UNIT maT TREATMENT OF : STEELS-1 QQ seme SHORT, QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS | Define heat treatment. What are the stages involved in it. at | answer cad / | The en “heat treatment” is a prdeess involving comrolied heating and cooling of a material in order to molfy its | pennsrusture or alter its plysical, mechanical or chemical properties. Heat treatment involves transformation or decomposition aasenite The products obtained will determine the physical and mechanical properties. Heat treatment of stel involves, | EN tte material to a temperature abate ihe'ttical range to form austenite, ugesin Heat Treatment : Itinvolves steel oF component. to desired temperature, It consists of holding the component at that particular tensperature until uniform change in the properties throughout the cross-section is cbtsioet: I és known as helding stage. 4 Cooling: This stage involves cooling the component to room temperature at required rates. 2 Why is heat treatment of steels done? | answer: . [Model Paper, 0) [ Dec. 4, (R13), Q1(0) Reasons for Heat Treatment < 1. To produce required combination of inicrosiructure and mechanical properties to fulfil ts purpose. and wearresstnic, improves machivabilty, surface conditions and mechanical properties by refining 2. Increases the corrosi tbe grain size, for rélieving the intemal stresses and softening the material. Various heat treatment processes used to modify ing, notmalizing, hardening, tempering and surface hardening. the structure and properties ate a 3. Whatis annealing? Nov. (R13), 146) Annealing sa heat treatment givcn to cst irons in order to soften the casting, to improve theit machinability and ductility. | | | asewer« | Feenest gayeastitens, amealing isons sempre rage oF 880°C to 900°C te soften itand hus improve its mash Forspheroidal graphite cast irons, annealing is done to inefeave is toughness and ductility: ‘The white cast iron has cementite struciuce which is very hard and brittle. So, annealing heat treatment process is used ‘omake the white cast iron soft ie, malleable. This typical shalleabilizing treatment consists of heating white east iron at a ‘eaperature of around 900°C for longtime. 4." What are the needs of annealing process? Answer : Following are the noeds or requirements ofannealing Component to be hardened (material) $2 Equipment (i) Fumace ‘5 (ii) Quenching tank (it) Quenching medium (ar, water, ol, brane solution ete) (iv) Thermocouples wet rege spear Sosluhe mati compotertobeharkenedand he map of ropes ‘SIA GROUP {3 - Scanned with CamScannerMATERIAL SCIENCE AND METALLURGY [JNTU-HYDERABAD) 3.2 G5. When will you prefer annealing? Answer : The purpose of annealing 1. Torefine grain size 2 Torelicve internal stresses 3 Topmnluce a definite micrestructare - 4 Taamprone ductiiay awd reduce Barnes 5. Te-soften the metals and improve machinabili GG. ‘Normalized stecis are stronger than annealed steels’, Explain, Answer: Model Papert.) red stoels are stronger than annealed stevls hecause wf the following reasons, 1. In nonnulizing, the steel 1s heated 1 above the upper etitical temperature and then cooled in still air to room temperature, This increases the hardness and strenctl of the stee 2. The increase in cooling rate eflexts the wanstonnotion oF austenite and the resultant microstructure in many ways, 3, The mereased cowting rate results m less procutectoid ferrite in normalized hypoeutectoid steels and less procutectont cemenite in hypereutectoid steel This Kea to good strength, whereas, the proculectoid ee 519 annealed steely resulting less strength 4. The faster cooling sate in nonmsiizing will also eflects the temperature of austenite transformation and the fineness of peathie, ‘which results én good strength and hardness In case nt normalized stcels, the cementite plate in pearlite are closer, thereby stiffens the ferrite, This results in increase hardness From the above mentioned points, is elear that the normalized steels are stronger and harder than the annealed steels, Q7._Difforentiate between annealing and normal Answer = Now/0ee.-18, (R16), Qt) Normalising “Annealing 1. | Process of normalising is employed, to to refine the grain structure of steels. Itis less time consuming process. T._ [Process of annealing is employed, us uprove the softness and ductility of steels or metals time. 2. | tetakes to is done in the furnace itself, seat isa stow 3. | Cooling 1s done in still air. 3. | Coot: process 4. [the quality of machined surface of annealed] 4, normalized steels is low. Q8. What are the objectives of hardening? The quality of machined surface of steel is Answer: Mose! Papert, ati) Hardening is always followed by tempering process. Its main objectives are as follows. () To improve hardness for wear resistance. (ii) To enable steel strength, so that it can he used for cutting otHer metals. Gili) To