Exp 1-4

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MME 444 Level 4 Term 1 January 2023 Term
January 2023 Term Laboratory Report Book
MME 444
Heat Treatment and
Microstructure Sessional
Name: _______________________________________
Student Number: ________________________
DEPT. OF MME, BUET, DHAKA 1000
Page 1 of 44 DMME, BUET Updated: 6 June 2023

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January 2023 Term
MME 444
Heat Treatment and
DEPT. OF MME, BUET, DHAKA 1000

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Table of Content
Plagiarism Statement
Safety in the Laboratory
Background Information
Experiments 1—5
Case Study
Additional Write Up
Assessment Criteria
Glossary of Terms

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Plagiarism Statement
Before handing in assessed report/assignment, please print off a copy of this plagiarism statement.
You should sign and date it, and attach with your report prior to submission.
PLAGIARISM STATEMENT (to be signed by student)
Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as
my own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as
plagiarism. Plagiarism is an examination offence and may carry heavy penalties.
I declare that apart from properly referenced quotations, this report is my own work and contains no
plagiarism; it has not been submitted previously for any other assessed work on this course.
I further declare that the report in any way does not resemble cheating and attempted cheating, lying,
and stealing.
Student Name:
Student Number:
Course Number: MME 444 Heat Treatment and Microstructure Sessional
Student Signature:
Date:

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MME 444 Heat Treatment and

1.50 Credit One Laboratory Work per Week
Level 4 Term 1 January 2023 Term
Department of Materials and Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Metallurgical Engineering Technology, Dhaka 1000
SAFETY IN THE LABORATORY

All students must read and understand the information in this document with regard to laboratory
safety and emergency procedures prior to the first laboratory session. Your personal laboratory
safety depends mostly on you. Effort has been made to address situations that may pose a hazard
in the lab, however, the information and instructions provided cannot be considered all-inclusive.
Students must adhere to written and verbal safety instructions throughout the academic term.
Common Sense
Good common sense is needed for safety in a laboratory. It is expected that each student
will work in a responsible manner and exercise good judgment and common sense. If at
any time you are not sure how to handle a particular situation, ask your course tutor or
lab instructor for advice. Do not touch anything with which you are not completely
familiar!!! It is always better to ask questions than to risk harm to yourself.
Personal and General laboratory safety
1. Never eat, drink, or smoke while working in the laboratory. Read labels carefully.
2. Do not use any equipment unless you are trained and approved as a user by lab staff.
3. Wear safety glasses when working with hazardous materials and/or Equipment.
Wear gloves when using any hazardous or toxic agent.
4. Clothing: When handling dangerous substances, wear gloves, laboratory coats,
and safety shield or glasses. Sandals should not be worn in the lab at any time.
Shoes are required when working with the heat treatment furnaces.
5. If you have long hair or loose clothes, make sure it is tied back or confined.
6. Keep the work area clear of all materials except those needed for your work.
Extra books, personal items, etc. should be kept away from equipment, which
requires air flow or ventilation to prevent overheating.
7. Disposal - Students are responsible for the proper disposal of used material if
any in appropriate containers.
8. Equipment Failure - If a piece of equipment fails while being used, report it
immediately to your lab tutor. Never try to fix the problem yourself because you
could harm yourself and others.
9. If leaving a lab unattended, turn off all ignition sources and lock the doors. Clean
up your work area before leaving. Wash hands before leaving the lab and
before eating.

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Cutting & Grinding
1. Power saws should not be operated without eye protection and an apron.
2. Do not push the specimen or materials against the cutting wheel directly with the fingers.
3. Long materials should be supported or clamped before cutting.
4. Hold the sample tightly.
5. Do not overheat the sample while grinding. Cool the sample in water during
intermediate inspections.
Heat Treating
1. Use tongs to insert or remove the specimens from the furnace.

