Jordan University of Science and Technology

Faculty of Engineering

Industrial Engineering Department

Experiments Name: Hardening steel

Due Date: 16-12-2020 Wednesday (12:00 AM )

Name : Fatema Eyad Abu-Zaideh

ID: 126746

Section: 4 ( 2:30 – 4: 30 )

ENG.Amena

Objectives 3
Introduction 3-6
Experimental Setup 6
Experimental Procedure 7-8
Experimental Results 8
Discussion and Analysis 8
Conclusion 9

References 9

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Table of Contents

Objectives -1

Introduction -2

Experemental Setup-3

Experemental procedure-4

Experemental Results-5

Discussion and analysis-6

Conclusions-7

REFERENCE

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:Objective

Heating steel to appropriate temperature, and then quenching it using different .1

.Measuring the hardness after quenching by different media .2

.Study the changes in hardness of steel due to the changes of the quenching media .3

Introduction

Quenching has been known for centuries as part of the heat-treatment process and can
be defined as a rapid cooling of the part (usually in oil) from a given temperature
(usually above 1,500o F) down to a specified temperature. Quenching is usually a
final operation in heat-treat hardening of steel and is used to impart required
mechanical properties into the metal parts. Quenching is usually applied to steel
products that require high strength, toughness, high resistance to shock, and improved
.wear characteristics

An important principle in heat-treating is that the faster the cooling rate during
quenching the higher the part’s mechanical properties and performance
characteristics. On the other hand, the faster the cooling rate the greater the
probability of part distortion and cracking. For example, quenching in water provides
better part hardness compared to a slower quench in oil, but the probability of part
cracking or distortion when quenching in water is higher. Heat-treaters and steel part
designers are always balancing between desired hardness and acceptable distortion in
.choosing the heat-treatment conditions during their processing

The general process of hardening a steel for example a steel beam involves three
steps: 1. Austenitization: the beam is heated to the austenitization temperature to
achieve 100% austenite in the beam. The austenitization temperature is depended on
the carbon composition of the steel. 2. Quenching: The hot beam is then quickly
cooled by immersion in oil or water. 3. Tempering: To then remove the brittleness of
the beam, it is heated to a low temperature. In order for the beam to be fully harden,
the austenite must transform into martensite throughout the material from the surface
.to the center of the beam

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For metal alloy, the depth up to which a material is hardened after going through a
heat treatment process is called the hardenability. The unit that hardenability is
measured at is the same as of length. It acts as an indicator of how deep into the
material a certain hardness can be achieved. Do not confuse it with hardness, which is
.a measure of a materials resistance to scratching or indention

If we follow the previous example of quenching a steel beam, the area in contact with
the water/oil immediately cools down and achieves a balance with the medium. But
the inner depths of the material however, do not cool down quite so rapidly for larger
work-pieces, this leads to the cooling rate may be slow enough to allow the austenite
.to fully transform into a structure that is neither bainite or martensite

This will result in a work-piece that does not have the same crystal structure
throughout the whole structure, with a harder surface and a softer core. The softer
core in this example is pearlite which is some combination of ferrite and cementite.
The hardenability of steels, is a function of the grain size of the austenite and the
carbon content and other alloying elements. The corresponding importance of the
various alloying elements is calculated and this is done by finding the equivalent
carbon content of the material. The liquid substance that is used for quenching the
material influences the cooling rate because of varying specific heats and thermal
conductivities. Substances like water and brine cools a lot faster than oil or air. The
geometry also effects the cooling rate of the part: if two samples with equal volume is
.quenched, the part with the higher surface area will cool down faster

Plain carbon steels and alloy steels are among relatively few engineering materials,   
which can be usefully heat‐treated in order to vary their mechanical properties. Steels
are heat treated, because of the structural changes that can take place within solid iron
carbon alloys. The various heat‐treatment process appropriate to plain carbon steels
are: 1. Full annealing. 2. Normalizing. 3. Process annealing. 4. Hardening. 5.
Tempering.   In all above process the steel is heated slowly to the appropriate
.temperature according to its carbon content and then cooled

