Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

%
% ScienceDirect
#

JOURNAL OF IRON AND STEEL RESEARCH, INTERNATIONAL. 2012, 19(11) 71-78 :

Simulation of Case Depth of Cementation Steels According to Fick's Laws

S R Elmi Hosseini
(Faculty of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sistan and
Baluchestan, Zahedan 9816745563, Iran)

Abstract The carburizing process is the enrichment of the depth of low carbon steels with carbon. It leads to samples
:

with a combination of high surface hardness and high core toughness and to an impact strength that is required for
many engineering parts. The material studied is a low carbon steel. The carbon content is little in this type of steel
(tfc 0. 2 % ) . The calculation of case depth is very important for cementation steels that are hardened in the carburi-
=

zing process. The effective case depth is defined as the perpendicular distance from the surface to a place at which the
hardness is H V 550. Nowadays, a great number of studies have been carried out on the simulation of effective case
depth, but no studies have been conducted to determine the numerical relation between the total case depth on one
hand and the carburizing time and the effective case depth on the other hand. The steel specimens were subjected to
graphite powder. Then, they were heat treated at 925 'C for about 3 , 5 , 8 and 12 h, respectively. Then, these parts
were quenched in oil. To determine the effective case depth, the microhardness test was performed on the cross-sec­
tion of specimens. Plotting the case depth vs carburizing time, the required conditions for obtaining the specified case
depth were determined. Also, the comparison between the case depths in numerical solution and the actual position
in pack carburizing was performed.
Key words: cementation steel; carburizing; case depth; Fick's law; simulation

P r e s e n t l y , the application of low carbon steels
has been developed for the manufacture of such p a r t s
as g e a r s , b e a r i n g s , etc. Since the external surfaces
of t h e s e p a r t s touch the other gears and b e a r i n g s , it
is i m p o r t a n t for t h e surface hardness and t h e friction
resistance to be high. T h e carburizing process is one
of t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t case hardening processes t h a t
is performed by solid, liquid and gas techniques'- - .
Carburizing is t h e addition of carbon to t h e sur­
Steels for t h e case hardening usually have base
carbon contents of about 0.2%, with t h e carbon
content of the carburized layer generally being con­
trolled between 0 . 8 % and 1 % . H o w e v e r , the sur­
face carbon is often limited to 0. 9 % , since such high
carbon content may result in retained austenite and
brittle m a r t e n s i t e . In recent y e a r s , the t e m p e r a t u r e
1 1
upper limits have been steadily raised and carburizing
temperatures as high as 1095 'C have been u s e d ~ . [2 4]

face of low carbon steels at t e m p e r a t u r e s generally

1 Experimental Procedure
b e t w e e n 850 — 950 'C , at which a u s t e n i t e , w i t h its
high solubility for c a r b o n , is t h e stable crystal T h e material studied in this research is DIN
s t r u c t u r e . H a r d e n i n g is accomplished w h e n the high 18CrNi8 s t e e l , which is one of the most important
carbon surface layer is quenched to form martensite low carbon steels. Some of the mechanical proper-
so t h a t a high carbon martensitic case w i t h good t i e s " and the chemical compositions of this type of
[ 5 8 ]

wear and fatigue resistance is superimposed on a steel have been listed in T a b l e 1 and T a b l e 2.
t o u g h low carbon steel core - - . 1 2 1
To facilitate experimental works such as carburizing

Table 1 Mechanical properties of DIN 18CrNi8 steel

H B hardness Yield s t r e n g t h / M P a Ultimate strength/MPa R e d u c t i o n of a r e a / % Elongation/ % Impact energy/J

<235 3ϊ685 1230-1470 >30 >7 >41

Biography S R Elmi H o s s e i n i ( 1 9 8 0 — ) , M a l e , Master, Lectureship;

: E-mail: E l m i ® e n g . u s b . ac. i r ; Received Date: April 2 0 , 2011
 72 Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International Vol. 19

