Decarburization is the loss of carbon at the steel surface during heat treatment or hot forming; it reduces surface hardness and fatigue strength. On an etched section, the change in microstructure from the surface inwards is examined and the depth of complete and partial decarburization is measured in micrometres.
The test is performed with a method accredited by TÜRKAK under TS EN ISO/IEC 17025 (ISO 3887, ASTM E1077, EN 13674-1 cl. 9.1.5); results are issued as an accredited test report.
Determined Values
- Depth of complete decarburization
- Depth of partial decarburization
- Total (effective) decarburization depth; minimum and maximum values
Applied Standards
- ISO 3887 – Steels, determination of the depth of decarburization
- ASTM E1077 – Estimating the depth of decarburization of steel specimens
- EN 13674-1 cl. 9.1.5 – Railway rails, decarburization
Specimens and Reporting
The specimen is cut, mounted, ground, polished and, where needed, etched with a suitable reagent in our laboratory (ASTM E3). Examination is done with a metallurgical microscope and image analysis software; results are reported with scaled micrographs.