Journal of Materials Engineering and Processing Technology, Vol. 1 No.

1, February 2017 11

Carburized Low Carbon Steel by Use of the

Coconut Midrib Charcoal Mixed with Barium
Carbonate
Dewa Ngakan Ketut Putra Negara1, I Dewa Made Krishna Muku2

1
Mechanical Engineering Department
Faculty of Engineering of Udayana University
Badung, Indonesia
devputranegara@gmail.com
2
Mechanical Engineering Department
Faculty of Engineering of Udayana University
Badung, Indonesia
dewamuku@yahoo.com

Abstract Carburizing is an adding carbon content process into steel in order to increase its hardness. Pack carburizing, one of
carburizing method, is a method commonly used to produce a hard surface and ductile core component. Gear is a component
requiring such characteristic. This research is concerned to investigate the hardness and wear of carburized low carbon steel by
use of carburizer consisting of 80% coconut midrib charcoals and 20% barium carbonate. Low carbon steel specimens were
heated until a temperature 9500C in the carburizer atmosphere, socked at that temperature during 2, 4 and 6 hours, and then
quenched in the water. The results showed that the further away from the surface hardness decreases and at a certain distance
will be the same with untreated low carbon steel. Increased holding time led to increase hardness and reduced wear. The highest
hardness (303.29 HV) and the lowest wear (0.0276 gr/hr) were obtained by using a holding time of 6 hours.

Index Terms—Pack carburizing, holding time, coconut midrib charcoals, barium carbonate

