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History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel
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History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 19648

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Peter Jurči

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Material Sciences and Technology of the STU in Trnava, J. Bottu 25, 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Interests: heat treatment of metals; thermochemical treatments; physical vapor deposition; microstructural analyses; microstructure–properties relationships
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ferrous alloys have been manufactured from the very beginning of the iron age. It has been recognized that the microstructure is the most important factor that governs the mechanical properties of iron alloys. It is primarily influenced by carbon content, and through appropriate heat treatment. The strength and hardness increase by increasing the carbon content, but this increase results in a loss in toughness, worse ductility, and higher transient temperature. Also, the heat treatment that often consists of the austenitizing, quenching and tempering results in a hardness (strength) increase but also in correspondingly worsened toughness, since soft ferrite/carbide microstructure is replaced by harder but more brittle martensite.

However, systematic development of contemporary heat treatment techniques started only in the 20th century, when the relationship between the heat treatment parameters, microstructure and mechanical properties became better understood.

Besides the bulk heat treatment techniques such as hardening, tempering and annealing, a variety of surface modification processes through either surface hardening by induction, laser and electron beam or thermochemical treatments (carburizing, nitriding, boronizing) have also been developed. In more recent times, considerable efforts have been devoted to the metallurgical understanding of previously considered "black art" techniques like sub-zero treatments, or to the development of additive surface treatments of structural components such as CVD, PVD and hybrid processes.

In this Special Issue, we would like to provide a set of papers devoted to the application of various heat treatment techniques to different steel classes: carburizing steels, structural steels, spring steels, nitriding steels, ball bearing steels, stainless steels, powder metallurgy manufactured steels and tool steels. Both original research papers and review papers, informing readers on the latest ongoing research activities, on the current state-of-the-art, and on the history of the selected heat treatment techniques are welcome.

The Special Issue will be focused mainly on the following topics (but will not be strictly limited to): annealing, various aspects of hardening and tempering (including vacuum processes), cryogenic processes, carburizing and quenching, carbonitriding, nitrocarburizing, nitriding (including gas and plasma processes), boronizing, laser hardening and remelting, induction hardening, electron beam treatments, CVD, PVD. Papers devoted to detailed description of the interrelationships between processing, microstructure, mechanical and other important properties (strength, hardness, toughness, fatigue behaviour, corrosion performance, wear performance, and distortion behaviour) are also welcome. Finally, overview papers focused to the history of particular heat treatment techniques will also be greatly appreciated.

Prof. Peter Jurči
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Structural steels
  • Carburizing steels
  • Nitriding steels
  • Stainless steels
  • Ball bearing steels
  • PM steels
  • Tool steels
  • Hardening and tempering
  • Cryogenic treatment
  • Thermochemical treatment
  • Surface heat treatment
  • PVD, CVD
  • Microstructure-properties interrelationships
  • History of heat treatment

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 181 KiB  
Editorial
History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel
by Peter Jurči
Materials 2020, 13(18), 4003; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13184003 - 9 Sep 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2429
Abstract
Ferrous alloys (steels and cast irons) and their heat treatment have attracted a great amount of basic and applied research due to their decisive importance in modern industrial branches such as the automotive, transport and other industries. Heat treatment is always required for [...] Read more.
Ferrous alloys (steels and cast irons) and their heat treatment have attracted a great amount of basic and applied research due to their decisive importance in modern industrial branches such as the automotive, transport and other industries. Heat treatment is always required for these materials, in order to achieve the desired levels of strength, hardness, toughness and ductility. Over the past decades, many advanced heat- and surface-treatment techniques have been developed such as heat treatment in protective atmospheres or in vacuum, sub-zero treatment, laser/electron beam surface hardening and alloying, low-pressure carburizing and nitriding, physical vapour deposition and many others. This diversity of treatment techniques used in industrial applications has spurred a great extent of research efforts focused on the optimized and/or tailored design of processes in order to promote the best possible utilization of material properties. This special journal issue contains a collection of original research articles on not only advanced heat-treatment techniques—carburizing and sub-zero treatments—but also on the microstructure–property relationships in different ferrous alloys. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)

