HEAT TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS

5.0 Introduction:
Numerous plain carbon and alloy steels are in use today. Each one of them finds a
wide range of applications depending on service requirements, fabricability and
economy. For some of the well-defined groups, generalized heat treatment practice
has been given in this chapter. And also some steels of commercial importance and
their heat treatment, alloy steels and its heat treatment, and heat treatment of some
special steels also have been given.

5.1 Plain carbon steels:

Plain carbon steels are alloys of iron and carbon in which carbon varies from traces to
about 2 percent by weight. The upper limit of carbon in plain carbon steels
corresponds to the maximum solubility of carbon in austenite. Commercial steels, in
addition to carbon, contain elements such as manganese, silicon, sulphur and
phosphorus. These elements are always present in all steels. Sulphur and phosphorus
are highly detrimental and are treated as undesirable elements. On the basis of carbon
contents, plain carbon steels can be divided into three classes, namely, low carbon
steels, medium carbon steels, and high carbon steels.

5.2 Low carbon steels:

Low carbon steels contain carbon up to 0.25 % (by weight). Low carbon steels are
cheap and possess good formability and excellent weldability. These steels are
extensively used as sheet and strip steel, structural steel, cold heading steel, free
cutting steel and case hardening steels.
Low carbon steels exhibit poor response to heat treatment as a means for improving
mechanical properties, particularly tensile and yield strength. The major micro
constituent of these steels is ferrite. Hence marginal differences in mechanical
properties are observed in annealed and normalized low carbon steels only. The
magnitude of difference in mechanical properties increases with rise in carbon content.
In low carbon steels, hardly any martensite is formed on quenching. Hence on
hardening by quenching, there is no significant improvement in mechanical properties.
But this does not mean that they are not subjected to heat treatment process at all. In
fact, many heat treatment processes are an integral part of the manufacturing and
fabrication processes of low carbon steels. Low carbon steels can be grouped into two
classes: low carbon steels up to O. I 0 % carbon, and low carbon steels with carbon
from 0.10 % to 0.25 %.
Low carbon steels with less than 0.10 percent carbon have excellent formability. For
this reason, these steels are employed for general engineering constructional work
involving severe cold deformation such as bending, riveting and deep drawing. These
steels, in the form of cold-rolled sheets, find applications in automobile, furniture and

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 61

refrigerator industries. Tin cans, tin plates and galvanized sheets are some other
applications of these cold-rolled sheets. Annealing plays an important role during the
manufacture of cold-rolled sheets. The manufacturing process essentially consists of a
combination of cold working and annealing treatment. In addition to using them as
cold-rolled sheets, these steels are
Description
Composition 0.10 - 0.15% C 0.15 - 0.25% C
Annealing 880 - 930 880 920
Temperature (0C)

Normalizing 880 - 930 880 920

Temperature (0C)

Hardening 770 - 800 770 800

Temperature (0C)

Quenching media Water Water

Carburizing 880 - 930 880 930

Temperature (0C)

Refining treatment Heating to 760-7800C, Heating to 760-

after carburizing followed by water 7800C, followed by
quenching water quenching

Tempering temp. 150 - 200 150 - 200

(0C)
Table 5.1
Heat treatment temperature of Low Carbon Steel

employed extensively as soft magnetic material. Removal of last traces of carbon 'from
steel to convert it into pure iron is a costly process. These steels find applications such
as for yokes in electrical machines and armature in switchgears. Low carbon steels as
magnetic material are always subjected to the annealing, which ensures the
attainment of optimum magnetic properties. This annealing differs from conventional
annealing in the sense that heat treatment temperature is significantly high (I000-
1200C) and holding time is considerably longer in this case. Such an annealing
treatment results in alignment of magnetic domains.
Steels with 0.10-0.25 % carbons possess high strength and toughness values. On
case carburizing, these steels develop a hard and wear resistant case with a tough
core. Carburized steel is always subjected to further heat treatment to refine case or
core or both. These steels are very well suited for light duty general engineering
purposes such as welded structures, riveted structures, forgings and machined parts.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 62

Some typical applications include ship plates, boilerplates, cams, and shafts, stay
bolts, wheel hubs, brake housings and brake pedal levers. These steels are given
normalizing heat treatment in order to improve machinability.

5.2 Medium carbon steels:

Steels with carbon varying from 0.25 % to 0.65 % are referred to as medium carbon
steels. these steels respond to heat treatment is much better manner than that of low
carbon steels. In order to have maximum advantage, these steels are always used in
heat-treated condition. Depending on this response to heat treatment, they can be
divided into two groups. The first group consists of steels with 0.25-0.35 % carbons,
and the second group consists of steels with 0.35-0.65 % carbons. The response of
the first group is not very encouraging but the second is excellent. It is for this reason
that steels of the second group are generally used in hardened and tempered
condition. The desired levels of strength, ductility and toughness can be obtained by a
proper combination of hardening and tempering treatment for these steels.
Machinability of the first group is improved by normalizing and second group by
annealing.
Composition Annealing Normalizing Hardening Quenching Tempering
% of carbon (0C) (0C) (0C) medium (0C)

0.25 0.30 880 - 900 880 - 900 860 880 Oil 500 - 650
850 870 water

0.30 0.35 870 890 870 890 850 870 Oil 500 - 650
840 860 water

0.35 0.40 860 880 860 880 850 870 Oil 500 - 650
840 860 water

0.40 0.45 850 870 850 870 840 860 Oil 500 - 650
830 850 water

0.45 0.50 840 860 840 860 830 850 Oil 500 - 650
820 840 water

0.50 0.55 830 850 830 850 820 840 Oil 500 - 650
810 830 water

0.55 0.60 820 840 820 840 810 830 Oil 500 - 650
800 820 water

0.60 0.65 810 - 830 810 - 830 800 820 Oil 500 - 650
790 810 water
Table 5.2
Heat treatment temperature for Medium Carbon Steel
Steels of the first group are suitable for moderately stressed components. Typical
NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 63
applications include railway couplings, driving rings and flanges, hand tools, sockets,
levers, cams, and tubes for bicycle, automobiles and aircrafts. Steels of the second
group can be subjected to relatively higher stresses. These steels can be surface
hardened by flame or induction hardening. Such hardened steels, in addition to hard
and wear resistant cases have very tough cores. Typical applications include spindles
of machine tools, gears, bolts, shafts, axles, pinions, cylinders, cylinder liners, cams,
crank shafts, keys, machine tools, rifle barrels and ball mill balls.
5.3 High carbon steels:
The carbon content of high carbon steels generally varies from 0.65 % to 1.5 %. The
higher the carbon more is the strength and attendant brittleness. Therefore, steels with
more than 1.3 percent carbon are rarely used in practice. These steels have poor
fabricability, formability, machinability and weldability as compared to medium carbon
steels. Machinability and formability can be improved to a great extent by a heat
treatment process known as spheroidizing. The spheroidizing treatment results in
reduction in strength and hardness values. However, the tendency towards brittleness
is reduced considerably with attainment of a satisfactory level of ductility.
Composition Annealing Normalizing Hardening Quenching Tempering
% of Temp(0C) Temp(0C) Temp.(0C) Medium Temp.(0C)
carbon

0.65 - 810-830 820-850 810-830 Oil or 400-500

0.75% water(depends
on Mn. content
and section
thickness
0.75 - 810-830 820-850 810-830 Oil or 400-500
0.85% water(depends
on Mn. content
and section
thickness
0.85 - 800-820 820-850 800-820 Oil or 400-500
0.95% water(depends
on Mn. content
and section
thickness
0.95 -1.05% 800-820 820-850 800-820 Oil or 400-500
water(depends
on Mn. content
and section
thickness
Table 5.3
Heat treatment temperature of High Carbon Spring Steel

Steels with 0.65- 1.00 % carbon are frequently used for manufacturing springs. Two
common methods adopted for fabricating springs are hot rolling and cold drawing.
NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 64
Springs made by hot rolling process are subjected to hardening and tempering
treatment. A hardness of 56 to 60 HRC can be obtained by hardening and tempering
treatment. These carbon steels are used for light springs. Tempering these steels at
200-250C results in improvement in elastic limit. Higher tempering temperatures, say
about 400C, are required where service conditions demand enhanced toughness and
ductility. In addition to springs, high carbon steels are also utilized for making gauges,
machine knives, piston rings, saws, cutting tools, chisels and hand tools.

