School of Humanities and Social Sciences HW0210 Technical Communication (Semester 1) Assignment 1 Report

Group members names: Bjorn Chong Jin Cheong Jing Choo Ting Kang Ng Jun Jie Lau Li Qin, Marilyn Tutors name: Joseph Donald MacKinnon Tutorial group number: 6 Date of submission: U1322242C U1321520E U1322489L U1322466B

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1.1

Introduction
Background Men started off with simple building materials such as wood and stone. Wood was used to make structures of huts and beds, while stone was used to fashion grills and tables. Hundreds of years later, with the help of technology, we can see the vast development in the field of materials science. The discovery and creation of new materials help support and sustain our globalizing world today. Since the discovery of metal such as copper in the early 9000BC [1], metals have been vital material in the construction of the many structures, components and machines. Metals are now preferred over the ancient materials as they have mechanical properties far greater than that of wood and stone. In addition, properties such as strength, toughness and ductility of metals can be changed through certain process to obtain the required value for the choice of application. The choice of metal with the wrong or insufficient properties could spell disaster. The sinking of Titanic, the largest ship built in the 20 th century on April 14th 1912 was the result of the wrong choice of material. This led the lost more than 1500 lives, making it the worst maritime disaster in the history. According to research, lower grade iron rivets, which were more brittle as compared to steel rivets, were used [2]. This small manufacturing error sparked a chain of events that eventually took its toll on the ship when it collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

1.2

Objective

The objective of this study is to investigate how the carbon content in plain carbon steel affects its mechanical properties and hence its uses in the world. This experiment aims to investigate the impact of changing a single parameter, which is the carbon content of the steel, and how this affects the mechanical properties of the steel. Properties such as strength, ductility and hardness will be measured. The outcome of this study will give insights into how different grades of steel can be used for appropriate purposes according to their properties.

1.3

Scope In this experiment, the focus is on the following test carried out on the different types of steel with different carbon content Tensile Test Impact Test Hardness Test

From the results obtained, a conclusion will be made on the suitable applications for the different types of steel.

Literature Review
This literature review focus the explaining how carbon percentage affects the mechanical properties of plain carbon steel.

Metals today are not just raw metals that come out of the furnace, ready to be used. As raw metals are brittle and fragile with very low strength value, they have to go through certain processes known as heat treatment. These processes harden and strengthen the metal to make it useable. Besides just heating, addition of other elements into molten metal helps to elevate certain properties. This is known as alloying. In particular, different carbon contents in iron gives different grades of steel. Each variation in of steel contains a different amount of carbon and other elements giving a wide range of steel to choose from for different applications. In this experiment, plain carbon steel, which varies only in carbon content, is examined.

Previous research only shows the effects of carbon on the phases of steel; however it does not provide a direct relation of carbon content to the mechanical properties steel. Plain carbon steel exist in different phases, namely pearlite, ferrite, cementite, depending on the amount of carbon. The mechanical properties of steel change with its phase.

This experiment aims to provide a basic overview on 3 important mechanical properties such as tensile strength, hardness and impact energy through tests conducted on a few samples of plain carbon steel which varies in carbon content. The results will be taken and analyzed, concluding with the appropriate application of that specific type of steel.

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3.1

Methods and Materials

Heat Treatment Overview Metals are heat treated before they are used in various applications. Heat treatment is carried out with the following steps: Stage A: Normalization 1. The furnace was preheated to 8500C. 2. Once the temperature stabilized, the samples were placed into the furnace with a pair of thongs for 45 minutes. 3. After 45 minutes, the samples were removed and left in the room to be air-cooled. This cooling process took about a day. 4. Once the samples were cooled, the normalization was completed. Stage B: Tempering 1. The furnace was preheated to 8500C. 2. Once the temperature stabilized, the samples were placed into the furnace with a pair of thongs for 45 minutes. 3. After 45 minutes, the samples were removed and immediately quenched in oil. 4. The samples were then removed from the oil and tempering was completed.

Materials Overview A heat treatment furnace is an instrument that modifies the metals crystal structure through heating and holding it at a very high temperature. The metals crystal structure affects the properties of the metal. Heat treatment creates the ideal properties desired by the user. The two main parts of the furnace are the heating coil and the heating chamber.

