MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Heat Treatments

Dr. Martha Guerrero & Dr. Adriana Salas

 Agenda
Review of Previous Knowledge 10 min
Contents 2 min
Objectives 3 min
Definitions and general theory (ppt) 25 min
Discussion on heat treatments (activity) 20 min
Heat treating of steels (ppt) 25 min
From papers design heat treatments (activity) 20 min
Surface heat treatments for steels (ppt) 25 min
Review Plenary Questions 15 min
Assignments 5 min
Previous Knowledge Questions

Do you know what a heat treatment is?

Do you know how to carry out a heat treatment?
Is it possible to change the mechanical behavior of a
product or a material after fabrication?
Do you think all materials are heat treatable?
Do you have a clue how to design a heat treatment?
Contents
Heat Treatment Fundamentals.
Definition.
Classification.
Functions.
Heat Treatment for Steels
Iron-Carbon Equilibrium Diagram
Strengthening.
Tempering.
Annealing.
Normalizing.
Surface Hardening Treatments for Steels.
Induction hardening.
Flame hardening.
Carburized.
Cyaniding.
Nitriding
Objectives

The student will be able to understand the different heat

treatment processes that can be applied to metals with the
final purpose of changing their mechanical and physical
properties.

Learn the fundamentals and uses of Heat Treatments

Learn the interaction between Mechanical Properties,
Chemical Composition and Heat Treatments
Learn the use of Phase Diagrams
Introduction
Heat Treatment is the controlled heating and cooling of
metals to alter their physical and mechanical properties
without changing the product shape.
Heat treatment is sometimes done inadvertently due to
manufacturing processes that either heat or cool the metal
such as welding or forming.
Heat Treatment is often associated with increasing the
strength of the material, but it can also be used to alter certain
manufacturability objectives such as improve machining,
improve formability, restore ductility after a cold working
operation. Thus it is a very enabling manufacturing process that
can not only help other manufacturing process, but can also
improve product performance by increasing strength or other
desirable characteristics.
Video
Heat Treating of Steels
Steels are particularly suitable for heat treatment,
since they respond well to heat treatment and the
commercial use of steels exceeds that of any other
material.
Steels are heat treated for one of the following
reasons:
Softening
Hardening
Material Modification
Activities by Group
Activity 1
Discuss the different applications of the heat treatments
Describe the Fe-C phase diagram

