Metallurgy FAQ V 1.

1
By Drake H. Damerau
Forward
I put this FAQ in English measurements only. Questions, comments and suggestions are
welcome but no lames please. !his is the system that my colleagues and I ha"e been using
or years. All chemistries described herein are gi"en in percent o weight. !his is the industry
standard. !he grades I discuss are #AE $#ociety o Automoti"e Engineers%. !hey are "ery
comparable to &'# ( AI#I $American #teel Institute%. I use the term )material) instead o
)metal) "ery oten in this FAQ. !his is because many o these rules and methods can apply to
anything, be it metal, plastic, glass or baby*poop.
I wrote this FAQ or my riends and ha"e tried to be as basic as I can while going as deep into
the sub+ect as I think is easible, but I can,t co"er e"erything e"erybody wants. I started out
wanting to include more on alloys other than steel but as I started to write the steel data, I
reali-ed how much data there is. .ersion /.0 will include aluminum ( copper alloys and
stainless steels and add them to all charts and tables. It will also co"er corrosion and casting. I
+ust want to teach the basics about metal and why things happen like they do, like heat*
treating. !his is what I do or a li"ing. I am a 1etallurgist, Heat*!reat Engineer and 2aboratory
Director. I do 3(D work or the Army, 'a"y, Air Force, 1arines and e"en 'A!4. I also do
commercial work. I am published. $Department o Deense, &# Army5 )Deects in 1678
988mm Artillery #hells :aused by 2ack o :enterline solidiication During the Ingot 3olling
process, Due to chemical 1acro*segregation in HF9 Billets).% $;ood reading%. I ater you read
this FAQ and you ha"e speciic <uestions, post them on the group and I will answer them. I
there is enough discussion, I will add it to the ne=t "ersion.
Contents
9.0 Deinitions
/.0 !ables ;raphs ( :harts
/.9 :ommon #teel Alloys and E=amples
/./ High !emperature :olors
/.> !empering !emperature :olors
/.? Alloying elements ( !heir Eect on #teel
/.8 Four Digit Alloy 'umbering #ystem
>.0 !ools ( !ests o the 1etallurgist
?.0 Basic 1etallurgy
?.9 1etallurgy o Iron Alloys $#teels%
?./ 1etallurgy o !ool #teels
8.0 Heat !reatment
8.9 Hardening
8./ Hardening $Flame ( Induction%
8.> #tress 3elie"ing
8.? 'ormali-ing
8.8 #pheroidi-ing
8.@ :ryogenic !reating
@.0 Forging ( Forming
@.9 :old Forming
@./ Hot Forming
#uggested 3eading
Aterword

1.0 Definitions
I put this part beore the body o the te=t because we need to understand at least some o the
words used here. 1any people think they know common terms but are mistaken. For e=ample,
take the term )hardness). It,s deinition is )!he ability o a material to resist plastic
deormation). Aeriod. 'ot strength, not brittleness, not anything else. Each property o a
material has a speciic deinition and measurement. I ha"e seen many published tables o
hardness .s tensile strength. !hese tables are only appro=imations and are o by as much as
90B.
Alloy
Ha"ing two or more chemical elements o which at least one is an elemental metal.
Alloying Element
An element added to a metal to change the properties o the parent metal
Austenite
!he irst phase ormed as li<uid steel ree-es.
Bainite
#ame as martensite but considerably less carbon is trapped. Forms rom austenite i rate o
cooling is in suicient. #trength and hardness is between martensite and pearlite.
Brass
:opper C Dinc alloy
Bronze
&sually a :opper C!in alloy Howe"er, there is also Aluminum bron-e, #ilicon bron-e and
Beryllium bron-e
Cementite
Fe>: also known as Iron :arbide.
Cold Forming
Forming a metal at or near room temperatures using high pressures.
Ductility
!he ability o a material to be plastically deormed without racturing.
Ferrite
Iron with 0.0/B dissol"ed carbon.
Forging (Hot)
Forming metal at high temperatures using high pressures.
Fracture oug!ness
!he ability o a material at a gi"en temperature to resist urther crack propagation, once a
crack has started.
Hardness
!he ability o a material to resist plastic deormation. !he common measurement systems are
3ockwell, Brinell, .ickers and Enoop.
Hot !ardness
!he ability o a material to retain its hardness properties at high temperatures. Also known as
)red hard).
Hot strengt!
!he ability o a material to retain its strength at high temperatures. !he alloy H9> is used or
this property.
H"#A "teel
High #trength 2ow Alloy #teel
$m%act oug!ness
!he ability o a material to resist racture under an impact.
