Flame Hardening
Flame hardening is the method of surface hardening most commonly to gray iron. After flame hardening, a gray iron casting consists of a hard, wear-resistant outer layer of martensite and a core of softer gray iron, which during treatment does not reach the At transformation temperature.
Both unalloyed and alloyed gray irons can be successfully flame hardened. However, some compositions yield much better results than do others. One of the most important aspects of composition is the combined carbon content, which should be in the range of 0.50 to 0.70%, although irons with as little as 0.40% combined carbon can be flame hardened. In general, flame hardening is not recommended for irons that contain more than 0.80% combined carbon because such irons (mottled or white irons) may crack in surface hardening.
Effects of Alloying Elements. In general, alloyed gray irons can be flame hardened with greater ease than can unalloyed irons, partly because alloyed gray irons have increased hardenability. Final hardness also may be increased by alloying additions. The maximum hardness obtainable by flame hardening an unalloyed gray iron containing approximately 3% total carbon, 1.7% Si, and 0.60 to 0.80% Mn ranges from 400 to 500 HB.
This is because the Brinell hardness value for gray iron is an average of the hardness of the matrix and that of the relatively soft graphite flakes. Actually, the matrix hardness on which wear resistance depends approximates 600 HB. With the addition of 2.5% Ni and 0.5% Cr, an average surface hardness of 550 HB can be obtained. The same result has been achieved using 1.0 to 1.5% Ni and 0.25% Mo.
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