2. Use insulating gloves to open or close the doors to the furnaces.
3. Either cool the specimens immediately after removal from the furnace or place
in a designated area for slow cooling. Hot specimens should not be left in the
open where may be accidentally touched.
4. The furnaces should be turned off when not in use.
5. If specimens are left in a furnace and the area is abandoned by the student, a
sign must be left with a name and phone number and time for removal.
6. Quenching samples in oil can cause the oil to ignite. Be prepared to cover the
container after immersion.
7. Use baskets or tongs for quenching in oil or water.
Chemical safety
1. Treat every chemical as if it were hazardous.

2. Make sure all chemicals are clearly and currently labelled with the substance
name, concentration, date, and name of the individual responsible.
3. Never return chemicals to reagent bottles. (Try for the correct amount and
share any excess.)
4. Comply with fire regulations concerning storage quantities, types of approved
containers and cabinets, proper labelling, etc. If uncertain about regulations,
contact the head of the department.
5. Use volatile and flammable compounds only in a fume hood. Procedures that
produce aerosols should be performed in a hood to prevent inhalation of
hazardous material.
6. Never allow a solvent to come in contact with your skin. Always use gloves. Never
"smell" a solvent!! Read the label on the solvent bottle to identify its contents.
7. Dispose of waste and broken glassware in proper containers. Clean up spills immediately.
8. Do not store food in laboratories.
I, ____________________________________________ Student No. ______________________have read

and understood the laboratory safety procedures and policies. I am responsible for following these
procedures while in the laboratories.
(Signature with date)

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Background Information
The purposes of this experiment are to:

▪ Investigate the processes of heat treating of steel
▪ Study hardness testing and its limits
▪ Examine microstructures of steel in relation to hardness
Background
To understand heat treatment of steels requires an ability to understand the Fe-C phase diagram
shown in Figure 1. Steel with a 0.78 wt% C is said to be a eutectoid steel. Steel with carbon content
less than 0.78 wt% C is hypoeutectoid and greater than 0.78 wt% C is hypereutectoid. The region
marked austenite is face-centered-cubic (FCC) and ferrite is body-centered-cubic (BCC).
There are also regions that have two phases. If one cools a hypoeutectoid steel from a point in the
austenite region, reaching the A3 line, ferrite will form from the austenite. This ferrite is called
proeutectoid ferrite. When A1 is reached, a mixture of ferrite and iron carbide (cementite) forms
from the remaining austenite. The microstructure of a hypoeutectoid steel upon cooling would
contain proeutectoid ferrite plus pearlite (α+ Fe3C).
The size, type and distribution of phases present can be altered by not waiting for thermodynamic
equilibrium. Steels are often cooled so rapidly that metastable phases appear. One such phase is
martensite, which is a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) phase and forms only by very rapid cooling.
Much of the information on non-equilibrium distribution, size and type of phases has come from
experiments. The results are presented in a time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram shown
in Figure 2. As a sample is cooled, the temperature will decrease as shown in curve #1. At point A,
pearlite (a mixture of ferrite and cementite) will start to form from austenite. At the time and
temperature associated with point B, the austenite will have completely transformed to pearlite.
There are many possible paths through the pearlite regions. Slower cooling causes coarse Pearlite,
while fast cooling causes fine pearlite to form.
Cooling can produce other phases. If a specimen were cooled at a rate corresponding to curve #2 in
Figure 3, martensite, instead of Pearlite, would begin to form at Ms temperature (point C), and the
pearlite would be completely transformed to martensite at temperature Ms. Martensite causes
increased hardness in steels.

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Unfortunately, hardness in steels also produces brittleness. The brittleness is usually associated with
low impact energy and low toughness. To restore some of the toughness and impact properties it is
frequently necessary to "temper" or "draw" the steels. This is accomplished by heating the steel to
a temperature between 260 oC and 540 oC. Tempering removes some of the internal stresses and
introduces recovery processes in the steel without a large decrease in hardness or strength.
To obtain the desired mechanical properties it is necessary to cool steel from the proper
temperature at the proper rates and temper them at the proper temperature and time. Isothermal

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transformation diagrams for SAE 1045 steel are shown in Figure 4.
Heat Treatment of Steels

