Hardening

Martensite is the hardest

micro-structure than can be
produced in any carbon steel.

Can be produced only if

transformation of austenite to
mixtures of ferrite and carbide
is avoided by faster cooling

“Hardening consists of heating the steel to proper austenitizing

temperature, soaking at this temperature to get fine grained and
homogenous austenite, and then cooling the steel at a rate faster
than its critical cooling rate. Such cooling is called quenching”.
 2

Hardening
• Hardness of hardened steel, depends on the formation of
100% martensite in it

• Hardness of the martensite depends on the carbon

content of the steel.

• Hardening is done of steels containing more than 0.3%

carbon as the gain in hardness are most substantial in
these steels.

• Mild steels (<0.3% carbon) tend to be difficult to harden

 3

Hardening
Objectives:

Target: Tools, heavy duty carbon steel machine parts, all machine parts
made of alloy steels. The aims are:

• Induce high hardness: Cutting property of the tool is directly

proportional to the hardness of the steel.

• To achieve high wear resistance. ↑ the hardness, ↑ is the wear

resistance

• To develop high yield strength with good toughness and ductility, so

that higher working stresses are allowed. But higher yield strength
(and tensile strength) with good toughness and ductility are achieved
after high temperature tempering of hardened steels
 Hardening
Austenitizing Temperature:

Hypo – Eutectoid steels

1. Heating at Ac3 + (20-40°C):

Result in single phase, fine grained, and homogenous austenite

On quenching, it transforms to fine grained hard

martensite - desired to be obtained in hardening

2. Heating above Ac1 but below Ac3:

Avoided as the steel then has γ and α grains

Presence of α does not permit to achieve:

• ↑ hardness materials

• Structural materials with ↑ tensile and yield

strengths after tempering
 Hardening
Austenitizing Temperature:

Hypo – Eutectoid steels (Cont’d)

Heating well above Ac3:

Causes grain coarsening of γ which on

quenching gives coarse martensite.

Such a martensite has high brittleness

Resulting steel has

• low impact strength even after tempering

• More prone to quench-warping and

cracking.
 Hardening
Austenitizing Temperature:

For Hyper – Eutectoid steels

Heating at Ac1 + (20-40°C)

Have fine grains of γ and small nodules of

proeutectoid Fe3C

On quenching

• γ transforms to fine martensite

• Undissolved nodules of Fe3C remain

unchanged.

Resulting microstructure has higher hardness,

wear resistance as compared to only martensitic
structure because BHN of cementite > BHN of
martensite
 Hardening
Austenitizing Temperature:

For Hyper – Eutectoid steels

Heating well above Ac1 but below Acm:

On heating:
• Increased amount of Fe3C is dissolved in γ
• Grain growth of γ may occur

On quenching, microstructure consists of

• coarse grained martensite
• little amount of undissolved cementite
• a large amount of retained austenite

The resultant hardness of the steel is less due to:

1. ↓ amount of hard cementite.
2. Large amount of retained austenite.
3. Coarse grained martensite is more brittle
and 1-2 units less hard
 Hardening
Austenitizing Temperature:

For Hyper – Eutectoid steels

On Heating above Acm:

On heating:
• Steel has 100 % austenite
• Fe3C dissolution leads to rapid grain growth
of γ.

On quenching:
• Resultant martensite is more brittle
• Increased tendency to warp and even crack
due to quenching from a much ↑ T.

The as-quenched hardness is low due to:

1. Absence of harder cementite
2. Much more retained austenite
3. Martensite is much coarser
Soaking Time
• Begins when the surface has attained the present
temperature

• Should be just enough to attain uniform temperature

through the section of the part to obtain
– completion of phase transformation
– Homogenous austenite

• It should not be longer to

cause grain growth,
oxidation, and
decarburization

• Depends mainly on
– Composition of the steel
– its original structure
 Preparation
• The steel to be hardened must be homogeneous and fine
grained.

• Coarse grained steel is susceptible to more distortion and

quenching cracks.

• Coarse grained steels are subjected to normalizing prior

to hardening.

• The original structure of tool steel before hardening must

contain lamellar Pearlite instead of globular.
 Preparation (cont…)
• Globular Pearlite transforms into austenite at a slow
rate which causes:
 Grain coarsening
 Low

• Cementite network in hyper-eutectoid eutectoid

steels needs removed.

