How is bainite related to isothermal heat treatment?
In the carbon steels, bainite is directly related to isothermal heat treatment because, as in the continuous cooling process, the pearlite reaction almost totally consumes the austenite, thus making the bainite nucleation process, which is essentially a eutectoid reaction, more difficult (23,24).
What are the applications of bainite?
The microstructure is divided into upper bainite and lower bainite with a better combination of mechanical properties. The most common applications of bainite include lightweight car bodies, auto, and rail parts, and more.
What are the methods of tempering bainite?
Other methods of tempering consist of quenching to a specific temperature, which is above the martensite start temperature, and then holding it there until pure bainite can form or internal stresses can be relieved. These include austempering and martempering.
What temperature do you heat a bainite?
Heating to a temperature within the austenitising range, usually 790°-915°C (1450 -1675°F). Quenched in a bath (molten salt, or occasionally oil) maintained at a constant temperature, usually in the range of 260°-370°C (500-700°F). Held for a time to allow transformation to a bainite microstructure. Cooled to room temperature.
How do you make bainite?
Bainite forms by the decomposition of austenite at a temperature which is above MS but below that at which fine pearlite forms. All bainite forms below the T0 temperature. All time–temperature–transformation (TTT) diagrams consist essentially of two C–curves (Fig.
Which heat treatment will lead to 100% bainite microstructure?
After cooling to and holding at 400°C for 500 s, all of the specimen has transformed to bainite. Hence, the final microstructure consists of 100% bainite. (d) Rapidly cool to 700°C (1290°F), hold at this temperature for 105 s, then quench to room temperature.
Which heat treatment process helps in transforming the austenite into bainite?
One such process is austempering in which austenite is transformed to bainite isothermally. Below is a TTT diagram showing the austempering process.
Which heat treatment produces martensite?
Quenching. Quenching is a process of cooling a metal at a rapid rate. This is most often done to produce a martensite transformation.
Why bainite is not formed in CCT?
Ability to form bainite increases with greater hardenability of the steel. Bainite does not form in CCT is because in this cooling mechanism there is very less time available for austenite to transform into bainite due to continous cooling and hence it does not form.
Can pearlite turn into bainite?
The temperature range for transformation of austenite to bainite (125–550 °C) is between those for pearlite and martensite. In fact, there is no fundamental lower limit to the bainite-start temperature.
What is bainitic transformation?
Bainitic transformations, which appear to have both a diffusive character for change of carbon concentration and a martensitic character for the change of matrix structure, are discussed in § 2.6. From: Physical Metallurgy (Fourth Edition), 1996.
What is isothermal heat treatment?
Isothermal hardening is a heat-treating process intended for applications with medium and high carbon-ferrous metals. The primary purpose of isothermal hardening is in reducing distortion while improving the metal's strength and toughness.
What is Austempering in heat treatment?
'Austempering' is the process of heat treatment where the steel is heated to austenitizing temperature, held there for sufficient period of time to produce homogeneous austenite.
How do you convert the retained austenite into either bainite or martensite?
Retained austenite does become stable with time, and some will transform to martensite at room temperature. Samuels[1] states that up to 5% of the austenite present after quenching and low-temperature tempering (<200°C) will transform to martensite soon after quenching or over a period of some months.
What is annealing used for?
Annealing is used to reverse the effects of work hardening, which can occur during processes such as bending, cold forming or drawing. If the material becomes too hard it can make working impossible or result in cracking.
Which of the following is present in bainite?
Which of the following is present in bainite? Explanation: Bainite steels consists of α-Ferrite and cementite and have a finer structure which makes then stronger than pearlite steel.
What is Bainite?
Bainite in steel is a platelike non-lamellar mixture of ferrite and cementite formed between 150oC – 450oC. The microstructure is divided into uppe...
How is Bainite formed in Eutectoid Steel?