$.. Diagram
Isothermal !ransormation
$nclusions
Impurities in a metal. Ie 1n# $1anganese*sulide%
&artensite
A supersaturated solid solution o carbon in iron. :arbon atoms trapped in an iron crystal. !his
is the hardest and strongest o the microstructures. Formed rom austenite during <uenching o
hardenable steels.
&ec!anical 'ro%erties
!ensile strength, yield strength, and hardness
&etallogra%!
An in"erted microscope using indirect lighting.
&icro!ardness
Hardness determined by using a microscope to measure the impression o a Enoop or .ickers
indenter.
&icrostructure
!he phases or condition o a metal as "iewed with a metallograph
&odulus of Elasticity
1easure o stiness. 3atio o stress to strain as measured below the yield point.
()idation
!he chemical reaction between o=ygen and another atom
'earlite
A lamellar aggregate o errite and cementite. #oter than most other microstructures. Formed
rom austenite during air cooling rom austenite.
'!ase
A physical condition o the arrangement o atoms in a crystal. eg, ice is a phase o water.
'!ysical 'ro%erties
Electrical conducti"ity, thermal conducti"ity, thermal e=pansion and "ibration dampening
capacity
'lastic Deformation
Deormation that remains permanent ater the remo"al o the load that caused it.
"teel
A solid solution o iron and carbon
ensile "trengt!
!he ratio o ma=imum load to the original cross*sectional area.
*ield "trengt!
!he point at which a material e=hibits a strain increase without increase in stress. !his is the
load at which a material has e=ceeded its elastic limit and becomes permanently deormed.

+.0 a,les- .ra%!s and C!arts
+.1 Common "teel Alloys and E)am%les
!hese are e=amples o alloys that I know ha"e been used in the production o the listed parts.
!he part that you ha"e may not ha"e been made rom the same alloy. Howe"er, the same
properties are needed or the part to work in the gi"en application. !hereore, it will ha"e the
same general hardenability, strength or heat treat parameters. !he most common grade is low
carbon, plain carbon steels. )Funk) steel. 1ost thin sheet steel used or ormed shapes are
+unk steel. :omputer cases, oil pans, chair legs $tubing%, ile cabinets and mail bo=es are a ew
e=amples. )!in :ans) 'o, they are not tin
Alloy E)am%le

1006 Junk steel stuff
1008 Auto body panels, & other staped and e!truded sheet steel
1018 "arden tools, re#bar, and t$re $rons
10%& Forged steel 'rank shafts, tru'k tra$ler a!le sp$ndles
10&0 (o'oot$)e a!les
10*0 +ha$n A,-M A*.1
1068 /a$lroad ra$l
1000 Val)e spr$ngs
1080 ,ledge haer
10.0 (eaf spr$ngs and 'o$l spr$ngs on autoob$les, plo1shares
1*%0 &
%&20
3heel studs
1&%1 4r$)e a!les for tru'ks
1&5%1 Forged 'onne't$ng rods
%020 ,ears +raftsan 6t7 brand hand tools
%1*0 A$r'raft stru'tural ebers
%1*0
8ressure )essels su'h as a$r tanks and 1eld$ng gas tanks. ,o'ket 9ead
+ap ,'re1s
%1%0 Forged 'rane hook, a$r'raft p$ston 'yl$nders
&160 +r#Va )al)e spr$ngs
&2100 ,teel bear$ngs
.260 -ors$on bars
.*10 Autoot$)e gears 6+arbur$:$ng grades7
;rade G Bolt A,Q(! 90>/ to 9080 Hield #trength is 9>0,000 Asi
;rade 8 Bolt #ame but Hield #trength is 7/,000 Asi
!ool #teels
#9 :hisels ( other impact tools
H9> High temperature orging dies
1 or ! :utting tools such as drill bits

+.+ A%%ro)imate Hig! em%erature/Color c!art
Heated metal radiates or gi"es o energy. !he hotter the metal, the more energy it gi"es o.
1uch o this radiated energy is in the orm o light. !he more energy it gi"es o, the higher the
re<uency o the light. !he higher the re<uency, the )whiter) the light. A )warm) ob+ect gi"es o
this re<uencyCenergy also. !he energy is so low that we can,t see it. It,s called inrared. $can
you see where I am going with thisI% A person is warm compared to his surroundings. A
de"ice can be used to ampliy and distinguish between the thermal energy gradients. Hup,
that,s how the cops see you at night rom the helicopter.


