CH 2

CHAPTER 2
HEAT TREATMENT
OF STEEL
PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 1

1. OVERVIEW

1.1. HEAT TREATMENT?
Heat treatment is a group of metalworking
processes used to alter the physical, and
sometimes chemical, properties of a material
Heat treatment is the heating and cooling of
metals to change their physical and mechanical
properties, without letting it change its shape

A heat treatment diagram

1.2. THE PURPOSE OF HEAT TREATMENT
To strengthen (hóa bền) materials

To alter some mechanical properties such as
improving formability (khả năng biến dạng), machining
The most common application is metallurgical
but heat treatment can also be used in
manufacture of glass and many more materials

2. PHYSICAL PROCESSES

2.1. OVERVIEW
Metallic materials consist of a microstructure of

small crystals called "grains" or crystallites
The nature of the grains (grain size, composition
…) is one of the most effective factors that can
determine the overall mechanical behavior of
the metal

2.1. OVERVIEW
 Heat treatment provides an efficient way to
manipulate (điều khiển) the properties of the metal
by controlling the rate of diffusion and the rate of
cooling within the microstructure
 Heat treating is often used to alter the
mechanical properties of a metallic alloy,
manipulating properties such as the hardness,
strength, toughness, ductility and elasticity
Crystal of steel before and after quenching

2.2. MECHANICS OF TREATMENT
1.The formation of martensite causes the
crystals to deform intrinsically (Quenching)

2.2. MECHANICS OF TREATMENT
2. The diffusion mechanism causes changes in
the homogeneity of the alloy (Annealing,
Normalizing …)

2.3. TECHNIQUES OF HEAT TREATMENT
2.3.1. Annealing (Ủ)
Annealing involves treating steel up to a high

temperature, and then cooling it very slowly
to room temperature, so that the resulting
microstructure will possess high ductility but
low hardness

2.3.1. Annealing
Annealing is most often used:

to soften a metal for cold working
to improve machinability, or
to enhance properties like electrical
conductivity

2.3.1. Annealing
In ferrous alloys, annealing is usually

accomplished by heating the metal beyond
the upper critical temperature (nhiệt độ tới hạn) and
then cooling very slowly, resulting in the
formation of pearlite

2.3.2. Stress relieving (Ủ khử ứng suất)
Stress relieving is a technique to remove or

reduce the internal stresses created in a metal
These stresses may be caused in a number of
ways, ranging from cold working to non-
uniform cooling

2.3.2. Stress relieving
 Stress relieving is
usually accomplished
by heating a metal
below the lower critical
temperature and then
cooling uniformly

2.3.2. Stress relieving
Stress relieving is commonly used on items

like air tanks, boilers and other pressure
vessels, to remove all stresses created during
the welding process

2.3.3. Normalizing (Thường hóa)
 Normalizing involves heating steel above the
upper critical temperature, and then keeping it at
that temperature for a period of time, and then
cooling it in air

2.3.3. Normalizing
 The resulting microstructure is a mixture of ferrite
and cementite which has a higher strength and
hardness, but lower ductility (compared to
annealing)
 Normalizing is performed on structural
components that will be subjected to machining,
because it improves the machinability of steels

2.3.4. Quenching (Tôi)
Quenching is a process of cooling a metal at a

rapid rate
This is most often done to produce a
martensite transformation (in ferrous alloys).
This will often produce a harder metal

2.3.4. Quenching
To harden by quenching, a metal (usually steel

or cast iron) must be heated above the upper
critical temperature and then quickly cooled
The quenched hardness of a metal depends
on its chemical composition and quenching
method

2.3.4. Quenching
 Cooling speeds, from

fastest to slowest, go
from brine (nước muối),
polymer (i.e. mixtures of
water + glycol polymers),
fresh water, oil, and
forced air
• Process annealing  Stress relieving
2.3.5. Tempering (Ram)
Untempered martensitic steel, while very

hard, is too brittle to be useful for most
applications
A method for alleviating this problem is called
tempering