5.4 Alloy steels:

Alloy steels are superior to plain carbon steels in several respects. Depending on the
nature and amount of alloying element(s), alloy steels, in general, possess (I) better
strength, hardness and ductility; (ii) higher fatigue and impact strengths; (iii) better
resistance to grain growth and softening during tempering; (iv) excellent high and low
temperature properties; (v) enhanced corrosion resistance and wear resistance; and
(vi) better electrical and magnetic properties.

5.5 Manganese steels:

Steels with more than 1.65 % manganese are included in alloy steel group.
Manganese in the range 1.65-1.90 % is added to improve tensile strength,
hardenability and hot workability of steel. The presence of manganese also enhances
the response of steel to heat treatment. Hardening and tempering treatment results in
the best possible properties. Normalizing improves impact property and is frequently
adopted for large forgings and castings.
Low carbon manganese steels (with manganese content ranging from 1.65 % to 1.90
%) are generally used for structural purposes in rolled condition without heat
treatment. However, medium carbon steels with same range of manganese content
are used in heat-treated condition. Conventional quenching and tempering treatment
gives the best possible mechanical properties. Normalized steel possesses
mechanical properties equivalent to hardened and tempered plain carbon steels of the
same carbon content. Addition of small amounts of alloying elements such as
vanadium or molybdenum imparts some additional desirable characteristics in these
steels. A wide range of engineering components is manufactured from these steels.
Applications include rails, gears, axles, connecting rods, crankshafts, bolts, nuts,
studs, steering levers, aircraft fittings and gun barrels.
High carbon low manganese steels (with manganese content ranging from 1.65% to
2.0 %) constitute an important series of tool steels. This series is popularly known as
non-deforming tool steels and has a general composition of 0.9 % carbon and1.8%
manganese. The heat treatment given to these steels is oil quenching from 840C,

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 65

followed by tempering at 230C. These steels possess hard surface, greater depth of
hardness, keen cutting edge, high impact strength, and are free from expansion or
shrinkage as compared to plain carbon steels of equivalent carbon content.

5.6 Silicon steels:

Silicon is present in all steels. Only those steels, which contain more than 0.6 %silicon,
are termed silicon steels. These steels are characterized by improved elastic
properties, excellent electrical and magnetic properties with enhanced resistance to
scaling at high temperatures. Since silicon imparts brittleness to the steels, in straight
silicon steels, the silicon content is restricted to about 5 %. A steel with 3-4 % silicon
and less than 0.5 % carbon is popularly known as electrical steel which is used for
manufacturing cores of electric motors, generators and transformers. It is also known
as transformer steel. As carbon content decreases, properties are improved; carbon-
free iron-silicon alloy has the best properties. Excellent properties are derived from a
coarse grained and textured structure. The texture is obtained by repeated cold rolling
and annealing. For obtaining coarse-grained structure, the steel is annealed at 1100-
1200C under hydrogen atmosphere. This heat treatment constitutes an important
step in the manufacturing of cores. Transformer steel is also known as grain-oriented
silicon steel. Steel with 1-2 % silicon is referred to as dynamo steel.
Steels with about 2.0 % silicon and I.0 %manganese with carbon varying from 0.50
% to 0.70 % are of great commercial importance. Properly heat-treated steels of this
category have high elastic limit and fatigue strength. For this reason, these steels are
well suited for manufacturing springs and are widely used as leaf springs, coiled
springs, chisels and punches. The most frequently adopted heat treatment consists of
austenitizing, oil quenching and tempering. Depending on the chemical composition,
steel is oil quenched from a temperature range 840-930C. Tempering is done within
the temperature range 400-550C.

5.7 Chromium steels:

Low carbon (0.1-0.2% C), low chromium (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0% Cr) steels are generally
case carburized. Increasing chromium contents increases the wear resistance of case.
Toughness in the core is somewhat reduced by increasing chromium contents. In
order to have optimum properties, these carburized steels are used in heat-treated
condition. The purpose of post carburizing heat treatment is to refine the case or core
or both.
Medium carbon (0.35% C), low chromium (0.5% (Cr) steel finds application in
manufacturing gears, jaws of wrenches, machine gun barrels, axles and shafts. The
most common heat treatment given to this steel is oil quenching/water quenching,
followed by tempering. Heat-treated steel has excellent wear resistance and
satisfactory level of toughness. The quenching medium depends on the size of the

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 66

component. Hardening is carried out at about 870C. Steel with 0.5 % carbon and 1.5
% chromium is used for making springs and compressed air tools. This steel is oil
quenched from 850C and tempered at about 300C (or at any suitable temperature)
so as to get a hardness number of about 44 on Rockwell C-scale.
High carbon, low chromium steels find numerous applications as tool steels. All such
steels are, in general, used in heat-treated condition. Steel with 0.9 percent carbon
and 1.0 % chromium is used for making twist drills, hacksaw blades, knives, hammers
and similar products. The heat treatment cycle for this steel consists of heating to
810C, oil quenching and tempering in the temperature range 250-300C.
Steel with 0.95-1.10 % carbon and 1.3-1.6 % chromium is comparatively an
inexpensive variety used for making ball, and roller bearings. This steel is most
popularly known as ball bearing steel. It is spheroidized annealed in order to improve
machinability. For heat treatment, it is oil quenched from 830C to 840C, followed by
tempering at 150-160C in order to achieve a hardness of 62 HRC. In fully heat-
treated condition, this steel has a high compressive strength and resistance to
abrasion. Apart from ball and roller bearings, other applications include spindles, cold
forming rolls and hardened machine parts. The purpose of chromium addition is to
ensure attainment of required hardenability. Therefore, smaller sized components can
be made of steels with lower chromium content. Two more popular grades of ball
bearing steels contain 0.5 percent and 1.0 % chromium, respectively. High carbon, low
chromium steels are also used as hard magnetic material.
The properties of low chromium steels can be improved significantly by the addition of
alloying element(s) such as nickel, molybdenum, vanadium and tungsten. For this
reason, complex steels like chromium-nickel, chromium-molybdenum, chromium-
vanadium, and chromium-nickel-molybdenum are more commonly used in practice
than straight low chromium steels. Medium chromium and high chromium steels have
a large number of applications, e.g. valve steels, tool steels, heat resisting steels and
stainless steels.

5.8 Nickel steels:

As compared to plain carbon steels, nickel steels are characterized' by higher tensile
strength and toughness values, improved fatigue strength, impact resistance and
shear strength. Nickel steels require lower heat treatment temperatures than plain
carbon steels, and hence less drastic quenching is needed for obtaining equivalent
hardness values.
Low carbon (0.I-o.2%C), low nickel (2.5-3.5% Ni) steels are widely used for case
carburizing as these steels have very good core toughness values. Another important
group of carburizing nickel steel has slightly increased nickel contents, i.e. 3.5-5.0 %,
whereas carbon level remains the same, viz. 0.1-0.2 percent. These steels have better
toughness and strength than those of 3.0 % nickel steels but are more expensive.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 67

They are used for manufacturing wrist pins, pinions, engine cams, transmission gears,
and other parts, which are subjected to severe service conditions.
Medium carbon, low nickel (2.5-3.5% Ni) steels are widely used for structural
applications. These steels, when properly heat-treated, have excellent shock
resistance and tensile strength values. Optimum mechanical properties are obtained
by hardening and tempering treatment. Hardening is carried out by quenching from
830C to 860C, using water or oil as quenching medium. Tempering is done in the
range 550-650C. Various applications of these steels include aero plane parts,
crankshafts, pinion shafts, propeller shafts, turbine shafts, pins, studs and bolts.
High carbon nickel steels are not very common since nickel is a graphitizer. However,
high carbon nickel steels can be used with strong carbide formers. For most of the
applications, nickel is not added alone to the steel. It is generally added in conjunction
with some other element(s). This is why nickel-chromium, nickel-molybdenum, and
nickel-chromium-molybdenum steels are in more common use. This is not only for
steels with low nickel contents but also for high nickel containing steels such as valve
steels, stainless steels and heat resisting steels.