The formation of a bainite plate involves lattice shear resulting in surface distortion mainly surface tilts and resulting accommodations. As oppos...
what is the difference between pearlite and bainite microstructure?
The structure of upper bainite is quite fine and resembles pearlite, however, in pearlite alternate plates of ferrite and carbides are formed while...
What quenching method produces 100% bainite?
The process uses to achieve a fully bainitic structure in steels is called austempering. It is an isothermal heat treatment process different from...
How to make Bainite?
On contrary, bainite form by an austempering process in which steel is heated to austenite range quenched to an intermediate temperature in a molte...
why pearlite bainite and martensite dont appear on diagram?
While I was researching for Bainite on Internet, I came across this question. So, Lets discuss this. Pearlite is product of equilibrium reaction th...
What are 3 differences between martensite and bainite?
First difference is microstructure within both phases. Second difference is absence of temper embrittlement in case of bainite. Third difference is...
Why are bainite, spheroidite and tempered martensite not in the fe-c diagram?
Bainite, Spheroditie, and tempered martensite are the product of a non-equilibrium reaction that requires fast cooling and athermal heat transfer....
What is bainite in steel?
What is Bainite? Bainite in steel is a platelike non-lamellar mixture of ferrite and cementite formed between 150oC – 450oC. The microstructure is divided into upper bainite and lower bainite with a better combination of mechanical properties.
What are bainitic steels used for?
Application of Bainitic Steels 1 They are readily used in the automobile industries to replace martensite for the fabrication of camshafts or crash reinforcement bars as they are more economical. 2 The low carbon bainite is also used in strength structural components in the aviation industry and for making, pressure vessels, and boilers. 3 The good creep resistance enables bainitic steels to use in power generation industries. 4 Due to higher strength, high carbon bainitic steels are used as mandrel bars, railway wheels or tires, back-up rolls, and many more.
What is the main factor responsible for high strength in bainitic steels?
However, the fine grain structure is the main factor responsible for high strength in bainitic steels. Hardness: The hardness of upper and lower bainite is like that of pearlite and tempered martensite, respectively. For hardness measurement, Rockwell, Vicker and Brinell hardness tester are commonly employed.
What is the difference between lower bainite and martensite?
The structure of lower bainite resembles martensite but the studies show that the carbides in lower bainite have the same crystallographic orientation while in the tempering of martensite variants of cementite with different crystallographic orientation are formed.
What is the structure of upper bainite?
The structure of upper bainite is quite fine and resembles pearlite, however, in pearlite alternate plates of ferrite and carbides are formed while in upper bainite, pockets of carbide precipitates are formed by the rejection of excess carbon by ferrite in between ferrite plates.
What happens when a bainite lathe grows in upper bainite?
When a bainite lathe grows in upper bainite, the high diffusivity of carbon allows partitioning of carbon between ferrite and austenite, hence, formed the low carbon content (< 0.03%) ferrite, results in the enrichment of carbon in austenite.
Why is bainite darker than martensite?
When observed under a light microscope, due to low reflectivity the microstructure of bainite appears darker than martensite. Similarly, the properties of both plates of steel are different from each other when studied in detail. Scaling of microstructure is required before you start studying it. Check our guide on microstructure scaling that can help you standardize microstructure and make them easy to understand for everyone.
Why is austenite hard to heat treat?
A steel that has 1% carbon doesn’t necessarily have all of that carbon “in solution” in austenite because we can leave some carbide in the steel. The higher the temperature we austenitize, the more carbide dissolves and the higher carbon our austenite is. Learn about austenitizing in this article. It is the carbon content of the austenite that controls the formation of plate martensite during quenching. However, with low alloy steels with greater than about 0.85% carbon it is difficult to heat treat them without having at least 0.6% carbon in solution. You can read more about the toughness of low alloy knife steels in this article. With bainite, however, there is no “plate bainite” so with high carbon steels we often see the biggest jump in toughness. This was observed in previous research [1] where they found that the toughness difference between bainite and martensite increases with higher carbon content.
