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Annealing
Annealing is one of the most important heat treatment operation applied to steel. It is the process of
heating the steel in a furnace to a point not exceeding 50° above its upper critical point and maintaining
the steel at that temperature for a considerable time (30-60 minutes) to convert the whole steel to
austenite. Steel is allowed to cool down slowly through a medium of hot sand, hot ashes or hot lime dust.
The rate of cooling is to be maintained at 150-200ºC per hour.

Purpose –  The various purposes of annealing are:

Purpose 

(a) To soften the metal. i.e. While working on metals in cold condition, it becomes hard. For further work
on the metal without any cracks, it should be soften by annealing process.

(b) To improve machinability.

(c)  To refine grain size, structure and to improve mechanical properties.

(d) To relieve internal stresses which were developed during working over the metal.

(e) To modify physical properties.

(f)  To increase ductility of metal.

(g) To prepare the steel for cold working.

Archives
Types of Annealing
January 2019
Low Temperature Annealing (Spherodising) – This
(Spherodising)  process consists of heating the steel to a temperature
December 2018
little below the lower critical point and cooling is done to carbon steels at a very slow rate (25 to 30ºC
August 2018
per hour) before cold working. This process reduces hardness to the minimum and brings the steel to
July 2018
elastic limit and yield point. Full annealing after the cold working will restore its original property.
November 2017

Blue Annealing – 
Annealing   Severely cold worked steels, which are quite hardened and have a very high yield point, October 2017

are heated to 300ºC( blue color) in an open furnace and cooled down slowly. It helps to work further on November 2016

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the sheet without crack. March 2016
November 2015
Box Annealing – In
Annealing  this process the job is kept in a closed annealing pot or box, heated to a sub-critical October 2015
temperature and cooled down slowly together with box. It is used mainly for sheet, strip, or wire. August 2015
May 2015
Black Annealing – 
Annealing   In this process, the iron base alloys are heated to 400ºC and cooled down slowly. After March 2015
this the job appears in a black color, which is free from oxide. February 2015
January 2015
Flame Annealing – 
Annealing   When hollowing on a sheet or working on a particular part or area of large job, the area December 2014
tends to become hard due to work hardening. It is impossible to work further. For further working, the November 2014
part or area of a job is to be softened. It is done by heating the job by the oxy-acetylene flame to light October 2014
red color (800ºC) and cooled down slowly. September 2014

Pack Annealing  –   In this process the articles are covered with sand (pack), heated to a light red color
(800ºC) and cooled down slowly together with pack. It is done on various shock resisting tool steel like
chuck key, power tools, etc.

Water Annealing – 
Annealing   This is a process of heating the article to above its upper critical point, slowly cooling it
down to black heat (approx. 400ºC) and then finally quenching in water. This is carried out to speed up
the annealing process when there is lack of time.

Isothermal Annealing – 
Annealing   Isothermal annealing reduces the total time required for an annealing operation.
In this process, steel is heated to austenite state and then cooling it down to a temperature of about
650°C at a relatively faster rate. Then it is held at constant temperature i.e. isothermally for some time
and then cooling it down to the room temperature at a rapid rate.

Salt Bath Method

It is generally recognised that, the satisfactory method of obtaining uniform high temperature
throughout the considerable volume of metals is by immersing in a bath of liquids. The liquid employed
would naturally depend largely upon the temperature that has to be obtained and also upon the nature of
metal to be heat treated. For light alloys, the most convenient medium is a mixture of salt, prepared by
mixing in equal proportion of Sodium Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate.

Also Read  Basic Principle of Communication

Size of Baths   –   The size of the bath varies according to the size of job on which heat treatment is to be
carried out. Thus larger baths are capable of taking big sheets and smaller baths are used for
comparatively smaller components, such as rivets, nuts and bolts, etc.

Salt Bath  –   This is used for heat treatment of Dural rivets and small parts. The Salt bath consists of a
metal cabinet containing a cast iron bath and a pair of kerosene heaters, which can be used alternatively
to enable the heat to be supplied continuously. A bath is centrally mounted on the cabinet and the access
is through the sliding door in the upper part of the cabinet. A pyrometer is provided to indicate the
temperature of the bath. When it is heated, fumes from the bath go out into the atmosphere through the
pipe at the rear side of the cabinet. When the burner is in position, the fuel container rests outside the
heater compartment and is shielded from the burner by the sliding door. This door has slots cut in its
lower edge to clear the supply pipe, which connects the burner and the container.