Fa$nt /ed .&0#10&0; F
4ark /ed 11&0#12&0; F
4ark +herry 110&#120&; F
+herry /ed 1*00#1%00; F
5r$ght +herry 1%0&#1&0&; F
4ark <range 16&0#10&0; F
<range 10&0#18&0; F
=ello1 1800#1.00; F
=ello1>1h$te <)er 2000; F
+.0 A%%ro)imate em%er Colors
!his is dierent than the abo"e color chart. Applying heat to a metal can change the surace
te=ture o the metallic crystals. !his changes how light is relected, thus gi"ing the metal a
color or )hue) !he chart applies to suraces polished beore thermal treatment.

8ale =ello1 *&0; F
,tra1 =ello1 %00; F
=ello1>5ro1n %&0; F
/ed &00; F
V$olet &&0; F
4ark 5lue 600; F
($ght 5lue 6&0; F
5lue>"ray 000; F
"ray 0&0; F
+.1 Alloying Elements and !e Effect (n "teel
Element Effect
Alu$nu 4eo!$d$:es and restr$'ts gra$n gro1th
5oron ?n'reases hardenab$l$ty
+arbon ?n'reases hardenab$l$ty and strength
+hro$u ?n'reases 'orros$on res$stan'e, hardenab$l$ty and 1ear res$stan'e
(ead ?n'reases a'h$neab$l$ty
Manganese ?n'reases hardenab$l$ty and 'ountera'ts br$ttleness fro sulfur
Molybdenu
4eepens harden$ng, ra$ses 'reep strength and hot#hardness, enhan'es 'orros$on res$stan'e
and $n'reases 1ear res$stan'e.
@$'kel ?n'reases strength and toughness
8hosphorus ?n'reases strength, a'h$neab$l$ty, and 'orros$on res$stan'e
,$l$'on
4eo!$d$:es, helps ele'tr$'al and agnet$' propert$es, $pro)es hardness and o!$dat$on
res$stan'e
-$tan$u Fors 'arb$des, redu'es hardness $n sta$nless steels
-ungsten ?n'reases 1ear res$stan'e and ra$ses hot strength and hot#hardness
Vanad$u ?n'reases hardenab$l$ty
+.2 Four Digit Alloy 3um,ering "ystem
'ote5 Alloying elements are in weight percent, JJ denotes carbon content.

10!! 5as$' pla$n 'arbon steels
11!! 8la$n 'arbon steel 1$th h$gh sulfur & lo1 phosphorous 6/esulfer$:ed7
12!! 8la$n 'arbon steel 1$th h$gh sulfur & h$gh phosphorous
1*!! 1.0& anganese
2*!! *.&0 n$'kel 6ser$es deleted $n 1.&.7
2&!! &.00 n$'kel 6ser$es deleted $n 1.&.7
*1!! 1.2& n$'kel & 0.60 +hro$u 6ser$es deleted $n 1.6%7
**!! *.&0 n$'kel & 1.&0 +hro$u 6ser$es deleted $n 1.6%7
%0!! 0.20 # 0.2& Molybdenu
%1!! 0.&0 # 0..& 'hro$u & 0.12 # 0.*0 olybdenu
%*!! 1.8* n$'kel, 0.&0 # 0.80 'hro$u & 0.2& olybdenu
%%!! 0.&* olybdenu
%6!! 0.8& or 1.8* n$'kel & 0.2* olybdenu
%0!! 1.0& n$'kel, 0.%& 'hro$u & 0.20 # 0.*& olybdenu
%8!! *.&0 n$'kel, & 0.2& olybdenu
&0!! 0.%0 'hro$u
&1!! 0.80 # 1.00 'hro$u
&!!!! 1.0% 'arbon & 1.0* or 1.%& 'hro$u
61!! 0.60 or 0..& 'hro$u & 0.1* # 0.1& )anad$u
86!! 0.&& n$'kel, 0.&0 'hro$u & 0.20 olybdenu
80!! 0.&& n$'kel, 0.&0 'hro$u & 0.2& olybdenu
88!! 0.&& n$'kel, 0.&0 'hro$u & 0.*& olybdenu
.2!! 2.00 s$l$'on
.*!! *.2& n$'kel, 1.20 'hro$u & 0.12 olybdenu 6ser$es deleted $n 1.&.7
.8!! 1.00 n$'kel, 0.80 'hro$u & 0.2& olybdenu 6ser$es deleted $n 1.6%7

!ool #teels

3 3ater harden$ng
, ,ho'k#res$st$ng
< <$l#9arden$ng
A A$r#harden$ng
4 9$gh#'arbon, h$gh#'hro$u
9 9ot#1ork
91 # 91. +hro$u base
920 #
9*.
-ungsten base
9%0 #
9&.