Why is bainite harder than martensite?
To match the hardness of bainite we have to temper in the range of 500°F or higher. This puts the steel in the embrittlement range where toughness is reduced from forming large carbide particles. So to compare bainite and martensite 1:1 at the same hardness it often requires tempering martensite in an unfavorable temperature range.
What temperature to austenitize steel?
Likely higher hardness could be obtained by combining the 1425°F austenitize with reduced tempering such as 300-350°F. This is because of the reduction in plate martensite as explained previously. The 1380°F austenitize led to very low hardness with little improvement in toughness, however. The low hardness is probably from not fully austenitizing (some ferrite remained). I had austenitized for 30 minutes to try to overcome this, but at low temperatures it takes longer for the steel to heat through and longer for the austenite to form. But even if 60 minutes would do it, the 1380°F is probably dancing too close to the line. So now that we have our baseline established, let’s compare with the austempered conditions:
What temperature is required to austenitize?
Using various sources I estimated the required austenitizing temperature as 1625°F.
How long to austemper bainite?
So to have full bainite we need to austemper for at least 2 hours. You can hold it longer to ensure that the transformation is complete if you want without negatively affecting the steel.
Can you heat treat low alloy steel?
However, with low alloy steels with greater than about 0.85% carbon it is difficult to heat treat them without having at least 0.6% carbon in solution. You can read more about the toughness of low alloy knife steels in this article.
Is 1550 400 hard?
The 1550-400 condition is somewhat interesting because we should have some tempered martensite present in that one, about 50% according to the TTT. However, the toughness appears similar to the 1550-500 condition with pure bainite if it was at higher hardness. So there does not appear to be an issue with austempering below Ms if higher hardness is desirable. It might be interesting to try low temperature austempering treatments at 350°F, and with other steels like O1. However, the data available for sub-Ms austempering is very limited and would require more experimentation.
How is bainite formed?
Austempering is a heat treatment used to form pure bainite, a transitional microstructure found between pearlite and martensite. Austempering consists of rapidly cooling the metal part from the austenitizing temperature to about 230 to 400°C, holding at a constant temperature to allow isothermal transformation. To avoid the formation of pearlite or martensite, the steel is quenched in a bath of molten metals or salts. The steel is then held at the bainite-forming temperature, beyond the point where the temperature reaches an equilibrium, until the bainite fully forms. The steel is then removed from the bath and allowed to air-cool, without the formation of either pearlite or martensite. Depending on the holding-temperature, austempering can produce either upper or lower bainite.
What are the phases of bainite?
Like pearlite, the constituent phases of bainite are ferrite and cementite. Diffusional processes during cooling are involved in its formation. However, the shapes of the phases are very different in pearlite and bainite. The key difference between pearlite and bainite is that the pearlite contains alternating layers of ferrite ...
What is the microstructure that forms in steels from austenite?
Bainite. Bainite is a plate-like microstructure that forms in steels from austenite when cooling rates are not rapid. enough to produce martensite but are still fast enough so that carbon does not have enough time to diffuse to form pearlite. Bainitic steels are generally stronger and harder than pearlitic steels;
What is the difference between pearlite and bainite?
The key difference between pearlite and bainite is that the pearlite contains alternating layers of ferrite and cementite whereas the bainite has a plate-like microstructure. A fine non-lamellar structure, bainite commonly consists of cementite and dislocation-rich ferrite.
What microstructure is formed when austenite is cooled?
Depending on the holding-temperature, austempering can produce either upper or lower bainite. Bainite is a plate-like microstructure that forms in steels from austenite when cooling rates are not rapid enough to produce martensite but are still fast enough so that carbon does not have enough time to diffuse to form pearlite.
What is austempering steel?
Austempering is applicable to most medium-carbon steels and alloy steels. Low-alloy steels are usually restricted to 9.5 mm or thinner sections, while more hardenable steels can be austempered in sections up to 50 mm thick.
