Heat Treatments For Select Medium Carbon Low Alloy Steels

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Heat treatments for select medium carbon low alloy steels

Annealing

Produces maximum softness of the steel by heating to 1350–1600 F followed by


slow furnace cooling.

Normalizing

The steel is air cooled from the austenization range to produce a structure of pearlite
(ferrite + cementite) and partially spherodized carbides. Medium carbon low alloy
steel forgings are generally normalized before hardening to produce a uniform grain
structure and to minimize residual stresses.

Hardening

Medium carbon low alloy steels are hardened by austenitizing, water or oil
quenching, and then tempering to their final hardness.

Since the composition of these steels varies quite a bit, it is important to: understand
the maximum section thickness that can be hardened in a specific quench media
and realize the large variations in final strength and ductility that can be obtained by
tempering at different temperatures.

Austenitizing

During austenization, the steel is heated into the austenite field and held for a
sufficient period to dissolve many of the carbides and put them into solution.

The temperature required for austenization is a function of the carbon content;


with increasing carbon contents the temperature decreases along the A3
line to a minimum value A1 at the eutectoid composition (0.8% carbon) and then
increases again along the ACm line.
The first stage in the formation of austenite is the nucleation and growth of austenite
from pearlite (Fe3C). Even after the complete disappearance of pearlite, some
carbides will remain in the austenite. To minimize the time for austeniza-
tion, the temperature used is about 100 F above the minimum temperature for 100%
austenite, and the time is about one hour per inch of thickness.

However, it is also important to keep the austenization temperature as


low as possible to reduce the tendency toward cracking and distortion,
minimize oxidation and decarburization, and minimize grain growth.

The addition of alloying elements, such as manganese and nickel, helps to


reduce the temperature necessary for austenite formation.

Quenching

While the FCC austenite that forms during austenization is


capable of dissolving as much as 2% carbon, only a small fraction of
carbon can be retained in the lower temperature BCC ferrite.

If the steel is slowly cooled from the austenization temperature, carbon atoms are
rejected as the FCC austenite transforms to the BCC ferrite and alternating layers of
ferrite and cementite form pearlite through a nucleation and growth process.

However, if the steel is rapidly cooled from the austenization temperature


(quenched), the carbon does not have time to diffuse out of the austenite structure
as it transforms to the BCC ferrite and the structure becomes distorted into a BCT
tetragonal structure called martensite. The objective of the quenching process is to
cool at a sufficient rate to form martensite. The distortion of the BCT structure results
in high strength and hardness of the quenched steel; the steel must be cooled past
the nose of the isothermal transformation diagram to form 100% martensite.
Martensite does not form until it reaches the martensite start temperature Ms and is
complete after it is cooled below the martensite finish temperature Mf.
The addition of alloying elements increases the hardenability of steels by moving the
nose of the isothermal transformation diagram to the right, allowing slower cooling
rates for alloy steels to form martensite.

Tempering

The quenched steel is extremely hard and strong, but it


is also very brittle. Tempering, in which the steel is reheated to an
intermediate temperature, is used to increase the ductility and toughness with some
loss of strength and hardness. During tempering, the highly strained BCT structure
starts losing carbon to transformation products which reduces lattice strains
producing an increase in ductility and a reduction in strength. One of the advantages
of medium carbon low alloy steels is the large range of strength values that can be
obtained by varying the tempering temperature for 4340 steel.
Fe-C Phase Diagram

Bibliography

F.C. Campbell. (2006). Manufacturing Technology for Aerospace Structural


Materials. The Boulevard, Langford, Kidlington, Oxford Lane: Elsevier Ltd.

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