improve mechanical properties such as Wighness, strength ond ductility. iv) _To develop best combination properties of strength and notch-ductlity Q9. Hardening should never be a final heat treatment for steel. Why? Answer : Hardening should never be a final heat ireatment for steel as dunng the process intemal stresses are developed and untempered martensite 15 formed. This martensite 1s hard. but briithe in nature, resulting mn the seduced toughness hus, he ability of steel to withstand impact without undergoing failure, reduces: Hence, hardeving. ty followed by tempering, which is Jone to increase the toughness of steel and to tehese the high internal stresses produced iw d. During tempering, the untempered nartensite transforms into iron carbide particles, which increases the strength and toughness. Look for the SIA GROUP LOGO {% on tne TITLE COVER betore you buy Scanned with CamScannerwhile Factors (0 be considered during the sete dhuencthtig medium ate as Follows, oF he ais. ANS. What i tempar -embritiement phonamenon? sewers How. 45,13). 0110) Temperembrttlcment is a phenomenon of reduction tn HMAC Strength oF toughness of steels upd lemperiny, OF enchied steels at specified temperature ranges, All eon cial 1 alley Stectvaretempce-mbratted up seae eet, Generally, f sing) emealtny tects ke Ni Cran Mar Crate mane ssc eptble (0 F Type oF mediuon used » thsaomeron compare! fo plain cathon sicels. impuritics % surface senditons ofthe component Present inthe stcels sich PAs, Sn, Sh ee..make them more Sevstive toss tenperembrtticment However, this effeet the effect of inad e jf, What ts t lequatotime of soaking | ©" be prevented tw some extent by adding. the molybdenum, att. Bystecl even at appropriate temporsiors gy | wth atclccnpnen a tzu te mots ardoned steel? niles hard Usuatly snmostof the alley ste this phenumonen eects pecilit’ ont0,Set3, a7 | 9 meet temperature zones as shown 1m the following, Hardening of steel is done by heating 1 wo atemperature 9g 30-50°C above ertical temperature and holding the metal temperature for the phase transformation. The critech ig isdone by quenching in water, ol ete Before quenching steel is soaked at hardening temperature in furnace to oblain table structure af austinte Soaking time is usually I hour per 25 mm thickness. Soaking ine should be long enough to allow the transformation with fomogencous austenite structure, Generally, soaking time depends on the thickness and the amexin’ of allo Answer = Normalizing This is one of the simplest heat treatment frequently applied tocasting. forgings etc.to refine grain structure. relieve stresses and to increase strength and hardness. Normalizing process of heat treatment given to gray cast iron by heating it tea temperature above the transformation range ie, §85°C to. 927°C. For cast irons. with chilled layers. normalizing is done ty cooling it in air from 900°C 10 920°C temperature Hardening Hardening isa process of heat treatment applied forcast irons by healing it toa temperature rarige of 860"C 10 900°C. I is applied to cast iron to increase its strength, hardness and abrasion resistance, 2419 [Doe.-14, R13), O6(e) Q13. What is cold stabilization? Why Is it adopted? Answer : {o following reasons, Lo Were woves the exces cloudiness in the metal Les reduces the cost of manufacturing. SPECTRUM ALL-IN-ONE JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS Nov-10, Set-2, Xa) Cold stabilization is defined as a temperature cyclic process to relieve internal stresses withoutaffecting the temper (ie. tougness of the material). During the process. the retaitted trates (sall (or) ester of ‘omganie compounds) and other materials, which causes amountof energy ix quired forprocessing. which schematic figure between impatt strength and temperature. vie aon S00 e700 lermprsne, °C Figure: Variation of Impact Strength Relati 0 Tempering Temper embrittlement in zone-1 (250°C-400°C) is itteycrsible while in cone-II (450°C - 609°C) is reversible. Q15. Give reasons for extremely high hardn martensite. of Answer: [Model Papers, @1(01 Now. Hardness of Martensite (R13), 4) Hardness of martensite is mainly due to the presence of carbon. The hardness of martensite increases with the increase in carbon content (1.¢., hardness of martensite is directly ropertional to carbon content), A graphical representation is, shown in figure below, Figure: Effect of Carbon Content on Hardness of Martensita, From the above graph, it is observed that minimum amount of carbon should be present in stects after martensite transformation, 10 resist minimum distortion. To obtain, rmavimum hardness, the total amount of carbon content should, te in austenite phase and cooling rate must be adequate enowah to produce martensite str SIA GROUP > Scanned with CamScanner34 MATERIAL SCIENCE AND METALLURGY [JNTU-HYDERABAD] G16. Define hardenabil Answer? NowsDee.