Description of Parts The heating coil: This provides a high resistance to the incoming current for generating heat to increase the temperature of the furnace to the desired temperature. The heating chamber: Samples are placed here to be heated. It is made of heat resistant material to prevent excessive heat loss to the surroundings. Conclusion To prepare the furnace for use, ensure that the heating chamber is free from dirt and other metal samples, so that there are no reactions with impurities during heat treatment process. Ensure that the thermistor and furnace door is in working condition for accurate and complete heat treatment process.

Figure A: A typical heating furnace used for the heat treatment of metals

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The Tensile Test Overview In order to determine the tensile strength of steels with different carbon content using the tensile test machine, the following steps were carried out: Description of procedural steps
1. The set-up of the tensile testing machine is shown in Figure 1.

2. A dog bone-shaped steel specimen was clamped at its ends on the tensile testing machine. 3. The test was initiated by pressing the start button on the control panel. 4. The specimen was stretched by the clamps until it snapped. 5. The software recorded the force required to deform the specimen until failure. 6. The software plotted a stress-strain graph. 7. The tensile strength was derived from the graph. 8. Steps 2 to 7 were repeated with steels of different carbon content. 9. A graph was plotted to see the relationship between the tensile strength and variation of carbon content in steels.

Materials Overview Tensile testing involves using a machine, e.g. Universal testing machine (Figure B), to apply controlled tension to a specimen until the specimen fractures. It is used to measure the tensile strength of the specimen. The main parts include the body, two clamps, the control panel and the processor.

Description of parts

The body: It encloses the specimen and the clamps. It consists of a plastic shielding that protects the user by blocking fragments that project outwards when the specimen fractures.

The clamps: There are two clamps contained within the body. One is fixed on one side while the other is mobile. The mobile clamp is equipped gear that performs the stretching of the specimen.

The control panel and the processor: The control panel comprises of buttons to operate the machine. The processor is a computer that records the data to plot a graph.

Conclusion

Preparations for the tensile test include simple setup procedures for the machine. The procedures are carried out in three parts, namely the fitting setup, the machine setup and the software setup. The fitting setup includes adjusting the clamps. The machine setup involves zeroing the clamps as well as the placing and mounting of the test specimen into the clamps. The software setup is where data and results such as values and graphs for observations are involved. Calibration of the tensile testing machine is required annually to ensure that the tensile testing machine measures accurately.

Figure B: The Hounsfield Tensile Test Machine

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The Impact Test

Overview In order to illustrate the use of the CVN technique to measure the impact energy to gain a better understanding of relationship between the toughness of steels with variation in carbon content, the following steps were carried out: Description of procedural steps A check was conducted to ensure that the tested specimen (Figure 2) was in the shape of a bar of square cross section, into which a V-notch is machined, otherwise, the specimen could not be used for the experiment. 1. The apparatus used for V-notch impact test is shown in Figure 1. 2. The hammer-weighted pendulum was brought to its locked position at a height of , which was also the starting point. 3. The reading on the scale was noted. 4. The test specimen was placed on the anvil so that the hammer would strike the notch on its opposite face with the ends supported. (Figure 3). 5. The pendulum was released from a fixed height . 6. Upon release, the specimen was struck and fractures at the notch. 7. The pendulum continued to swing to a maximum height of lower than . 8. The reading shown on the scale is a measure of the impact energy computed from the difference between and . , which is

9. Steps 1 to 9 were repeated with steels of different carbon content. 10. A graph was plotted to see the relationship between the toughness and variation of carbon content in steels.

Materials Overview The CVN test is used to measure the energy absorbed by the specimen at the point of fracture. The CVN test set-up is a combination of several apparatus and working together as one in order to measure the impact energy of a specimen. The main parts include the foot, the body, the hammer and the scale. Description of Parts The foot: The foot is the base which supports the body. The body is the upright support that holds the hammer and the scale and is located in the middle of the foot, providing stability to the entire set-up. The body: The body which is hinged to the foot has an anvil to hold the tested specimen such that the specimen will fracture at the notch when the hammer strikes it because all the stress is concentrated at the notch. The scale and the hammer: The scale and the hammer are hinged at the top of the body at the same point so that the scale will indicate the impact energy when the hammer is released from a fixed height of height of and continue swinging to a maximum

. The impact energy is computed using the difference in height.

