloying elements such as Cr, Ni, Mo, etc are added to
facilitate the formation of martensite under moderate cooling rates. Formation of
martensite at a lower cooling rate reduces the susceptibility of component distortion and
cracking.
d. Tempering
Maximum hardness is associated with the fully martentic structure. However, martensite
is also a brittle phase. Residual stresses are generated in the quenched parts during
martensitic transformation. Tempering is therefore required to be given to a quenched
martensitic steel to relieve the residual stresses and increase its toughness. Tempering
duration is about 1 -2 hours.

Figure 4: Schematic diagram

showing the variation of
hardness and toughness of
quenched carbon steels with
tempering temperature.

Metastable martensite decomposed into stable ferrite and cementite (carbides) during
tempering. Degree of decomposition increases with increasing temperature and time,
which leads to metal softening and increase in toughness. Figure 4 shows the effect of
tempering temperature on the hardness and toughness (Charpy impact energy) of carbon
steels with different carbon levels.

Steels with higher carbon content have higher hardness but lower toughness after
quenching and tempering. There is a decrease in toughness after tempering between
250°C and 370°C. This phenomenon is known as tempered martensite embrittlement,
which is due to the interactions between the newly formed cementite and impurities such
as phosphorous (P) in the steel.
CHARPY IMPACT TESTER

Brittle fracture is one of the most catastrophic failure modes of structures. A structure is
susceptible to this kind of fracture when the toughness of the materials used is low, the
working temperature is low, extra loading and high strain rates due to impact are applied,
as well as when there is a stress concentration such as notches and cracks. In many
applications, the materials is required to have not only sufficient strength, but also
adequate toughness. Testing of toughness parameters has become one of the most
important mechanical tests of materials.

Figure 5: Charpy impact testing

machine, and detail of
threepoint bending specimen
and fixture, prior to impact.

MIT, Department of Mechanical

Engineering Cambridge, MA
02139

Charpy Impact Test is one of the most widely used toughness testing methods. A
specimen of a material to be tested, in the shape of a square bar with a V notch, is struck
by a calibrated swinging arm, and the energy absorbed is measured (Figure 5). The
measured impact energy is used to assess the relative toughness of different materials,
such as steels with different carbon contents, which have been hardened and tempered at
various temperature. A larger impact energy indicates a higher toughness of the materials
tested. This provides a tool for materials selection in design. The test has also been used
to evaluate the ductile-brittle transition temperatures of a wide range of materials.