ResearchGate Comparison of Surface Hardening Techniques for En 353 Steel Grade Artie ocober2016 3410 ‘Somectthe authors of this publaton ate aio working on hee elated projects me Wa indir consitaned Ecsite Vn projet TS) yA piet °Le Xe WE Tae International Journal of Emer; Website: wwwaijetae.com (ISSN 2250-245 is 150 9001 ‘Technology and Advanced Engineering 2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014) Comparison of Surface Hardening Techniques for En 353 Steel Grade Amandeep Singh Wadhwa’, Shalom Akhai? Faculty UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India Faculty PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh, India Abstract— This paper deals with the wear of the cutting, ‘edge of the digester screw used in the wood pulp industry. The digester screw was made up of EN 353 steel grade .In this paper digester serew made of EN 353 steel grade is subjected, to four surface hardening techniques namely pack ‘carburizing, gas carburizing ,tungsten carbide coating using thermal spray and Stellite 6 coating using TIG welding. The ‘samples of EN 353 steel with the above said surface hardening techniques were machined to desired dimensions so that they ‘could he suecessfully used for hardness and wear tests. Results and conclusions were then drawn by performing wear and hhardness tests on the samples and the same are presented in tabulated and graphical form for comparison of the four surface hardness techniques with regard to hardness and surface wear. Keywords Keyword carburizing, surface hardening, TIG welding 1, INTRODUCTION Surface hardening is the process of surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal (called the case") atthe surface. For stcel or iron with low carbon content, which has poor 0 no hardenability of its own, the case hardening process involves infusing additional carbon into the case. Case hardening is usually done after the part has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening clement content of bars to be used in a pattern welding or similar process. The term Hard Facing is also used to describe this technique, when. discussing modern armour. Because hardened is usually brittle than softer metal, through-hardening (that is, hardening the metal uniformly throughout the piece) is not always a suitable Ghoive for applications where the metal partis subject 10 Certain kinds of stress. In such applications, case hardening can provide a part that will not fracture because of the soft core that can absorb stresses without ng but also provides adequate wear resistance on the surface, LL Different Hardening Methods I Layer additions ) Hardfacing: Fusion hardfacing (welded overlay) ‘Thetmal spray (non fusion-bonded overlay) Types of Surface I Substrate treatment b) Diffusion methods: Pack Carburiaing & Gas Carburizing TL, WORKPIECE : DIGESTER SCREW In the paper industry, in order to extract the cellulose from the wood chips, the natural binder lignin must be removed and the cellulose fibres laid bare. This is carried: fut in the pulp digester with chemical decomposition methods, However, before this is done, the wood blocks must be converted into wood chips. This is done by feeding them into a feeder which has a digester screw ‘which has threads which break down the wood into Zmaller picces and thus make them easier to process further, 5 Fig: Digester sere in a paper industry I, SURFACE HARDENING TECHNIQUES TThe various surface hardening techniques to be studies in this paper are 3.1 Pack Carburizing Pack carburizing is a process in which a sample is packed inside a container in nce of a carbon Pouce, coal or charcoal and an energizer such as Barium ‘carbonate. At high temperatures, the carbon in the charcoal diffuses into the sample at the surface. This is usually done af the austenizing temperature 1e pre 194Sa ete International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: wwww.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Cert Once the temperature is brought down, usually through quenching or normalizing, the austenite that is formed is, converted into martensite or bainite, These ate responsible for bringing about the hardness at the surface, 2€+0;-+2C0 2.CO+ Fe» C(active) + CO; €0:+C>2C0 ‘The main agent here is the carbon monoxide that is formed inside the pack. It is this carbon monoxide which, further donates the atomic carbon which diffuses into the. sample, Heat to carburizing temperature wall Part to be carburized Seated Steel Container Fig 2: Process of pack carburizing 3.2 Gas Carburizing Gas carburizing is a process which is similar to the pack carburizing process in principle. At high temperatures, the carbon diffuses into the sample at the surface. This is usually done at th xe_temperature, Once the temperature is brought down, usually through quenching or normalizing, the austenite that is formed is converted into, martensite or bainite, These are responsible for bringing about the hardness at the surface. ‘The major difference here is that in this process, the carbon is brought about by gases such as methane, propane 200 «+ Cyr + COs CHly > Cyto) 2H CO+H: +> Cyr + HO These are the reactions which are responsible for diffusion of carbon into the surface of the sample in a gas carburization process. 