A discussion on mechanical behaviour of Heat-Treated low carbon steel

Low carbon steel is widely used material in construction, fabrication, and automotive sectors. It possesses a good combination of strength, toughness, and hardness. However, based on the various applications, the mechanical properties can be altered by applying heat treatment techniques. In the present work, low carbon steel (with 0.18%-C) has been heat treated and analysed for its altered mechanical behaviour. Four steel samples have been taken under study- in which sample one has been used in 'as received' condition while other three are quenched, normalized, and annealed states respectively. Two different mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness have been analysed. It has been reported that the ductile behaviour of the heat-treated samples is increased. Also, the microstructural analysis, carried out through optical microscope, is in good corroboration with mechanical properties. Pearlite and cementite regions have been clearly obtained in the samples. Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Nanotechnology.

Automated summary

In this study, the mechanical behavior of low carbon steel was altered by heat treatment techniques, and the results were validated through microstructural analysis using an optical microscope. The study showed that the heat-treated samples exhibited improved ductile behavior.