Study on the Influence of Carbon on Standardized and Non-Standardized Steel

The way a piece or tool behaves in operation is determined by the quality of the material from which it is made, the precision of execution and heat treatment applied. In the present research, it is highlighted the differences that take shape after heat treating different materials (low carbon steel and high alloyed steel) including heating to dissimilar austenitic phases (880°C and 1020°C), holding for non-identical times, tempering at low temperature (260 °C) and then cooling by using separate cooling mediums (oil, air and water). The results show no noticeable increase in the hardness and mechanical properties for the low carbon steel after the heat treatment, but on the other hand, the high alloyed steel, reveals distinguishable changes in both hardness and mechanical properties. There is a close link between the structure, the parameters of the thermal processes and the properties that are desired so that future specialists have to assimilate the basic knowledge related to the phenomena that occur during a heat treatment but at the same time it is important to equip the companies with machines and measure devices, like a spectrometer.