195 ied Jou sal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014) Inne case ol ns curing arte Caring onan (al | = Combustion treatment of exhaust gas is required ~ 3.3 GTAW Procedure Gas tungsten are welding(GTAW), also known’ astungsten inert. gas(TIG) welding, isan are welding process. that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area is protected from atmospheric contamination by an_ inert shielding ‘gas (argon or helium), and a filler metal is normally used, though some welds, known as autogenous welds, do not require it, A-constant-current welding power supply produces energy which is conducted across the are through, ‘column of highly ionized gas and metal vapours known, as plasma, ig 3: Gas carburiing process Direction of GTAWhead x V Power Shielding gas Contact tube —Tungsten electrode (ronconsumabie) Weld bead > Copper shoe (optional) \ shietding gas Fig: Figure Mlustrating SMAW process 34 Thermal spraying This process involves spraying alloys in powder form conto the base component. The sprayed powder may then be used to produce a strong bond and a dense, porous-fice depositLET Ac International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering ‘wwwaijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, Oetober 2014) Equipment used can be either hand held spraying torches It is neither externally brittle nor duetite due to its lower ‘or sophisticated metallizing guns for more specialized ‘carbon content, It has lower tensile strength and malleable. applications. Thermal spraying techniques are coating Steel with low carbon steel has properties similar to iron. processes in which melted (or heated) materials are sprayed ‘As the carbon content inereases, the metal becomes harder ‘onto a surface. The "feedstock" (coating precursor) is and stronger but less ductile and more difficult to. weld heated by electrical (plasma or arc) or chemical means Case hardening is the process of hardening the surface of metal, often low carbon steel by infusing elements into the metal’ surface forming a hard, wear resistance skin but preserving a tough and ductile applied to gears, ball bearings, railway wheels. In this study, we will carry out the surface hardening, procedures of on steel of grade EN 353 which is used as a digester serew in the wood pulp industry. Due to the pressure exerted by the wood pulp on the threads of the screw a lot wear oceurs on the component. However, we cannot go. for traditional hardening methods such as normalizing or quenching because we want to retain the tensile strength provided by the low carbon steel. Thus, our best option is to perform case hardening techniques on the sample so that it retains it tensile strength and at the same time becomes hard and resistant to Wear. Heence, the techniques used in the study are: 5.1 Pack Carburizing In this paper, we study the mechanical behavior of Pack carburization isthe oldest method among the case digester serew in the wood pulp industry. The volume hardening treatments. Carburizing improves the hardness between the successive threads in the serews decreases and durability of products like carbon steel wite springs with the length however, the volume ofthe wood pulp ties and carbon steel forgings. Following are the steps followed to remain constant, This we see the pulp exerts a shear for pack carburizing on the samples prepared stress on the threads. This along with the wear ofthe thread due to wood pulp causes the threads to chip, leading 10 The material to make the digester screw is stel EN 353 Hin bene ETE ie = a oe snes fs eek ences i barium carbonate in 10:1 ratio by weight in the pack and Pack and two methods of hardfacing: TIG (using least 1 Inch Estes fa piGvided bel veeateSeeoTe Siellite 6) and Thermal Spray coating of Tungsten earbie Meh ee ete eRe We will then test various properties of these samples, ale ee ee ‘the four that we have used. the pack do not dissipate and carburizing takes pla act as an activator in this reaction atth effectivel V. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE ae Low carbon steel has carbon content of 0.15% to 0.45%. Low carbon steel is the most common form of steel as it's provides material properties that are acceptable for many applications. 196A NEY ea nal Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering (ISSN 9, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014) 1. We start off by machining a sample with 8mm dia and I inch length. This is done to make sure that the component can be tested for wear analysis later. A wire is then wound around the sample and it is made to hang from a rod. Fig 6: The pack prepared for carburizing . The pack is put into the furnace and is heated to a temperature of 900°C and let to soak there for 3 hours. This gives sufficient time for the samples to absorb the carbon, es being prepared to be put in the furnace 2.The samples are then heated to austenizing temperature and exposed to a carbon-rich atmosphere Carbon is absorbed at the surface and diffuses inward down the chemical potential gradient to create a carbon-rich surface and a decreasing carbon concentration profile with a low-carbon. steel core, Suibsequent austenizing