Table 2 Chemical composition of DIN 18CrNi8 steel (mass percent, %)

c Si Mn Ni Cr Cu Mo Al Ρ s V Fe

0. 21 0. 2 0 9 0. 4 5 5 1. 8 2 3 1. 911 0. 149 0. 0 2 7 0. 0 2 4 0. 0 1 1 0. 0 0 4 0. 0 0 4 Balance

process and the microhardness t e s t , steel specimens
were cut in the form of cubes with 3 cm in dimensions
and thoroughly washed in acetone and allowed to dry.
Pack carburizing boxes with 10 cmX 10 cmX 10 cm w e r e
made using low carbon steel s h e e t s , w h o s e thickness
is 0. 5 cm. An electric muffle furnace made in Iran was
case depth is defined as the perpendicular distance
from the surface to a place at which the hardness equals
to the initial hardness of the material. Alternatively,
total case depth is t a k e n to be the distance from the
surface to the point at which carbon equals to the initial
carbon content ( C ) of the steel. Fig. 1 illustrates a
0

used. Vickers microhardness testing machine (model general hardness profile of case hardened steel with a
M H T . 1; N o : 8 331) made by M a t s u z a w a Seiki Co clear distinction between effective case depth and t o ­
L t d of Japan w a s used. T o prevent the diffusion of tal case d e p t h ~ . [ 9 1 2 ]

carbon in t h e wall of the p a c k , firstly, the pack w a s

70
heated in t h e absence of low carbon steel specimens.
T o prepare carburizing m i x t u r e , t h e used acti­ 60 λ.
vator material was solved in hot water and then
graphite powder was added to the solution. By agita­ 50
, DC or effective c a s e depth

t i o n , the m i x t u r e was converted to glass form.

T h e n , the m i x t u r e was subjected to sunlight until ; 40
-—^ \
humidity was totally removed. In the present research,
the mixtures were prepared with 0 , 5 % , 1 0 % and 1 5 % 30 " Total c a s e
p u r e activator ( s o d i u m c a r b o n a t e ) . depth ! Core
f 1
A single specimen was placed in the center of
1 I 1 1 1

0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5

each box and the remaining space was filled carefully C a s e depth/mm

w i t h t h e carburizing m i x t u r e . T h e box was covered
w i t h a lid and sealed w i t h the fireclay to prevent air
infiltration into t h e box during carburization. T h e
box containing the test specimen was t h e n placed in
t h e central zone of the furnace, which was already at
the required t e m p e r a t u r e of 925 *C. Carburizing
times of 3 , 5 , 8 and 12 h were used. A t the end of
each t e s t , the box was t a k e n out of t h e furnace and
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of total case depth and
effective case depth for a case hardened steel
T h e total case depth as a function of time can be
evaluated using F i c k ' s first law of diffusion for semi-
infinite case of infinite source. It can be safely as­
sumed t h a t the surface carbon content instantly rea­
ches t h e m a x i m u m value ( C ) and remains constant s

the sample was quenched in oil. Each test was re­ at this value during carburizing. T h e carbon content
peated for at least t h r e e times. T h e carburized speci­ of the interior equals to the original carbon content
mens w e r e cut from the central region. T h e samples of t h e steel ( C ) . Fig. 2 ( a ) illustrates the beginning
0

w e r e t h e n prepared for the microhardness test. The of carburizing. W h e n surface has attained the maxi­
microhardness test was performed employing a Knoop m u m carbon content from the a t m o s p h e r e , it be­
indenter at every 0. 1 mm from the edge of the samples comes C . After a time ( i > 0 ) of carburizing, the
s

to t h e center according to A S T M E384-99 standard. variation of the carbon concentration may be t a k e n to

vary linearly from C at the surface ( x = 0 ) to a place
s

2 Results and Discussion at which the carbon content equals to C , where χ is 0

2.1 Evaluating total case depth by Fick's first law the case depth [ F i g . 2 ( b ) ] . A s carburizing p r o ­
Effective case depth or Depth of Case ( D C ) is ceeds, the amount of carbon atoms added per second
defined as t h e perpendicular distance from t h e sur­ to the steel is given by F i c k ' s first law a s :

