The Jominy End Quench and Effect of Austenitizing on the Hardenability and Performance of Quenched Steels

The Jominy End-Quench Test is a powerful method to establish the hardenability of a given steel, as measured by the hardness of the microstructures produced as a function of cooling rate from the quenched specimen end. Hardness, however, does not assess fracture mechanisms and the critical difference between ductile and brittle fracture. For example, in high carbon steels increased austenitizing may increase hardenability but decrease resistance to brittle intergranular fracture of quenched steels. This presentation reviews the effect of austenitizing on the hardenability of carbon steels and the effects of austenitizing and steel carbon content on quenched microstructure and fracture.