Methylated spirit is used for preheating the burner. A full container will provide 2 to 3 hours of burning.
(A.P.l464B).

Temperature Recording  –  For recording the temperature each bath is provided with a pyrometer.

Operation –   In this operation, the nitrate must be heated to the required temperature and the salt when
Operation 

melted should not be more than 3/4th of the capacity of the bath. Nitrates can be used again and again
but must be cleaned once in a month, so as to remove any residues left while heating. The heat must be
applied very gradually.

Hardening
 In hardening process, the steel is first heated to a point  exceeding 50ºC above the upper critical point
for hypo-eutectoid steels and 30-50ºC above for hyper-eutectoid steel. Then the steel is soaked at this
temperature for a considerable time to ensure that all the pearlite and cementite have changed into

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austenite. After that the steel is cooled rapidly to keep the austenite to remain as such at room
temperature. This process consists of two operations – heating and quenching. If these two operations are
properly carried out, then the required structure is obtained.

Heating may be carried out in a furnace, fired by oil, gas or coal, in which the job is in direct contact with
the flame. It can be heated in a muffle furnace where the job is held in a compartment and is not in direct
contact with the flame or electric current. Also, it can be heated in a bath type furnace where it is
immersed in a molten salt or lead bath.

The job should be heated gradually and uniformly. Sudden or uneven heating causes internal stresses,
while a slow rate of heating causes grain growth.

The structure of steel is affected by the rate of cooling in general and more particularly in the
temperature range of 650-550ºC where austenite decomposes more rapidly into pearlite, cementite or
ferrite.  Between 300-200ºC martensite is formed. This in turn, causes an increase in the volume of the
metal thereby developing high internal stresses and strains.

Effects of Hardening. 
Hardening The effects of hardening are:

(a) Maximum hardness.

(b) Smallest grain size.

(c) Minimum ductility.

(d) Maximum tenacity.

Types of Hardening

Work Hardening – 
Hardening   Low carbon steels which have been cold rolled or hammered, become hard to a certain
extent, thereby increasing yield point and ultimate strength with reduction of ductility and toughness.

Also Read  Methods of Case Hardening

Flame Hardening – 
Hardening   This is a surface hardening process done by the  oxy-acetylene flame. In this process
heat is applied to the skin of the job and then before the heat penetrates to the core, it is suddenly
cooled. This method is normally used on pinions, gear surface, crown wheels, cams and camshafts.

Induction Hardening  –   This is a surface hardening process, in which the heating medium is the high
frequency current. No sooner is the surface heated, the supply of the current is shut-off and a high-
pressure jet of water sprayed on the job.

The hardening temperature of Ni-Cr steel of 900-1000º C and that of high-speed steel is 1100-1300ºC.

Tempering
Martensite is stable only up to 200ºC. If a piece of steel, which has been hardened, is subsequently
heated to a temperature above 200ºC, the decomposition of martensite will start taking place. This
decomposition is in the order of troostite first and then sorbite.

Martensite decomposes into troostite, which is a finely dispersed mixture of cementite and ferrite, in the
temperature ranges of 200-300ºC. Tempering at temperature between 500-600ºC will lead to the
formation of the globular structure of sorbite.

The object of tempering is to remove excessive brittleness and induce toughness.

Tempering Colors with their Corresponding Temperatures – 

Temperatures   The various colours obtained after tempering
with their corresponding temperatures are: –

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Different Methods of Tempering – 

Tempering   The different methods of tempering are:

(a) Austie Tempering   Steel jobs of smaller diameter not exceeding  1/4” and containing 0.9% carbon are
Austie Tempering – 

heated to above the upper critical point and quenched in a salt or lead bismuth bath of 260-340C. When
the job reaches the temperature of bath, it is removed and quenched in water. This method does not
promote the formation of martensite. Thus there are no stress/strain effects, but strength, ductility and
hardness are induced.

(b) Mar
Mar Tempering – 
Tempering    In this process the steel is heated above its upper critical point and quenched in a
bath (260˚C). It is held in the bath for a definite time and then cooled down to room temperature in still
air. The transformation of martensite takes place under conditions of slow rate of cooling and therefore,
internal stresses are reduced to a greater extent.

Salts for Various Temperatures  –   The various salts of combination of salts for different operating
temperature are as given below.