Activity 2
Find out on the web heat treatments related to the automotive
and aeronautical industries. Prepare an explanation of the
applications for the rest of the group.
Softening
Softening is done to reduce strength or hardness,
remove residual stresses, improve toughness, restore
ductility, refine grain size or change the electromagnetic
properties of the steel.
Restoring ductility or removing residual stresses is a
necessary operation when a large amount of cold
working is to be performed, such as in a cold-rolling
operation or wiredrawing.
Annealing full Process, spheroidizing, normalizing and
tempering austempering, martempering are the
principal ways by which steel is softened.
Hardening
Hardening of steels is done to increase the strength and
wear properties.
One of the pre-requisites for hardening is sufficient
carbon and alloy content. If there is sufficient Carbon
content then the steel can be directly hardened.
Otherwise the surface of the part has to be Carbon
enriched using some diffusion treatment hardening
techniques.
Material Modification
Heat treatment is used to modify properties of
materials in addition to hardening and softening.
These processes modify the behavior of the steels in a
beneficial manner to maximize service life, e.g., stress
relieving, or strength properties, e.g., cryogenic
treatment, or some other desirable properties, e.g.,
spring aging.
What Then Happens to Steel?
Steel is simply an alloy of iron and carbon.
What Then Happens to Steel?
The line at 0.77 percent carbon is known as the eutectoid
line. To the left of the line, the steels are known as hypo
eutectoid steels (ferrite condition) and to the right of the
line, the steels are known as hyper eutectoid steels
(cementite condition).
In order to establish what the upper change temperature
would be to ensure a complete phase change form ferrite to
austenite, one would need to know the carbon content of
the steel.
In other words, if we consider a steel at 0.40 percent carbon,
we would look for a 0.40 percent on the horizontal carbon
line and extend the line vertically. At the point where the line
intersects the upper change line, the intersect point would
extend a line horizontally to intersect the vertical temperature
line. This would be the temperature where the ferrite has
changed fully to austenite.
What Then Happens to Steel?
Once the austenitizing temperature has been established, then
approximately 50F is added to that temperature to ensure that
the steel is in the austenite region for full transformation.
If the steel is left at a temperature that is in the transformation area
of austenite + ferrite, then a mixed phase will exist and will not fully
transform. Both phases have different volumes.
Once the steel is in the austenite region, it is necessary to cool it
down to create the particular phase that is necessary for the steel
to function, either for machining or for performance.
The rate at which the steel is cooled will determine the phase or
microstructure. The cool down can be slow or fast, depending on
what is to be accomplished.
By controlling the soak temperature and the cool down rate of the
steel, we can determine the process to be accomplished. Those
processes include annealing, normalizing, stress relieving,
hardening and tempering.
Annealing
A term denoting a treatment, consisting of heating to
and holding at a suitable temperature, followed by
cooling at a suitable rate, used primarily to soften, but
also to simultaneously produce desired changes in other
properties or in microstructure.
The purpose of such changes may be, but is not confined
to, improvement of machinability; facilitation of cold
working; improvement of mechanical or electrical
properties; or increase in stability of dimensions.
The time-temperature cycles used vary widely both
in maximum temperature attained and in cooling rate
employed, depending on the composition of the material,
its condition, and the results desired.
Annealing
When applicable, the following more specific process names
should be used: Black Annealing, Blue Annealing, Box
Annealing, Bright Annealing, Cycle Annealing, Flame
Annealing, Full Annealing, Graphitizing, Intermediate
Annealing, Isothermal Annealing, Process Annealing,
Quench Annealing, and Spheroidzing.
When the term is used without qualification, full annealing is
implied.
When applied only for the relief of stress, the process is
properly call stress relieving.
Stages of annealing
There are three stages in the annealing process, with the first
being the recovery phase, which results in softening of the
metal through removal of crystal defects (the primary type of
which is the linear defect called a dislocation) and the internal
stresses which they cause. Recovery phase covers all annealing
phenomena that occur before the appearance of new strain-
free grains.
The second phase is recrystallization, where new strain-free
grains nucleate and grow to replace those deformed by
internal stresses.
If annealing is allowed to continue once recrystallization has
been completed, grain growth will occur, in which the
microstructure starts to coarsen and may cause the metal to
have less than satisfactory mechanical properties.
Recovery, Recystallization and Grain Growth
Recovery:
Internal stresses relieved and
subgrain boundaries formed
(polygonization) in highly
worked regions -- with no
appreciable change in
mechanical properties
Recrystallization:
new, strain-free grains form
between 0.3 Tm and 0.5 Tm
Depends on prior cold work
(lower temp. reqd. due to
stored energy)
Grain Growth:
big grains are soft and low in
strength (no tangled
dislocations)
Types of Annealing for steels
Bright Anneal. This method is a method of annealing which
uses a protective atmosphere to prevent the steel surface
from oxidation.
Process Anneal. This procedure is done at a temperature
close to the lower critical line on the iron carbon diagram.
Sometimes confused with sub-critical annealing, it is used when
considerable cold working is to follow.
Recrystallization Anneal. Once again, this is a process often
mistaken for subcritical annealing. It is used after cold working
to produce a specific grain structure.
Sub-Critical Anneal. This method is used on cold-worked
steel and is carried out below the lower critical line on the
iron carbon equilibrium diagram. It is sometimes applied to
tool steels that have been over tempered and require
annealing before hardening and tempering.
Types of Annealing for steels
Spheroidize Anneal. This process is a controlled
heating and cooling procedure to produce spheroidal or
globular cementite particles. It is usually applied on high
carbon steels for good machining characteristics such as
high alloy steels and tool steels.
Isothermal Annealing. The process temperature of this
procedure is determined by knowledge of the steel's
carbon content. The steel is then taken to that
temperature and cooled down to a holding temperature
that allows the steel to transform isothermally.
Full Anneal. This is a process that involves raising the
steel's temperature up to the sustenite region followed by
a slow cool.
Normalizing
Normalizing is a process that makes the grain size
normal.
This process is usually carried out after forging,
extrusion, drawing or heavy bending operations.
When steel is heated to elevated temperatures to
complete the above operations, the grain of the steel will
grow. In other words, the steel experiences a
