‫اجلامعة التكنولوجية‬

‫قسم هندسة املواد‬

‫خمترب التحوالت الطورية‬

‫)‪Group (1‬‬

‫‪Study the effect of stress relief annealing on the tensil properties‬‬

‫‪hardness and microstructure of the medium carbon steel‬‬

‫الطالب ‪ :‬زيد طارق محمد جناح‬

‫املرحةل ‪ :‬الثالثة‬
‫الفرع ‪ :‬العام‬
‫ادلراسة ‪ :‬املسائية‬
Carbon steel is an iron-carbon alloy, which contains up to
2.1 wt.% carbon. For carbon steels, there is no minimum
specified content of other alloying elements, however, they often
contain manganese. The maximum manganese, silicon
and copper content should be less than 1.65 wt.%, 0.6 wt.% and
0.6 wt.%, respectively.

Types of carbon steel and their properties

Carbon steel can be classified into three categories according to
its carbon content: low-carbon steel (or mild-carbon steel),
medium-carbon steel and high-carbon steel [1]. Their carbon
content, microstructure and properties compare as follows:
Carbon
content Microstructure Properties Examples
(wt.%)

Low hardness
and cost. High AISI
Low- ductility, 304, ASTM
< 0.25 Ferrite, pearlite
carbon steel toughness, A815, AISI
machinability 316L
and weldability

Low
hardenability,
0.25 – medium AISI
Medium- Martensite
0.60 strength, 409, ASTM
carbon steel
ductility and A29, SCM435
toughness

High hardness, AISI

High- 0.60 –
Pearlite strength, low 440C, EN
carbon steel 1.25
ductility 10088-3
Low-carbon steel is the most widely used form of carbon steel.
These steels usually have a carbon content of less than 0.25
wt.%. They cannot be hardened by heat treatment (to form
martensite) so this is usually achieved by cold work.
Carbon steels are usually relatively soft and have low strength.
They do, however, have high ductility, making them excellent for
machining, welding and low cost.
High-strength, low-alloy steels (HSLA) are also often classified as
low-carbon steels, however, also contain other elements such
as copper, nickel, vanadium and molybdenum. Combined, these
comprise up to 10 wt.% of the steel content. High-strength, low-
alloy steels, as the name suggests, have higher strengths, which
is achieved by heat treatment. They also retain ductility, making
them easily formable and machinable. HSLA are more resistant to
corrosion than plain low-carbon steels.
Medium-carbon steel

Medium-carbon steel has a carbon content of 0.25 – 0.60 wt.%

and a manganese content of 0.60 – 1.65 wt.%. The mechanical
properties of this steel are improved via heat treatment involving
autenitising followed by quenching and tempering, giving them a
martensitic microstructure.
Heat treatment can only be performed on very thin sections,
however, additional alloying elements, such as
chromium, molybdenum and nickel, can be added to improve the
steels ability to be heat treated and, thus, hardened.
Hardened medium-carbon steels have greater strength than low-
carbon steels, however, this comes at the expense of ductility and
toughness.
High-carbon steel has a carbon content of 0.60– 1.25 wt.% and a
manganese content of 0.30 – 0.90 wt.%. It has the highest
hardness and toughness of the carbon steels and the lowest
ductility. High-carbon steels are very wear-resistant as a result of
the fact that they are almost always hardened and tempered.
Tool steels and die steels are types of high-carbon steels, which
contain additional alloying elements including chromium,
vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten. The addition of these
elements results in the very hard wear-resistant steel, which is a
result of the formation of carbide compounds such as tungsten
carbide (WC).

Production and processing

Carbon steel can be produced from recycled steel, virgin steel or
a combination of both.
Virgin steel is made by combining iron ore, coke (produced by
heating coal in the absence of air) and lime in a blast furnace at
around 1650 °C. The molten iron extracted from the iron ore is
enriched with carbon from the burning coke. The remaining
impurities combine with the lime to form slag, which floats on top
of the molten metal where it can be extracted.
The resulting molten steel contains roughly 4 wt.% carbon. This
carbon content is then reduced to the desired amount in a
process called decarburisation. This is achieved by passing
oxygen through the melt, which oxidises the carbon in the steel,
producing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Examples & Applications
Low-carbon steel
Low carbon steels are often used in automobile body
components, structural shapes (I-beams, channel and angle iron),
pipes, construction and bridge components, and food cans.
Medium-carbon steel
As a result of their high strength, resistance to wear and
toughness, medium-carbon steels are often used for railway
tracks, train wheels, crankshafts, and gears and machinery parts
requiring this combination of properties.
High-carbon steel
Due to their high wear-resistance and hardness, high-carbon
steels are used in cutting tools, springs high strength wire and
dies.
Examples, properties, and applications of the various carbon
steels are compared in the following table.
 Carbo
Tensil Ductility
n Yield
e (%
AISI/AS conte streng Applicatio
Type streng elongati
TM name nt th ns
th on in 50
(wt. (MPa)
(MPa) mm)
%)

Automobile
Low 1010 0.10 325 180 28 panels,
nails, wire

Pipes,
structural
Low 1020 0.20 380 205 25
steel, sheet
steel

Low A36 0.29 400 220 23 Structural

Low-
A516 temperatur
Low 0.31 485 260 21
Grade 70 e pressure
vessels

Machinery
parts,
Mediu 0.27 –
1030 460 325 12 gears,
m 0.34
shifts,
axles, bolts

Crankshaft
s,
Mediu 0.37 – couplings,
1040 620 415 25
m 0.44 cold
headed
parts.