face to a place at which the h a r d n e s s is H R C 50 or

(1)
H V 550 ( w c ^ O . 4< S o m e t i m e s , it is considered x
αχ

as the distance from the surface, w h e r e the hardness w h e r e , J is the net carbon flux per unit area per sec­
specified in H R C is lower by 1 5 % t h a n the hardness o n d ; Dl is the diffusion coefficient of carbon in aus­
specified for the surface of t h e component. T o t a l tenite. It is assumed that the case depth increases from
Issue 11 Simulation of Case Depth of Cementation Steels According to Fick's Laws • 73

where, x is the total case d e p t h , m m ; and t is the

toal

(a) carburizing t i m e , h.

2.2 Evaluating effective case depth by Fick's second law

F i c k ' s second law was defined a s :

3C d^C
(5)
3t 3x 0 z

T h i s differential equation has been solved to

give carbon content as a function of time and dis­
tance a s :

C C
= erf
s x:
(6)
c.
The composition of DIN 18CrNi8 steel is approxi­
mately equal to that of AISI 8620 s t e e l . T h e carbon [11]

content in the latter is 0. 2% , so Co = 0 . 2%. The tem­

perature of carburizing process was about 925 °C. S o ,
according to Fig. 3 , the m a x i m u m carbon concentra­
tion ( C ) of AISI 8620 steel in austenite at this tem­
s

perature is 1. 3 % . T h i s amount represents the sur­

face carbon content.

950 -
Acs 2515 - /
900 //—4320
4820 — - + - / .' /
Ρ 3115
"a

I
§ 850
, \ //// ^1020

\\ \ ^\ //// 8720

I 800
/// 8620

700
Distance from surface 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6

Carbon content^
(a) A t beginning, r=0; ( b ) After a time, t+dt;
( c ) A c t u a l c a r b o n g r a d i e n t and i t s s t r a i g h t line approximation.
Fig. 3 Part of Fe-Fe C diagram illustrating approximate
3

Fig. 2 Effect of carburizing on case depth and maximum solid solubility of carbon in austenite in
its carbon distribution some steels (AISI)

χ to χΛ~ά.χ as the carburizing time increases from t If in Eqn. ( 6 ) , χ is defined as effective case
to i + d i . T o increase the case depth from ι to i + d e p t h ; C will be defined as the carbon concentration
x

ax, t h e a m o u n t of carbon as illustrated by the from t h e surface to point at which the hardness is
h a t c h e d area in Fig. 2 ( b ) m u s t be added to the 550 H V . In Ref. [ 9 ] for this s t e e l , the hardness of
steel. T h i s a m o u n t of carbon is supplied by diffusion 550 H V is provided at the point w i t h C of 0.i%;
of carbon from the surface of steel in time (at), thus, C_=0. 4%.
which is equal to J at, and t h u s :
P u t t i n g the value of C , 0 C and C in Eqn. ( 6 )
x 3

(C — C )(x~hdx)
s a (C — C ) s 0
gives:
Jdi = (2)
2 2 - 1. 3 - 0 . 4
(7)
T h e right side of Eqn. ( 2 ) gives the hatched area
of Fig. 2 ( b ) . P u t t h e value of J from Eqn. ( 1 ) to
or (8)
Eqn. ( 2 ) , and rearranging gives:
xdx = 2Dlat (3)
or 0. 95 = (9)
I n t e g r a t i o n gives:
a:totai =
2 »/Dlt ( A t any t e m p e r a t u r e ) (4) thus, xcti = l. 9 (10)
 74 Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International Vol. 19

C+0 -MX> (16)