Common steels, which are really solid solutions of carbon in iron, are body-centered-cubic. However,
the carbon has a low solubility in bcc iron and precipitates as iron carbide when steel is cooled from
870 oC. The processes of precipitation can be altered by adjusting the cooling rate. This changes the
distribution and size of the carbide which forms a laminar structure called pearlite during slow
cooling processes.
If a steel is quenched into water or oil from 870 oC, a metastable phase called martensite forms,
which is body-centered-tetragonal. This phase sets up large internal stresses and prevents carbide
from forming. The internal stresses produce a high hardness and unfortunately, low toughness. After
cooling, to restore toughness, steels are tempered by reheating them to a lower temperature
around 426 oC and cooling. The tempering relieves the internal stresses and also allows some iron
carbide to form. It also restores ductility.

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EXPERIMENT 1
Name of the Experiment: Introduction to Heat Treatment and Phase Transformation
Draw Fe-Fe3C Phase Diagram and identify the phases

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Draw Fe-C Phase Diagram and identify the phases

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Draw TTT Diagram for Hypo-Eutectoid, Eutectoid, Hyper-eutectoid Steels

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Draw CCT Diagram for Hypo-Eutectoid, Eutectoid, Hyper-eutectoid Steels

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Draw a schematic view of a laboratory furnace

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Experiment 2
Experiment Name Design of annealing and normalising Processes of Plain Carbon Steel
Full annealing
Full annealing process consists of three steps. First step is heating the steel component to
above A3 (upper critical temperature for ferrite) temperature for hypo-eutectoid steels and
above A1 (lower critical temperature) temperature for hypereutectoid steels by 30-50 oC. The
second step is holding the steel component at this temperature for a definite holding (soaking)
period of at least 20 minutes per cm of the thick section to assure equalization of temperature
throughout the cross- section of the component and complete austenization. Final step is to
cool the hot steel component to room temperature slowly in the furnace, which is also called
as furnace cooling. The full annealing is used to relieve the internal stresses induced due to
cold working, welding, etc, to reduce hardness and increase ductility, to refine the grain
structure, to make the material homogenous in respect of chemical composition, to increase
uniformity of phase distribution, and to increase machinability.
Normalizing
Normalizing process consists of three steps. The first step involves heating the steel
component above the A3 temperature for hypo eutectoid steels and above Acm (upper critical
temperature for cementite) temperature for hypereutectoid steels by 30 oC to 50 oC. The
second step involves holding the steel component long enough at this temperature for
homogeneous austenization. The final step involves cooling the hot steel component to room
temperature in still air. Due to air cooling, normalized components show slightly different
structure and properties than annealed components.
The properties of normalised components are not much different from those of annealed
components. However, normalizing takes less time and is more convenient and economical
than annealing and hence is a more common heat treatment in industries. Normalizing is used
for high- carbon (hypereutectoid) steels to eliminate the cementite network that may develop
upon slow cooling in the temperature range from point Acm to point A1. Normalizing is also
used to relieve internal stresses induced by heat treating, welding, casting, forging, forming,
or machining. Normalizing also improves the ductility without reducing the hardness and
strength.

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Figure 5: Schematic representation of annealing operation
Procedure
You are provided with 2 specimens of plain carbon steel for your study.
1. Measure the hardness of all specimens using the Brinell (3000 kg) and Rockwell B or C scales.
2. Determine chemical composition of the specimens.
3. Obtain microstructure of the specimens.
4. Heat two specimen in one furnace at a pre-determined time and temperature.
5. Remove one specimen from the furnace and cool it in air on a refractory brick.
6. Get microstructure and hardness of the specimen removed using the Brinell (3000 kg) and Rockwell B or C scales.
7. Turn off the furnace with the one remaining specimen. Allow the sample to remain in the furnace for one
hour. The air-cooled and furnace-cooled specimens can be cooled in water after one hour. Why? (Answer this
in your write up).
8. Get microstructure and hardness of the specimen removed using the Brinell (3000 kg) and Rockwell B or C scales.
Data Analysis
1. If more than one impression is made per sample, average the Brinell diameters for each specimen.
2. Compute the Brinell hardness numbers and compare with the numbers read from a conversion chart for
Rockwell A or C to Brinell.
3. Graph BHN (x-axis) versus Rockwell Hardness numbers (y-axis).
4. Graph Rockwell B or C hardness vs. tempering temperature (oC).
5. Compute the ultimate tensile strength (psi) of all specimens from the average BHN for each specimen using:
σult= 500 x BHN

