HEAT TREATMENT PROCESS Heat treatment may be defined as operation or combination of operations involving heating and cooling of metal

/ alloy in solid steels to obtain desired conditions ( Relieve stress ) and properties ( like Machinability, ductility etc. ). Purpose of Heat Treatment : 1. o relieve stress created during cold !orking, !elding, casting etc. ". #mprove Machinability. $. %hange grain si&e. '. #mprove ductility and (. Homogenous structure. %ooling rates also plays a important role. )lo! cooling produces pearlitic structure and rapid cooling produces a Martensitic ( hard ) structure. Different heat treatment process : Annealing : #t is the process of heating the metal !hich is in a metal stable of distorted structural state to a temperature !hich !ill remove the distortion and then cooling it, so that room temperature is stable. Normalizing : #t is also called as air *uenching, !here the steel is heated to about '+o , (+o above the upper critical temperature and if necessary, hold at that temperature for a certain length of time, after !hich it is cooled in air at room temperature. Hardening : his process increases the hardness and it re*uires the formation of martensite. -or hardening, the steel should contain at least +.$ . of carbon. -ollo!ing is the procedure. 1. )teel !ill contain sufficient carbon ( +.$( . , +./+ . ) ". Heated to $+o to (+o above the 0$ line. $. Held at that temperature for 1( , "+ Mins / "( mm of %ross section. '. %ooled rapidly and *uenched in a suitable medium. Tempering :

Hardening process produces martensite and retained austentite. #t is e1tremely brittle and hence should not be used as such. -urther the austentite may be in a unstable state. Hence to return to e*uilibrium, tempering is done after *uench hardening by heating to a temperature belo! the lo!er critical temperature. empering has the follo!ing process 1. Heating hardened steel belo! the lo!er critical temperature. ". Holding at that temperature for $ , ( Mins / 1 mm hickness. $. %ooling the steel slo!ly. here are three types of tempering.

hey are

2o! temperature tempering ( 1(+o % , "(+o % ) Medium temperature tempering ( $(+o % , '(+o% ) High temperature tempering ( (++o % , 3++o %)

Martempering, 0ustempering and Maraging are the other types of heat treatment process. Case Hardening : -or many applications, there is a need for a hard case and a soft tough core, !hich is shock resistant. 4o carbon can possess both these properties at the same time. Hence lo! carbon steel !ith desired core properties are chosen and %arbon / 4itrogen is added to the surface to provide a hardened case to a specified depth by using the follo!ing process

%arburising. 4itriding, %yaniding and %arbon 4itriding.

0lso medium %arbon steel could be taken in normali&ed condition and case hardened by Induction and Flame Hardening. Carburi ing : his process is also called as cementation. 2o! carbon steel ( +." . % ) is heated to 5/+ , 6"( % in contact !ith gases or carbon for several hours. here are three types. hey are 7ack %arburi&ing, 8as %arburi&ing and 2i*uid %arburi&ing. his method is used for case hardening 8ears, %amshafts and 9earing. Nitriding : #t involves the addition of 4itrogen on certain types of steels and heating them and

holding at a suitable temperature, in contact !ith ammonia or any other suitable medium. he steel should contain 0luminum or chromium to form hard nitrides. #n this the component to be case hardened is heat resistant container along !ith ammonia. #t is then heated to a temperature of about (++o %. C!aniding : 9oth %arbon and nitrogen are introduced on the surface of steel by heating to a suitable temperature and holding the component in molten cyanide. )odium cyanide is mostly used. his results in the formation of hardened %arbide , 4itride case. #n this process 4itrogen provides hardening, but carbon responds to *uenching process. Carbo " Nitriding : 9oth %arbon and 4itrogen are added to the surface of steel by using Gas atmosphere and not Molten Cyanide . he gaseous atmosphere contains the follo!ing 1. %arrier gas ( H", 4" or %: ) ". ;nriching gas ( 4atural 8as ) $. 0mmonia. #$ame Hardening : he material is heated on the surface !ith flame. his is follo!ed by *uenching. hus creating a hardened case and a soft core. :1y acetylene flame is used and the steel should contain +.$ . to +.3 . of carbon. %nduction Hardening : he material is heated in a alternative magnetic field follo!ed by *uenching. %RON " CAR&ON Diagram :

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