3 Comparison Between Total Case Depth and 2 2

C0 +C-*2CO (17)
Effective Case Depth
2

2CO—COi+C (18)
T h e diffusion coefficient of carbon in austenite T h e s e d a y s , activator materials are used to in­
is defined in t h e following equation; crease the case depth. In t h e present r e s e a r c h , sodi­
— 32000] um carbonate was used as t h e activator material. So­
D =0.
y
12exp (11)
RT
c

dium carbonate is decomposed at elevated tempera­

S o , in t h e carburizing t e m p e r a t u r e of 925 "C , t u r e s and produces carbon dioxide;
a s s u m i n g t h a t R = 8. 314 J / ( m o l · Κ ) , t h e diffusion Na C0 -*Na 0-f-C0
2 3 2 2 (19)
coefficient may be w r i t t e n a s : By producing carbon dioxide in the pack, the pres­
Dl = l. 7 4 2 X 1 0 " 7
cmVs (12) sure of C 0 2 increases. According to Eqn. ( 1 7 ) , carbon
Putting the amount of Dl to Eqn. (4) and Eqn. (10) dioxide reacts with carbon atoms present in the pack and
gives; produces carbon monoxide. Fig. 5 s h o w s t h e equilib­
x tota , = 8. 3 4 Χ 1 0 ~ \ / ί " (13) rium diagram for Eqn. ( 1 8 ) at any temperature - - . 1 6 1

x ( = 7.84Χ10Λ/*
ef (14)
According to Eqn. ( 1 3 ) and Eqn. ( 1 4 ) , t h e rela­
tion b e t w e e n t h e case d e p t h s and t h e carburizing
Η 20
time has been plotted in Fig. 4. T h i s figure indicates
t h a t t h e relation b e t w e e n t h e total case d e p t h and t h e
effective case depth at any t e m p e r a t u r e i s : 40

•^total
= 1. 06 (15) C0 +C^2CO
2

60
0.18

80

100
600 800 1 000 1 200
Temperature/ V,

Fig. 5 Equilibrium pressure of CO and C() for 2

2CO-^C0 -(-C reaction

2

2 4 6 10 12
According to Fig. 5 , if t h e ratio of carbon m o n ­
Carburizing time/h
oxide to carbon dioxide at a constant t e m p e r a t u r e is
Fig. 4 Comparison between effective case depth and m o r e t h a n t h e equilibrium ratio of carbon monoxide
total case depth for different time to carbon dioxide, Eqn. ( 1 8 ) goes in t h e right direc­
t i o n , and t h e carburizing p h e n o m e n o n happens. But
4 Effect of Activator Material Content on
w h e n t h e ratio of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide
Case Depth
at a constant t e m p e r a t u r e is less t h a n t h e equilibrium
T h e carburizing pack contains some air. The ratio of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, Eqn. ( 1 8 )
oxygen in t h e p a c k ' s air combines with carbon at ele­ goes in t h e left direction, and t h e decarburizing p h e ­
vated temperatures and produces carbon dioxide nomenon happens. W h e n carbon diffuses into s t e e l ,
[Eqn. ( 1 6 ) ] . So carbon dioxide reacts with carbon t h e carbon content in t h e surface increases compared
a t o m s present in t h e p a c k , and carbon monoxide is to t h e core of t h e s t e e l , so t h a t after quenching t h e
produced as a result [ E q n . ( 1 7 ) ] . steel in t h e oil, the h a r d n e s s of t h e surface increases
Carbon monoxide decomposes on the steel surface and the core remains flexible - - . 1 6 1

into atomic carbon and carbon dioxide [Eqn. ( 1 8 ) ] . T h e T h e hardness-distance curves for carburized
atomic carbon is quickly absorbed on t h e metal sur­ samples with 0 , 5 % , 1 0 % and 1 5 % of t h e activator
face and diffuses into t h e metal. A g a i n , according to material for 3 , 5 , 8 and 12 h are s h o w n in Fig. 6.
E q n . ( 1 7 ) , the reproduced carbon dioxide reacts with F r o m Fig. 6 , t h e following conclusions can be
more carbon to produce more carbon monoxide - - . 1 4-5 1
obtained.
Issue 11 Simulation of Case Depth of Cementation Steels According to Fick s Laws • 75 ·

