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Callister - An introduction - 8th edition

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Chapter 5 Diffusion<br />

The photograph at the top of this page is of a steel gear that has<br />

been case hardened. Its outer surface layer was selectively hardened<br />

by a high-temperature heat treatment during which carbon from the<br />

surrounding atmosphere diffused into the surface. The “case” appears<br />

as the dark outer rim of that segment of the gear that has been sectioned.<br />

This increase in the carbon content raises the surface hardness<br />

(as explained in Section 10.7), which in turn leads to an improvement<br />

of wear resistance of the gear. In addition, residual compressive<br />

stresses are introduced within the case region; these give rise to an<br />

enhancement of the gear’s resistance to failure by fatigue while in<br />

service (Chapter 8).<br />

Case-hardened steel gears are used in automobile transmissions,<br />

similar to the one shown in the photograph directly below the gear.<br />

(Top: courtesy of Surface Division Midland-Ross; center: courtesy<br />

Ford Motor Company; bottom right: © BRIAN<br />

KERSEY/UPI/Landov LLC; bottom inset: © iStockphoto.)<br />

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