Mid-Term Examination

1 (Iron-Carbon Alloys I) All

2 (Iron-Carbon Alloys II) All
3 (Carbon Steels) All - except 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-8, 3-11
4 (Alloy Steels) All - except 4-10, 4-11
14 (Surface Hardening) 14-1, 14-4
9 (Tool Steels) All - except 9-10

Lecture 9:
Surface hardening & tool steels

MMat 380

1
 Topics to be covered

• Surface Hardening
– Heat treatment
– Case hardening
• Tool Steels
– Features
– Alloy classification
– Secondary hardening

Reason to surface harden

• Harden surface layers (0.1mm – 5mm)

– Increase wear resistance
– Increase surface strength for load carrying
(crush resistance)
– Impart favorable residual compressive stresses
– Improve fatigue resistance
– Produce tough core for resistance to impact

2
Ways to surface harden a component

• Heat treatment: • Case Hardening:

• Induction • Carburizing
• Flame • Cyaniding
• Laser • Carbonitriding
• Light • Nitriding

Flame hardening plates and rounds

3
 Pack carburizing

Heat treatment
Procedure:
Applies to medium and high carbon steels
• Heat surface first to austenite
– interior (core) not heated into γ
• Cool to form surface martensite
– interior unaltered
– martensite in compression
• Tempering is usually done
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4
 Heat treatment
Characteristics:
• Hardened depth depends on
– frequency (induction)
– heat flow (flame)
– i.e. Freq: 1000 Hz Depth: 4.5-9 mm
1 000 000 Hz Depth: 0.25-0.8 mm
• Surface Rc 50-60 (martensite or tempered
martensite)
• Interior Rc 10-20 (pearlite-ferrite-pearlite)

Case hardening

• Reasons for using this method

• Easy control of depth (good for quality
control)
• Works well for complicated parts
• Cheap – lends itself to mass production
• Low carbon steel starting material –
cheaper
• Tougher structure than with medium or high
C
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5
 Case hardening
• Steels used
• low C
• made from Al killed ingots – fine grain size
1018; 1020; 1022
where distortion is not a problem and a high
strength core is not required (ferrite-pearlite
core)
4118; 8620 etc.
increased hardenability allows slow quench rates
so less distortion and cracking

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Case hardening
• Carburizing gas mixtures
• CO, CO2, H2, H2O and carrier gas N2
• Reactions during carburizing:
CH4 + CO2 = 2CO + 2H2
CH4 + H2O = CO + 3H2
– Natural Gas Produces CO + H2
2CO = C (in Fe) +CO2
CO + H2 = C (in Fe) + H2O
– Control CO/CO2 + H2/H20 ratio to carburize or
decarburize (or neutral conditions)

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6
 Case hardening
4. Residual stresses
800

S
Temperature

Ms

C-C

Mf C
Ms
Mf
0 S
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
log time
C-C
•C-C transforms to M first surface adjusts
•Surface transforms last – expands goes into
13
compression C

Case hardening – carbon gradient

14

7
 Case Hardening:
relationship of time and temperature to case depth

Case depth, inches

15
Carburizing time, hours

Properly carburized gear teeth

16

8
Microstructure through a carburized
surface

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Microhardness through case depth

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9
 Case hardening - nitriding
Procedure:
• Base: Special steels with strong nitride
forming elements Al, Cr, Mo, V (4140 OK)
• Quench and temper part (temper to 650°C)
• Heat and hold in atmosphere of atomic nitrogen
• 500-600°C for 1-100 hrs.
• N dissolves in α to form nitrides
• Very thin layer – diffusion is slow at these low
temperatures
• Slow cool – therefore no distortion from cooling or
phase transformation

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Nitriding

Characteristics
• Cases are harder than carburized cases
• Excellent wear resistance and fatigue
resistance

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10
 Heat treatment Case hardening
%C 0.4-0.6 0.2
Austenized surface all
Speed of
procedure
Fast (secs) Slow (~10hrs)
Surface
chemistry
No change 0.8-1.0%C (or N)
Depth 1-10mm 0.5-2mm
Surface hardness Rc 57-60 Rc 65
martensite surface martensite;
Microstructure
(may be through part) centre pearlite
Control difficult easy
Surface
Residual stress Surface compressive
compressive
Core toughness Medium (high C) Good (low C)
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Cost Cheap $/part

Tool steels

Steels that are primarily used to make

tools used in manufacturing processes
as well as for machining metals,
woods, and plastics.

Alloy content high, therefore expensive

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11
 Tool steels - characteristics

• Specialty steels – very expensive $/lb

• Very clean steels
• All quench and tempered
• Medium to high carbon
• Up to 25% total alloying elements
• Used at temperatures up to 600°C
• Dies, drills, cutting blades, etc. – hot working
dies

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Categories of
tool steels

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 Tool steels – shock resistant
Requirements: Used at low temperature –
toughness

Cold-work tool steels include all class S alloys. Among

the toughest of the tool steels, and are typically used
for screw driver blades, shear blades, chisels, knockout
pins, punches, and riveting tools.

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Shock resistant tool steels

screwdriver blade

shear blade

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13
 Tool steels – cold work
Requirements: Used at low temperature –
sharpness

Cold-work tool steels include all high-chromium class D,

medium-alloy air-hardening class A alloys, water
hardening W alloys, and oil hardening O alloys. Typical
applications include cold working operations such as
stamping dies, draw dies, burnishing tools, coining
tools, and shear blades.

