Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Structural and FEM analysis of heat treatment effects on mild steel

Aaditya Srivastava a, Ansh Jain a, Shubham Rajput a, Hari Om Singh a, Bhaskar Chandra Kandpal a,
Manoj Yadav a, Sanjeev Varshney a, Nitin Johri b,⇑
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inderprastha Engineering College, Ghaziabad 201010 India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering ,Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Dehradun 248002 India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of this research is to determine the effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of
Received 5 January 2021 mild steel. Annealing, normalizing, and hardening are the most important heat treatment processes often
Received in revised form 24 January 2021 used to improve the mechanical properties of engineering materials. The main reason behind heat treat-
Accepted 5 February 2021
ing materials is to determine the mechanical properties such as ductility, hardness, yield strength, tensile
Available online xxxx
strength, and toughness and to improve the machining to make them more versatile. In this experiment,
the specimens were first machined according to ASTM standard and then were heat-treated at a certain
Keywords:
temperature above the austenitic region and were hardened in both salt solution and tap water. Tensile
Mild steel
Heat treatment
Test, Rockwell Hardness Test, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were performed on the heat-treated
ASTM specimens to determine the final results. The maximum hardness and tensile strength were obtained
Tensile test in hardening process as compared to annealing and normalizing.
Hardness test Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Technological Advancements in Materials Science and Manufacturing.

1. Introduction steel. In [1], Heat treatment effects on mechanical properties and

microstructure of carbon steels (EN-8 and EN-31) is analyzed in
The heat treatment process consists of three steps- heating, terms of tensile strength, hardness and corrosion rate. Findings
soaking and cooling. It is used in industries for different reasons- show annealing results in high elongation and oil quenching
thereby resulting in high hardness. In terms of microstructure, no
- To change themicrostructure, variation was observed by corrosion except pitting on outer sur-
- To reduce the residual stresses, and face. Welded joints in low carbon steel, undergoing annealing have
- For further coldworking shown improvement in toughness and ductility [2], on account of
re-crystallization and carbon diffusion in combination with refine-
In heat treatment process the steel is heated to austenizing ment in grain structure and proposed usage during requirement of
temperature then cooling. The main objective of heat treatment ductility instead of hardness in specimen. In [3], effect of anneal-
process is to change the microstructure to get required properties. ing, quenching and tempering is analyzed on medium carbon
In this paper we have discussed various heat treatment processes steels. The results have shown effectiveness of annealing process
such as annealing, normalizing and hardening. The main objective in increasing ductility and toughness and reduction of hardness.
of annealing is to soften the steel and refine the grain structure. In addition, quenching is seen to increase brittleness with hardness
Normalizing is used to refine the grain structure. The hardness and tempering resulting in overall increase of impact resistance
and strength of normalized steel is more than annealed steel. The and ductility with reduced brittle behaviour. The effect of temper-
hardening process is done to improve the hardness of steel. For ing after normalizing on EN 8 steel used in axle shafts, gears, bolts
alloy steel air cooling leads to martensite transformation, so it is etc. is satisfactory on account of grain refinement in [4], leading to
to be controlled properly. It was found that there was improve- good toughness, improved mach inability and wear minimize. In
ment in hardness from 20 HRC to 65 HRC in case of low carbon [5], comparison of various heat treatment methods is done with
observable yield strengths to be highest for tempered as compared
⇑ Corresponding author.
to hardened, normalized and annealed specimens consecutively
E-mail address: [email protected] (N. Johri).
whereas ultimate tensile strengths being highest for hardened as

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.204
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Materials Science and
Manufacturing.

Please cite this article as: A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al., Structural and FEM analysis of heat treatment effects on mild steel, Materials Today: Pro-
ceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.204
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1
Chemical Composition of Mild Steel.

STEEL TYPE PROCESS C% Si% Mn% Cr% Ni% P% S%

Mild Steel Annealing 0.246 0.2857 1.095 0.0367 0.0206 0.0197 0.0300
Normalizing 0.237 0.2848 1.105 0.0351 0.0172 0.0195 0.0292
Hardening 0.235 0.1869 0.739 0.0268 0.0143 0.0225 0.0208

Fig. 1. Tensile and Hardness Specimen.

Fig. 2. 3D Model for Finite Element Analysis.

Fig. 4. Normalizing (Air Cooling).

Fig. 3. Annealing (Furnace Cooling).

compared to tempered, normalized and annealed specimens. The

applicability of TTT diagram and Iron Carbon phase diagram in
design of cast iron and steel manufacturing process is also dis-
cussed. The effect of tempering temperature increase on medium Fig. 5. Hardening (Pink – Salt Bath & Red – Tap Water). (For interpretation of the
carbon steel with and without copper is seen with ductility in both references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.)

