This SAE Standard prescribes the procedure for making hardenability tests and recording results on shallow and medium hardening steels, but not deep hardening steels that will normally air harden.
Included are procedures using the 25 mm (1 in) standard hardenability end-quench specimen for both medium and shallow hardening steels and subsize method for bars less than 32 mm (1-1/4 in) in diameter. Methods for determining case hardenability of carburized steels are given in SAE J1975.
Any hardenability test made under other conditions than those given in this document will not be deemed standard and will be subject to agreement between supplier and user. Whenever check tests are made, all laboratories concerned must arrange to use the same alternate procedure with reference to test specimen and method of grinding for hardness testing.
For routine testing of the hardenability of successive heats of steel required to have hardenability within certain limits, it is sufficient to designate hardenability simply in terms of distance from the quenched end to the point at which a certain hardness is obtained. This designation may also be adequate for comparing steels of different compositions to see whether they have similar hardenability.
Hardenability limits for specifying steel in this manner are obtained by measuring the hardenability of a steel which has proved satisfactory for the use intended. The hardenability test may be used in this way as an empirical test.
For new components where manufacturing experience is lacking, hardenability data may be effectively used to estimate the hardness profile provided by any given steel. Attendantly, the ability to predict hardenability from chemical composition has become increasingly important when comparing various steel grades or developing new steels for specific applications. One such procedure is described in Appendix A. Other hardenability prediction methods are available from the selected references in Section 2. However, it should be emphasized that the use of any hardenability prediction procedure does not preclude the importance of conducting Jominy end-quench tests to determine the actual hardenability of any specific grade of steel.
Hardenability data may be used to estimate hardnesses obtainable with any steel in new machine parts not yet in production and not similar to any parts on which production experience is available. Various hardenability application methods are described in the selected references, Section 2.1, 23 to 25. It appears none of these methods are precise, but these are often useful for estimation purposes. Final correlation on actual parts is necessary.
Rationale
The technical report covers procedures which are mature and not likely to change in the foreseeable future.
The Metals Technical Committee (MTC) controls specifications for Ferrous and Non-Ferrous: Metallic Wrought Products, Cast & Sintered Products, Metal Properties & Processes, and Metal Test Procedures. The MTC oversees standards to establish uniform procedures that: 1) establish a common language for the industry to review materials and processes through standards, 2) are reviewed and updated on a regular 5-year basis with coordination to other industry specifications, and 3) creates a common industry interface for technical discussions. The MTC ensures that all standards are developed with qualified personnel to perform respective tasks, meets at least once a year to provide relevant updates to current specifications, and assesses whether new standards are needed by industry. The committee also maintains the public web pages by reviewing and updating the information necessary. The MTC shall report to the Materials Processes and Parts Council (MPPC) on a biannual basis. Participants in the SAE Metals Technical Committee include representatives from OEMs, suppliers, consulting firms, government, and other interested parties.
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