5.9 Molybdenum steels:

Properties of alloy steels can be improved significantly by the addition of molybdenum,
which improves hardenability, ductility, toughness, and elevated temperature
properties of the steel. Molybdenum inhibits grain growth and makes the steel less
susceptible to temper brittleness. It forms complex carbides, which are more stable
than cementite. Therefore, molybdenum steels require higher heat-treating
temperatures.
As molybdenum is an expensive element, straight molybdenum steels, in general, do
not contain more than 0.70 % molybdenum. Three popular grades of molybdenum
steels contain 0.15-0.30 %, 0.30-0.45 % and Q.45-O.70 % molybdenum respectively.
Low carbon grades of these steels are generally employed for case carburizing. In
carburized steels, the main requirements are improved wear resistance of the case
and good toughness of the core. These steels are used for shafts, transmission gears,
bearing for gears, and bearing axles under moderate service conditions.
With higher carbon contents, these steels can be subjected to heavy-duty applications
such as coil spring, leaf spring and various other automobile and aeroplane parts.
Heat treatment temperatures for molybdenum steels are generally 10-20C higher
than carbon steels of same carbon contents.
Typical examples of this class of steel include nickel-molybdenum, chromium-
molybdenum and nickel-chromium-molybdenum steels. Molybdenum up to 2 % is
present in low alloy creep resisting steels, and up to 2-4 % in austenitic stainless
steels.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 68

5.10 Chromium-molybdenum steels:
The beneficial effects arising from the presence of chromium in steels are enhanced
by addition of molybdenum. For this reason, about 0.25- 0.65 % molybdenum is added
to low chromium steels. Applications of chromium-molybdenum are similar to those of
corresponding chromium steels. Chromium-molybdenum steels have the added
advantages of improved toughness and freedom from temper brittleness.
Low carbon, low chromium-molybdenum steels possess high tensile and creep
strength. These steels are, in general, case nitrided. Applications of these steels
include aircraft engine cylinders and lightly stressed wear resistant parts for aircraft
and automobile construction.
Medium carbon, low chromium-molybdenum steels have high strength, ductility, and
good shock resistance. These steels are used for making axles, shafts, connecting
rods and other moderately stressed components. They can also be subjected to
induction hardening.
High carbon, low chromium-molybdenum steels are used as cold-worked tool steels.
Molybdenum steels find numerous applications. Low carbon and medium carbon, high
chromium molybdenum steels are used as stainless, heat resisting, and valve steels.
High carbon, high chromium-molybdenum steels are used extensively for making
drawing dies, bushings, shear blades, punches and cold forming rolls.

5.11 Nickel-molybdenum steels:

Molybdenum, when added to nickel steels, improves hardenability, ductility and
toughness. It also checks grain growth and reduces the tendency towards temper
brittleness. Applications of nickel-molybdenum steels are similar to those of
corresponding nickel steels. Heat treatment temperatures are marginally higher, say
about 10C, than the corresponding nickel steels.

5.12 Nickel-chromium steels:

Nickel-chromium steels have almost all possible advantages and minimum possible
disadvantages due to the presence of both the elements. Depending on the
chemical composition, these steels exhibit enhanced mechanical properties,
excellent corrosion and oxidation resistance, high temperature strength and unique
physical properties.
Low carbon, 1.25 % nickel, 0.75 % chromium steels are case carburized. In this
condition, it has a hard wear resistant case and a tough core. Typical applications
are gears, shafts, levers, bearings and races. Low carbon, nickel-chromium steels
with 2.0 % nickel and 0.90 % chromium have properties which are superior to low
carbon, nickel-chromium steels containing 1.25 % nickel and 0.75 % chromium.
Low carbon steels with about 3.50 % nickel and 1.50 % chromium have unusually
high hardenability. These steels, when case carburized, possess very hard wear
resistant surface with a very tough core. Mechanical properties can be varied over

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 69

a sufficiently large range with varying heat treatment. The few applications include
case hardened gears and pinions, heavy heat-treated parts and spline shafts.
Medium carbon, 1.25 % nickel, 0.75 % chromium steels are hardenable to greater
depths than low carbon steels. These steels are used in heat-treated condition.
One common heat treatment is oil quenching and tempering. Some applications of
these steels include crankshafts, propeller shafts, drilling equipment parts and parts
of earth moving equipments. Medium carbon, 2.0 % nickel, 0.90 % chromium steels
have better properties than low carboI1-and medium carbon, 1.25 % nickel, 0.75 %
chromium steels. Medium carbon steels with 3.50 % nickel and 1.50 % chromium
have better mechanical properties because of their high alloy contents. Their
properties can be improved by hardening and tempering treatment. In hardened
and tempered condition, these steels possess extraordinarily high toughness. For
this reason, these steels are employed for heavy-duty applications- such as highly
stressed components in aircrafts and automobiles.
High carbon, nickel-chromium steels are not very common. High nickel chromium
steels constitute the well-known series of austenitic stainless steels. High nickel-
chromium steels are also used as heat resisting and valve steels.

5.13 Nickel-chromium-molybdenum steels:

Nickel-chromium-molybdenum steels are sometimes referred to as triple alloy steels.
Due to the presence of three alloying elements, these steels have properties which are
superior to corresponding double alloy steels, i.e. nickel-chromium, chromium-
molybdenum or nickel-molybdenum steels. Low carbon grades of these steels are
generally case carburized. Case carburized steels are characterized by very high case
hardness and core toughness. These steels are suitable for manufacturing gears,
gudgeon pins, shafts, levers, and camshafts, drive wheels, clutch plates, collets and
valve rockers.
Medium carbon, low alloy steels have good strength and ductility. The response of
these steels to heat treatment is excellent and a wide range of mechanical properties
can be attained with the help of suitable heat treatments. General engineering purpose
steel has 0.35-0.45 % carbon, 1.30-1.80 % nickel, 0.9-1.4 % chromium, and 0.20 -
0.35% molybdenum. This steel possesses good strength, ductility, toughness and
hardenability. Properly heat-treated steel has very good resistance to wear and shock.
Typical uses include axle shafts, boIts and studs, high duty engine connecting rods
and high temperature bolts and oil refining and steam installations. .
Medium carbon steels with about 2.50 % nickel, 0.70 % chromium and 0.50 %
molybdenum have high hardenability; good strength coupled with high ductility and
toughness, fairly good low temperature properties and resistance to shock. Increasing
nickel contents to about 3.50 % (microstructure, Fig.) results in increase in depth of
hardening and toughness. Therefore, fairly large sections of such steels can be heat
treated in order to develop good mechanical properties.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 70

5.14 Structural and tool steels:
Taking into account their uses, steels may be classified into three main classes,
namely, structural steels, tool steels, and special purpose steels. In this section, based
on their applications, the heat treatment" of some categories of steels is discussed.

a) Structural steels:

Hot-rolled steels:
In general, hot-rolled structural sections and sheets are not subjected to heat
treatment. Since hot rolling itself is a high temperature process, it takes care of a
number of heat treatment such as homogenizing, stress relieving and breaking of cast
structure.
Thin steel sheets used as dynamo and transformer steel are subjected to specific heat
treatment for getting improved magnetic and electrical properties. Low carbon steel
sheets are annealed or normalized in order to attain a fine-grained structure. Medium
carbon steel sheets are subjected to spheroidization annealing. High carbon steels in
hot-rolled condition are spheroidized to improve the machinability. Alloy steels,
especially high alloy steels, in hot-rolled condition are tempered at high temperatures
in order to improve machinability.

