Chapter 9: Hardenability of Steel

This chapter addresses the concept of hardenability by first describing the basic hardening process for steel, starting with austenitization followed by quenching and tempering. The context also serves to clarify the difference between hardenability and hardness, which are often confused. Most of the information in the chapter is of a practical nature, covering application-oriented topics such as isothermal transformation (IT) and continuous transformation (CT) diagrams which are used to predict and control the rate of formation of ferrite, pearlite, and bainite. The chapter also discusses the effect of grain size and alloying elements and explains how Jominy end quench testing is used to evaluate the hardenability of steel.