2
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 2 annealing on AISI 1040 steel is seen in terms of micro structural

Rockwell Hardness of Heat-Treated Specimens. and tensile test analysis in [8]. Results seem to indicate reduction
SPECIMEN PROCESS HARDNESS of ductility on account of these two heat treatments. In addition,
Mild Steel Annealing 83–85 HRB soaking time or annealing temperature increment also results in
Normalizing 82–83 HRB improved surface finish and reduced surface roughness. In [9], it
Hardening 90–92 HRB is seen that effect of rate of cooling of steel to room temperature
(Salt Solution) in annealing process largely effects tensile properties and
Hardening 93–95 HRB
(Tap Water)
microstructure. Rise in tempering temperature is also seen in
improving steel gradeductnility.

2. Experimental method
grades being increased [6]. However the medium carbon steel with
copper grade is seen to have high hardness as well as ductility in 2.1. Material selected
comparison to steel without copper. In [7], the yield and tensile
strength along with hardness of high strength bolt material The material chosen for this research analysis is Mild Steel. This
30MnB4, are seen to improve by quenching process or by reduction material is commonly used for making machinery parts, pipelines,
of tempering process temperature. The effect of normalizing and steel frame buildings, gates, and fencing. The material chosen for

Fig. 6. Stress vs Strain graphs for Annealing.

3
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 7. Stress vs Strain graphs for Normalizing.

this research analysis was bought from a local market. To start model was prepared using Solidworks 3D modeling software as
with, the material was prepared as per the ASTM standard and shown in Fig. 2.
later on various heat treatment processes like Annealing, Normal-
izing and Hardening were performed on it. The chemical composi-
tion of mild steel samples after heat treatment is discussed in 2.3. Heat treatment methods
Table 1.
Specimens of mild steel were prepared for mechanical testing
such as hardness test and tensile test. After that, the following
2.2. Specimen preparation specimens were heat-treated in the muffle furnace for reaching
the austenitization temperature (850–900 °C). Then, various heat
Both the tensile and hardness specimens were prepared from treatment operations like Annealing (Fig. 3), Normalizing (Fig. 4),
mild steel material as per ASTM standard with the help of the lathe and Hardening (Fig. 5) were performed on those specimens. Har-
machine as shown in Fig. 1. For Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a 3D dening was performed in salt solution as well as in tapwater.
4
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 8. Stress vs Strain graph for Hardening (Tap Water).

Fig. 9. Stress vs Strain graph for Hardening (Brine Solution).

In case of Annealing –After heat treating the mild steel speci- for one whole day. Thus, the specimens cooled down at very med-
mens, the specimens were left for one whole day inside the muffle ium rate.
furnace. Thus, the specimens cooled down at very slow rate. In case of Hardening – After heat treating the mild steel spec-
In case of Normalizing – After heat treating the mild steel spec- imens, the specimens were cooled in brine solution as well as in
imens, the specimens were kept at the room temperature (i.e. Air) tap water. Thus, the specimens cooled down very quickly.

5
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 3 3.1. Impact on hardness

Tensile Strength of Heat Treated Specimens.

S.NO. HEAT TREATMENT OPERATIONS TENSILE STRENGTH(kN/mm2) The purpose of the hardening process is to intensify the hard-
1. Annealing (Sample 1) 0.283 ness of the specimen and so its Rockwell Hardness number is lar-
2. Annealing (Sample 2) 0.370 ger than the annealing and normalizing operations because here
3. Normalizing (Sample 1) 0.385 carbon cannot get adequate time to react with oxygen (for rapid
4. Normalizing (Sample 2) 0.346 cooling rate), so carbon gets trapped with the specimen and forms
5. Hardening (Tap Water) 0.475
6. Hardening (Salt Solution) 0.403
martensite. The cooling rate was fast in tap water hardened spec-
imen as compared to salt bath hardened specimen and thus,
resulted in maximum hardness in tap water cooling case of hard-
ening. However, in the case of the annealing of the specimens, car-
2.4. Mechanical testing of specimens
bon particles get plenty of time to react with oxygen because of the
moderate cooling rate. As a result, formation of pearlite and ferrite
Mechanical properties, for example, hardness and ultimate ten-
phases takes place. The normalizing process does not soften the
sile strength of the heat-treated specimens were inspected using
steel to the degree and does not restore ductility when contrasted
standard methods. Rockwell Hardness Number (RHN) readings
with the annealing process. Therefore, its Rockwell Hardness Num-
were determined by taking hardness readings at different positions
ber is less than the hardening process but more than the annealing
on the treated specimens with the help of Rockwell Hardness Test-
process as shown in Table 2.
ing Machine and ultimate tensile strength using Universal Testing
Machine (UTM).
3.2. Impact on tensile properties
3. Results and discussion
The ultimate tensile strength for tap water hardened specimen
The impact of heat treatment on the mechanical properties, for was seen to be most noteworthy when contrasted with salt solu-
example, hardness and ultimate tensile strength of the mild steel tion hardened specimen followed by normalized and annealed
specimens are consequently talked about further in this portion. specimens as revealed in Figs. 6–9 and Table 3. It was by virtue

Fig. 10. Face Meshed Quadrilateral Elements.

Fig. 11. Equivalent stress variation in tensile loaded specimen.