Cold-drawn and cold-rolled steels:

In contrast to hot-rolled steels, cold-drawn/cold-rolled steels are always subjected to
heat treatment, irrespective of the chemical compositions of the steels. While hot-
rolled steels are heat treated after the hot rolling operation, cold-drawn steels are heat
treated prior to cold drawing/rolling, in between the cold drawing/rolling cycles and
after completing the cold drawing/rolling operations.
For general engineering applications, the heat treatment given prior to cold
drawing/cold rolling operation consists of annealing. It imparts maximum softness to
enable further cold working. Exception to this is hypereutectoid steels for which
annealed structure is brittle because of the presence of cementite network at grain
boundaries. Normalizing can eliminate such a network. Most of the medium carbon
and high carbon steels are spheroidized prior to cold drawing/cold rolling. This imparts
ductility coupled with strength. Spheroidizing constitutes an important treatment for
objects, which are made from cold-drawn/cold-rolled products, especially by
machining.
Intermediate heat treatment is essential as it eliminates the effect of strain hardening
due to prior cold working and thus makes the product amenable to further processing
(cold working) without failure. In general, recrystallization annealing is employed as an
intermediate heat treatment.
Final heat treatment is chosen in accordance with the properties required in the
material. By a proper combination of heat treatment and cold working, different
combinations of strength and ductility can be attained.
NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 71
Structural steel castings:
Steel castings, in most of the cases, are heat treated to eliminate the cast structure.
Cast structure is undesirable for the following reasons:
1. It is generally coarse and is not desirable
2. It has non-uniformity of chemical composition and of structure
3. It has poor mechanical properties, especially dynamic properties.
4. It has low machinability.
5. It is always associated with internal stresses due to thermal gradient.
All these defects can be removed by heat treatment operations.
b) Tool steels:

Water hardening tool steels:

These are essentially high carbon steels. Carbon content of these steels is as high as
1.40 %. High carbon steels are characterized by high tensile strength and hardness
levels but low ductility and toughness values. Hence these cannot be used where
impacts loads are applicable. They are widely used for making tools as these are
cheap and possess good machinability and high hardness.
Since machining is an important process in forming of tools, these steels are subjected
to spheroidization in order to improve machinability. Spheroidized steel is subjected to
water or brine quenching from hardening temperature. Sometimes this treatment
results in distortion of Hardening
Composition the tool. Other problems encountered
Hardness with0C)
Tempering temp( these steels, which
Minimum
have hypereutectoid
%of compositions,
0
temp.( C) are
afterof decarburization, possibility
as per the of retained
hardness
carbon hardening use
austenite in hardened structure, and grain coarsening. These problems demand after
addition of strong carbide formers such (HRC) tempering
as chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum.
The 0.70
presence
- 0.80of chromium improves65
800 - 820 both
- 67hardness and hardenability-the
Between 175 275 properties
56 HRC
required in most tools. On the other hand, vanadiuminchecks generalthe tendency of steel
towards
0.80grain
0.90coarsening.
790 -The
810 structure
65 - 67of hardened steel
Between 175changes
275 with 56 tempering
HRC
temperature. Therefore, tempering temperature has to in begeneral
chosen carefully. In general,
these steels are tempered in the range 170-220C. Replacement of conventional water
0.90 1.05 780 - 800 65 - 67 Between 175 275 56 HRC
or brine hardening heat treatment by martempering leads to development of better
in general
mechanical properties in the tools.
Applications
1.05 1.20of water hardened
760 - 780 tool 65
steels
- 67 include heavy175
Between forging
275hammers, forging
56 HRC
dies, in general

1.20 1.35 760 - 780 65 - 67 Between 175 275 56 HRC

in general

0.80- 0.95%C 790 - 810 65 - 67 Between 150-400 in 48 HRC

0.15-0.3%V general
0.95-1.1%C 780 - 800 65 - 67 Between 150-400 in 48 HRC
0.15-0.3%V general
1.10-1.4%C 790 - 810
NETTUR 65 TRAINING
TECHNICAL - 67 Between 150-400
FOUNDATION in 48 HRC 72
0.3-0.6%Cr general
0.30%V
 Table 5.4
Heat treatment temperatures for Water hardening tool steels

large blanking tools, chisels, scissors, knife blades, hand hammers, hot and trimming
tools, cutting dies, bending dies, drift punches, lathe centers, milling cutters, boring
tools, watch maker's tools etc.
composition tool
Shock-resisting Hardeni
steels: Quenching As Tempering Minimum
0
ng temp medium quenched temp ( C) hardness
As the name suggests,(0these
C) tool steels are characterized
hardness by good toughness.afterFor this
reason, the carbon contents of these grades ofHRC steel are kept low as compared
temperingto
water hardening steels. Most of the steels belonging to this group have carbonHRC
ranging
from 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent. Another important property of tool, i.e. hardness, is
0.50%C 900-950 oil 56 - 60 150 - 540 45
imparted
1.5%Crby alloying additions. Commonly added alloying elements are chromium,
molybdenum
2.5%Wand tungsten. These elements not only increase hardness but also
improve hardenability to a considerable extent. These steels are water or oil hardened.
o.50%C 840-860 Water 60 62 150 260 45
Tempering temperature depends on the final properties required in the tool. For an
1.00%Si 870- oil 58 - 60 150 - 260 54
optimum combination 890
0.50%Mo of toughness and hardness, low temperature tempering is
preferred. High temperature tempering is performed where toughness is of primary
0.55%C
importance. 845-870 Water 60 62 150 345 54
Silicon-manganese steels with about 0.55 percent carbon, 2.0 percent silicon 54
0.80%Mn 870- oil 58 - 60 150 - 345 and 1
2.00%Si 910
percent
0.55%C 845-870 Water 60 62 150 345 54
0.80%Mn 870- oil 58 - 60 150 - 345 54
NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 73
2.00%Si 910
0.40%Mo
 Table 5.5
Heat treatment temperature for shock resistance tool steel

manganese, which have high toughness in hardened and tempered condition, are also
included in this group. These steels are considerably cheaper than steels alloyed with
tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium. Due to high silicon contents, decarburization
and grain coarsening take place in hardened steels. Applications of these steels
include, chisels, punches, shear blades and scarfing tools.

Cold work tool steels:

These steels are mainly employed for making tools intended for cold work
applications. Sometimes, steels belonging to this group are referred to as non-
deforming or non-distorting
composition steels. As-quenched
Hardening But all steelsTempering
exhibits some distortion or
Minimum
deformation, during hardening
temp. (heat
0
C) treatment,
hardness and steels
temp.of( this
0
C) group are also not
hardness
exceptions to this. The chemical compositionHRCand hardening heat treatment on for these
steels are so adjusted as to produce minimum possible deformation tempering and,
(0C)
consequently,
0.90% Cthese are termed
790 - 815 as non-deforming
63 - 65 steels. These
150 - 425 steels50have been
divided into three groups, namely, oil hardening, air hardening, and high carbon, high
1.00%Mn
0.50%W
chromium type.
0.50Crsteels are basically carbon-manganese steels in which chromium and
Oil hardening
tungsten0.90%C
are added occasionally
770 - 790 to improve
63 - 65 hardness, hardenability
190 - 260 57 and wear
resistance. These steels are used in oil hardened and tempered condition. They
1.60%Mn
possess good machinability as compared to other cold-worked tool steels, and this
1.45%C 790 - 815 63 - 65 150 - 425 50
enables 0.80%Mn
them to be shaped in complicated shapes by machining to a high degree of
precision, such as reamers, taps, press blanking and stamping dies.
1.00%Si
0.25%Mo
1.20% C 790 TECHNICAL
NETTUR - 830 63 - 66 FOUNDATION
TRAINING 100 - 300 58 74
1.75%W
0.75% Cr
 Table 5.6
Heat treatment temperature for Cold work oil hardening tool steel
Air hardening steels are primarily chromium-manganese-molybdenum steels. All these
elements considerably improve hardenability and impart air-hardening characteristics
to the steel. Due to air hardening tendency, distortion of these steels is less than in oil
hardening cold work tool steels. Applications are almost similar to those of oil
hardening steels. These steels have improved wear resistance and non-deforming
properties.

