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TERM PAPER

TOPIC

Write a report on case hardening heat treatments

COURSE CODE=MEC 208

SUMMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MR.PIYUSH CHANDRA VERMA HAZRAT BELAL
. ROLL NO:RB4912-A05

REG.NO.10901869
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CONTENTS
ITEMS PAGES NO:

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3
2. INTRODUCTION 4
3. WHAT IS CASE HARDENING 5
4. TYPES OF CASE HARDENING AND APPLICATION 6
5. PROCESS 8
6. WHAT IS HEAT TREATMENT 9
7. RELATION OF HEAT TREATMENT AND CASE HARDENING 10
8. HAET TREATMENT WITH THE HELP OF CASE HARDENING 11
9. CONCLUTION 14
10. REFERENCES AND SOURCES 14
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I, Hazrat Belal, a student of LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY in my

acknowledgement thank all the people who have helped me in making this term
paper a success

My first and foremost acknowledgement goes to our subject teacher Mr.Piyush

sir for the assistance and guidance that she provided throughout the session. I
am ever grateful to him for that. I owe him a lot for the successful completion of
the term paper.

I am also thankful to many of my fellow college mates for their active support
and valuable inputs and the help that they provided. I am ever thankful to all of
them.

I am thankful too much thankful to the library of the college which acted as a
database of knowledge and information for me .The internet and the various
educational sites visited by me also deserve a lot of appreciation and thank for
the help they provided in completing this term paper. I thank you one and all.

Thank you.
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What is Case hardening?

Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a

metal, often a low carbon steel, by infusing elements into the material's surface,
forming a thin layer of a harder alloy. Case hardening is usually done after the
part in question has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done to
increase the hardening element content of bars to be used in a pattern welding or
similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this technique,
when discussing modern armour.

Process:-

Case hardening is a process that is used to harden the outer layer of case
hardening steel while maintaining a soft inner metal core. The case hardening
process uses case hardening compounds for the carbon addition. Steel case
hardening depth depends upon the application of case hardening depth.

Case hardening is a technique in which the metal surface is reinforced by the

adding of a fine layer at the top of another metal alloy that is generally more
durable. Case hardening steel is normally used to increase the object life. This is
particularly significant for the manufacture of machine parts, carbon steel
forgings, and carbon steel pinions. Case hardening is also utilized for other
applications. Case hardening is also called surface hardening. Case hardening
has been in use for many centuries, and was frequently used for producing
horseshoes and different kinds of cooking utensils that were subjected to
substantial wear and tear. Case hardening is essentially a group of processes that
are used to increase the surface hardness to an extent that is higher than that of
the bulk material. Case hardening is performed normally locally on the top
surface, and for a limited depth. Greater hardness is usually related with better
wear and fatigue resistance.
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The addition of carbon to the iron surfaces is common. Case hardening involves
the use of metal that has low carbon contents, and combining it with a metal that
has more carbon content. The grouping of metals is likely to produce the
product that is much harder. The adding of the low carbon metal creates a
material that can be molded easily into the desired shapes. The surface
improvement not only increases the product strength, but also assists to avoid
the iron weakening.

Components that are subjected to severe impacts and high pressures are
generally case hardened. The surfaces that need special hardness may be
selectively hardened, without performing case hardening of the remaining
object.

Types of Case hardening:-

Steel Case Hardening

Carbon is penetrated into the metal skin to create mild steel that has an external
covering with more carbon than the nucleus. The mild steel is subjected to
heating at a particular temperature, till it is bright red. While the mild steel is
soft, it is immersed into a carbon compound that covers the outer surface. One
dipping may not be adequate, and several re-heating and dipping may be
necessary. This heat treatment procedure will produce a skin that is rich in
carbon. Subsequently, the metal is reheated and dropped in water for hardening.
Case hardening is useful for objects that need to be hardened externally to
endure wear and tear, but soft internally to withstand shock.