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OBSERVATIONS
Observe the microstructure and write down the phases present (Annealing)
Sample Identity:
Draw the microstructure in the circle given below and write down the phases
Magnification used
The phases present in the microstructure and the approximate % of major phases
are Phases Present Percentage
➢ ------------------------------------------ ------------
➢ ------------------------------------------ -------------
➢ ------------------------------------------ -------------
Etchant used Hardness
From the observation of microstructure & Hardness of the given sample

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………......
.......................................................................................................................................................

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Observe the microstructure and write down the phases present (Normalising)
Sample Identity:
Draw the microstructure in the circle given below and write down the phases
Magnification used
The phases present in the microstructure and the approximate % of major phases
are Phases Present Percentage
➢ ------------------------------------------ ------------
➢ ------------------------------------------ -------------
➢ ------------------------------------------ -------------
Etchant used Hardness
From the observation of microstructure & Hardness of the given sample

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………......
.......................................................................................................................................................

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Answer the following Questions
1. Define the term “heat treatment”. Why are the steels heat treated?
2. If one of the specimens of the same kind of steel is normalized and the other is annealed, which will show more
strength and why?
3. Out of the normalized and annealed samples, which one is more machinable and why?
4. How does the hardness vary with cooling rate?
5. How do your microstructures compare with standard microstructures?

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6. What temperature will be used for annealing and normalizing the mild steel specimen with 0.25%C?
7. What is the nature of the microstructure in spheroidized high carbon steel, normalized high carbon steel,
annealed high carbon steel?
8. The microstructure of an iron-carbon alloy consists of proeutectoid ferrite and pearlite; the mass fractions
of these two micro-constituents are 0.174 and 0.826, respectively. Determine the concentration of carbon
in this alloy.

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9. Explain the process of annealing?
10. What is the significance of this experiment? How is it related to your course of study?

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EXPERIMENT 3
Name of the Experiment: Design of hardening treatment and tempering of hardened steel to obtain different
hardness of that of as quenched steel
OBJECTIVE
To study the microstructure and hardness of Hardened and Spheroidized plain carbon steel having ≤1.2%C steel.
EQUIPMENT / MATERIALS
Steel samples of 0.2%C, 0.4%C and 1.2%C (it may vary), Electric furnace, SiC papers of various grit sizes, Polishing
machine, Metallurgical microscope, Rockwell and Brinell hardness testers.
THEORY
One of the techniques to improve the ductility of the high carbon steels are spheroidised annealing.
Spheroidised annealing
Spheroidise annealing is one of the variant of the annealing process that produces typical
microstructure consisting of the globules (spheroid) of cementite or carbides in the matrix of
ferrite. The following methods are used for spheroidise annealing.
Holding at just below A1

Holding the steel component at just below the lower critical temperature (A1) transforms the
pearlite to globular cementite particles. But this process is very slow and requires more time
for obtaining spheroidised structure.
Thermal cycling around A1

In this method, the thermal cycling in the narrow temperature range around A1 transforms
cementite lamellae from pearlite to spheroidal. Figure 6 depicts a typical heat treatment cycle
to produce spheroidised structure. During heating above A1, cementite or carbides try to
dissolve and during cooling they try to re-form. This repeated action spheroidises the carbide
particles. Spheroidised structures are softer than the fully annealed structures and have
excellent machinability. This heat treatment is utilized to high carbon and air hardened alloy
steels to soften them and to increase machinability, and to reduce the decarburization while
hardening of thin sections such as safety razor blades and needles.