composition Hardening As- Tempering Minimum

temp. (0C) quenched temp. (0C) hardness
hardness on
HRC tempering
(0C)
1.00% C 940 - 970 61 - 63 300 - 375 57
1.00%Mo
5.00Cr

1.00%C 820 - 860 62 - 64 150 - 425 54

2.00%Mn
1.00% Mo
1.00%Cr

0.70%C 62 - 64 150 - 425 54

2.00%Mn
1.25%Mo NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 75
1.00%Cr
 820 - 860

Table 5.7
Heat treatment temperature for Cold worked Air hardened tool steel

High carbon, high chromium steels contain minimum amount of 1.0 % and 12.0 %
carbon and chromium, respectively. These steels do not exhibit grain coarsening up to
about 1040C. The high chromium contents enable the steels to develop martensitic
structure on air-cooling and, because of this, distortion is much less. These steels are
used for larger tools and tools with intricate shapes. In addition to air hardening
characteristics, chromium imparts very high hardness and abrasion resistance to the
tool due to the formation of chromium carbide. Properties of these steels can be
composition Hardening Quenchin As Temperi Minimum
further enhanced by the 0addition of molybdenum, vanadium and tungsten.
temp ( C) g medium quenched ng temp hardness after
hardness (0C) tempering
HRC HRC

1.50% C 980 - 1025 air 61 - 63 200 - 58

1.00%Mo 375
12.00%Cr
1.00%V

2.25%C 950 - 980 oil 62 - 64 200 - 58

12.00%Cr 375

1.50%C 980 - 1025 air 60 - 62 200 - 57

1.00%Mo 375
12.00%Cr
3.00%Co

2.35% C 1010 - air 63 - 65 150 64

1.00%Mo 1065 250 58
12.00% NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION
450 - 76
Cr 4.00% 550
V
 Table 5.8
Heat treatment temperature for cold work
High Carbon High Chromium tool steel
Hot work tool steels:
Depending on the principal alloying element, hot work tool steels (be grouped into
three main classes, namely, chromium base, tungsten base and molybdenum base
tool steels.
In contrast to cold work tool steels, these steels are employed for hot working
applications such as hot forging and hot extrusion. They are also used for fabrication
of die casting dies. Therefore, high temperature properties, such as red hardness,
wear-resistance,
Composition erosion resistance,
Pre-heat thermal cracking
Hardening of reticular
Quenchin type (heat checking)
Tempering Working
due to severe thermal tempshocks, temp
are the
0
( C)main considerations
g medium for such
0
temp ( C) steels. Red
hardness
0
hardness is imparted (by C) tungsten. The larger the tungsten content, the higher HRC
is the
0.35% C 810 - 1000-1025 Air 550-650
red hardness and stability of the steel. Chromium improves both hardness and 38-54
5.00% Cr 820
oxidation resistance. Other beneficial alloying elements are molybdenum and
0.40% V
vanadium
1.50% Mo for increasing hardness and high temperature properties. These steels
require
o.35%higher
C hardening
810 -temperatures due to the presence
1000-1050 Air of strong
550-650 carbide formers.
38-54
5.00%Cr 820
This causes considerable distortion. Erosion resistance is improved by increasing the
1.50%contents
carbide Mo of the steel. Sometimes, cobalt is added to these steels as it
1.00% V
improves
0.40% C the resistance
810 to
- erosion as well as to heat
1000-1075 Airchecking600-650
during severe40-47
thermal
shocks.
5.00% Cr 820
5.00% W
0.40% C 810 - 1150-1275 Air or oil 600-650 36-49
5.00% Cr 820
7.00% W
0.40% C NETTUR
810 - TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION
1125-1275 Air or oil 550-675 45-60 77
7.00% Cr 820
7.00% W
 Table 5.9
Heat treatment temperature for hot work tool steel Chromium base

compositio
composition Pre-heat
Pre- Hardening
Hardening Quenchin Tempering
Quenchin Tempering Working
Working
n temp
heat temp (0C)
temp(0C) g medium temp
g medium temp0 0
hardness
( C) hardness
( C)
(0C)
temp HRC
HRC
0.35% C (0C)-
810 1095-1260 Air or oil 550-650 38-54
0.65% C 780 - 1090-1190 Air or oil 550-650 50 - 60
3.50% Cr 820
4.00% Cr 800 or
9.00% V
1.00% V salt bath
1.50%
o.30% C W 840 - 1200-1275 Air or oil 550-650 38-54
8.00%
12.00%Cr Mo 850
12.00% W
0.60% C 780 - 1120-1220 Air or oil 550-650 50 - 60
0.25% C 810 - 1150-1275 Air or oil 600-650 40-47
800 or
4.00% Cr 820
4.00%Cr salt bath
15.00% W
2.00% V
0.50% CW
6.00 860 - 1175-1275 Air or oil 600-650 36-49
5.00%
4.00% Cr Mo 880 or
0.55%W
18.00% C 780 - 1090-1190 Airbath
salt or oil 600-650 45 - 58
4.00%V Cr
1.00% 800 or
2.00% V Table5.10 salt bath
8.00%
HeatMo
treatment temperature for hot work tool steel Tungsten base
Table 5.11
Heat treatment temperature for hot work tool steel Molybdenum base

High Speed Steels:

As the name indicates, these steels are well suited for manufacturing cutting tools,
which can be operated at high speeds. The service conditions for such cutting tools
demand high red hardness and elevated temperature wear resistance. Both these
NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 78
characteristics can be imparted in steel by alloying it with strong carbide forming
elements such as tungsten, molybdenum, chromium and vanadium. Alloying elements
should be added in sufficient amounts so that all the carbon may combine with them to
form alloy carbides. To some grades of high speed steel, cobalt is added as an alloying
element in order to enhance cutting ability of the tool. Cobalt containing high speed
steel tools possesses superior cutting power than those of cobalt-free high speed steel
tools. Materials with poor machinability can be cut successfully with such tools. The
total alloy contents, in general, vary from 20 % to 40 % in high-speed steels. Carbon
varies from 0.70 % to 1.5 %. Low carbon grades of these steels are tougher than high
carbon grades. However, high carbon grades are characterized by higher hardness
and wear resistance. Typical applications include high speed cutting tools, heavy cut
tools, milling cutters, reamers, deep hole drills, blanking dies, hot forming dies, lathe
centers and wearing plates.
One of the most popular grades among all high-speed steels is designated as 18-
4-1. It contains about 0.7 % carbon, 18 % tungsten, 4.0 % chromium, and 1.0 %
vanadium.

2minutes
1200

T
E
M
P 850 4-5hours
E 20minutes
R Tempering 2
Tempering 1
A 650 (1hour)
(1hour)
T
U 550
R Salt bath
400
e

Time
Fig- 5.1
Heat treatment of 18-4-1 HSS

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 79

In view of its high cost and scarcity, tungsten has been replaced partly by
molybdenum. Tungsten-molybdenum high-speed steels are relatively cheaper than
tungsten high speed steels, and are in common use now-a-days. Even the classical
grade of high-speed steel (18-4-1) has been replaced by tungsten-molybdenum steels.
Thus, depending on the composition, high-speed steels can be classified into two
classes namely tungsten base and molybdenum base high-speed steels.