Heat-treatable Steels

Heat-treatable steels are steels for mechanical engineering which, as a result of

their chemical
composition, are suitable for hardening and in heat-treated condition show good
toughness
characteristics for a given tensile strength. In general, the steels are used in soft
condition to
produce parts which are subsequently subjected to heat treatment to obtain the
desired functional properties.
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Boron-containing Heat-treatable Steels

Boron-containing heat-treatable steels are alloyed with a low mass percentage

of boron to improve hardenability. This automatically increases the core
strength of the steel. Prior to heat treatment, the steel grades show good cold
formability characteristics. More detailed information is available upon request.

Applications

1.Chain saws
2.Springs
3.Mowing blades
4.Flywheels
5.Gear parts
6.Punched parts

The most widely used case hardening methods are: carburizing, nitriding and
carbonitriding.

Carburizing

Carburizing is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a part

with carbon followed by heat treatment of the part.

As carburizing medium the following substances are used:

 Charcoal or other carbon-containing solids mixed with sodium carbonate

and barium carbonate accelerating the process of dissolving the carbon in
steel.

The process is carried out in steel or cast iron boxes placed into a furnace at the
temperature 1650°F - 1750°F (900°C - 950°C) resulting in formation of hard
case of the thickness 0.02”-0.08” (0.5mm – 2mm) and containing 0.8-1% of
carbon.
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 Kerosene or benzene – liquid carbonizing mediums, which are usually

used in dispersed form;
 Methane (CH4), propane (C3H8) – gaseous carbonizing mediums.

The process is carried out in a furnace (batch or continuous) at the temperature

1650°F - 1750°F (900°C - 950°C) for 3-4 hrs.

Thickness of the hard layer formed in the gaseous carburizing may reach 0.15”
(4mm).

Heat treatment after carburizing involves hardening-tempering treatments with

purpose of controlling structure and properties of both the hard layer and the
ductile core.

Nitriding

Nitriding is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a part

with Nitrogen.

Gas nitriding is carried out at 930°F - 1110°F (500°C - 600°C) for 40-100 hrs.in
the atmosphere of Ammonia, which dissociates to Hydrogen and nitrogen. The
latter diffuses into the steel forming nitrides of iron, aluminum, chromium and
vanadium.

Ion nitriding (plasma nitriding) is a surface Hardening heat treatment, in which

Nitrogen is delivered to the workpiece surface in form of ionized gas (plasma).

The case formed as a result of nitriding has a hardness of about 1100 HV which
is higher than the hardness after carburizing.

Nitrided part possess also better wear resistance, increased fatigue strength,
enhanced toughness and good resistance to corrosion.

No additional heat treatment is required after nitriding.

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Carbonitriding

Carbonitriding is the process of diffusion enrichment of the surface layer of a

part with carbon and nitrogen.

Gaseous carbonitriding is carried out in gaseous medium, consisting of

carburizing gas (methane, propane) with addition of 3-8% of Ammonia.

There are two principal methods of the gaseous carbonitriding:

 Low temperature gaseous carbonitriding, conducted at 930°F - 1110°F

(500°C - 600°C). The steel surface is enriched mostly with nitrogen in
this process.
 High temperature gaseous carbonitriding, conducted at1470°F - 1750°F
(800°C - 950°C). The steel surface is enriched mostly with carbon in this
process. This process is followed by heat treatment.

Cyaniding is the carbonitriding process, conducted in molten salt, containing

20-25% of sodium cyanide (extremely toxic substance).

The process is carried out at the temperatures 1500°F - 1580°F (820°C - 860°C)
for 1 hour.

Carbonitrided parts possess better (than carburized parts) wear resistance.

What is 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.
Thus it is a very enabling manufacturing process that can not only help other
manufacturing process, but can also improve product performance by increasing
strength or other desirable characteristics.
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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
.