and hardening of the carburized paris produces a hardness profile that is dependent on the carbon gradient, steel hardenability, and quench severity of the hardening operation. A carbon-tich furnace atmosphere is produced cither fiom gaseous hydrocarbons, such as methane (CHL), propane (C)H), and butane (Cif), or from vaporized hydrocarbon liquids 7. Then, we can perform hat to see its change in surface hardness and perform! wear analysis to see how wear resistant it has become: 5.2 Gas Carburizing Gas carburizing a litte bit trickier than pack carburizing because we need to maintain an environment hydrocarbons around the sample at an cl temperature Fig 9: Samples being heated inthe furnac 197= aa International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2 3. Finally the samples are quenched in a water bath to get a steep cooling curve and the desired surface: hardness Thermal spray We have used Tungsten carbide as the powder in ‘Thermal spray method of hardfacing. Below are the steps, followed:~ 1, Make sure that the surface to be treated is completely clean and de-greased, Grinding or sandblasting helps produce better bonding, 2. Lightly preheat the job with the torch to about 250 = 300°C (just light blue color). 3. Spray the first layer of powder lightly and rapidly ‘over the surface to produce a very thin coating of alloy. This is to prevent the low alloy base material from oxidizing when the work is brought to red heat. Sy po ig 10: thermal spray illustration 4, Do the facing run in small sections: heat a small area. of the work with the torch until the surface begins to show signs of sweating then spray a small amount of powder on to the surface and hold the flame there ‘until the material melts. Repeat this procedure as you. travel along the work. 5. For large surfaces, a weaving action is recommended, with a travel of between 25 and 35 mm. Introduce the powder on the outward weaving motion, then apply heat alone on the inward motion, Do not try to heat too large an area at onc s tends to overheat the job and cause the hardfacing deposit to boil and. bubble, The depth of deposit is governed by the quantity of powder delivered to the flame. The amount of depression of the lever determines the powder flow: Slight depression gives a small flow, full depression gives maximum flow. Use @ neutral flame. asi 5.4 TIG (using Stellite 6 electrode) Stellite alloy is a range of cobal designed for wear resis chromium alloys 2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certi 198 «ad Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014) 1 may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small but important amount of carbon. It is a trademarked name fof the Deloro Stellite Company and was invented by Elwood Haynes. Stellite 6 composi Le [W)C Oar [Horns [Denaly [etn Re Thies] SSHRC | BHbotn" | ZIONS Bae | 2-22) 4-6) O94 | ni | amon | oxbeint | ws Procedure for TIG using Stellite 6 electrode:~ 1) Sirike the arc, This is the process of ereating an clectrie ‘are between the electrode and the workpiece. If the tlectrode simply allows the current to pass directly into the ‘grounded work piece, there will not be enough heat produced to melt and fuse metal together. 2) Move the are to create a bead. The bead is the metal from the melting electrode flowing together with molten ‘metal from the base metal to fill the space between the pieces being joined by welding. 3) Shape the weld bead. This is done by weaving the are ‘back and forth across the weld path either in a zig zag, so the metal spreads to the width that you want your finished ‘weld bead to be. Direction of OTAWhead Ba Power ‘Shielding gas Contact tube Tungsten electrode (onconsumable) > eld bead Copper shoe + (eptiona!) Shielding ges Fig 1: GTAW process 4) Chip and brush the weld between passes. Each time we complete a pass, oF tip from one end to the other of our weld, we need to remove the slag, or the melted flux material, from the surface of the weld bead so only. clean molten metal will be filling the weld on the subsequent pass. jectrode 5.5 Snudy of Mechanical Properties As the objective of the project is to compare the properties of various surface hardened specimens, we will go on to study these properties mechanicalvy ___ International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: wwwaijetac.com (ISSN 2250-2459, 150 90012008 Certified Journal, Volume 4 Issue 10, October 2014) This willbe done by first measuring the surface hardness 5.5.2 Wear Testing of the sample using C scale ofthe hardness tester. Values Cur next step is to perform wear testing on the sample Which do not come under this seale will be separately and find out the loss in weight after a specifi period in ae Seera ie ena eracted Next We will measute the wear that takes place in each : E We start by weighing the sample on a sensitive sample, which will be done using the Wear Testing 2 iligram seale, Tis is dane so that we can find the machine. Finally, we will see the mirostruture of each milligram seate, ° sample and ry 0 see what is happening at the iets oe Soe microstructure level 5.5.1 Hardness Testing ‘The heat treated specimens hardness was measured by means of Rockwell hardness tester. The