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Figure 6: A typical heat treatment cycle to produce spheroidised structure
Different techniques to improve the hardness of the steels are conventional hardening, and
tempering.
Conventional hardening
Conventional hardening process consists of four steps. The first step involves heating the steel
to above A3 temperature for hypo-eutectoid steels and above A1 temperature for
hypereutectoid steels by 50 o C. The second step involves holding the steel components for
sufficient socking time for homogeneous austenization. The third step involves cooling of hot
steel components at a rate just exceeding the critical cooling rate of the steel to room
temperature or below room temperature. The final step involves the tempering of the
martensite to achieve the desired hardness. Detailed explanation about tempering is given in
the subsequent sections. In this conventional hardening process, the austenite transforms to
martensite. This martensite structure improves the hardness. Following are a few salient
features in conventional hardening of steel.
1. Proper quenching medium should be used such that the component gets cooled at a
rate just exceeding the critical cooling rate of that steel.
2. Alloy steels have less critical cooling rate and hence some of the alloy steels can be
hardened by simple air cooling.
3. High carbon steels have slightly more critical cooling rate and has to be hardened by
oil quenching.
4. Medium carbon steels have still higher critical cooling rates and hence water or brine
quenching is necessary.
Figure 7 depicts the conventional hardening process which involves quenching and
tempering. During quenching outer surface is cooled quicker than the center. Thinner parts
are cooled faster than the parts with greater cross-sectional areas. In other words, the
transformation of the austenite is proceeding at different rates. Hence there is a limit to the
overall size of the part in this hardening process.

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Figure 7: Heat treatment cycle for conventional hardening process
Procedure
You are provided with 3 specimens of plain carbon steel for your study.
1. Measure the hardness of all specimens using the Brinell (3000 kg) and Rockwell B or C scales.
2. Determine chemical composition of the specimens.
3. Obtain microstructure of the specimens.
4. Heat three specimens in one furnace at a pre-determined time and temperature. Remove the
specimens and quickly drop them into water; the transfer should take less than one second. A little
rehearsal could help. Be careful not to touch the specimens before they are cooled in water.
5. Measure Rockwell hardness of the quenched specimens before the next step.
6. Temper 1 each of the quenched specimens for 30 minutes at 315 oC, 430 oC, and 540 oC. After
tempering, the specimens can be cooled in water.
7. Measure hardness of specimens using the Brinell (3000 kg) and Rockwell B or C scales.
Data Analysis
6. If more than one impression is made per sample, average the Brinell diameters for each specimen.
7. Compute the Brinell hardness numbers and compare with the numbers read from a conversion
chart for Rockwell A or C to Brinell.
8. Graph BHN (x-axis) versus Rockwell Hardness numbers (y-axis).
9. Graph Rockwell B or C hardness vs. tempering temperature (oC).
10. Compute the ultimate tensile strength (psi) of all specimens from the average BHN for each
specimen using:
σult= 500 x B.H.N.

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Answer the Following Questions

1. How do your tempered structures compare with standard microstructures of tempered martensite and
spheroidised steel?
2. Give the physical and mechanical changes that occur during the above phase transformation
3. Explain the nature of pearlite and cementite phase in spheroidised steel?

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4. Why is tempering preceded by converting the steel into martensite phase?
5. Which steel will be tougher, tempered high carbon steel or hardened medium carbon steel?
6. What is the nature of the microstructure in Spheroidized high carbon steel, normalised high carbon steel,
annealed high carbon steel?

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7. How does hardness vary with % carbon content in steels? Explain.
8. Why it is necessary to be really quick in transferring the specimen from the austeniting furnace to the
water bath during quenching?

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9. How does the hardness of specimen tempered at 700oC compare with that of the furnace cooled
specimen? A Steel given such a tempering treatment is preferred to a furnace cooled specimen for good
machinability. Can you explain this on the basis of the difference in microstructure?