Molybdenu base
- -ungsten based Ah$gh#speedA
M
Molybdenu based Ah$gh#
speedA
8 Mold steel
( (o1#alloy
F +arbon#tungsten

0.0 ools and ests of t!e &etallurgist
I,"e included this so you can get an idea o the common testing methods used on metals and
what they mean. !hese will only be or mechanical properties which includes tensile strength,
yield strength and hardness. #ome people call them physical properties. !his is wrongK
Physical properties include5 electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion and
vibration dampening capacity. 1echanical properties can be tested at any temperature. I
routinely test artillery shells or racture toughness at minus @8L F. I test oil*well tool +oints or
impact toughness at minus ?0L F. I also test some stainless steels or creep strength at o"er
G00L F. ;enerally, the colder the temperature, the more brittle a metal is and the higher the
temperature, the soter it is. !here are some e=ceptions to this rule like a phenomenon called
hot*short. It,s when some high sulur steels become brittle o"er /080L F. #orry... mo"ing on.
!he irst test I will discuss is the spark test. !his is a test that anyone can perorm at home.
!he idea is simple5 the spark stream gi"en o during a grinding operation can be used to
appro=imate the grade or alloy o a steel. !he e<uipment used should be a grinder with a no*
load speed o 7000 rpm and a wheel si-e o around /.8 inches. A semi*darkened location is
necessary.
!he easiest way to learn the test is to obser"e the spark streams rom "arious known grades
and compare them with this te=t. As you grind, you will see lines called carrier lines. At the
termination o the carrier lines, you will see small bursts called sprigs. Low carbon $900G% is a
"ery simple stream with ew bright sprigs. !he higher the carbon content, the more numerous
the carrier lines and sprigs.
#ome alloying elements change the appearance o the test. Sulfur imparts a lame shaped,
orange colored swelling on each carrier line. !he higher the sulur, the more numerous the
swellings. A spear*point shape that is detached rom the end o the carrier line identiies
phosphorus. !he higher the phosphorous content the more numerous the spear points. Nickel
appears as a white rectangular*shaped block o light throughout the spark stream. Chromium
appears as tint stars throughout the carrier lines, ha"ing a lowering or +acketing eect to the
carbon burst. !he presents o silicon and aluminum ha"e a tendency to depress the carbon
bursts. All said, the best thing to do is make a set o standards to use as a comparison.
!he ne=t test is the hardness test. I,m going to repeat the deinition o hardness or those o
you who think it means more than it does. )It,s the ability to resist plastic deormation.) 'othing
more.
Mhen we push a dent into a material, the material plastically deorms. $#ee deinition% Mhat
happens is the crystals o metal mo"e out o the way o the indenter. !here are se"eral types
o tests but they all do the e=act same thing. !hey push an indenter into the metal with a
known load or orce. It,s simple really. I you push an )J) si-e indenter into the material to an
)J) distance, using a load o )J), or )J) time, than the material must be )J) hard. !he soter
the material, the urther the indenter will penetrate. Harder materials need higher loads than
soter materials. !here are basically i"e types o tests. Each has se"eral )scales). !he scales
are +ust "arious si-es and shapes o indenters, with "arious loads. !he i"e basic tests are
3ockwell, Brinell, #hore #celer, and microhardness methods called Enoop and .ickers.
Mhen reporting a hardness "alue, you a,solutely must report the method. !his is a pet pee"e
o mine and it annoys the hell out o me. I someone says that the hardness o an ob+ect is G8
3ockwell or ?00 Brinell, I say they don,t ha"e a clue to what they are talking about. I annoy
people when they say )the tool steel needs to be 8@ 3ockwell) I o course say )Mow, that
sotI) !hey then say, )'o, that is hard) I then say, )Hou said 8@ 3ockwell, I chose 3ockwell B
as the scale. !hat makes it too sot.)
For Rockwell, you must report the scale. )G8 Hardness 3ockwell :, or )G8 H3:). 3ockwell
has se"eral scales. !he most common are5 A, B, :, D, 98', >0', 98! and >0!. Each has a
speciic indenter and load. For rinell, you must report the load, indenter diameter and time o
loading. A report o ?00 HBM >000C90C98 means >000 Eg with a 90mm ball or 98 seconds.
!he Brinell test is done by pressing a tungsten carbide ball into the material, then you measure
the impression with a little microscope with a built in scale. Mith the 3ockwell test, the machine
does all o the work, and you +ust report the hardness and met!od.
!he microhardness methods are perormed e=actly the same way as the Brinell test e=cept
that that they are done under a microscope. !he )dent) made in the material is measured
using a measuring de"ice built into the microscope. !noop micro"hardness is reported the
same way. >00 H. 800. !he )800) is the load in grams. #e"eral loads to chose rom here too.