Normalizing is performed prior to hardening:

• Removal of globular Pearlite
• Removal of cementite

• Clean and smooth surface, blocking of holes, special

fixtures.
Process of Quenching
Quenching: Rapid cooling by bringing hot surface of the
object in contact with some cooler material

Cooling rate:

Depends on

• Dimensions of the object, its temperature and its thermal

properties, Surface Condition of object

• Initial temperature of the coolant and its B.P, specific heat

of coolant, latent heat of vaporization, specific heat of its
vapors, its thermal conductivity, its viscosity, its velocity
past the immersed object.
Process of Quenching
• Three stages
• Stage A- Vapor-blanket stage
• Stage B –Intermittant contact stage
• Stage C – Direct Contact stage (Liquid cooling stage)
 General characteristics of quenching media
• Temperature of the coolant
• In water and brine, the cooling rate ↓ as the temperature of the
coolant ↑ as it increases stage A
• Oils show increased with the rise of temperature

• Boiling point
• A coolant with ↓ boiling point increases the ‘A’ stage of cooling,
which provides slower rate of cooling.

• Specific heat of coolant

• A coolant with ↓ specific heat will provide slower cooling rate than
the one with ↑ specific heat

• Latent heat of vaporization

• a coolant with low latent heat of vaporization promotes the A stage
of cooling i.e. provides slower cooling rate
 General characteristics of quenching media

• Thermal Conductivity of the coolant

• A coolant with ↑ thermal Conductivity ↑ cooling rate of component

• Viscosity

• Coolant with ↓ viscosity provides faster cooling rate and also

decreases the vapor-blanket stage

• Circulation of the coolant or agitation of the component

• ↑ is the velocity of coolant or agitation of the component ↓ will be

the length of vapor blanket stage and ↑ will be the cooling rate
General Requirement of a quenching
medium
• General Availability

• Low cost

• Cooling characteristics should be stable with continued use, and

with moderate changes in temperature

• Corroding action on steels, components, containers,

• Fire hazards

• Ease of handling
 Quenching Mediums
- Water

- Brine

- Oils

- Emulsions (Water and oil)

- Polymer Quenchants

- Salt Baths

- Air

- Gases
Defects in hardening:
• Mechanical properties not up to the specifications

• Soft spots

• Quench cracks

• Distortion and warpage

• Change in dimensions

• Oxidation and decarburization

• Overheating of steels
Defects in hardening:
1. Mechanical properties not up to the specifications:
Most common defect in hardened components is too low a hardness.

• Insufficient fast cooling

• Shorter austenitizing time:

• Globular pearlite takes more time to form homogenous austenite than fine
lamellar pearlite
• Thermal cycle designed for lamellar pearlite will not give hardness of required
specification with fine lamellar pearlite microstructure
• Insufficient dissolution of carbides in austenite results in low hardness.

• Lower austenitising temperature

• Decarburisation of surface

• If too high temperature is used, more retained austenite results in low

hardness
Defects in hardening:
Soft Spots:
• Some areas of the surface might have got decarburized

• Scales adhering to surface may cool these areas slowly.

• ↑ T of the coolant → extend vapor-blanket stage →soft spots.

• Insufficient or irregular agitation of tools→ uneven cooling → tendency to

form vapor blanket on some surfaces increase →cooling rate drops to
result in soft spots

• Quenching of large number of parts lying over one another or insufficient

coolant → soft spots.

• High viscosity oil may result in soft spots.

• Rough surface keeps the vapor intact to cause soft spots.

Defects in hardening:
Quench Cracks:
Occur as a result of tensile stress, whose magnitude
becomes higher than tensile strength of the steel.

• More time lag between quenching and tempering

• Overheating → grain growth of austenite → coarse

martensite and more retained austenite → brittleness-
resulting in cracks.

• Use of wrong coolant: An alloy steel which can be

hardened in oil with good results, if had been hardened in
water, or brine, might have resulted in quench cracks.
Defects in hardening:
• Faulty design of a component: Heavy sections adjacent to a
thin section sharp corners or sharp transitions between
sections.

• Improper selection of the steel: A high carbon steels having

sections greater than 1.27 cm, if quenched in water, may show
cracks.
Defects in hardening:
• Grinding Cracks: During grinding temperatures rise to
1100°C to 1600°C, resulting in
(i) changes in hardness and microstructure
(ii) high stresses to cause surface cracks

As a result of heavy feeds, T of steel surface may become

higher than hardening temperature to result in as-quenched
martensite, which in next pass, being brittle, causes cracks.