JOMINY END QUENCHING OF 4140 STEEL: THE EFFECT OF TIME AND TEMPURATURE ON AUSTENITIC GRAIN GROWTH

This project investigated the effects of austenitizing temperatures and time on the hardness of 4140 steel. The most common test for studying these effects is the Jominy End Quench test. In this test a 140mm long and 25.4 mm in diameter sample is heated into the austenite range for selected temperatures and times and water spray quenched at one end, producing a varying cooling rate across the sample. Currently the Jominy End Quench test focuses on the hardenability of the steel. An improved model for correlating the Jominy End Quench curves and the resulting grain size curves proposed introduce a better defined heating and cooling cycle. The improved model obtained will optimistically result in less time spent in research and development