IRON & ITS

PROPERTIES
IRON
 Pure iron is a metal
 It oxidizes readily in the presence of oxygen and
moisture. In order to obtain metallic iron,
oxygen must be removed from naturally
occurring ores by chemical reduction.
 The properties of iron can be modified by alloying
it with various other metals (and some non-metals,
notably carbon and silicon) to form steels.
Engineering Applications
 The Construction Of Machinery And Machine
Tools,
 Automobiles,
 The Hulls Of Large Ships,
 And Structural Components For Buildings
 Rail Transportation
 Oil And Gas Industries
 Electrical Equipment
 Appliances And Utensils
Commercial Iron
 Since pure iron is quite soft, it is most
commonly used in the form of steel. Some of
the forms in which iron is produced
commercially include:
 Pig iron has 3.5–4.5% carbon
 Cast iron contains 2–4% carbon, 1–6%
silicon, and small amounts of manganese
 Wrought iron contains less than 0.25%
carbon.
Wrought Iron
 An iron alloy with a very low carbon content.
 has fibrous inclusions, known as slag.
 is tough, malleable, ductile and easily welded.
 A modest amount of wrought iron was used as a
raw material for manufacturing of
steel, which was mainly to produce
swords, cutlery and other blades.
Wrought Iron
 Wrought iron lacks the carbon content
necessary for hardening through heat
treatment.
 An advantage of its low carbon content is its
excellent weldability
 sheet wrought iron cannot bend as much as
steel sheet metal
 Wrought iron can be cast, but no engineering
advantage in that.
Cast Irons
 White cast iron is named after its white
surface when fractured, due to its carbide
impurities which allow cracks to pass straight
through.
 Grey cast iron is named after its grey
fractured surface, which occurs because the
graphitic flakes deflect a passing crack and
initiate countless new cracks as the material
breaks.
Cast Irons
 Cast iron tends to be brittle.
 low melting point,
 good fluidity, castability,
 excellent machinability,
 resistance to deformation, and wear resistance
Cast Irons
 Chemical composition