How to avoid pearlite formation?
To avoid the formation of pearlite or martensite, the steel is quenched in a bath of molten metals or salts. The steel is then held at the bainite-forming temperature, beyond the point where the temperature reaches an equilibrium, until the bainite fully forms. The steel is then removed from the bath and allowed to air-cool, ...
What is bainitic steel?
The bainitic steel structure has been defined thus ( Krauss, 1992 ): ‘Bainite is nominally a two phase microstructure which is formed by austenite transformation between the temperature ranges at which pearlite and martensite form.’ For plain carbon steels, the area for bainite formation with continuous cooling is limited. Where a bainitic microstructure is required, alloy additions are made to extend the bainite part of the isothermal and continuous cooling curves (the bainite ‘nose’) over a wider range of cooling rates, as shown by comparing Fig. 5.15 with Fig. 5.4, particularly small additions of molybdenum. The ‘nose’ can be further extended by very small additions of boron which improves toughness and fatigue resistance ( Honeycombe and Bhadeshia, 1995 ). Additions of oxidising elements, such as aluminium and titanium, are also required to ensure that the boron does not become oxidised during steel manufacture and thus becomes ineffective.
How is bainitic steel obtained?
In many steels, a bainitic structure may be obtained by an isothermal or continuous cooling process conducted within an appropriate temperature range. In the carbon steels, bainite is directly related to isothermal heat treatment because, as in the continuous cooling process, the pearlite reaction almost totally consumes the austenite, ...
How is bainite transformation kinetics reflected in isothermal transformation diagrams?
The transformation kinetics are reflected in isothermal transformation diagrams (time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagrams), which follow the general model developed by Bain and Paxton and then extended for all steel alloys (25). In isothermal cooling, bainite transformation begins according to the corresponding TTT diagram and then the fraction of bainite transformed gradually increases with the holding time at the isothermal temperature. Figures 20 and 21 illustrate examples of lower bainite obtained in AISI O1 cold-working steel (0.8% C) austenitized at 860 °C cooled isothermally at 320 °C in a molten salt bath with interruptions at 5 and 10 min to show the lower bainite transformation kinetics in contrast to the martensite matrix due to the quenching of the remaining austenite. Figures 20 and 21 show the bainite transformation after 5 and after 10 min, respectively (26).
What is the habit plane of bainite?
Macroscopically, a habit plane is the interface plane between austenite and martensite (6). During the high-speed martensite reaction, the carbon atoms are unable to move from their interstitial positions and are retained in the octahedral-type interstitial sites in martensite while the bainite transformation (lower or upper bainite) occurs with a lower rate with some contribution from temperature-dependent short-range carbon diffusion. Another difference between the austenite-martensite and austenite-bainite transformations is the iron-based carbides that precipitate in one variant of the orientational relationship in the lower bainite (in carbon steels, the lower bainite, metastable epsilon carbides precipitate inside of the laths with an angle of 55° relative to the lath axis) while in the tempered martensite, the precipitates (epsilon carbides and cementite) are found in several different orientational relationships.
What is the effect of isothermal holding on pearlitic malleable iron?
The bainitic structure causes a marked increase in strength and hardness but impairs ductility. For example, a pearlitic malleable iron with 2.6%C, 1.4%Si, 0.5%Mn and 0.11%S when annealed at 930 °C for 16 h, air quenched and tempered at 680 °C for 4 h produced ultimate tensile strength of 650 MPa, yield strength of 460 MPa, elongation of 3.4%, and hardness 217 HB. The iron when austenitized at 900 °C in salt bath for 1 h, quenched in molten salt at 295 °C for 3 h and air cooled produced a much higher tensile strength (995 MPa), yield strength (920 MPa), and hardness (388 HB), but the elongation is only 1%. 16
What are the two groups of bainite?
