Flame and Induction Hardening, Carburizing

SUB: Material Science & Metallurgy

SUBJECT CODE: SECH2040

Created by: Virajsinh Atodaria

Enrolment No.: 17SE02CH003
Guided by: Mr. Jigesh Mehta
Content

 Flame Hardening
 Induction Hardening
 Carburizing
 Flame Hardening

 In flame hardening the steel is heated with the help of flame of gases and then quenched to
get harden.
 In this method the chemical composition of steel does not changes.
 In this method the surface of the steel is heated by oxy-acetelyene gas flame to
austenitising temperature followed by quenching spray.
 The austenite is transformed to martensite.
 The steel for flame hardening must have sufficient carbon content(0.3 – 0.6% C)
CONT….

 Methods of Flame Hardening:

 Stationery Flame Hardening.
 Progressive Flame Hardening.
 Spinning Flame Hardening.
 Progressive spinning Flame Hardening.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Flame
Hardening
 Advantages
 Required area can be hardened.
 Large machine surface can be harden economically.

 Disadvantages
 The possibilities of overheating and thus damaging the parts.
 Induction Hardening

 In Induction hardening the steel is heated with the help of Induction Coil and then
quenched to get harden.
 Due to very fast heating and no holding time, the Austenite form fine and this results in
fine grains martensite.
 Induction hardening is normally followed by a low temperature tempering at 160- 200°C.
 The depth of hardening is controlled by frequency of alternating current where depth is
inversely proportional to frequency.
 Steel with carbon content 0.4 – 0.5% is more suitable for this process.
Application of Induction Hardening

 Crank shaft
 Cam shaft
 Axels
 Gears
 Rolls
 Bearings Etc.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Induction
Hardening
 Advantages
 Fast heating and absence of holding time leads to the increase in production rate.
 No decarburization occurs.
 Less distortion because the heating is only on the surface.
 Disadvantages
 Because of cost of equipment the process is not suitable for small scale production.
 Irregular shaped parts cannot be handled economically.
 High maintenance cost
 Carburizing

 Carburizing is the process by which the carbon content in the steel is increased.
 A low carbon content steel (up to 0.2% C) is placed in an atmosphere where substantial
amount of CO is present.
 This process consist of heating the steel up to1700°F(900-930°C) in contact with the
carburizing medium, holding that temperature for sufficient period of time and then
cooling it to the room temperature.
 As the steel is now in austenite region and the solubility of carbon is more in this region,
the carbon from the atmosphere diffuses in to austenite (1.2% of C on surface).
 Types of Carburizing

 There are 3 types of carburizing:

 Pack carburizing.
 Liquid carburizing.
 Gas carburizing.
 Pack Carburizing

 In this process the component to be carburizing is to be kept in a carburizing medium in a

heat resistance box.
 The carburizing medium consist of 80% mixture of charcoal coke, and 20% barium
carbonate (energizer). The boxes are placed in furnace and heated to 230°C.
 Liquid Carburizing

 Liquid Carburizing is also known as salt bath carburizing. The carburizing medium is
fused salt bath consist of Sodium Cyanide (NaCN), Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and Barium
Chloride (BaCl2).
 The carburizing component and the carburizing medium is kept in a steel cast pot type
furnace, heated by oil or gas.
 The process is carried out by immersing the steel component in the carburizing medium.
The temperature is maintained from 815-900°C for a period of 5 min to 1 hour. Then the
compound is quenched.
 Gas Carburizing

 It is the most widely used carburizing process.

 The steel is heated in contact with carbon monoxide or hydrocarbon which is radially
decomposed at carburizing temperature.
 The hydrocarbon may be methane, propane, natural gas or vapourized fluid hydrocarbon.
 Gas carburizing takes place n a air tight retort furnace capable of maintain positive
pressure.
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