A STUDY ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF S45C MEDIUM TYPE CARBON STEEL SPECIMENS UNDER LATHE MACHINING AND QUENCHING CONDITIONS

Abstract

The experimental process is a fundamental technique used to determine the nature and behavior of many materials under study. In order to evaluate the fundamental properties of many engineering materials the use of mechanical testing techniques frequently play a crucial role. The development of new materials and the control of material quality are essential in the process of design and in their usage for industrial applications and construction. In this experiment, there were 2 sets (5 samples each) of medium type steel specimens S45C of 0.45% carbon content that were rigorously prepared according to ASTM standards under specific varied parameters. These parameters include the machining cutter speeds on the lathe machine and the mediums selected and temperatures set for the quenching process on the steel specimens in order to affect their overall microstructure. The specimens were then subjected to aggregate mechanical loading using a conventional tensile testing machine. The consequential effect of material structure metamorphosis under the selected quenching techniques was ultimately not part of the study as it involves microscopic analysis of grain boundaries and high-end precision equipment would be necessary to do any significant material analysis. The results of the experiment suggest that the macroscopic (not microscopic) effect of the lathe machining speeds do not significantly affect the tensile material strength of the S45 medium carbon steel specimen. Thus, the mediums and temperatures selected for the quenching process on the specimens had a marginal but significant effect on the elevated levels of tensile mechanical strength and strain of medium type carbon steel.