Abstract
A method to derive carbon equivalent to assess hardenability is demonstrated. The assumptions used in the present method are the additivity rule and the empirical calculation of the incubation time in the time–temperature–transformation diagram. In the present study, the empirical equation for the incubation time before ferrite, pearlite, and bainite transformations proposed by Kirkaldy et al. is employed. The coefficients for silicon, manganese, copper, and nickel calculated in the present study show good agreement with experiments, whereas a considerable discrepancy is observed for the coefficients for chromium and molybdenum. Prior austenite grain size, which influences hardenability, can be incorporated in the carbon equivalent using the method presented in this study.
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