800
(a) 0% e n e r g i z e r (b)
- — 5%

7 0 0 (- - - 10%

600

500

400

300

8Q0
(c) (d)

700

600

500

400
0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9
D i s t a n c e from e d g e / m m

Fig. 6 Hardness-distance curves for carburized samples with different amounts of

energizer material for time equal to 3 h ( a ) , 5 h ( b ) , 8 h (c) and 12 h (d)

1) In most conditions, h a r d n e s s decreases with Table 3 Amounts of case depths for different activator
the increase of distance from the surface, but in con­ material contents and different time mm

dition with 1 0 % activator ( a t 12 h ) and 1 5 % activa­ Case M a s s p e r c e n t of a c t i v a t o r material

tor (for all carburizing time) , by increasing the dis­ depth

0 5% 10% 15%
tance from the surface, at first, the h a r d n e s s increa­
Carburizing t i m e / h 3 0. 14 0. 18 0. 65 0. 47
ses and t h e n decreases.
5 0. 19 0. 24 0. 76 0.57
2 ) There was not a great difference between the
curves of 0 and 5 % activator materials. T h e r e f o r e , it 8 0. 25 0. 3 2 0. 80 0. 64

can be concluded t h a t adding activator material up to 12 0. 32 0. 4 2 0. 89 0. 74

5 % will exert a negligible effect on t h e case depth.
3) A t all t h e carburizing t i m e , the case d e p t h at
the position of 1 0 % of activator was higher than the
other positions (even for the 1 5 % activator position).
In order to better compare the results, the amounts
of case d e p t h s w e r e extracted from Fig. 6 , which are
s h o w n in T a b l e 3.
U s i n g data from T a b l e 3 , it can be plotted the
case depth vs t h e a m o u n t s of activator material for
different carburizing time (Fig. 7 ) .
According to Fig. 7 , by increasing the amount
of activator material up to about 5 % , the case depth
does not change greatly for all time. A n o t h e r reason 0 1 5 7 9 11 13 15
Energizer content/%
for the above p h e n o m e n o n is t h e h a r d n e s s - d i s t a n c e
curves of Fig. 6 for 0 and 5 % activator, which show Fig. 7 Case depth vs amounts of activator
little difference. It can be plotted t h a t the curves of material for different carburizing time
 76 Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International Vol. 19

Fig. 7 for a m o u n t s of activator material is in t h e T h e a m o u n t s of e , e , e and e\% are representa­

3 5 8

range of 5 % to 1 5 % (Fig. 8 ) . tive of e x t r e m u m points of d , d , d and d equa­ 3 5 s i2

Fig. 8 illustrates t h a t by increasing t h e activator t i o n s , respectively. If t h e second derivation is applied

material up to a definite amount, the case depth firstly
increases and t h e n decreases. T h i s definite a m o u n t ,
which s h o w s t h e e x t r e m u m point of t h e curves is
very significant since it illustrates the required amount
of activator material to achieve t h e m a x i m u m case
d e p t h at different carburizing time.
To obtain the extremum point, at first, the equa­
tions of each curve in Fig. 8 were obtained using inter­
polation via Newton divided difference. Table 4 shows
t h e steps t o gain t h e equations t h a t describe t h e case
depth vs activator content for different t i m e , w h e r e ,
d is defined as t h e case depth ( m m ) and e is t h e
Energizer c o n t e n t s
m a s s percent of activator material. By deriving from
the equations m e n t i o n e d , t h e e x t r e m u m point of Fig. 8 Case depth versus amounts of activator
each equation w a s obtained ( T a b l e 5 ) . material for different carburizing time

