Name Of The Experiment:

Study oI Microstructure oI Mild Steel (MS) aIter Heat Treatment.

Objectives:

O To investigate the conventional heat treatment procedures, such as
quenching and annealing, used to alter the properties oI steels.
O To study the eIIects oI heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical
properties oI steels; impact strength and hardness will be measured Ior heat
treated specimens
O To be Iamiliar with metallography techniques such as grinding, polishing
and etching.
O To be Iamiliar with metallurgy microscope.
O To investigate the microstructure oI metal and alloy.
O To know the impact oI micro constituents oI steel .

IA1RODUC1IOA:
Heat treatment posses to impart high mechanical properties to steel parts and tools
Ior sophisticated applications. Heat treatment may be deIined as a sequence oI
heating and cooling designed to get the desired combination oI properties in the
steel. Heat treatment is a combination oI heating and cooling operations, timed and
applied to a metal or alloy in the solid state in a way that will produce desired
properties. Heat treating process involves the transIormation or decomposition oI
austenite.
In this study oI metallographic a piece mild steel bar is taken and microstructure is
observed aIter heat treatment. This study (and heat treatment later on) it will be
revealed that the microstructure contribute to mechanical property by diIIerent
crystalline structure


ME1ALLOCRAPHY:
Metallography is the study oI metals by optical and electron microscopes.
Structures which are coarse enough to be visible by the naked eye or under low
magniIications are termed macrostructures. UseIul inIormation can oIten be gained
by examination with the naked eye oI the surIace oI metal objects or polished and
etched sections.
Microscopy can give inIormation concerning a material`s composition, previous
treatment and properties. Particular Ieatures oI interest are
(I) grain size
(II) Phases present
(III) Chemical homogeneity
(IV) Distribution oI phases
(V) Elongated structures Iormed by plastic deIormation
ORKIAC ME1HOD:
To achieve the expected shape oI the specimen there are several process which
should be done very careIully and perIectly. Preparation oI specimen by hand can
be done by the Iollowing successive steps.
1. Cutting oI the specimen or sampling.
2. Heat treatment in muIIle Iurnace.
3. Mounting the specimen.
4. Filling or rough grinding.
5. Intermediate polishing.
6. Etching etc.
Now I`m going to describe the whole process that we`ve perIormed in our
workshop during the operation.


SAMPLIAC:
The areas oI interest Iorming the metallography specimens need to be sectioned Ior
ease oI handling. Depending on the type oI material, the sectioning operation can
be done by using abrasive cutter (Ior metal and metallic composite), diamond
waIer cutter (ceramics, electronics, and minerals) or thin sectioning with a
microtome (plastics). In order not to damage the specimen, proper cutting requires
the correct selection oI abrasive cutting wheel, proper cutting speed & cutting load
and the use oI coolant. We`ve taken a cylindrical piece oI mild steel and cut oII 2
cm. long piece by power hacksaw.

HEA1 1REA1MEA1 IA MUFFLE FURAACE:

AIter sampling we kept the sample in the muIIle Iurnace. In it the sample was
heated up to 700
0
C temp. AIter heating we cooled the workpiece by tong in
diIIerent cooling medium such as
i. For hardening, the sample was kept in quenching medium water results rapid
cooling.
ii. For normalizing, the sample was kept in quenching medium air results slow
cooling.
iii. For annealing, the sample was kept in closed Iurnace cooling by switching
oII the supply. Annealing is relatively slow cooling process than
normalizing.
In our lab, we have done the operation by muIIle Iurnace. The Iig oI the Iurnace is
given bellow -

Fig . muffle furnace

MOUA1IAC:

The mounting operation accomplishes three important Iunctions:
1. To protects the specimen edge and maintain the integrity oI materials surIace
Ieatures.
2. Fill voids in porous materials.
3. Improves handling oI irregular shaped samples.
With very small or irregularly shaped specimens it is generally more convenient to
mount them in a resin. Bakelite is commonly used.

FILLIAC OR ROUCH CRIADIAC:

Whenever possible, the specimen should be oI a size that is convenient to handle.
A soIt sample may be made Ilat by slowly moving it up and back across the
surIace oI a Ilat smooth Iile. BeIore Iiling operation we`ve attached our workpiece
into a vice. Filing is done in one surIace where the structure oI mild steel is to be
inspected. Filing ensures the smoothness oI the workpiece and the better the
smoothness the better the result. The rough grinding is done until the surIace is Ilat
and Iree Irom nicks burns etc. and all scratches due to the hacksaw. Grinding is
accomplished by decreasing the abrasive grit size sequentially to obtain the
required Iine surIace Iinish prior to polishing.


