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Introduction
This experiment analyzes the effects of different heat treatments on the
microstructure of 1018, 1045, and 4340 steel. To perform this analysis, metallography
was used to observe the microstructures. Each steel sample must be properly polished
and etched in order to be examined. Metallography is important in Welding Engineering
for the analysis of welds, and without it, the strength of welds and weld failure cannot be
determined on an optical level. This experiment also analyzes the microstructures of
weld heat-affected zones, the affect of post-weld heat treatment, and changes in hardness
and hardenability.
Each sample was heat treated by air cooling, water quenching, or tempering.
Different heat treatments have different affects on the precipitation of phases. Steels
have six major phases below the 6.7% carbon region: ferrite, austenite, cementite,
martensite, bainite, and pearlite. Each phase gives the steel different properties, such as
hardness and ductility. Phase(s) precipitated in the steel is important because each
treatment is similar to what happens in a weld. The microstructure of welds is important
because it can determine the strength of the weld.
The duration of cooling rates also affects microstructure. Slow cooling rates, such
as air cooling, allow carbon to diffuse. Fast cooling rates, such as water quenching, do
not allow carbon to diffuse. Higher carbon content means increased hardness of the steel.
Martensite has high carbon content and has high hardness, while ferrite has low carbon
content and has low hardness.
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Steels are tempered in order to allow some carbon to diffuse out. Carbon
diffusion increases the ductility of the steel, while decreasing the strength. Tempered
steels have lower hardness. If tempered below the eutectoid temperature, martensite will
be retained and, although hardness will decrease, the hardness will still be higher than a
steel containing ferrite.
The major difference between the steel and welded steel is that the welded steel
microstructure changes as it moves away from the fusion zone: the melted part of the
weld. This is the area of the base metal in which the microstructure has been changed by
heating, known as the heat-affected zone (HAZ). This difference in microstructure
throughout the HAZ is due to heat flow through the material. The HAZ is heated and
cooled non-uniformly, which leads to different microstructures.
Many of these microstructural phases look similar and cannot be determined by
microscopic observation. Thus, the use of CCT diagrams, the Fe-C phase diagram,
hardness tests, and the hardness vs. composition diagram will help determine the
microstructure of the steels. The CCT (continuous cooling transformation) diagram plots
the temperature vs. time for a specimen with different cooling rates. The different
transformation lines are projected on the diagram as to when the steel will transform into
the specific phase. Given the cooling rate, it can be determined what phases(s) are
present in the steel by the regions that cooling rate crosses. The Fe-C phase diagram is
used upon re-heating (tempering) to know in which phase region the steel is located.
Hardness is the measure of a material to not plastically deform. Hardness is
measured using a macrohardness machine. Hardenability is how much a material can be
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hardened upon quenching and is affected by the grain size. The larger the grain size, the
higher the hardenability because it takes longer for transformations to occur. With higher
hardenability, comes higher the hardness. Higher hardness increases the probability of
the formation of martensite because its rich in carbon. Low hardness readings could
mean ferrite, as seen in the Fe-C diagram, or that tempered martensite is present, and is
an indicator of low carbon. Tempered martensite is softer than regular martensite
because some carbon has diffused out of the steel. The hardness vs. carbon composition
diagram predicts whether tempered martensite or ferrite is present.
The 4340 steel is alloyed with Ni, Cr, and Mo. These different elements cause a
shift in the nose of the phase transformation curves. The nose is shifted because the steel
requires more energy to change phases and thus, needs more time at a higher temperature.
With the curve shifted, it takes longer cooling times to precipitate different phases. Any
fast-cooled alloyed steel, such as those present in Figure 17 and 23, will produce
martensite because the cooling curve cannot cross into another phase region. With easier
production of martensite, alloyed steels will have high hardness because of the high
hardness associated with martensite.






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