Hardenability Hardenability is the ability of Fe-C alloy to be hardened by the forming martensite as a result of a given heat treatment.

For every different steel alloy there is a specific relationship between the mechanical properties and the cooling rate. Hardenability is not hardness. It is a qualitative measure of the rate atwhich hardness decreases with distance from the surface because of decreased martensite content. High hardenability means the ability of the alloy to produce a high martensite content throughout the volume of specimen.

The Jominy End-Quench Test One standard procedure that is widely utilized to determine hardenability is the Jominy endquench test. With this procedure, except for alloy composition, all factors that may influence the depth to which a piece hardens (i.e., specimen size and shape, and quenching treatment) are maintained constant. A cylindrical specimen 25.4 mm (1.0 in.) in diameter and 100 mm (4 in.) long is austenitized at a prescribed temperature for a prescribed time. After removal from the furnace, it is quickly mounted in a fixture as diagrammed in Figure 2.31a. The lower end is quenched by a jet of water of specified flow rate and temperature. Thus, the cooling rate is a maximum at the quenched end and diminishes with position from this point along the length of the specimen. After the piece has cooled to room temperature, shallow flats 0.4 mm deep are ground along the specimen length and Rockwell hardness measurements are made for the first 50 mm (2 in.) along each flat (Figure 2.31b); for the first 12.8 mm (1/2 in.), hardness readings are taken at 1.6 mm (1/16 in.) intervals, and for the remaining 38.4 mm ( 1 1/2 in.), every 3.2 mm (1/8in.). A hardenability curve is produced when hardness is plotted as a function of position from the quenched end.

Figure 2.31 Schematic diagram of Jominy endquench specimen: (a) mounted during quenching and (b) after hardness testing from the quenched end along a ground flat.

Hardenability Curves A typical hardenability curve is represented in Figure 2.32. The quenched end is cooled most rapidly and exhibits the maximum hardness; 100% martensite is the product at this position for most steels. Cooling rate decreases with distance from the quenched end, and the hardness also decreases, as indicated in the figure. With diminishing cooling rate more time is allowed for carbon diffusion and the formation of a greater proportion of the softer pearlite, which may be mixed with martensite and bainite. Thus, a steel that is highly hardenable will retain large hardness values for relatively long distances; a low hardenable one will not. Also, each steel alloy has its own unique hardenability curve.

Figure 2.32 Typical hardenability plot of Rockwell C hardness as a function of distance from the quenched end.

Sometimes, it is convenient to relate hardness to a cooling rate rather than to the location from the quenched end of a standard Jominy specimen. Cooling rate [taken at 700C] is ordinarily shown on the upper horizontal axis of a hardenability diagram; this scale is included with the hardenability plots presented here. This correlation between position and cooling rate is the same for plain carbon and many alloy steels because the rate of heat transfer is nearly independent of composition. On occasion, cooling rate or position from the quenched end is specified in terms of Jominy distance, one Jominy distance unit being 1.6 mm ( in.). A correlation may be drawn between position along the Jominy specimen and continuous cooling transformations. For example, Figure 2.33 is a continuous cooling transformation diagram for a eutectoid ironcarbon alloy onto which are superimposed the cooling curves at four different Jominy positions, and corresponding microstructures that result for each. The hardenability curve for this alloy is also included.

Figure 2.33 Correlation of hardenability and continuous cooling information for an ironcarbon alloy of eutectoid composition.

The hardenability curves for five different steel alloys all having 0.40 wt% C, yet differing amounts of other alloying elements, are shown in Figure 2.34. One specimen is a plain carbon steel (1040); the other four (4140, 4340, 5140, and 8640) are alloy steels. The compositions of the four alloy steels are included with the figure.

Several details are worth noting from this figure. First, all five alloys have identical hardness at the quenched end (57 HRC); this hardness is a function of carbon content only, which is the same for all these alloys. Probably the most significant feature of these curves is shape, which relates to hardenability. The hardenability of the plain carbon 1040 steel is low because the hardness drops off precipitously (to about 30 HRC) after a relatively short Jominy distance 6.4 mm, (1/4 in.). By way of contrast, the decreases in hardness for the other four alloy steels are distinctly more gradual. For example, at a Jominy distance of 50 mm (2 in.), the hardness of the 4340 and 8640 alloys are approximately 50 and 32 HRC, respectively; thus, of these two alloys, the 4340 is more hardenable. A water quenched specimen of the 1040 plain carbon steel would harden only to a shallow depth below the surface, whereas for the other four alloy steels the high quenched hardness would persist to a much greater depth. The hardness profiles in Figure 2.34 are indicative of the influence of cooling rate on the microstructure. At the quenched end, where the quenching rate is approximately 600C/s, 100% martensite is present for all five alloys. For cooling rates less than about 70C/s or Jominy distances greater than about 6.4 mm (1/4 in.), the microstructure of the 1040 steel is predominantly pearlitic, with some proeutectoid ferrite. However, the microstructures of the four alloy steels consist primarily of a mixture of martensite and bainite; bainite content increases with decreasing cooling rate.

Figure 2.34 Hardenability curves for five different steel alloys, each containing 0.4 wt% C. Approximate alloy compositions (wt%) are as follows: 43401.85 Ni, 0.80 Cr, and 0.25 Mo; 41401.0 Cr and 0.20 Mo; 86400.55 Ni, 0.50 Cr, and 0.20 Mo; 51400.85 Cr; and 1040 is an unalloyed steel.

This disparity in hardenability behavior for the five alloys in Figure 2.34 is explained by the presence of nickel, chromium, and molybdenum in the alloy steels. These alloying elements delay the austenite-to-pearlite and/or bainite reactions, as explained above; this permits more martensite to form for a particular cooling rate, yielding a greater hardness. The righthand axis of Figure 2.34 shows the approximate percentage of martensite that is present at various hardness for these alloys. The hardenability curves also depend on carbon content. This effect is demonstrated in Figure 2.35 for a series of alloy steels in which only the concentration of carbon is varied. The hardness at any Jominy position increases with the concentration of carbon. Also, during the

industrial production of steel, there is always a slight, unavoidable variation in composition and average grain size from one batch to another. This variation results in some scatter in measured hardenability data, which frequently are plotted as a band representing the maximum and minimum values that would be expected for the particular alloy. Such a hardenability band is plotted in Figure 2.36 for an 8640 steel. An H following the designation specification for an alloy (e.g., 8640H) indicates that the composition and characteristics of the alloy are such that its hardenability curve will lie within a specified band.

Figure 2.35 Hardenability curves for four 8600 series alloys of indicated carbon content.

Influence of Quenching Medium, Specimen Size, and Geometry on Hardenability:

Quenching medium: Cooling is faster in water then oil, slow in air. Fast cooling brings the danger of warping and formation of cracks, since it is usually accompanied by large thermal gradients. The shape and size of the piece: Cooling rate depends upon extractionof heat to specimen surface. Thus the greater the ration of surface area tovolume, the deeper the hardening effect. Spheres cool slowest, irregularly shaped objects fastest.

Figure 2.37 Radial hardness profiles of cylindrical steel bars