HEAT TREATMENT OF MATERIALS

AND THEIR STRESS AND STRAIN

DIAGRAMS
WHAT IS HEAT TREATMENT OF MATERIALS

• Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling materials, using specific
predetermined methods to obtain desired properties
• Heat treating is a series of controlled heating and cooling processes used to alter the
physical or chemical properties of various materials.
• Heat treatment processes changes the physical properties and chemical properties of
materials
• The process entirely relies on the material melting points and heat conductivity
 HEAT TREATMENT OF MATERIALS

THE PROCESS
The first step involves the heating of the material to the required temperature.  It is then held at the
temperature for a specified amount of time before cooling. While the material is hot, the microstructure
changes. This is the physical structure of the material. The change in the structure ultimately results in a
change in the physical properties of the material. The time to heat the material depends on the heat
conductivity of that material and is very important in the heat treatment process. The cooling process
may be quick – quenching. In other cases, the cooling may be done slowly in a furnace/chamber. The
best type of cooling depends on the end result expected from the process. Therefore, it is important to
consider these factors before starting the heat treatment of materials. The overall time for the heat
treatment process must be considered to obtain specific properties of that material
 TYPES OF METAL HEAT TREATMENT
HARDENING
• this involves heating of the metal to specific temperature. this temperature is the point where the metal becomes molten. Once there has
been thorough heating of the metal to the required temperature, it is quenched quickly. Quenching helps the metal to trap particles in the
solution. Alloying can be done before quenching
• Hardening increases the strength of the metal by decreasing ductility and increasing the brittleness of the metal
TEMPERING
• This is another heat treatment process that helps to increase the resilience of steel. Iron-based alloys are usually hard but often too brittle for
certain applications. Tempering helps to alter the hardness, brittleness, and ductility of the metal. This is in a bid to make the machining
process easier.
• heating occurs at a temperature below the critical point. Lower temperatures tend to reduce brittleness and maintain hardness. Tempering
helps to reduce the hardness caused by hardening. This way, you can develop new physical properties for your metal. Therefore, tempering
should often follow hardening during heat treatment.
ANNEALING
• Annealing does the opposite of hardening. It decreases the metal’s hardness while increasing its ductility. Thereby, it makes it easy to work
on the metal. It is also a great way of fixing a weak metal. At the same time, it helps to relieve internal stresses in metals
STRESS AND STRAIN DIAGRAMS FOR METALS
 HEAT TREATMENT OF CERAMICS
Heat treatment can improve the dimensional stability, mechanical strength, and electrical properties of ceramics. Additionally,
heat treatment can produce the desired microstructure or phase composition in a ceramic material. There are three main stages in
the  treatment process: heating, soaking, and cooling
HEATING
• The ceramic material is heated to a high temperature during the heating stage. This high temperature allows for diffusion to
occur within the material. Diffusion is how atoms move from one location to another within a material (Particles have high
kinetic energies at high temps). The amount of time that the material is heated depends on the desired outcome of the
treatment process.
SOAKING
• After the heating stage comes to the soaking stage. During this stage, the ceramic material is held at a constant temperature.
The length of time that the material is soaked depends on the desired outcome of the treatment process.
COOLING
• During this stage, the ceramic material is cooled down to room temperature. The rate at which the material is cooled down also
depends on the desired outcome of the treatment process.
STRESS AND STRAIN DIAGRAM FOR CERAMICS
HEAT TREATMENT OF POLYMERS

• Heat treating plastics is a procedure to bond the particles, to polish it and to avoid
cracking during the production process. After polymers go through heat treating, their
mechanical and thermal properties improve. Moreover, the method removes internal
stresses of the material.
 TYPES OF HEAT TREATMENT A POLYMER
UNDERGOES
• These are similar to the heat treatment in which metals undergoes
NORMALISATION
• Normalizing gives plastic material a higher resistance to internal stresses and makes a uniform structure. The
material must heat to a specific temperature to change its properties. After heating, the polymer is cooled
down at a controlled rate.
• Industries use normalizing to get a calculable microstructure. Once this stage ends, it enhances the plastic’s
mechanical features. In other words, the polymer can resist stronger impacts. Still, the plastic shrinks during
the process for up to 4%.
ANNEALING
• Annealing is the second type of heat treatment procedure. It is mostly used to change the properties of metals.
Nonetheless, glass and plastic can also go through the annealing process to improve its physical and chemical
properties.
• Once the annealing process is done the polymer and or other synthetic materials are more malleable and has
an improved ductility and wear resistance. It is required in all types of plastic molding. You also get a
predictable microstructure with annealing as with normalizing.
STRESS AND STRAIN DIAGRAM FOR POLYMERS
HEAT TREAMENT OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS

• This greatly affects processing variables especially for the heat treatment such as tensile
stress significantly affected the mechanical properties of fiber materials
• different composite materials undergo the heating and cooling process under different
conditions and for most composites the goal is to produces a material with a greatly
improved tensile stress properties and mechanical properties such that under exposure to
high temperature the material does not yield to creep failure. And also due to a greatly
improved young modulus of the material the material can withstand high pressures
THE PROCESS :COMPOSITE HEAT TREATMENT CURE
CONSIDERING THE MACHINERY
EXPLAINING THE PROCESS IN THE OVEN

• Ovens used for curing composite materials are specifically designed for this purpose. They have several special features necessary for performing the
composite cure process.
• The first of these is a carefully engineered air supply system. The most common air duct arrangement is referred to as combination airflow. The composite parts
are loaded on top of a traveling load car rolled into the oven, or on a fixed table placed in the oven by forklift. Alternatively, personnel sometimes perform the
composite layup in place on a load table inside the oven prior to the cure process. After loading, the doors are closed and the heating/recirculation system is
turned on. The heated air is delivered from supply ducts located on both sides of the heating chamber, passed through and around the bagged composite
materials in the molds, and then returned to the heating/recirculation system at the top. A high volume of air is necessary to provide the temperature uniformity
required for composite curing. The ductwork that delivers the air must run the entire length of the heating chamber so there are no dead spots that remain
unheated. It is important that the proper calculations be performed to determine the necessary heat input and air circulation volume. An oven designed for paint
or powder curing, for example, may not be have sufficient capability to properly cure composite materials.
• Control systems for some composite curing are designed with a thermal overdrive feature — also known as a controlled heat head. With thermal overdrive, the
oven air temperature is temporarily set higher than the part cure temperature in order to accelerate the heating rate. The control system does this automatically.
It avoids overheating the composite parts by monitoring them using thermocouples buried inside the composite material during layup. As the part temperature
approaches its required cure temperature, the control system automatically reduces the oven heat output and, correspondingly, the oven air temperature to avoid
overheating the parts.
STRESS AND STRAIN DIAGRAM FOR
COMPOSITES
COMPARISON OF THE STRESS AND STRAIN
DIAGRAM FOR DIFFERENT MATERIALS