Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais

Mechanical Engineering – Materials for Mechanical Engineering

Pedro Brito

Assignment III

1. Why is tempering usually performed at quenching? Explain your answer in details.

2. What is the influence of tempering temperature and mechanical properties in a carbon steel
that has a completely martensitic structure? Explain your answer.

3. What are the appropriate annealing temperatures for the following steels: AISI 1045, AISI
1080 and AISI 10100? Explain your answer.

4. Consider the AISI 10100 steel from the previous exercise. What would be an appropriate
annealing temperature? Why is it different from the normalizing temperature?

5. How do residual stresses originate after quenching?

6. What is the objective of the austempering heat treatment? Describe the appropriate
austempering sequence (starting at room temperature) for an AISI 4047 steels (the
corresponding CCT diagrams are given below).

7. A certain carbon steel initially contains 0.17%C and needs to be carburized at 950°C.
Conditions are such that the carbon concentration at the steel surface is 1.10% during the
process. What is the time necessary for a carbon concentration of 0.7%C to be achieved at
0.4mm below the surface? What is the estimated hardness at this position after a direct
quench? Would it be appropriate to cool the steel in air after the carburizing process? Why?

Diffusion data for carbon in austenite: D0 = 2.3x10-5 m2/s and Q = 148kJ/mol. Use the following
diagram for assistance.

8. Consider the previous problem. What would be the hardness of the steel if, by some
mistake, the furnace atmosphere was not controlled and the carbon concentration at the
surface of the steel was 0%?

9. Give an example of an application for which it is interesting to increase surface hardness.

Explain your answer.

10. What are the main differences in requirements (in terms of mechanical properties)
between a structural steel (to be used e.g. in a beam) and a steel to be used in an automotive
gear? Explain your answer.