Effects of Copper on the Hardenability of a Medium-Carbon Steel

Scrap-based steelmaking is gradually increasing the levels of residual copper present in modern steels. End-quench hardenability tests were conducted on medium-carbon steels containing up to 0.4 wt pct copper to evaluate if current methods are still accurate for predicting the ideal critical diameter as residual copper levels rise. The results indicate that copper’s contribution to hardenability, especially at lower concentrations, may be greater than conventional calculation methods indicate.