Table 4 Steps to gain equations that describe case depth vs activator content for
carburizing time of 3 h ( a ) , 5 h ( b ) , 8 h (c) and 12 h (d)
3 h 5 h 8 h 12 h

eo 5 5 5 5

e\ 10 10 10 10

«2 15 15 15 15

d(e 0 ) 0. 18 0. 2 4 0. 3 2 0.42

d(ei ) 0. 65 0. 7 6 0. 8 0 0. 8 9

din ) 0.47 0. 5 7 0. 6 4 0. 74

d\_eo , « l ] 0. 0 9 4 0. 1 0 4 0. 0 9 6 0. 0 9 4

dlei , e z ] - 0 . 036 - 0 . 038 - 0 . 032 - 0 . 030

dlec • « ι , e z ] - 0 . 013 -0.0142 -0.0128 -0.012 4

di - 0 . 0 1 3 e + 0. 2 8 9 e - 0 . 9 4
2
- Q . 0 1 4 2 e + 0. 3 1 7 e - 0 . 9 9
2
— 0 . 012 8e + 0 . 288e—0. 80
2
— 0. 0 1 2 4 e + 0. 2 8 e - 0 . 6 7
2

N o t e = die,, «,]= ^ ( e i )
~ r f ( e o )
, die .e,l
1 = d M
~ d i
' 1
\ <*[e , « . , « , ] =
0
< f C
" ' ^ ~ ^ e
° ' e
^ .
e\ eo e% — e\ ez ~~ eo
c/i = i i ( e o ) + ( e — « o ) ^ [ e o » e\] + (β — e o ) ( « — e \ )d[_e§ , e\ , e{\-> i = 3» 5 , 8 , 1 2 ,

Table 5 Extremum points of equations in Table 4 for happens and case depth increases. In fact, up to 1 1 % ,
different carburizing time the activator material decomposes continuously and
Time/
Derivation
Extremum according to Eqn. ( 1 9 ) , t h e pressure of C 0 in t h e 2

h point/%
carburizing pack increases continuously. T h e p r o ­
3 d' = 0 = > ( - 2 X 0 . 0 1 3 ) e + 0 . 2 8 9 == 0 «3 = 1 1 . 11
3 3
duced C 0 gas reacts with t h e carbon atoms within
2
5 d\ == o = > ( - - 2 X 0 . 0 1 4 2 ) e + 0 . 3 1 7 = 0 e = l l . 16
t h e pack according t o E q n . ( 1 7 ) and C O gas is p r o ­
5 5

8 d\- = o = > ( - - 2 X 0 . 0 1 2 8 ) e 8 + 0 . 2 8 8 = 0 «8 = 1 1 . 2 5
duced. C O gas causes carburizing phenomenon on
12 d'u = 0 = > ( - 2 X 0 . 0 1 2 4 ) e i 2 + 0 . 2 8 = 0 eiz = l l . 2 9
the surface of steel. In other w o r d s , up to 11 % , t h e
p r e s s u r e ratio of C O to C 0 in t h e carburizing b o x is 2

on t h e equations from d to d » it can be observed 3 n more t h a n t h e equilibrium ratio of C O to C 0 . 2

t h a t t h e second derivation is less t h a n zero. T h u s , 2) If t h e a m o u n t of activator material exceeds

e x t r e m u m points are t h e m a x i m u m points. Fig. 8 1 1 % , decarburizing p h e n o m e n o n happens and t h e
and T a b l e 5 show t h a t ; case depth decreases. In this situation, more sodium
1) F o r all of t h e carburized s p e c i m e n s , t h e m a x ­ carbonate is decomposed, and m o r e C O gas is pro­ z

i m u m case depth is obtained at about 1 1 % of activa­ duced. A small a m o u n t of C 0 g a s enters Eqn. ( 1 7 ) 2

t o r material. T h i s m e a n s t h a t by increasing activator and produces C O g a s , and a t r e m e n d o u s part of this