All high-speed steels are heated to the maximum possible temperature for hardening
treatment. However, this temperature should not result in large scale grain coarsening.
A high hardening temperature ensures dissolution pf all the carbon and alloying
elements in the austenite. This highly alloyed austenite transforms to martensite of
exactly similar composition on quenching. The martensite, thus formed, which is highly
enriched in carbon and alloying elements, has high red hardness and structural
stability.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 80

Generally, the hardening temperature for high speed steels varies from 1150C to
1350C. Heating to such a high temperature poses certain problems like oxidation and
decarburization in addition to grain growth. Added to these problems is the poor
thermal conductivity of high-speed steel. These problems are minimized by heating
high-speed steels to final hardening temperature in stages. Simpler shapes and
smaller-sized tools are heated in two stages. The tool is preheated to about 800C and
then quickly transferred to another furnace maintained at the final hardening
temperature. Larger tools or intricate tools are generally heated in three stages. The
first step consists of heating to about 400C, followed by second heating up to about
800C. The holding time up to 800C is calculated on the basis of 20-30 seconds per
millimeter of diameter or section thickness of the tool. The holding time at the final
hardening temperature is less and rarely exceeds 5 minutes. Salt bath furnaces are
preferred in order to avoid oxidation or decarburization.

High-speed steels are either quenched in oil or in stream of air or in salt baths.
Normally, direct oil quenching is not practiced. High-speed steel is first cooled to about
1000C, and only then it is quenched in oil. This two-step oil quenching avoids
formation of quench cracks. Quenched high-speed steels may have some retained
austenite along with martensite. Such steels are subjected to sub-zero treatment.
These steels, after sub-zero treatment, are immediately tempered. Tempering is
carried out at about 550C. It has been found that multistage tempering is much more
beneficial than single tempering of same duration.

c) Special steels:

Stainless steels:
Stainless steels are high alloy steels and possess excellent corrosion and oxidation
resistance. Due to these characteristics, these steels find numerous applications in
nuclear plants; power generating units, pulp and paper manufacturing plants, food
processing units and petrochemical industries.
Stainless steels can be classified into four groups, namely, austenitic, ferritic,
martensitic, and precipitation hardening stainless steels. Martensitic stainless steels
are straight chromium steels containing 11.5-18 % chromium. These are the
cheapest among tae family of stainless steels. Ferritic stainless steels, which are
similar to martensitic steels, are straight chromium steels containing 14-27 %
chromium. These steels are superior to martensitic stainless steels in their corrosion
resistance but are expensive. Austenitic stainless steels are chromium-nickel steels
with minimum total chromium and nickel contents of 25 %. In general, minimum 8
percent nickel and 17 % chromium contents are essential to make the steel
completely austenitic in the presence of low carbon contents. These steels, though
costly, possess the best possible properties. Precipitation hardening stainless steels

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 81

contains nickel, chromium, molybdenum, copper and aluminium. These steels are
strengthened by precipitation of intermetallic compounds. Depending on the matrix,
they can be further divided into three groups, namely, austenitic, semi-austenitic, and
martensitic steels.
Austenitic stainless steels possess optimum combination of strength, ductility and
toughness. Hence, they are the most widely used of all varieties of stainless steels.
There is no phase transformation with temperature for this class of stainless steels.
For this reason, they are not subjected to heat treatment operations in order to
improve the properties. Cold working is the only strengthening mechanism for these
stainless steels.
Annealing is done in order to facilitate the cold working process. Stress relieving is
also employed on cold-worked and welded parts. When austenitic stainless steels are
heated to a temperature range 425-870C, chromium carbide precipitation takes place
at austenitic grain boundaries. Precipitation of chromium carbide will result in depletion
of chromium in the matrix adjacent to grain boundaries. Hence, corrosion resistance
decreases sharply. Therefore, this temperature range is avoided during heat
treatment/welding of austenitic stainless steels. This is also known as sensitization. It
can be solved in three ways:
1. By solution treatment,
2. By controlling carbon content, and
3. By stabilization.
Just as in austenitic stainless steels, there is no phase change in ferritic stainless
steels with temperature. Therefore, these steels cannot be subjected to heat treatment
processes for strengthening. The composition of these steels is so adjusted as to give
ferritic structure at room temperature. High chromium ferritic stainless steels remain
ferritic on cooling from high temperatures. However, in the case of relatively low
chromium ferritic stainless steels, there is always the possibility of formation of some
martensite on cooling from high temperatures. This martensite, though small in
amount, affects the mechanical properties, especially ductility and toughness. This is
so because martensite is located at the grain boundaries. Hence, addition of strong
ferrite formers to these grades of ferritic stainless steels is generally recommended.
Properties of ferritic stainless steels are adversely affected by heating in the
temperature range 400-450C. This embrittIement seems to be due to the precipitation
of sub-microscopic particles of iron-chromium compound at grain boundaries. Rapid
cooling above 600C can avoid this. The presence of sigma phase and
other intermetallic phases decreases toughness and corrosion resistance. Almost all
ferritic stainless steels with more than 14 % chromium suffer from this embrittlement
from intermetallic phases. These phases appear on heating to a temperature range
600-1000C. These steels should not be selected for service conditions that demand
exposure within this temperature range. Heating ferritic stainless steels above 1000C
results in the dissolution of these phases.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 82

In contrast to austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, martensitic stainless steels can
be heat treated to improve mechanical properties. Carbon content of martensitic
stainless steels is one of the important parameters, which controls the properties of
heat-treated steels. Martensitic stainless steel can be hardened by oil quenching
from austenitizing temperature, which depends on the chemical composition of
steel. For most of the standard grades of martensitic stainless steels, austenitizing
temperature lies between 925C and I075C. Due to their high hardenability, these
steels can be hardened by air-cooling. However, some decrease in ductility and
corrosion resistance has been observed in air-hardened steels. It is due to the
precipitation of carbides at grain boundaries on slow cooling within a temperature
range, 870-540C. Therefore, air cooling is performed, only for those components
whose sizes or shapes are such that the problem of distortion is severe, on oil
quenching. Martensitic stainless steels with high carbon contents or nickel contents
pose an additional problem, namely, the presence of retained austenite in as-
quenched structure. Such grades of martensitic stainless steels are subjected to
sub-zero treatment in order to transform retained austenite to martensite. Hardened
martensitic stainless steels arc subjected to tempering treatment. Depending on the
final properties required, low or medium temperature tempering is carried out. Low
temperature tempering results only in stress relieving and does not change the
mechanical properties. It is carried out by heating to the temperature range 150-
370C. Medium temperature tempering results in change in mechanical properties.
Occasionally, high temperature tempering is carried out. It imparts maximum
softening.
Precipitation hardening stainless steels have either austenitic or martensitic matrix.
Steels with martensitic matrix are more common in use than those with austenitic
matrix. The austenitic precipitation hardening stainless steels are non-magnetic in
nature and have a minimum nickel content of 10 percent. It ensures formation of
austenitic matrix, which is strengthened by addition of molybdenum, copper, niobium
and titanium. Heat treatment of these grades consists of solution treatment so as to
get a single-phase structure. Solution treatment is carried out by heating the steel to
about 1200C.It is followed by quenching which results in the retention of high
temperature phase at room temperature. Quenched steel is then aged at about
750C. In the aged condition, the structure consists of austenite and intermetallic
compounds. Due to high ageing temperature, these steels can be used successfully
up to about 650C.
Martensitic grades of precipitation hardening stainless steels are alloyed with copper,
molybdenum, aluminium, titanium, niobium and nitrogen. The heat treatment
sequence is similar to that described for austenitic grades. Martensitic grades are
generally aged at relatively lower temperatures (about 450C) than those adopted for
austenitic grades. High nickel steels, known as semi-austenitic precipitation
hardening steels, have good formability at room temperature

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 83

Maraging steels
These steels are essentially high alloy, high strength steels possessing good forming
characteristics, weldability, high yield strength to tensile strength ratio and fracture
toughness. The chemical composition of a maraging steel is so adjusted that austenite
to martensite transformation proceeds even on air-cooling. This results in practically
insignificant distortion of the steel part. In maraging steel, there is no danger of
decarburization on heating.
Maraging steels are basically alloys of iron and nickel. In these steels, minimum 18-20
% nickel is needed to impart air-hardening characteristics. In addition to nickel, cobalt,
titanium, beryllium, aluminium, niobium, tungsten and molybdenum are also present in
these steels. In maraging steels, carbon is present as an impurity and is generally kept
below 0.03 percent. The martensite formed in maraging steels is almost carbon free.
The iron-nickel martensite is soft by nature. This martensite has low strength and high
ductility. The hardened structure is aged at elevated temperatures. Such an ageing
treatment results in the precipitation of intermetallic compounds in a matrix of
martensite. Such a structure is responsible for ultra-high strength of maraging steels.