!he Shore scelerscope method is completely dierent than the others. Mhat,s cool about it is
that it,s portable. Hou can it it in your pocket. !he bad thing is that it,s not as accurate. Mhat it
does is drop a tungsten carbide ball down a cylinder. Mhen the ball bounces back up the
cylinder you measure the distance it bounced back. !he higher the bounce, the harder the
material.
!he ne=t test, or tool, is the material,s strength. !here are se"eral strength tests. Each one
could ha"e a chapter or itsel. I will discuss tensile strength and yield strength. !o perorm
these tests, a orce is applied by pulling on a test specimen called a tensile bar. !he bar is
loaded into a machine and a load is applied at one end. !he bar is pulled at a gi"en rate until it
breaks. !he machine records the load as it is applied and plots it against the amount the bar
stretches. !he )stretch) that a bar undergoes is called strain.
As the plot is drawn, you will see the orce and the strain go up at the same rate. #uddenly, a
point will occur where the amount o )stretch) suddenly increases "ery rapidly but the orce
hardly increases at all. !his is the yield point# !he orce continues to rise as the bar stretches
until the bar breaks. !his is the tensile strength. !ensile strength is the most load that can be
applied to a material beore it breaks and can be considerably higher than the yield point. .
I you release the orce on the bar beore the yield point, the bar will return to its original
dimension. I you e=ceed the yield point, the bar will remain permanently deormed. !ensile
strength is computed by the orce, in lbs applied, di"ided by the cross*sectional area in s<uare
inches o the bar. $FCA% Brittle material will ha"e the yield point and the tensile strength near
the same point. A ductile material will ha"e the two points much urther apart.
Another bit o data you can disco"er using a tensile test is the $oung%s &odulus of 'lasticity
$E%. !his is the stress, in inches, di"ided into the strain, in psi. All steel has a modulus o
around /G million psi. 4ther data points are elongation $El% and reduction o area $3A%.
Elongation is the measure o stretch in percent o a gauge length. 3eduction o area is the
amount that the test bar thins or )necks) as the bar is pulled.
!he ormula or 3A is5
A * Ao
******* J 900
Ao
Mhere5
A is inal cross*sectional area
Ao is the original cross*sectional area
!he ormula or El is5
2 * 2o
******* J 900
2o
Mhere5
2 is the inal gauge length
2o is the original gauge length
4ther tests include racture toughness, atigue crack growth, impact toughness, and creep*
strength. !hese are a bit much or this FAQ and are only used by #trength o 1aterials
Engineers. Mear tests, and e"en a simple bend test are common but... some other time.
1.0 Basic &etallurgy
1.1 &etallurgy of $ron Alloys ("teels)
MetalB AAn opaCue eleental 'he$'al that 'ondu'ts ele'tr$'$ty and heat, $s 'rystall$ne $n
stru'ture but alleable and du't$le and has )ery strong ato$' b$nd$ng propert$es.A
3ho 'aresD
It,s not important. 3ead on
Iron alloys are the most common errous alloy. #teel is a solid solution o iron and carbon. It,s
called a solution because the carbon is dissol"ed in the iron. Iron is the sol"ent and the carbon
is the solute.
#teel, like water, can go through phase changes. Mith water, the phases are solid, li<uid and
gas. Mith low carbon steel, the phases are li(uid, austenite, and ferrite. I we add salt to water,
the temperature o all the phase changes are altered. #alt will lower the transition temperature
o the li<uid to gas phase change and lowers the temperature o li<uid to solid as well. Mhen
we add carbon to iron, the temperatures are altered in the same way. !he more carbon we add
$to a point%, the lower the temperature o the phase change will occur. :arbon also creates
new phases that don,t e=ist in iron by itsel. Pearlite is a mi=ture o cementite $Fe>:% plus
errite. !he most carbon that can be dissol"ed in austenite is 0.G0B. !his is called )eutectic).
4ther alloys can be described as being eutectic alloys. !hese alloys ha"e the ma=imum
amount o the alloying element that can be dissol"ed into the parent material.
!he more carbon you add to steel $abo"e 0./0B%, the more pearlite you get, up to the 0.G0B.
Abo"e 0.G0B, you get carbides. #o i a steel has less than 0./0B carbon, all you can get is
errite. I a steel has 0.?0B carbon, you get pearlite and errite. I a steel has 0.70B carbon,
you get pearlite and carbides.