phenomenon called grain growth. This leaves the steel
with a very coarse and erratic grain structure.
Furthermore, when the steel is mechanically deformed by
the aforementioned operations, the grain becomes
elongated.
Normalizing
There are mechanical property changes that take place as a
result of normalizing - inasmuch as the normalized steel is soft,
but not as soft as a fully annealed steel. Its grain structure is
not as coarse as an annealed steel, simply because the cooling
rate is faster than that of annealing. Usually the steel is cooled
in still air and free from air drafts. The process temperature is
virtually the same as for annealing, but the results are different
due to the cooling rate.
The process is designed to:
Give improved machining characteristics.
Ensure a homogenous structure.
Reduce residual stresses from rolling and forging.
Reduce the risk of "banding."
Help to give a more even response to the steel when hardening.
Hardening
Hardening describes techniques to increase the hardness
of a material. There are five main hardening mechanisms:
Hall-Petch hardening, a hardening that result due to a
decrease in grain size.
Cold working, also called strain hardening
Solid Solution strengthening
Precipitation hardening
Martensitic transformations
Case hardening, hardening the surface of iron or steel by
infusing carbon into the surface layer
All
hardening mechanisms, except of the martensitic
transformation, introduce dislocations or defects in a
crystal lattice that act as barriers to slip.
Hall-Petch hardening
Grain-boundary strengthening (or Hall-Petch strengthening) is
a method of strengthening materials by changing their
average crystallite (grain) size.
It is based on the observation that grain boundaries obstruct
dislocation movement and that the number of dislocations
within a grain have an effect on how easily dislocations can
traverse grain boundaries and travel from grain to grain.
So, by changing grain size one can influence dislocation
movement and yield strength.
For example, heat treatment after plastic deformation and
changing the rate of solidification are ways to alter grain size.
Strain hardening
Strain hardening is the phenomenon whereby a ductile
metal becomes harder and stronger as it is plastically
deformed.
It is also called work hardening, or, because the temperature
at which deformation takes place is cold relative to the
absolute melting temperature of the metal, cold working.
Most metals strain harden at room temperature.
The price for this enhancement of hardness and strength is
in the ductility of the metal.
Strain hardening
Solid Solution strengthening
Another technique to strengthen and harden metals
is alloying with impurity atoms that go into
either substitutional or interstitial solid solution.
This is called solid-solution strengthening.
High-purity metals are almost always softer and
weaker than alloys composed of the same base
metal.
Increasing the concentration of the impurity results in
an attendant increase in tensile and yield
strengths, as indicated in Figures a and b for nickel in
copper; the dependence of ductility on nickel
concentration is presented in Figure c.
Dislocation movement is restricted due to lattice
strain field interactions between dislocations and
these impurity atoms
Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening or
dispersion hardening, is a heat treatment technique used to
increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including
most structural alloys of aluminum, magnesium, nickel
and titanium, and some stainless steels.
It relies on changes in solid solubility with temperature to
produce fine particles of an impurity phase, which impede the
movement of dislocations, or defects in a crystal's lattice.
Since dislocations are often the dominant carriers of
plasticity, this serves to harden the material.
The impurities play the same role as the particle substances in
particle-reinforced composite materials.
Precipitation in solids can produce many different sizes of
particles, which have radically different properties.
Precipitation Hardening
Unlike ordinary tempering, alloys must be kept at elevated
temperature for hours to allow precipitation to take
place. This time delay is called aging.
Note that two different heat treatments involving
precipitates can alter the strength of a material: solution
heat treating and precipitation heat treating.
Solution heat treating involves formation of a single-phase
solid solution via quenching and leaves a material softer.
Precipitation heat treating involves the addition of
impurity particles to increase a material's strength.
Some precipitation hardening materials
2000-series aluminum alloys (important examples: 2024
and 2019)
6000-series aluminum alloys
7000-series aluminum alloys (important examples: 7075
and 7475)
17-4PH stainless steel (UNS S17400)
Maraging steel
Inconel 718
Alloy X-750
Rene 41
Waspaloy
Al-Cu Precipitation Process
Martensitic transformations
The martensite is formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of
austenite which traps carbon atoms that do not have time to
diffuse out of the crystal structure.
This martensitic reaction begins during cooling when the
austenite reaches the martensite start temperature (Ms) and
the parent austenite becomes mechanically unstable.
At a constant temperature below Ms, a fraction of the parent
austenite transforms rapidly, then no further transformation
will occur.
When the temperature is decreased, more of the austenite
transforms to martensite.
Finally, when the martensite finish temperature (Mf) is reached,
the transformation is complete.
Case hardening
Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of
hardening the surface of a metal, often a low carbon
steel, by infusing elements into the material's surface,
forming a thin layer of a harder alloy.
Case hardening is usually done after the part in question
has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done
to increase the hardening element content of bars to be
used in a pattern welding or similar process.
Flame and induction hardening
Flame hardening is an oxy-acetylene
heating process used to produce a
hard case on the surface of a wide
range of mechanical components.
Burning fuel gas impinges directly on
the surface to be hardened. When the
surface reaches the austenizing
temperature, the part is immediately
quenched to produce a locally
hardened surface.
Typical flame hardening
applications include blades for
turbine engines, gears for paper
machinery, rolls for the printing and
metalworking industries, cams for
packaging machinery, machine tool
beds, and automotive components.
Carburizing
Carburizing is the addition of
carbon to the surface of low-
carbon steels at temperatures
generally between 850 and
950C (1560 and 1740F), at
which austenite, with its high
solubility for carbon, is the
stable crystal structure.
Hardening is accomplished
when the high-carbon
surface layer is quenched to
form martensite so that a high-
carbon martensitic case with
good wear and fatigue
resistance is superimposed on
a tough, low-carbon steel core.
Carburizing steels for case
hardening usually have base-
carbon contents of about
0.2%, with the carbon content
of the carburized layer
generally being controlled at
between 0.8 and 1% C.
However, surface carbon is
often limited to 0.9%
because too high a carbon
content can result in retained
austenite and brittle
martensite.
 Carburizing