Fig. filling operation

IA1ERMIDIE1 POLISHIAC:

AIter suIIicient Iilling we stopped Iilling and then start polishing by a series oI
emery papers containing successively Iine abrasives. The Iirst paper is usually No.
2.5 then 2, 1.5, 1 & 0. The purpose is to remove the damage produced during
grinding. Proper polishing will maintain the specimen Ilatness and retain all
inclusions or secondary phases by eliminating the previous damage and
maintaining the specimen integrity.

FIAE POLISHIAC:

In this stage, the specimens polished on a polishing machine which contain velvet
clothe on its rotator disc. In time oI polishing operation we hold the smooth side oI
our specimen on the rotator disc and give NH4Cl salt and water as a smoothing
agent. This Iine polishing helps the leItover roughness Irom the specimen.




Fig. Fine Polishing Machine Fig. After Polishing

E1CHIAC:
Etchants are specially Iormulated Ior the speciIic material and evaluation
objectives. Etching alters the micro structural Ieatures based on composition; stress
or crystal structure and it will develop the surIace topology due to Iiling, grinding,
polishing etc. which can be visible in the microscope.

The etchant attacks the surIace with preIerence Ior those sites with the highest
energy, leading to surIace relieI which allows diIIerent crystal orientations, grain
boundaries, precipitates, phases and deIects to be distinguished in reIlected light
microscopy. There are many tried and tested etchants available but there are
mandatory saIety issues associated with the preparation and use oI all oI these.
Some etching reagents are listed in the table.



HEA1 1REA1MEA1 PROCESS:
A heat treatment process consists oI the Iollowing steps:
i. Firstly steel is heated to a temperature called austenizing temperature.
During heating the previous structure oI steel is converted into
austenite phase.
ii. AIter reaching this temperature, steel is held at this temperature Ior
some period oI time, called soaking time. Soaking results in the
Iormation oI homogeneous austenite through out oI the entire cross
section.
iii. Steel having homogeneous austenite structure is cooled back at room
temperature; at a particular cooling rate depend upon the properties
required.
iv. II necessary, the steel may reheated to higher temperature (but lower
then critical temperature) and that cooled again.
Heat treatment process may be divided into Iollowing basic types
I. Hardening
II. Tempering
III. Annealing
IV. Normalizing
HARDEAIAC:
Hardening may be deIined as rapid cooling oI steel Irom the austenite phase. The
rapid cooling is obtained by immersion oI steel in a liquid bath such as water or oil.
Sometimes Iorced air can also be used. The Iirst cooling oI steel Irom austenite
phase results in the Iormation oI a meta-stable phase called martensite. Hardening
is also called quenching.



AIter hardening the microstructure oI steel becomes like the Iollowing Iigure


Fig. microstructure of steel after hardening

PURPOSE:
The main purpose oI hardening oI steel is, to increase hardness, strength and wear
resistance, and to obtain a suitable microstructure which will have desired
mechanical properties aIter tempering.
COADI1IOA:
SuccessIul hardening oI steel requires two conditions to be met.
Firstly, the Iormation oI homogenous austenite. And secondly, rapid cooling oI
austenite which will results in the transIormation to martensite.
COLLIAC AAD QUEACHIAC:
Martensitic stainless steels have high hardenability because oI their high alloy
content. Parts should be tempered as soon as they have cooled to room
temperature. The quenching process consists oI three stages.
S1ACE A-JAPOR BLAAKE1 COOLIAC S1ACE:
In this Iirst stage, the temperature oI the metal is so high that the quenching
medium is vaporized at the surIace oI the metal and a thin stable Iilm oI vapor
surrounds the hot metal. Cooling is by conduction and radiation through the
gaseous Iilm and since vapor Iilms are poor heat conductors, the cooling rate is
relatively slow through this stage.

S1ACE B- JAPOR 1RAASPOR1 COOLIAC S1ACE:
This stage starts when the metal has cooled to a temperature at which the vapor
Iilm is no longer stable. Wetting oI the metal surIace by the quenching medium
and violent boil occur. Heat is removed Irom the metal very rapidly as the latent
heat oI vaporization. This is the Iastest stage oI cooling.

S1ACE C-LIQUID COOLIAC S1ACE:

This stage starts when the surIace temperature oI the metal reaches the boiling
point oI the quenching liquid vapor no longer Iorms, so cooling is by conduction
and convection through the liquid. The rate oI cooling in this stage is slowest.

