The influence of acid and base solutions on the quenching process against the hardness of ST37 steel

Previous research stated that salt water cooling media has higher hardness value after going through the heat treatment process compared to freshwater cooling media. From this explanation, a study was conducted on the effect of using acid and alkaline solutions in the quenching process against the hardness of ST37 steel. This study uses vinegar water cooling media and soapy water. In this study several steps were carried out, namely: hardening on ST37 steel with a heating temperature of 700ºC with a holding time of 15 minutes, direct quenching with acidic cooling media (vinegar: 2.4 pH) and alkaline solution (soap water: 9.3 pH ) with a 15 minute holding time. After the heat treatment process and direct quenching on ST37 steel, Rockwell hardness was tested. From the test results, the use of acid and base solution cooling media in the quenching process has an effect on the hardness of ST37 steel, the best hardness value is an alkaline solution compared to an acid solution, alkaline solution has a hard value of 66.73 HRC, while acid solution has a hardness value of 64.31 HRC. The results of this study will be one of the references for further research, especially the use of weak acid-base solutions as a cooling medium.