prior to the steel surface. This is done mainly to low-carbon

I. INTRODUCTION 1
Characteristics that should be owned by the gear in its
application as a transmission system is to be hard on the
surface but remain ductile in the core. While running the
gear surfaces rub together and push each other with their
gear partner. It demanded the gears are hard surfaces to
reduce the wear [1]. While at the core must remain ductile
to prevent cracking or fracture of teeth of the gears. If these
characteristics are met, a failure such as wear, cracking and
breaking can be minimized [2], the gear will have the
ability to withstand static and dynamic loads [3] and have a
useful life longer [4].
Pack carburizing is one of the methods used to obtain
material with such characteristics. This method is a process
that occurs chemically. Carbon element should be added
steel with a carbon content of less than 0.3%. Steel in this
range carbon content cannot be hardened by common heat
treatment due to not allowing the formation of martensite
phase [5]. With the addition of the carbon content, the
hardness is also increased [6]. Fig. 1 illustrates the pack
carburizing process. This process is caaried by heating the
steel at a temperature of 8500C-9500C in a carbon
environment [7]. At this temperature interval, carbon has a
good ability to diffuse. The depth of carbon diffusion is
strongly influenced by the distance; the greater the distance
of diffusion the lower of diffusion ability. This fact will
generate higher carbon content at the surface than in the
core.
Energizer such as CaCO3 or BaCO3 can be added to the
carbon media with the aim to accelerate of diffusion
process. Diffusion reactions process of carbon into the
metal is shown in equations (1), (2) and (3) [8]. For
Journal of Materials Engineering and Processing Technology, p-ISSN: 2549-6891
example, when energizer used in the pack carburizing is
BaCO3, then at high temperature BaCO3 decomposes to
form BaO (barium oxide) and CO2 (carbon dioxide).
Further, this CO2 product of decomposition reacts with C
(carbon) on carburizer (charcoal + energizer) produce CO
(carbon monoxide). Carbon in the carbon monoxide
eventually diffuses into the steel and reacts with iron to
produce iron-carbon, Fe(C), and carbon dioxide (CO2).
This reaction occurs continuously, so there will be
accumulation of carbon content in steel which the amount
depends on the distance from the surface.
BaCO3 BaO CO2 (1)
(2)
CO2 C 2CO
2CO Fe Fe(C ) CO2 (3)
Fig.1. Pack carburizing process [8]
Pack carburizing is influenced by heating temperature,
holding time, cooling medium, carburizer (carburizing
media) and energizer parameters used. In this study,
holding time and carburizer parameters are investigated.
Carburizer has become interesting topic to be studied due to
each material has a different carbon diffusion capability.
Some carburizers from difference carbon source have been
studied, such as from conch shell gold, teak wood [9],
mangrove charcoal [10], rice husks [11], coconut shell
charcoal [12,13], shells [14], charcoal, graphite, palm
kernel shell [15], egg shell, sugar cane, melon shell, rice
husks and arecacceaea flower droppings [16]. Furthermore,
it is necessary to find out an alternative carbon sources that
are cheap and readily available. In this research, a carbon
source of the midrib of the coconut mixed with barium
carbonate is used as carburizer to pack carburizing low
carbon steel.
II. METHOD
The material used was low carbon steel with a carbon
content of 0.17% and was obtained from a store building
around Denpasar-Bali. Dimensions of hardness and wear
test specimens are shown in Figure 2 (a), 2 (b) and 2 (c).
Carburizer used was a mixture of the coconut midrib
charcoal and barium carbonate (BaCO3) as energizer with
composition are 80% and 20% respectively. The hardness
12
test specimens, one of them is illustrated in Figure (2a),
were put in a stainless steel chamber filled carburizer.
Between the steel box and cup were lined with clay to
prevent the entry of gas or unwanted air in order to avoid
burning of carburizer [17]. Steel box incorporated into the
electric furnace and heated to a temperature of 9500C, held
at this temperature for 2 hours further cooled in the water.
The same step with holding time duration of 4 and 6 hours
was repeated. Specimens were cut, Fig. 2 (b), cleaned,
polished and etched, then hardness were measured by
Vikers Hardness Tester, Machine Zwicle, with a load of 10
kg. Measurement was undertaken from the surface to the
core with incremental measurement distance of 0.2 mm.
The same steps of pack carburizing were done for the wear
test specimens, Fig. (c). At the wear test specimens were
undertaken measurement of hardness and wear. Wear was
tested using pin on the plate Wear Testing Machine. Wear
is expressed as a reduction of mass per hour of specimen
during wearing process. The smaller reduction of mass
specimen means the higher wear resistance of materials.
Fig. 2. Specimens (a) The hardness test specimen (b) hardness test
specimen which had been cut after the pack carburizing and direction of
hardness measurement in cross section area (c) Wear test specimen
III. DISCUSSION
The study results are shown in Fig. 3, 4 and 5. Fig. 1 is a
graph of raw material / untreated and carburized specimens
hardness from the surface to the core. Surface hardness (0.2
mm from the surface) for pack carburizing with a holding
time of 2, 4 and 6 hours are 250.46 HV, 278.34 HV and
298.29 HV respectively. Untreated specimen for hardness
distribution test has a hardness average of 119.02 HV. Fig.
4 and 5 show the hardness and wear of untreated and
carburized steel, respectively, with holding time 2, 4 and 6
hours.
Journal of Materials Engineering and Processing Technology, Vol. 1 No. 1, February 2017 13