Colour Method. 
Method             If a piece of clean polished steel is heated, it will be seen that a series of colours
appear on the surface as the temperature rises. By heating the hardened job until a particular colour
appears, a definite amount of brittleness is removed. Always quench the job when the required colour
appears. The colour should be observed on a dark background or in the shade, because colours vary with
the intensity of light. There are two methods of hardening and tempering by colours:

(a)          Single heating method

(b)          Double heating method

Single Heating Method – 

Method   This method is used when the body of the tool is to be left soft and tough, while
the working edge is to be hardened and tempered e.g. cold chisels, screw drivers, punches, scribers and

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drifts etc.

Process  –   Heat approximately half the tool from

the working edge upwards to a cherry red colour.
Now dip half the heated portion into water, moving
the tool up and down to prevent the formation of
water line. When the cooled part becomes black,
remove the tool and quickly polish the tip. The heat from the upper part will flow down to the lower part.

When a dark purple colour (290C) appears on the polished tip, quench the whole tool in water.

Also Read  Deformation of Metals

Double Heating Method  –   This method is employed where the whole
body is to be hardened and tempered and the shank alone left soft and
tough. In this method the body (tool) is heated up to its upper critical
point and quenched drastically for hardening. In the second heating, it
is heated up to tempering temperature and again quenched. This
method is followed for drills, reamers, scrapers, hacksaw blades etc.

Alloy Bath Method  –   An alloy bath consists of lead and tin in varying
proportions which, when melted, will have temperatures varying

between 180-320C depending upon the percentage of each of the constituents. Hardened articles are
immersed in this molten bath, which is maintained at the tempering temperature required, till they reach
the temperature of the bath. They are then quickly cooled in water.

Oil Bath Method  –   In this method, oil, having a high flash point (where oil starts
burning into flame), is heated to the required temperature. The article to be
tempered is immersed in it until the article attains the temperature of the oil. The
job is then cooled in water.

Flash Method  –   In this method the job is

heated to its upper critical point and then
quenched in hardening oil. It is then removed
from the oil and held in a clean fire until the
oil flashes. It is then cooled in water. This
method is normally used for coil springs.

Hot Sand Method – 

Method   Large hardened articles are covered with sand and heated to tempering temperature.
It is then removed and quenched as usual. The correct temperature is ascertained by means of a
thermometer.

Salt Bath Method – 

Method   Salts with low fusion points, such as potassium and sodium are mixed and melted and
the hardened articles are immersed in it. After they attain the temperature of the bath, the articles are
removed and quenched in water.

Normalizing
The process consists of heating of steel to a point 40 to 50°C above its upper critical temperature. Hold
at that temperature for a short duration and subsequently cooling in still air at room temperature. This is
also known as air quenching. It produces microstructures consisting of ferrite and pearlite for hypo -
eutectoid steels and pearlite and cementite for hypereutectoid steels.

Purpose –  Normalizing is done for the following purposes:

Purpose 

(a) To eliminate coarse grain structure which is produced during forging,   rolling, etc.

(b) To improve machinability.

(c) To reduce internal stresses.

(d) To improve certain mechanical properties.

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Effects Of Normalizing

(a) Normalizing raises the yield point, ultimate tensile strength and impact strength of steel.

(b) Normalized steels are harder and stronger but less ductile than annealed steels with the same
composition.

(c) Reduces the grain size caused by over heating or by slow cooling.

(d) Produces  uniform granular  structure.

(e) Improves the machineability of the steel.

(f) It prevents the cracking of High Carbon Steel, High Speed Steel and High Tensile Steel, when these
steels are hardened.

Refining
This is a heat treatment process carried out in order to break down large, coarse grains formed by the
overheating of steels. The process involves heating the job to above the upper critical point and then

quenching it. This is repeated three or four times, the maximum temperature being lowered by 50C each

time, e.g. first heating to 900C, second heating to 850C and the fourth heating to 750C. This process is
done in addition to normalizing. Where the jobs are such shapes as to give rise to severe strains on
quenching, they are air-cooled.

 October 2, 2014  admin  Engineering  1 Comment  Alloy Bath Method,  Colour Method,  Double
Heating Method,  Flash Method,  High Carbon Steel,  Hot Sand Method,  Oil Bath Method,  Salt Bath Method,
 Single Heating Method,  temperature

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