Research

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20 pages, 8004 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Electrolytic Hydrogenation on Mechanical Properties of T92 Steel Weldments under Different PWHT Conditions
by Lucia Čiripová, Ladislav Falat, Viera Homolová, Miroslav Džupon, Róbert Džunda and Ivo Dlouhý
Materials 2020, 13(16), 3653; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163653 - 18 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2474
Abstract
In the present work, the effects of electrolytic hydrogen charging of T92 steel weldments on their room-temperature tensile properties were investigated. Two circumferential weldments between the T92 grade tubes were produced by gas tungsten arc welding using the matching Thermanit MTS 616 filler [...] Read more.
In the present work, the effects of electrolytic hydrogen charging of T92 steel weldments on their room-temperature tensile properties were investigated. Two circumferential weldments between the T92 grade tubes were produced by gas tungsten arc welding using the matching Thermanit MTS 616 filler material. The produced weldments were individually subjected to considerably differing post-welding heat treatment (PWHT) procedures. The first-produced weldment was conventionally tempered (i.e., short-term annealed below the Ac1 critical transformation temperature of the T92 steel), whereas the second one was subjected to its full renormalization (i.e., appropriate reaustenitization well above the T92 steel Ac3 critical transformation temperature and subsequent air cooling), followed by its conventional subcritical tempering. From both weldments, cylindrical tensile specimens of cross-weld configuration were machined. The room-temperature tensile tests were performed for the individual welds’ PWHT states in both hydrogen-free and electrolytically hydrogen-charged conditions. The results indicated higher hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility for the renormalized-and-tempered weldments, compared to the conventionally tempered ones. The obtained findings were correlated with performed microstructural and fractographic observations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)
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20 pages, 5816 KiB  
Article
Can Sub-zero Treatment at −75 °C Bring Any Benefits to Tools Manufacturing?
by Martin Kusý, Lýdia Rízeková-Trnková, Jozef Krajčovič, Ivo Dlouhý and Peter Jurči
Materials 2019, 12(23), 3827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12233827 - 21 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2045
Abstract
: Vanadis 6 ledeburitic tool steel was subjected to sub-zero treatment at −75 °C for different durations, and for different subsequent tempering regimes. The impact of these treatments on the microstructure, hardness variations, and toughness characteristics of the steel was investigated. The obtained [...] Read more.
: Vanadis 6 ledeburitic tool steel was subjected to sub-zero treatment at −75 °C for different durations, and for different subsequent tempering regimes. The impact of these treatments on the microstructure, hardness variations, and toughness characteristics of the steel was investigated. The obtained results infer that the retained austenite amount was reduced to one fourth by sub-zero treatment (SZT), and the population density of add-on carbides was increased by factor of three to seven, depending on the duration of SZT. Tempering always reduced the population density of these particles. A hardness increased by 30–60 HV10 was recorded after sub-zero treatment but tempering to the secondary hardness peak induced much more significant hardness decrease than what was established in conventionally quenched steel. The flexural strength was not negatively influenced by sub-zero treatment at −75 °C while the fracture toughness tests gave worse values of this quantity, except the case of steel tempered to the secondary hardness peak. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)
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18 pages, 8354 KiB  
Article
Study of the Catalytic Strengthening of a Vacuum Carburized Layer on Alloy Steel by Rare Earth Pre-Implantation
by Guolu Li, Caiyun Li, Zhiguo Xing, Haidou Wang, Yanfei Huang, Weiling Guo and Haipeng Liu
Materials 2019, 12(20), 3420; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12203420 - 18 Oct 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2938
Abstract
Conventional carburizing has disadvantages, such as high energy consumption, large deformation of parts, and an imperfect structure of the carburizing layer. Hence, a rare earth ion pre-implantation method was used to catalyze and strengthen the carburized layer of 20Cr2Ni4A alloy steel. In this [...] Read more.
Conventional carburizing has disadvantages, such as high energy consumption, large deformation of parts, and an imperfect structure of the carburizing layer. Hence, a rare earth ion pre-implantation method was used to catalyze and strengthen the carburized layer of 20Cr2Ni4A alloy steel. In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive microanalysis (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Rockwell/Vickers hardness testing were used to analyze the microstructure, phase composition, retained austenite content, hardness, carburized layer thickness, and carbon diffusion. The results showed that lanthanum and yttrium ions implanted into the 20Cr2Ni4A steel formed solid solutions of rare earth ions and a large number of dislocations, which improved the diffusion coefficient of carbon elements on the carburized surface and the uniformity of the carbon distribution. Simultaneously, rare earth ion implantation improved the structure and hardness of the vacuum carburized layer. Compared to the lanthanum ion implantation, yttrium ion implantation caused the structure of the carburized layer to be finer, and the carbon diffusion coefficient increased by 1.17 times; in addition, the surface hardness of the carburized layer was 61.8 HRC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)
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Review