Large 10,000 pound gear being transferred

Load of gears going into a batch from furnace to oil quench bath (Bodycote -
carburizing furnace Melrose
Nitriding
Nitriding involves the diffusion of nitrogen into the surface
layers of a low carbon steel at elevated temperature.
The formation of nitrides in the nitrided layer provides the
increased hardness.
It is typically carried out in the temperature range of 500 -
575C, this is in the ferritic state rather than the austenitic
used for carburising. This is possible since ferrite has a much
higher solubility for nitrogen than it does for carbon.
The advantage of nitriding in the ferritic state is that any
previous heat treatment of the steel component is not
disrupted and there is little / no distortion of the final
component shape.
 Nitriding
Nitriding can be carried out
using solid, liquid or
gaseous media but the most
common is gas nitriding
using ammonia (NH3) gas
as the nitrogen carrying
species. To get a hardening
effect on nitriding the steel
must contain strong nitride
forming elements such as Al,
Cr and / or V.
 Carbo-nitriding
Carbo-nitriding is a variation of
carburising where both carbon
and nitrogen bearing species are
used in the gaseous state, usually
the inclusion of ammonia in with
the carburising gas mixture.
Carbo-nitriding is carried out in
the austenite state, i.e.
temperatures above 850C,
typically 870C.
The case depths are typically
lower than those achieved by
carburising alone however the
surface hardness levels can
be higher.
Material Modification
As mentioned before, heat treatment is used to modify
properties of materials in addition to hardening and
softening.
In this section, we will discussed some examples of
material modifications, such a Stress Relief and
Cryogenic treatment
Stress Relief
Cold working, hot rolling, grinding, quenching treatments,
welding, and thermal cutting all can induce residual stress
into metal.
STRESS-RELIEF HEAT TREATING is used to relieve
stresses that remain locked in a structure as a consequence of
amanufacturing sequence.
There are two major approaches to stress relieving: thermal
and mechanical. A major difference between the two is
thermal treatment, which in addition to relieving stress, will
also effect metallugical changes in the metal.
For carbon and low-alloy steels, stress relieving is commonly
performed in the range of 593 to 732C.
Stress Relief
Stress-relief heat treating can reduce distortion and high
stresses from welding that can affect service performance.
The presence of residual stresses can lead to stress-
corrosion cracking (SCC) near welds and in regions of a
component that has been cold strained during processing.
Furthermore, cold strain can produce a reduction in creep
strength at elevated temperatures.
Residual stresses in a ferritic steel cause significant
reduction in resistance to brittle fracture. In a material that is
not prone to brittle fracture, such as an austenitic stainless
steel, residual stresses can be sufficient to provide the stress
necessary to promote SCC even in environments that appear
to be benign.
Shot Peening
Shot peening is a cold working method that reduces
stress.
Small, round metal balls, or shot, are projected onto the
surface. The shot imparts small indentations into the surface,
which induces compressive stress.
If properly applied, the compression works to counteract the
tensile stresses.
Fatigue cracks have a low probability of developing in the shot-
peened area.
There are three important variables to control in its
application: surface compressive stress, maximum
compressive stress, and depth of compressive stress.
The velocity of the shot is another controlling factor. If the
impingement of the shot is too deep, detrimental stresses may
be induced, negating the desired results.
Shot Peening
Cryogenics
Cryogenics, or deep freezing is done to make sure there is no
retained Austenite during quenching. At any given temperature of
quenching there is a certain amount of Martensite and the balance is
untransformed Austenite. This untransformed austenite is very
brittle and can cause loss of strength or hardness, dimensional
instability, or cracking.
Quenches are usually done to room temperature. Most
medium carbon steels and low alloy steels undergo transformation
to 100 % Martensite at room temperature. However, high carbon
and high alloy steels have retained Austenite at room temperature.
To eliminate retained Austenite, the temperature has to be lowered.
In Cryogenic treatment the material is subject to deep freeze
temperatures of as low as -185C (-301F), but usually -75C
(-103F) is sufficient. The Austenite is unstable at this temperature,
and the whole structures becomes Martensite.
Quenching
QUENCHING refers to the process of rapidly cooling
metal parts from the austenitizing or solution treating