procedure adopted can be listed as follows machine 2, Next we move on to the wear testing machine where we fix the sample onto the machine which has spinning metallic dise which does the wear. We need. to make sure that the fixed sample is properly leveled 3. Alload of 60N is applied on the sample at an RPM of 300, The track radius ofthe sample is set at 60 mm. 4, Wear testing is done on the sample for 105 min after which itis taken out of the machine 5. Lastly, we measure the weight of the wear tested sample. This should be less that the initial weight and. difference between the two should give us wear loss; done in 105 min, 5.5.3 Microstructure study The next step followed was to examining the microstructure of the samples. This consisted of the following steps: 1. Rough and f scales or scratches in the surface. Polishing the sample on velvet until a mirror like ce is obtained ‘grinding of the sample to remove and 2: Rockwell Hardness Tester 1. First the diamond indenter was inserted in the machine: 3. Etching the samples so that the microstructure wo 2. A load of 150 kgf is used for every test be visible under a microscope. This consists of 3. The load is made to dwell on the sample for a period of dipping the sample in 3% natal solution for 2-3 5 seconds, seconds and then cleaning it with ethyl alcohol for the 4, Once ings are configured, we start the hardness carburized samples, Similar etchants are used for the tester, which automatically gives us the hardness of each other samples. sample in HRC 199UETAE International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced E ecring Website: wwwwaijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, 1S0 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014) 4, Observing the microstructure under a metallurgical VI. RESULTS Once we performed the various surface hardening process on our 1) sample, we did the vatious mechanical tests on them to determine the final properties of the samples and try to determine which one is the best procedure. In this s ent the results of the tests we performed and the discussions and conchisions will follow in the next chapters st tion, we will pre 6.1 Tabu ation of Hardness Testing The load applied for the following values is 150kgf and the dwell time is 5 seconds, rabiet SNe] aa [rR ave | | Sanaa P69 HRC or m Piainsample | SSoer HR 2 | Pack carburized Sample 30.1 HRC 3 | GasCarburized Sample 555 1IRC | | Thema Sprayed Coated |g _ Sample _ i 58.7 HRC | | Stelite-6 Coated Sample 49.8 HRC 6.2 Tabulation of Wear Testing The load applied for the following values is GON. The RPM of the dise is 300 revolutions per second. The track diameter of the disc is 60 mm, Wear testing is done on the samples for 105 minutes. The values of weight loss are in milligrams Wear oss yas ofthe samples [Weight Loss 65 me Plain Sample 3 Gas Carburized Sample , Thermal Sprayed Coated Sample 5 Sterlite-6 Coated Sample 200 6.3 Microstructure Analysis In order to look at the microstructure, we first fine grind tne sample and then polish it, We then etch the sample and bbserve its microstructure, The magnification of the images is X100,neering 10, October 2014) tional Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced F (ISSN 2: 9, ISO 9001-2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4 1 Fig 20: Steite 6 coated sample VIL. Discussion ly expected that a material with © RSs (HR) axis Title Fig 8: Etched Gas Carburized sample (edge, T= 910% t= 1 hour Fig 21: Comparison of hardiness in samples 201Ar vy = Ta Internati , national Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: wwn ae.com (ISSN 2 Wear loss linmg) | + Hardness HRC) —eWearloss (inmg) Fig23: ancss and Wear los ofthe samples Bulk hardiness tests (Rockwell or Brinell) which measure the average hardness of both the carbide and| matrix together over a relatively large area, often register the same hardness as that of other conventional metal ‘Similarly, when comparing several surfacing alloys with each other, equally high bulk hardness ratings is not the only factor assuring resistance to wear. Resistance (especially to low- and high-stress abrasion) depends rather ‘ona combination of both hardness and the metallurgical microstructure of the alloy. The microstructure of alloys Varies according to the ratio of carbides to matrix and the {ype of carbides in the alloy. The alloy with the hardest Tost evenly dispersed carbides along with the highest percentage of carbides will ave the best resistance to low- stress and high-stress abrasion. ‘Advantages of TIG welding offers advantages in terms of versatility and amperage use because it uses less enerEy than other welding methods, A clean weld is also achieved by making a low-profile weld bead, and there is no slag let cer after the welding is complete. The largest advantage OF TIG welding is control, both in terms of the electrode itself and the current. 