Mechanical Properties of Paste Carburized ASTM A516 Steel

Carburizing is one of case hardening method that induced formation of carbon layer on the surface of a substance in order to improve the strength and hardness properties. This paper presents the effect of paste carburizing treatment on mechanical properties of ASTM A516 low carbon steel. Samples are first prepared and polished according to tensile test (ASTM A370), hardness test (Rockwell) and microstructure standard. The paste carburizing treatment was conducted at temperature of 700 °C, 750 °C and 800 °C for 6 hours holding times. The results depicted that paste carburized samples provide significant improvement on both tensile strength and hardness values compared to uncarburized samples. This was associated with the formation of hard carburized layer on the surface of the substance. Increasing the carburizing temperature profoundly improved both hardness and tensile strength, as the results of deeper carburized layer produced. Paste carburizing was found to induce formation of carburized layer at shorter time and lower temperature compared to pack carburizing method.