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The final result of exactly how hard the steel becomes depends on the amount of carbon present in the metal. Only steel that is high in carbon can be hardened and tempered. If a metal does not contain the necessary quantity of carbon, then its crystalline structure cannot be broken, and therefore the physical makeup of the steel cannot be altered.
Martensitic transformation, more commonly known as quenching and tempering, is a hardening mechanism specific for steel. The steel must be heated to a temperature where the iron phase changes from ferrite into austenite, i.e. changes crystal structure from BCC (body-centered cubic) to FCC (face-centered cubic). In austenitic form, steel can ...
Diagram of a cross section of a katana, showing the typical arrangement of the harder and softer zones. Differential hardening (also called differential quenching, selective quenching, selective hardening, or local hardening) is most commonly used in bladesmithing to increase the toughness of a blade while keeping very high hardness and strength at the edge.
Case-hardening or carburization is the process of introducing carbon to the surface of a low-carbon iron, or more commonly a low-carbon steel object, in order to harden the surface. Iron which has a carbon content greater than ~0.02% is known as steel.
Schematic cutaway view of a diffusion hardened metal gear. Diffusion hardening is a process used in manufacturing that increases the hardness of steels.In diffusion hardening, diffusion occurs between a steel with a low carbon content and a carbon-rich environment to increase the carbon content of the steel and ultimately harden the workpiece.
The earliest examples of quenched steel may come from ancient Mesopotamia, with a relatively secure example of a fourth-century BC quench-hardened chisel from Al Mina in Turkey. [6] Book 9, lines 389-94 of Homer's Odyssey is widely cited as an early, possibly the first, written reference to quenching: [ 3 ] [ 7 ]
The steel is then quenched so that the austenite is transformed into martensite, and the ferrite remains on cooling. The steel is then subjected to a temper cycle to allow some level of marten-site decomposition. By controlling the amount of martensite in the steel, as well as the degree of temper, the strength level can be controlled.
When a hot steel work-piece is quenched, the area in contact with the water immediately cools and its temperature equilibrates with the quenching medium.The inner depths of the material however, do not cool so rapidly, and in work-pieces that are large, the cooling rate may be slow enough to allow the austenite to transform fully into a structure other than martensite or bainite.