METC 143 Metal Alloys Strengthening.ppt

Metal Alloys: Their Structure Strengthening by Heat Treatment Part 2 Chapter 4 Heat treatment of ferrous alloys (4.7) Heat-treatment techniques: the controlled heating and cooling of alloys at various rates Phase transformations: greatly influence the mechanical properties Strength Hardness Ductility Toughness Wear resistance Iron-carbon system microstructural changes Pearlite Spheroidite Bainite Martensite Pearlite Course pearlite Slow rate of cooling As in a furnace Fine pearlite High rate of cooling As in air (fig.4.11) Spheroidite Higher toughness Lower hardness Can be cold worked Spheroidites less conductive to stress concentration Pearlite is heated to just below the eutectoid temperature for a period of time Example: a day at 700oC Cementite lamellae transform into roughly spherical shapes FIGURE 4.14  Microstructure of eutectoid steel. Spheroidite is formed by tempering the steel at 700°C (1292°F). Magnification: 1000?. Bainite Very fine microstructure consisting of ferrite and cementite Bainitic steel is stronger and more ductile than pearlitic steels at the same hardness levels Martensite When austenite is cooled at a high rate such as by quenching in water its FCC structure is transformed to BCT (body-centered tetragonal) Hard Brittle Lacks toughness so limited in usefulness FIGURE 4.15 (a) Hardness of martensite as a function of carbon content. (b) Micrograph of martensite containing 0.8% carbon. The gray platelike regions are martensite; they have the same composition as the original austenite (white regions). Magnification: 1000?. Quench cracking Internal stresses cause parts to undergo distortion or even crack during heat treatment Distortion is the irreversible dimensional change of the part during heat treatment FIGURE 4.15 (a) Hardness of martensite as a function of carbon content. (b) Micrograph of martensite containing 0.8% carbon. The gray platelike regions are martensite; they have the same composition as the original austenite