Bainitic structure can be divided in two groups: upper bainite and lower bainite. Typically, lower bainite differs from upper bainite by the iron-based carbide precipitates within the ferrite plates with a preferred orientation. Upper bainite consists of small subunits of ferrite plates separated by carbide films.
How to make sintered steel?
An attractive way to produce sintered steels with regular heterogeneous microstructure is by coating. Iron or steel powders can be coated with Cu by cementation ( Fig. 19 (a) ); such alloying results in more regular microstructure, 26 in particular less free Cu ( Fig. 19 (b) and (c) ). Coating with other elements, such as Ni, is more difficult and must be done, for example, by electroplating, since the common electroless ‘Ni’ deposits contain significant amounts of P and thus cannot be regarded as real Ni layers. 27 Ni electroplated iron powder can be processed to steels with ‘microgradient’ structure, that is a fairly regular but heterogeneous distribution of Ni, with resulting graded transition between the microstructural constituents ( Fig. 19 (d) ).
How does heat treatment work?
These tend to consist of either cooling different areas of an alloy at different rates, by quickly heating in a localized area and then quenching, by thermochemical diffusion, or by tempering different areas of an object at different temperatures, such as in differential tempering.
What is the purpose of heat treating metals?
grain size and composition) is one of the most effective factors that can determine the overall mechanical behavior of the metal. Heat treatment provides an efficient way to manipulate the properties of the metal by controlling the rate of diffusion and the rate of cooling within the microstructure. Heat treating is often used to alter the mechanical properties of a metallic alloy, manipulating properties such as the hardness, strength, toughness, ductility, and elasticity .
How to transform austenite into martensite?
Further transformation of the austenite into martensite can be induced by slowly cooling the metal to extremely low temperatures. Cold treating generally consists of cooling the steel to around -115˚F (-81˚C), but does not eliminate all of the austenite. Cryogenic treating usually consists of cooling to much lower temperatures, often in the range of -315˚F (-192˚C), to transform most of the austenite into martensite.
How is annealing done?
In ferrous alloys, annealing is usually accomplished by heating the metal beyond the upper critical temperature and then cooling very slowly, resulting in the formation of pearlite. In both pure metals and many alloys that cannot be heat treated, annealing is used to remove the hardness caused by cold working. The metal is heated to a temperature where recrystallization can occur, thereby repairing the defects caused by plastic deformation. In these metals, the rate of cooling will usually have little effect. Most non-ferrous alloys that are heat-treatable are also annealed to relieve the hardness of cold working. These may be slowly cooled to allow full precipitation of the constituents and produce a refined microstructure.
What is differential hardening?
Some techniques allow different areas of a single object to receive different heat treatments. This is called differential hardening. It is common in high quality knives and swords. The Chinese jian is one of the earliest known examples of this, and the Japanese katana may be the most widely known. The Nepalese Khukuri is another example. This technique uses an insulating layer, like layers of clay, to cover the areas that are to remain soft. The areas to be hardened are left exposed, allowing only certain parts of the steel to fully harden when quenched.
How does salt heat up?
Parts are loaded into a pot of molten salt where they are heated by conduction, giving a very readily available source of heat. The core temperature of a part rises in temperature at approximately the same rate as its surface in a salt bath.
What is a heat treating schedule?
Complex heat treating schedules, or " cycles," are often devised by metallurgists to optimize an alloy's mechanical properties. In the aerospace industry, a superalloy may undergo five or more different heat treating operations to develop the desired properties. This can lead to quality problems depending on the accuracy of the furnace's temperature controls and timer. These operations can usually be divided into several basic techniques.
What is austempering used for?
Austempering is primarily used to harden medium to high carbon steels in the range of 35-55 HRC when toughness is required with the additional benefit of a reduction in distortion. The process is widely used in the automotive industry for clips and other parts where maximum flexibility and toughness are required.
What temperature is steel tempered?
