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Volume-6, Issue-4, July-August 2016

International Journal of Engineering and Management Research

Page Number: 82-85

To Study the Behaviour of Materials using Conventional Quenching and Nano Quenching

Prof. K.A.Shaikh1, Sayyad Inamdar2, Md. Hussain Qureshi3, Uzer Bidri4, Shaikh Zaid5, Abu Talha Darji6

1Assistant Professor, NKOCET, Solapur, INDIA 2,3,4,5,6

NKOCET,Solapur, INDIA

ABSTRACT The heat treatment processes are the controlled heating and cooling operations to change mechanical properties of material in solid state. Quenching is one of the heat treatment process where austenite phase is converted into Pearlite / Martensite / Bainite phases depending upon cooling rate The main aim of this study is to compare results of conventional quenching media and advanced nanofluid quenching media with help of microstructure and hardness values. In this work two carbon steels AISI 1040 and AISI 4130 are taken for case study. Quenching media for cooling like distilled water, brine solution, chilled water, cotton seed oil, engine oil, CuO based nano-fluids of different volume fraction are used to observe changes in microstructure and hardness values.The nanofluids are giving best results for materials AISI 4130 with highest hardness (value 759) and less cracks than chilled water. Keywords— Heat treatment, Quenching, Conventional media, Nanofluid.

I. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of heat treating carbon steel is to

change the mechanical properties of steel, usually ductility, hardness, yield tensile strength and impact resistance. The electrical, corrosion and thermal conductivity are also slightly altered during heat treatment process. Hardening by quenching is performed to prevent ferrite or pearlite formation and allow bainite or martensite to be formed. Quenching medium selection depends on the hardenability of particular alloy, the section thickness and shape involved, and the cooling rate needed to achieve desired microstructure. Heat treatment of many products used in our daily life is done to get the required properties such as nuts, bolts, joints, cams, dragger, plough shave, rocket outer shell casing, and nozzle of rockets, spanner and many.

The steels and alloys which are used will be of highest carbon contain, so that after quenching from such a high temperature the material must be sufficiently strong so as to absorb the thermal shocks . Therefore, in this study one carbon steels AISI 1040 and one alloy steel AISI 4130 is selected. They were heated and then quenched in different quenchant’s such as water, distilled water, oil and nano-fluid, up to room temperature so that a proper quenchant through which desired properties of the steel will be achieved, are selected. Many researches are working on the materials so as to get desired properties one in the field of application not only by quenching it in different media but also using the different method to improve mechanical property of materials.

Mechanical properties of steels are strongly connected to their microstructure obtained after heat treatments. Currently, there is a strong interest in the effect of cooling rate on the mechanical properties and microstructure of industrial processed steels. There will be significant influence on cooling rate on the microstructure of steels. It has been shown that oil quenching produce an essentially ferrite-martensite dual phase structure with about 4 volume pct of fine particle and thin film retained austenite. In contrast, the slower air cooling results in a larger amount (about 10 volume pct) of retained austenite in addition to the ferrite and martensite phases. The steels and alloys which are used will be of highest carbon contain, so that after quenching from such a high temperature the material must be sufficiently strong so as to absorb the thermal shocks .

II. METHODOLOGY

In this hardening work the highly polished specimen was prepared from steel rod of diameter 12 mm and 5 mm thickness. After this the specimen was cut in to four equal quarters of the circle as shown in fig No.1 The size, composition, and initial temperature of the part and

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properties are the deciding factors in selecting the quenching medium. A quenching medium must cool the metal at a rate rapid enough to produce the desired results. The absorption of heat by the quenching medium also depends, to a large extent, on the circulation of the quenching medium or the movement of the part. Agitation of the liquid or the part breaks up the gas that forms an insulating blanket between the part and the liquid.

