Thermal Processing/Heat Treatment of
Steel
Normalizing is done by heating the steel approximately 55°C above the upper
critical (A3 and Acm), followed by cooling to room temperature in still air.
The main purpose of normalizing heat treatment is to produce harder and
stronger steel than full annealing.
Other Purposes of normalizing
Modifying and refining cast dendritic structure
Refining grains and homogenising the structure
Inducing toughness
Improving machinability
Temperature Range
3
Normalizing produces a harder and stronger steel than full annealing (due to a faster
cooling rate).
Thus, normalizing is often used as a final heat treatment (whereas
annealing cannot!!).
The initial cementite network is required to be dissolved completely into
austenite.
For this reason, both hypo- and hypereutectoid steels are always
heated to complete austenite region.
Effect of Faster Cooling Rate
Cooling rate is no longer under equilibrium conditions
Iron – iron carbide phase cannot be used to predict the proportions of pearlite and proeutectoid
constituents (ferrite or cementite)
Approximate carbon content cannot be determined knowing the proportions of pearlite and
proeutectoid constituents (ferrite or cementite)
There is less time for the formation of proeutectoid constituents
There will be less ferrite/cementite and more pearlite
Reduces the continuity of cementite network
Sometimes, formation of proeutectoid constituents is suppressed altogether
Hypereutectoid steels show increased strength (due to lesser cementite)
Effect of Faster Cooling Rate
Austenite transformation condition is changed
The austenite transformation temperature is decreased; the faster the cooling rate, the lower the
temperature of austenite transformation
The eutectoid point is shifted towards lower C content for hypoeutectoid steels and towards higher C
content for hypereutectoid steels
Fineness of pearlite is increased(Fine-grained pearlitic steels are Cementite
tougher than coarse-grained ones) Ferrite
The soft ferrite is held close by the hard cementite plates
Stiffness of ferrite is increased
(so it will not yield as easily)
ANNEALED NORMALISED
Thus, the hardness is increased coarse lamellar medium lamellar pearlite
pearlite
To conclude, normalising produces a finer and more abundant pearlite structure than is obtained by
annealing, which results in a harder and stronger steel
Effect of carbon and heat
treatment on properties of plain-
carbon steels
Under slow or moderate cooling rates
C atoms are able to diffuse out of the austenite structure
The iron atoms then moves slightly to become b.c.c (body centered cubic)
This gamma to alpha transformation is a diffusion-controlled process,
which requires slow cooling
Nucleation & Growth
(Time Dependent)
With a still further increase in cooling rate:
Insufficient time is allowed for C atoms to diffuse out of austenite solution
C atoms remained trapped inside austenite
The structure cannot become b.c.c. (Austenite cannot transforms into ferrite).
# The resultant structure is called Martensite.
Hardening is done by heating the steel approximately to
50 C above the upper critical temperatures (A3 line)
(for hypeutectoid steels).
50 C above the lower critical temperatures (A3,1 line)
(for hypereutectoid steels)
followed by drastic cooling to room temperature.
Purposes of hardening:
to improve hardness
to improve wear resistance
What happens during hardening?
If cooling rate is very fast (as in during water quenching):
austenite cannot transform into ferrite due to insufficient time is given for C atoms to diffuse out of
austenite.
most of the C atoms remain trapped in austenite to distort the structure; (Although some movement of iron
atoms takes place). The c-axis becomes elongated, and the cubic structure is transformed into a
tetragonal structure.
a supersaturated solid solution of C atoms trapped in a body-centred tetragonal (BCT) structure is formed.
this structure is called MARTENSITE.
What happens during hardening?
Structure of martensite (BCT) where the vertical axis
is slightly expanded because of the trapped carbon atoms
What happens during hardening?
The highly distorted lattice structure is the prime reason for the high
hardness of martensite .
The basic aim of most hardening operations is to obtain 100% full
martensitic structure. The minimum cooling rate that is required to produce a full
martensitic structure(avoid the formation of any of the softer products of
transformation) is called the critical cooling rate (CCR).
Since atoms of martensite (BCT) are less densely packed than in austenite
(FCC), an expansion occurs during this transformation.
What happens during hardening?
This expansion during the formation of martensite produces high localized
stresses which result in plastic deformation of the matrix.
After drastic cooling (quenching), Martensite appears microscopically as
needle or acicular structure, sometimes described as a pile of straw.
In most steels, the martensitic structure appears vague and unresolvable.
In high-carbon alloys where the background is retained austenite, the acicular
structure of martensite is more clearly defined.
What does martensite look like?
Martensite needles (black) in
retained austenite (white background)
Characteristics of martensitic transformation
Diffusionless (time independent) transformation.
Small volume of austenite suddenly changes its crystal structure into martensite by a combination of
two shearing actions; No change in chemical composition.
Transformation proceeds only during cooling
(athermal transformation, not isothermal transformation!!) MS
Temperature
Transformation depends upon the decrease in temperature; start at
MS temperature, ends at MF temperature.
MF
The amount of martensite formed with decreasing temperature is not Per cent Martensite
linear.
Characteristics of martensitic transformation
The start of martensite
transformation cannot be
suppressed.
MS or MF temperature cannot be changed by
changing cooling rate.
MS temperature is a function of composition only.
Martensite transformation never completes; there is
always some retained austenite in the structure.
Ms(°F)= 1000-(650 x %C) - (70 x %Mn) - (35 x
%Ni) - (70 x %Cr) - (50 x %Mo)
Characteristics of martensitic transformation
Martensite is a metastable structure.
It will change into a stable ferrite (BCC), if given the
opportunity.
Need sufficient carbon to obtain
extreme hardness.
The max. hardness obtainable from a steel depends on
the C content only.
60 Rockwell C @ 0.4%C and then start to level off
65 Rockwell C @ 0.8 %C.
The leveling off is due to the greater tendency to retain
asutenite in high carbon steels .
