1

STEEL HARDENABILITY MEASUREMENT BY

JOMINY TEST
Santiago Aguirre Ospina
Mechanical Engineering Faculty
Technological University of Pereira
s.aguirre4@utp.edu.co

Abstract—In this practice, the hardenability of AISI- II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

SAE 1045 and 4140 steels will be evaluated by means of
the Jominy test, analyzing the behavior of martensite
in steel during the quenching heat treatment.
Index Terms—Hardenability, Martensite, Heat treat-
ment, Jominy test.
A. Specimens
For this practice, two AISI-SAE 1045 and 4140 steel
specimens with the dimensions shown in Fig. 1 were used.

I. INTRODUCTION

hen a steel is subjected to a heat quenching treat-

W ment, it can form martensite in its microstructure,
likewise, to the ease with which a steel generates this
martensite is known as hardenability. With easily hard-
enable steel, it is possible to "go out" with a relatively low
cooling rate and still form martensite. Improving harden-
ability is very important on alloy steels and tool steels.
On low carbon steels, fast cooling speeds are required
to produce only martensite. Defects such as cracks can
occur in thin sections of steel; on thick sections steels,
martensite cannot be obtained. Cooling times on alloy
steels are longer, allowing martensite to be obtained even
in thick sections at slow cooling speeds.
An alloy that has high hardenability forms martensite
not only on its surface, but also to a high degree on its
inside. Hardenability is a measure of the depth to which
an alloy can harden.
The Jominy test is used to determine the hardenability
of a steel that has undergone a quenching heat treatment
using standardized specimens; this process consists of
heating a test piece to the austenitization temperature,
to then cool it by means of a jet of water at a specific
flow rate and temperature, thus cooling only the lower
part of the test piece.
The face that is in contact with the water jet acts
as a tempering surface and this cools the specimen by
conduction along its entire length to the other end, which
causes a gradient of cooling speeds from maximum speed,
which is what is in direct contact with the water jet, to
the minimum that is the other end.
This document is organized as follows:
Section I - Introduction, Section II - Experimental proce-
dure, Section III - Results, Section IV - Conclusions.
Fig. 1: Specimens dimensions - Jominy test
B. Tempered
the specimen is heated at 860°C for 30 minutes, in a
muffle furnace. After heating, it is removed from the oven
quickly, trying not to exceed 5 seconds in the installation
in the test equipment, this to avoid that the test piece
does not cool due to the effects of air in the environment,
and it is hangs in the test equipment Jominy where the
water jet directly and rapidly cools the lower end of the
cylinder.
C. Jominy test
Due to the continuous jet of water, the sample will cool
more slowly along its entire length, from the end in contact
with the water to its opposite. The lower part of the sample
will have a more severe hardening and will be the most
harder part of the piece because the speed in this zone is
greater.
D. Hardness measurement
After the sample has cooled, it is prepared to measure
the hardness of it along the first 50 mm from the part
that cooled the fastest, using a hardness tester; for the
first 12.5 mm hardness readings are taken in 1.6 mm
intervals and for the following 37.5 mm are taken in 3.2
mm intervals.
Mechanical Engineering- Technological University of Pereira, Report Nº 7, MAY 2020

Distance (mm) Hardness HRC Distance (mm) Hardness HRC

1,6 58 1,6 57
3,2 58 3,2 56
4,8 57 4,8 55
6,4 56 6,4 53
8 56 8 48
9,6 55 9,6 46
11,2 53 11,2 34
12,8 53 12,8 33
16 48 16 33
19,2 45 19,2 31
22,4 42 22,4 30
25,6 39 25,6 31
28,8 38 28,8 30
32 38 32 29
35,2 38 35,2 27
38,4 37 38,4 28
41,6 37 41,6 29
44,8 36 44,8 27
48 36 48 25
51,2 35 51,2 25
Table I: Measures of hardness and distance - First sample Table II: Measures of hardness and distance - Second
sample

III. RESULTS
A. Data
With the hardness measurements taken, a graph is With the data in Table II. the respective graph is
drawn where the hardness values are recorded as a drawn in order to observe its hardenability curve. Fig. 3.
function of the distance from the hardened end, reflecting illustrates the hardenability curve for the second specimen.
the hardenability curve in order to determine which steel
has a higher hardenability.

Table I. shows the results of the hardness tests with

their respective distances in the first specimen, made in
the laboratory.

With the data in Table I. the respective graph is

drawn in order to observe its hardenability curve. Fig.
2. illustrates the hardenability curve for the first specimen.

Fig. 3: Hardenability curve - Second specimen

B. Discussion

In Fig.4 a graph of hardenability of some steels is

Fig. 2: Hardenability curve - First specimen
Table II. shows the results of the hardness tests with
their respective distances in the second specimen.
shown, this information will serve as a reference to
determine what type of steel is being treated in the
graph of the first sample, in the same way Fig 4. will be
analyzed for determine what type of steel is the second
specimen.

2
Mechanical Engineering- Technological University of Pereira, Report Nº 7, MAY 2020
Fig. 4: Hardenability curve - Some steels
From Fig 4. it is can see the tempering curve of
4140 steel, which is one of those being analyzed in this
practice, as well as a 1040 steel that will help to assume
the tempering curve of 1045 steel.
The hardenability of 1040 carbon steel is low because
the hardness drops rapidly after a relatively short Jominy
distance. On the contrary, the decrease in the hardness
of 4140 steel is more gradual; therefore, it is concluded
that the steel with the flattest hardenability curve is the
hardest.
Therefore, it is concluded that the graph in Fig 1. Is
that of 4140 steel, and likewise the graph in Fig 2. is that
of 1045 steel, 4140 steel being harder, and this is due to its
alloying components such as chromium and molybdenum,
which provide it with certain properties to make it harder
than 1045 carbon steel.
Fig. 5: Cooling velocity of specimens
Figure 5 illustrates a table with some Jominy distances
and the cooling speed intervals and the hardness of the
samples analyzed, taking as reference Fig. 4 of the hard-
enability curves where the cooling speed as a function of
the distance is illustrated from the harder end.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
• The hardenability of AISI-SAE 1045 and 4140 steels
is analyzed and evaluated using the Jominy test.
• 4140 steel was shown to have higher hardenability
than 1045 steel, which means that it is easier to
form martensite in its structure, due to its alloying
components such as chromium and molybdenum.
• The practicality of the Jominy test was demonstrated
due to the use of graphical methods to evaluate the
hardenability of a steel.
• The behavior of martensite in a steel when it was
cooled at different speeds was analyzed.
• The influence of the alloying components on a steel
was evaluated.
• In 8640 steel, the hardness should be similar to that of
1040 steel because they have the same carbon content,
but as can be seen in figure 4. its hardenability
is higher because this steel is alloyed with nickel,
chromium and molybdenum. These alloys make steel
form martensite more easily than carbon steel.
References
[1] D.R. Askeland, P.P. Fulay, y W.J. Wright, Ciencia e ingeniería
de materiales, 6a ed., USA: Editorial Cengage Learning Editores
S.A., 2013, Consultado en: Abr,25,2020, [En linea]. Disponible
en https://osvaldoweb.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/ciencia-e-
ingenieria-de-materiales-sexta-edicic3b3n.pdf
[2] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WPwCjPLw9YoG5K9btf4f2M
spao1onhX0/view