Investigating the impact of heat treatment on mechanical behaviour of A36 low-carbon steel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24425/ather.2025.156586Abstract
Quenching and tempering processes are commonly employed to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of multiphase steels. This study investigated the effects of heat treatment on ASTM A36 low-carbon steel, a material well-suited for structural applications. The novelty of this study lies in the detailed investigation of the quenching and tempering processes applied to ASTM A36 low-carbon steel, focusing on specific tempering temperatures and varying soaking times. The specimens were heated to 900°C and soaked for 2 hours, followed by quenching in an oil bath. Subsequently, they were tempered at low (200°C), medium (300°C), and high (400°C) temperatures for 60, 90, and 120 minutes, respectively. The mechanical properties of the processed specimens, including hardness, tensile strength, and impact strength, were evaluated. The Rockwell hardness showed a significant improvement of 22.75% after treatment. Oil bath quenching followed by tempering increased the ultimate tensile strength by 31.51% and 29.36%, respectively, compared to steel without any heat treatment. However, elongation at break and impact strength decreased by 11.55% and 27.27%, respectively, during quenching. Low, medium, and high temperature tempering at various soaking times released the internal stresses, refined the grain structure and exhibited the effect on tensile strength, as well as improved the elongation at break and impact strength by 35.08% and 125%, respectively, compared to quenched steel.References
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