!o know the chemistry o a steel by knowing its grade remember the ollowing rules5 Alain
carbon steels are 90== grades. 90 is plain carbon and the ne=t two numbers are the carbon
content. E.g., 90?8 has 0.?8B carbon. All 90 grades also ha"e 1n, A, and #i. !he last two
numbers o A22 grades designate the carbon content. E.g., G@/0 has 0./0B carbon. !he other
grades can be ound in the table abo"e. #ome times you will see a grade like 9/29? or 90B/9.
!he 2 means it has lead or macheneability and the B means it has Boron or increased
hardenability. #tainless steels and other alloys ha"e their own grade alloy numbering system. I
will co"er that later. !he key here is that i you know the chemistry o the alloy, you will know is
hardness, strengths and i a thermal treatment will work at all.
1.+ &etallurgy of ool "teels
!ool steels are highly alloyed steels, each ha"ing a special property. !hese properties include5
wear resistance, hot hardness, and toughness. All o them are heat*treatable. #ee the section5
)our *igit +lloy Numbering System, or there general hardenability. Hint, an air hardenable
steel is much more hardenable than an oil hardenable one. !hey ha"e hardness ranges o ?0
to @8 H3:. !hey generally ha"e at least one alloy, other than carbon, to gi"e it a special
property. An e=ample would be D/. It has 9.80B carbon, 9/.00B :hromium and 9.00B
1olybdenum. It is air hardenable, has e=cellent wear resistance, but has low toughness. In
contrast, #8 ha"ing 0.88B :arbon, 0.G0B 1anganese, /.00B #ilicon and 0.?0B
1olybdenum, has e=cellent toughness, but has only air wear resistance.

2.0 Heat reatment
Heat treating can be deined as the heating and cooling o metals or metal alloys in some
manner that will alter their metallurgical structure and change their mechanical properties.
Hardening is usually thought o when we say heat treat. But any orm o thermal process is a
orm o heat*treating. !he goal o all thermal treating is to induce a phase change, complete a
phase change or reduce stresses caused by a phase change or cold working.
:ryogenic <uenching or treatments are done to steels to complete the austenite to martensite
phase change, but any material that undergoes a phase change upon cooling can beneit rom
cryogenic treatments.
!empering is a method to reduce the stresses induced by the austenite to martensite phase
transormation, and stress relie"ing is usually perormed ater cold working.
Annealing has se"eral categories, and includes spheroidi-ing, and normali-ing. Each o these
thermal treatments will be discussed in the ne=t chapters. !he rule o thumb is to heat the part
and hold or )soak) it or one hour per inch o thickness.
I would like to mention here that any heating o a steel o"er 9/00L F. will cause it to
decarburi-e in an uncontrolled atmosphere. !hat is to say the e=posed surace will lose all or
part o its carbon. Mhat happens at heat*treat temperatures is this5 :arbon doesn,t really like to
be in steel. It would rather be with o=ygen. I an o=ygen atom hits the steel it will orm :4. I
:4/ hits the steel it will orm :4 N :4. I water "apor hits it you will get H/ N :4. I ha"e seen
decarb as deep as 0.0/0 inches deep not ha"ing A'H carbon and another 0.080 inches deep
o partially decarburi-ed steel. FHI, this is written as 0.0/0)FF * 0.060)!AD. )) means )ree
)errite and ,+* means ,otal +ffected *epth.
Decarburi-ed steel is not good or ob"ious reasons. It,s recommended to heat treat a part
beore its inal dimension. !hat is to say, allow some tolerance to machine o or remo"e in
some way, the decarburi-ed material.
2.1 Hardening
!he steps to hardening steel alloys are to austeniti-e, <uench and temper. 4ther alloys like
copper, aluminum and stainless steel, re<uire dierent methods.
!he only way to harden steel is to undergo phase changes. !he irst thing we need to do is
orm austenite. Hou cannot orm any other phase without cooling rom austenite. I you <uench
hot pearlite, you will end up with cold pearlite. I you properly <uench austenite, you will end up
with martensite. Austenite has the ability to dissol"e up to 0.GB carbon. !his is because the
atoms o an austenite crystal are arranged so that they are much urther apart than a crystal o
errite.
I we ha"e as much as 0.GB carbon dissol"ed in austenite, and we slowly cool it to room
temperature, the dissol"ed carbon will precipitate out o solution, and orm carbides, $Fe>:%, in
little striped plates alternating with the errite called pearlite. I we cool or <uench the austenite
"ery rapidly, we will trap the carbon atoms in the austenite crystals when they try to change to
errite. !his phase o carbon trapped in the iron crystal is called martensite.
!he rate o cooling needed to orm martensite "aries greatly, depending on the chemistry o
the steel. I you <uench austenite slower than what is needed to orm martensite, you will orm
bainite. Bainite is a microstructure between pearlite and martensite. For some applications this
is desirable due to its toughness.
