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The purpose of this lab is to identify the correlation between carbon content and alloying
elements on the hardenability of steel and steel alloys. A steel bar with 100mm of length is
subjected to a Jominy End Quench Test. The region of cooling are recorded and shown in a
graph, as tested by Mitutoyo
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Contents
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1.0 List of Figure
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2.0 List of Table
Table 1 : Hardness level, corresponding dent measurement tabulated at length of steel bar ....... 12
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3.0 Introduction
The hardenability of a metal alloy is the depth up to which a material is hardened after
putting through a heat treatment process. The unit of hardenability is the same as of length. It is
an indication of how deep into the material a certain hardness can be achieved. It should not be
confused with hardness, which is a measure of a sample's resistance to indentation or scratching.
It is an important property for welding, since it is inversely proportional to weldability, that is,
the ease of welding a material.
When a steel work-piece is quenched, the area in contact with the water immediately cools
and temperature evens out with the quenching medium. The inner depths of the material
however, do not cool quite so rapidly, and in work-pieces that are large, the cooling rate may be
slow enough to allow the austenite to transform fully into a structure other than martensite or
bainite. This results in a work-piece that does not have the same crystal structure throughout its
entire structure; with a softer core and harder "shell". The softer core is some combination of
ferrite and cementite, such as pearlite.
Hardenability of steels can be measured using the Jominy end test. The Jominy end test
testifies the incidence of the composition of the alloy and heat treatment procedures for
manufacturing purposes. The hardenability of a ferrous alloy is measured by a Jominy test which
a round metal bar of standard size is transformed to 100% austenite through heat treatment, and
is then quenched on one end with room-temperature water. Subsequent to cooling a flat surface
is ground on the test piece and the hardenability is then found by measuring the hardness along
the bar. The farther away from the quenched end that the hardness extends, the higher the
hardenability. This information is plotted on a hardenability graph.
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4.0 Theoretical Background
The cooling rate varies along the length of the sample from very rapid at the quenched
end, to rates equivalent to air-cooling at the other end.
High hardness occurs where high volume fractions of martensite develop. Lower
hardness indicates transformation to bainite or ferrite/pearlite microstructures.
Jominy end quench hardness data for two steels of different hardenability can be seen in a
later section of this TLP, with images of the microstructure variation along the length of the
sample.
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4.1 Hardenability
The hardenability of a metal alloy is the depth up to which a material is hardened after
putting through a heat treatment process. The unit of hardenability is the same as of length. It is
an indication of how deep into the material that hardness can be achieved. It should not be
confused with hardness, which is a measure of a sample's resistance to indentation or scratching.
It is an important property for welding, since it is inversely proportional to weld ability, that is,
the ease of welding a material.
The hardenability of ferrous alloys, i.e. steels, is a function of the carbon content and
other alloying elements and the grain size of the austenite. The relative importance of the various
alloying elements is calculated by finding the equivalent carbon content of the material. The
fluid used for quenching the material influences the cooling rate due to varying thermal
conductivities and specific heats.
Substances like brine and water cool much more quickly than oil or air. Additionally, if
the fluid is agitated cooling occurs even more quickly. The geometry of the part also affects the
cooling rate: of two samples of equal volume, the one with higher surface area will cool faster.
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4.2 Hardness
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5.0 Objective
1. Understand the relation between hardness to the cooling rate of the specimen after been
2. Understand microstructure changes to the cooling rate of the specimen after been heated
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6.0 Apparatus
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7.0 Procedure
1. To perform the Jominy Test, firstly we have to prepare the cylindrical specimen.
2. Before the test we need to normalized the specimen to eliminate differences in microstructure
due to previous forging, and then it is austenitised. This is usually at a temperature of 800 to
900°C
3. Next, the specimen is rapidly transferred to the test machine, where it is held vertically and
sprayed with a controlled flow of water onto one end of the sample.
4. Next, the specimen is ground flat along its length to remove decarburized material
5. The hardness is measured at intervals along its length beginning at the quenched end. For an
6. Finally the Rockwell or Vickers hardness values are recorded and plotted versus distance
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8.0 Result of the Experiment
Table 1 : Hardness level, corresponding dent measurement tabulated at length of steel bar
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Hardness vs Distance
500
450
400
350
300
Hardness (HV)
250
200
150
100
50
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 80 90 100
Distance (mm)
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9.0 Discussion
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10.0 Conclusion
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11.0 Reference
1. Industrial Heating. (2009).Understanding The Jominy End Quench Test.Retrieved March 22,
2009
2. http://www.industrialheating.com/CDA/Archives/22d2fcf0ddbb7010VgnVCM100000f932a
5. http://www.threeplanes.net/cementite.html
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