MT 305 Heat Treatment

Tempering
 Introduction
• Steels that have undergone a simple hardening quench
– mixtures of austenite and martensite
– unstable and slowly decompose
– specific-volume changes, dimensional changes
– martensite is extremely brittle, develop quench cracks if aged at room
temperature

• Steels with a simple martensitic structure are of little useful value

– simple heat treatment called tempering is almost always used to
improve the physical properties of quenched steels
 Introduction
• Treatment is done below the eutectoid temperature and held there for a
fixed length of time, after which the steel is cooled again to room
temperature
– To make more stable and inherently less brittle structure
 Introduction

The effect of the carbon concentration on the relative fraction of lath

martensite, the Ms temperature, and the volume fraction of retained
austenite.
 Tempering Phenomena
1. A redistribution of the carbon atoms in the martensite. Between RT-
100°C, (i) segregation to lattice defects such as dislocations and twin
boundaries (ii) A clustering of the carbon atoms
2. The precipitation of a transition carbide or carbides: epsilon(ε),eta(η)
3. The decomposition of retained austenite :mixture of ferrite and
cementite (bainite)
4. The conversion of the transition carbide and segregated carbon into
small rod shaped cementite particles.
5. Spheroidization of the rod-shaped cementite to reduce the surface
energy of the particles.
6. Recovery of the ferrite structure.
7. Recrystallization of the ferrite structure.
8. Ostwald ripening of the cementite
 Three Stages of Tempering
• Aging at and slightly above room temperature: redistribution of the
carbon atom
• The first stage (80 to 180 C)was the precipitation of the transition
carbide
• The second stage (200 to 300 C) was the decomposition of the
retained austenite
• Third stage (250 to 350 ) corresponded to the formation of
cementite

• Type of martensite
– low-carbon steels (< 0.5 C): lath martensite
– high-carbon steels (above 0.9 percent C.) : lenticular martensite
– Mixture of structures in between compositions
Three Stages of Tempering
 Tempering: High-Carbon Steels

Variation of Ms and Mf with

carbon concentration in steel. Dilatomer curve of a 1.13 percent carbon steel

• 1.13 percent carbon : the Mf temperature of this steel lies well below room
temperature
• Quenching in brine resulted in a structure containing 15 percent of retained
austenite, into liquid nitrogen (77 K or -196°C) reduced the volume fraction of
retained austenite to 6 percent.
Tempering: High-Carbon Steels
Tempering: High-Carbon Steels

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) curve for a specimen

 Tempering: Low-Carbon Steels
• Amount of retained austenite in these steels should be small after quenching
– Thus, Stage 3 accredited to the breakdown of retained austenite into
ferrite plus cementite, should not be observed
 Tempering: Low-Carbon Steels
• For steels with less than 0.2 percent C,
– Stage 2: involving the segregation of carbon occurs during
the quench,
– Stage 3: in which the transition carbide is precipitated, is
effectively suppressed
– Stage 4: where the retained austenite is decomposed to
ferrite and cementite, is eliminated
– This leaves only Stage 5, in which the segregated carbon
forms small rod-shaped cementite particles

• Higher temperature phenomena,

– Spheroidization of the cementite particles: near 400°C
– Growth by Ostwald ripening,
– Recovery and recrystallization of the ferrite matrix.
 Spheroidized Cementite
• Structure consists of cementite spheroids embedded in a
matrix of ferrite

• Such a structure is readily attained in a moderate length of

time
– the third stage of tempering is carried out at a
temperature just below the eutectoid temperature (727°C)

• Perhaps the most stable structure

• Desirable in softened high-carbon steels