-16,(R15),%49) Hardenabillty Hardenability is the measure of hardening capability of a material. It gives an idea about how easily a material can be hardened under given cooling conditions, It determines the depth and distribution of hardening in the transformation of austenized iw methods to find out the hardenability of steel. They are steel to martensitic steel. There ar (Grossman's method (ii) Jominy end quench test Outofthese two tests jominy end quench testis most commonly used method. Hardenability depends on the size of grain in the austenite. Coarse grained austenite has more hardenability than fine grained austenite. G17, Distinguish between hardness and hardenability. 7 kasi NowsDec.-12, Q5(b)| Nov.10, Set-4.14) redness ~__Hardenability T.] Haniness is defined as the ability to resist scratch, | 1.] Hardenability is the property of steel, which ‘wear and tear etc. determines the depth and distribution of hardness cbtained by quenching from an anesthetization temperature. 2.| Hardness is nota fundamental property of metal | 2. | Hardenability is a very important property in heat but is related to the elastic and plastic properties. treatment of steels. G18, Whatis the effect of cobalt addition on hardenability? f NAAN LNow.45, (R13), Ot Anower # Effect of Cobalt Addition on Hardenability The addition of cobalt to steels enhances the cooling rates and speed up the pearlitic transformation. This ultimately resuts in decreasing the hardenability. Cobalt is one of the alloying elements of steels that has negative effect on hardenability by rapid decomposition of austenite. The effect of cobalt depends on the percentage of campasition as follows, (i) When cobalt ranges from 0.2% ~ 0.5%, the effects such as kinetics of phase transformations are neglected but reduces the hardenability.. (ii) 3% addition of cobalt reduces the retained austenite composition and also strengthens the steel. Finally, reduces the hardenability of steel. Though ithas some merits, addition of cobalt is not preferred in normal sicels due to its high cost. Q19. What are the limitations on the use of Isothermal transformation diagrams? Answer: ApriiMay-43, Set4,Q58) Isothermal Transformation (IT) Diagram A typical Time-Temperature Transformation (TTT) diagram used for determination of time for transformation of o1¢ phase to other phases isothermally occuring at different temperatures. Limitations of I-T Diagram (It cannot be used for direct prediction of accurate course of transformation under continuous cooling. Gi) It is used for a single group of samples only. (iil) Anerror may occur in the cooling rate with use of isothermal nose. (iv) Undesired transformation of austenite to bainite occurs with the use of IT diagram. (&)__Itis applicable only for single isothermal temperature. Look for the SIA GROUP LOGO @B on the TITLE COVER before you buy Scanned with CamScannert Treatment of Steels.1 PART-B ESSAY QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS 1 ANNEALING, NORMALIZING, HARDENING AND - TEMPERING AND SPHEROIDISING . explain the various stages in heat treatmont cycle. 20. agswer® ‘The process employed for controlled heating and cooling of the given material to change its microstructure and properties agtermed as “heat treatment”, In general, heat weatment cycle has thre stages. They are, 1, Heating mae 2. Soaking (maintaining the heat al constant rate) and. 3. Cooling. Heating Steel is heated to austenite temperature at which its microstructure changes to austenite. The provess used are annealing ‘and normalizing. - 2. Soaking “The temperature of austenite is held for a sufficient period to allow a uniform change in the properties throughout the qross-section and it carried out by austenizing, 3, Cooling . Steel from the austenite temperature is then cooled to room temperature. The rate of cooling depends on the desired jes associated with change in the size, form and nature. Examples are ferrite, peailite etc. The purpose of heat treatment Pip obtain a required microstructure, mechanical or physical properties ofthe stecl being heat treated. Some of the purposes for heat treatment of sicels arc, (i) Torelieve the internal stresses developed during cold working, casting, forging etc. (ii) Improve the hardness and strength. Gi) Improve electrical and magnetic properties. (iv) Improve ductility and toughness. (v)__ Soften the metals for other uses (cold working, rolling). Q21. “Much of the versatility of steel as an engineering material arises from the fact that It is amenable to heat treatment”. If so, elucidate this statement with reasons. Answer t Nov.