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:Iron-Carbon phase diagram. Figure 1

It is the rate of cooling which determines the ultimate structure and properties
that the steel will have at the end of each of the pre‐mentioned heat treatment
.process

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.Figure 2: Heat treatment temperatures for plain carbon steels

Experimental set up:

- different quenching media (Compressed air blast , Oil , Water , 10% Brine (water
+10% salt)

- furnace

- nickel tongs

- Rekwell Hardness tester

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Procedure

The process of quenching is a progression, beginning with heating the sample. Most
materials are heated to between 815 and 900 °C (1,500 to 1,650 °F), with careful
attention paid to keeping temperatures throughout the work piece uniform.
Minimizing uneven heating and overheating is key to imparting desired material
properties.

The second step in the quenching process is soaking. Work pieces can be soaked in air
(air furnace), a liquid bath, or a vacuum. The recommended time allocation in salt or
lead baths is up to 6 minutes. Soaking times can range a little higher within a vacuum.
As in the heating step, it is important that the temperature throughout the sample
remains as uniform as possible during soaking.

Once the work piece has finished soaking, it moves on to the cooling step. During this
step, the part is submerged into some kind of quenching fluid; different quenching
fluids can have a significant effect on the final characteristics of a quenched part.
Water is one of the most efficient quenching media where maximum hardness is
desired, but there is a small chance that it may cause distortion and tiny cracking.
When hardness can be sacrificed, mineral oils are often used. These oil-based fluids
often oxidize and form a sludge during quenching, which consequently lowers the
efficiency of the process. The cooling rate of oil is much less than water. Intermediate
rates between water and oil can be obtained with a purpose formulated quenchant, a
substance with an inverse solubility which therefore deposits on the object to slow the
rate of cooling.

Quenching can also be accomplished using inert gases, such as nitrogen and noble
gasses. Nitrogen is commonly used at greater than atmospheric pressure ranging up to
20 bar absolute. Helium is also used because its thermal capacity is greater than
nitrogen. Alternatively argon can be used; however, its density requires significantly
more energy to move, and its thermal capacity is less than the alternatives. To
minimize distortion in the work piece, long cylindrical work pieces are quenched
vertically; flat work pieces are quenched on edge; and thick sections should enter the
bath first. To prevent steam bubbles the bath is agitated.

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Often, after quenching, an iron or steel alloy will be excessively hard and brittle due
to an overabundance of martensite. In these cases, another heat treatment technique
known as tempering is performed on the quenched material in order to increase
the toughness of iron-based alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening,
to reduce some of the excess hardness, and is done by heating the metal to some
temperature below the critical point for a certain period of time, then allowing it to
cool in still air.

:Result

Quenching media Hardness HRC

:Discussion

We notice that the specimen in the brine took the least time for cooling, then took
more time with the specimen in the water, and more with the specimen in oil and the
.longest period for cooling was with the specimen in the air

:Conclusion

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We notice that the specimen in the brine took the least time for cooling, then took -
more time with the specimen in the water, and more with the specimen in oil and the
.longest period for cooling was with the specimen in the air

.We used Hardness HRC (diamond cone) -

- Heat treatment is very effective method to hardening carbon steel; the idea behind
all the heat treatments is to change the structure of the alloy material in order to
change its properties.
- In all heat treatment processes we heat the specimen to some high temperature then
we cool it with some cooling rate.
- From the results we got in this experiment we can notice that the larger cooling
rate we applied, the harder steel we got.
-When we use the water media (the most rapid cooling) we got very hard and brittle
steel ( something like Martensite)
-While using the furnace cooling media, we got steel with least hardness and most
ductility (something like Pearlite)
- And using the air media, the output we got was something like Bainite with medium
hardness and ductility (almost highest toughness).
-The heat treatment process (or the quenching media we used) depends always on the
final product we need and its applications; for example we can use the rapid cooling
process to get very hard iron and use it in gears or other
. high hardness needed applications

References

https://www.scribd.com/document/406044264/Steel-Quenching-Lab-Report

Manual of lab material

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