temperature, typically from within the range of 815 to 870 C
(1500 to 1600 F) for steel.
Stainless and high-alloy steels may be quenched to
minimize the presence of grain boundary carbides or to
improve the ferrite distribution but most steels including
carbon, low-alloy, and tool steels, are quenched to produce
controlled amounts of martensite in the microstructure.
Successful hardening usually means achieving the required
microstructure, hardness, strength, or toughness while
minimizing residual stress, distortion, and the possibility of
cracking.
Quenching
The selection of a quenchant medium depends on the
hardenability of the particular alloy, the section thickness and
shape involved, and the cooling rates needed to achieve the
desired microstructure.
The most common quenchant media are either liquids or
gases.
The liquid quenchants commonly used include:
Oil that may contain a variety of additives
Water
Aqueous polymer solutions
Water that may contain salt or caustic additives
The most common gaseous quenchants are inert gases
including helium, argon, and nitrogen. These quenchants
are sometimes used after austenitizing in a vacuum.
Quenching
Quenching effectiveness is dependent on the steel composition,
type of quenchant, or the quenchant use conditions.
The design of the quenching system and the thoroughness with
which the system is maintained also contribute to the success of the
process.
Quenching techniques:
Direct quenching: refers to quenching directly from the austenitizing
temperature and is by far the most widely used practice.
Time quenching: is used when the cooling rate of the part being
quenched needs to be abruptly changed during the cooling cycle. The
change in cooling rate may consist of either an increase or a decrease in
the cooling rate depending on which is needed to attain desired results.
Selective quenching: is used when it is desirable for certain areas of a
part to be relatively unaffected by the quenching medium. This can be
accomplished by insulating an area to be more slowly cooled so the
quenchant contacts only those areas of the part that are to be rapidly
cooled.
Quenching
Spray quenching: involves directing high-pressure streams of
quenching liquid onto areas of the workpiece where higher
cooling rates are desired.
Fog quenching: utilizes a fine fog or mist of liquid droplets in
a gas carrier as the cooling agent. Although similar to spray
quenching, fog quenching produces lower cooling rates because
of the relatively low liquid content of the stream.
Interrupted quenching: refers to the rapid cooling of the
metal from the austenitizing temperature to a point above the
Ms where it is held for a specified period of time, followed by
cooling in air. There are three types of interrupted quenching:
austempering, marquenching (martempering), and isothermal
quenching.
Tempering
Heating a quench hardened or normalized ferrous alloy to a
temperature below the transformation range to produce
desired changes in properties.
The object of tempering or drawing is to reduce the
brittleness in hardened steel and to remove the internal
strains caused by the sudden cooling in the quenching bath.
The tempering process consists in heating the steel by various
means to a certain temperature and then cooling it. When
steel is in a fully hardened condition, its structure consists
largely of martensite.
On reheating to a temperature of from about 148 to 399C., a
softer and tougher structure known as troostite is formed.
If the steel is reheated to a temperature of from 399 to
699C, a structure known as a sorbite is formed, which has
somewhat less strength than troostite, but much greater
ductility.
Keywords
Heat Treatments Softening
Mechanical Properties Hardening
Phase Transformations Heating
Metals Cooling
Microstructure Quenching
Chemical Composition Solid State
Recovery Phase Diagrams
Recrystallization Solid Solution
Grain Growth Aging
Annealing Precipitation
Verbs
To Heat
To Cool
To Precipitate
To Recover
To Quench
To Recrystallise
To Anneal
To Age
To Soften
To Harden
Collocations
Recovery RecrystallizationGrain Growth

Synomyms
AgeingPrecipitacion Hardening
Plenary Questions
Remembering
What type of Heat Treatments exist?
Comparing
What are the differences between annealing and quenching?
What is the relationship between Mechanical Properties and
Chemical Composition to Heat Treatments?
Classify
What are the softening and hardening heat treatments?
Reasoning
What is the cause of hardening during aging?
Assignment
Write an essay on heat treatments for steels and their
applications
Use the UANL databases to make a web search to find
papers related to heat treatment for cobalt, titanium and
cooper, only from years 2009 and 2010, order your search
by application and heat treatment method used.
Upload both easy and search in separated pdf files to
Nexus.