Figure 1: Specimen

Figure 1: Ultrasonic Vibrator

Quenching media both conventional quenching media and nano-fluid quenching were used in the study. The conventional quenching media selected are distilled water, chilled water, brine solution (25% by weight), cotton seed oil, engine oil, and CuO Nano-fluid (0.1% by volume), CuO Nano-fluid (0.6% by volume) as nanofluid quanchant. Still-bath quenching method is adopted in this study. Two step method is used for preparation of nano-fluid. CuO nanoparticles are mixed in distilled water in different proportions for making two nanofluids 0.1% by volume and 0.6% by volume. An ultrasonic vibrator shown

in fig. No.2, is used for the uniform dispersions of nano-particles into the base fluid for preparation of nano-fluid experimentation. Sodium Lauryl Sulphate surfactant is used. Usual hardening method is adopted as heating, soaking and quenching. Each specimen was tested for Vickers Hardness number and changes in microstructure were observed with the help of optical microscope.

III. RESULTS

In the AISI 1040 steel the mixture of fine martensite and perlite is observed in 0.1% CuO Nanofluid (by volume) quenched sample. In Chilled water quenched sample the fine martensite and needles at some areas are observed. Also in distilled water quenched sample and brine solution quenched sample less amount of martensite is observed. But as compared to 0.1% CuO Nanofluid (by volume) quenched sample the martensite formation in other quenching media is less. In cotton seed oil quenched sample and engine oil quenched sample there is no martensite formation but pearlite is observed.

In the AISI 4130 microstructure result the as received material microstructure shows the randomly oriented grains of ferrite,alloy carbide and some amount of perlite is observed. The quenching cracks are observed in specimens of distilled water, chilled water and 0.6% nanofluid quenched materials. After quenching the brine solution, distilled water and chilled water quenched samples shows very fine martensite as one of the good result. Both the oils and 0.1% nanofluid quenched samples shows unresolved pearlite. But 0.6% nanofluid shows some amount of pearlite and martensite is also formed there.

Table No.1 Microstructures of material AISI 1040

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Table No.2 Microstructures of material AISI 4130

In the Vicker’s Hardness Test, for the AISI1040

material, the highest hardness is obtained in 0.1% Nanofluid as hardness number 620 then Chilled water as 601 and Brine solution as 599 which are closer to each other. 0.6% Nanofluid is lowest in all quenching media and hardness number is 521. The Vickers Hardness number for sample material AISI 4130 is shown in fig No 4. In this sample material highest hardness is obtained in 0.6% Nanofluid and hardness number is 759, then Chilled water as753 hardness number which is nearer to 0.6% Nanofluid. Hardness number of Distilled water is 743, 0.1% Nanofluid is 702, Brine solution is 667 and Cotton seed oil is 660. The least hardness number is observed in Engine oil as 652.

Fig No.3 Quenching Media V/S Hardness of AISI 1040

Fig No.4 Quenching Media V/S Hardness of AISI 4130

IV. CONCLUSION

The overall conclusion of this study is that conventional quenching media and nano quenching media both are suitable for quenching. But for some materials chilled water provides distortion and cracking due to high critical cooling rate. The different microstructures are obtained in different quenching media, for particular purpose required microstructure can be obtained by using suitable quenching media. The nanofluids are giving best results for materials AISI 4130 with highest hardness (value 759) and less cracks than chilled water. The material AISI 1040 with hardness value 620 has got no cracks in nanofluid but cracks are observed in chilled water.

REFERENCES

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[6] Wei Yu and Huaqing Xie; “A Review on Nanofluids: Preparation, Stability Mechanisms, and Applications”, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,Journal of Nanomaterials,Volume 2012, Article ID 435873, Pages 1-17, July 2011. [7] Khushal Khera, Anmol Bhatia, Sanjay Kumar, Mehul Bhatia; “Investigation of the Effects of Various Heat Treatment Processes on Microstructure & Hardness with Respect to Corrosion Behavior for Carbon Steels”, International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-3 Issue-6, Pages 72-76, August 2014. [8] Piotr Bała, Janusz Krawczyk; “Transformations during quenching and tempering of hot-work tool steel”,Pages 1-8, May 2009.