Conclusion To prepare for the CVN test, a visual inspection is conducted to ensure that the respective apparatus are in good condition and the joints are well maintained to avoid inaccurate readings. The anvil is cleaned to ensure that the area is free of dust, so that the notch of the specimen is aligned to the center of the anvil. After the completion of the visual inspection, the scale has to be calibrated. The calibration is done by zeroing the scale and adjusting the pointer to the zero value.

Figure C: The Charpys V-Notched test machine

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The Hardness Test

Overview In order to determine the hardness of steels with different carbon content using a Rockwell hardness machine, the following steps were carried out: Description of procedural steps

1. The setup for Rockwell hardness test is shown in Figure1 2. The specimen was placed on the anvil. 3. The wheel was used to adjust the height of the anvil until the surface of the specimen touched the tip of the indenter. 4. The Rockwell hardness scale symbol C (HRC) was selected through the digital monitor. 5. The machine proceeded to conduct the indenting or penetrating operation on the steel and readings were recorded by the digital monitor. 6. Step 5 was repeated five times and the average of the readings were taken to achieve better accuracy. 7. Steps 2 to 6 were repeated for steel of different carbon contents. 8. A graph was plotted to see the relationship between the hardness and variation of carbon content in steels.

Materials Overview A Rockwell hardness machine measures the depth of penetration into the specimen caused by an indenter that is applied under a fixed load. The hardness value is determined by the difference in the depth of penetration caused by a preload followed by a larger major load on the specimen. The main parts include the wheel, the elevating screw, the anvil, the indenter and the digital monitor.

Description of parts The wheel and the elevating screw: The wheel is a rotating part of the equipment that is connected to the elevating screw. The elevating screw increases or decreases in height when the wheel is turned clockwise or anti-clockwise. The anvil: The anvil, supported by the elevating screw, is where the specimen is placed. Whenever the elevating screw increases or decreases its height, the anvil will also move up or down accordingly. The indenter: The indenter is clamped above the anvil. Indenters come in different shapes e.g. diamond cone and steel sphere, and sizes specified in scales symbols of A, B, C, etc. Every scale symbol defines the shape, size and amount of major load of the indenter applied onto the specimen. The digital monitor: The digital monitor is used for the selection of the Rockwell hardness scale symbol before the machine is operated. After every operation, the digital monitor will display the hardness value of the specimen.

Conclusion To prepare the Rockwell hardness machine for experiment, a visual inspection is conducted to ensure the machine is in good condition e.g. ensure there is no dust or cracks on the anvil and the indenter as this might cause scratches on the specimen, resulting in inaccurate readings. The machine will then be calibrated; three certified hardness steels with different carbon contents will be going through five hardness test. The readings obtained from the hardness tests for the respective steels will be compared to the certified readings specified in the manufacturer booklet. The experiment can be conducted if the readings obtained are within the range specified in the manufacturer booklet.

Figure D: The hardness test machine with different scales

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4.1

Results and Discussion

Results The 6 different specimens used in this experiment and their test results are shown in Table 1. The combine results were plotted in a graph in Figure E.

The sample references are designations given to identify steels of different carbon content. The designation used in this experiment is in accordance with the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) standards.

The numerical digits in the suffix read as: 10XX plain carbon steels 1018 plain carbon steels, with approximately 0.18% composition of carbon.

Sample Reference AISI 1018 AISI 1030 AISI 1045 AISI 1074 AISI 1080 AISI 1095

Carbon Tensile Content (%) Strength (MPA) 0.10% 440 0.32% 525 0.42% 565 0.65% 615 0.83% 622 0.92% 525

Hardness (HRC) 71 80 84 89 92 104

Energy (J) 78 55 20 15 9 8

Figure E Tabulated results of tests conducted on 6 samples of steel.

Mechanical Properties VS Carbon Content

700 600 Utlimate Tensile Strength (MPa) 500 80 400 60 300 40 200 100 0 0.00% 20 120 100

Hardness (HRC) / Impact Energy (J)

Ultimate Tensile Strength Hardness Impact Energy Poly. (Ultimate Tensile Strength) Poly. (Hardness) Expon. (Impact Energy)

0.20%

0.40%

0.60%

0.80%

0 1.00%

Carbon Content (%) Figure F: Comparison of all test results conducted on 6 specimens

This section reviews and discusses the effect of the different carbon content in steels on the various mechanical properties. The three key mechanical properties that this study focuses on are tensile, hardness and toughness. Thus, the experiments conducted are tensile test, Rockwell hardness test and Charpys V-notch (CVN) test respectively. One important point to note is the results obtained from CVN test would be impact energy and in the following discussion, these values will be used to deduce the toughness of the tested specimen. Figure F. provides an overview of the relationship between the carbon content and the three mechanical properties.

