Metallographic and mechanical characterization of ABNT/SAE 1020 steel subjected to the thermochemical treatment of carburizing and the thermal treatment of the quenching

ABSTRACT

The use of steel heat treatments aims to improve the mechanical performance of these materials during their application. In this context, solid cementation is a thermochemical treatment that makes it possible to increase the hardness on metal surfaces, through the diffusion of carbon from the atmosphere of an oven to the metal surface. On the other hand, quenching is a heat treatment that aims to increase the hardness of the steel, by heating the metal until austenitization and subsequent rapid cooling, forming a predominantly martensitic microstructure. The objective of the present work was to characterize the microstructures formed after the application of the quenching and solid carburizing of ABNT/SAE 1020 steels, using metallographic techniques and hardness tests. After carrying out the treatments, the samples were analyzed using Rockwell hardness tests, Vickers microhardness tests, and by optical microscopy and macrography. The results of the sample hardness tests showed that the hardness of the carburized and quenched samples is superior to the hardness of the untreated samples. In addition, there was no significant influence of the granulometry of charcoal on the hardness of the carburized samples, due to the high variability of the hardness values obtained. Through the optical microscopy and the results obtained in the Vickers microhardness tests, it was possible to notice that the carburized samples showed a great increase in the hardness of the region of the carburized layer, caused by the formation of high and low carbon martensite, with a more tenacious due to the presence of ferrite and pearlite. The quenched samples presented a low hardness microstructure, which was also verified by the microhardness test.

Keywords
Quenching; solid cementation; metallography; hardness; microstructure