Common Heat Treatments

Softening: Softening is done to reduce strength or hardness, remove residual

stresses, improve toughnesss, 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, e.g., spring aging.

Full Annealing a heat treatment process:-

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Full annealing is the process of slowly raising the temperature about 50 ºC (90
ºF) above the Austenitic temperature line A3 or line ACM in the case of
Hypoeutectoid steels (steels with < 0.77% Carbon) and 50 ºC (90 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 (90 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
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Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to over 60 º C (108 ºF),

above line A3 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 A1on 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
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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.

Heat Treatment With The Help Of Case Hardening

There are a number if useful and effective devices and systems. Our life has
changed with the introduction of these systems and tools. Thanks to the
technological advancement. It has gifted us with a number of valuable and
useful tools and systems. Induction hardening is one of the popular heat treating
operations. It is basically designed to harden parts.

There are a number of factors that make the process a successful one. These
include the general ability and chemistry of the material or item to harden
properly, cooling the material so that the transformation of martensite can occur
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and adjusting the temperature of the material. If one or more of these crucial
factors or features are not present, the material may remain soft entirely or soft
spots may develop on the material. These factors have control over quenching
and heating of the parts.

It is quite necessary to adjust the temperature of the materials so that the

austenitic phase can occur. Depending on the material, in some cases, it may be
essential to hold the temperature for a certain amount of time so that the
material may fully transform. By doing so, undesirable buy-products can be
avoided.

There are a number of heat treatment processes, like Induction Annealing,

Homogenising, Carbonitriding, Hardening, Ageing, Annealing, Induction
Annealing, Normalizing, Induction Hardening, Shot Blasting, Case Hardening,
Tempering, Stress Relieving etc to materials including Carbon Steels, Stainless
Steels, Alloy Steels, Cast Irons, Die Steels and Tool Steels.

Case hardening is one of the most popular heat treatment procedures. It is really
an effective process that is used in a number of cases. Carbonitriding is actually
a case hardening process. In this process the steel is heated in a particular
atmosphere containing both nitrogen and carbon.

The case hardening type steels are normally used. AC is depressed with the
absorption of the nitrogen. The harden ability is increased as a result of this. It is
not essential to include too much of alloy. It is one of the most useful and
popular procedures of heat treatment.

The hardening process is quite similar to any other type of heat treating
operations. It is specifically designed to harden parts. There are several factors
that make the procedure successful. These include, cooling the material so that
the transformation of the martensite can occur, adjusting the temperature and
finally the general ability and chemistry of the material to harden. When one or
more than one of these crucial factors are not present, then the material may
remain soft entirely or soft spots may develop on the material.

Induction Heat Treatment Services (inductionheattreatmentservices.co.uk) is

one of the leading heat treatment organizations. They offer a number of heat
treatment processes including Annealing, Ageing, Tempering, Carburising,
Carbonitriding, Hardening, Induction Annealing, Homogenising, Induction
Hardening, Stress Relieving, Case Hardening, Normalizing and Shot Blasting to
materials including Die Steels, Alloy Steels, Cast Irons, Carbon Steels, Stainless
Steels and Tool Steels. They have a selection of protective gas/vertical
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controlled atmosphere furnaces and both rectangular and vertical tempering

furnaces.

Conclution:-

It’s a predict feels highghly oblisised that I am try to complete my term paper
about the topic WRITE A REORT OF CASE HARDENING HEAT TREATMENT,its
my glad to do this term paper with the help of internet and some books and
somes pdf files.i hope that I have done my best hard work to do this work hard
to hardest to achieve my goal.And thanx to my sir that he has given to me this
work to better myself.

Refferences
Links-

1.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_hardening

2. www.thefreedictionary.com/Case+hardening

3. www.welding-advisers.com/Case-hardening.html

4. www.finishing.com/260/89.shtm

Books and others

1.Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment (Workshop Practice)

2. Heat treater's guide: practices and procedures for irons and steels

 By Harry Chandler

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