Steel is austempered by: Heating to a temperature within the austenitising range, usually 790°-915°C (1450 -1675°F). Quenched in a bath (molten salt, or occasionally oil) maintained at a constant temperature, usually in the range of 260°-370°C (500-700°F).
What is the process of reducing the strength of ferrous metals?
Cooled to room temperature. Austempering. Austempering is a heat treating process for medium-to-high carbon ferrous metals which produces a metallurgical structure called bainite. It is used to increase strength, toughness, and reduce distortion.
What are the benefits of austempering?
Austempering is a hardening process for metals which yields desirable mechanical properties including: Higher ductility, toughness, and strength for a given hardness. Resistance to shock. Reduced distortion, specifically with thin parts.
What temperature does bainite form?
On a broader scale you can see the formation of lower bainite in a 1080 steel with increasing time at 300°C, from 70s (a), 200s (b), 800s (c), and 2000s (d) [5]:
What is the process of quenching a bainite?
This quenching process is often done with molten salts that can hold the intermediate temperatures required for bainite formation. The process of holding at the intermediate temperature to form bainite is called “austempering.” Whereas martensite laths forms rapidly without diffusion, bainite also forms laths but diffusion is required to form carbides as the laths grow; the carbon is allowed to diffuse out as carbides while the bainite grows [3]:
How long does it take to make bainitic steel?
Forming a completely bainitic microstructure can take 2 hours or more with low alloy steels, but this can be accelerated by quenching below martensite start prior to reheating to form bainite. Short austempering treatments with incomplete transformation can also be used as long as the resulting martensite is tempered.
How to make martensite?
To form martensite we heat up the steel to high temperature to transform to a phase called austenite where we dissolve carbon in between the iron atoms (see Austenitizing Part 1 ), then quench the steel to lock in the carbon and form a hard phase called martensite (see What Makes Quenched Steel so Hard? ).
Why is bainite formation slower than martensite?
Bainite formation is much slower than martensite because it requires diffusion, and with the time required to begin bainite formation the steel is much more likely to have a uniform temperature distribution prior to transformation than with martensite formation.
What is the source of embrittlement in steel?
Another major source of embrittlement with high carbon steels is “plate, ” rather than lath, martensite. There is a transition above about 0.6%C where these plates of martensite form instead which are much more brittle than lath martensite, in part because of microcracks that form:
Does bainite form carbides?
Whereas martensite laths forms rapidly without diffusion, bainite also forms laths but diffusion is required to form carbides as the laths grow; the carbon is allowed to diffuse out as carbides while the bainite grows [3]: You’ll notice that the image is labeled as “lower bainite” formation.
Why is heat treated steel used?
This heat treatment process is usually carried for low and medium carbon steel as well as alloy steel to make the grain structure more uniform and relieve the internal stresses.
Why is heat treatment important?
It is very important manufacturing process that can not only help the manufacturing process but can also improve the product, its performance, and its characteristics in many ways. By Heat Treatment process, Example: The plain carbon steel. The following changes may be achieved: The hardness of Steel may be increased or decreased.
What is hardening steel?
Hardening is a heat treatment process carried out to increase the hardness of Steel.
Why is annealing done?
Annealing is carried out for such parts to remove the internal stresses and make them more ductile and less brittle.
What is recrystallization in steel?
This causes complete recrystallization in steel to form New grain structure. This will release the internal stresses previously the strip in the steel and improve the machinability.
What is annealing in metal?
Annealing is carried out for accomplishing one or more of the following: Softening of a metal or alloy. This may be done due to improving machinability. Relieving internal residual stresses caused by the various manufacturing process. Refining the grain size of the metal or alloy.
What is normalizing steel?
Normalizing is a heat treatment process similar to annealing in which the Steel is heated to about 50 degree Celsius above the upper critical temperature followed by air cooling. This results in a softer state which will be lesser soft than that produced by annealing.