Material Fe C Mn S P Si

Pig iron 91–94 3.5–4.5 0.5–2.5 0.018–0.1 0.03–0.1 0.25–3.5

Carbon
98.1–99.5 0.07–1.3 0.3–1.0 0.02–0.06 0.002–0.1 0.005–0.5
steel
Wrought
99–99.8 0.05–0.25 0.01–0.1 0.02–0.1 0.05–0.2 0.02–0.2
iron
Grey remainde
2.5-3.4 0.5-0.8 0.06-0.12 0.1-0.9 1.8-2.5
Cast Iron r
remainde
Malleable 0.25-0.6
r 2.2-2.8 0.05 <0.18 0.8-1.5
Iron
Effect of chemical composition
 %C: Carbon is often added to increase its
hardness. However, the increased hardness
comes with a disadvantage -it is much less
ductile. Careful control of the heat treatment
allows one to control hardness and ductility.
 %P: Phosphorus can have beneficial as well as
harmful effects. The addition of only 0.17%
phosphorus increases both the yield and tensile
strength of low-carbon sheet steel. cold-forming
applications. deep drawability. improve machining
characteristics and atmospheric corrosion resistance.
 Detrimental effects of phosphorus include various
forms of embrittlement which reduce the toughness
and ductility
Effect of chemical composition
 %S: it increases machinability. The amount
generally used for this purpose is from 0.06 to
0.30%. Sulphur is detrimental to the hot forming
properties.
 %Mn: It is normally present in all steel and
functions both as a deoxidizer and also to
impart strength and responsiveness to heat
treatment. Usually present in quantities from
0.5% to 2%, but certain special steels are made
in the range of 10% to 15%.
Effect of chemical composition
 %Si: Silicon is one of the common deoxidizers
used during the process of manufacture. has a
beneficial effect on certain properties such as
tensile strength. In higher percentages, silicon is
added as an alloy to produce certain electrical
characteristics.
Physical properties
Density Melting Specific Therm Electric Coefficient
kg/m3 Point 0 Heat al resistivit of thermal
Material *10³ C J/kg0 K Cond. y expansion
W/m0K Ohm*m 10-6/C at
20
°C
Carbon 7.872 1425- 481 64.9 1.40*10-7 10.8
steel 1540
Wrought 7.5–7.8 1540 500 59 11.1
iron
Grey 7.06- 1175- 460 46-79 1.1*10-7 10.8
Cast Iron 7.34 1290
Malleable 7.2- 1300 461 36 3.9*10-7 11.5
Iron 7.45
Physical Properties
 Density: important with respect to
strength:weight
 Specific heat capacity: the measure of the
heat energy required to increase the temperature
of a unit quantity of a substance by unit degree.
lower this value, higher is the temperature rise
in the material.
 Thermal Conductivity: the property of a
material that indicates its ability to conduct
heat.
Physical Properties
 Electric Resistivity: a measure of how strongly
a material opposes the flow of electric current. A
low resistivity indicates a material that readily
allows the movement of electrical charge.
 Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: is a
thermodynamic property of a substance. It
relates the change in temperature to the change
in a material's linear dimensions. It is the
fractional change in length per degree of
temperature change.
Mechanical Properties
Tensile Elongatio Hardnes Yield Poisson’ Young’s
Material Strength n s strengt s Ratio Modulus
(MPa) % (HB) h (GPa)
(MPa)
Carbon 295 30 49 (RB) 165 0.303 200
steel
Wrought 234–372 159–221 0.278 193
iron
Grey 276 1 180-302 0.211 60,000
Cast Iron psi
Malleable 586 20 217-269 483 0.271 172
Iron
Mechanical Properties
 Tensile Strength: maximum load that a
material can support without fracture when being
stretched, divided by the original cross- sectional
area of the material.
 Yield Point: stress at which material yields &
begins to deform plastically.
 Poisson’s Ratio: The absolute value of the
ratio of the lateral to longitudinal strains
Poisson’s Ratio
Mechanical Properties
 Ductility: The ability of a material to undergo
plastic deformation without fracture.
 Brittleness: Material behaviour where fracture
takes place with little or no plastic deformation.
 Elongation: Increase in length in tensile
testing, usually expressed as a %age of the
original gage length.
 Young’s Modulus: The ratio of stress to strain
in the elastic range in tension or compression.
Other properties
 Material properties that influence their
castability include their pouring
temperature, fluidity, shrinkage, and slag/dross
formation tendencies.
Alloys of Iron
 Carbon steel contains 2.0% carbon or
less, with small amounts of Mn, S, P, and Si.
 Alloy steels contain varying amounts of carbon as
well as other metals, such as
chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, tun
gsten, etc. Their alloy content raises their
cost, and so they can usually only be justified for
specialist uses.
Disadvantages of Iron
 Advantages: Tough and durable
 Available in various types i.e. cast iron,
wrought iron etc.
 Provides high security Resistant to termite
attack
 Disadvantages: Rust and corrode easily
when exposed to water and air.
 Need high finish (paint etc.) to prevent
rusting.

Iron is good conductor of heat, It become very
hot to touch in hot days.
Properties of Iron
 forges as if it were clay
 it takes on texture, chisels
 Highly plastic, spreads and draws out with
ease. Cleaned easily to give a bright silvery
finish.
 With continuous hot bending the material showed
no sign of cracking that would have occurred
with mild steel had it been subjected to the same
treatment
 Alloys of Iron (Ferrous alloys)
 Different types of iron alloys are produced according to
the properties required for their applications, and various
grading systems are used to distinguish them based on
these properties. According to the American Iron and
Steel Institute (AISI), iron alloys can be broadly
categorized into four groups based on their chemical
compositions:
1. Carbon Steel
2. Alloy Steel
3. Stainless Steel
4. Tool Steel
 Alloys of Iron (Ferrous alloys)
 Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon
 to improve its strength and fracture resistance
 compared to other forms of iron. 

