Thermal Processing of Metal

Alloys
Learn about how thermal processing
techniques can be used to control
Micro structure
Mechanical properties of metals
Thermal processes

Annealing
Hardening
Tempering
Annealing process

Stages of annealing
Heating to required temperature
Holding (soaking) at constant
temperature
Cooling
Soaking time at the high
temperature needs to be long enough
to allow desired transformation to
occur.

Cooling is done slowly to avoid

warping/cracking of due to the
thermal gradients and thermo-elastic
stresses within the metal piece.
Purpose of annealing
Relieve internal stresses
Increase ductility,
toughness, softness
Produce specific
microstructure
Examples of heat treatment

Process Annealing
Effects of work hardening
Heating is limited to avoid
(i) Excessive grain growth
(ii) Oxidation
Stress relief annealing

Minimise stress due to:

oPlastic deformation during
machining
oNonuniform cooling
oPhase transformations
between phases with different
densities
Annealing of Fe-C alloys

Lower critical tempe

below which auste

Upper critical temp

above which all m
Full annealing
Austenizing + slow cooling (several
hours) Produces coarse pearlite
that is relatively soft and ductile.
Used to soften pieces which have
been hardened by plastic
deformation, but need to undergo
subsequent machining/forming.
Spheroidizing
Prolonged heating just below
the lower critical temperature,
During this treatment cementite
forms as spheroidal particles in
ferrite matrix
Making the steel soft but very
tough
Relation between heating temperature and
Reduction in Residual Stresses

Higher temperatures
and longer times of
annealing may reduce
residual stresses to
lower levels
 Stress Relief Annealing - Cooling

The residual stress level after stress-relief annealing

will be maintained only if the cool down from the
annealing temperature is controlled and slow
enough that no new internal stresses arise.
New stresses that may be induced during cooling
depend on the (1) cooling rate, (2) on the cross-
sectional size of the workpiece, and (3)on the
composition of the steel
2. Normalizing

A heat treatment process consisting of

austenitizing at temperatures of 3080C
above the AC3 transformation temperature
followed by slow cooling (usually in air)
The aim of which is to obtain a fine-grained,
uniformly distributed, ferritepearlite
structure
Normalizing is applied mainly to unalloyed and
low-alloy hypoeutectoid steels
For hypereutectoid steels the austenitizing
temperature is 3080C above the AC1 or ACm
transformation temperature
Normalizing Heating and
Cooling
Effect of Normalizing on Grain Size
Normalizing refines the grain of a steel that
has become coarse-grained as a result of
heating to a high temperature, e.g., for forging
or welding

Carbon steel of 0.5% C. (a) As-rolled or forged; (b) normalized.

Magnification 500
Hardening
This involves rapid quenching
In order to form martensite
It is possible that some cementite would
be precipitated at austenite grain
boundaries
This would have an embrittling effect,
This would still be evident after
subsequent tempering
Problem
Difficult to maintain same conditions
throughout volume during cooling:

Surface cools more quickly than interior,

producing range of microstructures in
volume
Martensitic content, and hardness, will drop
from a high value at surface to a lower value
inside
Production of uniform
martensitic structure depends on

Composition
Quenching conditions
Size + shape of specimen
Hardenability
Hardenability is the ability of Fe-C
alloy to harden by forming
martensite

Hardenability (not hardness):

Qualitative measure of rate at which
hardness decreases with distance from
surface due to decreased martensite
content
High hardenability means the ability
of the alloy to produce a high
martensite content throughout the
volume of specimen
Hardenability Curve
Quenched end cools most rapidly,
contains most martensite
Cooling rate decreases with
distance from quenched end: greater
C diffusion, more pearlite/bainite,
lower hardness
High hardenability means that the
hardness curve is relatively flat.
Influence of Quenching
Medium, Specimen Size, and
Geometry on Hardenability
 Quenching medium: Cools faster in
water than air or oil. Fast cooling
warping and cracks, since it is
accompanied by large thermal gradients

Shape and size: Cooling rate depends

upon extraction of heat to surface.
Greater the ratio of surface area to
volume, deeper the hardening effect
Jominy test
In this test a bar of steel is heated within the
austenite range and it is then quenched by
directing water onto one end
When the test bar has fully cooled a series of
hardness measurements are made along the
length of the bar, working from the quenched
end.
Tempering
Martensite although very hard
and extremley brittle. Hardened
steels require further heat
treatment known as tempering.
 Martensite structure is heated it
becomes possible for the carbon
trapped in the solid solution to diffuse
through the lattice and precipitate
from solution in the form of iron
carbide particles.

This precipitation will relieve the

strain and cause the hardness and
brittleness to be reduced
Tempering temperatures

Diffusion process can commences at

temperatures of about 200C but the rate of
diffusion is very slow
An increase in temperature will increase the
rate of diffusion and precipitation rate
thereby increasing the extent of the softening
 At temperatures up to 450C the carbide
precipitate particles are much too fine to
be resolved under the optical microscope.