material up to 1 1 % , t h e carburizing p h e n o m e n o n gas causes oxidation in t h e b o x environment. A s a
Issue 1 1 Simulation of Case Depth of Cementation Steels According to Fick's Laws
r e s u l t , C 0 gas a t t r a c t s atomic carbon from the sur­
2
face of steel according to Eqn. ( 2 0 ) .
C0 +C^2CO
2 (20)
3) Fig. 8 shows that the maximum amount of case
depth is obtained at 1 1 % of activator material and the
time equals to 12 h. In other w o r d s , at this t i m e ,
the m a x i m u m rate of carburizing p h e n o m e n o n h a p ­
pens. By quenching this specimen in oil, m a x i m u m
retained austenite is formed in the microstructure.
U s i n g T a b l e 3 , t h e relation between the case
d e p t h s vs carburizing time for different a m o u n t s of
activator material can be plotted (Fig. 9 ) . F r o m this
f i g u r e , the following results are deductible:
Carburizing time/h
Fig. 9 Case depth vs carburizing time for different
amounts of activator material
1) For different a m o u n t s of activator m a t e r i a l ,
by increasing the carburizing t i m e , the case depth in­
creases. But the increasing slope of the case depth is
high for the first 3 — 4 h. By increasing the time be­
yond 3 —4 h , the increasing slope of case depth de­
creases. T h e reason for this phenomenon is t h a t , at
initial t i m e , more carbon atoms enter the carburizing
p r o c e s s , and the increasing rate of carbon diffusion
is h i g h , b u t for more carburizing t i m e , less carbon
a t o m s remain in the pack, and the increasing rate of
c a r b o n diffusion is low.
2 ) F o r every carburizing t i m e , the amount of
case d e p t h for the carburized specimen in the pack
w i t h 1 5 % activator material is lower than the case
d e p t h of t h e carburized specimen in the pack with
1 0 % of activator material. This refers to the decar-
burizing p h e n o m e n o n in the pack having 1 5 % activa­
t o r m a t e r i a l . Fig. 10 shows the difference between
t h e effective case depth and the total case depth (ex­
t r a c t e d from t h e mathematical solution) on the one
h a n d and t h e effective case depth in actual position on
· 77
0.35
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Carburizing time/h
Fig. 10 Comparison between effective case depth and
total case depth and effective case depth in actual
position without activator
the other hand. Actual position describes the samples
carburized in a pack without activator material.
T h e difference between the mathematical solu­
tion with the actual position refers to the carbon con­
tent of the steel surface. According to the F i c k ' s
second l a w , it has been assumed t h a t carbon concen­
tration in the steel surface is constant. B u t , in actual
position, the carbon concentration exceeds C , so s
the case depth increases.
5 Conclusions
1) T h e experimental case depth of DIN 18CrNi8
s t e e l , at any t e m p e r a t u r e , in actual position is more
t h a n the effective case depth and the total case depth
extracted from mathematical solution. A l s o , in
mathematical solution, the total case depth of this
steel is 1. 06 times more than its effective case depth.
2) By increasing the carburizing t i m e , t h e case
depth increases. B u t , at first, the increasing slope of
case depth is high. By increasing the carburizing time
further, the increasing slope of case depth decreases.
3) By increasing of activator material content up
to about 5 % , the case depth for all carburizing times
does not change greatly; h o w e v e r , for more a m o u n t s
of activator material from 5 % to 1 1 % , the case
depth increases and then decreases. In addition,
m a x i m u m case depth is gained using 1 1 % activator
material for the carburizing time of 12 h.
References :
[1] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R , K h o s r a v i H . T h e E f f e c t of S o d i u m C a r b o n ­
a t e C o n t e n t a s E n e r g i z e r M a t e r i a l o n t h e C a s e D e p t h of 1. 5 9 2 0
L o w C a r b o n S t e e l [J]. M J M E , 2 0 0 9 , 3 ( 1 ) : 51 ( i n P e r s i a n ) .
[2] Elmi Hosseini S R , Khosravi H , Ghaderi E. Comparison Be­
t w e e n t h e E f f e c t of E x c e s s A i r a n d t h e A c t i v a t o r M a t e r i a l o n t h e
Hardenability of DIN 18CrNi8 Steel in Solid Carburizing
 78 · Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International Vol. 19