Pig Iron
Cast Iron
Wrought Iron
 Carbon Steel
 Carbon Steel Carbon steel is steel in which the main
interstitial alloying constituent is carbon in the range of
0.12–2.0%. It contains trace amounts of alloying elements
and account for 90% of total steel production. The
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) defines carbon steel
as the following:

"Steel is considered to be carbon steel when no minimum

content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt,
molybdenum, nickel, niobium, titanium, tungsten,
vanadium or zirconium, or any other element to be added
to obtain a desired alloying effect”.`
 Carbon Steel
Carbon steels can be further categorized into four groups
depending on their carbon content:

• Low Carbon Steels/Mild Steels contain up to 0.3% carbon.

• Medium Carbon Steels contain 0.3 – 0.6% carbon.
• High Carbon Steels contain more than 0.6% carbon.
• Ultra-high Carbon Steels contain 1 – 2% carbon.
 Carbon Steel
Carbon steels can be further categorized into four groups
depending on their carbon content:

• Low Carbon Steel/Mild Steel

• Medium Carbon Steel
• High Carbon Steel
• Ultra-high Carbon Steel
 Carbon Steel
. Low-carbon steel (Mild steel): Also known as plain-carbon


steel, is the most common form of steel because its price is

relatively low while it provides material properties that are
acceptable for many applications, more so than iron.
 It contains approximately 0.05–0.320 % carbon making it

malleable and ductile.

 It has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and

malleable; surface hardness can be increased through

carburizing.
 Low-carbon steels contain less carbon than other steels

and are easier to cold-form, making them easier to handle.

 Carbon steel
. Medium-carbon steel: Approximately 0.30–0.59% carbon


content. Balances ductility and strength and has good

wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and
automotive components.

 High carbon steel: Approximately 0.6–0.99% carbon

content. Very strong, used for springs and high-strength
wires.
 Carbon steel
. Ultra-high-carbon steel: Approximately 1.0–2.0% carbon


content. Steels that can be tempered to great hardness.

Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose)
knives, axles or punches. Most steels with more than 1.2%
carbon content are made using powder metallurgy. Note
that steel with carbon content above 2.14% is considered
cast iron.
 Alloy Steel
Alloy Steel: Alloy steel is steel that is alloyed with a
variety of elements in total amounts between 1.0% and
50% by weight to improve its mechanical properties.
The most common alloying elements added to steel are
chromium, nickel, manganese, silicon, vanadium,
molybdenum, tungsten, phosphorus, copper, that the
titanium, zirconium, cobalt, columbium, and aluminum
Alloy steels are broken down into two groups:
• Low-alloy steel
• High-alloy steel
Most commonly, the phrase "alloy steel" refers to low-alloy
steels.
 Alloy Steel
The chief alloying elements used in steel are nickel,
chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, vanadium, manganese,
silicon and tungsten.
Each of these elements possesses certain qualities upon the
steel to which it is added.
These elements may be used separately or in combination
to produce the desired characteristic in steel.
Following are the effects of alloying elements on steel.

Applications for alloys steel include pipelines, auto parts,

transformers, power generators and electric motors.
Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel
1. Nickel: Steels contain 2 to 5% nickel and from 0.1 to 0.5% carbon
increase its strength and toughness.
An alloy containing 25% nickel possesses maximum toughness and
offers the greatest resistance to rusting, corrosion and burning at high
temperature.
2. Chromium: The most common chrome steels contain from 0.5 to
2% chromium and 0.1 to 1.5% carbon.
The chrome steel is used for balls and rollers bearings
3. Tungsten: It increases hardness, wear resistance, shocks resistance
and magnetic reluctance.
It increases ability to retain hardness and toughness at high
temperature.
The principal uses of tungsten steels are for cutting tools, dies, valves,
taps and permanent magnets.
Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel
4. Vanadium: It aids in obtaining a fine grain structure in tool steel.
The addition of a very small amount of vanadium (less than 0.2%)
produces a marked increase in tensile strength and elastic limit in low
and medium carbon steels without a loss of ductility.
It improves tensile strength, elastic limit, ductility, fatigue resistance,
shock resistance and response to heat treatment.