!he rate o cooling needed or each grade o steel can be ound on a Continuous Cooling
,ransformation -CC,. diagram or /sothermal ,ransformation -/#,#. diagram. !oo many to list
here. ainite is a kind o phase that,s in between martensite and pearlite. A steel with less than
0./0B carbon cannot orm martensite at any rate o cooling. #hould I repeat thatI 'o,
#AE909G cannot be hardened.
#teels with carbon contents in the 0./0B to 0.?0B range need water or brine $salt water% as a
<uenchant. !he )speed) o a <uench media is determined by the rate o heat transer rom the
part to the media and is gi"en in degrees per second. !he act that brine was a )aster)
<uenchant than water was disco"ered centuries ago when a blacksmith <uenched a part in a
bucket o urine. $;oat urine is bestK% Higher carbon steels can be <uenched in oil. !here are
se"eral )speeds) o oil, but all o them are much slower than water. #ome tool steels are so
hardenable that the only <uenchant needed is air. !here are polymer <uenchants on the
market today but are not readily a"ailable. All <uenchants work better i they are agitated
"igorously.
A ully hardened steel contains martensite. 1artensite is "ery hard. It can be as hard as @8
H3:. !his means its also "ery brittle. !he ormation o martensite is so "iolent and brittle that
many times the part cracks. !his is called a (uench crack. !o reduce the stresses caused by
the ormation o martensite, we must temper it. !empering is done by raising the temperature
o the steel to a point 2E## !HA' the critical temperature, or austenite ormation temperature.
!empering temperatures range rom G00 to 9/00L F. !he higher the temperature, the soter the
metal.
2.+ Hardening (Flame 4 $nduction)
All o the same hardening processes happen with this method as with a normal hardening
process. But it can only be done in a locali-ed area. Hou heat the area abo"e the austeniti-ing
temperature and it,s <uenched. !he dierence is that the part )sel <uenches). Heat is applied
to a OlocalO area using a lame or an induction coil. Mhen the heat is remo"ed, the steel in the
area o the heat conducts the heat away rom the austenite ast enough that you orm
martensite. !he part must ha"e two things or this method to work. !he irst thing is that it must
be hardenable. !he second is that it must ha"e a large mass in the area that can draw the heat
away. As or any time you orm martensite, it should be tempered. !he same method used to
heat the locali-ed area can be used to temper it.
2.0 "tress 5elie6ing
!his is usually done to a material ater it has been cold worked $see below%. :old working
imparts a great deal o stress into the metal. !his process relie"es these stresses. !he reasons
that cold working imparts stress are way beyond the scope o this FAQ, but suice to know its
on the atomic le"el. !his stress increases the hardness and brittleness, as well as the tensile
and yield strength. I the stresses are une"en, and they always are, the part will distort as the
stresses are relie"ed. A typical process is to heat the part to @00 * G00L F, soak, and cool at
any rate.
2.1 3ormalizing
!his is a "ery common orm o annealing. !he method is to austeniti-e, then air cool to room
temperature. Hou get...I Hes, pearlite. !he biggest ad"antage is to get a uniorm
microstructure and to soten up the metal or subse<uent operations like machining. I,ts done
ater cold*working to re*crystalli-e the microstructure. !he stresses imparted to the metal
crystals cause them to )break up) and re*orm when austeniti-ed.
2.2 "%!eroidize Annealing
!his is the sotest state that a steel can get. !here are se"eral ways to spheroidi-e. !he most
common way is to heat the metal to a point less than the austeniti-ing temperature, and lea"e
it there or up to /? hours. !hen you urnace cool it at a rate no aster than 98L F. per hour. A
"ery e=pensi"e process. Mhat happens is that all o the carbon abo"e 0./0B, $remember that
up to 0./0B remains dissol"ed in errite%, precipitates out o solution into little spheres o iron
carbide. :an you #pheroidi-e 909GI '4KKK $!hink about it.% !he cementite in the pearlite also
goes rom plates to spheres. !his does two things. Mith the carbon out o solution and into
spheres, the only thing resisting mo"ement in the material is errite, and errite is sot. !he
other thing making it sot is that the spheres kind o act like little bearings or the errite to mo"e
around.
2.7 Cryogenic reating
:ryogenic treating is usually perormed by <uenching a part rom room temperature, into a
bath o li<uid nitrogen. In steels, the temperature where the completion o martensite ormation
rom austenite can be substantially low. I this temperature is ne"er reached, the
microstructure will contain retained austenite. Ater tempering, the microstructure will contain
tempered martensite and retained austenite. A cryogenic <uench will inish the transormation.
