Investigation of the Effects of Agitation on the Hardening Characteristics of Medium Carbon Steel Quenched in Non-Edible Seed Oils Grown in Nigeria

This research evaluates the forced circulation of various quenchants (jatropha seed oil, neem seed oil, cottonseed oil and castor seed oil) in a fabricated quenching machine to reduce the cooling time and analyse the hardening characteristics of samples of low and medium carbon steel in these media. The samples were quenched in water and SAE engine oil for control experimentation. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the quenched samples were used to evaluate the quench severity of the various quenchants as well as the hardening characteristics of the samples. The focus of this investigation is to find the suitability or otherwise of non-edible oils abundantly available in Nigeria as effective alternatives to the conventional media, water and SAE oil. While water usually causes distortion corrosion and cracking of component due to its high quenching severity, SAE oil, on the other hand, has low quenching severity for many applications, high cost, non-biodegradable and excessive fume generation during the quenching operations. These will successful gave rise to investments and employment in the cultivation and processing of these non-edible seed oils thereby lending support towards achieving sustainable development through environmental protection