TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction................................................................................................................ 2
What is Steel?............................................................................................................. 3
Heat Treatment of Carbon Steel.................................................................................3
What is heat treatment of steel?............................................................................. 3
Behaviour of steel when heated and cooled............................................................4
Heating................................................................................................................ 4
Cooling................................................................................................................. 4
Heat Treatment Processes used.............................................................................. 7
Annealing............................................................................................................. 7
Normalising.......................................................................................................... 7
Case Hardening.................................................................................................... 7
Tempering............................................................................................................ 8
Crystallization of Steel................................................................................................ 8
Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 9
Bibliography............................................................................................................. 10

INTRODUCTION
Metals are very important to the world as we know it today. Almost
everything we interact with today has some amount of metal incorporated
into its design. The buildings we live in, the chairs we sit on even our eating
utensils have some amount of metal in them. Of all the metals steel is one of
the most widely used and it is something that should not be overlooked when
studying metals.
This report will give a brief summary of:
-

Heat Treatment of Steel

Recrystallization of Steel

These will be the main topics discussed among other things.

WHAT IS STEEL?
Simply put steel is a combination of Iron and Carbon (and other metals if
desired) in varying proportions. The amount of carbon that is mixed with the
steel changes the characteristics of the steel. Higher amounts of carbon
results in harder, more brittle steels with less ductility and malleability while
lower amounts of carbon results in a soft, weaker steels with higher ductility
and malleability. Steels with 0-0.18% of carbon are called Low-Carbon steels
and are very soft. Steels with 0.25-0.3% of carbon are called Mild steels
which are very common and are usually general purpose steels. Steels with
0.4-0.6% carbon are called Medium-Carbon steels. These are very strong and
tools which need to withstand a lot of force and pressure are made with
Medium-Carbon steel, for example, hammer heads. Steels with 0.7-1.4% of
carbon are known as High-Carbon steel and retains its strength under high
temperatures. Used for cutting tools such as lathes and drill bits.

HEAT TREATMENT OF CARBON STEEL

WHAT IS HEAT TREATMENT OF STEEL?
Heat treatment of steel involves heating the metal to the desired
temperature and cooling it at different rates. This process can help to:

Make steel soft

Make steel hard
Relieve internal stresses in the steel to make it tough
Give it a hard skin or case

For each different property required different processes must be used.

BEHAVIOUR OF STEEL WHEN HEATED AND COOLED

HEATING
The structure of steel does not change until it has reached its lower critical point
(about 700oC) (Refer to Fig.1 and Fig.2). The uniform rise of temperature can be
observed. Steels that contain up to 0.87% carbon are made up of ferrite and
pearlite. Steels that contain above 0.87% of carbon consist of cementite and
pearlite.
There is a change in structure between the upper critical and lower critical points as
the carbon in the steel begins form a solid solution with the iron. Since heat is
required to bring about this change, there is a pulse or discontinuity in the
temperature-time curve. This is referred to as the point of decalescence, and it
occurs at the lower critical point. At the upper critical point (about 900 oC), austenite
is formed. This is a solution of carbon and iron, and is a hard, non-magnetic
substance.

COOLING
When steel is slowly cooled down austenite is converted into pearlite and ferrite or
cementite, depending on the amount of carbon in the steel. The point of
recalescence (similar to the point of decalescence) occurs at the lower critical point
is where the cooling is observed to pulse. Cooling can be speeded up by
quenching in oil or water. This action would cause the formation of martensite,
which is austenite and large amounts of ferrite or cementite. Steels that are cooled
this way are harder than steels that are slowly cooled, though this is sometimes
dependent on the amount of carbon.

Heat and Cooling curves for Steel (Fig.1)

Heat Treatment ranges of carbon steel (Fig.2)

Graphs were taken from: METALWORK TECHNOLOGY BY J.K.N SACKEY AND S.K.
AMOAKOHENE

Surface of Lamellar Pearlite

Surface of Granular

Pearlite
Hyen)

(F. Osmond)

(E.

Martensite
(E. Hyen)
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Pictures were taken from: THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF IRON AND STEEL BY JOSEPH
WILLIAM MELLOR

HEAT TREATMENT PROCESSES USED

As previously mentioned, different heat treatment processes yield steels with
different properties. The more common forms of heat treatment would
include annealing, normalizing, case hardening or tempering.
ANNEALING
Simply put annealing is used to soften steel. Low carbon steel is usually
annealed. These steels are easily machined as the stresses caused by cold
working are reduced. This process usually involves heating the metal above
the critical upper range and then cooling it slowly in the furnace or in sand
allowing it to retain its original qualities. It consists of pearlite mixed with
cementite or ferrite depending on the carbon content, giving it a coarse
structure.
NORMALISING
This, like annealing is used to soften steel. This process is the same as that
of annealing but the rate of cooling is faster. The metal, which is heated to a
bright cherry red, is allowed to cool in still air. The carbon in the steel does
not have enough time to spread widely in the metal so normalised steel
usually has a fine crystal structure. Normalised steel is slightly harder than
annealed steel and also not as ductile either. The heat treatment process of
normalising is used to create a uniform grain structure when internal stresses
in rolled or cast metal are relieved.
CASE HARDENING

There are times when it is desirable to develop a high degree of hardness

only to the surface of the steel. Such a combination of properties can be
achieved by many different ways. Mild steel can be given a hard skin or case
by adding carbon and then quenching it. The metals to be treated are
arranged in a steel tray and carbon-rich powder is sprinkled onto them. Heat
is applied to the metal and the carbon is absorbed to a depth that is
dependent upon the amount of time for which the metal is exposed to the
heat. Case hardened steels are suitable for tools that need to be wear
resistant and at the same time need to have soft cores to resist shock, for
example, spanners, vee blocks and tool holders.
TEMPERING
Tempering is done to hardened steels to remove brittleness and to increase
toughness. Colour changes are observed during heating as they act as a
guide to tempering. The hardened steel is polished so the colour can be
better observed. After heating the steel to the required temping colour, it is
quenched.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF STEEL
This can also be referred to as recrystallization of steel. It the process by
which deformed grains in the steel are replaced by new undeformed grains
that grow until all the original grains have been entirely replaced.
Recrystallization of steel results in a reduction of the strength of the steel
and also a reduction in the hardness of the steel. This process is used by
industries to soften metals that have been previously cold worked making
them more ductile.

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)
As seen in A above, the steel grains are deformed. In B the undeformed
grains are beginning to grow. In C the undeformed grains are still growing
and now most of the deformed grains are almost replaced. In D the deformed
grains have been fully replaced by the undeformed grains. Recrystallization
of steel is done by heating steel to a point below the lower critical point for
some period of time. The recrystallization temperature of the steel is
dependent upon prior processing, more specifically, the cold working
procedure used.

Picture
taken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ricristallizzazione_e_accrescimento.svg

from:

CONCLUSION
As we can see the production of steel is not an easy venture. There are many
factors that one may need to consider and also there are many methods that
a person can use to produce steel and alter it. We can change some
properties of steel by exposing it to some form of heat treatment or through
chemical means by recrystallization. The methods that were discussed here
are just a fraction of the actual number of processes that exist.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cottrel, Alan. An Introduction to Metallurgy (2nd Edition). Redford Square, London:
Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd., 1975.
Mellor, Joseph William. The Crystallization of Iron and Steel. London: Longamans,
Green, and CO., 1905.
Sackey, J.K.N., and S.K. Amoakohene. Metalwork Technology. London: Macmillan
Education LTD, 1996.
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia. 16 February 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_treating (accessed March 6, 2011).

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