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    MT 305 Heat Treatment: Tempering

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    aarv
    Tempering is a heat treatment process used to improve the properties of quenched martensitic steels. It involves heating the steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature and holding for a period of time, then cooling. This produces a more stable structure that is less brittle than as-quenched martensite. The tempering process involves multiple phenomena over different temperature stages, including carbon redistribution, precipitation of transition carbides, decomposition of retained austenite, and spheroidization of cementite particles. The specific phenomena depend on the carbon content of the steel. Tempering improves the mechanical properties and reduces brittleness of quenched steels.

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    MT 305 Heat Treatment: Tempering

    Uploaded by

    aarv
    58 views13 pages
    Tempering is a heat treatment process used to improve the properties of quenched martensitic steels. It involves heating the steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature and holding for a period of time, then cooling. This produces a more stable structure that is less brittle than as-quenched martensite. The tempering process involves multiple phenomena over different temperature stages, including carbon redistribution, precipitation of transition carbides, decomposition of retained austenite, and spheroidization of cementite particles. The specific phenomena depend on the carbon content of the steel. Tempering improves the mechanical properties and reduces brittleness of quenched steels.

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    TEMPERING

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    5 Tempering

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    Tempering is a heat treatment process used to improve the properties of quenched martensitic steels. It involves heating the steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature and holding for a period of time, then cooling. This produces a more stable structure that is less brittle than as-quenched martensite. The tempering process involves multiple phenomena over different temperature stages, including carbon redistribution, precipitation of transition carbides, decomposition of retained austenite, and spheroidization of cementite particles. The specific phenomena depend on the carbon content of the steel. Tempering improves the mechanical properties and reduces brittleness of quenched steels.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    58 views13 pages

    MT 305 Heat Treatment: Tempering

    Uploaded by

    aarv
    Tempering is a heat treatment process used to improve the properties of quenched martensitic steels. It involves heating the steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature and holding for a period of time, then cooling. This produces a more stable structure that is less brittle than as-quenched martensite. The tempering process involves multiple phenomena over different temperature stages, including carbon redistribution, precipitation of transition carbides, decomposition of retained austenite, and spheroidization of cementite particles. The specific phenomena depend on the carbon content of the steel. Tempering improves the mechanical properties and reduces brittleness of quenched steels.

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    MT 305 Heat Treatment

    Tempering
    Introduction
    • Steels that have undergone a simple hardening quench
    – mixtures of austenite and martensite
    – unstable and slowly decompose
    – specific-volume changes, dimensional changes
    – martensite is extremely brittle, develop quench cracks if aged at room
    temperature

    • Steels with a simple martensitic structure are of little useful value


    – simple heat treatment called tempering is almost always used to
    improve the physical properties of quenched steels
    Introduction
    • Treatment is done below the eutectoid temperature and held there for a
    fixed length of time, after which the steel is cooled again to room
    temperature
    – To make more stable and inherently less brittle structure
    Introduction

    The effect of the carbon concentration on the relative fraction of lath


    martensite, the Ms temperature, and the volume fraction of retained
    austenite.
    Tempering Phenomena
    1. A redistribution of the carbon atoms in the martensite. Between RT-
    100°C, (i) segregation to lattice defects such as dislocations and twin
    boundaries (ii) A clustering of the carbon atoms
    2. The precipitation of a transition carbide or carbides: epsilon(ε),eta(η)
    3. The decomposition of retained austenite :mixture of ferrite and
    cementite (bainite)
    4. The conversion of the transition carbide and segregated carbon into
    small rod shaped cementite particles.
    5. Spheroidization of the rod-shaped cementite to reduce the surface
    energy of the particles.
    6. Recovery of the ferrite structure.
    7. Recrystallization of the ferrite structure.
    8. Ostwald ripening of the cementite
    Three Stages of Tempering
    • Aging at and slightly above room temperature: redistribution of the
    carbon atom
    • The first stage (80 to 180 C)was the precipitation of the transition
    carbide
    • The second stage (200 to 300 C) was the decomposition of the
    retained austenite
    • Third stage (250 to 350 ) corresponded to the formation of
    cementite

    • Type of martensite
    – low-carbon steels (< 0.5 C): lath martensite
    – high-carbon steels (above 0.9 percent C.) : lenticular martensite
    – Mixture of structures in between compositions
    Three Stages of Tempering
    Tempering: High-Carbon Steels

    Variation of Ms and Mf with


    carbon concentration in steel. Dilatomer curve of a 1.13 percent carbon steel

    • 1.13 percent carbon : the Mf temperature of this steel lies well below room
    temperature
    • Quenching in brine resulted in a structure containing 15 percent of retained
    austenite, into liquid nitrogen (77 K or -196°C) reduced the volume fraction of
    retained austenite to 6 percent.
    Tempering: High-Carbon Steels
    Tempering: High-Carbon Steels

    Differential thermal analysis (DTA) curve for a specimen


    Tempering: Low-Carbon Steels
    • Amount of retained austenite in these steels should be small after quenching
    – Thus, Stage 3 accredited to the breakdown of retained austenite into
    ferrite plus cementite, should not be observed
    Tempering: Low-Carbon Steels
    • For steels with less than 0.2 percent C,
    – Stage 2: involving the segregation of carbon occurs during
    the quench,
    – Stage 3: in which the transition carbide is precipitated, is
    effectively suppressed
    – Stage 4: where the retained austenite is decomposed to
    ferrite and cementite, is eliminated
    – This leaves only Stage 5, in which the segregated carbon
    forms small rod-shaped cementite particles

    • Higher temperature phenomena,


    – Spheroidization of the cementite particles: near 400°C
    – Growth by Ostwald ripening,
    – Recovery and recrystallization of the ferrite matrix.
    Spheroidized Cementite
    • Structure consists of cementite spheroids embedded in a
    matrix of ferrite

    • Such a structure is readily attained in a moderate length of


    time
    – the third stage of tempering is carried out at a
    temperature just below the eutectoid temperature (727°C)

    • Perhaps the most stable structure

    • Desirable in softened high-carbon steels

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