Spring steels:
Steels possessing high elastic limit, toughness and fatigue strength are suitable for
manufacturing springs. High carbon steels are the cheapest among all the grades of
spring steels. These steels are used in either hardened and tempered condition or in
patented and cold-drawn conditions.
High quality springs are made from chromium-vanadium steels. Heat-treated
chromium-vanadium steels develop high elastic limit, toughness, resistance to fatigue
and machinability as compared to high carbon steels. These steels are also used in oil
hardened and tempered condition. Typical applications include automobile and aircraft
engine valve springs and high quality laminated and coil springs for motorcars. A
typical steel belonging to this class contains 0.50% C, 10% Cr, 0.20% V, 0.40% Si and
0.70% Mn. it is oil hardened from 860C, followed by tempering at about 500C.
For medium duty applications, leaf and helical springs are generally made from
silicon-chromium steels. A representative steel of this class has 0.60% C, 0.70%
Si, 0.60% Mn and 0.80% Cr. The heat treatment consists of oil hardening from
830C, followed by tempering in the temperature range 550-600C.
Most commonly employed steels for manufacturing springs are silicon manganese
steels. The use of chromium-manganese steels for making springs is a relatively
recent introduction. These steels are being used increasingly for those applications
for which silicon-manganese steels were being used earlier. In other words, these
steels provide an alternative to silicon-manganese steels. A steel belonging to this
group contains 0.50% C, 0.40% Si (max), 0.80% Mn and 1.0% Cr. Heat treatment
consists of oil hardening from 820C. Tempering is performed at about 400-450C.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 84

Properties of chromium-manganese steels can be improved by the addition of
0.10-0.20 percent vanadium or 0.15~0.25 percent molybdenum, or both.

Valve steels:
High chromium-silicon (Cr + Si ~ 10%) steels are popularly known as valve steels and
are extensively used for manufacturing automobile, aero and marine engine valves.
Besides, these steels are also used for making furnace parts, nuts and bolts for high
temperature service, tube bending mandrels, tube piercing points, super heater
supports and gas turbine parts. These applications imply that chromium-silicon steels
can be successfully used as heat resisting steels. In fact, these steels possess very
good resistance to heat corrosion and scale formation. Parts made from these steels
can be successfully used up to about 600-650C. Properties of these steels can be
further improved by addition to nickel and tungsten. Chromium-silicon-nickel valve
steel has better heat, corrosion, and scale resistance than chromium-silicon steel, and
is well suited for making heavy-duty outlet valves. It is generally used in hardened and
tempered condition.
In addition to the martensitic grades of chromium-silicon steels, complexly alloyed
austenitic grades of chromium-nickel-silicon-tungsten steels are also used for
manufacturing high duty exhaust valves for aircrafts and automobile engines. These
austenitic grades cannot be hardened by heat treatment and are used in softened
condition.

Heat resisting steels:

Heat resisting steels are also known as high temperature steels. Since parts made
from these steels are exposed to elevated temperature service conditions, such steels
should possess high temperature strength and good resistance to oxidation and/or
scaling. In addition to these characteristics, dimensional as well as str1Jctural stability
is of prime importance. Applications of heat resisting steels include components of jet
engines, rockets, gas turbines and boilers. A wide range of steels, from plain carbon
steels to high alloy steels, can be used as heat resisting steels, depending on the
service conditions to which they are exposed.
Plain carbon steels can be successfully subjected to loading up to about 300C, as
creep is not significant below this temperature. Low alloy steels are used at higher
temperatures. A low alloy steel with about 0.50 % molybdenum is quite popular due to
its low cost and better high temperature properties. The properties of this steel can be
improved by addition of chromium or vanadium or both. These elements (Mo, Cr and
V) raise the recrystallization temperature of ferrite and thus improve heat resistance.
These steels are used for manufacturing steam pipe lines, super heaters, fittings,
steam drum, fasteners and for other applications in the temperature range 500--600C.
Depending on the composition (mainly based on chromium contents), these low alloy
steels .can be grouped in two classes, pearlitic and martensitic steels.

NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION 85

Pearlitic steels have low chromium contents and are used in either normalized and
tempered condition or in oil quenched and tempered condition. Pearlitic grades of low
alloy steels cannot be employed at temperatures above 500-580C. Martensitic grades
of low alloy (Cr-Mo-V) steels are used in hardened and tempered condition. Tempering
temperature should be more than the service temperature. Due to higher chromium
contents, these steels (martensitic grades) have better heat resistance than pearlitic
steels.
Raising the chromium content can increase the heat resistance of steel. This is why
both martensitic and ferritic stainless steels are used frequently as heat resisting
steels. Martensitic (chromium) steels alloyed with tungsten, vanadium, molybdenum,
niobium and titanium are preferred to straight chromium steels because of the better
properties that can be achieved in the former. These elements raise the
recrystallization temperature of the steel and form strong carbides. For these reasons,
these complexly alloyed steels have better heat resistance. Heat resistance can be
further improved by the addition of boron, zirconium, cerium and nitrogen. This class
(martensitic) of high chromium steels in hardened and tempered condition offers opti -
mum heat resistance.
Austenitic heat resistant chromium-nickel steels differ from austenitic stainless steels
in the sense that heat-resisting steels have higher nickel and chromium contents and
are alloyed with tungsten, vanadium, niobium and boron. Such complex steels
possess enhanced heat resistance. Austenitic heat resisting steels are regarded as
possessing the best heat resistance among all steels and can be used for making
components operating at temperatures up to 750C. Austenitic heat resisting steels
are strengthened by precipitation of either carbides or intermetallic compounds.
Chromium-silicon steels also constitute a popular class of heat resisting steels. These
steels are also known as valve steels

5.15 Heat treatment of aluminium and its alloys:

In aluminium alloys, the basic aim of heat treatment is to increase strength and
hardness. Depending on the rate of heating, cooling and soaking time at given
temperatures, the properties can be varied according to requirement. Main heat
treatment processes used for aluminium alloys are as follows: (1) Annealing (for
example, recovery, recrystallization, homogenization and high temperature annealing),
(2) solution treatment, and (3) precipitation hardening.

Annealing:
Annealing of aluminium alloys is carried out to relieve internal stresses caused by cold
working. Temperature control is necessary to avoid grain growth. During annealing, the
precipitation of the alloying elements may also take place. This complete precipitation
gives dimensional stability even at high temperature to the parts in service. There is no
appreciable change in mechanical properties. It improves ductility

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and resistance towards shock, while tensile and yield strength decreases to some
extent.
This process can be divided into two subgroups, type 1 and type 2 annealing. Type 1
annealing includes recovery, recrystallization and homogenization. Type 2 annealing is
a high temperature annealing process, also termed phase recrystallization.