202 2459, 1S0 90012008 Certified Journal, Volume 4 Issue 10, October 2014) ‘The TIG welder is small, almost like a pen, which allows welders to use it for nearly any purpose. The inert gas used in the welder allows it to work on different metals. Argon is best for steel and titanium, helium is best for stainless Steel and copper, and an argon-and-helium combination is best for aluminum and alloys that include aluminum. Tn Thermal spray, there is a comprehensive choice of coating materials lo meet the needs of a. wide variety of Spplications, in particular protection fom went and ae iton demage. Coatings of metal cermets, ceramic and plastic ean be applied to any substrate that will not degrade aes eetheat of the impinging particles or gas jes. Te Goating is formed with minimal heating of the substrate and. Fane tg docs not need to fuse withthe substrate 49 form ir sad. Substrate temperature seldom exceeds 300°C: A 7 Jonsequence, coatings ean be applied 19 componsnt with: coer o pre of postrheat trealment and cOmporch® di ion i minimal. The coatings can also Be applied fe dtal sensitive substrates such as low melting, Point retard plates. Thick coatings, typically up to 107 ae applied and often at high deposition rates. This cae ee thermal” spraying can also be used fr Component reclamation and spray forming. Pars cof be sar guickly and at low cos, usually ata fration ofthe Teplacement price. Thermal spraying hs the capecly aceamigr and functional coatings on a wide range Of poruates. More recently, thermal spraying has. beet saernised asa key process forthe synthesis of specialized Sootings and materials, It offers the ability to erie Feasting structures for netshaped manufacture of high performance ceramics, composites and functional rade renters. It is also. used for the rapid-solidification Synthesis of specialized materials. Thermal spraying is pow Ping considered for the synthesis of advanced functional Qurfaves. such as catalytic. coatings, dielectrics, Ferrites, bioactive materials and solid oxide fuel cells, "As for the earburizing methods, we can clearly see that ts carburizing gives a good surface hardness as compared { the other procedures followed. Further it is a good method for obtaining surface hardening for low carbon dlloys such as EN3S3, However, the wear resistance of the duct is not as good as the sample with ‘This goes on to show that there is no surface hardness and wear gas earburized prov the thermal spray. fixed relationship betwe; resistance, "The major determinant when opting between these two methods is the scale of operations. gas carburizing has @ relatively cheap operational cost and we can improve the al small samples at the same time. surface hardness of sev Thus, itis a mass production oriented sample.fe» § ey, r VETAE International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, 150 9001-2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4 Issue 10, October 2014) Whereas, thermal spray is done on relatively small batches where wear resistance is the main aim, Therefore, for a digester screw which is several feet in length, the. thermal spray method not only gives a better wear resistance, but can also be aimed to target only the parts Peelers caiganco's roared! acl aa ‘AS for the pack carburizing method, it gives us the least surface hardness and least wear resistance, Further it is a very labor intensive method in which most of the reactants ‘get wasted. Also, there is no easy way of giving the sample the case depth that is required. There's no doubt that this method of surface hardness is now obsolete and is not used. anymore. Lastly, desirable method of all and the wear resistance that we get is al we come to pack carburizing which is the least ‘We cannot control the ease depth Iso not great. Even though it is one of the cheapest methods out there, 19st doesn’t give us the ‘same propertics like other surface hardening procedures and is not suitable for our digester serew problem 0 fa) ‘A Hulten J. ron Stool Inst, July 19515 9245-257 WEE, Gale and T.C. Totemeier, Ea, Chap. 29, Heat Treatmety Be Se seu Rates| Bed ttn Biri areola Heinemann, 2004 and D. ‘Thulin, A Mathematical Model for 15} K-Colln, 8. Gara on Paes caecararized Sie) VII. Concuusions ein at ag a1) 972 p87 : or yl 38805, 901 985 From the results and discussions above, we ean see that {§)_ 0. Bouonar Ann. Chim. Phys, Yoh i . eats ei he Theeeal sea na) the) bea ree tee eee eo a resistance. Thus, itis the echnigue which we wil be sing i etm Prom Prana 199, 85-100 to line the cutting edge of the digester serew to prevent [6] 3. Waning, Weiteretwickhung der Gasaufkohlungstechnik ‘wear from the wood pulp. 2 a a Carureng Technine), tr Tesh- Mit Vol 23 Gas carburizing comes a close second with surface (No. 3), 1968, p 101-109 a fe naan carn, comes le a crepla )) 7) UWin telhoe a ape cue mente However that main difference that separates them both is Rona comginot Caan Cue ip ie irs in wares Trl py ae SEE) pu an a eo pet tt Pecots os compared \ gas carburcgtend etveanteny DM. McCay a 8 Companion of OFYEEH eS Prion result Gas, carburizing, though cheap. and ccumey Ua 3 oe tc reng Conference 1998, 929-31 cellent es ee ion poces Wich) oe ft cdicr sano As ed as iin welling =e efor smaller Sample Slt 6, hough ital an (10) wmileweld compuligawonrat effective method, it is has become obsolete and has been replaced other methods such as thermal spray. Therefore, ‘even though itis a decent method, there are other methods out there which are better than it 203 a wv. or/ wal 2002/11/feaure