ASTM A255-10(2014)

Standard Test Methods for Determining Hardenability of Steel

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
3.1 This test method covers the procedure for determining the hardenability of steel by the end-quench or Jominy test. The test consists of water quenching one end of a cylindrical test specimen 1.0 in. in diameter and measuring the hardening response as a function of the distance from the quenched end.
SCOPE
1.1 These test methods cover the identification and description of test methods for determining the hardenability of steels. The two test methods include the quantitative end-quench or Jominy Test and a method for calculating the hardenability of steel from the chemical composition based on the original work by M. A. Grossman.  
1.2 The selection of the test method to be used for determining the hardenability of a given steel shall be agreed upon between the supplier and user. The Certified Material Test Report shall state the method of hardenability determination.  
1.3 The calculation method described in these test methods is applicable only to the range of chemical compositions that follow:    
Element  
Range, %  
Carbon  
0.10–0.70  
Manganese  
0.50–1.65  
Silicon  
0.15–0.60  
Nickel  
1.50 max  
Chromium  
1.35 max  
Molybdenum  
0.55 max  
Copper  
0.35 max  
Vanadium  
0.20 max  
1.4 Hardenability is a measure of the depth to which steel will harden when quenched from its austenitizing temperature (Table 1). It is measured quantitatively, usually by noting the extent or depth of hardening of a standard size and shape of test specimen in a standardized quench. In the end-quench test the depth of hardening is the distance along the specimen from the quenched end which correlates to a given hardness level.  (A) A variation of ±10°F (6°C) from the temperatures in this table is permissible.(B) Normalizing and austenitizing temperatures are 50°F (30°C) higher for the 6100 series.  
1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.  
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

General Information

• Status: Historical
• Publication Date: 30-Sep-2014
• ICS: 77.080.20 - Steels
• Technical Committee: A01 - Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys
• Drafting Committee: A01.15 - Bars

Relations

• Replaces: ASTM A255-10 - Standard Test Methods for Determining Hardenability of Steel
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Replaced By: ASTM A255-10(2018) - Standard Test Methods for Determining Hardenability of Steel
• Effective Date: 01-Sep-2018
• Referred By: ASTM A689-97(2018) - Standard Specification for Carbon and Alloy Steel Bars for Springs
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM B848/B848M-21 - Standard Specification for Powder Forged (PF) Ferrous Materials
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A646/A646M-17(2022) - Standard Specification for Premium Quality Alloy Steel Blooms and Billets for Aircraft and Aerospace Forgings
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A304-20 - Standard Specification for Carbon and Alloy Steel Bars Subject to End-Quench Hardenability Requirements
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A579/A579M-20 - Standard Specification for Superstrength Alloy Steel Forgings
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A534-17(2022) - Standard Specification for Carburizing Steels for Anti-Friction Bearings
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A1100-16(2022) - Standard Guide for Qualification and Control of Induction Heat Treating
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A485-17(2022) - Standard Specification for High Hardenability Antifriction Bearing Steel
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014
• Referred By: ASTM A914/A914M-19 - Standard Specification for Steel Bars Subject to Restricted End-Quench Hardenability Requirements
• Effective Date: 01-Oct-2014

Standards Content (Sample)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information
Designation: A255 − 10 (Reapproved 2014)
Standard Test Methods for
1
Determining Hardenability of Steel
This standard is issued under the fixed designation A255; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.
1. Scope responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
1.1 These test methods cover the identification and descrip-
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
tionoftestmethodsfordeterminingthehardenabilityofsteels.
The two test methods include the quantitative end-quench or
2. Referenced Documents
Jominy Test and a method for calculating the hardenability of
2
steelfromthechemicalcompositionbasedontheoriginalwork 2.1 ASTM Standards:
E18Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Ma-
by M. A. Grossman.
terials
1.2 The selection of the test method to be used for deter-
E112Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size
mining the hardenability of a given steel shall be agreed upon
2.2 ASTM Adjuncts:
between the supplier and user. The Certified Material Test
3
ASTM Hardenability Chart
Report shall state the method of hardenability determination.
1.3 The calculation method described in these test methods
is applicable only to the range of chemical compositions that END-QUENCH OR JOMINY TEST
follow:
3. Description
Element Range, %
3.1 This test method covers the procedure for determining
Carbon 0.10–0.70
Manganese 0.50–1.65 thehardenabilityofsteelbytheend-quenchorJominytest.The
Silicon 0.15–0.60
test consists of water quenching one end of a cylindrical test
Nickel 1.50 max
specimen 1.0 in. in diameter and measuring the hardening
Chromium 1.35 max
response as a function of the distance from the quenched end.
Molybdenum 0.55 max
Copper 0.35 max
Vanadium 0.20 max
4. Apparatus
1.4 Hardenability is a measure of the depth to which steel
4.1 Support for Test Specimen—Afixture for supporting the
will harden when quenched from its austenitizing temperature
test specimen vertically so that the lower end of the specimen
(Table 1). It is measured quantitatively, usually by noting the
is a distance of 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) above the orifice of the
extentordepthofhardeningofastandardsizeandshapeoftest
water-quenching device.Asatisfactory type of support for the
specimen in a standardized quench. In the end-quench test the
standard 1.0-in. (25.4-mm) specimen is shown in Fig. 1.
depthofhardeningisthedistancealongthespecimenfromthe
quenched end which correlates to a given hardness level. NOTE 1—Asuitable support for other sizes and shapes of specimens is
shown in Fig. X1.1.
1.5 Thevaluesstatedininch-poundunitsaretoberegarded
4.2 Water-QuenchingDevice—Awater-quenchingdeviceof
as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical
suitable capacity to provide a vertical stream of water that can
conversions to SI units that are provided for information only
be controlled to a height of 2.5 in. (63.5 mm) when passing
and are not considered standard.
through an orifice 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) in diameter. A tank of
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
1
These test methods are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee A01 on contact ASTM Customer Service at [e-mail]. For Annual Book of ASTM
Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys and are the direct responsibility of Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
Subcommittee A01.15 on Bars. the ASTM website.
3
1
Current edition approved Oct. 1, 2014. Published October 2014. Originally Standard ASTM Hardenability Charts (8 ⁄2 by 11 in. pads of 50 charts) are
approved in 1942. Last previous edition approved in 2010 as A255–10. DOI: available from ASTM International Headquarters. Order Adjunct No. ADJA0255.
10.1520/A0255-10R14. Original adjunct produced in 1945.
*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
1