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EXPERIMENT 4
Name of the Experiment: Hardenability: Jominy End Quench Test
OBJECTIVE
To study hardness and microstructure as a function as a function of quench rate, and investigate the hardenability
of steels by Jominy test.
EQUIPMENT / MATERIALS
Sample of medium or high carbon steel (the steel must have more than 0.35%C), or alloy steel, Quenching tank,
Electric furnace, Special tongs, Rockwell hardness tester, metallographic polishing equipment, Metallurgical
microscope.
THEORY
In a practical sense it is not possible to heat-treat all parts to the same degree. The difference is due to the
thickness or volume effect. Basically, when a part is quenched in water or some other fluid, the heat must be
conducted out through the surface. This leads to a temperature gradient dt/dx between the surface and the
centre of the part being heat-treated. The temperature gradient varies with time.
The temperature gradient is less steep between the centre and the edge at later times. Therefore, the
temperature of the centre lags in time behind the temperature of the surface. If we were to plot a time profile of
the centre and the edge temperatures as shown in Figure 1, the time to reach a given temperature T2 is definitely
longer in the centre than at the edge. This means that cooling rate varies as a function of depth. The greater the
depth the slower the cooling rate.
The situation with respect to the cooling rate can lead to a different hardness in the centre than at the edge. The
edge could transform to martensite and the centre to pearlite or bainite.
Figure 8: Cooling curves for the surface and centre of a quenched specimen
In selecting a steel, the ability to cool the centre depends upon the thickness of the part. The thicker the part, the
slower the cooling rate at the centre. For a given thickness, one must select a steel that can be hardened in the
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centre if that is desired. The cooling rate in this case is fixed. The centre part of steel can be hardened by shifting
the time-temperature transformation diagram through alloying. Figure 9 shows that alloying elements added to
plain carbon steel can shift the nose of the TTT curve to longer times and raise the Ms temperature. This means a
slower cooling rate can be used to reach the martensitic state. A slower cooling rate means a thicker part can be
heat- treated.
Figure 9: TTT diagram for two different steels
To obtain standardized data on the hardness of steels as functions of cooling rates, the Jominy End Quench test
was developed. In the test, water is sprayed on one end of a bar of steel while it is hot. This leads to a one-
dimensional heat transfer cooling. Except near the surface of the bar the temperature is controlled by heat flow
along the length of the bar (like thickness in the part). Moving axially away from the quenched end of the bar, the
temperature and the rate of change of temperature are changing. The temperature is higher and the cooling rate
is lower. If surface hardness is measured as a function of distance from the end, a hardness profile can be obtained
which applies to any part made from the same steel, as shown in Figure 10.

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Figure 10: Quenched Tank and Hardness as a function of distance from quenched end for two steels
PROCEDURE
Not required.
Results:
Given in the next page.

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Figure 11: Simulated Test Result of Jominy Hardenability of a steel of two different grain sizes

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Answer the Following Questions

1. How do your hardness measurements correlate with your microstructural observations?
2. Give five applications for quench-hardened steels.

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3. What will be the difference in hardness profile of a steel part quenched in water and in oil at the same
temperature?
4. Steel gears are being quenched by dropping into a tank of room temperature oil. A competitor makes
gears of the same size and shape, apparently from the same raw material, but his gears last longer than yours.
What can you do to improve the quality of your product and cut down wear? What is the danger in this course of
action if you overdo it?
5. What is the ideal critical diameter and can it be determined with a Jominy test?

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6. How is the role of carbon and various alloy elements on the hardenability of steels?
7. What effect does surface scale have on hardness measurements?

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8. You have three steels. Select the most appropriate steel to achieve the necessary levels of mechanical
properties, residual stress and distortion in a 1mm diameter wood-working drill. Why? 1% C, 0.4% Si, 1% Mn, 5%
Cr, 1% Mo and 0.4% C, 0.4% Mn, 0.3% Si, and 0.5% C, 4% Cr, 6% Mo
9. As grain size increases, effect boron on hardenability decreases. Why?