5. Molybdenum: A very small quantity (0.15 to 0.30%) of

molybdenum is generally used with chromium and manganese (0.5 to
0.8%) to make molybdenum steel.
It increases hardness, wear resistance, thermal resistance.
It is used for automobile parts.
Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel
6. Cobalt: When added to steel, it refines the graphite and pearlite
and acts as a grain refiner.
It improves hardness, toughness, tensile strength and thermal
resistance.
7. Titanium. It acts as a good deoxidizer and promotes grain growth.
It prevents formation of austenite in high chromium steels.
It is the strongest carbide former.
It is used to fix carbon in stainless steels and thus prevents the
precipitation of chromium carbide.
8. Aluminium: It is used as a deoxidizer.
If present in an amount of about 1 %, it helps promoting nitriding.
9. Copper: It improves resistance to corrosion.
It increases strength.
More than 0.6 percent copper for precipitation
Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel
10. Silicon: Silicon steels containing from 1 to 2% silicon and 0.1 to
0.4% carbon and other alloying elements are used for electrical
machinery, valves in I.C. engines, springs and corrosion resisting
materials
It takes care of oxygen present in steel by forming SiO2
It improves magnetic permeability.
These steels have a high elastic limit as compared to
ordinary carbon steel.
It affects the melting point.
Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel
11. Manganese: The manganese alloy steels containing over 1.5%
manganese with a carbon range of 0.40 to 0.55% are used extensively
in gears, axles, shafts and other parts where high strength combined
with fair ductility is required.
It improves the strength of the steel in both the hot rolled and heat
treated condition.
The principal use of manganese steel is in machinery parts subjected
to severe wear.
These steels are all cast and ground to finish.
12. Carbon: It increases tensile strength and hardness. It decreases
ductility and weld ability.
It affects the melting point.
 Stainless Steel
It has been defined as that steel which when correctly heat
treated and finished, resists oxidation and corrosive attack
from most corrosive media.

Stainless steels generally contain between 10-20%

chromium as the main alloying element,15-20% Ni and
about 0.1 % carbon and are valued for high corrosion
resistance. With over 11% chromium, steel is about 200
times more resistant to corrosion than mild steel.
It is used for cutlery, surgical and dental instruments and
other purposes where hard edges are required.
 General Properties of Stainless Steels

It possesses wide range of strength and hardness, high

ductility Formability High corrosion resistance, Good
creep resistance, good thermal conductivity, good
machinability, good weld ability Cold workability.
Excellent surface appearance and finish.