At this point, the microstructure will contain tempered martensite and un*tempered martensite.
Hou must re*temper the part ater this operation to relie"e the stresses.

7.0 Forging and Forming
7.1 Cold Forming
:old orming consists o drawing, e=truding or otherwise shaping o metal at or +ust abo"e
room temperatures. Fust plain beating the hell out o metal with a hand sledge is a orm o cold
orming. !his process greatly increases the hardness, tensile strength and yield strength. It
also increases the brittleness o the part. !his is true or almost any metal alloy.
7.+ Hot Forming
Hot orming usually reers to the orging process. )Morking) the metal while its hot is much
easier than cold working but does not do as much work hardening to the piece.
Hot working can be deined as5 plastically deorming a metal abo"e the re*crystalli-ation
temperature. For steel, this temperature is the austenite ormation temperature. !o hot work a
metal, you irst heat the metal well abo"e the austenite temperature. >00 to ?00L F o"er is
common. !his allows plenty o time or you to orm the piece while its austenite. Here is where
we can do some )blacksmithing) at home. !he process is basically simple. Heat the part abo"e
the austenite transormation temperature then beat the hell out o it. Hou will be able to )eel) i
its getting to cold. As the part cools back through the austenite temperature and starts to orm
pearlite it will become stier. Fust stick it back in the ire and heat it back up.
Another way to tell that it,s too cold is by its :urie point. !he :urie point is the temperature
where a magnetic alloy becomes non*magnetic or "isa*"ersa. For low*alloy steel, the curie
point is 9?9?L F. A <uick touch with a magnet will tell you i you are o"er the curie point.
!ypically, you should stay o"er 9800L F. 4 course, there is the color "s temperature method
to determine its temperature. 4nce the part is the shape you want, you can let it cool on its
own to orm a normali-ed structure or you can <uench it to harden it by orming martensite.
Don,t orget to temper it.
Mhen you are done, you will ha"e a decarburi-ed layer. !he best method or remo"ing this
layer is with a ile. Hou will know when you ha"e remo"ed it when the ile doesn,t remo"e as
much as easily. !he decarburi-ed layer is all errite. Ferrite is much soter than tempered
martensite. I ha"e done this at home with small parts using a torch. I the grade o steel is not
"ery harden able, you will need to <uench it in brine $90 percent salt water%. I its "ery
hardenable, brine will crack it. &se an oil or these steels. As with any <uenching operation,
agitation accelerates the <uenching operation. I ha"e ne"er done large parts at home. Hou
would need a large hot ire. I would suggest reading a blacksmithing FAQ. Howe"er all o the
metallurgy remains the same.
8.0 "afety
Although e"erything should be a )no*brainer) I want to add this +ust to co"er all the bases. A lot
o the FAQ discusses heat treatment. Me are working with temperatures as high as /000L
degrees Fahrenheit. A heat treated part should not be assumed to be cool enough to touch. A
large part can retain heat or se"eral hours. I you think it my be too hot to touch, splash some
water on it and see i the water boils. Quenching can splash hot media. Mear protecti"e
clothing or all heat treat operations. !he minimum recommended is saety glasses, welding
glo"es and non lammable clothing.
&sing oil as a <uenchant is dangerous. 4il can catch ire. An all purpose ire e=tinguisher is
absolutely necessary to ha"e close by. I <uenching in oil, the part must be ully submerged to
at least se"eral inches below the surace. I the part is not ully submerged, it MI22 start a ire.
4il ires can be hard to e=tinguish. Mhen heating or grinding a metal containing alloying
elements like nickel or other ha-ardous metals, a respirator is recommended. ;rinding metal
can create ha-ardous dust and the sparks can start ires. I you attempt to cryogenically treat a
part, the same protecti"e e<uipment is recommended. $sa"e the ire e=tinguisher.%
"uggested 5eading
A"ner, #idney H.5 /ntroduction to Physical &etallurgy, 1c;raw*Hill, inc.
A#1, &etals 0andbook /0 .olumes
Afterword
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&etallurgy FA9 6 1.1 :opyright /00/ Drake H. Damerau, All rights reser"ed
!his work may be copied and distributed reely as long as the entire te=t, my name and this copyright notice
remain intact, unless my prior e=press permission has been obtained. !his FAQ may not be distributed or
inancial gain, included in commercial collections or compilations or included as a part o the content o any web
site without prior, e=press permission rom the author.
Disclaimer
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makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility or errors or omissions in the te=t, or damages resulting rom
the use or misuse o inormation contained herein.
Alacement o or access to this work on this or any other site does not mean the author espouses or adopts any
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