1EMPERIAC:

Tempering is achieved by heating previously hardened steel to a temperature
bellow the lower temperature back to the room temperature. All hardened steels
must be tempered immediately aIter hardening.
Hardening is always Iollowed by tempering. Hardening possesses Iollowing three
drawbacks
i. Martensite obtained aIter hardening is extremely brittle and will result in
Iailure oI engineering components by cracking.
ii. Formation oI martensite Irom austenite by quenching produces high internal
stresses in the hardened steel. It can result in heavy distortion and cracking
oI the part during service.
iii. Structure obtained aIter hardening consists oI martensite and retained
austenite. Both these are metastable and will change to stable phases with
time. This results in change in dimensions and properties oI the steel which
is undesirable Ior many engineering applications.
In practice the above drawbacks are done by tempering.
AAAEALIAC:
Annealing may be deIined as heating the steel to austenite phase as 50
0
F above the
lower critical temp. Slow cooling is generally achieved in a closed Iurnace by
switching oII the supply. It is a term denoting a treatment, consisting oI heating to
and holding at a suitable temperature, Iollowed by cooling at a suitable rate, used
primarily to soIten, but also to simultaneously produce desired changes in other
properties or in microstructure. The time-temperature cycles used vary widely both
in maximum temperature attained and in cooling rate employed, depending on the
composition oI the material, its condition, and the results desired. Annealing is a
heat process whereby a metal is heated to a speciIic temperature /colour and then
allowed to cool slowly. This soItens the metal which means it can be cut and
shaped more easily. Mild steel is heated to a red heat and allowed to cool slowly.

Steel is annealed Ior one oI the Iollowing purposes-
i. To reduce hardness
ii. To relieve internal stresses
iii. To reIine grain size
iv. To improve machinability
v. To Iacilitate Iurther cold working by restoring ductility
vi. To improve electrical and magnetic properties
The cooling rate during annealing varies Irom 50
0
C /hour to 30
0
C/hour depending
upon the alloying elements in the steel.



PHYSICAL PROPER1IES AF1ER AAEALIAC:
Annealed metals are relatively soIt and can be cut and shaped more easily. They
bend easily when pressure is applied. As a rule they are heated and allowed to cool
slowly. The animation above shows that an annealed metal is usually soIter and
can be deIormed more easily than metals that are not annealed.
AORMALIZIAC:
Normalizing may be deIined as heating the steel to austenite phase at the 100
0
F
above UPPER-CTL and cooling it in air. It is done to achieve any one oI the
Iollowing purposes.
O To eliminate coarse-grained structure obtained in previous working
operations such as rolling, Iorging etc.
O To modiIy and improve cast dendritite structure and reduce segregation by
homogenizing the microstructure.
O To obtained desired structure and mechanical properties.
O To improve machinability oI low carbon steel.
It is held at this temperature to Iully convert the structure into Austenite, and then
removed Irom the Iurnace and cooled at room temperature under natural
convection. This results in a grain structure oI Iine Pearlite with excess oI Ferrite
or Cementite. The resulting material is soIt. This process is considerably cheaper
than Iull annealing since there is not the added cost oI controlled Iurnace cooling.






The main diIIerence between Iull annealing and normalizing is that Iully annealed
parts are uniIorm in soItness (and machinablilty) throughout the entire part. In the
case oI the normalized part, the cooling is non-uniIorm resulting in non-uniIorm
material properties across the part.

iscussion:

When steel is quenched Irom the austenizing temperature austenite is transIormed
to martensite. The untransIormed austenite is called retained austenite. ThereIore
microstructure oI a harden steel may consists oI martensite, retained austenite and
carbides. The basic structure oI hardening is to produce a Iully martensitic
structure and the minimum cooling rate that will avoid the Iormation oI any soIter
products oI transIormation is known as the critical cooling rate. the critical cooling
rate composition and austenite grain size is an important property oI a steel science
it indicates how Iast a steel must be cooled in order to Iorm only martensite.
II the cooling rate during quenching is low and less than critical cooling rate,
Iormation oI Ierrite, pearlite and bainite may result beIore the Iormation oI
martensite Irom austenite.

Microscopic study depends largely upon the care taken in the preparation oI the
Mild Steel. The ultimate object is to produce a Ilat, scratch Iree, mirror like
surIace. AIter completing several steps respectively, we observe the micro
structural components such as Ierrite ,pearlite.
In study oI microstructure oI MS aIter hardening we got several problems like the
Iailure oI motion shiIting belt oI grinding machine. Working with violent
chemicals technician and we have no access oI saIety glass and acid prooI globes.
May be aIter etching specimen was not cleaned enough to get super quality image
in microscope.

Conclusion:

To know how to change mechanical property oI materials by heat treatment,
studying oI microstructure oI mild steel is very important. Heat treatment is a
combination oI heating and cooling operations that will produce desired properties.
The main purpose oI hardening oI steel is, to increase hardness, strength and wear
resistance, and to obtain a suitable microstructure which will have desired
mechanical properties aIter tempering.