Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley) © MPGroover 2007

27 HEAT TREATMENT OF METALS

Review Questions
27.1 Why are metals heat-treated?
Answer. Metals are heat-treated to effect metallurgical changes that beneficially alter properties.
27.2 Identify the important reasons why metals are annealed.
Answer. The purposes of annealing include (1) to control properties, (2) to reduce brittleness and
improve toughness, (3) to recrystallize cold-worked metals, and (4) to relieve stresses from prior
metalworking.
27.3 What is the most important heat treatment for hardening steels?
Answer. The most important heat treatment for steels is martensite formation by heating steel into
the austenite region and quenching.
27.4 What is the mechanism by which carbon strengthens steel during heat treatment?
Answer. If the steel is heat-treated, martensite is formed which depends on the presence of carbon
to create the non-equilibrium structure of this phase.
27.5 What information is conveyed by the TTT curve?
Answer. The TTT curve indicates what phases in the iron-carbon phase diagram will be produced
under various conditions of cooling.
27.6 What function is served by tempering?
Answer. Tempering involves heating and soaking of martensite for about one hour, followed by
slow cooling to reduce brittleness, relieve stresses, and increase toughness and ductility.
27.7 Define hardenability?
Answer. Hardenability is the relative capacity of a steel to be hardened by transformation to
martensite.
27.8 Name some of the elements which have the greatest effect on the hardenability of steel.
Answer. Important hardenability elements are chromium, manganese, molybdenum, and nickel.
27.9 Indicate how the hardenability alloying elements in steel affect the TTT curve.
Answer. The hardenability alloying elements operate by pushing the nose of the TTT curve to the
right, thereby permitting slower cooling rates for conversion of austenite to martensite.
27.10 Define precipitation hardening?
Answer. Precipitation hardening is a heat treatment in which very fine particles (precipitates) are
formed so that dislocation movement is blocked and the metal is thus strengthened and hardened.
27.11 How does carburizing work?
Answer. Carburizing adds carbon to the surface of low-C steel, thereby transforming the surface
into high-C steel for greater hardening potential.
27.12 Identify the selective surface hardening methods.
Answer. The selective surface hardening methods include flame hardening, induction hardening,
high-frequency (HF) resistance heating, electron beam (EB) heating, and laser beam (LB) heating.
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley) © MPGroover 2007

27.13 (Video) List three properties of ferrite at room temperature.

Answer: At room temperature, ferrite is body centered cubic structure, relatively soft, magnetic,
and has almost 0% carbon content.
27.14 (Video) How does austenite differ from ferrite?
Answer: Austenite exists at higher temperatures than ferrite. At low carbon levels, steel contains
mostly ferrite. As the temperature increases, more of structure converts to austenite. Austenite is a
face-centered cubic structure, whereas ferrite is a body centered cubic structure.
Multiple Choice Quiz
There is a total of 12 correct answers in the following multiple-choice questions (some questions have
multiple answers that are correct). To attain a perfect score on the quiz, all correct answers must be given.
Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Each omitted answer or wrong answer reduces the score by 1 point,
and each additional answer beyond the correct number of answers reduces the score by 1 point. Percentage
score on the quiz is based on the total number of correct answers.
27.1 Which of the following are the usual objectives of heat treatment (three best answers): (a) increase
hardness, (b) increase melting temperature, (c) increase recrystallization temperature, (d) reduce
brittleness, (e) reduce density, and (f) relieve stresses?
Answer. (a), (d), and (f).
27.2 Of the following quenching media, which one produces the most rapid cooling rate: (a) air, (b)
brine, (c) oil, or (d) pure water?
Answer. (b).
27.3 On which one of the following metals is the treatment called austenitizing be performed: (a)
aluminum alloys, (b) brass, (c) copper alloys, or (d) steel?
Answer. (d).
27.4 The treatment in which the brittleness of martensite is reduced is called which one of the following:
(a) aging, (b) annealing, (c) austenitizing, (d) normalizing, (e) quenching, or (f) tempering?
Answer. (f).
27.5 The Jominy end-quench test is designed to indicate which one of the following: (a) cooling rate, (b)
ductility, (c) hardenability, (d) hardness, or (e) strength?
Answer. (c). The reader might be tempted to select (d) because the Jominy test indicates hardness;
however, the reason for measuring hardness in the Jominy test is to indicate hardenability.
27.6 In precipitation hardening, the hardening and strengthening of the metal occurs in which one of the
following steps: (a) aging, (b) quenching, or (c) solution treatment?
Answer. (a).
27.7 Which one of the following surface hardening treatments is the most common? (a) boronizing, (b)
carbonitriding, (c) carburizing, (d) chromizing, or (e) nitriding.
Answer. (c).
27.8 Which of the following are selective surface hardening methods (three correct answers): (a)
austenitizing, (b) electron beam heating, (c) fluidized bed furnaces, (d) induction heating, (e) laser
beam heating, and (f) vacuum furnaces?
Answer. (b), (d), and (e).

Excerpts from this work may be reproduced by instructors for distribution on a not-for-profit basis for testing or instructional purposes only to
students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
by Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful.
197