-10, Set, a7(b) Steel is a composition of pure iron and a small percentage of carbon in its simplest form. At ordinary temperature it consists of pure iron ie., ferrite combined with iron carbide known as cementite. The properties of the steel are affected by the ‘composition and the structure. Therefore, heat treatment isthe process by which properties of steel can be changed to obtain the desired properties. The application of steel in a particular field depends upon its properties. The variation in properties of steels apart from heat treatment can alzo be performed, subjecting the stzel to mechanical working and alloying, but heat treatment is. generally preferred. “The process of heat treatment involves a combination of heating, holding and subsequent cooling ata control rate to obtain the desired conditions. “The various types of the heat treatment processes applied to steel and their definite purposes arc listed below. Purpose ‘Annealing To soften the steel, o relieve intemal stresses. Normalizing ‘To refine the grain structure. Hardening, * | Toincrease hardness and wear resistance. Tempering Removes brittleness from the hardened steel. Surface hardening _| Toprovide wear resistance with a tough core. Therefore, all he afove stated reasons support the fact thatthe versallity of stecl as an engineering material is because is amenable to heat treatment. SPECTRUM ALL-IN-ONE JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS Sia GROUP pate —~ re Range for Full Asneatin on the TITLE COVER before you buy [rrr Lodk for the SIA GROUP Loco Scanned with CamScanneryit-3_Heat Treatment of Steels 3.7 y il about suberiti ing. ort Answs . The process of heating certain cold worked steels toa particular temperature Jess than the lower eritical temperature and hem is called subcritical annealing. This process is mainly employed for following reasons. cooiine |, Relieving internal stresses Modifying or refining the existing microstructure 3 Reducing the hardness, “The following are the most commonly used subcritical annealing processes. Stress Relief Annealing ‘This type of annealing is mainly employed for treating the «tests with low carbon content ie... hypoeutectoid steele swith carbon percentage less than 0.4 %. Stecle are heated to 2 temperature just below the recrystallization temperature Gpnroximately 600°C) i.e. temperature ranging from SOM to 580°C. Then thesteels are held at that particular temperature for a certain time i.¢., about 1 to 2 hours. Later, the steels are cooled to room temperature in the atmospheric air. This particular process is mainly employed for the following reavons. (i) To relieve the internal strésses partly without affecting the hardness ad the strength. i) To lower the distortion while machining. (ii) Improve resistance towards corrosion. 2, Reerystallization Annealing This process of annealing is performed on cold worked steels at a temperature ranging from 625°C to 675°C. Where, ferrite recrystallizes and cementite starts to spheroidise. This particular process is mainly employed for, Gi) Relieving the internal stress along with making steels soft and ductile. Gi) Grain size refinement (depends on the degree of cold working done on the steels) 3, Process Annealing or Intermediate Annealing Itis one of the subcritical annealing processes or in-process annealing. is a heat treatmentis performed by heating the steels, toa temperature above the recrystallization temperature that restores some ofthe ductility to amaterial being cold-worked soit ean be cold-worked further without getting eracke. This process is mainly suitable for low-carton steel. Cold-worked steel normally tends to possess increased hardness and decreased ductility, asa result, it cannot be cold worked. Process annealing imparts softness and ductility. Q24, What Is spheroidizing annealing and normalising? Answer = Model Papert, Q6(a) | Now, (R13). O7(6)1 Spheroidzing Annealing ‘Spheroidize annealing is a heat treatment process usedto improve the machinability of steels. The annealed hypereutectoid. steel has a combination of peatlite and cementite microstructure. The cementite present in steel gives poor machinability, because itis difficult to cut the cementite plate using the cutting tools. Also, while machining. the surface becomes irregular and uneven. ‘Therefore, spheroidizing annealing process is employed to achieve the machinability of annealed hypereutectoid steels. In this process, spheroidal or globular form of carbide in a ferritic matrix is produced as shown in the figure below. ‘The following methods are used in spheroidizing annealing. Hol Wg the steel for a long period of time ata temperature slightly below the lower critical line, 2. Alternate heating and cooling of the workpiece component between the temperatures that are slightly below and above the lower critical line. 3. ‘The steel is heated to a temperature slightly above the lower critical line and ther itis held for sometime ata temperature just below the lower critical line, SPECTRUM ALL-IN-ONE JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS cooled very slowly in a furnace or SIA GROUP Zi Scanned with CamScanner 7