On basis of their structure, stainless steels are classified as

follow:
1. Martensitic stainless steels
2. Ferritic stainless steels
3. Austenitic stainless steels
 Stainless Steel
 Austenitic: Austenitic steels are non-magnetic and non
heat-treatable, and generally contain 18% chromium, 8%
nickel and less than 0.8% carbon. Austenitic steels form
the largest portion of the global stainless steel market and
are often used in food processing equipment, kitchen
utensils and piping.
 Stainless Steel
 Ferritic: Ferritic steels contain trace amounts of nickel, 12-
17% chromium, less than 0.1% carbon, along with other
alloying elements, such as molybdenum, aluminum or
titanium. These magnetic steels cannot be hardened with
heat treatment, but can be strengthened by cold works.
 Stainless Steel
 Martensitic: Martensitic steels contain 11-17% chromium,
less than 0.4% nickel and up to 1.2% carbon. These
magnetic and heat-treatable steels are used in knives,
cutting tools, as well as dental and surgical equipment.
 Tool Steel
Tool steel: Tool steels contain tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt
and vanadium in varying quantities to increase heat
resistance and durability, making them ideal for cutting and
drilling equipment.
Steel products can also be divided by their shapes and
related applications:
• Long/Tubular Products include bars and rods, rails, wires,
angles, pipes, and shapes and sections. These products are
commonly used in the automotive and construction sectors.
• Flat Products include plates, sheets, coils and strips. These
materials are mainly used in automotive parts, appliances,
packaging, shipbuilding, and construction.
• Other Products include valves, fittings, and flanges and are
mainly used as piping materials.
 Manufacturing of steel
Following methods/process are used for the
production/manufacturing of steel.
01.Cementation process
The cementation process is an obsolete technique for
making steel by carburization of iron.
Unlike modern steelmaking, it increased the amount of 
carbon in the iron.
The process begins with wrought iron and charcoal.
The iron had "gained" a little over 1% in mass from the 
carbon in the charcoal, and had become heterogeneous bars
of blister steel.
 Manufacturing of steel
02.Crucible Furnaces
Steel is made by melting iron and other materials in a crucible
and pouring the molten metal into a mould.
Metal is melted without direct contact with burning fuel
mixture
Sometimes called indirect fuel‑fired, furnaces
Container (crucible) is made of refractory material or
high‑temperature steel alloy
 Manufacturing of steel
03.Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive
industrial process for the mass-production of steel from
molten pig iron prior to the open hearth furnace.
The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by
oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron.
The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass
and keeps it hen the required steel has been formed, it is
poured out into ladles and then transferred into moulds while
the lighter slag is left behind.
The conversion process, called the "blow", is completed in
around twenty minute molten.
Bessemer Furnace
 Manufacturing of steel
04.Open Hearth Process
The open hearth process is a batch process and a batch is
called a "heat".
Once it is ready or repaired, it is charged with light scrap,
such as sheet metal and waste metal. The furnace is heated
using burning gas. Once it has melted, heavy scrap, such as
building, construction or steel milling scrap is added, together
with pig iron from blast furnaces.
Once all the steel has melted, slag forming agents, such as
limestone, are added.The oxygen in iron oxide and other
impurities decarburize the pig iron by burning excess carbon
away, forming steel.
 Open Hearth Furnaces
These are one of a number of
kinds of furnace where excess
carbon and other impurities
are burnt out of pig iron to
produce steel. Since steel is
difficult to manufacture due to
its high melting point, normal
fuels and furnaces were
insufficient and the open
hearth furnace was developed
to overcome this difficulty.
 Manufacturing of steel
05.Duplex process
A steel-making process that is carried out in two successive
steel-melting units (the process is sometimes also used to
smelt cast iron, beginning in a cupola furnace and ending in
an electric furnace).
The duplex process, which was first used in the second half
of the 19th century, makes possible more efficient use of
various units.
only the final refining and deoxidation of the steel are carried
out in the arc furnace.
The application of the duplex process is limited.
 Manufacturing of steel
06. (L-D )Linz-Donawitz rocess
Basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), also known as Linz-
Donawitz steelmaking or the oxygen converter process.
Basic oxygen steelmaking is a primary steelmaking process
for converting the molten pig iron into steel by blowing
oxygen through a lance over the molten pig iron inside the
converter.
The process in the LD converter is opposite to that in the
blast furnace. In the latter, carbon is added to remove the
oxygen from the ore.
In the LD converter, oxygen is added to remove the carbon
from the hot metal.
(L-D )Linz-Donawitz rocess
 Manufacturing of steel
07. Electric Arc Process
In electric arc furnace steelmaking scrap + hot metal +
directly reduced iron is used to produce plain carbon steel.
Electric energy is the principle source of thermal energy.
Graphite electrodes are used to supply the current.
The AC electric arc furnaces are very popular.
EAF generates a considerable noise.
Now a days EAF has occupied a unique position in the steel
industry: EAF can be switched over easily to produce plain
Carbon steel or alloy steel depending on the market
requirements.
Electric Arc Furnace
 Heat Treatment
 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 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.
 Heat Treatment
 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:

1. Softening
2. Hardening
3. Material modification
 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
 Softening
 Full annealing is the process of slowly raising the
temperature about 50 ºC (90 ºF) above the Austenitic
temperature.
 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 (90 ºF) into the Ferrite-
Cementite range.
 At this point, it can be cooled in room temperature air
with natural convection.
 The steel becomes soft and ductile.
 Softening
 Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to
over 60 º C (108 ºF), above 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.
 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.
 Softening
 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.
 This temperature is about 727 ºC (1341 ºF) so heating it to
about 700 ºC (1292 ºF) should suffice.
 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.
 Softening
 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.
 Softening
 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: Heat the part to
a temperature just below the Ferrite-Austenite line, 727
ºC (1340 ºF) line. Hold the temperature for a prolonged
time and follow by fairly slow cooling.
 This process allows for improved machining in continuous
cutting operations such as lathes and screw machines.
Spheroidization also improves resistance to abrasion.
 Softening
 Tempering is done immediately after quench hardening.
When the steel cools to about 40 ºC (104 ºF) after
quenching, it is ready to be tempered. The part is
reheated to a temperature of 150 to 400 ºC (302 to 752
ºF).
 The heating for tempering is best done by immersing the
parts in oil, for tempering upto 350 ºC (662 ºF) and then
heating the oil with the parts to the appropriate
temperature.
 After reaching the desired temperature, the parts are held
at that temperature for about 2 hours, then removed from
the bath and cooled in still air.
 Hardening
 Hardness is a function of the Carbon content of the steel.
The steel is heated to Autenitic region. When suddenly
quenched, the Martensite is formed.
 This is a very strong and brittle structure. When slowly
quenched it would form Austenite and Pearlite which is a
partly hard and partly soft structure.
 When the cooling rate is extremely slow then it would be
mostly Pearlite which is extremely soft.
 Hardening
 Quench Media
Water: Quenching can be done by plunging the hot steel in water. The water
adjacent to the hot steel vaporizes, and there is no direct contact of the water with
the steel. This slows down cooling until the bubbles break and allow water contact
with the hot steel. As the water contacts and boils, a great amount of heat is
removed from the steel. With good agitation, bubbles can be prevented from
sticking to the steel, and thereby prevent soft spots.
Water is a good rapid quenching medium, provided good agitation is done. However,
water is corrosive with steel, and the rapid cooling can sometimes cause distortion
or cracking.
Salt Water: Salt water is a more rapid quench medium than plain water because the
bubbles are broken easily and allow for rapid cooling of the part. However, salt water
is even more corrosive than plain water, and hence must be rinsed off immediately.
Oil: Oil is used when a slower cooling rate is desired. Oil quenching results in fumes,
spills, and sometimes a fire hazard.
 Hardening
 Precipitation Hardening can be enhanced by extremely
small precipitates that hinder dislocation motion.
 The precipitates form when the solubility limit is
exceeded. Precipitation hardening is also called age
hardening because it involves the hardening of the
material over a prolonged time.
 Hardening
 Case Hardening produces a hard, wear-resistant surface
or case over a strong, tough core.
 Only ferrous metals are case-hardened.
 Case hardening is ideal for parts that require a wear-
resistant surface and must be tough enough internally to
withstand heavy loading.
 The steels best suited for case hardening are the low-
carbon and low- alloy series.
 When high-carbon steels are case hardened, the hardness
penetrates the core and causes brittleness.
 Hardening
 Case Hardening

 Carburizing

 Cyaniding

 Nitriding
 Hardening
 Carburizing is a case-hardening process by which carbon is
added to the surface of low-carbon steel. This results in a
carburized steel that has a high-carbon surface and a low-
carbon interior.
 Two methods are used for carburizing steel. One method
consists of heating the steel in a furnace containing a
carbon monoxide atmosphere.
 The other method has the steel placed in a container
packed with charcoal or some other carbon-rich material
and then heated in a furnace. To cool the parts, you can
leave the container in the furnace to cool or remove it and
let it air cool.
 Hardening
 Cyaniding process is a type of case hardening that is fast
and efficient.
 Preheated steel is dipped into a heated cyanide bath and
allowed to soak.
 Upon removal, it is quenched and then rinsed to remove
any residual cyanide.
 This process produces a thin, hard shell that is harder than
the one produced by carburizing and can be completed in
20 to 30 minutes vice several hours.
 The major drawback is that cyanide salts are a deadly
poison.
 Hardening
 Nitriding is case-hardening method that produces the
hardest surface of any of the hardening processes.
 It differs from the other methods in that the individual
parts have been heat-treated and tempered before
nitriding.
 The parts are then heated in a furnace that has an
ammonia gas atmosphere.
 No quenching is required so there is no worry about
warping or other types of distortion.
 This process is used to case harden items, such as gears,
cylinder sleeves, camshafts and other engine parts, that
need to be wear resistant and operate in high-heat areas.