NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING (SCME)

MSE-201: Materials Engineering Lab-I I

 WORKSHEET – EXPERIMENT 6

Effect of Time and Temperature on Grain Size and Hardness of Annealed and
Normalized Steels
GROUP : 1
No NAMES CMS
.
1 Abdur Raheem 344381
2 Hassan Ahmed 339913
3 Zain Abdullah 335336
4 Hazqeel Ejaz 341863
5 Shahzad 343476
6 Shawaiz Ali Sabir 331905

Materials:

Mild Steel

Equipment:

Optica Microscope , Emry papers of different grades.

Standard/Software:
ASTM E112

Procedure:
1.kFirst measure the hardness of the provided samples
2. Grind, polish, and etch the samples to study the microstructure.
3. Use ASTM standards for measuring grain size number.
4. Place the samples in the furnace long enough to ensure uniform temperature throughout the sample.
5. Remove the samples from the furnace and carry out annealing and normalizing.
6. Roughly grind the cooled samples to remove oxide layer.
7. Measure hardness of the heat-treated samples.
8. Prepare metallographic samples and measure grain size number according to ASTM standard (ASTM
E112).
9. Compare the after and before results.
Results and observations:
Heat treatment cycles

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

Furnace Temperature

770 770 770

Heating Time
1.5 hour 1.5 hour 1.5 hour

Soaking Time
5 hours 3 hours 5 hours

Cooling Rate

Hardness and Grain Size

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

BEFORE HEAT TREATMENT

Hardness 51.5 16 75

ASTM Grain size

number
AFTER HEAT TREATMENT

Hardness

ASTM Grain size number

15.97 31.30 14.98

Micro-structure (200x)

Q1. Draw heat treatment cycles for full annealing and normalizing?

, k
Q2. What is austenitization and what is its significance?

Austenitization is one of the heat treatment processes of steel and other ferrous alloys
where these materials are heated above their critical temperatures (730 – 930) long
enough for transformations to take place. If an austenitized material is followed by a
quenching process, then this material becomes hardened. Quenching is performed at a
rate that is fast enough to transform the austenite into martensite.
The significance of austenitizing steel and other ferrous alloys is to transform them into
the required shape and to provide strength and resistance to the material.
 By slow cooling we can make Pearlite.
 By fast quenching we can make Martensite.
 By less fast quenching Banite can be made.

Q3. What is the effect of cooling rate on hardness and grain

size?
Cooling Rate plays important in hardness and other peoperties

During Normalizing, we are cooling our material at a faster rate so grains don't get
enough time and energy to merge together that is why they have finer grains and
possess higher hardness

In annealing, cooling rate is much slower and grain find sufficient time and energy to
merge together and grow so that is why annealing form large grains that lead to
softness of metals

Grain sizes became bigger if cooling rate is slow and vice versa
Q4. Compare (at least four points) the full annealing and

NORMALIZING ANNEALING

Sample is heated above the critical point jto a Sample is heated above the critical point to a
temperature 40 - 50 temperature 40 - 50

Sample is placed outside for air cooling Sample is slowly cooled in furnace

Produces small grains that induces hardness Produces Large grains that induces softness

Used for low alloy steel Applicable to all types of steels

normalizing?

Conclusions:
We saw the effect of time and temperature on grain size and grain size then
influences the strength , hardness, toughness , ductility and many other factors.
Annealing caused grain size number to increase while normalizing causes to lower,
which causes the hardness of Annealed sample to decrease and of Normalized
sample to increase.