The Effect of Quenching Media on Hardness and Carbon Content in Carburized Steel

The influence of quenching media after carburizing process was investigated and analysed. Austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L was used as specimen. The carburizing process was carried out at 900°C for 7 hours followed by quenching process. Water, SAE 40 oil, and air were used as the quenching media. Arc Spectrometry was used for analysis of carbon content at surface specimen. The result shows that carbon content increased from 0.031at% (untreated specimen) up to 0.627 at%, 0.117 at%, and 0.106 at% (carburized specimen with water, oil, and air quenching). The significant increase in carbon content lead to increasing hardness of specimens from 101 Hv (untreatment) to over 364 Hv, 277 Hv, and 269 Hv (carburized specimen with water, oil, and air quenching). Microstructure of carburized specimen was investigated by optical microscopy.