Recrystallization Kinetics in 4130 Steel under Induction and Radiant Annealing Methods

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32473/ufjur.28.141605

Keywords:

heat treatment, steel, induction, joule effect, recrystallization

Abstract

During mechanical processing of metals, work hardening increases strength at the cost of increased brittleness. To remedy this, metals are annealed to reduce stress through recrystallization where new grains form, relieving internal strain. In this work, we hypothesize the recrystallization rate is accelerated by induction heating (IH), relative to radiant heating (RH). IH applies a magnetic field to conductive metals, generating eddy currents that produce heat through electrical resistance, offering more precise control over the dimensions and position of the heated area compared to RH methods. To investigate IH’s impact on recrystallization, we compared IH and RH heating methods on AISI 4130 steel, a commonly used metal in the automotive industry. Following compression and heating steel specimens at various holding times, we analyzed hardness measurements and microstructural evolution to determine the extent of recrystallization. We found that IH results in a faster recrystallization rate and smaller grain sizes compared to RH, indicating the recrystallization due to IH is driven more by nucleation than grain growth. These findings strengthen knowledge that IH can anneal steel at rates faster than RH while reducing processing time and energy consumption. This allows both economic and environmental costs to be cut without compromising quality.

Author Biographies

Lawrence de Jongh, University of Florida

Lawrence de Jongh is an Undergraduate Researcher at the University of Florida. He has been attending the University of Florida since July 2024. He is currently studying for a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. His current research since August 2025 focused on steel and recrystallization.

Victoria Miller, University of Florida

Associate Professor Victoria (Tori) Miller has been in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida since September 2019. Prior to that, she spent two years as an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. She received her B.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2011 and completed her Ph.D. in the Materials Department at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2016. After graduate school, she worked for a year at UES, Inc. as a Research Scientist onsite in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, OH. She had also previously worked at Ford Motor Company Research and Development, Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing North America, and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. She has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers, the ASM International Bronze and Silver Medals, and the TMS Young Leaders International Scholar Award. She is currently a Trustee of ASM International. She additionally serves on the editorial boards of Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions: A, and JOM. She is passionate about metals research, particularly in deformation processing and forging.

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Published

2026-09-21

Issue

Vol. 28 (2026): UF Journal of Undergraduate Research

Section

STEM & Medicine

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Lawrence de Jongh, Megan Hurley, Yonguk Lee, Victoria Miller

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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