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36 pages, 10109 KiB  
Review
Correlation between Microstructural Alteration, Mechanical Properties and Manufacturability after Cryogenic Treatment: A Review
by Abbas Razavykia, Cristiana Delprete and Paolo Baldissera
Materials 2019, 12(20), 3302; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12203302 - 11 Oct 2019
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5803
Abstract
Cryogenic treatment is a supplemental structural and mechanical properties refinement process to conventional heat treatment processes, quenching, and tempering. Cryogenic treatment encourages the improvement of material properties and durability by means of microstructural alteration comprising phase transfer, particle size, and distribution. These effects [...] Read more.
Cryogenic treatment is a supplemental structural and mechanical properties refinement process to conventional heat treatment processes, quenching, and tempering. Cryogenic treatment encourages the improvement of material properties and durability by means of microstructural alteration comprising phase transfer, particle size, and distribution. These effects are almost permanent and irreversible; furthermore, cryogenic treatment is recognized as an eco-friendly, nontoxic, and nonexplosive process. In addition, to encourage the application of sustainable techniques in mechanical and manufacturing engineering and to improve productivity in current competitive markets, cryo-treatment can be considered as a promising process. However, while improvements in the properties of materials after cryogenic treatment are discussed by the majority of reported studies, the correlation between microstructural alteration and mechanical properties are unclear, and sometimes the conducted investigations are contradictory with each other. These contradictions provide different approaches to perform and combine cryogenic treatment with pre-and post-processing. The present literature survey, mainly focused on the last decade, is aimed to address the effects of cryogenic treatment on microstructural alteration and to correlate these changes with mechanical property variations as a consequence of cryo-processing. The conclusion of the current review discusses the development and outlines the trends for the future research in this field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)
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21 pages, 9969 KiB  
Review
Effect of Different Surface Conditions on Toughness of Vanadis 6 Cold Work Die Steel—A Review
by Peter Jurči
Materials 2019, 12(10), 1660; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101660 - 22 May 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2724
Abstract
The effects of surface roughness, presence of nitrided diffusion regions, and magnetron sputtering of Cr2N–6Ag thin films on the toughness of Cr–V ledeburitic Vanadis 6 die steel were investigated by using the flexural strength measurement method, which was coupled with careful [...] Read more.
The effects of surface roughness, presence of nitrided diffusion regions, and magnetron sputtering of Cr2N–6Ag thin films on the toughness of Cr–V ledeburitic Vanadis 6 die steel were investigated by using the flexural strength measurement method, which was coupled with careful microstructural investigations and analyses of fractured surfaces. The results undoubtedly show that enhanced surface roughness reduces the material toughness, since the cusps formed on the metallic surface as a result of the machining act as preferential sites for crack nucleation and growth. The presence of nitrided regions on the surface, on the other hand, forms a structural notch there, which has a strong detrimental effect on toughness. Deposition of Cr2N–6Ag thin films has only marginal effect on the steel toughness. Practical recommendations for the designers, heat treaters, and coaters of the tools are thus that they should maintain the surface finish quality of the tools as high as possible, avoid too thick and supersaturated nitrided regions, and that there is almost no risk of tool embrittlement due to physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History, Developments and Trends in the Heat Treatment of Steel)
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