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Experiment 5 (Prepared by Mr. Sikder Ashikuzzaman Ayon,

Lecturer, MME, BUET)
Name of the Experiment: Designing of surface hardening of steels to be used for manufacturing of heavy-duty
transmission gears/shafts.
Requirements:
Materials: Low carbon steels and low alloy steel
Table 1: List of properties
Group No. Case Depth, µm Surface Hardness, Maximum Core Hardness,

HRC Hardness, HRC HRC
Group 1 200 48-58 55-60 15-30
Group 2 400 46-56 57-62 15-30
Group 3 600 45-55 59-63 20-35
Group 4 800 45-54 60-64 20-35
Group 5 1000 44-52 61-66 20-35
Group 6 1200 43-53 61-66 20-35
Methodology:
Step one: Microstructure of the supplied steel by optical microscope (OM)
Step two: Determination of chemical composition by OES
Step three: Select the carburizing time and temperature based on chemical composition, case depth and
hardness given in Table 1
Step four: Pack carburizing and annealed, Pack carburizing and hardening and tempering
Step five: Microstructure and case depth measurement from annealed sample
Step six: Microstructure of carburized and hardened and tempered sample
Step seven: Measurement of surface hardness of hardened and tampered sample
Step eight: Measurement of microhardness profile and determine the case depth, maximum hardness and core
hardness
Step nine: Compare between theoretical and experimental data.
Final submission: Each student will submit the report individually and will present the report.

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Effective case depth:
The distance from the surface to the point where hardness level HRC 50 or a carbon content of about
0.4 weight percent.
Determination of case depth
Mathematical expression for the determination of case depth (CD)
CD = (31.6√t) / (106700/T)
Where, CD = case depth in inch
t = time in hours
T = absolute temperature in degree Rankine (459.67°R is exactly equal to 0°F)

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EXPERIMENT 6
CASE STUDY
1. Post weld treatment

2. Surface Hardening of steels
3. Zone refining in electronic materials
4. Development of Bainitic steels
5. Heat treatment of Titanium & alloys
6. Heat treatment of Superalloys (Ni-base)
7. Shape memory alloys
8. Development of Peak aging condition in Al-alloys
9. Dual Phase steels
10. Bearing steels
11. Gears
12. Spring steels
13. Boiler steels (P 91 or 92)
14. Rail steels
15. Austenitic stainless steels
16. Martensitic stainless steels
17. Duplex stainless steels
18. Sintering of powder metallurgy components
19. Development of Intermetallic
20. Choice from your side (if it related to this lab)
Select any topic above given, and study the heat treatment cycles for
above materials with required properties and applications.
PRESENTATION FORMAT
OBJECTIVE COMPOSITION
ROLE OF ALLOYING
ELEMENTS
HEAT TREATMENT CYCLES
PROPERTIES
Microstructural
characteristics
Mechanical properties

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APPLICATIONS PRESENT STATUS REFERENCES

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Additional Write Up
Prepare a single memo report in conjunction with the experiment. Within this report you should discuss
the data referenced in the "Data Analysis" as well as the following:
1. What is the purpose of quenching and tempering steel?

2. Discuss the sources of error for the various hardness testers, the relative ease with which they may
be used, and the comparative consistency of test results.
3. What factors probably contributed to the scatter in the hardness data?
4. Which hardness test appears to be most accurate?
5. Using the inverse lever law, estimate the amount of carbide (Fe3C) present at 1338 oF (just below
the eutectoid temperature) for SAE 1045.
6. What are (or should be) the differences in the microstructure for each heat treatment process and
how do these differences correlate with hardness?
7. Discuss errors in this experiment and their sources.
Assessment Criteria
Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

Overall level of effort apparent 1 2 3 4 5
Quality of graphs 1 2 3 4 5
Quality of Abstract 1 2 3 4 5
Quality of work description 1 2 3 4 5
Quality of conclusions 1 2 3 4 5
Memorandum Format Used 1 2 3 4 5
Spelling, grammar & punctuation correct 1 2 3 4 5