As shown in Figure F., the tensile strength increases polynomially. As carbon content increases, the tensile strength increases. However, after the optimum point at approximately 0.76% carbon content, the tensile strength decreases. From Figure F., the hardness increases linearly. As carbon content increases, the hardness value increases. As evident from Figure F., the toughness decreases exponentially. In general, as the carbon content increases, the toughness of the specimen decreases. This experiment has shown that the hardness and toughness is closely related to the carbon content.

Discussion The above three results are caused by variation in carbon contents and the change in phases of carbon steels in particular. Thus, as the phases change, the mechanical properties of the steels will change as well. There are a variety of phases but this study will only consider cementite, ferrite and pearlite. The properties of phases are as follows: Cementite phase is the hardest and most brittle. Ferrite phase is soft, ductile, low strength and magnetic. Pearlite phase has a lamellar structure of ferrite and cementite and its hardness is between hard cementite and soft ferrite. Ferrite Phase High toughness Medium tensile strength Low hardness Pearlite Phase Medium toughness High tensile tensile Medium hardness Cementite Phase Low toughness Low tensile strength High hardness

Figure G Tabulated results of tests conducted on 6 samples of steel.

At low carbon content, the percentage of ferrite will be higher than pearlite. Thus, plain carbon steels with low carbon content (>0.3%) will generally have a lower tensile strength, low hardness value and high toughness. However, as the carbon content increases, more ferrite will be converted to pearlite and hence, these medium carbon steels (0.3% ~0.6%) will have possess a higher tensile strength, higher hardness and a lower toughness as compared to the low carbon steels. At an approximate of 0.8% carbon content, all the ferrites will be converted to pearlites and at this point, the plain carbon steel is the strongest as the tensile strength is at its peak. Increased presence of pearlite content causes plain carbon steels to be stronger, harder but less tough as compared to medium carbon steels. Beyond 0.8% carbon content, the pearlite content starts to decrease as it is being converted into cementite. Since the tensile strength has a direct relationship with the pearlite content, a decrease in pearlite will result in a lower tensile strength. With increasing carbon content, the hardness will continue to increase and the toughness will be seeing a decreasing trend as well.

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5.1

Conclusion
Key Findings

Steel with different carbon content has been compared. It is seen that an increase in the carbon content of the steel reflects a change in the majority of its mechanical properties due to the change in the microstructure of steel. The difference in mechanical prosperities translates to the different use in the industries. From example, AISI 1018 steel, being low in strength but high surface in hardness, can be used in worms, pins and other machinery parts which experience high levels of friction. 5.2 Possible Experimental Errors & Solution

In this experiment, there were certain areas for possible experimental errors.

The use of machines for this experiment, meant that they had to be properly calibrated before conducting the experiment. Hence, to provide more accurate experimental results, the condition and calibration of the machines should be first checked.

As the test was on conducted on one piece of each sample, the results could may have been inaccurate. This is due to small errors, such as incorrect positioning of the test sample or the misreading of the test results on the gauges. To elimate these possible errors, more samples of each type of steel should be aquired and the experiment should have been conducted at least 3 times, then taking the average results.

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Recommendations This experiment only looks at the carbon content of the steel. However, there are many other ways to make steel more effective in its properties. For example, the adding of chromium into steel makes it resistant to rust, giving stainless steel. Further experiments with other alloying elements such as nickel and molybdenum can be conducted and compared with the current results to get a better insight in the application of steel. In addition, the different heat treatment methods such as strengthening and tempering where not taken into consideration. These processes also improve steels properties. Further testing can be conducted on the specimens after they have gone through strengthening and tempering.

Appendix

Figure H Hardness test in progress

Figure I Sample after Charpys Test

Figure K Sample before (Unbroken) and after (2-halves) tensile test

Figure J Team preparing machine

Glossary of Terms