At higher temperatures the carbide

particles increase in size and, at 700C, the
cementite coalesces into a series of fairly
large, and spherical particles.
This gives rise to a soft, but incredibly
tough material
Tempered steels generally described as tempered
martensite
Surface hardening
Generally toughness of material decreases
as the hardness increase
There are many service conditions for a
tough material of very high surface
hardness
This is the case with shafts and gears in
particular

To create a very hard surface layer on a

comparatively soft and tough material.
This is achieved by a variety of methods:
Case carburising

To produce a hard surface on a ductile steel

It involves the introduction of additional

carbon into the surface of a mild steel,
producing a composite material consisting of
a low carbon steel with a thin case, about 0.5-
0.7mm in thickness of high carbon steel
The two methods are pack carburising and
gas carburising
Pack carburising

The steel is heated above the upper

critical temperature in contact with
wood or bone charcoal and barium
carbonate within a cast iron container
 Pack carburising
Engineering

The component is packed

surrounded by a carbon-rich
compound and placed in the
furnace at 900 degrees.
Over a period of time carbon
will diffuse into the surface of
the metal.
The longer left in the furnace,
the greater the depth of hard
carbon skin. Grain refining is
necessary in order to prevent
cracking.
 Salt bath carburising. A molten salt bathEngineering
(sodium
cyanide, sodium carbonate and sodium chloride)
has the object immersed at 900 degrees for an
hour giving a thin carbon case when quenched.
Gas carburising. The object is placed in a sealed
furnace with carbon monoxide allowing for fine
control of the process.
Nitriding. Nitrides are formed on a metal surface in
a furnace with ammonia gas circulating at 500
degrees over a long period of time (100 hours). It is
used for finished components.
Gas carburising

The steel is heated above the upper

critical temperature in a furnace with
an atmosphere of methane or mixed
hydro carbon gases
 Considerable grain growth occurs in
the steel during carburising
A three stage heat treatment must be
given to carburised steel to produce
the desired final properties. This heat
treatment involves:
1. Refining the core structure by heating to
a value above the upper critical
temperature for the core composition,
followed by rapid quenching

2. Hardening the case by heating to just

above the lower critical temperature,
followed by quenching

3. Tempering the case

cyaniding

Steel is heated in a bath of molten sodium

cyanide and sodium carbonate at a
temperature of 950C.
During this process both nitrogen and
hydrogen diffuse into the surface of the steel
To give Hard iron nitride
After cyaniding the steel requires the same
type of three-stage heat treatment
Nitriding

Nitriding is not suitable for the

hardening of plain carbon steels,
Iron nitride will be formed to a
considerable depth below the surface
of the steel, embrittling the steel
 Steels for nitriding are low alloyed
steels containing chromium and
molybdenum together or nickel and
vanadium
Some nitriding steels contain about
1% Aluminum
Aluminum nitride is very hard and
does not diffuse very far below the
surface (0.8mm)
Nitriding process

Heating the steel at 500C in a gas

tight chamber in an atmosphere of
ammonia
The ammonia dissociates at the steel
surface into nitrogen and hydrogen
Nitrogen is absorbed by the steel
Advantages of nitriding

Extremely hard surface is formed

The treatment is conducted at
comparatively low temperatures
Minimizing cracking
Minimizing distortion
No subsequent heat treatment is
necessary
 Parts for nitriding are first heated, to
produce the best core properties.
Machining to final dimensions is then
carried out, while the material is in a
soft condition, allowing for the
growth of 0.02mm that occur during
nitriding.
 Induction hardening
Engineering
Induced eddy
currents heat the
surface of the steel
very quickly and is
quickly followed by
jets of water to
quench the
component.
A hard outer layer is
created with a soft
core. The slideways
on a lathe are
induction hardened.
Flame hardening

Is a very rapid process for the production of hard

surfaces on steels with carbon content more
than 0.35%.
The steel is heated by a flame or the steel is
enclosed within a high frequency induction coil.
The surface is then rapidly quenched to promote
martensite formatio
After quenching the outflow of heat from the
core to the surface is sufficient to temper the
surface layers
 Flame hardening
Engineering
Gas flames raise the
temperature of the
outer surface above
the upper critical
temp. The core will
heat by conduction.
Water jets quench the
component.
 Chisel:

- cutting edge is hard and wear-resistant

- tang is tough and elastic
If the chisel would be hard throughout, it could break when theEngineering
hammer is
striked onto it!

Figure - Cut through a hardened chisel - 1 cutting edge (hard), 2 twig (tough)
 Pyrometry
Engineering

The measurement and control of

temperature in a furnace is called
pyrometry.
 Seger cones
Engineering
A traditional method
of gauging furnace
temperature.
Cones with known
melting temperatures
are placed in the
furnace, temperature
is identified as cones
collapse.
 Optical pyrometer
Engineering

Also known as
disappearing
filament.
The light intensity of a
lamp, which can be
adjusted, is compared
to the light from a
furnace.
Temperature is
measured when the
filament seems to
disappear in the glow
from the furnace.
 Thermo-electric pyrometer
Engineering

A thermocouple uses
the principle that a small
current flows if two
dissimilar metals are
joined in a loop with
different temperatures at
the junctions.
A galvanometer at the
cold junction detects a
change in current at the
hot junction in the
furnace
Effects of alloying elements

Low alloy steels

Contain up to 3 or 4% of one or more
alloying elements and characterised by
possessing similar microstructure to
plain carbon steels
They are referred to as pearlitic alloy
steels
Low alloy steels

The presence of alloying elements

provides enhanced properties:
Increased strength without loss of
toughness
Increased hardenebility
 The applications of low alloy steels
are similar to those for plain carbon
steels of equivalent carbon content.

Example
0.4% carbon steel is for manufacturing of
shafts an alloy steel with 0.4% C and 1%
Ni is an ideal shaft material with improved
strength and toughness over a plain
carbon steel
High strength low alloy
steels (HSLA)
Low alloy steels with very fine grain size
Achieved by addition of small amounts of
niobium, titanium or vanadium and these
elements form carbonitride ppts which
inhibit austenite grain growth during hot
working operations
High alloy steels

Possess structures e.g. may be

austenitic or martensitic or
precipitated carbides at room
temperature after normalising.
They contain >5% of alloying element
Examples

High speed tool steels

Stainless steels
Hardfields manganese steels