2.3.5. Tempering
This operation is performed on all steels that

have been hardened, in order to reduce their
brittleness, so that they can be used
effectively in desired applications.
The hardness and strength obtained depend
upon the temperature at which tempering is
carried out
2.3.5. Tempering
Higher temperatures will result into higher

ductility, but lower strength and hardness
In practice, appropriate tempering
temperatures are selected that will produce
the desired level of hardness and strength

Mechanical properties after tempering

Tempering Temperature of Steel
Low-temperature tempering: 120 – 250oC
Medium-temperature tempering: 250 – 400oC
High-temperature tempering: 400 – 650oC

3. SURFACE HARDENING

3.1. OVERVIEW
In many engineering applications, it is

necessary to have the surface of the
component hard enough to resist wear and
erosion, while maintaining ductility and
toughness, to withstand impact and shock
loading (tải trọng va đập)

3.1. OVERVIEW
 This can be achieved by local austenitizing and
quenching, and diffusion of hardening elements
like carbon, nitrogen into the surface
 Processes involved for this purpose are known as
flame hardening (tôi ngọn lửa), induction hardening
(tôi cảm ứng), nitriding (thấm nitơ), carburizing (thấm cacbon),
carbonitriding (thấm C-N) …
3.2. PROCESSES
3.2.1. Induction hardening
Induction hardening is a surface hardening

technique in which the surface of the metal is
heated very quickly, using a no-contact
method of induction heating

3.2.1. Induction hardening
The alloy is then quenched, producing a

martensite transformation at the surface
while leaving the underlying metal unchanged
This creates a very hard, wear resistant
surface while maintaining the proper
toughness in the majority of the object

3.2.2. Case hardening
 Case hardening is a thermochemical diffusion

process in which an alloying element, most
commonly carbon or nitrogen, diffuses into the
surface of a monolithic metal
 The resulting interstitial solid solution is harder
than the base material, which improves wear
resistance without sacrificing toughness

a. Carburizing
Carburizing is a process used to case-harden

steel with a carbon content 0.1 - 0.3 wt% C
In this process steel is introduced to a carbon
rich environment at elevated temperatures
(900-950oC) for a certain amount of time

a. Carburizing
Carburization is a diffusion-controlled process

The carbon can come from a solid, liquid or
gaseous source
Gas carburizing involves placing the parts in a
furnace maintained with a methane-rich
interior

b. Nitriding
Nitriding heats the steel part to 480–620°C in

an atmosphere of dissociated ammonia
The hardness is achieved by the formation of
nitrides
Nitride forming elements (Cr, Al, Mo …) must
be present in steel for this method to work

b. Nitriding
The advantage of this process is that it causes

little distortion, so the part can be case-
hardened after being quenched, tempered
and machined


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CHAPTER 2

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 1

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 2

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 3

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 4

To strengthen (hóa bền) materials

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 5

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 6

Metallic materials consist of a microstructure of

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 7

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 9

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 10

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 11

Annealing involves treating steel up to a high

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 12

Annealing is most often used:

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 13

In ferrous alloys, annealing is usually

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 14

Stress relieving is a technique to remove or

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 16

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 17

Stress relieving is commonly used on items

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 18

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 19

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 20

Quenching is a process of cooling a metal at a

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 21

To harden by quenching, a metal (usually steel

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 22

 Cooling speeds, from

Untempered martensitic steel, while very

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 26

This operation is performed on all steels that

Higher temperatures will result into higher

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 28

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 29

Low-temperature tempering: 120 – 250oC

Medium-temperature tempering: 250 – 400oC

High-temperature tempering: 400 – 650oC

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 30

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 31

In many engineering applications, it is

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 32

Induction hardening is a surface hardening

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 35

The alloy is then quenched, producing a

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 37

 Case hardening is a thermochemical diffusion

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 38

Carburizing is a process used to case-harden

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 39

Carburization is a diffusion-controlled process

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 40

Nitriding heats the steel part to 480–620°C in

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 42

The advantage of this process is that it causes

PGS.TS. NGUYỄN NGỌC HÀ 43

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