6
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 12. Factor of safety variation (showing critical region) in tensile loaded specimen.

of refinement of the primary phase after the subsequent cooling comparing the equivalent stress (Fig. 11) and safety factor (Fig. 12)
operations. As the toughness of the material expands, the slope in tensile loaded specimen. The red shaded portion shows the criti-
of the stress–strain curve gets lower and bends in the plastic cal portion with a safety factor of 0.27726 and subjected to necking.
region. This reveals a moderate strain hardening criterion. At the
point when the mechanical properties of the annealed specimens 5. Conclusion
were contrasted with the untreated specimens, annealed speci-
mens exhibited a reduction in both the tensile strength and hard- As evident from the results, it can be analyzed that the tensile
ness. The diminution of both the tensile strength and hardness can strength and hardness of mild steel have improved on account of
be related to the growth of a soft ferrite matrix in the annealed several forms of heat treatment operations performed and the
specimens on cooling. The increment in tensile strength on account cooling rate. Hence, based on the properties and the applications
of normalizing when contrasted with annealed and untreated that may be required for any design purpose, a suitable form of
specimens was a direct result of appropriate austenitic tempera- heat treatment operation should be acquired. For high ductility
ture (910 °C) and a higher cooling rate. and less toughness, annealed mild steel will deliver up to par
It was a direct result of the formation of pearlite matrix during results. Normalized specimens have induced maximum tensile
the normalization process of the specimens. The mechanical prop- strength and hardness when contrasted with annealed specimens.
erties of the hardened specimens uncovered some noteworthy Thus, this treatment is suggested as a concluding treatment after
results. The most elevated estimation of tensile strength and hard- the manufacturing process. The hardened specimen has the most
ness was observed in the case of tap water hardened specimen noteworthy tensile strength and hardness alongside the least duc-
when contrasted with salt bath hardened specimen. The specimen tility when contrasted with the other heat- treated specimens.
was austenitic for 30 min at 910 °C and afterward, water quenched. Therefore, hardening process is suggested only when the strength
This treatment led to the expansion of the tensile strength and and hardness are needed to be high whereas a compromise in duc-
hardness of the specimen. Hence, the estimation of tensile strength tility and impact strength can be made.
can be arranged to be in the sequence – hardened (tap water)
> hardened (salt bath) > normalized > untreated > annealed. There- Declaration of Competing Interest
fore, the expansion in the tensile strength was because of the post-
ponement in the advancement of pearlite and martensite phases at The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
a higher coolingrate.
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.

4. FEM analysis References

FEM analysis of annealed, normalized and quenched mild steel [1] K. Khera, A. Bhatia, S. Kumar, M. Bhatia, Investigation of the Effects of Various
specimens respectively is attempted. The methodology comprises Heat Treatment Processes on Microstructure & Hardness withRespect to
Corrosion Behavior for CarbonSteelsInt, J. Eng. (2014).
of creating tensile test specimens as per ASTM E8 (Fig. 2) in Ansys [2] L.O. Mudashiru, T.A. Adio, T.P. Ibadan, Study of effects of Heat treatment on the
WorkbenchÒ, importing 3D model in design modeler of static struc- Hardness and Microstructure of Welded Low Carbon Steel Pipes (2013) 448–
tural analysis system, applying boundary conditions and finally 452.
[3] N.M. Ismail, N.A.A. Khatif, M.A.K.A. Kecik, M.A.H. Shaharudin, The effect of heat
determining the structural behavior of annealed, normalized and
treatment on the hardness and impact properties of medium carbon steel, IOP
quenched mild tensile specimen. A 3 D tensile test specimen is cre- Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci.Eng. (2016) 114.
ated using solidworksÒ and imported in design modeler of Ansys. [4] P. Biswas, A. Kundu, D. Mondal, P. Kumar Bardhan, Effect of heat treatment on
Refined face meshing of specimen is done with ‘triangular Elements’ microstructure behavior and hardness of en 8 steel IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci.Eng.
(2018) 377.
with an element size of 1.5 mm (Fig. 10). Structural analysis of ten- [5] Garai S, Biswas S, Panda S and Kumar S 2019 A Study of Heat Treatment of Steel
sile loads on specimen in Ansys is employed for determining and Int. J. Adv. Res. Sc.Eng. Tech. 610184-10192

7
A. Srivastava, A. Jain, S. Rajput et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

[6] G. Sahu, P.K. Sen, R. Sharma, S. Bohidar, A Review on Effect of Heat Treatment [8] K.O. Sanusi, E.T. Akinlabi, Experiment on Effect of heat treatment on mechanical
Process on Micrograin Structure of Steel, Int. J. Eng. Sci. Invent. (2014) 346–352. and microstructure properties of AISI steel, Mater. Today Proc. (2018) 517996–
[7] U. Kınıt, M. Bozca, M. Palabıyık, A. Sevinç, H. Büyükalgan, Investigation of heat 8001
treatment effect on mechanical properties of high strength steel bolt material [9] G. Singh, A review on effect of heat treatment on the properties of mild steel,
Lect. Notes Mech. Eng. (2014) 1689–1695. Mater. Today Proc. (2020).