Suitability of white potash, red potash and zobo (Hibiscus tea) solutions as quenchant for medium carbon steel

Ahmed Kolawole Olanrewaju 1, †, Reuben Zakari Kabantiyok 1, *, †, Mercy Kahywuani James 2, # and Kingsley Emeka Okeoma 3, #

1 Research and Development Centre, Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria - Kaduna, Nigeria.
2 Advanced Materials Unit, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure Idu Industrial Area Abuja.
3 CSWIP 3.4U Inspection Controller, Hydrodive Nigeria Ltd.
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
# These authors contributed equally to this work.
 
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 16(02), 1310-1321
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2022.16.2.1276

 

Publication history: 
Received on 15 September 2022; revised on 18 November 2022; accepted on 26 November 2022
 
Abstract: 
This study investigates the effectiveness of using red potash, white potash, and Habiscus Tea as alternative quenching media for hardening medium carbon steel, compared with conventional water and brine. Samples were normalized at 850°C and then austenitized at 870 °C for 1 hour before being quenched. Key mechanical properties hardness, tensile strength, impact strength and microstructural changes were evaluated. Results showed significant improvements in hardness (up to 50.40 HRC) and tensile strength (up to 1850.22 MPa), with Habiscus Tea and brine yielding the highest values. However, brine resulted in the lowest impact strength (0.38 J/mm²), indicating brittleness. Habiscus Tea produced a full martensitic structure with a good balance of high hardness (50.40 HRC), high tensile strength (1748.50 MPa), and moderate impact toughness (0.50 J/mm²). Compared to the normalized state, Habiscus Tea-quenching improved hardness and tensile strength by 230 % and 200 %, respectively. The study concludes that Habiscus Tea is a promising, cost-effective, and safer alternative to conventional quenchants for enhancing the mechanical properties of medium carbon steel.
 
Keywords: 
Quenching media; Medium carbon steel; Mechanical properties; Microstructure; Hibiscus sabdariffa (Zobo); Potash-based quenchants; Sustainable/eco-friendly heat treatment; Martensitic transformation
 
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Copyright information: 
Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0

 

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