test is 117.32 HV. This hardness increased for three types

of holding time used, where the higher the holding time the
higher the hardness. This is due to by increasing of holding
time the diffusion opportunity of carbon into the steel is
longer affecting the end of the process there are higher
amount of carbon accumulation. When cooled quickly, the
steel with higher carbon content will be more easily to
transform into martensite structure. Martensitic structure is
a structure that has highest hardness compared to other
structures such as ferrite and pearlite. Similarly, with
increasing of holding time, the opportunity of carbon to
diffuse further from the surface is also higher, so the greater
Fig. 3. Hardness distributions with holding time 2, 4 and 6 hours total case depth is obtained.
TABLE I
From Fig. 3 it can be seen that the hardness distribution THE TOTAL SURFACE HARDNESS AND CASE DEPTH AT
DIFFERENT HOLDING TIME
have the same pattern for three different holding time.
Further away from the surface hardness decreases and at a Holding Time Hardness 0,2 mm from Total Case
certain distance the hardness is equal to the hardness of [haurs] surface [HV] Depth [mm]
untreated steel. The distance from surface where the 2 250,46 1,4
carburized steel hardness is equal to the untreated steel 4 278,34 1,8
hardness is known as total case depth [4]. Total case depth 6 298,29 2,4
achieved can be seen in Table I. From Table I it can be seen
that by increasing the holding time, the surface hardness Fig. 5 shows a graph of the wear of the untreated and
(0.2 mm from the surface) and the total case depth also carburized low carbon steel with holding time 2, 4 and 6
increased. hours. From Fig.5 we can see that the higher holding time,
the lower wear of carburized steel. Steel with lower wear
rate has higher wear resistance. If we linked between Fig. 4
and Figure 5, then there is a correlation that the longer
holding time, the higher hardness and lower wear achieved.
So it can be said that the harder a material the higher wear
resistance. However, it should be further investigated, the
maximum holding time is causing increasing of hardness
and determination of the optimum holding time which
affecting increasing of steel hardness without causing
brittle at its core. From Fig. 4 it can be seen that the wear of
untreated low carbon steel is 0.143 (gr/hr). This wear
decreased by 66.71%, 79.23% and 80.69% for holding time
of 2, 4 and 6 hours respectively.
Fig. 4. The hardness of wear specimen with holding time 2, 4 and 6 hours TABEL II
HARDNESS OF MEDIUM CARBON STEEL (HV)
Heat S30C S35C S40C S45C S50C S55C
treatment
Normalizing 174 186.5 195. 207. 217 231
5 5
Cold 190. 210.5 228 247 261 270
quenched 5

TABEL III
NICKEL CHROME MOLYBDENUM STEEL FORGING SNFCM
(JIS S 3222)
Shaft form Ring form Disc form

Fig. 5. Wear with holding time 2, 4 and 6 hours

Fig. 4 shows a graph presenting the hardness of the

untreated and carburized low carbon steel with holding
time 2, 4 and 6 hours, for wear specimens test. The figure
shows that the hardness of low carbon steel for the wear
Journal of Materials Engineering and Processing Technology, p-ISSN: 2549-6891
[2]
[3]
If it is made a comparison between carburized low
carbon steel hardness (250.46 HV, 278.34 HV and 298.29
HV for each 2, 4 and 6 hours holding time) and some types
[4]
of steel as shown in Table 2, 3 and 4, it can be said that
carburized low carbon steel by using 20% BaCO3 and 80%
coconut midrib charcoal is able to produce equivalent
hardness to the hardness of medium carbon steel, as shown [5]
in Table 2. When compared to nickel chrome molybdenum
steel forging SNFCM (JIS S 3222), as shown in table 3
[6]
[18], hardness of carburized low carbon steel is similar with
type SNFCM 100S, SNFCM SNFCM 100R and 100D. [7]
Compared to the hardness of carbon steel chrome
molybdenum SFCM (JIS G 3221), as shown in Table 4 [8]
[18], the carburized low-carbon steel hardness is similar [9]
with all types of steel SFCM. The third type of steel is a
material that is commonly used to make shafts and gears.
[10]
[11]
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Carburized low carbon steel using carburizer 20%
[12]
BaCO3 + 80% coconut midrib charcoal, heated to 9500C
and cooled in the water produce;
a. The closer to the core the lower hardness. At a certain
[13]
distance, the carburized low carbon steel is the same
with untreated steel, is known as total case depth. The
higher the holding time the higher hardness and total
case depth. [14]
b. Higher hardness and wear resistance with higher levels
of holding time.
c. Carburized low carbon steel hardness which is
[15]
equivalent to medium carbon steel, nickel chrome
molybdenum steel forging SNFCM (JIS S 3222) and
chromium molybdenum steel forgings SFCM (JIS G [16]
3221) hardness which is generally used as a shaft and
gears.
[17]
V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Our profound gratitude says to the Udayana University [18]
through the Institute of Research and Community Service,
which has funded this research through Grants Scheme
Commodity Program.
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