Process [ J ] , M J M E , 2009, 4 ( 1 ) : 49 ( i n P e r s i a n ) . s i , 2 0 1 0 : 30 ( i n P e r s i a n ) .
[3] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R , T o h i d l o o E , S h a f i e e M . T h e E f f e c t of Car- [7] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R , F o t u h i H , H o s s e i n i S A , et al. T h e A p p l i ­
b u r i z i n g T i m e o n t h e C a s e L a y e r D e p t h of A I S I 8 6 2 0 C e m e n t e d c a t i o n of N o n - C y a n i d e S a l t s for t h e Liquid Carburizing of L o w
S t e e l [ C ] / / " 4 t h N a t i o n a l S y m p o s i u m of H e a t T r e a t m e n t . Iran; Carbon Steels [ C ] / / 2nd International Conference on Materials
I s l a m i c A z a d U n i v e r s i t y of M a j l e s i , 2 0 0 9 : 45 ( i n P e r s i a n ) . Heat Treatment. I s f a h a n : [ s . n. ] , 2 0 1 1 : 44 ( i n P e r s i a n ) .
[4] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R. T h e I n v e s t i g a t i o n of D e c a r b u r i z a t i o n P h e - [8] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R. T h e Effect of V a r i o u s P r o c e s s e s of S u r f a c e
n o m e n o n D u r i n g t h e C a r b u r i z i n g of a C r - N i - M n L o w A l l o y S t e e l H a r d e n i n g o n t h e H a r d e n a b i l i t y of D I N 1 8 C r N i 8 S t e e l [ C ] / /
[ C ] / / International Conference on Materials H e a t Treatment, 12th National Conference of Surface Engineering. Isfahan,
Iran : I s l a m i c A z a d U n i v e r s i t y of M a j l e s i , 2 0 1 0 : 21 ( i n P e r ­ [ s . n. ] , 2 0 1 1 : 2 2 .
sian). [9] Singh V. H e a t T r e a t m e n t of M e t a l s [ M ] . D e l h i : S t a n d a r d
[5] E l m i H o s s e i n i S R. T h e E f f e c t of C h e m i c a l C o m p o s i t i o n o n t h e Publishers Distributors, 2004.
Case Depth of Low Alloy Steels Hardened by Carburizing [10] K r a u s s G. S t e e l s , H e a t T r e a t m e n t and P r o c e s s i n g P r i n c i p l e s
Process [ C ] / / International Conference on Materials Heat [M]. Ohio: A S M International, 2005.
Treatment. I r a n ; I s l a m i c A z a d U n i v e r s i t y of M a j l e s i , 2 0 1 0 : 16 [11] E r d o g a n M . T h e E f f e c t of M a r t e n s i t e P a r t i c l e Size o n T e n s i l e
(in Persian). F r a c t u r e of S u r f a c e Carburized A I S I 8 6 2 0 S t e e l W i t h Dual
[6] Elmi Hosseini S R , Khosravi H. T h e D e t e r m i n a t i o n of C a s e P h a s e C o r e M i c r o s t r u c t u r e [ J ] . M a t e r i a l s and D e s i g n , 2002,
L a y e r D e p t h of a L o w C a r b o n S t e e l A f t e r Carburizing P r o c e s s 2 3 : 597.
by Numerical Method [ C ] / / International Conference on Mate- [12] M e t a l s H a n d b o o k , H e a t T r e a t m e n t [ M ] . 9 t h ed. Ohio:
rials H e a t T r e a t m e n t . Iran : I s l a m i c A z a d U n i v e r s i t y of M a j l e ­ A m e r i c a n S o c i e t y for M e t a l s , 1 9 8 7 .