ENS5261 - Advanced Materials & Manufacturing

Lab Report

Jominy Hardenability Test

Group C 2

NAME Student No.

Herath

29th March 2022

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................2
2. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................2
3. Apparatus and Methodology...............................................................................................................3
4. References...............................................................................................................................................4

1. Executive Summary

The aim of this experiment is to investigate the relationship between hardenability and composition
of different steels. A Rockwell Hardness tester was used to determine the hardness of three steel
samples in the lab. The study goes into the results' Jominy curves, material identification and
applications, microstructure, and justification, as well as the importance of hardenability.

2. Introduction
Different alloy steels have different element compositions, and the mechanical properties of alloy
steels vary depending on the composition. Steel, for example, becomes stronger and harder as the
carbon content increases, but its ductility falls. Over many years, humans have used diverse steel
compositions, resulting in an endless number of combinations.

Standardized tests are used to identify distinct types of steel because there are so many
combinations of steel that offer varying mechanical properties. Hardenability is an important
property of steel alloys, and one of the main tests for determining it is the Jominy hardenability test.
It is characterized as heat treating an alloy until it is fully austenite and then quenching it to boost its
hardening value by creating martensite, bainite, pearlite, ferrite, and cementite in various
combinations.

The test is carried out on a normal piece of material that has been heated until it has turned
completely austenite. The steel element is then swiftly lowered into a quenching fixture, where it is
cooled using a regulated water flow that only touches the entire bottom surface of the sample.
Water does not splash against the element's sidewalls, and the steel piece cools as a function of
distance from the water's surface. The sidewall of the steel element is machined flat, and the
Rockwell C hardness test is used to determine the material's hardenability (Harvey Performance,
2021).
 The Jominy curve for three separate alloy samples of unknown composition evaluated inside the lab
facility is discussed first in this study. The curves are compared to standard Jominy curves for
recognised alloys to determine the type of steel alloy. The microstructure of the samples is then
identified, along with its relationship to cooling speeds, hardness, and composition. Finally, the
hardenability of steel is reviewed, along with examples of typical uses for each of the three steel
kinds studied.

3. Apparatus and Methodology

1. The samples prepared as per the above chapter, were collected and identified specific sample
number.

2. The samples were marked from the quenched end for the first 2 inches using vertical vernier
caliper with the intervals of 3.2mm.

Figure 1: Marking the distances from the quenched end using vertical vernier

3. Rockwell C hardness was measured at the quenched end and along the marked distances as
shown below figure.
 Figure 2: Measuring the hardness along the sample and quenched end

4. Measured hardness values were recorded against distance from the quenched end.

4. References

1.Harvey Performance. (2021, April 15). Hardenability of Steel. Retrieved from Harvey
Performance: https://www.harveyperformance.com/in-the-loupe/hardenability-of-
steel/
Relection

The Jominy Hardenability Test taught me a couple of important things.When I compared the
hardenability curves of the samples to Jominy curves, I saw that the steel alloy's hardness values fell as
the Jominy length value increased.

I discovered that cooling rate and hardenability had an inverse relationship. Hardenability is low when
the cooling rate is high, and vice versa. Apart from that, when the hardness values of three samples
were plotted, they showed different hardenability curves, and I realised that the existence of alloy
material such as Ni, Cr, and other elements effects the hardness values. Aside from that, when the alloy
steel samples' hardenability curves were compared to Jominy curves, I was able to understand the
microstructure of each sample at different Jominy lengths. At the quenched end of all the samples,
there is 100 percent martensite, and pearlite, bainite, and Martensite were created at various lengths of
the test samples.

The main cause of decreased hardness is a rapid drop in cooling rate over the length of the Jominy. Aust
enite changed into bainite at moderate cooling rates, lowering the martensite proportion, which affects 
alloy steel hardness. Alloy materials, on the other hand, help to generate Martensite by preventing the d
evelopment of perlite or bainite from austenite.

My engineering profession will benefit from the knowledge I received from the Jominy hardenability exa
m and its theoretical components. This information will enable me to select the best material for any fut
ure engineering design I do.