Effect of Cooling Medium in Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of Carbon Spring Steel

Abstract

The effect of cooling medium in heat treatment on the mechanical properties

of SUP3 steel was studied. The heat treatment was done with changing of

the cooling medium to study the difference in properties of the material especially the hardness, tensile strength and proof strength. The main objective of the study was to determine the optimal heat treatment process which gives the best performance for springs. Several tests were conducted to evaluate the results of the heat treatment such as hardness test, tensile test, and fractography test. Results have shown that heat treatment of carbon spring steel led to improvements in mechanical properties and using oil as a cooling medium provided the best results with no danger of cracking the     quenched parts.