0.75 –
High 1080 924 440 12 Music wire
0.88

Springs,
0.90 –
High 1095 665 380 10 cutting
1.04
tools
Annealing
Full annealing is the process of slowly raising the temperature
about 50 ºC (122 ºF) above the Austenitic temperature line A3 or
line ACM in the case of Hypoeutectoid steels (steels with < 0.77%
Carbon) and 50 ºC (122 ºF) into the Austenite-Cementite region
in the case of Hypereutectoid steels (steels with > 0.77%
Carbon).

It is held at this temperature for sufficient time for all the material
to transform into Austenite or Austenite-Cementite as the case
may be. It is then slowly cooled at the rate of about 20 ºC/hr (36
ºF/hr) in a furnace to about 50 ºC (122 ºF) into the Ferrite-
Cementite range. At this point, it can be cooled in room
temperature air with natural convection.
The grain structure has coarse Pearlite with ferrite or Cementite
(depending on whether hypo or hyper eutectoid). The steel
becomes soft and ductile.

Normalizing

Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to over 60

º C (140 ºF), above line A 3 or line ACM fully into the Austenite
range. It is held at this temperature to fully convert the structure
into Austenite, and then removed form the furnace and cooled at
room temperature under natural convection. This results in a
grain structure of fine Pearlite with excess of Ferrite or Cementite.
The resulting material is soft; the degree of softness depends on
the actual ambient conditions of cooling. This process is
considerably cheaper than full annealing since there is not the
added cost of controlled furnace cooling.

The main difference between full annealing and normalizing is

that fully annealed parts are uniform in softness (and
machinablilty) throughout the entire part; since the entire part is
exposed to the controlled furnace cooling. In the case of the
normalized part, depending on the part geometry, the cooling is
non-uniform resulting in non-uniform material properties across
the part. This may not be desirable if further machining is
desired, since it makes the machining job somewhat
unpredictable. In such a case it is better to do full annealing.

Process Annealing

Process Annealing is used to treat work-hardened parts made

out of low-Carbon steels (< 0.25% Carbon). This allows the parts
to be soft enough to undergo further cold working without
fracturing. Process annealing is done by raising the temperature
to just below the Ferrite-Austenite region, line A 1on the diagram.
This temperature is about 727 ºC (1341 ºF) so heating it to about
700 ºC (1292 ºF) should suffice. This is held long enough to allow
recrystallization of the ferrite phase, and then cooled in still air.
Since the material stays in the same phase through out the
process, the only change that occurs is the size, shape and
distribution of the grain structure. This process is cheaper than
either full annealing or normalizing since the material is not
heated to a very high temperature or cooled in a furnace.
Stress Relief Annealing

Stress Relief Anneal is used to reduce residual stresses in large

castings, welded parts and cold-formed parts. Such parts tend to
have stresses due to thermal cycling or work hardening. Parts are
heated to temperatures of up to 600 - 650 ºC (1112 - 1202 ºF),
and held for an extended time (about 1 hour or more) and then
slowly cooled in still air.

Spheroidization

Spheroidization is an annealing process used for high carbon

steels (Carbon > 0.6%) that will be machined or cold formed
subsequently. This is done by one of the following ways:

1. Heat the part to a temperature just below the Ferrite-

Austenite line, line A1 or below the Austenite-Cementite line,
essentially below the 727 ºC (1340 ºF) line. Hold the
temperature for a prolonged time and follow by fairly slow
cooling. Or
2. Cycle multiple times between temperatures slightly above
and slightly below the 727 ºC (1340 ºF) line, say for
example between 700 and 750 ºC (1292 - 1382 ºF), and
slow cool. Or
3. For tool and alloy steels heat to 750 to 800 ºC (1382-1472
ºF) and hold for several hours followed by slow cooling.
All these methods result in a structure in which all the Cementite
is in the form of small globules (spheroids) dispersed throughout
the ferrite matrix. This structure allows for improved machining in
continuous cutting operations such as lathes and screw machines.
Spheroidization also improves resistance to abrasion.
Discussion
1)what are the residual stress source?
Residual stresses are generated after unloading when, as a
result of externally applied loading, local yielding occurs
at stress concentrations or cracks. Also many manufacturing
processes such as welding, shot peening, and cold expansion
give rise also to complex residual stress states.

2)what are the differences between annealing and stress relief

process?
Annealing is a heat treatment that alters the physical and
sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its
ductility and to make it more workable. It involves heating a
material to above its recrystallization temperature,
maintaining a suitable temperature, and then
cooling. Annealing can induce ductility, soften material,
relieve internal stresses, refine the structure by making it
homogeneous, and improve cold working properties.
Stress Relieving consists of heating the steel to a temperature below
the critical range to relieve the stresses resulting from cold working,
shearing, or gas cutting. It is not intended to alter the micro-structure
or mechanical properties significantly.also a process for making
material softer. However stress relieving does not change the
material properties as does annealing and normalizing.
3)how can stress relief process reduce residual stress ?
Surface and Heat Treatment Processes ... The objective of stress
relieving is to remove the residual stresses developed during ... In
fact lower temperature stress relieving treatment (generally up to the
partial recovery stage of ... Long exposure of the silicon substrate to
H3PO4 can result in particles and silicon roughening.
4)what are the differences between normalizing and annealing?
The main difference between annealing and normalizing is that
annealing allows the material to cool at a controlled rate in a
furnace. Normalizing allows the material to cool by placing it in a
room temperature environment and exposing it to the air in that
environment
5)what is necessity of tempering?
Hardness is used to achieve a delicate balance between the
mechanical properties of the metal, such as shear strength, yield
strength, hardness, ductility, and tensile strength, to achieve any
number of properties of the properties, making steel useful for a
variety of applications