Type 1 Annealing:
The main purpose of this treatment is to convert the structure of metal to a stable form
from an unstable one. This is a spontaneous and irreversible process. A coarse
grained structure produced by this process will not become fine grained only after
further cold working. In heat treatable aluminium alloys, this process decreases the
degree of supersaturation of solid solution. The deciding factors for this process are
temperature and time of soaking, and not rate of heating and cooling.
Recovery treatment:
During recovery treatment, most of the elastic distortions in the metal, which are
generated during cold working or during fast rate of solidification, are relieved. For this
treatment, components are soaked at definite temperature (which varies for different
alloys), but below recrystallization temperature of the alloy. Hardness and strength of
the alloy decrease due to recovery treatment, while ductility and toughness increase.
Recrystallization annealing:
Recrystallization annealing treatment is given to wrought semi-finished aluminium
alloys to change the structure, i.e. to change the directional grains into equiaxed
grains. Thus, isotropy is maintained. As the degree of deformation is increased, there
is decrease in grain size. Any decrease in the temperature of deformation has also
similar effect on the grain size. The rapidity of recrystallization process increases with
rise in temperature and decrease in original grain size. For a complete and fast rate of
recrystallization, the alloy structure should be thermodynamically unstable. With a
critical deformation, there is formation of coarse-grained rim on the deformed material.
Industrially, the following steps are taken for obtaining a fine grained equiaxed
structure in semi finished wrought products:
1. The recrystaIIization process is interrupted just after nucleation process. .
2. Fast heating rate is preferred for annealing temperature (for this, nitrate bath is
used).
3. RecrystaIIization should be carried out at maximum possible temperature and
in minimum time.

Homogenization treatment:
Homogenization treatment is given to distribute the alloying additions uniformly
throughout the alloy. Thus the adverse effect of segregation is removed by this
treatment. As cast structure is also modified. In so doing, the mechanical properties of
the alloy also improve.

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Homogenization annealing treatment is given to those semi-finished products, which
have comparatively high hardness. The aim is to introduce good plasticity before
cold and hot working of the ingot. Thus, workability of the alloy improves. This is the
first treatment given to ingots.
Type 2 Annealing:
In this type of annealing, the alloy is heated above critical temperature and then cooled
slowly. Due to this treatment, the shape and size of the grains and nature of
distribution of particles of precipitating phases are modified considerably from original
structure. We can obtain a fine-grained structure, which has great bearing on
mechanical properties of the alloy. In this case, the change is of reversible type, i.e. the
coarse grained structure may change into fine grained, and the reverse of this is also
true. The rate of cooling is a major factor besides temperature and soaking time.

Solution Heat Treatment

This involves heating of the alloy to a particular temperature for sufficient time so that
alloying elements such as Cu, Si, Mg, and Zn go into solid solution and form single-
phase solid solution. Overheating and under heating are to be avoided. Overheating
may cause formation of surface blisters, excessive grain growth, and eutectic melting
in some alloys. On the other hand, under heating may lead to incomplete solutionizing
prior to precipitation. After solutionizing, the alloy is quenched in cold water or hot or
boiling water or hot oil or fused salts. The factors, which affect the final properties of
the alloy, are soaking temperature, soaking time and cooling rate. the soaking
temperature is different for various alloys. It depends on the various phases, which are
present in alloys. Each phase will dissolve in solid solution at different rates. The rate
of dissolution increases with rise in temperature. Soaking time is based on the rate of
dissolution of alloying elements into solid solution. Soaking

Precipitation Hardening
After quenching, precipitation of second-phase particles occurs. Precipitation with time
at room temperature is called natural ageing, whereas precipitation at higher
temperatures is referred to as artificial ageing. The hardness after solution treatment is
comparatively low. The maximum hardness and strength develops when ahoy is aged
at a suitable temperature which normaIIy ranges between 120C and 200C. In some
cases the ageing temperature may be as high as 300C. Ageing time may vary from 4
hours to 24 hours.
Spontaneous decomposition of supersaturated solid solution takes place during
ageing treatment. Ageing temperature and degree of supersaturation playa great role
on the final properties of the alloy. The higher the ageing temperature and higher the
degree of supersaturation, more intensive will the ageing be. Higher temperature
ageing is adopted when more stable phase is required together with dimensional
stability. This process is also called stabilizing ageing. Besides mechanical properties,
physical and chemical properties are also affected by ageing. This happens due to the
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metastable structures of the alloy, which are formed during ageing of supersaturated
solid solution obtained by solution treatment. Rise in temperature changes the atomic
positions with corresponding changes in the forces associated with inter atomic bonds.
At the same time distribution of second phase particles also changes.
Following steps are associated with the process of precipitation hardening in most of
the aluminium alloys:
1. The first stage preceding the formation of particles of the precipitating phase
consists of rearrangement of atoms within the crystal lattice. This constitutes
formation of clusters and Guinier-Preston zones, During this process,
mechanical properties are improved due to development of micro strains in the
lattice.
2. Formation of transition structures in the form of modified GuinierPreston zones
(e.g. GP-II zones) and intermediate phases. This may give rise to maximum
strengthening in the alloy.
3. Formation of stable phase from transition phases whose particles have
common boundaries with the grains of the matrix.
4. Growth of the certain larger particles at the expense of neighboring smaller
particles. Due to this stress relief takes place in the lattice usually at higher
ageing temperatures, which causes considerable decrease in strength and
increase in ductility of the alloy.

5.16 Heat treatment of Copper and its alloys:

Copper and its alloys find wide application in industries as electrical conductor, fuel
and oil lines, bearings, automobile radiators, pressure vessels, and so on. They are
good electrical conductors, have reasonable strength coupled with good corrosion
resistance, and are non-magnetic.
Heat treatment processes which are relevant to copper and copper alloys include
homogenizing, annealing and stress relieving. Beryllium bronzes are precipitation
hardenable alloys.
Homogenization is carried out at 50C above upper annealing temperature for 3-10
hours. This treatment is required specially for long freezing range alloys such as tin
bronzes, copper-nickel and silicon bronzes. As a result of homogenization, segregation
and coring are reduced. Thus, hot and cold ductility of the cast alloys is improved.
Stress relieving which 'is carried out below annealing temperature relieves internal
stresses. In general, for wrought copper alloys, stress-relieving temperature varies
from 190C to 260C.

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 Heat treatment of copper:
In the case of pure copper, the heat treatment process, which is adopted, is annealing.
The purpose of annealing is to achieve the original ductility and softness in cold-
worked copper. Pure copper is annealed at about 600C. After holding at this
temperature for some time, copper is quenched in cold water. Annealing temperature
of copper is higher than its recrystallization temperature (270C). Water quenching
removes scale formation and gives clean surface of copper. Annealing above 600C
does not have any significant effect on copper except that grain coarsening occurs.
Grain coarsening is undesirable since it reduces ductility.
Heat treatment of brasses:
Like pure copper, brasses are also subjected to recrystallization annealing treatment
after cold working. By annealing above recrystallization temperature, the original
degree of ductility and toughness can be restored in the cold-worked brass. Annealing
may be carried out by heating the cold worked brass at a temperature between 650C
and 700C, followed by cooling at any suitable rate. Controlled atmosphere is often
used while annealing to avoid excessive oxidation and discolouration of the surface of
the brass. A low temperature (300C) annealing heat treatment may be given to brass
articles for about one hour to remove internal stresses. Such treatment reduces the
tendency for season cracking. By low temperature annealing, tensile strength is
maintained within acceptable limits.

Heat treatment of bronzes:

As in the case of aluminium alloys, beryllium bronzes (copper-beryllium alloys)
respond to precipitation heat treatment. Other types of bronzes are not given any heat
treatment except annealing at about 500C. Beryllium bronzes contain 1.5-2.25 %
beryllium. The solid solubility of beryllium in copper increases with temperature from
less than 1 percent at room temperature to more than 2 % at 815C. Due to decrease
in solid solubility with decrease in temperature, coupled with the possibility of
quenching supersaturated solid solution and formation of precipitates with coherency,
these alloys are amenable to precipitation heat treatment which greatly improves
mechanical properties such as strength and hardness. Copper-beryllium alloys are
solutionized at 800C for about half an hour, followed by quenching in water. They are
aged at a temperature between 300-320C for a period of 2-4 hours. Ageing treatment
precipitates second phase particles (-phase) uniformly in the matrix. With this
process, the hardness of the order of 200-400 BHN can be attained, depending on
ageing time. Tensile strength and yield strength also increase. By suitable heat
treatment and cold working, tensile strength as high as 1400 MPa can be attained.

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