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Glossary of Terms
Understanding the following terms will aid in understanding this experiment.
Austenite. Face-centered cubic () phase of iron or steel.
Austenitizing. Temperature where homogeneous austenite can form. Austenitizing is the first step in
most of the heat treatments for steel and cast irons.
Annealing (steel). A heat treatment used to produce a soft, coarse pearlite in a steel by austenitizing,
then furnace cooling.
Bainite. A two-phase micro-constituent, containing a fine needle-like microstructure of ferrite and

cementite that forms in steels that are isothermally transformed at relatively low temperatures.
Body-centered cubic. Common atomic arrangement for metals consisting of eight atoms sitting on the
corners of a cube and a ninth atom at the cubes center.
Cementite. The hard brittle intermetallic compound Fe3C that when properly dispersed provides the
strengthening in steels.
Eutectoid. A three-phase reaction in which one solid phase transforms to two different solid phases.
Face-centered cubic. Common atomic arrangement for metals consisting of eight atoms sitting on the
corners of a cube and six additional atoms sitting in the center of each face of the cube.
Ferrite. Ferrous alloy based on the bcc structure of pure iron at room temperature.
Hypereutectoid. Composition greater than that of the eutectoid.
Hypoeutectoid. Composition less than that of the eutectoid.
Martensite. The metastable iron-carbon solid solution phase with an acicular, or needle like,
microstructure produced by a diffusionless transformation associated with the quenching of austenite.
Normalizing. A simple heat treatment obtained by austenitizing and air cooling to produce a fine pearlite
structure.
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Pearlite. A two-phase lamellar micro-constituent, containing ferrite and cementite, that forms in steels
that are cooled in a normal fashion or are isothermally transformed at relatively high temperatures.
Tempered martensite. The mixture of ferrite and cementite formed when martensite is tempered.
Tempering. A low-temperature heat treatment used to reduce the hardness of martensite by permitting
the martensite to begin to decompose to the equilibrium phases.
References
D. Callister Jr, Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering, J. Wiley & Sons, NY, 3rd Ed. 2008, Flinn
and Trojan, Engineering Materials and Their Applications, Chapter 6
Deiter, Mechanical Metallurgy
ASM Handbook on Heat Treatment, Vol. 2
Mr. A.Lava Kumar, Phase Transformations & Heat Treatment, Laboratory Observation Book, Department of
Metallurgy & Materials Engineering, Veer Surendra Sai University Of Technology, Burla, Odisha - 76801

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MME 444 Level 4 Term 1 January 2023 Term

January 2023 Term Laboratory Report Book

Student Number: ________________________

DEPT. OF MME, BUET, DHAKA 1000

Page 1 of 44 DMME, BUET Updated: 6 June 2023

January 2023 Term

DEPT. OF MME, BUET, DHAKA 1000

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PLAGIARISM STATEMENT (to be signed by student)

Course Number: MME 444 Heat Treatment and Microstructure Sessional

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MME 444 Heat Treatment and

SAFETY IN THE LABORATORY

Personal and General laboratory safety

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Cutting & Grinding

1. Use tongs to insert or remove the specimens from the furnace.

1. Treat every chemical as if it were hazardous.

I, ____________________________________________ Student No. ______________________have read

(Signature with date)

Page 6 of 44 DMME, BUET Updated: 6 June 2023

The purposes of this experiment are to:

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transformation diagrams for SAE 1045 steel are shown in Figure 4.

Heat Treatment of Steels

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Name of the Experiment: Introduction to Heat Treatment and Phase Transformation

Draw Fe-Fe3C Phase Diagram and identify the phases

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Draw Fe-C Phase Diagram and identify the phases

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Draw TTT Diagram for Hypo-Eutectoid, Eutectoid, Hyper-eutectoid Steels

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Draw CCT Diagram for Hypo-Eutectoid, Eutectoid, Hyper-eutectoid Steels

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Draw a schematic view of a laboratory furnace

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Figure 5: Schematic representation of annealing operation

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are Phases Present Percentage

Etchant used Hardness

From the observation of microstructure & Hardness of the given sample

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are Phases Present Percentage

Etchant used Hardness

From the observation of microstructure & Hardness of the given sample

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Answer the following Questions

4. How does the hardness vary with cooling rate?

5. How do your microstructures compare with standard microstructures?

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9. Explain the process of annealing?

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Holding at just below A1

Thermal cycling around A1

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Figure 6: A typical heat treatment cycle to produce spheroidised structure

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I, ______________________ Student No. have read