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Cold work tool steels

cutter punch

shear blade roll blanking die

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 Tool steels – high speed
Requirements: Used at high temperature –
sharpness

High-speed alloys include all molybdenum (M1 to M52)

and tungsten (T1 to T15) class alloys. High-speed tools
steels can be hardenend to 62-67 HRC and can
maintain this hardness in service temperatures as high
as 540 °C (1004°F), making them very useful in high-
speed machinery. Typical applications are end mills,
drills, lathe tools, planar tools, punches, reamers,
routers, taps, saws, broaches, chasers, and hobs.

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High speed tool steels

thread rolling die pin, punch

drill bit

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15
 Tool steels – hot work
Requirements: Used at high temperature –
toughness

Hot-work tool steels include all chromium, tungsten,

and molybdenum class H alloys. They are typically
used for forging, die casting, heading, piercing, trim,
extrusion, and hot-shear and punching blades.

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Hot work tool steels

die casting die extrusion die

punch & die

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16
Tool steels - role of alloying elements

• Increase hardenability
Do elements dissolve in ferrite or form carbides?
Want strong carbide formers
Ti, W, Mo, Nb, V, Cr – No Mn or Ni
• Affect Eutectoid temperature
• Ti, Mo, W, Cr raise eutectoid (austenitizing) T:
ferrite stabilizers
• Ni, Mn lower eutectoid T: austenite stabilizers

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Elements
affecting
eutectoid
temperature

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Tool steels - role of alloying elements

• Change eutectoid composition

– Lower carbon levels at eutectoid
• Main requirements:
• Hardness (sharpness) wear resistance – high
%C
• Toughness – medium %C
• One of these properties will be emphasized at
either room T or elevated T @ 600-650°C

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%C in tool steels

• Hardness/sharpness (high %C)

• low temperature – cold work
• high temperature – high speed
• Toughness (medium %C)
• low temperature – shock resistance
• high temperature – hot work

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Alloy additions to Weakest carbide formers
Most dissolved in α
tool steels Mn
Cr
Mo

Carbide formers
• Some dissolve in α

dissolve in α
W
• Some form carbides – some
V
in combination with Fe
Ti
Nb
(Cb)
strongest carbide formers
Least dissolved in α

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Alloy classification
of tool steels
• 4 main groups
• Cold work tool steels – use limited
cold conditions
• will soften if over tempered
• 17-95°C
• Up to ~5% total alloy content; high %C
• High %C steels: high hardness therefore
good sharpness and wear resistance

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 Alloy classification
of tool steels
W – water hardening
O – oil hardening
A – air hardening
D – high %C (1.5-2.25%C); high %Cr
(~12%Cr) (cold work dies – really a
stainless steel; excellent wear
resistance)

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Table 9-1 from Smith

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 Table 10-1 Smith

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Alloy classification
of tool steels
• Shock resistance (cold applications)
• Medium %C
• Toughness is the main concern
• <5% total alloys
• High speed tool steels
• Tx – tungsten
• Mx – Molybdenum
• Up to 25% total alloy content
• High %C – sharpness held e.g. HSS – drills for metal

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 Alloy classification
of tool steels
• Hot work tool steels: hot application H1x, H2x, H3x
• Cr, Mo, W – main alloy elements
• H1x – Cr
• H2x, H3x – W
• H4x, H5x - Mo
• Medium carbon
• Up to 25% alloy content
• Toughness at high temperature is main requirement

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Element distribution in alloy

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Estimated bar diameter that will through
harden to 55 HRC (50 HRC for H13)
Bar diameter, mm

Bar diameter, in. 45

Secondary hardening
• Red hardness
– due to alloy carbide precipitation at high tempering
T
• Low T: Fe3C precipitates
– C diffuses easily interstitially
• Alloy carbides only precipitate at high T
– more difficult diffusion conditions
• Shock resistant and hot work (both medium
carbon)

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 Secondary hardening

ppt of alloy
carbides

47

Secondary hardening

H21 tool steel

Plain carbon
steel

H13 tool steel Plain carbon

steel

48

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Secondary Secondary
hardening
hardening

49

Double temper

• After quenching tool steel from austenitizing T

will have:
• Carbides (not dissolved at austenitizing temperature)
• Untempered martensite
• Retained γ
• On heating to tempering T
• many reactions occur but carbides precipitate in retained
γ
• Composition of γ changes to a more lean alloy
• On cooling Ms and Mf are higher than during 1st quench
• Some retained austenite – martensite

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 Double temper
γ
quench

•Carbides
•Martensite
1st temper •More carbides
•Retained γ •Tempered martensite
(high alloy) •Retained γ (low alloy)

quench

•Carbides 2nd temper •Carbides

•Martensite •Tempered
•Tempered martensite martensite
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Double temper

• Must double temper to temper new

martensite

• Hardness may actually increase after 1st

temper

• Even after 2 tempers may still have some

retained austenite

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Wear resistance

53

Hardness

•Hardened steel• 60/65 HRC

•Chromium carbides• 66/68 HRC
•Molybdenum carbides• 72/77 HRC
•Tungsten carbides• 72/77 HRC
•Vanadium Carbides• 82/84 HRC

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