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
A255 − 10 (2014)
A
TABLE 1 Normalizing and Austenitizing Temperatures
hardening characteristics. The sample shall be held at the
Ordered
temperature listed in Table 1 for 1 h and cooled in air.
Normalizing Austenitizing
Carbon
Steel Series Temperature, Temperature, Tempering of the normalized sample to improve machinability
...

This document is not an ASTM standard and is intended only to provide the user of an ASTM standard an indication of what changes have been made to the previous version. Because
it may not be technically possible to adequately depict all changes accurately, ASTM recommends that users consult prior editions as appropriate. In all cases only the current version
of the standard as published by ASTM is to be considered the official document.
Designation: A255 − 10 A255 − 10 (Reapproved 2014)
Standard Test Methods for
1
Determining Hardenability of Steel
This standard is issued under the fixed designation A255; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.
1. Scope
1.1 These test methods cover the identification and description of test methods for determining the hardenability of steels. The
two test methods include the quantitative end-quench or Jominy Test and a method for calculating the hardenability of steel from
the chemical composition based on the original work by M. A. Grossman.
1.2 The selection of the test method to be used for determining the hardenability of a given steel shall be agreed upon between
the supplier and user. The Certified Material Test Report shall state the method of hardenability determination.
1.3 The calculation method described in these test methods is applicable only to the range of chemical compositions that follow:
Element Range, %
Carbon 0.10–0.70
Manganese 0.50–1.65
Silicon 0.15–0.60
Nickel 1.50 max
Chromium 1.35 max
Molybdenum 0.55 max
Copper 0.35 max
Vanadium 0.20 max
1.4 Hardenability is a measure of the depth to which steel will harden when quenched from its austenitizing temperature (Table
1). It is measured quantitatively, usually by noting the extent or depth of hardening of a standard size and shape of test specimen
in a standardized quench. In the end-quench test the depth of hardening is the distance along the specimen from the quenched end
which correlates to a given hardness level.
1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information
only.mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility
of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory
limitations prior to use.
2. Referenced Documents
2
2.1 ASTM Standards:
E18 Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials
E112 Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size
2.2 ASTM Adjuncts:
3
ASTM Hardenability Chart
1
These test methods are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys and are the direct responsibility of Subcommittee
A01.15 on Bars.
Current edition approved May 1, 2010Oct. 1, 2014. Published June 2010October 2014. Originally approved in 1942. Last previous edition approved in 20072010 as
ε1
A255 – 07A255 – 10. . DOI: 10.1520/A0255-10.10.1520/A0255-10R14.
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or contact ASTM Customer Service at [e-mail]. For Annual Book of ASTM Standards
volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on the ASTM website.
3 1
Standard ASTM Hardenability Charts (8 ⁄2 by 11 in. pads of 50 charts) are available from ASTM International Headquarters. Order Adjunct No. ADJA0255. Original
adjunct produced in 1945.
*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
1

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
A255 − 10 (2014)
A
TABLE 1 Normalizing and Austenitizing Temperatures
Ordered
Normalizing Austenitizing
Carbon
Steel Series Temperature, Temperature,
Content,
°F (°C) °F (°C)
max, %
1000, 1300, 1500, 0.25 and under 1700 (925) 1700 (925)
3100, 4000, 4100
4300, 4400, 4500, 0.26 to 0.36, 1650 (900) 1600 (870)
4600, 4700, 5000, incl
B
5100, 6100,
8100, 8600, 8700,
8800, 9400, 9700,
9800
0.37 and over 1600 (870) 1550 (845)
2300, 2500, 3300, 0.25 and under 1700 (925) 1550 (845)
4800, 9300
0.26 to 0.36, 1650 (900) 1500 (815)
incl
0.37 and over 1600 (870) 1475 (800)
9200 0.50 and over 1650 (900) 1600 (870)
A
A variation of ±10°F (6°C) from the temperatures in this table is permissible.
B
Normalizing and austenitizing temperatures are 50°F (30°C) higher for the 6100
series.
END-QUENCH OR JOMINY TEST
3. Description
3.1 This test method covers the procedure for determining the
...